The first thing is what type of cards to use to be autographed. I personally will stick with base, and low-end inserts/parallel cards. Some people prefer to get numbered cards autographed and I’ve even seen some get jersey cards or 1/1 press plates signed. Really, it’s what the specific collector wants signed, but if you were to ask me, I’d stick with lower-end cards.

The next question you may ask is, “is there anything I need to do to prepare the cards to be signed”? The answer to that question would be yes, depending on the card being used. If the card has a non-glossy surface (think of cards like Heritage, Allen & Ginter, etc), then you don’t need to do anything to prepare the cards, however if you use a card that is glossy, it does need to be prepared.

There are two ways you can prepare a card to be signed. The first option is you can baby powder to take off the gloss. Just sprinkle a little bit of baby powder on the card, spread it around so it covers the entire card. After you’ve done that, use either a paper towel, or Kleenex to remove the baby powder. This method can be more time consuming and messy, but it also does a really good job removing the gloss on a card.

The second way that you can prepare a glossy card is to use a white eraser. This is the method that I use now as it’s a quicker, and more efficient way for me to prepare my cards to be signed. I just erase the entire card and it takes the gloss right off. Depending on the card you use and the type of eraser, it may streak the card, but this is rare for the most part.

So there you have it. Hopefully if getting autographs signed TTM or IP was of interest to you, this information has helped!

Here are some examples of how well it works when completed:

Design: 

 The design on this product is a design style that will last a long time for this product. The look of the etchings throughout the cards is something you normally only see in another specific product that is a bit similar. The same with the coating, although I much prefer this coating than that of the competitors. It doesn’t smell, it doesn’t warp the cards to bending (at least not yet) and it has a much smoother, almost glass like feel to them. The design is practically flawless. My only issue is that it is possibly TOO shiny or reflective. It’s really a spectacular level of reflectiveness on the product. But the “Prizms” as they call it, “Prizmatics” for myself, are beautiful all the way from the regulars to the golds. Bravo. I also love the insertion of Elite Extra Edition and that design looks great as well.

Checklist: 

 Sets like this, with a large base set, a product with many base cards per box, all have the same things in common. They always feature rookies, stars, and Hall of Famers. When it comes to Panini, they usually find room for everyone a collector would want in a set. This is no different. It is full of your top rookies from 2012 along with your top players in the game today and Hall of Famers. I also love the addition of the Team USA license which doesn’t need to be airbrushed. The autograph checklist is actually pretty decent too. Overall, fantastic.

Value: 

 Right now, you can buy a box of this product for $82 at DA Card World. That is actually a pretty good deal for what you get in the product. A couple autographs, some “prizms” and the possibility for a gold/black prizm. There is one thing I keep recommending for this product, and that is to add one or two more levels of “prizms” numbered a little higher. Maybe something numbered to 50 and something numbered to 100. That’s it. I find Topps has too many levels, and I think collectors would like a couple other levels (hobby) that are a bit easier to attain, but not overwhelming for player collectors. And keep a retail version like is out now.

Overall: 

Overall, this is a well deserved score for this product. Collectors don’t really care too much about the lack of logos when a product is built this well. I think the design is great, but a few minor tweaks could make it superb and perfect. The checklist is fantastic as well with current players, future players, and former players. The value is pretty decent right now as well, but I think with a couple suggestions could put it over the top as one of the better “base” based products out there.

Thanks to Panini America for providing this product for review. You can find them online on their official site, blog, Facebook, and Twitter accounts.

You can also find the full checklist of this product on Cardboard Connection.

Subscribe to us on YouTube to see the break.

Want to see the cards? Here you go:

The first thing collectors should be on the lookout are the Fan Favorite Autographs. These will be signed on-card and feature up to 75 different players from you favorite franchise players.

Another set to look out for are the Topps Originals Autographs. Up to 10 of the biggest stars in the NFL will sign an original card and these cards will be numbered to 10. A set that is interesting is the Autographed USFL Buybacks. Up to 10 players will sign original cards from the 1980s and these will be numbered to 10.

My favorite Autograph set would have to be the Framed Autographs 1988 Minis. Up to 25 players will be in this set from the 1988 designed cards. These will be numbered to 25.

