Aftermarket sketchcards - do your homework

There are a ton of sets that feature sketchcards these days. There are a ton of artists that produce those cards. And there are a ton of blanks available for any price range.

I came across a couple of fantastic cards on eBay that were being sold directly by the artists themselves. This usually means they are Artist Proofs, Returns, or whatever the nomenclature is for that particular manufacturer. I believe both of these showed up in the bottom of other listings, one of those "related items". Both caught my eye, and not having much time right then I just added them to my watchlist and moved on.

The first is this one:

This is the "love you" girl in Indy's classroom at the beginning on Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-it-moments from cinema (pun intended). Anyway, a phenomenal sketchcard. It is done by Javier Gonzalez. I am familiar with Javier's work as I have a couple of commissioned cards of his in my own collection. I saw this and wanted it immediately. I actually had a snipe set on it (lower than the final bid, obviously).

In the description, Javier clearly states the following (font and caps his emphasis):

"This is what is commonly referred to as an Aftermarket Sketch Card. This piece is done on OFFICIAL Topps Stock by a non-set artist."

No harm, no foul. Javier was clear, but to the unsuspecting bidder who may be just skimming the listing, would they care? I didn't at the end of the day. This is one card that would go in my collection and stay there. But there is definitely some differences in realized prices if this were an official pack-inserted card.

The second card is this one:

Without even looking at the seller name I knew this was a Charles Hall card. I have a few of his cards in my collection, too. Charles does not have the disclaimer in his listing that this is an aftermarket, but any smart collector should know a few basic things about this.

• Charles Hall was not on the artist listing for this Star Wars Evolution set (though there can be some errors on those)
• Charles typically puts the year on the front, and is from 2021
• this particular Evolution set came out in 2016
• Topps does not give blanks to artists for their Returns/Proofs (like Rittenhouse, for example)

Ergo, this was originally a blank card that Charles painted on. It is not an "official" Star Wars sketchcard. I don't know if he purchased it blank, if another collector purchased it for Charles as a commission that fell through, or what. Doesn't matter. Not an "official" Star Wars sketchcard.

I am not implying that Charles was being deceitful--much like the Gonzalez above, I had a snipe in on this one, too. And I imagine that if this were an official card it would have ended higher as well.

So to some collectors, it just doesn't matter. A great sketch is a great sketch, right? But do a little homework before you start bidding, especially if you ever plan on selling or even flipping the cards. If you don't disclose it, that's on you...