Should I crack a case???

BugOnTheRug

I have 3 unopened 1988 fleer baseball wax rack cases that I bought back in 1989. They have been stored inside and moved little since that time. Although they aren't high dollar cases or popular with set builders, I wonder if I should at least crack 1 case and submit the best star cards and rookies in hopes of PSA 10's for ebaying to player registry folks. Seems like a gamble, but we're not talking a whole lot of money either.

Also, I see a lot of 88 fleer 'glossy' cards on ebay and wondered how these rank with the regular 88 fleer product I have.

Thanks, Bill

onegaucho

I think Grace, Glavine, and maybe Martinez (Edgar) were the only RCs worth getting. The Bonds and possibly other stars would garner interest from board members (I'd take a PSA 10 Gwynn!)

How much are the cases going for? I guess ultimately, I would factor in:

1. Cost to grade and ship the cards you plan to submit
2. Factor in a percentage that won't grade 10 (in 88 Fleer's case, I'm guessing you won't make the grading fee back unless they get 10s)
3. Time/cost to scan and post on eBay (or to mail them to board members

vs.

1. Cost of the case to sell as is.

purelyPSA

That all comes down to how good of a grader you are. You think you could pick out cards that will grade 40-50% 10s? Because at 6 a pop, plus eBay fees, that's what you'll need to make it worth your while. Right now 88 Fleer is running about 14% 10s. You could probably beat that total by making sure nothing you send in will grade worse than a 9, but even then the ratio of 10s to 9s runs a little less than 5 to 1. If you're a topflight grader, then go for it. If not then it probably won't be worth the effort.

estang

Ahhhhh....1988 Fleer....

I convinced my dad in the spring of 88 to buy a case of wax boxes for $475 or 66 cents a pack. It didn't take long to figure out that there was more product produced by Fleer in 88 in comparison to the previous four years. I still have about 8 boxes left after busting 8 and selling about 4. I think they're like $10 box on ebay. A bad investment, but it was fun at the time.

I do recall that each box produce very few duplicates. I find the red/white/blue design to be decent and there's a good number of interesting multi-player cards available. Greg Jeffries was suppose to be the big rookie from the set. Glavine, Grace, Edgar M are the only notables. I do like the randomly inserted All-Star cards produced. I think those would be the star cards to get graded, especially with the sensitive blue/red borders.

All said, you're probably better off passing for now. I think you wait until the 7 to 11 year olds at the time reach about 30 years of age, and I think you'll then see a resurgence of interest in some of the 80s stuff. So that would be in about 3 to 7 years.

Ahhhhh....1988 Fleer....

One year too late in the Fleer investment....

BugOnTheRug

estang,

I originally bought 5 cases, and at the time paid about $235 per case. (can you say oouch!) They went to around $475, but I held on to them, not so much that they'd go higher but I got interested in other pursuits, as I have over the years - the ebb and flow of my card collecting.

I did, however, buy 2 rak boxes of 87 fleer I think for $50 per box in 1989 or 1990. I had a good time selling the raks for $10-$14 a pop. Clark, Bo, and Sierra were the biggies at the time - Bonds and Bonilla to a lesser extent. Hard to believe Clarks were selling for $30 ea.......now worth next to nothing.

I may take a chance on one case, or maybe just one box. As others have pointed out above, I'd need to be diligent on what I submit (I'd wait for the next $5 special -- hope it happens again) and also be lucky. Anyway, not to throw money away but it would be a good learning experience as to what the results would be.

And who knows, I may even try to put a blazer raw set together.

Bill

SAHDofTwins

Myself as well as "theplasticman" would be interested in will clark. thanks.

theplasticman

<< <i>I did, however, buy 2 rak boxes of 87 fleer I think for $50 per box in 1989 or 1990. I had a good time selling the raks for $10-$14 a pop. Clark, Bo, and Sierra were the biggies at the time - Bonds and Bonilla to a lesser extent. Hard to believe Clarks were selling for $30 ea.......now worth next to nothing.

Bill >>



Hey now... the Clarks are worth ALOT to me

Ive been buying Will Clark lots for quite a while and am sitting on well over 3,000 rookies. Lots of Topps stuff from vending cases and cherry picked 86 and 87 tiffany stuff.

may send some in but Ive already got 2 dozen PSA 10/BGS9.5 gem rookies.

theplasticman

<< <i>Myself as well as "theplasticman" would be interested in will clark. thanks. >>



Yeah, Nathan and I are always looking for the Clark's in PSA 10. We dont even fight over them. It's pretty cool stuff. Thanks for looking out for me Nathan!

josh / theplasticman