Value Explosion
Bravesfan007
Posts: 186 ✭✭
So, I've collected for years. Haven't been on the boards much lately. My focus has been else-ware. Dipping my toes in other collecting hobbies. I also just moved, so my stuff has just been sitting in boxes unnoticed and forgotten. But I have bought stuff in the last year, even since February-ish. Anyway, I pulled some out thinking to raise some funds for my previously mentioned hobbies. The first card I pull out is my 86 Fleer Barkley PSA 9. And...what am I seeing? $800?? I was astonished (thought I was dreaming). I pulled out a few more, nothing pre 80s. 89 Score D Thomas, Montana RC. Even my UD Shaq RC PSA 9 which I probably paid $18 for.
I said all that to ask (and I feel like a noob once again). What is going on here??
Feel free to ignore or redirect me to previous discussions if this has been talked about 100 times over the last 6 months.
Thanks.
Comments
market has gone crazy since Covid started...crazy times for sports cards...
You actually missed the top on most bud, but everything is up if you haven't looked since early 2020. Some of these cards were selling for 1.5X the current and the current is 2-3X what it was selling for early this year. lol
1972 Julius Erving PSA 8’s going for 800-1000 for a nice one on Feb. now they are 4K+. Basketball is a big part of the jump
4x seems to be around the rise in value that I'm talking about with basketball being the highest. You are exactly right. So I have several questions:
1) Why now? Somebody mentioned Covid. And that probably has something to do with it, but what does that mean? People are realizing how much we miss sports and have gravitated to this to fill the void? Even if that is true, the value increase is just exponentially unthinkable. I'll use comics as an example. Comics these days trade nearly only on popularity in translation to film or TV. When the first Iron Man movie came out, there was an explosion of Marvel comic value and it has continued to this day. But it took years to balloon to what it is now, not 6-9 months.
2) Most of what I looked at are HOF RC PSA graded. Is that what is ballooning or is everything? And is it modern, vintage, both?
3) I know most here are concentrated on card and memorabilia collectables. But what else is popping like this? I can tell you that comics is not. It has grown in the past, but with no movies coming out, it has been even the last year.
Thanks.
Covid had a crazy unpredictable effect on collecting and the market exploded. Then the Jordan documentary had people going crazy again over some 90s nostalgia - Throw in Zion having a crazy debut just prior, retail packs and blasters are harder to come by than ever. It is a good time for the hobby for sellers/frustrating for buyers/collectors.
Thanks for all your comments. I appreciate it.
I am so glad you started this thread. I am kind of in the same boat. I once had a card stand at the flea market. I shut it down in 2010 and started doing other things. I still would go to tag sales and flea markets and if I saw what I thought was a good deal I would buy out someones collections. For example I bought a 1600 count box of Jordan's in top loaders for $25. Anyway I never really looked up the values until about the beginning of June. I have about 700k+ cards. Mostly unsorted and idk where to begin going through these.
1987 Topps McGwire PSA 9's went from about $7 to $80 in a couple months.
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Successful transactions on the BST boards with rtimmer, coincoins, gerard, tincup, tjm965, MMR, mission16, dirtygoldman, AUandAG, deadmunny, thedutymon, leadoff4, Kid4HOF03, BRI2327, colebear, mcholke, rpcolettrane, rockdjrw, publius, quik, kalinefan, Allen, JackWESQ, CON40, Griffeyfan2430, blue227, Tiggs2012, ndleo, CDsNuts, ve3rules, doh, MurphDawg, tennessebanker, and gene1978.
Yeah the McGwire card is good to see. Those are definitely cool cards. I was selling them for $5 graded 9 at my flea market stand in 2010. lol
Start with the Jordans!
Yeah thats a good idea. I just got a PSA membership in June. I just sent in the first 15 in July. I sent in some that I thought were in good shape and looked pretty valuable even as an 8 or 9. I did send in two Jordan cards from the 80's since I plan on doing one quarterly special a month and figure I can get a big chunk of Jordan done with the 90's special in August. This is actually fun. The problem is the collector itch is back and I think I am addicted all over again. lol
My 89 Score football rc's caught my attention in March/April , Aikman, Deion, DT58 went from "yeah they sell around 80-100 for Troy & Prime and $35 for Derrick" to "holy ---- what the ---- is going on here" almost overnight. Strawberry rc's have surged, 83 TT & 84 D anyway. Wild times.
I've noticed older Wayne Gretzky cards going up really good, esp. the RC, but even 3rd and 4th year in PSA 8 or higher.