Each box contains 24 packs with 8 cards per pack. In each box, it will contain 2 autograph card per box.

You can find the product at DA Card World for around $90 when it releases on May 15, 2013.

You can also find the checklist on Cardboard Connection.

Design: 

 This design does not have any central theme. It also changed extremely little from the last installment of the product. But it continues to work for a couple reasons. The first is there isn’t a saturation of that design in the product. When you see the same cards over and over again in a product, you don’t want to see the same design next year. It also works because these designs are tweaked very lightly. It isn’t the same exact card, except for maybe Panini’s Choice, but there are small enough changes to keep it interesting. Small tweaks every year in a product like this may be what this product is known for, and I don’t really mind that.

Checklist: 

 The checklist this year is not nearly as good as last time the product came out. The last product was low on rookies because of the restraints and also higher on veterans and retired players. This one had the double rookie class so you knew you were going to get more than one rookie autograph in the product. That said, the names in the booklets are always solid and continuing with a strictly veteran subset is a nice touch. I think it can even out more next year without alll the rookies you need to pack into the product.

Value:

Right now this product is sitting at $190 over at DA Card World. Because of the abundance of rookies this year in the product, I think it is sitting a little too high for a four hit product. It is a high risk/high reward product. Many people are opposed to product this expensive for no base cards, and I disagree with that. How much are base cards worth anyway on the secondary market? One of the benefits this year was every card, except the booklet, was numbered very low. Like 25 and under low. That was a good thing for my particular box, including the awesome patch autograph. While it may not be a top star, that card would bring in some good money because of the quality of the patch.

Overall: 

 Overall the product took a small step back after the last installment because of the checklist. The double rookie class has taken away from a bit of the content in many products this season if you aren’t totally into just rookie autographs. With that in mind, the designs, while not themed, are still great to look at. The value is mostly dependant on the checklist and what you pull in the box. This is a high risk/high reward product. I think my box would be about average for the product. The low print runs help a bit, but I’ll be happy when the double rookie class thing is done. Then I get to look forward to all the rookie autographs in hockey…

Thanks again to Panini America for providing this box to review. You can find them online on their official site, blog, Facebook, and Twitter accounts.

You can find the checklist of this product over at Cardboard Connection.

Subscribe to us on YouTube and see the video break of this product.

And here’s what we pulled…

The first thing collectors should be looking for in Panini Momentum are the Momentus Rookie Autographs. These cards will feature the best rookies from the 2011 and 2012 drafts. Another autograph set to look for are the Momentum Autographs. This set has a very clean look and will feature some of the leagues most talented players.

A third Autograph set that collectors may find interesting are the Monumental Marks. This set will feature some of the best players from the present as well as the past. It’s also important to note that there will be a 300 base set featuring 85 of the best rookies.

Each box contains 1 pack with 15 cards per pack. In each box, it will contain 5 autograph cards per box.

You can find the product at DA Card World for around $190 when it releases May 15, 2013.

You can also find the checklist on Cardboard Connection and more information on the official Panini America blog.

Panini America announced last week that despite Leon Sandcastle not getting drafted in this year’s NFL Draft, they will be producing cards of the future star cornerback.

Want to know where you can pick up the first 2013 Leon Sandcastle rookie cards? 2013 Score football. This $1.99 per pack product features all of your favorite veterans, the top rookies from the NFL Draft and of course, Leon Sandcastle.

His first autograph cards won’t appear until June though. The release of 2013 Panini Prestige football will feature some ink from the Sandcastle himself, amongst other top rookie from this year’s draft.

While he may not be playing in the NFL this season, Panini will still be bringing you closer to De…Leon Sandcastle.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good gimmick that the collectors would like to see. This is a great example. But would this be needed if the draft class was as good as last season? Would companies actually be considering this to drive hype with a weak rookie class? I’m not so sure. However, it really does add to the “fun” aspect of collecting. If Deion Sanders is really signing for these cards, it could add a pretty penny to some collector’s wallets as well.

Read more from Panini’s official blog about their plans for “the Sandcastle”.

