[the 'stache]

Whatever the eventual value of these cards might be, it boils down to this. A lot of people bought the 2014 Bowman Chrome autograph card of Kris Bryant, or the product containing the 2014 Bowman Chrome autographed card to get that card, thinking that they would own the very best card that Bryant has. Chrome is the undisputed king of the hill when it comes to modern baseball cards. The chrome cards themselves are more valuable than just a regular card. And while a lot of the other rookie cards for a player are sticker autos, the Chrome cards are on card. When they acquired that card, they knew they had the best. If the guy is a Hall of Famer, or a perennial All Star, or even if he's just a great player, that was going to be the card to own. If a person decided to super collect Bryant, that was the best card to own.

Then, Topps basically flipped the bird at everybody, and released a 2013 Bowman Chrome auto card in their 2014 non Chrome products. Why? Not because anybody at Topps "thought it would be neat" to release a card that wasn't originally in the 2013 set. They did it knowing that the 2013 card would immediately usurp the 2014 Chrome card's position as "king of the hill". All the hype that drove the 2014 card achieved the objective that Topps hoped it would. Now, they were going back to the same well, using Bryant's Chrome card to push the sales of these other products that typically do not have the same demand. They knew those boxes would sell like mad. And look at what has happened to the value of those 2014 Bowman Chrome auto cards.

June 30th, a BGS 9.5/10 sold for $1,000. That's a 2014 Bowman Chrome base auto (no serial number) of Kris Bryant, graded a 9.5 with a 10 auto by Beckett.

On June 27th, Bowman Inception, yet another one of the Bowman lines released annually by Topps, included the first 2013 Bowman Chrome Kris Bryant base auto. Just over a month later, where are the prices on these cards?

Well, not a month later, but a little over 5 weeks later (closest I can get by eBay's history), that BGS 9.5/10 2014 Bowman Chrome Kris Bryant base auto that sold for $1,000 is now selling for $428.00.

A card that was selling for $1,000.00 before the release of the 2013 card that wasn't supposed to exist, just 40 days later, is now going for $428.00.

The person that bought that card for $1,000 just saw the value of his card drop by 57.2% in 40 days, not because of decreased demand (people collecting Bryant, or Cubs prospects, or trying to complete the set still want it), not because Bryant had been injured, or had started playing like crap. The only reason this card dropped nearly 60% in value in just over a month is because of Topps.

That is just wrong. Period.