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89 Upper Deck: Griffey vs. Unit

AxtellAxtell Posts: 10,037 ✭✭
in Trading Cards & Memorabilia Forum
I have been looking over listings for these 2 cards in both 9 and 10 for the past 2 weeks, and it's striking the vast difference in pricing between them.

A PSA9 Griffey goes on average for $50 or so, and a Unit goes for $20 (and less!).

A PSA10 Griffey goes for about $250, the Unit goes for about $70.


Why the huge disparity in pricing? Are the Griffeys truly that much rarer? Or is there still 4x the demand for the Griffey as there is for Big Unit? While Junior has been heating up in the past couple of weeks, Unit has been dominant the past several years while Junior's been hurt. Both are locks for first ballot HoF voting, both have dominated for extrordinary stretches of time.

Is it the #1 that is so much more alluring? I've always wanted to own 10s of both these cards (currently have 8s), but was shocked to see the price disparity.

Comments

  • BuccaneerBuccaneer Posts: 1,794 ✭✭
    The disparity had been much, much greater (100x???). The fact that it is getting closer should tell you something. Eventually, I believe, RJ will be the more valuable card - it just takes time to make up that great disparity and to change people's perception.
  • KnucklesKnuckles Posts: 2,512 ✭✭✭
    Sluggers will always be more in demand/popular to collect than pitchers.
    image
  • mudflap02mudflap02 Posts: 2,060 ✭✭
    The Griffey card is the icon that ushered in the new era of the hobby. Like the 52 Mantle, it's got more going for it than just being a piece of cardboard.
  • ctsoxfanctsoxfan Posts: 6,246 ✭✭
    I think mud's got it right - the #1 Griffey card is more of an icon, and has been in demand since 1989. The Johnson RC never really had any juice back then, but as his career wore on, it has picked up some steam.

    The Griffey card was the first of a new "generation" of high quality cards (remember the big deal about the hologram?), and he has tempted collectors for the better part of a decade and a half with his amazing potential. Of course, he has lived up to a lot of it and put up great career numbers, but how great would he be if injuries hadn't dogged him?

    The Johnson card could be had for a song (until he sold his soul to play for the Yanks, that is). I picked one up on Ebay in PSA 10 for around $25 2 years ago.
    image
  • CDsNutsCDsNuts Posts: 10,092 ✭
    What's funny is that there are AT LEAST 1.5x as many Griffeys out there than Units. A lot of people don't know this, but back in their shadier days right when the Griffey started taking off ($50 + in Beckett), they used the printing plates that should have been destroyed to crank out as many Griffeys as they could get away with, then sold them in 5000 ct. boxes out the back door to some of the bigger dealers. I heard this from a few different reputable dealers that had no reason to lie about it, and it was evident when I went to the National in St. Louis several years ago when the Griffeys literally littered showcases around the show.

    Lee
  • softparadesoftparade Posts: 9,276 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Anything evidence out there? Thats as bad as it gets if Griffeys were being pumped out like Tino Martinez home runs ......

    ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240

  • goudeygoldgoudeygold Posts: 701 ✭
    Its just like the Bonds RCs. Everyone is holding them thinking they are going to jump in value when he gets the HOF, 600 HR, whatever. As was stated earlier, there are too many out there, thus the price has nowhere to go but down...

    GG
  • jrdolanjrdolan Posts: 2,549 ✭✭
    I would just add that the PSA population report shows 48,742 graded 89UD Griffeys vs. 20,655 graded 89UD Johnsons. And that's just PSA. Since it's modern, we can assume that BGS has slabbed an astronomical number as well ... probably more than PSA since modern is Beckett's bread and butter. Then we get to the hundreds of thousands of ungraded copies and the still unopened cases sitting in warehouses and back rooms. And THEN we get to Donruss and Fleer and Topps and their many different '89 rookie cards for both players. I think we can safely say there will be plenty to go around.
  • CDsNutsCDsNuts Posts: 10,092 ✭
    Come on soft, this is America. You don't need proof of anything- all you have to do is say something and people believe you. In this case I don't have any proof, but there's a great book about how shady Upper Deck was when they first started out (can't remember the name, maybe "Card Sharks") and it clearly wasn't the worst thing they would have done.

