12/17/23 - Pickups & Plan For Week Ahead
I ask for your patience as I figure out things with this new platform. I brought over 3 posts from the blog to the archives that fit the vibe of what I’m looking for, but everything going forward will be new content.
I’m not sure I’ll do this every Sunday, but I would like to have a more frequent update going over any pickups I’ve added, my plan for the week ahead, and thoughts here and there on what I’m seeing in the market and hobby circles.
Pickups
As I mentioned on other channels, I’ve slowed down my pickups the past few weeks. In addition to the normal need to divert discretionary funds to holiday requirements, it feels like the market is on the verge of moving lower. Football is going through its normal down cycle as hope for rookies begins to fade in the later season weeks, but like all sports it’s experiencing general weakness right now.
But I did see one card I wanted to jump on. I normally would not post about a pickup until it’s in my possession, but since I have nothing else on the physical side you get an early look at it.
1962 Mars Attacks “Smashing The Enemy” PSA 8 - $1,850
I wouldn’t say this was a bargain by any stretch, but it’s in the second tier of rarity for PSA 8 population (34 and only 3 are PSA 9 without qualifiers) and this card looks outstanding front and back apart from the edge issues on the front left. I’d say for the card and grade it was probably a $700-800 overpay but the eye appeal with the nice centering and really good looking back was worth the premium to me.
FIFA+ Collect VIP Membership Card - $1,000
FIFA+ Collect had a few announcements this week. One was that they will be doing a drop on OpenSea using Polygon, which was a big change because everything so far had been on Algorand. A new development team is in place and they seem to have a plan to drop product on both platforms going forward.
I feel better about the news than I did initially because it seems like they will be dropping specific kinds of products on OpenSea to create some differentiation between the two collections. But this certainly has the potential to fracture an already small community and generate a lot of confusion.
This past week they dropped a limited mint of 100 VIP membership cards that got my attention:
VIP MEMBERSHIP CARDS
In an innovative fusion of digital art and exclusive access, the upcoming NFT initiative reimagines the traditional membership concept. We're introducing a limited collection of 100 NFT FIFA+ Collect Membership Cards, each a unique digital asset offering unparalleled access to the world of FIFA. These NFTs go beyond mere collectibles; they are keys to a realm of VIP experiences and privileges within the FIFA ecosystem. As holders of these NFT Membership Cards, members will own a piece of art and gain the status of Original VIP FIFA+ Collect Members.
What's FIFA+ Collect Membership?
The membership status unlocks a list of unique benefits:
Preferential access to FIFA+ Collect releases and more
Guaranteed right to purchase a ticket for the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup 2025 ™
Opportunity to get two tickets for the final of the FIFA World Cup 2026 ™ (December 26 Airdrop)
Opportunity to get two tickets for the final of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 ™ (December 26 Airdrop)
First 100 numbered VIP badges ever for a football fans community of over 5 Billion
This is only getting started! More benefits for FIFA+ Collect membership club will be announced in the future.
IMPORTANT UPDATE:
New VIP benefit for our FIFA+ Collect VIP membership card just announced. Card holders will be granted adidas Level 4 (top level) membership, normally obtainable only by earning 9k+ points in adidas goods (1$=10pts)*.
December 26 Airdrop for FIFA+ Collect VIP members:
The membership status unlocks a series of future benefits, a key one being the special airdrop of the FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023 ™ NFT Pack on December 26. If you hold your VIP Member status on the 26th you will receive an airdrop of a key moment from the tournament, and two of these moments will grant tickets to the finals in 2025 and 2026.FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023 ™ NFT Pack will contain 1 NFT Video Moment from the FIFA Club World Cup 2023 Tournament. Total 100 Packs: 1 to 1 free airdrop to existing NFT Membership card holders. There will be two rarities: Iconic (2) and Epic (98):
1 Iconic NFT moment will grant Two tickets to the FIFA World Cup 2026 ™ Finals in the USA
1 Iconic NFT moment will grant Two tickets to the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 ™ Finals in the USA
I really wrestled with this one—I’ve got a fairly expensive FIFA+ collection already and the potential utility seemed interesting, but I’ve got my doubts about this new team running things.
I waited until there were about 4 left and then decided to go for it. If nothing else, the Club World Cup airdrop will yield a NFT and a shot at some tickets for the 2026 World Cup Final.
My thinking was if this provides early access to their drops going forward, assuming they don’t completely screw this up, the VIP card could have some resell value down the road if I decide FIFA+ is not for me.
I’ll report back how things look in a few weeks, but I certainly know this may have been a bad decision in the end.
Plan This Week
The big thing for me this week and through year end is trying to move as many NFTs as possible for get losses on the books for 2023. ToppsNFT is pretty dead at this point, but I can do more to get things listed over at Panini and will be refocusing over there when I have free time.
I’m hoping to get the first of my PSA submissions that I entered through COMC back this week. I’ll do a write-up on how that process went and what the result was once that comes back.
No plans for significant additions in the near future. I will probably start buying some again in January to take advantage of the post-holiday lull in the markets if it materializes, focusing on soccer and baseball.
Quick Items
Topps has another headache on their hands with what seems to be backdoored or badly collated superfractors from 2023 Bowman Draft
Topps also expanded their baseball card gimmick of the Tom Brady Expos card in 2023 Bowman Draft to include a completely fabricated card of Bill Belichick as an Expos manager. Fanatics knows how to get press, but I’m not sure these gimmicks are really helpful to the hobby. Breakers love it though, so I wouldn’t expect this to go away—the Brady chase has been a huge hit.
There are many other things to discuss in the hobby, but I’ve got to run.
Hope you have a great week ahead and enjoy the Christmas season if you celebrate!