Baseball Cards

[shivermeister]

Having a month off before school starts coupled with the fact that my wife won't let me go fishing everyday has me watching a lot of baseball. All of these milestones by guys like Bonds, A-Rod, Griffey, Thome, Glavine, Biggio, Thomas, etc. got me thinking - All these guys were in my baseball card packs in the late eighties and nineties - I probably have a gold mine in the basement; gold made of cardboard.

After finding the boxes, a quick search revealed a handful of cards from each of these players, including several rookie cards, most of which were in mint condition. So, I logged on to ebay wondering what my baseball card selling screen name would be to maximize my sales. Visions of my Dad's Mickey Mantle and Hank Aaron cards stashed in a drawer danced in my head - this was going to be awesome.

To make a long story short, about an hours worth of looking showed that the most "valuable" card I own is going for something like $5. Don't be fooled, however; the vast majority of them don't even have bids and there are usually five or more of each listed.

To say the least, I was disappointed - at least at first. I did a little googling to find out what happened to baseball cards. This article both explained it very well and made me feel better. It pretty much summed up my experience and how I felt.

Article

So, the cards got restashed in the basement - obviously they are worth more there than anywhere else.

[zamboni]

When McGwire hit #60-67 in 1998 his US Olympic Team card (regarded as his rookie card) was going for well over $100 a pop- then without notice- I think around $5. Bonds card value is hurt by his lack of popularity, and I don't know if people ever will accept him-

[Jorgie]

That was a very interesting article, thanks for sharing it. Its kind of sad to see how baseball cards have all but disappeared like the article said, but I don't know if I could have ever parted with all my cards. My Twins cards have too much sentimental value. So at least they are still valuable to me.

[Muskycrazy]

I collected cards for years . With the price of a pack of cards these days you have to be able to realize some financial positives or you'll go broke doing it . With the advent of online selling sites and the ease of getting rid of cards that don't fit in your own collection , that became my down fall . After a while I was buying a few hundred bucks worth of packs and getting a card that might sell for 10 dollars . I justified it for a while saying I was building my own collection and selling the rest to buy more but after a while just couldn't anymore . Its gambling plain and simple . You buy packs hoping to get a good card and hopfully sell it to break even , but you never do . They are like pull tabs , you can spend 200 to win 50 and you'll make your self feel good about it . And just like pull tabs , the more you buy the better your chances are and thats the rub . I still buy a pack now and then but I have transferred my obsession to Musky fishing and all that goes with it . Just as bad , maybe .

[Muskycrazy]

I just read the article and thought it was OK but I think that him saying that card collectings peak came in the early 90's was a little off . I think it was at its peak in the late 90' early 00's . In '89 Upper Deck intoduced the game used jersey on to a card and the chase was on but in 1998 two rookies appeared on cards and values went thru the roof . Randy Moss and Peyton Mannings RC's made card prices soar . I think Moss had the 1st rookie card to go over a grand in his rookie year , his Topps Finest RC was my very first card . I remember readin that around 2000 , maybe 2001 , the trading card industry was doing 1.5 billion a year but a year or two later was less that half of that . Trading cards are super finicky . Mosses cards used to be worth a mint , now they are not . Mike Vicks cards use to, break the bank , now you can't give them away . Griffey , Sosa , Mac , etc. their card use to drive the industry , now you can get their cards pennies on the dollar . Even Bonds . With what he has done you think his cards would be off the hook but being that he is generally not that well thought of they are probably a fraction of what they could be . I sold a Lebron James RC a few years back and got almost 800 dollars for it . The same card a year later was selling for 120.00 . Its crazy .

[genegodawa]

Not wishing any bad on anyone, and I didn't read the article yet, but methinks, like an artist painting, they will become more valuable after the athlete is "gone".

[zamboni]

I will tell you one thing- in 85 or 86 I think it was, I bought a ton of cards looking for that Dwight Gooden rookie. Never got one, my neighbor who lived 2 doors down and was my best friend seemed to have at least 50 of them and never would trade me one. I remember the price of a pack of 25 cards was 25 cents + 2 cents tax- man, how times have changed!! Topps, btw, had that horrible rock hard gum, but Fleer put out gum in some of their special cards (Pac-Mans one I remember) that gum was awesome- sorry, just reminiscing

[Down to Earth]

I was a big collector growing up as well and remember going to card shows, etc. And then it seemed everything started getting mass produced. I remember when Upper Deck put out their first football cards and it was suppose to be a short supply. I bought quite a few boxes only to find later that Upper Deck ended up making a ton of them. It kinda turned my off to collecting at the time and I never went back. A few years ago, I sold all my remaining cards to someone who was looking for a bunch. Don't know what all I had, but they went for fairly cheap.

[bgmny]

Zamboni, I think the Dwight Gooden rookie was 1984 if i remember right. I read somewhere that in the 1960's Topps made around 100 thousand of each card and by the 1990's they were making 4 billion of each card. Not sure of how many they make these days but they sure ask alot for them. Kinda neat looking through my old cards, mostly from the eighties, from time to time. I can pretty much tell you when and where I got most of the cards I thought were valuable then. I still can't understand how a card of a hall of famer from the 50's or 60's is getting less than a rookie from today. Must be the old supply and demand thing.

[Jorgie]

Jason Tyner was interviewed in the pregame tonight. He said he used to collect a lot of cards when he was younger and that his dad ran a card shop. He said it was kind of sad how the card industry has really declined. I thought it was interesting to see a pro interested in it and also frustrated with it like us.

[MuskieJunkie]

I've always wondered in the back of my mind what those boxes of cards in my basement were worth, now I know......nothing. Ouch.

[Mudcutter]

whoever is telling you a rookie from today (Miller-Det, Verlander, Howard, etc) is worth more than a Mantle from 52 or a any rookie from 52 is nuts. A topps mantle rookie goes for at least 15 grand. the rest of the 50's and 60's is just about the same but not quite to that extreme. You have a superstar from the 50's and 60's (Yogi, Banks, Aaron,

Clemente) I'll trade you straight up for a Verlander rookie any day. Kirby Puckett's rookie card graded in mint is 30 bucks. A good player with a name in the 50's or 60's in any condition is worth 5 times that. The only cards I keep of current players are :Jeter,Bonds, A-rod , Suzuki and maybe Clemens, and those have to be kept in mint to be worth much in 20-30 years.