Is Platinum Worth the Money?

(Apologies in advance for how some of these cards turned out after being scanned)

I have been pulling singles of Bowman Platinum out of dime bins at the card show for years now. I get the cards because I collect the player featured on the card and I like the overall set design, no matter the year.

It wasn't until recently that I discovered that this is a Wal-Mart exclusive set which makes me ask myself a question. Is Bowman Platinum really worth it?

My "local" Wal-Mart is about 10 miles away from where I live. That isn't much further than my local Target, but getting to this Target is a lot easier then getting to the Wal-Mart.

So is it really worth it? Well that's what I'm about to discover.

Pro #1 I like the set design, no matter the year. Each year Bowman Platinum is really a sleek, well put-together set. It uses the foil board idea and executes it will. The logo is also consistent through the years and even though it's rather plain, it is pretty elegant.

Con #1 The price of these cards is pretty big. A blaster box of this set contains 7 packs, 4 cards per pack as well as a pack of 4 special parallel cards. Thats 32 cards for 19.99, roughly 0.62 cents per card. For comparisons sake I could get a blaster box of Archives for the same price and get 56 cards plus 2 exclusive coins of star-players.

Pro #2 It's a pretty fun set. Whether you get die-cut cards like the one shown above or the classic Bowman Next Generation cards there's no denying that Bowman Platinum has something for everyone. Prospects, rookies, and veterans are included in this set. Plus prospect cards, which aren't really my thing fall in about 1 per pack which allows me to get more cards of players I collect.

Con #2 Prospect cards. I'll admit prospect cards are now my thing. I have a hard time getting excited about a player who I won't even know if he's good or not for another 2 years. It almost seems best to take prospect cards you get, hide them for a year and a half and look at them, hoping you got someone good. I am not a prospect card fan, so unless it's a player I know is doing well currently count me out on prospect cards.

But with a satisfying base set design, a set not overloaded with prospects, and a set I've never bought retail of gives me enough reasons to make this decision. I will be going to my local Wal-Mart later this week in hopes of acquiring some Bowman Platinum. I know that if it's as good as I see it at the card show I will be very pleased.