I'm probably in the minority, but I think many of the increases were overdue and will stick. Gretzky non RC hype is a good example. MJ frenzy was out of control but I think a lot of those cards settle higher than normal, and rightfully so. 2nd year Magic and Bird are other good examples that were just flat out too inexpensive for too long. Deion and other junk wax era superstar RCs were destined to get over the hump. Oversupply will always dampen the frenzy but sellers can also read the room and set some of these cards at a higher base amount that the market will happily accept.
Also generally I think PSA 8/9s of the key modern cards deserved a boost. We pay a lot of money and wait a long time to get these cards slabbed by the best TPG. The market has been slow to recognize that cost and I welcome the change.
I have been on and off card collecting since I was a kid in the mid-80s, almost exclusively football. I've had 2 or 3 bursts of interest where I try to complete sets and buy desired raw or graded cards the last 15 years not counting this current one I'm on which started in December '19, faded some around Feb '20 and has come back here recently.
So I have been watching a lot of things and even before Coronavirus, very high condition raw vintage cards selling for several multiples over supposed 'book' value. Talking commons. I figured this was people who are assembling a graded set of all certain high grade cards. But it is crazy, cards selling for 10-20x? Commons?
Then there are stars, like take the 1963 Fleer Alworth card. You just can't hardly touch one for less than $300, any condition, raw. Graded goes for several multiples over what say like the SMR lists. A PSA 5 just went for $388. SMR has it at $100. And that isn't the exception with that card and others like it, it is more the rule.
Lots of cards like that. Lots of examples where the actual sales taking place for high condition raw and graded cards are way off what the price guides list. Saw a 1972 Topps high/3rd series, Walt Garrison a NrMt raw just sold for $123.50. What is that like a $35 book value card? A PSA 9 just sold for $163, SMR has it at $15! An 8 sold for $102, SMR has that at $7!
And it has been that way most of this year, not just post-coronavirus. Now I don't know if it is people with extra time on their hands, maybe some extra money on their hands (stock market holding up well, people feeling good about their finances?). I had wondered if it would be the opposite, people maybe liquidating some collections to raise some cash, but no need for that right now it appears. Prices and demand are gang busters.
I just watched a bunch of cards end from the last PWCC auction, crazy. I guess the PSA8 65 Namath "only" sold for $35k.
Yeah there are a few players that I notice have not taken off. Manny, Namath, and Randy Johnson come to mind off the top of my head. All three dont seem to have moved much. I agree that many increases were long overdue.
Did Jeter take off? His 1993 SP PSA 8 had a small increase when he was elected to the hall earlier this year, but I haven't noticed anything past that.
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Successful transactions on the BST boards with rtimmer, coincoins, gerard, tincup, tjm965, MMR, mission16, dirtygoldman, AUandAG, deadmunny, thedutymon, leadoff4, Kid4HOF03, BRI2327, colebear, mcholke, rpcolettrane, rockdjrw, publius, quik, kalinefan, Allen, JackWESQ, CON40, Griffeyfan2430, blue227, Tiggs2012, ndleo, CDsNuts, ve3rules, doh, MurphDawg, tennessebanker, and gene1978.
I feel like some of his secondary cards have - but not his big cards. but I could be wrong. I feel like COMC has helped push values up too. Something no one has talked about a lot. Cutting shipping costs has allowed collectors to set build much cheaper and easier.
The 63 Fleers, Alworth, Dawson. Tough cards. I fell a$$backwards into my Alworth from BBCE. No complaints 2 years later
. Rickey Henderson 80 Topps, LT 82 Topps. 84 Topps football. 60's football. Others. Good to see people taking notice and buying.
Right now on Ebay I have a 1992 Upper Deck Shaq PSA 9 1A. I bought it for $18. Its going to sell for $300+. The pop is 2590! So nuts. It goes beyond explanation.
As an aside the PSA 10 was $300ish. Now its selling for $3000-3500. For a 1992 Upper Deck card. What?!?
Thats a freakin awesome card dude! I love the Chargers logo.
bonds 87 opc psa 8 for $240.
picked up a few last month'ish for $60-$80.
don't even wanna talk bol bol prices!
luckily i am a manute bol fan and picked up son's stuff dirt cheap
So this card is a fantastic example of the market catching up imo. PSA 9 should have never been sub $50. I'm actually glad that the influx of new collectors and new money are recognizing the younger legends and putting some value back into the 1990s stuff.
Can’t believe this, yes one is PWCC. So...., however this card has gone 4-5X in a very short
Is there a 30/30 on DR. J now?
Terry Bradshaw was AMAZING!!
Ignore list -Basebal21
Nope, not even. Agree it was undervalued but wow.
