Now that's a nice profit margin

KallMaloneSay

Chris Warren 98 Playoff Absolute Gold #/25

The seller is a friend of mine that I shared three tables with at the Chicago Sun Times show. He found this card in a .50 cent box with the dealer right across from us. The seller (Aaron) is the master of the bargain box. He found tons of $20 and $30 cards for less than a buck at the show. I found a few myself, but not like this. A month ago he found a 2001 Donruss Ben Sheets in a $5 box and got over $150 on ebay for it as well as a 97-98 Chris Mullin Topps Chrome Refractor (preview) for .25 cents that he got like $35 for.

Stone193

<< <i>The seller is a friend of mine >>


Your friend has a good eye for a bargain!
Mike

ctsoxfan

Wow, $71.00 for Chris Who?

No wonder you vintage guys think modern collectors are nuts...

AlanAllen

Hey, Chris Warren was a superstar back in the day. He ran for over 1500 yards in 1994, and was Pacific's spokeman for a year. I remember trading with a hardcore Warren collector a few years back - I wonder if the buyer is the same guy.

Joe

Fabfrank

There's gold in them thar bargain boxes

packCollector

not knowing anything about modern cards , i have to ask.

what could possible make a ben sheets card be worth $150? are there 2 $100 bills sewn inside it?

Rainman

modern cards are somewhat like .com stocks a few years ago...hope breeds eternal optimism...prices fluctuate quite rapidly based on hype in BA, Beckett, etc. people speculate on Rookies, 500HR members, etc. i collect both vintage and modern, using the 'sensitivity' of the modern market to make $ to buy players i collect.

is a card "worth it?" that's for the market to decide. who had the foresight to load up on jordan RCs in 86 (or even 90) when they could be had for < $10? who had the foresight to load up on vintage wax boxes or to keep a 52 mantle in mint condition when they got it as a kid (i wasn't born then so missed that chance by 20+ years)?

helionaut

I've done quite well with bargain boxes myself. There are certain players who don't book highly but have a deep and deep-pocketed following, and that's where I have the best luck in profit mining. Jose Canseco, Will Clark, Mike Mussina, Rickey Henderson, all can have fierce bidding for the really tough cards, but most dealers don't know this so they sell them for pennies on the dollar. Of course, finding them in the first place is hard, but if you know what to look for you can make your own luck.

cardboardjungle

$71, no scan available, no insurance offered....too risky for me.

KallMaloneSay

what could possible make a ben sheets card be worth $150?

There were two redemptions in the set, one ended up being for Pujols and the other ended up being Ben Sheets both with a stated print run of 500 redemptions. Donruss required $6.99 and the card for redemption (as they did with the 2001 Donruss Elite Extra Edition also). Most of the Pujols were redeemed, but nobody wanted to pay an extra $7 for the Ben Sheets, so approximately 150 or less were redeemed. So Donruss 01 set collectors need the Pujols and Sheets just to finish a base Donruss set.

Spigrimace

I still love picking up sharp condition mid to late 70's inducted HOF's for a buck or 2 each. Fingers, Perry, Stargell, McCovey, Seaver, Jackson, Carlton, etc. To me, that's a bargain.

joestalin

the opening bid is 2 bucks and the first guy comes along and bids 34 bucks? Then the next guy
bids 70?? These guys aren't exactly looking for a bargin are they? I hope they bid on my stuff!
Congrats to your friend for finding the 3 guys in the whole world who would pay that much for that
card.

Kevin

KallMaloneSay

Great, now like a moron I've posted a bunch of junk cards for the first time on ebay. I'm sure my dillusions of grandeur will become a disappointment as I probably won't get any bids.

Just curious, I know that there are some random players with many collectors out there who pay good money. As Helionaut said, Canseco and Clark seem to be two of these guys. Anyone know of any others? I've seen quite a few Edgar Martinez cards sell for crazy prices, as well as Garret Anderson, Bo Jackson, and Dennis Eckersley. Anybody got any other names that maybe we all have a few in our bargain boxes and can make some unexpected coin on ebay?
Jason

DeutscherGeist

The 1986 Topps Don Mattingly in PSA grade of 9 or 10 will get good coin ($35 and $100+ respectively).
Not many have been graded. I think only two PSA 9's exist, none higher, and people need this card to complete the Master sets and basic sets.

joelwalter

If you check out the other completed auctions for 1998 Playoff Absolute Gold, you'll see that there are a couple people, with a lot of money, who are putting together the set..

Here are a few other examples..

Scott Mitchell 90+
E.G. Green 100+
Terrell Davis 80+
Kordell Stewart 80+

MrRookie

Don Mattingly, George Brett, Ryne Sandberg, Eddie Murray, Will Clark, Hideo Nomo, Deion Sanders, and a few others' rare cards seem to sell a lot better than similar players

players who have few certified autos like Fred McGriff, Mariano Rivera, Tino Martinez, Andy Pettitte, Nomo, Piazza, Posada, and some others' autos also sell really well