Baseball Card Collectors: Remember This?

[SD_Eagle5]

Just saw some baseball instructional tape commercial with Billy and Cal and was reminded of this.

[MURP]

lmao

[BigEd76]

yeah, I have the .10 "black box" version... 

There are 4 versions:  the original seen above, the black box version, the whiteout version, and the black scribble version...

[PhillyPhreak54]

 

I've got the original one laying around somewhere.

Man, I used to collect cards like crazy. I think the last time I bought a pack of cards was in 1995. But I still have 27,000+ of them laying around.

[thrillhouse]

I used to have some cards worth $100.  I should have sold them.  I used to go around my house collecting change so that I could go to the card shop and buy a pack.  Like kiddie crack...

[SD_Eagle5]

I used to have some cards worth $100.  I should have sold them.  I used to go around my house collecting change so that I could go to the card shop and buy a pack.  Like kiddie crack...

I used to save my lunch money to buy cards. It was an obsession. I had a small red safe I kept all of my best cards in. I had a Schmidt Rookie, Carlton second year, Ryan second year, 68' Mantle, 65 Mays, 65 Aaron, Billy Williams Rookie, and various other cards I've tried my darndest to forget about. They mysteriously disappeared when I entered the Navy. Makes me cry when I think about it  If any one knows the whereabouts of my lost cards contact here me immediately. 

[Sgt PSN]

They're at a pawn shop right down the street from me.  Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to buy an expensive piece of wrist bling with my new found fortune so I can be cool like romey. 

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

I have a ton of Ken Griffey Jr. rookie cards, including a "mint 10" of the famous 1989 Upper Deck #1.

I still think down the road, they might have some value potential.  He's doing fairly solid this year, at least.

[Sgt PSN]

I have a ton of Ken Griffey Jr. rookie cards, including a "mint 10" of the famous 1989 Upper Deck #1.

I still think down the road, they might have some value potential. He's doing fairly solid this year, at least.

It's hard to say.  A lot of my older cards are really starting to depreciate in value now.  The big thing with the card industry now is all of these "limited edition" or "insert" cards they throw out there now.  Obviously, older cards that are rare are still generating a lot of interest but, if the card doesn't come with either the players autograph, a game used piece of jersey or bat, collectors don't seem to be interested these days.    Your Griffey card may or may not bring in a pretty penny a few years down the road.  But whatever the value of it is right now, I'd be willing to bet it's not even half as much as it would go for 6 or 7 years ago. Hopefully it rebounds for ya. 

[BigEd76]

Those Griffey cards are nowhere near what they used to be.  The UD rookie (I have it too) is only around $50 or $60, compared to the $125 it used to get....

FYI for those that missed it:  Fleer is done with trading cards... 

[Sgt PSN]

Wow, I didn't know that Fleer was done.  They were the "elite" card company in the mid/late 80's.  Anyone remember the 1984 Fleer Update set?  Gooden rookie, Mattingly rookie, Puckett, Gwynn, etc, etc.  I think within 2 years after it's release it was already getting around $400 for the set which was simply amazing at the time.  Most complete sets were only pulling about $30.   

[MURP]

all of my good cards were worth a lot more 10 years ago than they are now.  I think the whole industry is down.

[QB Eagles]

Upper Deck bought the Fleer name along with all of Fleer's intellectual property.

I haven't touched my cards or thought about baseball cards in a decade. Who's left selling them these days? Topps, Upper Deck, Donruss/Leaf?

[Sgt PSN]

The industry itself is booming right now.  But that's because companies are getting away from mass producing everything like the did 15+ years ago.  The big 3 companies when I was a kid (Topp, Donruss, Fleer) produced thousands of annual sets and even more individual packs and completely saturated the market.  The only "big money" in cards at the time was if you got an error card like the one SD started the thread with.  I remember when I was like 10 or 11 and I got the Gregg Jefferies error card and it was worth like $5.  My friends were super jealous. 

Anywho, companies now produce annual sets and individual packs but on top of that, they've all created like 20 or 30 little "sub-sets" that are all made up of limited edition cards.  Some cards are produced in insanely small numbers.  If you're lucky enough to pull one out of a pack you'll see that it is numbered as 1 out of 100 or even 1 out of 3.  It's literally like hitting the lottery.  But it's also kind of sickening too because it drives the prices of individual packs off the freaking charts.  Back in the day you could get a pack of 10 or 15 cards and a stick of bubble gum for 50 to 75 cents.  Now, because of all these limited edition cards that are available, packs go anywhere from $2.00 up to $10-15 a pack.  And in most cases, the pack comes with less than 5 cards and you're not even garaunteed to pull out one of the highly touted limited edition cards.  It's a crap shoot now and it sucks because kids can't raid thier sofa for loose change and go to the nearest gas station and pick up a few packs of cards.  Now you need a freaking gold card. 

[MURP]

my bad, i meant that all the older card prices seem down from where they used to be.  last I checked, just about all the rookie cards I had, griffey, shaq, barry sanders etc. were worth less than they were back in the day. 

anyway, a card is only worth what someone will pay for it, which in my experience, usually isnt what Beckett prices them at.