1993 FINEST REFRACTOR #69 DOUG JONES PSA 9 - $504 !!!!!

Basilone

You have to be kidding me..........

1993 FINEST REFRACTOR #69 DOUG JONES PSA 9 = $504.00

CON40

John;

All you need to do is check the name of the auction winner... (pinhead42). LOL

It's all you need to know!

mikeschmidt

Come on, John -- it is low population. There are only 10 of these currently available in PSA 9!

DrNguyenVanFalk

But . . . its so shiny. How could someone not pay $504 for it . . .

Looks line pinhead42 hasn't won an auction since December of '01. He was probably lying in wait for a PSA 9 Jones all these years . . .

ctsoxfan

The great, legendary Doug Jones 1993 refractor was available? And I missed it? Darn it all...

How much you want to bet that pinhead doesn't pay for this one?

Rainman

haha insane. If only I had saved those 93 finest refractors (I wasn't fond of them).

LJB17

What am I missing? How could this card be worth even $20? Can someone please explain the significance if any?

I know you all agree it is overpriced, but it seems like 50x

ctsoxfan

I know that 1993 refractors are highly sought after, but I didn't know to this extent. I still think this is a mistake, either that, or the asylum let someone use the pc for a bit.

SAHDofTwins

Let's not forget to mention that the 2nd highest bidder bid $499.00 So there are a few nuts out there. Limited production makes the prices rise. But that high is insane. I guess the shiny factor hypnotizes some people. Congrats to seinbigd if the buyer follows through.

The second highest bidders screen name on ebay is "member2956343," can anyone confirm if this is "Museum of Sports History," here on the PSA registry? Curiosity is all.

Basilone

<< <i>The second highest bidders screen name on ebay is "member2956343," can anyone confirm if this is "Museum of Sports History," here on the PSA registry? Curiosity is all. >>



No....he is a deep pocket collector from the east coast. I do not want to out him...so my lips are sealed.

NickM

There were two bidders who set extremely high snipes on this card. The third bidder, at $113, is probably an extra user ID created by one of the collectors of '93 Finest refractors who is trying not to let everyone else in on his bidding practices. Competition for these cards is cutthroat. Only 241 sets were produced, which made them at the time far rarer than any other modern cards. Rumors have swirled for years that some of the refractors were actually shortprinted, perhaps by as much as half. Some of the cards are known to have been hoarded as well - Andre Dawson bought all of his refractors that he could find (supposedly around 100 by now), and several other collectors (at least 5 who I am aware of) have been hoarding refractors (sometimes to the extent of having acquired over 20 of a player). There are apparently at least 10 to 12 people who are either seriously attempting to finish the set or have already completed the set at least once.
Under these circumstances, if you miss out on the Jones refractor, it may be a long time before you see one come up again.
Really, how is this any different from two collectors setting outrageous snipes on a tough vintage common in PSA 9?

Nick

jonnyrock

the seller seinbigd has sold a whole bunch of 93 Refractors PSA 9 recently.
The funny thing is that the Doug Jones ($504) brought much more money than:
Pudge - $132
Boggs- $103
Gwynn- $85
Murray- $76
Bernie Wiliams- $50

things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Kid4hof03

I think Nick explained it perfectly. I would not consider paying such a price but there are other cards I have vastly overpaid for from my sets. We all do it to some degree. It's funny, modern collectors are asking why the heck someone would pay hundreds for a 1981 Bench and vintage/quasi-vintage collectors think this one is absurd. In the grand scheme of it all we are probably all crazy!

sjeanblanc

I believe RedSoxJeff paid over $2200 for a Nolan Ryan PSA 9 last year and it has a pop. of 11. I also recall someone last year as well, paying $800+ for a Ryan PSA 8. Ryan PSA 9 OC's went for $600+ and $300+ just recently.

If it comes down to the fact that multiple people really want a card badly enough, that's when the prices paid rise dramatically.

Collecting is a passion and some people are willing to pay whatever it takes to satisfy that passion. I know I am when it comes to Ryan cards, at least when I have money to spend.

Scott Jeanblanc
jeanblanc@iconnect.net
Ebay UserID : sjeanblanc

----------------------------------------------------
Collecting Nolan Ryan cards (68-93) in PSA 9 or better

CON40

Scott;

Unfortunately for me, I don't have $2200 worth of passion to buy that Ryan! Sometimes I think it will be the only one I never get.

Hope all is well with you!

sjeanblanc

I had $2102 worth of passion for that card, but it wasn't enough to beat RedSoxJeff's snipe bid.

