Why are Michael Jordan Collegiate Collection/College Cards so Inexpensive?

Norcal

Hello,
I am new to this forum so thank you for having me

So, why are Michael Jordan Collegiate Collection/College Cards so Inexpensive? Were they overproduced?
I figure with all the hype with Jordan right now they would of spiked.
Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

LarkinCollector

They were college cards produced well after he was in the NBA, 1989 & 1990. For those years, most collectors want officially licensed NBA cards, not some off brand that only lasted a couple years. I'm not sure if I would call them overproduced, in the sense that 1989 Topps Baseball was, but demand for them is very low, regardless of production numbers.

ETA: Welcome!

erikthredd

Also most collectors prefer cards with MJ in a Bulls jersey over him in a UNC or Wizards. I don't know about now after we just went through Jordan Mania but for the longest time his UNC autographed cards were pretty cheap compared to his Bulls autos.

Norcal

Thanks for clarifying, I am actually a big fan of these cards mainly due to looks and the action shots. I guess I will continue to buy them up and will see what happens down the road.

FredJRI

I'd say it's due to production, quantity, age, demand

frankhardy

I would say that almost ALL of the inexpensiveness (if that's a word) is due to over production. If these cards were hard to find, they would be worth a LOT of money, even if they were produced after his Tarheel playing days. Rare, obscure cards of an iconic player like Michael Jordan sell well.

1948_Swell_Robinson

Like others said, they aren't rare and there is not much demand for college cards made six years after he was in college.

If those North Carolina were made in 1983 they would be extremely valuable even with a higher print run similar to 1986 Fleer.

Buy them if you like them...but buying them for hope they climb higher might be a tall order.

estang

FWIW, I think they are overlooked and have greater value than they should.

In fact, a hobby shop I visited gave me a couple packs for free - after I made a purchase. I've left them unopened.

I still have two memories burned into my brain on Jordan cards:

(1) Boxes and boxes of stacked 1986-87 Fleer basketball at 50 cents a pack at Shinders in Edina, MN
(2) A dealer at the Metrodome in what I recall was the Twins Winter Fest with tables and tables (in a square) of Star basketball cards in poly-sleeve pouches. For all I know, they could have been the OEM themselves selling them. It was the only thing that dealer was selling. Despite the increasedpopularity of the NBA (thx to Magic/Bird/Jordan), when Topps stopped after 1981-82 - the interest in new cards waned considerably. "The Topps Effect" is what I would call it. It was all about baseball with 3 companies and rookies galore. Even football was not a big deal back then.

I wish I could time-warp back to those two moments with cash-in-hand.

PatriotTrading

Regular Jordan PSA 10 cards command a premium and have consistent demand. They've been averaging $100 since the pandemic. There is a gold foil parallel version of the 1989 set that is pretty rare. It was released in set form.

white_llama_cards

@Norcal said:
Thanks for clarifying, I am actually a big fan of these cards mainly due to looks and the action shots. I guess I will continue to buy them up and will see what happens down the road.

I completely agree! That’s a long the lines of why I just bought a 2010 ultimate collection Jordan for about $30. Whether they weren’t produced a lot or they are sitting places where people don’t realize what they have but def worth keeping in a PSA 9 and 10. Low pop at least for now. He’s the goat of goats so eventually pops will go up with his stuff bulls cards or not.

Kepper19

@estang said:
FWIW, I think they are overlooked and have greater value than they should.

In fact, a hobby shop I visited gave me a couple packs for free - after I made a purchase. I've left them unopened.

I still have two memories burned into my brain on Jordan cards:

(1) Boxes and boxes of stacked 1986-87 Fleer basketball at 50 cents a pack at Shinders in Edina, MN
(2) A dealer at the Metrodome in what I recall was the Twins Winter Fest with tables and tables (in a square) of Star basketball cards in poly-sleeve pouches. For all I know, they could have been the OEM themselves selling them. It was the only thing that dealer was selling. Despite the increasedpopularity of the NBA (thx to Magic/Bird/Jordan), when Topps stopped after 1981-82 - the interest in new cards waned considerably. "The Topps Effect" is what I would call it. It was all about baseball with 3 companies and rookies galore. Even football was not a big deal back then.

I wish I could time-warp back to those two moments with cash-in-hand.

I used to go to the Shinders in Blaine, and sometimes downtown Mpls if I was also looking for a Racing Form....what year do you think those '86 Fleer boxes were out for sale at 50 cents a pack? I still have quite a few items in my collection with the recognizable Shinders yellow price sticker