2004 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Miguel Cabrera Autograph

It's hard to find anything that is the least bit affordable these days when looking for cards of Miguel Cabrera.  He was never a really cheap player to collect and then after winning the Triple Crown last year his cards started pushing even higher than they had been in previous years.  Last year I actually made an effort to pick up a few Miguel Cabrera cards throughout the season.  At first I could find an autographed card of Cabrera pretty easily and pick up the card for less than $20 in trade or cash.  By the end of the year common autographs of Cabrera were selling for no less than $30 and premium autographs sold between $75-$100.

This year has made Cabrera cards insane.  It seems like the average Cabrera autograph has gone up by another ten dollars since the beginning of this season with Cabrera looking like a threat to possibly repeat as both a Triple Crown winner and the American League MVP.  For example, one of the cheapest and most overproduced autographs sets of the last decade was the 2004 Upper Deck Etchings set.  Cheap stickers, cheap cards, and completely overproduced.  There are usually a minimum of 1,000 cards of each autographed player produced.  So, what did the last Cabrera copy sell for on Ebay?  $40. Base Topps autograph for $60.  Imagine what card shops are charging....

I am happy to say that I picked up my first Cabrera autograph of the 2013 season and I managed to snag it for less than $30.  Better yet is the fact that it is a Sweet Spot card, always a cool set, and the autograph is legible and fade free.

2004 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Miguel Cabrera Autograph

The foil on the bottom right hand corner has started to flake off in two spots, but it's still a really good card to grab for the price I paid and given the fact that the market for Cabrera cards is likely to climb through the summer if he can stay near the top of the leader boards in the three triple crown categories and be among the favorites for the American League MVP.  I will go ahead and file this card away for awhile, but I am guessing I will come out ahead on this very shortly.