Poll: '85 Rack Case - Which Do You Buy?

SoFLPhillyFan

Interested in what the experts have to say about this question.

One additional fact. You are buying the case from a well known dealer with an excellent reputation. Price for the case is normal market value.

rbdjr1

TOPPS!



Topps Card!

Fleer Card!

Donruss Card!




rbd

eddiev

I think you have a better chance obtaining 10's with Fleer or Donruss. Topps has the McGwire but the conditon on those oare tough to obtain in Gem Mint.

My Auctions

Axtell

If you're buying it with the hopes of getting 10s, I suspect you'll be disappointed.

The black borders of the donruss will make it super difficult to attain.

Overall I think the topps will be your best value.

fsjeter

Most voters are probably choosing Topps because of the Mark McGwire RC. Right now the market is soft on Mcgwire Rookies. Take that card out of the equation and the three sets have virtually the same star power. The Donruss and Fleer issues were printed in smaller quantities than their Topps counterpart. In addition, I agree that the black borders make PSA 10's more difficult in the Donruss issue. Centering and print quality are the main issues with the Topps issue. For my money, I would go with the Fleer. The three examples above magnify that point. The PSA 9OC Fleer is selling for more than the straight PSA 9 Topps. It'll be interesting to see if they finish that way.

RipublicaninMass

Also, the fleer is listed Nomare-esque as a PSA 9 when it is a PSA 9 o/c. I sold a Topps PSa 9 clemens a few months ago for 40$

Axtell

<< <i> Take that card out of the equation and the three sets have virtually the same star power. >>



Why would you take the McGwire card out of the equation? It's the key card of all the 85 sets.

I think the market for the 85 pucketts and clemens' cards have dried up considerably as people are more and more recognizing the 84 fleer update is their true rookie card.

SoFLPhillyFan

Great answers. Keep 'em coming.

This question came to me today and I couldn't decide myself, so it's best to ask others who know.

10s may be hard to get, yes. This is really rhetorical, with the objective actually to get the highest grade possible.

So which case will yield the most stars and also the highest grades?

Does the set size matter? Topps is 792, Fleer and Donruss 660.

CopperJJ

My pick is Donruss. 9s and 10s of the 85 Donruss are sweet cards, Topps has centering problems. Fleer would be my second choice, I just like the Donruss better. I'd also rather have a PSA 10 Clemens over a PSA Topps McGwire.

Tipem

I would definately say Donruss as there was a big descrepency in the amount of cards printed, with Topps being severly overprinted compared to Donruss.Ultimately,it's all about the numbers and pop reports.Plus,the black borders should make high grade cards bring a premium.Probably,the greater question should be,"Would your chances be better buying a rack case or the equivalent in wax boxes?".It seems like people have better luck with cards out of wax than out of racks.



Vic

SoFLPhillyFan

The word lately from many here is that racks are the best, followed by wax, then vending.

I understand your thinking on the wax.

Axtell

<< <i>I would definately say Donruss as there was a big descrepency in the amount of cards printed, with Topps being severly overprinted compared to Donruss.Ultimately,it's all about the numbers and pop reports.Plus,the black borders should make high grade cards bring a premium.Probably,the greater question should be,"Would your chances be better buying a rack case or the equivalent in wax boxes?".It seems like people have better luck with cards out of wax than out of racks. >>



I think most any of those cards in high grade (Puckett, Clemens, McGwire) will do well for you. I think it has to come down to which cards are most likely to be in the best shape after 20 years.

Even if you are dealing with a good dealer of cards, who's to say about how they were handled in the past? Those black borders would cause you lots of grief (trust me, I know from experience).

If you going into it with the sole purpose of grading and selling, then I think it would be Topps, Fleer, then Donruss. Not to say I don't like the Donruss set (hey, gotta love black borders), but ripping packs and hoping for high grades on them is going to be rough.

eddiev

OK, I'll chime in again. I'll go with Fleer. Here are some recent sales I've had on EBAY for 85 cards, all sold in April 2005. Hope sharing this info helps


85 Fleer Puckett PSA 9 OC $5.00........Booooo, not happy
85 Fleer Clemens PSA 9 $91.00
85 Topps Clemens PSA 8 $11.50
85 Topps McGwire PSA 9 OC $31.00
85 Donruss Clemens PSA 7 $20.50
85 Fleer Clemens PSA 7 $17.50
85 Fleer Clemens PSA 9 OC $45.99

