1989 Upper Deck Gary Sheffield RC#13 PSA 9

DeutscherGeist

I bought a lot of 10 of these some years ago for about $80. I like Sheffield and wanted to have some PSA 9s of his card and the easiest way to get them was not by submission, but buying them already slabbed in bulk. A few out of the 10 look perfect with the dead centering and all. I was satisfied with the purchase as it was basically the grading fees that I paid for. I also have a few raw cards that I like to keep that way.


I was searching on ebay and did not get any hits except ebay stores for this particular card in a PSA slab. There are a lot of raw cards for sale but you know how hit and miss that is. Has the value gone up on this card after 3 years or can one still buy 10 PSA 9s for $80? The cards selling on the ebay stores go for $10-20.

I am also curious about this year and issue as I have seen the phenomena of card yellowing. How does one prevent this? This must lower the value considerably.

Axtell

I can't help but think the huge amounts of this product that was opened (looking for Jr. rookies), combined with the relative ease of obtaining PSA 9s and 10s with it, means these cards arent worth too much.

The rumors floating about that UD made huge batches more after Jr's popularity soared doesn't help the value of the 'lesser' cards.

bsfastball

They generally go for around $5 each

DeutscherGeist

$5 each?

I guess I overpaid.

Stingray

I believe I saw someone selling PSA 10 Sheffields for $16.00 BIN on Ebay.


Stingray

larryallen73

Darn it. I guess I won't bother getting mine graded! Better off paying $16 for a 10 and being done with it!

DeutscherGeist

If a PSA 10 is $16, its not worth submitting a raw card for a grade.

I would buy it if the card looked perfect. I will go check it out.

DeutscherGeist

I have noticed an issue of yellowing on these cards.

What is going on and how can one prevent this?

digicat

Yellowing in the slabs? I haven't seen that.... I think it really depends on how the cards were stored through the years. My childhood collection lived at my mom's house until 6 years ago when I got back into the hobby and liberated it from my old bedroom. Mom's always been a heavy smoker, and as a result all the cards printed on white cardstock had noticably yellowed if they were stored in a box w/o sleeves. The cards that I put into sleeves, card savers, screw-down holders, etc, remained pretty nice looking.

I busted some fresh 1989 UD packs a few years ago and the cards looked fresh and white, just like they did in 1989.

DeutscherGeist

Thank you digicat.


I meant yellowing in raw form. I think yellowing is caused by the environment and if these cards are kept in penny sleeves, at the bare minimum, they will stay blast white forever.

The upper deck cards in the packs will remain white because they are sealed very well.

I have noticed my card savers turn yellow after a decade or two, but the card is not harmed.

Stone193

DG

I think that cardboard - i.e. - baseball cards are susceptible to the same factors that affect the aging of other paper.

In general, paper/cardboard ages - over time - this process can be affected by certain additional factors:

1. Temperature/humidity
2. Light
3. Pollutants

In general, acids deteriorate paper. They add alkaline buffers to decrease the effect.
However, pollutants and humidity, along with exposure to light (natural and artificial) and higher temperature will accelerate the aging process.

What does that say about the proverbial - "cards in the attic?"

mike

DeutscherGeist

Thank you stone for answering too!!

craig19

$27 is the lowest I see on EBAY for PSA10...

ColleSystem

I think that it is important that mylar sleeves are used for archiving to prevent yellowing. Almost no one uses mylar sleeves. I think the PSA slabs may be made of mylar.

iamthegreatcornholio

<< <i>$27 is the lowest I see on EBAY for PSA10... >>



$10.49

Stone193

<< <i>I think that it is important that mylar sleeves are used for archiving to prevent yellowing. Almost no one uses mylar sleeves. I think the PSA slabs may be made of mylar. >>


Colle

That's a good point!

In fact, newspaper that's stacked one on top of another is more apt to brown than paper archively protected.

