The Inkworks Well Finally Appears to Be Running Dry

More than a year after going out of business, it looks like the flood of excess autographs might finally be on the horizon. But not until Razor releases one more set chalk full of them.

2010 Razor Ink Vault will be the company's final set that focuses on Inkworks autographs. Boxes will contain four random autographs plus an unopened non-sport box. This is up one autograph per box from the first Ink Vault release.

Last year's Razor Ink Vault was my favorite product to bust. Packed with value, even when you don't get a major name, the surprise factor and the breaking of a surprise box was a lot of fun. At $50-60 it was like paying around the original cost of the box (now deflated because most were closeouts of Inkworks leftovers) but with an additional trio of autographs.

This time around the price doesn't rise but you get one more autograph at the same price.

I do have a hunch that autographs from Inkworks' final release, The Spirt, could play somewhat prominently as it was put out just before the company went under and all were redemptions. This would likely mean that there's loads of leftovers as the expiration date was not at all flexible. Add to that that the set was a massive disappointment sales-wise (largely because the movie sucked so much rather the the product, which is actually an excellent set). At least if this is the case, the autograph lineup for The Spirit isn't that bad as it includes Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie King, Paz Vega and Dan Lauria, the dad from The Wonder Years.

With the first Ink Vault and Razor Ink Archives, Razor has already flooded the non-sport market with Inkworks autographs. This has had both pros and cons. Personally, I've been able to snag lots of autographs that were out of my price range before. But for dealers who saw some prices drop more than half, I can certainly see them being a little saddened by this.

I don't fault Razor for the market flood as they weren't the ones who produced the cards in the first place. They also didn't hold such a significant amount of autographs back.  These cards were always around. So whether they hit the market all at once or the trickled out as they had before, the idea of rarity was completely manufactured. Razor has stated that this is their final "Ink" release. If they bought a big chunk of Inkworks' leftover autographs then at least now people won't have to speculate how much more is sitting out there and the market can once again balance itself out.

2010 Razor Ink Vault Sell Sheet