RC Members Buy Up Signed Neil deGrasse Tyson Cards

News

By RC Staff

30 August 2023

Last week, trading card manufacturer Leaf put out a special announcement: they had signed a new star for a limited run of exclusive cards. Who could it be? All kinds of exciting rumors and theories went around in the time before the veil was pulled back, but nobody could guess the figure. In the end, it was revealed that a limited number of cards were based on and signed by none other than astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. It didn’t take long for the cards to sell out, and they are now reselling for significantly over retail.

Leaf Signed Neil deGrasse Tyson Cards

Sure, trading cards are typically the domain of sports stars. LeBron, Michael Jordan, Ben Johns; nobody bats an eye when an athlete gets their own card. But ask yourself, why should they get all the fun? Why not scientists too? Especially really obnoxious ones, with even more obnoxious fans?

On August 28, at 1:30 P.M. Pacific, card manufacturer Leaf tweeted that they had a surprise coming in 30 minutes. 199 cards from an as-yet unsigned star. In their words, this was going to be “HUGE”.

Cue the excitement. Or, at least curiosity. Leaf is a smaller card manufacturer, known for producing limited runs of niche figures, typically sports stars. Many of the cards they produce are notable as they tend to be the first time a figure has approved the use of their image, and within collectors’ circles a Leaf card may be notable as the star’s first appearance.

So people were interested in what Leaf had to show. They wouldn’t have to wait long, and after around 45 minutes the big announcement came through. Neil deGrasse Tyson, noted astrophysicist and one of the most annoying Twitter users of all time was getting his own trading card. Epic win!

There’s probably a decent host of people out there excited by this announcement. Considering that just 199, of these cards were being made, that alone would be enough to get them to sell out.

Things didn’t stop there though, because these cards had Neil deGrasse Tyson’s autograph on them. At $100 a card, getting a notable public figure’s signature is a pretty good deal. The limited stock made these look even more attractive, and that’s when resellers began taking interest.

Neil deGrasse Tyson Autographed Cards Resell

After going live at 2:22 P.M. Pacific, the signed Neil deGrasse Tyson cards from Leaf sold out in under 2 minutes. With such a limited pool of cards to go around, a speedy sell-out like this was pretty much a guarantee.

And as you might expect, it didn’t take long for the cards to appear on eBay. Within hours of the sale resellers were listing their signed Neil deGrasse Tyson cards for sale, usually at around $200. It’s a niche item so sales aren’t exactly pouring in, but several of these cards have resold for a profit.

It seems like a significant proportion of the stock was taken by RC Elite members. Even though these cards might seem a bit questionable, the real value is in the autograph. 200 officially licensed Neil deGrasse Tyson cards is a bit meh, but 200 signed cards? This is a no-brainer. Expect to see more sales above retail in the coming weeks.

Did you miss this drop? And the last one? And the ones before that? Maybe you should join RC Elite too. It’s your ticket to getting in on the most profitable items to resell. This summer, RC Elite members have made thousands reselling early Lorcana Booster Packs, Barbie and Oppenheimer collectable merch, even copies of the New York Post and NY Times. If you want to take advantage of opportunities like these, RC Elite is waiting.

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