I used to own the Julius Erving rookie....in a '9'. It makes me SICK to see how much some of these cards have appreciated. It almost doesn't seem real. NO ONE could have predicted this.
It’s crazy but based on the popularity of basketball and the shorter print runs compared to the baseball sets of the time, seems almost inevitable? I mean how much baseball y’all do you see on ESPN and FS1 compared to basketball? Not much. Basketball has to be more popular with the sub 40 crowd.
HOF SIGNED FOOTBALL RCS
The 1980 Topps Bird/Erving/Johnson has gone 3x-5x since the start of the year. PSA 8's were under $1,000 to start the year. Last night six PSA 8's ended between $4,100 - $5,100. With PSA 9's approaching $20K now -- WOW!!! Haven't seen a PSA 10 since September 2018 (which sold for $125K back then). What would a PSA 10 fetch in today's market???
Nice to see the 1987 Topps McGwire's picking up steam. I have a few hundred of those -- but also have a bunch of the other '87 Topps cards that have NOT participated in this price increase (Greenwell, Will Clark, Palmeiro, Joyner, Larkin, Bo Jackson, Maddux)
Will be very interesting to see what happens to prices on some of the more widely available cards that have leapt in price when pops increase dramatically. Alot of cards went from not worth grading in a 9 to no brainer to grade. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were 1k plus 87 McGwires at PSA now. Hobby has expanded for sure but the increase in inventory is going to be insane.
And GDP just contracted by 32% and 2mm people hit UE last week so there is that.
And GDP just contracted by 32% and 2mm people hit UE last week so there is that.
You should probably take that number with a grain of salt. Shutting down the economy due to Covid had a small part in that, wouldn't you agree?
Well ya. And massive stimulus was injected into markets.
Point is 17mm people are unemployed - a once in a lifetime economic event - and that number keeps growing. The underlying economic conditions ate atrocious.
I have no idea what the future holds but massive increase in supply plus seriously depressed economy might not bode well for future prices on the more common stuff. Like 87 McGwires.
perfect storm.
cards were being broadly covered as "investments" prior to covid.
cards seemed to show decent roi compared to stock market
stock market tanked.
people realized they don't need stock brokers/easy liquidity.
people realized they can control their own fate vs unforeseen unease
the last dance
no sports/bored dudes w plenty of extra time to clean out their closets
dudes find their old stash and then do ebay comp
"wait, what?". this card in a psa whatever is worth what?
influx of subs, influx of new money.
pre-existing collectors see this influx.
newbies realize it's fun, easy and under the radar vs sec capital gains jazz
sports start back up
wow. it's the new stock market!
insert gravy-v somewhere or everywhere in there for additional influencing.
chicken littles cluck
bubble talk
train keeps rolling til it doesn't.
people see a modern lebron card do 1.8m. i'd rather have every dr j in an 8 and 9. few guys try. and why not. completely worth it in retrospect. and he's off the court. they throw in a few lebron etopps rcs bc it's a no brainer in the meantime.
if you missed the buy in on soto, get in on rui.
my synopsis, at least.
Yeah its an interesting study thats for sure. I dont think there is a correlation between GDP and this market though. I think there is a lot of money out there that people used to spend on going to games and vacations that is being put into the card industry. I dont see it really stopping until there is a vaccine and maybe people start going out and traveling more. Remember there are two types of people who were impacted the most by this. Those who make less than 40k and those in the upper middle class who own small businesses. Thats why the only mortgages to be suffering at the moment are jumbo loans. Conventional loans seem to be ok and as long as we open up they should be fine. Thats just my take.
Agreed...and can we agree that one party stands to gain politically the longer the economy stays shut?
Yes for sure
Boring.
Agreed...I am tired of staying at home....I miss going to the movies.....the gym.......simple things like that.
Then quit being simple minded.
You aren't making any sense. You are trying to instigate. And I am NOT taking the bait. You can end this right now.
Nothing stopping you from getting a $20 projector that connects to your phone and starting your own movie theater against a building or in the park. Didn't get the memo that you had to stay in the basement of your own house all day, every day.
You gotta fight. For your right. To party.
funny. but i'm done.
Dean's Cards is almost starting to look like a bargain in this market.
I wonder if Topps will come out with game used mask cards.
That would be a FDA violation and legal liability. But you can most certainly bet on update sp and ssp covid variations. Gleyber / Obama cardboard insert error.
I'm 100% sure they have talked about it.
i cannot believe how the psa 10 grades of all of the hall of fame players and rookies go for. i wish i had got a derrick thomas in psa 10 before the increase. i have all of the other hall of fame rookies in psa 10. even raw sets have gone up five times.