88 Fleer Basketball Wax. Need Help!!

markmac

I just purchased a box of 1988 Fleer Basketball off ebay. Does anyone have any experience with these packs? I have opened three packs and every card is off center almost exactly the same proportion. This does not bode well for me. Do the contents of one or two packs doom the whole box? Also, I noticed that the sticker has a wax stain from the wrapper, not the gum. The gum is on top of the first card. I assume this is correct? I bought about 15 packs from a box in 1988 and those cards centering were mostly good with some all over the place. Should I continue opening? If not, do I just eat the $400+ I paid for the box?
Thanks,
Mark

bowlking

I have found that through the 89-90 season, most cards produced by Fleer are off-centered.

Stone193

Just a suggestion: you could call The Baseball Card Kid, Mark Murphy (google search BBCKID) @ (858) 551-8926 - if you don't know him, he's an expert on unopened material - has sold tons of 86F bkb packs and may have some suggestions - I believe if you send him one of the packs, he could tell you if they have been repacked. Contact me if you have any questions.

wallst32

Unless the packs have been mixed and matched, I would expect at least a small run of packs will have the same centering. The wax is always found on the back of the sticker, and it's usually very heavy, and the gum is on top.

May I ask why you are opening this box? Unopened material for the 88 Fleers, and 87s also, sell for a premium because of the perceived scarcity in unopened format (this is where the "value" of this box comes from; the loose cards are not hard to find). But there aren't many high dollar cards in the set to shoot for. Ungraded sets and all the top cards in 9 are very reasonably priced. You can probably get both a 10 Stockton and Jordan for less than the price of this box.

ctsoxfan

Funny this should come up tonight, as I was just looking through some 88-89 Fleer BB to screen for grading. I broke a box of this last year, and found most of the cards to be off-center, and saw minor chipping along the middle sides of the cards (where the black is). This, like all early Fleer BB, is a nightmare for quality. But, even though a run of the packs may be off-center, the whole box may not be that way. You might get a streak in there where the centering improves. And, you should find at least 3 Jordans in your box. Good luck!

Stone193

Haven't bought anything like that - did buy 79T wax but never opened it - what are chances that this kind of stuff has been searched? Worst experience I had was in 1993 when I bought 10 packs of 51T Redbacks from Rotman - turned out to be very amateurish repacks - very obvious - cards displayed handling wear - I was a good customer and they refunded me the $. Just curious what others think. As I stated before, I have an immense trust in Mark Murphy.

NickM

There have been some problems with '88-'89 Fleer basketball being resealed, but I expect that most of what is out there is legitimate. These boxes are far more available than their price would indicate. I can remember them selling at only a small premium over issue price for at least a full year afterward. I wish I had purchased more than I did.

Nick

Pat

Mark: Good to see a post from you again. We love it DONT WE?
PAT

markmac

Hey Pat!! Yes we do love it. I opened the box and most all cards are off centered. I did get 4 Jordans with only one worth grading. I can't buy any packs without opening them. There is no way I could buy a box and just sit on it. I guess its a sickness.
Mark

ranorama

What I've found from opening these 86 thru 89 Fleer Basketball boxes is that you will have 132 cards cut the same way. With approximately 3-1/4 sheets being cut to fill a 36 pack box, you can have any combination of centering, but the pattern was consistant. The first sheet used for your box could have been cut 80/20 L-R, next sheet 70/30 T-B, next sheet 50/50 both, and the straglers left over to fill from the 4th sheet are cut 75/25 L-R. Great! You get 4 Jordans, and only one of them is a PSA 9 or 10.
On the other hand, I've also seen a lucky streak of three 55/45 cut sheets being used to make a single box. Buying and ripping a box is like a Powerball lottery ticket...

Lothar52

too risky...i had bought a 88, 89, and 90 fleer jordan in psa 9 conditions last year.....i gota few 87's too....havent found a jordan rc in 8 that has impressed me...centering is ALL OVER THE PLACE!!!

loth