1984 Donruss PSA 10's

BugOnTheRug

Absolutely my favorite 1980's set, I've been following 1984D's on ebay, the SMR, etc. for some time. While the set has been quite popular and registrants are slowly making their way on board, it's interesting to note that not more than 9 months to a year ago, PSA 10 commons and minors were selling $25 and $45 a pop.

Now enter supply and demand over this time to the present.

Since Feb 1, JTcards has auctioned about 150 or so PSA 10 commons and minors and I believe the average price is around $9 a pop (I think SMR is $30); some didn't make even make a minimum of $6.95, and one last night ended with a winner for $3! And PSA 9's (which I am perfectly happy with), are selling for about 1/3 rd of normal grading costs.

Now I realize this is just a snapshot in time, but it will be interesting to see how the pulse of 1984D PSA 10's will continue. My guess is that at some future point, bulk submitting in hopes of these PSA 10's from heavyweights such as JT, rushoeless, and DSL will wain until more $$ is realized for the efforts. It's hard to imagine PSA 10 commons going still lower on average. I don't know.........time will tell.

While this set is probably one of the easiest to complete in high-grade of all 1980's sets, the collector has a chance to have an absolutely beautiful high-grade set, (as evidenced by the 56% all-PSA 10 set on the registry), without enduring the scarcity of high grade material of such difficult issues as 1980 and 1981 Topps. (My hats are off to you folks on these 2 sets!)

I'm curious what those who follow these sets and those who follow the transformation of newer sets into the registry think. I'm sure at other times, sets such as 1975 may have gone through a similar situation; meaning popular, but still lots out there. Will 84D PSA 10 prices ever mirror again the prices realized last year?? (Remember, I'm talking commons, minors here)

Thanks in advance, BOTR

onegaucho

I too love this set and have often dabbled in getting some PSA 10s for my collection.

As the influx of cards into the submission room increases over time, I'm guessing that the prices will decline (which will be good for me!) simply b/c the condition of these cards wasn't/isn't as condition sensitive as other companies' (ie Topps) during that time.

BugOnTheRug

Prices may decline but is this set popular enough to draw in enough new collectors to the registry, hence supporting higher prices down the road? While some 80s sets may never see any action, I'll bet the 84D will eventually grab the collector by the eyeball.....
BOTR

AlanAllen

I'm seeing the same phenomenon in 1989 Score Football. A year ago, PSA 10 commons were scarce and prices were high. Then Joe Tuttle and DSL started popping 10's by the hundreds. Stump, FabFrank, and I are the only 3 active PSA 10 set builders, and we are now all over 75% (Frank is over 90% and Stump is over 95%). So if we all have the card up for auction and a team collector doesn't bite, it goes unsold for $9.99. It hasn't gotten as bad as 1984 Donruss apparently has, but I can't see it going too much lower. If demand is that low then submissions will stop, which will drive prices back up.

Joe

Virtualizard

Although I don't necessarily collect any 1980s sets, I do collect some player sets that include cards from this issue. I would tend to agree that this is one of the nicest sets produced in the 80s. For some reason, I haven't had the best luck in grading my raw cards from this set - mostly PSA 8s and a few 9s on cards that I thought had a great shot at PSA 10.

If anyone has PSA 9 and 10 cards available for any of the player sets that I collect, let me know. I will pay more than the going rate on ebay for them, especially 10s. Email me for a list of players that I'm looking for if you have any questions - not all of my player sets are listed on the registry yet.

JEB.

jimtb

I have been trying to pick up 1984 Donruss (Fleer & Topps also) Tigers for about a year on ebay. I see lots of the same 84 D's sell again and again (HOFers, minor stars), but the Tigers seem scarce to come by. I agree that it's a beautiful set.

peterredshoes

Lacking the experience of most folks on the boards, I'm going to take an educated guess: given the acclaim that '84 Donruss has received over the years (I keep reading quotes to the effect of "best set of the '80s" regarding it), I think it's relatively safe to predict that it will at least succeed in drawing a premium vs. other '80s sets, at least in the 9-10 range, over the long term. I say long term to help deflect what would seem to be the most likely causes for this not to occur, shortages in a set due to lack of submission and temporary inflation due to the competition of a few intense collectors (like, say, three or four people trying to put together a complete '86 Topps set in high grade at once).

I wonder also whether something similar would hold for '89 Upper Deck and '93 Finest (and to a lesser extent, '90 Leaf). These are all sets which for a variety of reasons have stood the test of time so far. A key difference of course with '89 Upper Deck and '90 Leaf, at least, and perhaps Finest as well (although surface scratches do seem to be something of a problem with this set in the handful of copies I've encountered) obtaining high-grade material is not as tough as '80s sets. Grading of early to mid '90s cards will have to become a lot more popular before we find out, though.

Peter G.