That's a Crazy Koufax Price

I totally get the excitement the hobby has had about Sandy Koufax being included in this years Topps Baseball sets, but some of the prices recently garnered on eBay are downright ridiculous. For instance, check out the card above at this eBay auction- it closed for an incredible $181.50. There is no autograph. Heck, the card isn't even in the sellers hands yet. It only virtually exist online through Topps Diamond Giveaway promotion- at least until they actually manufacture the card and send it to the account holder. Sure, it is a diamond cut (die-cut) card limited to a production of 60 cards, but is it really worth that much? My aching head can't get my arms around this. Is irrational exuberance taking hold? Like the exuberance that existed during the introduction of eTopps to the market? I dunno, I guess I shouldn't complain. It ain't my money being spent.

BTW, 2011 Heritage Koufax auto cards have been selling for a whopping $530.00 to nearly $700.00 a pop on eBay. Those prices do not surprise me, but I do expect values to fall in the coming months. You can buy a similarly autographed card of Koufax from an older set for half this price range- even less.