Is the baseball card market a dead market?

[RockBottom]

Ebay ruined it then graded/numbered cards made a comeback.

I remember a few years back my friend sold a Vince Carter rookie for like a $1000 on ebay.

How did ebay ruin it? Ebay gives it a true market price, not a beckett price guide.

[sweethook]

it was dead in 1990 where you been?

100% , early 1990s killed the cards

[Mr. Teaser]

card shows with those crooked grab bags and dice games, remember that? i don't know how anyone continued to collect past this time you had to know the game was over

Haha yes. What a sham. Those grab bags had jack in them 99% of the time.

[asianfootballs]

The baseball card companies saturated the market. Topps, Donruss, Upperdeck, Score all had multiple brands of cards for the same sport. You could buy baseball cards anywhere and everywhere. The card companies did it to themselves. They just took the consumer along for the ride. You can still buy 1990 & 1991 Score cards from Walmart and Target. Sad.

[zoo youk]

worth anything??

[Jayvegas420]

Those are pretty nice.
Whats the gold content?

[billysink]

Here's an awful story that I'm sure will eventually be thrown back in my face.
I was at a card show & got caught stealing a box of cards. Or so I thought I was caught, when the kid behind the counter said "What ya got there?"
I replied "A box of Upper Deck Hockey."
He asks "How much you want for it?"
I said "$100"
When he offered $80 I sold him back his box & then hit 4-5 other vendors, I can't remember how much cash I had on me when I was leaving but, I bought a 1958 Ted Williams card with everything I had on me.
I still have it.

So you ripped off a kid and several others for a Ted Williams??

I don't have any idea what you feel you have to gain by posting that here. I am not going to pass judgement but I am sure any argument or issue you find yourself in here has just lost it's side.

[billyloco]

I'm an old man soon to be 66 in June. I collected & traded Topps & Fleers cards alot in 1962/1963. My mother being a LOT smarter than I was then put all my cards in dad's gas station safe, when I went off to college.
George Sisler
Lou Boudreau
Mickey Cochrane
Bob Feller
Mel Ott
Johnny Mize
Jimmie Foxx
Lefty Grove
Ted Williams
Ralph Kiner

I had a total of over 1200 cards, I had several of all the players listed. I had a customized 50 Ford Coupe and gave this, all my cards, plus $1900 to a man who owned the dairy I was working part time in Lawrence KS in 65 for a 63 Corvette StingRay. I stored that car in 68 and sold it for $92,000 in 2005.

[billysink]

I'm an old man soon to be 66 in June. I collected & traded Topps & Fleers cards alot in 1962/1963. My mother being a LOT smarter than I was then put all my cards in dad's gas station safe, when I went off to college.
George Sisler
Lou Boudreau
Mickey Cochrane
Bob Feller
Mel Ott
Johnny Mize
Jimmie Foxx
Lefty Grove
Ted Williams
Ralph Kiner

I had a total of over 1200 cards, I had several of all the players listed. I had a customized 50 Ford Coupe and gave this, all my cards, plus $1900 to a man who owned the dairy I was working part time in Lawrence KS in 65 for a 63 Corvette StingRay. I stored that car in 68 and sold it for $92,000 in 2005.

Just wondering whether you came out ahead? Know little about cards and nothing about the cars but did you ever value the transaction,

Sounds like you're a winner either way.

[Jayvegas420]

So you ripped off a kid and several others for a Ted Williams??

I don't have any idea what you feel you have to gain by posting that here. I am not going to pass judgement but I am sure any argument or issue you find yourself in here has just lost it's side.

I did a lot of stupid shit 25 years ago.
I dont think any of it has to do with this board but, i am sure that I am not debating anything here nor do I have a side.
Just an off colour story about when I collected cards when I was a teen, nothing to get all worked up over.
Thanks for being the 1st to throw it back in face though!

[billysink]

I did a lot of stupid shit 25 years ago.
I dont think any of it has to do with this board but, i am sure that I am not debating anything here nor do I have a side.
Just an off colour story about when I collected cards when I was a teen, nothing to get all worked up over.
Thanks for being the 1st to throw it back in face though!

