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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Beware Of The Frozen Acetate Card

'08 Upper Deck Trilogy 1-2 Combo Clear Cut Miller/Vanek Dual Auto #'d 40/100
As many of you are well aware or, acetate is one of my favorite trading card technologies. Acetate cards consist of images that have been incased or printed on translucent plastic. A prime example, and one of my favorites, is the Ryan Miller/Thomas Vanek UD Trilogy dual auto'ed card pictured above. Acetate cards look cool and are certainly fun to collect. However, living in Buffalo, NY, they can have a fragile side as well.

I got back into the hobby a little more than three years ago and was amazed at how the industry and trading cards themselves had changed. For example, I remembered acetate cards from the late 90's (click here), but the modern acetate card is typically a lot thicker and often features an autograph. One of my first big eBay purchases getting back into the hobby was a Dominique Wilkins 2003 Upper Deck Focus Auto (click here). More important than the cost of the card, was the excitement I had of adding a Dominique Wilkins autograph to my collection. Unfortunately, it can get pretty cold here in Buffalo.

Cold and acetate doesn't go very well together. The ultra thick Wilkins Auto Focus card cracked during shipment like a nasty chip spiders on a car windshield. In below freezing weather, all it takes is a dropped envelope or reckless mail carrier to shatter an acetate card. Luckily, the seller refunded my entire order. Which was very nice since it really wasn't the sellers fault. Today, I rarely buy an acetate card during the cold winter months. If I just can't refuse a good deal, I will tell the seller to hold onto the card until it warms up a bit. The difference in a few degrees can be the difference between a sweet Miller/Vanek auto or a shattered Wilkins auto.

Happy collecting and… "Enjoy Every Bounce of the Ball".
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7 comments:

  1. BA BennyJanuary 18, 2011 at 6:54 PM

    That Miller/Vanek card looks sweet. I had no idea that the acetate cards were weather sensitive, thanks for the heads up.

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  2. Charles @ HoopographyJanuary 18, 2011 at 6:57 PM

    @ BA Benny, thanks. Yeah, it only seems to be the thicker ones that crack in the really cold weather.

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  3. ArnoJanuary 18, 2011 at 7:28 PM

    Wow, that's crazy cold. I would not survive there. Also, what a unique problem.

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  4. DennisJanuary 18, 2011 at 7:56 PM

    Wow, can't say I would have thought of that either, good to know. Sweet looking card, though, of two of college hockey's biggest stars (college hockey still doesn't get the respect it deserves). I remember Vanek terrorizing my Wolverines in 2003.

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  5. FujiJanuary 19, 2011 at 12:10 AM

    Another sweet acetate card... thanks for sharing the info on the effects of cold weather on them. I never would have guessed. Did you ever get another Wilkins acetate auto?

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  6. Charles @ HoopographyJanuary 19, 2011 at 6:51 AM

    @ Fuji, Thanks. No, I never got another Wilkins Auto Focus. The one that cracked cost just under $17 shipped. I have not been able to find one cheaper during the past 3 years. I would still like to add a nice Wilkins auto. I'm thinking of one of the '92 Fleer Career Highlights auto's. The '10 Panini NT Notable Nicknames or UD Black Webb/Wilkins dual auto would be sweet, but those two go for pretty big money.It might be the Fleer card for me. I really like those early fleer on-card auto's like the Mutombo and Larry Johnson ones.

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  7. FujiJanuary 19, 2011 at 8:52 PM

    I'd like any of those early 90's autographs... whether it's the Mutumbo, Johnson, or Wilkins... or even some of those baseball ones from UD. Right now, I'm trying to hunt down a 1992 Fleer Ultra Gwynn autograph. Hope you find you Wilkins soon!

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