Jeff West calls it a "Bargain"

With the recent release of Dan Marino's Classic eTopps card, I feel rejuvenated from an eTopps slumber. What a great opportunity to own a new card of one of the greatest quarterbacks ever! Let's face it: all the Classics look great, both baseball and football. With the players that have been released since Marino and Jim Brown I have to think that Marino's card will be a top performer in this set.

Although its performance has been less than staggering it is still early in the eTopps game. I see most of the growth in all the Classics sets beginning in the second and third years of the set when new people start coming into the program and going back to get the older issues they missed at IPO. How can you pass up a card of any great with just a 3,000 print run? How many of his previous "cardboard" cards had a print run of 3,000 or less? Hardly any! There is also a rumor circulating that a small number of hobbyists are accumulating large quantities of the card, possibly to take in-hand. Should this happen, it would only serve to further reduce the supply of this low-pr superstar card!

It's as simple as this: if you want to thrive in any eTopps market diversify. Get your rookies, short prints and sure-fire Hall of Famers. Well, how much better do they get than Dan Marino?

Sean Perri calls it "Overvalued"

Jeff - I understand you own a number of pet snakes but you sound to me more like a snake oil salesman!

First, I must give Dan his due. When one speaks of the great NFL quarterbacks of all-time, it is impossible to avoid mentioning the former Miami Dolphins great. Marino holds numerous NFL records, is a force when it comes to off-field charity work and was even named Man of the Year in 1998. To put it simply, Marino's name is synonymous with greatness.

Among Marino's NFL accomplishments in his 17-year career are most career completions, most career touchdown passes, most career passing yards, most 400-yard passing games, as well as 16 other records! Marino has been the AFC Player of the Week more times than anyone else since the inception of the award and has been to the Pro Bowl more than any other quarterback!

So why am I the guy that has to write the half stating that Marino's Classic card is not a buy? The answer is simple. Despite the fact that eTopps advocates were hyping the first edition of Classics (Classic baseball), the Classic run of eTopps has not been very successful. Additionally, when one compares the rich history and tradition of baseball with that of football, the latter fails to compare. Given that fact, I have to imagine the demand for eTopps Classic football will be weak at best.

So why do I need a Dan Marino card anyway? It isn't hard to come by one on eBay, so why wouldn't I just get one there? If I wanted a Dan Marino card, it would seem to me that it would make more sense to spend a little more and buy one from when he actually played. I would think that an older card (his rookie is almost 20 years old) would be able to maintain more value at this point.

Good luck whatever you do. The bottom line is that you just have to be happy with your decision…not me or anyone else.