Read the post again, I will never pass judgement on you or any other poster for that kind of thing, I merely questioned why you would post that on the internet.

[zoo youk]

Those are pretty nice.
Whats the gold content?

supposedly its 24kt but i think its a diff type of gold, if thats even possible cause thw cards bend

[jetsjets1028]

not as strong as it once was but i dont think it is completely gone

[The HOFF]

The baseball card companies saturated the market. Topps, Donruss, Upperdeck, Score all had multiple brands of cards for the same sport. You could buy baseball cards anywhere and everywhere. The card companies did it to themselves. They just took the consumer along for the ride. You can still buy 1990 & 1991 Score cards from Walmart and Target. Sad.

This is pretty much right on. And also the fact that the "special gold jersey diamond cut platinum all time all star bonus insert cards" made all of the common cards worthless.

[Jayvegas420]

I find the most over priced athlete right now is Tiger Woods. Collectors are still paying thousands of dollars for his premium cards.
Like cards with his autograph on a piece if a Tournament Used glove. numbered 1/1
My collecting skills are horrible. I loaded up on Greg Oden cards in 2008, sold all the Durants I pulled.
I spent over $100 gathering cards of 18th pick over all, Chris Stewart in 2006. While selling 2 $300+ Carey Price cards for a $200 Poker Stars transfer.
During the mass production era I owned over 400 Bo Jackson cards, only to watch his health and career slowly deteriorate.
I've slowly been learning that the only cards worth collecting are Jordan Kobe Bobby Orr Gretzky JErry Rice Barry Sanders Mantle Ted Williams
Magic & Bird
Gordie Howe
Walter Peyton
Jim Brown
MArio Lemieux
Roberto Clemente
Babe Ruth
Hank Aaron

It's not worth it to bank on Anthony Davis this season or Andrew Luck. IF they turn out to be all-stars youre still lucky to get back what you paid for them & if they are busts, you'll never get rid of them.

[Told You So!]

The market did die and even Mickey Mantle's and other old cards are of no interest to most kids. Video games are though. Without kids getting their parents to buy the big money cards for them there is just no growth just the same people buying and selling cards and many like me who cant afford it anymore. All of my cards were given to my son now they are in the garage lol. He has no interest in them anymore after like 6 months. the only thing I do collect now are Wilt Chamberlain autos, walter payton autos but I dont know if there is enough of a market to even be able to make any money off them one day.

[zoo youk]

Its a shame my cousin had n awesome plaque with mantle and hank aaron both in the same picture together and both autographed it nd the dumb fuk pawned it cause hes a junkie. Prob got a few hundred for it and ita prob worth thousands

[chipper]

Collectible hobbies are dying because kids these days only care about their electronics and gadgets. Most young people don't have the desire to put a collection of anything together whether it be comics, coins or baseball cards.

[MoneyLineDawg]

Have so many autos, game used apparel cards, refractor rookies, premium cards etc from like mid 90s to mid 2000s......Basically from like 8 years old till like 15 years old I collected sports cards like crazy

Havent gone through them in years but I wonder if it's even worth it? How are these cards selling?

[MoneyLineDawg]

Also have a lot of cool autographed memorabilia.......Have a Yankees World Series Team signed baseball from 98, Joe Namath signed mini helmet, Darelle Revis signed ball, Braves team signed bat from spring training from mid 90s, a bunch of other random shit

The coolest thing is I visited Cooperstown when I was little during HOF Induction week and won some raffle......Got these mini plaque cards signed in person by a ton of baseball Hall of Famers (Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron to name a few I believe)......Gotta be worth something?

[paranoyd androyd]

84 Fleer Update used to be the gold standard when I was collecting.

[Balco10]

I remember the 25 cent packs with the hardest gum ever.

[sickler]

I remember the 25 cent packs with the hardest gum ever.

o-pee-chee hockey cards with the stick of gum inside. Fond memories

[Iwinyourmoney]

http://forum.sbrforum.com/players-talk/1404563-baseball-card-collectors-what-my-cards-worth-lots-pics.html

[Dutch]

I remember the 25 cent packs with the hardest gum ever.

