1990's basketball cards/Beckett listed, but cards never existed
orioles35
Posts: 6 ✭
Back from 1992 to 1997 I had a card store and I distinctly recall an issue of Beckett Basketball where some insert cards were listed with prices, but later revealed the checklist from Topps was incorrect. Beckett had used that checklist in their monthly magazine and included prices with them, despite the fact (later revealed) that the cards NEVER EXISTED.
I thought there'd be a huge uproar, although I guess we all knew by then they were setting prices and not necessarily reporting them. They issued an apology letter, blamed Topps and claimed the card prices were determined by "dealers who stated what they WOULD sell the cards for...", if they actually had them that is.
Anyone else recall this and what set it was? Oddly enough, even though I remember it clearly, I can't find anything online about it at all. Strange. Thank you.
Comments
I was definitely collecting at that time, but do not recall it. If anyone else remembers i would be interested to hear about it.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I swear I remember it. Certainly Beckett wouldn't leave their 'tracks' to something like that behind. I'm just surprised there's literally nothing I've found online about it.
Apparently, they were trying to sell packs of cards like the clown shows that go on today when hits have bounties offered to be purchased for $1Million upfront. LOL
Wonder what Beckett was getting out of the pump before the dump?
Is it mentioned in an old Beckett magazine? If so then I'm sure someone on the forum has a copy.
Yes, the apology letter was printed in the magazine...I think. I'm not THAT old, but that transgression has stuck with me all these years. How can I ask someone to look for it, politely?
I think you have.
Well, isn't that the story behind the 1933 Goudey set?
Active price guides that were printed back in the day were probably outdated before they even went to press, even if the prices were backed by actual sales, which I highly doubt they were. I'm sure some sort of algorithm or formula was used to come up with a base and prices were tiered from there or something like that. It was the same when you saw dealers selling lots of cards in the 80s. Cards in group A were $0.25 per card each when you bought 100, card group B were $0.15 per and so on.
I remember noting at the time that each set had the same players at the higher price ranges across brands and sets, which would make sense as those were the most popular and thus lost likely widely traded cards. There was always a pattern though. It seemed like there was some difference for set quality (premium set vs basic set), but often it was little to no difference unless we were talking CC vs SP. One month Frank Thomas would lead the group, then a few weeks later, Ryan had displaced him, while Thomas cards fell into the Ryan "slot".
I would think Ebay closed listings has to be the most accurate and widely recognized price index we have at our disposal now.
I was always suspicious of how they price things and on top of that, for the five years I had a store, NO ONE from Beckett ever stopped to ask me about prices.
It seemed like for somewhat equal price points (Ultra vs Stadium Club for example), the cards were ALWAYS priced the same. Almost as though what the card looked like didn't matter. Which makes sense when you understand Beckett has a PhD in Statistics, so I'm sure that has a lot to do with how they calculate prices -- even though they claim to REPORT prices, there's no way they can do that for ALL these cards.
Going back to my original question, that's why the cards which weren't in that insert set had prices when they never existed in the first place. You'd think that would put a dent in Beckett's credibility, but it seems that some feel price guides are a big part of what's keeping this industry going. "Look, it says here it's worth ____." When really, cards only have value to whoever is buying them. What I like might be worth $100 to me, but to you, it's worth nothing.
I agree on the comment about eBay. Printing prices in a book is one thing, what people actually PAY, another.
(Still surprised no one has replied about the "missing" cards with prices. Maybe I imagined it?)
I don’t know about basketball but I do know the Beckett Baseball listed the 1989 Fleer Update Set having Ken Griffey Jr when the set first came out. Beckett was my only source of hobby news and I ended up buying 10 sets with my paper route money.
When I opened the sets, a young boy learned that Dr James Beckett was a liar.
Looking back I was surprised that Fleer didn’t include Griffey in that set since Topps, Score, and Donruss had Griffey in the late season sets.
I gotta agree...having my store I saw more than a few people disillusioned and misled by Beckett, despite my educational efforts about what "value" really meant. For a long time the Frank Thomas NNOF card wasn't in the price guide and was thrown into the pile of cards which "simply missed a part of the printing process", just like those that didn't have the gold stamping or other steps in the process. Then suddenly the thing was listed for thousands of dollars whereas it wasn't listed at all before.
Not only do they change their definitions at will, that situation sure seemed ripe with "someone bought a whole bunch of them and then got Beckett to list them in their magazine" type of abuse of power.
Glad they are irrelevant now but they did hurt a lot of good folks in the 80's and 90's. Then again show there isn't aby faction of the Trading Card hobby as a business (HaaB) that isn't a degree of corrupt or book definition immoral.
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
Glad Beckett is mostly if not totally irrelevant now, but they did hurt a lot of good folks in the 80's and 90's. Then again there isn't any faction of the Trading Card hobby as a business (HaaB) that isn't a degree of corrupt or book definition immoral.
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
IT's horrible when people are immediately suspicious just because you're into buying/selling cards. I closed my store and it was a relief, although that was back when Pinnacle Brands oversaturated everything and the strike killed baseball for awhile. I was out for awhile and got back in as a way of having fun and following players I really like...and make a buck or two. Maybe open some packs/boxes and go to shows. I hear about breakers keeping cards and things like that and it's another scar on the hobby.