Paper that presses against itself with humidity and air pollution is more apt to create acid which yellows and decays paper.

mike

DeutscherGeist

Collesystem,


What are mylar sleeves? Do you mean the stuff from like Ultra Pro Platinums? Or are those polypropylene?
Do you mean that we should put those 1989 Upper Decks in their own penny sleeves and then in a album sheet or card saver?
It sounds like you imply that having those cards in PSA holders needs no further protection. Putting a PSA holder in a large sleeve prevents it from scratching but a PSA holder is already sealed so the card is protected from the elements anyway. Did I read you correctly?



I have put my high school news papers in individual plastic wrap paper when I was a teenager. Now, 15 years later, they look good as new. Plastic wrap is not the smart choice, but I did not know any better back then and I guess it worked out OK. I assume the plastic wrap did not have any acid in them like most plastics did in the past.

Stone193

<< <i>Collesystem,


What are mylar sleeves? Do you mean the stuff from like Ultra Pro Platinums? Or are those polypropylene?
Do you mean that we should put those 1989 Upper Decks in their own penny sleeves and then in a album sheet or card saver?
It sounds like you imply that having those cards in PSA holders needs no further protection. Putting a PSA holder in a large sleeve prevents it from scratching but a PSA holder is already sealed so the card is protected from the elements anyway. Did I read you correctly?



I have put my high school news papers in individual plastic wrap paper when I was a teenager. Now, 15 years later, they look good as new. Plastic wrap is not the smart choice, but I did not know any better back then and I guess it worked out OK. I assume the plastic wrap did not have any acid in them like most plastics did in the past. >>


DG

Actually Saran Wrap, e.g., probably contained PVC back then - which is harmful to paper goods and some foods.

Today, they still use PVC but there is also a non-PVC type of material called - in general - low density polyethylene (LDPE), which is less clingy.

So, if you ever got a plastic wrap that wasn't as clingy as others - there's the difference.

mike

DeutscherGeist

Over 2 years later from when I first started this thread.

The prices of this card in PSA 9 dropped to about $1-2 plus shipping. I was checking this out last week. I couldn't believe it. I originally bought 10 for $80, which is the grading fees alone.

The economy must really be in bad shape to let such a noteworthy card go for dirt cheap.

StopYurWhining

1. its not a rare card the made billions of 89 upper deck.
2. Sheffield is a dipwad, a roid' user and a jackass. no HOF for him.

digicat

<< <i>The economy must really be in bad shape to let such a noteworthy card go for dirt cheap. >>



Sheff's not a popular player and was linked to 'roids. That, plus when you bought his cards, he had just come off of his 3rd 34+ hr, 120+ rbi season. From 2006 on, he's been a shadow of himself, with injuries, age, and maybe an absence of steroids. That will drive anyone's card values down.

He's currently sitting at 499 HR's with 2 games to go in the season. If he hits his 500th, you'll have the best, and probably final, opprotunity to off-load those cards and recoup some of your money.

RoarIn84

yeah, he's a schmuck who's done little for our Tigers and he's still got another $14M year to go next season. I've been wanting his ugly, arrogant, steroid loving, under-performing arse out of The D for a while. At least Todd Jones finally knew when to call it quits. I love Sheff's quotes after he got his suspension for charging Carmona (from 1st base?!)-

"There's a point I get to where it's hard to come back from," Sheffield said Friday. "And when I get to that point, you're going to have to deal with me -- today, tomorrow, until the day I get you."

Of the players who punched him from behind, Sheffield said, "I saw the tape. I know who they are. And I guarantee you, they'll have to deal with me."

No further incidents happened over the weekend, though Sheffield and Martinez could be seen marking lines in the dirt around home plate when Sheffield stepped into the batters box Sunday.

On Monday, after learning of the penalties, Sheffield was still vowing some sort of payback.

"They're going to be penalized by me, too," he said Monday. "That's just the way it goes."


.....what a tool

DeutscherGeist

It looks like Sheffield stays on the HOF ballot for now as voters are coming to terms with how to evaluate players from the steroid era.
Now that a lot of time has passed, is the above referenced card truly his best, or is it some kind of glossy card from 1989?