I remember $.50 cents a pack for Topps, Donruss and Fleer. I lived close to a card shop, dude would give you 2 packs for buck, no tax. I'd steal four quarters out of my moms purse and jump on my bike.

Then came Upper Deck. They were like $1.25 a pack. I remember they were nice, lol, bright white and heavier stock.

[Dutch]

Me and my cousins would use baseball cards as money for poker...I'll raise you an '87 Topps Canseco...I call with a '90 UD Kevin Maas rookie.

We'd also bet on baseball games with cards.

Shit got serious.

[Mr KLC]

I remember trying to get the whole Topps football and baseball series back in 1981. I would take my lunch money and buy 3 packs of cards a day. I was about 20 cards short on both sets by the end of the school year. Memories.

[billyloco]

billy, looking back, I think I could have gotten at least 10,000 more, but the wife had a chance to buy into MACK TRUCK'S computer division and last year she became the full owner, things worked out so well I took my 401K and left my chefs positiion and do just sports betting.

[Weems2k]

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".

That brings me back to buying Fleer Ultra packs with my allowance $$$ 5 bucks for some packs. memories

[the_orangekat]

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

Not to bust your balls but if I recall correctly, only one card was worth that much back then and that being the Ken Griffey Jr. Upper Deck rookie. Possibly that 'F-Face' Billy Ripken error card (1989 Fleer?) There were many cards worth $1 to $3, maybe even $5 but not much more. Packs were $0.75 to $1.50 in those days. Not sure where you lost thousands of dollars unless, of course, you blew thousands of dollars on packs. I bought a ton of those 1987 Topps cards and have close to 100 of those wooden-bordered Jose Canseco's. Those used to be a couple bucks a pop in the late 80's, now $0.50 on Beckett and you won't even fetch that on eBay. McGwire is still worth around $2 but good luck finding anyone to give you more than $0.75 for him.

[the_orangekat]

http://forum.sbrforum.com/players-ta...lots-pics.html

The honest truth, they are worth exactly what you paid for them, maybe a little less. The dreaded 'junk wax' years of 85-92. Now, what can you get for them if you WERE to sell them? Probably 1/4th of what you paid for them all. Tough to recommend holding onto them because they will never appreciate in value, unless aliens come down and confiscate 97% of the junk wax on the planet. There is just TOO MUCH of this shit out there. And if you sell, you'll take a loss (provided you can find anyone to buy) Maybe your best option is to donate to charity or hold on to give your kids.

About 7 years ago, I donated all my cards from this era to some children's charity (forgot the name) but they came and took away 8 huge boxes in a truck. They literally needed two guys and a truck for them all. That was my big 'get rich' investment from the late 80's. Needless to say I still eat Top Ramen every now and then.

[Dutch]

...those wooden-bordered Jose Canseco's.

'87 Topps was a good looking card. That's the year I got heavy into collecting.

I remember buying an '86 Donruss Conseco for like $15 bucks...Thought I'd hold it until it was worth a few hundred. Ended up giving all my cards to my little brother. The only cards I kept were an '84 Topps Dan Marino rookie and an Upper Deck Michael Jordan in a White Sox uni.

[k13]

How did ebay ruin it? Ebay gives it a true market price, not a beckett price guide.

Because it made everything available to everyone for really cheap which otherwise they could not get.

The artificial prices were better for the market overall, basically like all of us buying cheap Chinese crap now at the cost of jobs domestically.

[Dutch]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2008-Abraham-Lincoln-UD-Piece-of-History-HAIR-CUTS-Authentic-Piece-of-Hair-2-/251046919688?pt=US_Baseball&hash=item3a738ffe08

Wtf?

[k13]

# Graded cards will always have a high price tag so how is the market dead?

Supply and demand.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/2003-LEBRON-JAMES-FINEST-GOLD-REFRACTOR-ROOKIE-25-PSA-10-POP-1-/350560569405?pt=US_Basketball&hash=item519f09c83d