Whatever your political leanings, leave it at the Mail Day door. We only care about value. And it’s fun.
So, as Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as Mayor of New York, I whispered to myself: How much is his stuff worth?
Image source: New York Times
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This comes after Mamdani appeared on the cover of New York Magazine this week. If I want a hard copy I pretty much have to do this in new york Trying to get one – Trying to buy one online is a maze of frustration and confusion. Sellers on eBay are asking for $13-$15. This got me thinking about this conundrum: autograph A copy is worth it.
Mamdani has a few autographs on eBay – they vary widely and none are authenticated. He didn’t truly reach celebrity status until during the campaign. People didn’t chase him for autographs while he was a congressman. In other words, this is a completely new market. There is no comparison. There will be an explosion of influencers staging haggling for Mamdani’s autograph on Instagram.
I looked for what I thought might be some close opponents in Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but she’s been on the national stage more than Mamdani. Still, the prices for her autographs—which are few and far between—are in the hundreds to thousands…but it’s important to note that these are list prices, not “for sale.” But after early news coverage, they maintained their power.
Side note: I would have thought that AOC comic books, especially if they were well graded, would be worth more. It’s not. I don’t know if this is a “buy low” or just too broad…will think about it another day.
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As for more comparisons?
Now you can buy a signed book by Bernie Sanders for less than $100. A low-end COA for Donald Trump might cost around $125, depending on how you look at certain COAs. Jesse Ventura sells for $60. Ron Paul sells it for an amazingly low $20! In 2024, an autographed photo of outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams sold at Pristine Auctions for just $11.
Mamdani won’t be showing up at The National Signature Apartment for $125, so his autograph may be hard to find for a while. I’m not saying “stalk the mayor of New York City,” but if you happen to run into him, ask for an autograph! Get certified! and sell it! He is a savvy media figure who will always be in the spotlight. At least he either had a long political career or a long media career.
Does the flyer also have a certified autograph of Mamdani? My hunch is $200. What if you got that New York magazine signed? I’ll start at $300 and see how it goes!
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As we start the new year, I wanted to try something new on email day: actionable card buying advice. What’s today’s topic?
Best value card ever
Player? Trey Lance.
You might think of Trey Lance as a bust. Most people are like this. That’s why his market is so huge now. Malik Willis had a late-season surge with the Packers that showed he has the potential to be a starter in 2026, so we can’t buy Malik Willis’ card. The market is adjusting.
But what about Lance? Button it in!
Image source: Excellent Sports Investment
1. Why Trey Lance?
Forget Sunday’s game, he spent the first three quarters playing with backup and forcing passes to Keenan Allen for his catch-and-drive motivation. Pull the timeline back to 2021, when Lance was drafted No. 3 overall by the 49ers, a team that rarely misses in talent evaluations — they traded up from No. 12 to acquire him. Lance made his first career start in Week 5 after replacing injured Jimmy Garoppolo last week. In a game and a half between appearances, he gained 349 yards and two touchdowns while running for 130 yards. He then sat on the bench again until the final week of the season, passing for 239 yards, two touchdowns and running 31 times. He earned the starting job in 2022 but sprained his ankle in the second game. That ultimately opened the door for Brock Purdy.
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In 2023, Lance lost his backup role to Sam Darnold and was traded to Dallas. He served as the No. 3 quarterback all season and didn’t play in any games. The Cowboys drafted Cooper Rush to replace Lance in 2024 when Dak Prescott was injured, but they gave him a chance in the final game of the season (there’s a theme here) and he threw for 244 yards to receivers such as Brandin Cooks, Jalen Tolbert and Kavontae Turpin.
Lance will be a free agent this offseason and has recent history around him, with Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Geno Smith and even Daniel Jones all realizing his potential in the years and teams after becoming the top pick in the draft.
If this fascinates you, read on!
2. What do we buy?
-Rookie
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-Autographed
-PSA 10s
-Panini prism
Some notes! I’m one of the biggest fans of the Leaf, which is an incredible way to get into the Reims market (or any market) at a low price. But it’s a full-blown resale ploy. The Leaf is my Sentimental/FunC home; if I’m speculating or buying low hoping for a huge return, the Panini Prizm is where I go.
There are a billion similarities between the 2021 Prizm sets, so you might want to check out this article before buying. It’s important to note that people who see the parallels may think the orange disco or red white and blue parallels are cool… and just buy those instead of the rare versions.
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3. Market reaction
One of the reasons I don’t like collecting modern football cards is that the premium on quarterbacks is so high – and there’s so little value elsewhere. Collectors smelled the QB’s quality, and prices skyrocketed — and their prices were high to begin with. But where we can market is in the perception department – people think Lance is a bust; he’s not. He just had bad luck and bad timing. People think the 49ers thought he was trash and got rid of him; they were lenient and let him develop better elsewhere. When he was on the field, he showed good passing ability and elite running skills.
The timeline we need for Lance and his current card prices is as follows:
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There is speculation in the mainstream media that the team is eyeing Lance as a starter
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Then the rumors will start about a team… let’s say the Raiders, who love Lance – “especially Tom Brady”
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Lance’s $20 PSA 10 will go up to $50
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Lance will sign somewhere and have a chance to win the job. $50 becomes $100.
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Lance earned the starting job in training camp. $125
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Lance had a good first week. $140
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Lance had a great performance in Week 2, running for over 50 yards. $175
My hunch is that things will level off as he continues to showcase his abilities as a runner. Fantasy football hype will help drive up his value, as his running skills make him a top-five quarterback in the event.
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4. Who is with me? ? ! !
The only way to truly get value in the modern QB card market is to identify misconceptions and hope that the right opportunity presents itself. There’s a risk – Lance might not be able to get a starting job. Maybe he was hurt. Maybe his skills contributed to the poor offense. But you rarely get the chance to buy into the only area of real value in the modern deck — starting quarterback. Here we are. Believe and join, or don’t join and… buy more JJ McCarthy cards, I guess?
Last note of the week. Leaf sent an email late Sunday night with a clever ploy to try to sell more SI For Kids licensed cards: We have a very small print run.
Excerpted from “The Book of Leaves”:
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This week’s SI for Kids Series 8 marks the lowest print run of Leaf’s SI for Kids licensing cards ever, making it one of the rarest modern editions on the market.
I think about this a lot (and I think about it a lot) – something with a print run of 62 is super scarce…but that’s because no one wants it. While you could argue this is a low print run for a possible future star, it’s still airbrushed and the whole SIFK crossover is still a bit confusing.
But the angle here is great. I received my first cards over the holidays and they were great quality; they also made the fake punch holes perfectly.
This email didn’t make me buy more cards, but you can’t help but love the idea.
