Buyer of Harper superfractor adds to his collection of rare refractors

First, there was the Stephen Strasburg superfractor sale.

Then came Bryce Harper.

The Washington Nationals drafted Harper as their top overall pick in June out of junior college. His 2010 Bowman Chrome USA Baseball superfractor 1/1 recently sold for $12,500.

A tremendous price for a baseball card no doubt, but the buyer Aaron Marcus of Long Island, N.Y., had no problem putting out that kid of cash.

He became interested in Harper when he read about him in a Sports Illustrated cover story.

“He has been referred to as a once-in-a-generation talent and a more talented high school baseball player than Alex Rodriguez, Justin Upton and Ken Griffey Jr.,” Marcus said in an email. “I feel as though the sky is the limit with him. He also has a tremendous work-ethic, and is a hard-nosed baseball player that plays with intensity.”

As a New York Mets fans, Marcus started collecting his favorite players in the early 1980s and continued his collection with some of baseball’s best players. But like many young collectors, he left the hobby for a while before he came back in 2007 when he started a collection of Mets prospect Fernando Martinez.

Marcus owns other rare Harper cards not just the 1/1. He has a 2010 Bowman Chrome red refractor BGS 9.5, orange refractor, gold refractor BGS 9.5, blue refractor BGS 9.5 and a regular refractor BGS 9.5.

Marcus says he has no plans on grading the super.

“I really do not see the point in getting it graded as it is the only one that exists,” Marcus said. “I know that some people would probably disagree with this logic. I generally buy graded cards, but I don't send my cards in for grading.”

Here’s some more from Marcus:

Are there any other players, teams or sets you collect?
I mostly collect high-end Mets cards, as I am a huge Mets fan. I also collect Miguel Cabrera, Hanley Ramirez, Albert Pujols, and top prospects. I am also a fan of football cards, as well as UFC cards.

What made you want to get back into collecting?
I left the hobby for about 14 years. One day I started to look into collecting baseball cards again in 2007 when Fernando Martinez's cards came out (as I am a big Mets fan). I discovered all of the changes that took place in the hobby (as far as rare parallels being manufactured are concerned).

Besides the Harper superfractor, is there another card you're happy to own?
I have a bunch of cards that I am quite fond of. I have a few 2000 Topps Traded Miguel Cabrera Auto RCs that are graded BGS 9.5, a Bowman Chrome Albert Pujols Auto RC PSA 9, and a 2002 David Wright Gold Ref Auto RC.

Something extra with Razor Rookie Retro

There was some news that came out about Razor Rookie Retro on Tuesday. Razor Rookie Retro, which is supposed to be the last Razor product Brian Gray is involved with, will have a little something extra inside.

Every pack will contain a 2010 baseball prospect autograph along with the graded rookie card. These aren’t basic autos either. There will be Metal prismatic autographs, Metal base and colored parallel autos, Gray wrote on Freedom Cardboard.

The Razor Rookie Retro checklist should be released sometime today and I will have that posted as soon as possible. However, Gray also said it could come as late of Thursday. Since the product ships out next week, collectors are anxiously awaiting to see it.

The reason the checklist is not available yet is because there is still tweaking being done to it. As market values change on cards, different cards are being included in the product while others are being taken out.

One of the cards we know that could show up is the 2010 Bowman Chrome Stephen Strasburg Superfractor. Gray paid $21K for the card to include specifically in this set.

Update: View the checklist here.