Still looking for a steady job, being an out of work Programmer Analyst, I don't have a problem finding small jobs here and there, but finding something with a little permanance has been a dificult task to date. Who knows, maybe I will become a full time card dealer, at least for a little while. :=)

I just really don't want to dip into the Ryan collection. I think I could live under a bridge in a cardboard box with my Ryan cards and my dog and be happy. LOL.

Scott Jeanblanc
jeanblanc@iconnect.net
Ebay UserID : sjeanblanc

----------------------------------------------
Collecting Nolan Ryan cards (68-93) in PSA 9 or better

CON40

Scott;

I DO live under a bridge in a cardboard box with my Ryan cards and a hamster (dog takes up too much room!). At least we have our priorities straight! LOL

jimtb

I find it interesting where fellow colloectors make fun of other collectors buying habits. If a person collects a certain player or set, then it's important to them, and they are willing to pay for those hard to find cards. This guy who bought the Jones refractor might very well think we're idiots for the cards that we buy. Just be glad there's interest in modern cards.
Jim

seinbigd

Stating the obvious, the 1993 Finest Refractor Set has been one of the few sets from the '90s to hold collector's interest and retain its value. I began collecting the set in 1994 and substantially completed it in the late 90's, constantly upgrading it along the way. During the time I actively collected the set, I heard the Dawson story as well as stories about a doctor in the Kansas City area who was trying to corner the market on George Brett refractors as well as the theory that the reason the Juan Gonzalez card was so scarce was because Latin-American collectors were snapping up all the Gonzo cards. If you collected 1993 Refractors then you knew people like Bob Nappe who offered those tough to find raw cards needed to complete your set for four times Beckett. I also saw the set's value peak near $30,000 and then typical of modern era sets watched the bottom fall out to below $10,000. Once I completed the set, I just put it away in my closet and kinda forgot about it. When PSA came into existence, I started adding graded cards to my collection. I considered making an all graded set from time-to-time but became more interested in vintage cards and never really pursued grading the set. I recently decided to consolidate/liquidate my modern card collection and focus on my vintage card sets. The recent PSA specials led me to submit the star cards for grading and then subsequently grade the entire set. With the exception of 2 PSA-7s, the cards came back all 8s and 9s. It should be noted I accepted qualifiers.

As someone stated above, modern card collectors are no different than vintage, baseball, football, basketball, hockey, golf, non-sport, beannie-babies, you name-it collectors when it comes to building their sets. There seems to be a passionate common thread that drives us to finish and improve our sets. To me, that's the only rational reason why someone would pay $504 for a high-grade Doug Jones card and a fraction of that price for Pudge, Boggs, Gwynn, Murray who is a Hall-of-Famer and 500 HR club member, and Bernie in similar condition.

I've now sold about half the set and plan to list the rest of the set on ebay next week once I get the cards I've sold mailed out. Now if I can just find someone who is passionate for my 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998 Finest Refractor Complete Sets...

seinbigd

rw2win

<< <i>I find it interesting where fellow colloectors make fun of other collectors buying habits. If a person collects a certain player or set, then it's important to them, and they are willing to pay for those hard to find cards. This guy who bought the Jones refractor might very well think we're idiots for the cards that we buy. Just be glad there's interest in modern cards. >>


Well said!

LJB17

Thanks for all of the clarification. I was not aware of the scarcity of the cards nor the stories behind some of them. You learn something new every day.

Luke

helionaut

But the Jones wasn't even the highest priced PSA 9 refractor of the night. This set was the epitome of the 90's glitzy, short-run card sets, cardboard purists hated it, but enough people loved it to drive it up to $50 per pack the first week.

I remember when it came out, I went to a shop in Philadelphia and they had a Piazza "rainbow" card, before we heard the word "refractor", and they wanted $100 for it. I was really tempted, being an instant Piazza fan that year, but I didn't have that much on me even if I convinced myself to get it. When I got back to Austin later that day, I went to a card shop (I'm hardcore) and a guy had just finished ripping a box. I asked if he had found any rainbows which were coming about 1 per box, and he had, a Molitor. I asked him if he wanted to part with it, but he held onto it. I'm still looking for a Frank Thomas, just about the last major brand card of his I need from that year.

Anyway, congratulations on the great sales, Steve.

1420sports

Doug Jones = pinhead42???
what was his uniform number?

1420sports

nope, he didn't wear #42

LJB17

helionaut,

Your link takes me to my own ebay auctions. Are you still in Austin?

Luke