2002 Bowman Draft #BDP52 & 2002 Bowman Chrome Draft X-Fractors #52 Chris Snyder

Chris Snyder is the primary starting catcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks. At the University of Houston in 2002, he set the school record for RBI at 71 and led the Coogs in batting average at .343. He was named to the All Conference USA first team, 3rd team All American, and was a finalist for Johnny Bench Catcher of the Year Award.

Today I want to ask a question: Why do collectors like X-Fractor/SuperFractor cards? I just don't get it. I think they look horrible, but for some reason, they are very sought after. Maybe it's because they have very short print runs, but there are other style cards with short print runs that aren't as popular.

I remember when the first Refractor cards came out. People were fascinated by them. I thought they looked OK. I preferred a high quality photo stock type picture. X-fractor style cards to me just detract from the player.

For those not into collecting, X-Fractors are highly reflective hologram cards with checkerboard or other patterns on them. An example is below. The X-Fractor is shown first. Compare this with the base card afterwards. The same picture is on both cards, but I prefer the simplicity of the photo on the base card versus the complexity of the X-Fractor.

Which do you prefer?