Is the baseball card market a dead market?

billysink · 05-09-12, 08:05 PM

Originally posted by SlickFazzer

15 - 20 years ago guys looked at cards as potential investments...

Seems like those days are over, at least for the time being.

I have 6 or 7 boxed sets of Topps baseball cards from the mid to late 80's somwhere in the house. I had forgotten all about them.

flyingillini · 05-09-12, 08:05 PM

The Pre War stuff and high grade T, B and Caramel cards are investments..

SlickFazzer · 05-09-12, 08:07 PM

Ya, pre-war might be the way to go...Everything produced in the past few years is rubbish.

mynameismud · 05-09-12, 08:09 PM

crazy thing is there are $500 packs out there that guys buy trying to get that elusive 25k card. when i collected, if the pack was $3.99, they were considered "premium".

Bcatswin · 05-09-12, 08:13 PM

There is still value but few and far in between.

ebbearsfb1 · 05-09-12, 08:24 PM

Better off getting cards from 60s and 70s... I use to collect autographs when I was younger, nothing cooler than coming home from school and see a package with your favorite players name on it... might get back into, fun hobby very peaceful, just got worry about ghost writers and fake stuff... in regards to tghe card industry.. packs are getting pricey bc they put those flashy cards in there that they know draw the attention of youngkids

antifoil · 05-09-12, 08:26 PM

video games.

mynameismud · 05-09-12, 08:30 PM

Originally posted by antifoil

video games.

definitely cheaper. i used to collect wacky pack stickers as a kid. those early ones from the 1970's are worth a lot of money now. wish i would have saved them.

milwaukee mike · 05-09-12, 08:31 PM

it sucks

i had so many cards from the late 80s/early 90s that were worth $100 each, now they're $5 unless they're graded

thousands and thousands of dollars poof

bill2266 · 05-09-12, 08:31 PM

to many companys make cards

ebbearsfb1 · 05-09-12, 08:31 PM

Yeah video games are quick immediately results, exciting, that's all kids care about...

ebbearsfb1 · 05-09-12, 08:33 PM

Autographs is the way to go... got over 1400 in my collection just checked my collection.. got some good ones... shaq, terrell davis, lots of steeler players, joe pa, lot of coach colleges

QuantumLeap · 05-09-12, 08:34 PM

Back in the 90's I bought my nephew a box with a Sammy Sosa rookie card along with all the other players for the year. I thought he would save it and make hundreds some day.

I see now they are worth anywhere from $5-$20 a piece.

Big deal.

dj_destroyer · 05-09-12, 11:40 PM

I invested about $1200 into Claude Giroux cards shortly after his rookie campaign... Looking at ebay prices, the cards are worth bout $3100 now.

Good investment, but it will get better, especially when I get G to sign the low-end stuff.

sickler · 05-09-12, 11:45 PM

Originally posted by milwaukee mike

it sucks

i had so many cards from the late 80s/early 90s that were worth $100 each, now they're $5 unless they're graded

thousands and thousands of dollars poof

I also got caught up in the craze at that time. Fun hobby but lots of money wasted

byronbb · 05-10-12, 12:40 AM

need to figure out how to make trading cards for iphone

CWD · 05-10-12, 01:00 AM

it was dead in 1990 where you been?

ChuckyTheGoat · 05-10-12, 01:16 AM

Originally posted by milwaukee mike

it sucks

i had so many cards from the late 80s/early 90s that were worth $100 each, now they're $5 unless they're graded

thousands and thousands of dollars poof

The card-grading seems like a complete scam. $6 or more per card. Fock that.

ChalkyDog · 05-10-12, 01:17 AM

If baseball cards still had value, like they used to. I'd be retired in my late 20's.

I have every Ken Griffey rookie card made by a major card company back then. Same with Bonds, McGuire (college cards even, USA, etc.), Frank Thomas, Fred McGriff, Ozzie Smith, Bobby Bonilla (think I might be missing a rookie card from some manufacturer), Cal Ripken, Ryne Sandberg, Greg Maddux and Mark Grace.

On top of that, I have a still shrink wrapped topps box sets from the '83 season to '96.

Have a ton of Dion Sanders cards. The Upper Deck one where he showed as a dual athlete. Same with Bo Jackson.

I have a load of Michael Jordan cards. Some autographed and put in some thick plastic. Whole binder full of MJ. Those still sell, I'd imagine

Haven't looked at a becket in ages.

Last time I did, back when I was in middle school, my collection was easily worth about 7K. And that was without even considering the thousands of other cards I had outside the binder, laying in a metal army trunk. I was obsessed.