    Lee
  • softparadesoftparade Posts: 9,276 ✭✭✭✭✭
    jrdolan, that pop number of 48742 graded Griffeys is just unbelievable. The 1978 Topps set that I collect has a graded population of 46,189 cards. And that is the population of ALL 726 cards COMBINED ...... 3,780 Eddie Murray. Those Griffey numbers make my modern set look scarce image

    ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240

  • Stone193Stone193 Posts: 24,407 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Slugger vs. Pitcher?

    Slugger wins just about every time. Does anyone remember when the Ryan RC booked at 1600$ Nm?
    It doesn't seem like cards "bump" up as a guy is near the HOF like they used to. The Eck RC is a good example. And Carter's RC didn't go thru the roof either?

    There isn't a card from 1986 to present that will "fund" someones vacation/retirement villa on the Riviera. Even if one had a large pile.

    Griffey #1 UD is special in the collectors eye - but the value has really taken a dive - what was the highest anyone remembers seeing a PSA 9? I want to say like 200?

    I like these cards and have too many - maybe my son will sell them as "vintage" some day?

    mike
    Mike
  • AxtellAxtell Posts: 10,037 ✭✭
    So should I continue to hold out? I'm in no rush to get these cards...and I can't help but think that they will continue to drop in price.

  • softparadesoftparade Posts: 9,276 ✭✭✭✭✭
    With populations like that running around prices have nowhere to go but down. Those 48,000 PSA graded Griffeys and 20+ thousand Johnsons are just the tip of the iceberg.

    ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240

  • CDsNutsCDsNuts Posts: 10,092 ✭
    Doesn't look like Griffey has any monster years left in the tank, but you never know. Personally, I would hold off for a few more years as he nears retirement. As for Unit, I don't see it going down in value, and if he has another CY Young year it will probably spike up a little. It's not rare to see 100ct or 200ct lots of these cards up on ebay, and if you look for sellers who don't have a history with graded cards you may pick up some nice ones to get graded and sell the rest if you want. Also, I think right now the guy to pick up is Maddux.

    Lee
  • goudeygoldgoudeygold Posts: 701 ✭
    just to give you an idea of how grotesque the griffey upper deck POP report is consider this:

    There are 10,000 MORE 1989 UD griffey Jrs out there (from PSA alone) than EVERY card graded for the entire combined sets of 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936 and 1938 Goudey. ten thousand MORE.

    now that is sheer insanity.

    GG

  • TheCARDKidTheCARDKid Posts: 1,496 ✭
    The gap between Gem Mint 10 and Mint 9 will inevitably go down as more cards get graded. 48,000 Griffey's is nothing. To say nothing of RJ.

    If you figure Topps and the others were printing a million of each player in '89, Upper Deck must be in the hundreds of thousands.
  • BuccaneerBuccaneer Posts: 1,794 ✭✭


    << <i>With populations like that running around prices have nowhere to go but down. Those 48,000 PSA graded Griffeys and 20+ thousand Johnsons are just the tip of the iceberg. >>



    Yep.

    But remember, in 1994, the 1978 cards were 16 YRS OLD and today, the 1989 cards are that same age! image
  • BigRedMachineBigRedMachine Posts: 2,563 ✭✭✭
    I paid $40 two years ago for an 89 griffey from my local card shop (half of book is the guys price). It was nice so I sent it to PSA and received a 10. Sold it on eBay for $515.00. Bought a nine with the proceeds for $70. I was missing my ten for awhile but now I'm not sure why.

    All that's been said though, still a great card....and one of the top 200 in Joe's book.
  • softparadesoftparade Posts: 9,276 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>With populations like that running around prices have nowhere to go but down. Those 48,000 PSA graded Griffeys and 20+ thousand Johnsons are just the tip of the iceberg. >>



    Yep.

