As I may have stated before, I’ve been a card collector for almost 30 years and I’m only 33 years old. I also consider myself to be technologically inclined compared to most people. My house is full of electronics including iPhones, iPads, laptops, and multiple gaming consoles. Heck, even my one year old son can prop up my iPad for his viewing pleasure complete with the swiping motion to go from screen to screen.
But, there’s one thing that I just cannot latch onto and that’s digital trading cards. Topps has an amazing looking and functioning app for digital baseball cards called Topps Bunt and I know there are collectors out there that absolutely love it, even paying big bucks for some of the rare cards that can be pulled from the digital packs.
If you’re unfamiliar with Topps Bunt, here’s an extremely simple summary of what it is: Topps Bunt is an app you can download via iTunes or Android stores. In the app you can open virtual packs of cards by purchasing or earning virtual coins. In those packs can be base cards, inserts, parallels, autographs, and relic cards just as you’d find in packs at your local hobby shop.
Even though I’m not a big fan of the app, I would highly recommend it to anyone that has been hesitant to try it. There are ways to use and enjoy the app without ever spending a penny as you can earn coins just by checking in every day and use those to open packs. It can be very addicting and a great way to kill 10-15 minutes without even realizing it.
But here’s what I don’t understand. When I pull an autograph card from a pack of cards purchased in person at my local hobby shop, the card in my hand was actually signed by the player (assuming it’s an on-card autograph). I actually have something in my hand that the player touched and signed at some point in time. With autograph cards on Topps Bunt, since they’re digital cards, they have digital signatures. In my mind, these digital signatures are as valuable as the facsimile signatures sometimes featured on trading cards….meaning they have NO VALUE.
Though from the picture below, I obviously have no idea what I’m talking about because someone out there actually paid $595 in cold, hard cash for a digitally-autographed card….yes, for a card that the player never actually touched; that the player never signed with a pen or Sharpie.
It blows my mind. All I can say is to each their own.
The digital trading card market is growing every year with Panini also getting into the field with the app for the NBA called Panini Dunk. I may not like where trading cards are headed but I think I better learn to love it or be left in the dust.
How do you feel about these types of apps? Are you a collector of digital cards? Feel free to leave us a comment below or on Twitter! We want to hear what you have to say!
The App is great, and I have lots of fun trading digital cards. I’ve been able to make a few bucks selling as well.