Jayvegas420 · 05-10-12, 01:19 AM

Cards aren't worth anything anymore.
There is no market.
I used to sell stuff from my collection when I needed a stake.
I sold hockey cards (8000) and the old Gretzky doll & Gretzky's RC +all his 80's cards. Took $600 for everything, lost it that weekend (March Madness 2002)
I sold a lot of game used jersey cards (cards with a tiny piece of a players jersey) over 100 with 20 Autographed cards for $100.
This was in 2006, again right before March Madness but, I made it to the final game that year.
I sold 2 Mickey Mantle cards & a 2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary Limited Factory Set. All together after fees I got $205.
That was just last year & I lost it one night playing poker SnG's.
I still have over $20,000.00 in BV that I could only expect to get 20%-25% of Book Value if I were lucky.
Unless you have a card with MJ's Auto on it & Kobe's game used jersey piece in it, they're hard to sell.
If it's not Mantle or Williams no one pays big bucks for it. I'd love to have Giroux's Rookie Autographed card but I don't think it will ever hold it's value unless he breaks 50 of Gretzky's 60 records. I have an OPC Claude Giroux Retro Rookie Card. Books for $30, I couldn't get a min. $9.00 bid. Most of the ones that sold went for $4.95 & $5.00.
If you can get rid of your cards do it now!
There's an edge for ya.
Take them to Gamebreakers on baseline. Talk to Adam hes the asian owner. I buy most of my stuff from miraj on Carling but they dont always pay top dollar for your stuff.

jbart28 · 05-10-12, 01:35 AM

The companies like PSA and other grading companies literally stole out wealth. They basically acted just like lobbyists and greased the right palms and them swooped in and reset the entire markets value.

The bigger collectors should have put up a bigger fight. Once again the little man got screwed in America...Land of the Free

For fuks sake we cannot even use our NET, POST TAXED DOLLARS, to do what we want legally.

bobbyfk · 05-10-12, 04:41 AM

Originally posted by byronbb

need to figure out how to make trading cards for iphone

im sure someone already thought of it

LUCKYCHUCK · 05-10-12, 05:05 AM

I collected for years. Stopped and sold everything. Now i am collecting again for my grandsons.

jjgold · 05-10-12, 05:30 AM

Worthless

rm18 · 05-10-12, 05:33 AM

they are so worthless that is where I hide cash between the cards

ebbearsfb1 · 05-10-12, 06:15 AM

No wonder tony at 5 dimes laughed at me when I said I would trade him a frank thomas rookie card for a 25 dollar free play lol

Boscoe · 05-10-12, 07:08 AM

1988 topps might be the least valuable set of all time.

MCherry281 · 05-10-12, 08:39 AM

I don't know why I wasted so much money on them when I was younger. Even if I got some $50 card out of a pack nobody would buy it.

shushu · 05-10-12, 09:20 AM

WOW....Gamebreakers. I went to High School with the Original owner Hans. I remember back in the 90's buying a $100 Shaq Classic 4 Sport preview card off of him. Thought it was gonna be worth a Million. Probably not so much.....but I haven't seen one like it since. I should go see what they would give me for it now. HAHAHA. Any bets?

Boscoe · 05-10-12, 09:26 AM

Originally posted by shushu

WOW....Gamebreakers. I went to High School with the Original owner Hans. I remember back in the 90's buying a $100 Shaq Classic 4 Sport preview card off of him. Thought it was gonna be worth a Million. Probably not so much.....but I haven't seen one like it since. I should go see what they would give me for it now. HAHAHA. Any bets?

this one?

Pardon Our Interruption...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1992-CLASSIC-PREVIEW-SHAQUILLE-O-NEAL-RC-CARD-1-/230762825075?pt=US_Basketball&hash=item35ba894573

shushu · 05-10-12, 09:38 AM

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA DAMMIT I think so.........................

sickler · 05-10-12, 10:08 AM

Originally posted by CWD

it was dead in 1990 where you been?

You're kidding right? 1990 was when it took off, Upper Deck front and center. 1991 was probably when interest piqued, there were card shops opening up all over the place. I was there.

Upper Deck first cards, the '89 baseball, were selling for an outrageous price in '90 or '91. Unopened packs/boxes were like gold, everyone after the Griffey Jr rookie card.

Dutch · 05-10-12, 10:12 AM

Originally posted by QuantumLeap

Back in the 90's I bought my nephew a box with a Sammy Sosa rookie card along with all the other players for the year. I thought he would save it and make hundreds some day.

I see now they are worth anywhere from $5-$20 a piece.

Big deal.

Same here. I collected between '86-91..Have sealed wax packs, complete Topps, Donruss, Fleer, Bowman, Upper Deck, Skybox sets. Baseball, Football, Hockey, Basketball...Can't give the shit away.

FuzzyDunlop · 05-10-12, 10:16 AM

Originally posted by ebbearsfb1

Yeah video games are quick immediately results, exciting, that's all kids care about...

A 1999 episode of HBO Real Sports had a story about parents that successfully sued card companies under the guise that the card makers were introducing their kids to gambling. This was around the time where insert cards were made of like a Mickey Mantle jersey and of the like. The plaintiff's proved that buying card packs where immediately high value cards were randomly inserted was no different than a state scratch ticket.

This was after the market itself was already oversaturated and was the last nail in the coffin for the card companies in ever making the money that they used to.