    But remember, in 1994, the 1978 cards were 16 YRS OLD and today, the 1989 cards are that same age! image >>



    But remember, in 1978 the 1952 Topps were 26 YRS OLD and today, the 1978 cards are 27 years old image

    ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240

  • Mac53Mac53 Posts: 805 ✭
    There's a scene in a movie called "Girl Number 6." I've only seen it on the Independent Film Channel. It's a Spike Lee film. In this scene, Spike Lee is talking to the main character, a woman who works at a telephone sex outfit. He is questioning her line of work and she wants to know what he plans on doing to make money. Spike holds up a Griffey, Jr. UD rookie card. "I've got 2,000 of these," he says. It's sort of an inside joke, but it's pretty funny. I don't know what this means, but I think it may be relevant.
    "Charlie, here comes the deuce. And when you speak of me, speak well."image
  • Lothar52Lothar52 Posts: 2,664 ✭✭✭
    lol
  • phreakydancinphreakydancin Posts: 1,691 ✭✭
    Beckett number is "only" 20916. image
  • WarHoundR69WarHoundR69 Posts: 564
    The allegations about Upper Deck reprinting cards (Griffey Jr., Error Cards, French Hockey plus more) after the initial production run are detailed in a book titled : CARD SHARKS, authored by Pete Williams, copyright 1995, Publisher - Premier Hall Macmllan Co.
    A very interesting read about baseball cards. I bought the book when it first came out. Not sure if it's still in print.
    30's R Want List:

    R73 1933 Goudey Indian Gum - Series 288 - Nos. 118
    Also looking for 1953 Parkhurst & 1953 Quaker Oats Ripley's BION.

    If you have any available for sale PM me
  • N162CollectorN162Collector Posts: 100 ✭


    << <i>The Griffey card is the icon that ushered in the new era of the hobby. Like the 52 Mantle, it's got more going for it than just being a piece of cardboard. >>



    Seconded
  • goudeygoldgoudeygold Posts: 701 ✭
    who cares. 65,000+ graded, and probably another 250,000+ raw. down, down, down, the ring of fire... the ring of fire...

    GG
  • zef204zef204 Posts: 4,742 ✭✭
    And I thought Dante Bichette was the card of that set in '89.image
    EAMUS CATULI!

    My Auctions
  • softparadesoftparade Posts: 9,276 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>who cares. 65,000+ graded, and probably another 250,000+ raw. down, down, down, the ring of fire... the ring of fire...

    GG >>



    GG, an over produced modern worthless crap card even in my eyes image Although the set itself is nice......

    ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240

  • AxtellAxtell Posts: 10,037 ✭✭
    What are the odds of pulling 10s from fresh boxes? I mean for less than $200, you could purchase 2 low number boxes...just a thought?
  • goudeygoldgoudeygold Posts: 701 ✭
    I agree softparade, the set is outstandingly beautiful. I still remember finding my first funky foil pack and oogeling at the hologram on the back after carefully opening it.

    Just a shame again it was sooo painfully overproduced and everyone saved them from the get go insuring a countless supply of nrmt-gem mint cards.

    GG
  • CDsNutsCDsNuts Posts: 10,092 ✭
    I need the high number boxes so I can get my Jim Abbott 3X as well as Jerome Walton and Dwight Smith RCs. That Cubs outfield has a great future ahead of them. What??? There's a Nolan Ryan card where he's throwing a football!!!!

    Lee
  • schr1stschr1st Posts: 1,677 ✭✭
    A little while ago, I did a little math regarding the production #'s mentioned in Card Sharks. Based on the speculated # of cases of low and high wax and factory sets (both 700 and 800 ct sets), there were about a million of each card printed. Add to that # the speculated reprinting of Griffey rookies by UD, and well you know the rest.

    Here is a link to my original post about it.
    Who is Rober Maris?
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