I just finished submitting an 85 Donruss Puckett and Donruss, let's see what happens. I"m also sitting on one more 85 Fleer Clemens PSA 9....Eddie

baseballpa21

Whats the going prices on wax boxes of each now Topps, Fleer, and Donruss?

fsjeter

<<Why would you take the McGwire card out of the equation? It's the key card of all the 85 sets.>>

Because there's already a ridiculous number of '85 Topps McGwire cards out there (over 44,000 PSA examples alone)and he probably won't pull enough of that one card to make a difference between the three cases. PSA 9's are selling in the $45 to $55 range. The last three
PSA 9 NQ Fleer Clemens cards each sold for over $100. I still think Fleer is the better choice.

Scott

fsjeter

<<Whats the going prices on wax boxes of each now Topps, Fleer, and Donruss? >>

The current retail rate for wax boxes are :

Donruss $75
Fleer $110
Topps $140



Scott

ajw

I think it's clear that the only answer is for you to buy a case from each company, bust them, grade the stars, sell them and then report to us.

We'll be waiting.

Axtell

<< <i><<Why would you take the McGwire card out of the equation? It's the key card of all the 85 sets.>>

Because there's already a ridiculous number of '85 Topps McGwire cards out there (over 44,000 PSA examples alone)and he probably won't pull enough of that one card to make a difference between the three cases. PSA 9's are selling in the $45 to $55 range. The last three
PSA 9 NQ Fleer Clemens cards each sold for over $100. I still think Fleer is the better choice.

Scott >>



There may be 44,000 cards graded, but there's still (obviously) a market for them.

SoFLPhillyFan

<< <i>I think it's clear that the only answer is for you to buy a case from each company, bust them, grade the stars, sell them and then report to us.

We'll be waiting. >>



Seriously, I may do exactly that.

85 holds it's own in prices, although I have bought both Fleer and Topps vending and been disappointed with the centering. A few 9s and the rest 8s and a 7 McGwire.

I just thought that those with more experience could shed some light on the collation and which issue holds the best odds of pulling the star cards. As for condition I think that Fleer may be the best for consistency.

zef204

I pulled the trigger on the Donruss case. I will let you know how it turns out.

eddiev

What are the cases running for at the present time?

SoFLPhillyFan

<< <i>I pulled the trigger on the Donruss case. I will let you know how it turns out. >>



Is that a rack case from BBC Exchange?

zef204

Yes sir.

CDsNuts

Zef, one thing about the Donruss rack cases is that every Clemens you get will be centered almost exactly the same. This makes it an all or nothing proposition for the most part. If the first Clemens you pull is badly centered, cut your losses and sell the rest of the packs. Trust me. As far as my input, I would go for Topps for two reasons:

- There are 3 cards that have resale value in raw form as opposed to only two in Fleer and Donruss. Although McGwire isn't hot right now, his cards still bring decent money both raw and graded.

- Any star you get that pulls a gem grade will usually sell for about 2-4x more in Topps than in Fleer and Donruss. All your Schmidt, Ripken, Ryan, Rose, Reggie, etc... PSA 10s will bring $100+ while they will struggle to do so in Fleer and Donruss. Also, you will be able to actually get something for the raw commons/semis. After opening 1985 vending case, I was able to sell 23 vending boxes worth of raw cards (everything that wasn't gradeable and wasn't McGwire, Puckett or Clemens) for around $10-12 each, mostly to a guy who was trying to put 50 sets together. I don't think there's a whole lot of people trying to build the Fleer and Donruss sets.


Lee

donnnster

I didn't buy a case but I did buy a 1985 topps rack box for fun. Will let ya all know how it turns out when I receive it!

spazzy

I think Topps is the way to go too.I dont know if anyone remembers but many years ago there was a production problem in Donruss 1985 Rak cases in that many Pucketts and other cards were not mixed in with the case. It was impossible to come close to make a set. I have opened Topps and Donruss 1985 Racks over the years and the Topps gave me a better mix of stars. For example 10 years ago I receive 4 or 5 Clemens and no Pucketts in the Donruss Rack...Those black borders are so nice but I would rather buy some graded examples since it is real hard uless you get lucky...