Can't Duplicate Off Centered
In this bi-weekly episode of Off Centered, the hosts discuss recent hobby news including Jackson Dart's season-ending injury affecting quarterback card markets, counterfeit Topps Chrome basketball cards circulating with duplicate serial numbers, and a deep dive into 1990s-2000s insert cards and 90s nostalgia collecting. They also share personal collecting updates, fantasy football results, and debate autograph authentication challenges.
Summary
The hosts of Off Centered reconvene after a two-week hiatus, with one host returning from Italy. The episode opens with discussion of Jackson Dart's MCL sprain that suddenly became season-ending surgery, leading speculation about potential issues with the New York Giants organization. The hosts note this impacts the young quarterback card market, particularly Dart's expensive cards that were commanding premium prices.
A significant portion of the show focuses on counterfeit or duplicate Topps Chrome basketball cards. Neo details his investigation into multiple cards with identical serial numbers appearing for sale simultaneously, with examples including rare numbered cards like Curry and Webby parallels. DC Sports 87 pulled 35 cards from various submitters after finding issues, with red flags including slightly off coloring, imperfect serial number stamping, and cards feeling different from authentic versions. The hosts debate whether these are counterfeits, quality control rejects, or backdoor product, noting the dangers of ungraded cards and recommending third-party grading for protection.
The hosts celebrate 1990s and early 2000s insert cards as superior to modern product, with extensive discussion of specific sets like Fleer Metal, Stadium Club, and various die-cuts. They note these cards are appreciating in value and are harder to find than modern sealed product. Steve shares his recent collecting pivot toward Zack Thomas cards, successfully building complete refractor runs across multiple Topps Chrome and Finest sets through affordable purchases. He describes the joy of collecting nostalgic cards at reasonable prices compared to modern rookie speculation.
Personal collecting updates include Steve's trade with his brother involving Marvel Sapphire and Chrome cards, where his brother revealed a three-row box of 2024 modern Marvel product that has appreciated significantly. Steve discusses his pop culture autograph collecting, including nostalgia about Star Wars Galaxy cards and a recent PSA 10 purchase of a Batman card. He expresses frustration about an inconclusive authentication result from a grading company on a music autograph card, questioning why authenticators cannot provide decisive yes/no determinations.
Fantasy football results show mixed records among the hosts, with Ham leading at 2-0 while others struggle with injuries to key players like Caleb Williams, Puka Nacua, and Brock Bowers. The discussion touches on quarterback card values, noting Mahomes and Josh Allen remain the most collectible recent quarterbacks, with price appreciation across the board.
The hosts also discuss Panini's 2026 90s Pop Culture set with autographs and sketch cards, Mark Maguire and Barry Bonds specialty cards including a controversial 'Juice' card depicting steroids, and the resurgence of 1990s player collecting over modern rookies. The conversation concludes with discussion about sending autographed cards to Comic-Con for on-site authentication versus shipping to third parties.
Key Insights
- Jackson Dart's cards were among the most expensive young quarterback cards on the secondary market, driving the young QB hobby market, but his season-ending injury significantly impacts those investment positions
- Multiple identical serial-numbered Topps Chrome basketball cards are surfacing simultaneously from different owners, suggesting either sophisticated counterfeiting, quality control rejects, or backdoor product diversion from the manufacturer
- 1990s insert cards from sets like Fleer Metal and Stadium Club are appreciating faster than modern products despite being 25-30 years old, because supply is limited, sealed product is rarely opened, and they genuinely had superior design compared to modern offerings
- Autograph authentication companies returning 'inconclusive' determinations undermine confidence in their authentication services, as collectors cannot distinguish whether the signature, ink authenticity, or database comparison was the problem
- Mahomes and Josh Allen are the only quarterback prospects from recent years that command sustained investment prices, with Mahomes prisms appreciating from $4,500 to $7,000-$8,000 without significant on-field performance changes driving the increase
Topics
Transcript
[0:24] and welcome back to another bi-weekly offcentered. Hopefully my internet holds up. It's been a little bit spotty today. >> It's been two weeks, but it feels like it's been like a couple of months since we met up last. I don't know what Did we skip one or No, we didn't skip it, right? >> No, I was in Italy last week. >> Yeah. Okay. All right. So, we didn't skip it, but it feels like it's been longer than two weeks. Maybe because there's so many different hobby things going on. I don't know. But boys, how we doing? How's everybody doing tonight? What's up, gentlemen? >> Good. I'm feeling feeling a little bit like Cam Scaddyybo…
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The Modern Football Graveyard.
A sports card collector discusses the poor performance of ultra-modern NFL quarterbacks and argues that investors should sell most football cards before the season starts rather than holding them hoping for price appreciation. The speaker analyzes specific players like Caleb Williams, Justin Herbert, Jackson Dart, and Jaden Daniels, highlighting how injuries and underperformance have devastated card values.
The Hobby Is Turning Its Attention to Football Cards
The speaker analyzes how the sports card hobby's attention has shifted from vintage cards ("the goats") to ultramodern football cards after the NFL season started, with players like Caleb Williams and Jackson Dart seeing 20-30% price increases. He cautions against chasing these gains, explaining that in-season football card speculation is essentially unregulated prop betting, and suggests the market may shift similarly to NBA cards when that season begins.
Beckett is Kind of Back?
Beckett has reopened with base and standard submission tiers at their previous prices after a shutdown on September 15th. The company is implementing a dynamic demand model that will temporarily close overloaded service tiers to maintain posted turnaround times. The speaker emphasizes that accurate communication and hitting stated turnaround times are more important to him than pricing.
Is It Time to Sell All Our Cards?
The speaker discusses whether baseball card collectors should sell their cards ahead of an anticipated 2025 MLB labor stoppage. He shares his personal strategy of liquidating speculative holdings while keeping sentimental cards, and explores how a potential work stoppage could significantly impact card prices across the market.
Beckett Offline, Fanatics Robbed, Pop Culture Cards Keep Climbing.
A collectibles industry update covering Beckett's unexplained week-long website outage, Fanatics' record-breaking debut patch auction sales, a robbery at a London card shop, and an explosive pop culture card market with Disney Chrome cards selling for unprecedented prices.