It’s all about that BASE
Base cards. They are mounting up in piles and piles creating a real question for the card community. Even a lot of the good base cards are becoming less and less desirable now that there are way too many parallels being pushed into the market. I have begun to tone down my chase of certain parallel cards for Damian Lillard (my PC), primarily because there are just too many to chase. I have decided to be more selective in what I am collecting, otherwise I will be chasing rainbows for a lifetime.
Think about some of the older sets like Topps Chrome, Topps Finest, early Prizm years and so on. These sets made numbered cards actually rare. The 2003-04 Topps Chrome Basketball had just a few parallels making it special when obtaining a black refractor to 500. But if you add up the endless runs of parallels today, it’s unreal to see the light blue this, purple that, red twisty risty, yellow mango tango, etc. There are Asian parallels, FOTL exclusives, etc. I mean, there are thousands and thousands of these “special” cards in one set.
Advise to the card companies, make parallels more attractive again and find a way to make collecting base worthwhile.
Buy back the BASE
It will make collecting sets again relevant
Start recycling them or something, too many parallels today to get excited for BASE
So, what is a good way to use up the base cards in a creative manner that can make them valuable again? If many of the parallels are becoming to be too saturated, I mean, who is rushing to collect sets of base anymore? I have thought about this for a few years now and am really thinking about trying to do something about it. Create a new wave of excitement for base cards. If anyone from Topps or Panini needs to sit down and brainstorm, I would love to help with this BASE card epidemic.
What are your ideas on using base for the good of the card community? Share with us here at GTi, we would love to hear what you have to say.
Should we use them to create things that an acrylic or epoxy can be involved with. Create cards as art inside of objects we create. Maybe like a cool bedframe that has all the base from a certain set or some type of picture frames? Tool sheds? Wall art, dining tables, cup coasters, backboards for basketball courts, and so on. I have seen collections of hundreds, even thousands of white boxes filled with undesired cards just collecting dust and probably going to be trashed one day? I hate to say it but even many of the base today aren’t going to be sought after by collectors so we have to find a way to make the base relevant in some way.
I also think that the card manufacturers like Topps, Upper Deck, and Panini should offer collectors some incentive for collecting full base sets. For example, if collectors collect a full base set of 2022 Prizm NBA, which in today’s market is a feat that has no real financial reward, upon being sent to Panini points will be awarded in return. A reward program for collecting base will definitely create some value for the base cards. The base cards can then be sent back and recycled by the manufacturer to create more chance of upgrading to better cards. This type of program would be awesome. Kind of like the Topps buyback program but this is a buyback program for cards that no body wants. It makes the junk wax relevant in a small way and I think that this could be an alley that the companies will explore moving forward. Otherwise, we are going to be very busy hiring for our new factory here at GTi making cool things with epoxy and acrylic with base cards LOL.
Have an awesome day everyone and keep enjoying the hobby!