Design:

The design of the product looks similar to the former NBA Hoops product from a couple of years ago. Almost too similar. Actually, alot of this product remind me of Hoops. Maybe not the insert designs, but just the feeling of the entire product feels exactly like the other product. I’m not quite sure if that is a good thing. The insert designs are kind of bland to me. One the plus side, I love the use of the Panini Knight in the product. It’s about time he got his due. I also think the game used jersey cards are great in the product with a very generous piece of memorabilia. The addition of foil parallels and die-cuts helps the cause too. I just can’t help but be a bit bored with the design.

Checklist:

 The checklist on the other hand is solid and very complete. A huge base set means you are going to get just about everyone. With the double rookie class, yeah, that is a lot of players in the product. Rookies, veterans, stars, Hall of Famers, fantastic. The product is going to be loaded with rookie autographs, but that is fine for a lower end product like this. It was nice to get a future Hall of Famer memorabilia card as well.

Value:

 $60 at DA Card World gives you a product with a couple autographs and some memorabilia. The base set is huge, there are some short print cards, and the hits as well. This product has the value you look for when opening a lower end product and the price should be perfect for just about any type of collector out there.

Overall:

 Overall, a solid low end product for Panini. The design needs some variety to it. It looks alot like a product that just came out a couple years ago and it is visually a little bland. But everything else about the product is right up every collector’s alley. Low price, big base set, autographs, game used, short prints, you name it. Continue with this formula for next year, but be a little more creative with the design, and you will have another winner.

Once again, a big thank you goes out to Panini America for providing this box for review. You can find them online on their official site, blog, Facebook, and Twitter accounts.

You can find the full checklist over at Cardboard Connection.

Subscribe to us on YouTube if you like watching box breaks.

Check out some of the cards from our box below:

(Not shown, redemption for Lavoy Allen Rookie Autograph)

One set that collectors should look for is the Elusive Ink set. This set will feature some of the toughest Autographs to find in the sport.

Another interesting autograph set will be the Modern Marks autographs. It’s a very clean design and Panini says it’s improved the design even more and the autograph list will be expanded and better for this years product! Also look for the Gamers patch cards. As you can see a little further down the page, these cards have a sharp design and could feature some sick patches of player such as Kobe Bryant.

And of course, collectors should be looking for the rookie cards. Make sure you look for top rookies like Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, Anthony Davis and others.

Each box contains 20 packs with 6 cards per pack. In each box, it will contain 3 autograph cards per box.

You can find the product at DA Card World for around $90 when it releases May 1, 2013.

You can also find the checklist on Cardboard Connection and more information on the official Panini America blog.

The thing I think is really cool about Bowman are the Black Collection autographs. These cards will be signed in silver and the cards are numbered to 25. Trust me on this, these cards look beautiful in person!

Of course with Bowman, collectors are always after the Bowman Chrome autographs. These feature some of the best prospects in the game as well as possible sleeper prospects in the future.

An interesting new set added this year are the Dual Franchise Refractor Autographs. These cards feature the top 2 propsects in an organization and are numbered to 25 or less! Also be on the lookout for Future Game Relics, these cards are from the 2012 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, and are numbered to 25.

Each box contains 24 packs with 10 cards. In each box, it will contain 1 autograph card per box.

You can find the product at DA Card World for around $70 when it releases on May 8, 2013.

You can also find the checklist on Cardboard Connection.

The first thing collectors should look for are the Rookie Prizm Autographs. You can find rookies such as Matt Harvey, Yoenis Cespedes, Trevor Bauer and others.

Something cool you can find in Prizm Baseball will be the Elite Extra Edition Autograph Prizms. These cards will be numbered to 25 and will feature top prospects such as Joey Gallo, Addison Russell, Dylan Bundy and more. I think it’s a neat idea to add more value by giving an insert set like this instead of making a separate product. There will also be Elite Extra Edition Gold Prizms numbered to 10 which will include the 2012 #1 overall pick Carlos Correa.

And of course, with Prizm, the big draw are the gold parallels, or in this case, the Rookie Relevance Gold Prizms. These cards will be numbered to 10 and feature rookies such as Bryce Harper, Yu Darvish and others.

Each box contains 20 packs with 6 cards per pack. In each box, it will contain 2 autograph cards per box.

You can find the product at DA Card World for around $100 when it releases April 17, 2013.

You can also find the checklist on Cardboard Connection and more information on the official Panini America blog.