JoeBanzai

@StopYurWhining said:
1. its not a rare card the made billions of 89 upper deck.
2. Sheffield is a dipwad, a roid' user and a jackass. no HOF for him.

This.

Sorry if he is one of your favorite players, but he was a d-bag from day one.

DeutscherGeist

Has anyone else noticed that Sheffield's Upper Deck rookie doubled in value since the last HOF Ballot voting? It used to be $15, now it is close to $30. I am talking about a PSA 10 grade.

ZTarg

@DeutscherGeist said:
Has anyone else noticed that Sheffield's Upper Deck rookie doubled in value since the last HOF Ballot voting? It used to be $15, now it is close to $30. I am talking about a PSA 10 grade.

The two most recent sales are for $17.38 + $4 shipping and $15.51 + $3 shipping. Both were auctions. There was a buy it now for $32.95, but in the last 3 weeks no auction has closed higher than $23.10

craig44

I would say that Sheffields best cards would not be a rookie, but one of the rare 90ś inserts/parallels like 96 Mirror gold or 98 Crusade Red.

wadevl

ill do $25 shipped for a PSA10 if interested

Stone193

I remember back when...

If a player had 500+ HRs? Just hand him a ticket to Cooperstown.

DeutscherGeist

ZTarg,

Your right about the most recent sales, but going back to January of this year, the cards were selling in the $20-30 range. Maybe its cooling down in March, but time will tell. It is not selling anywhere near when I bought them last year (meaning I got them for a lot less than even $18).

Craig44,

I never knew about those insert cards. They may be higher in value, but not everyone collects those and simply opt for a traditional rookie card. Some time ago, there was a debate on here regarding insert cards being a fad and not sustainable.

Eventually, he will get into the HOF. Richie Allen too. Both were great players, but their persona rubbed some the wrong way. Not everyone can be a Jim Abbott in terms of personality, nor would we want that.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

DeutscherGeist

That's right han_soto, there was an error version of this card. PSA labels that too.

45isodd

The 1989 Bowman Tiffany would be his best rookie to own.

DeutscherGeist

45isodd,

I see that now. I will get some. There is still time.

DeutscherGeist

The last three completed ebay auctions went between $27-$32. What a jump the card made since last year.

craig44

I think Sheffield will eventually get in. at some point, someone will get a solid lead on some of the steroid users who are currently in the hall, write a tell all book and then the floodgates will be open for players like Sheffield.

DeutscherGeist

I was just looking around ebay to see how various cards are doing. Someone reported the huge uptick in the 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. PSA 10's, so that inspired me to check out the Gary Sheffields of the same card issue. In the last few auctions in May 2020, the Sheffield card sold for between $29.99 to $50. The former price still had $3.50 in shipping on top of that.

I thought that prices would level during a pandemic/economic downturn, but it seems a lot of cards have simply inflated since the last few years. I mostly look at the 1980s and 1990s cards, so I can only comment on them. Can this simply be explained as children from that era who are now middle-aged are nostalgia buying and that simply increases the competition for these cards?

In any case, the Sheffield rookie is no longer a $15 card.

JoeBanzai

@DeutscherGeist said:

>

In any case, the Sheffield rookie is no longer a $15 card.

The 1989 UD Sheffield in PSA 9 is an $8-10 card.

In a 10 it goes for around $50.

This is a perfect example of how many star players cards are valued right now. 9's aren't worth the grading fees and 10's will make you a small profit.

Sheffield had a LOT of issues during his career. He was very talented, but I wouldn't give you anything for one of his cards as a collector. I suppose if someone offered me PSA 10's for $20.00, I would buy them and sell them immediately.

There is the possibility that the steroid players will someday get a pass, and guys like Sheffield might even get in the HOF. In that case, buying a few 10's right now would be a good investment.

I can't stand this kind of player, but a lot of people don't care about character.

DeutscherGeist

JoeBanzai,

Talking about Sheffield's character is an interesting discussion in itself, but one I would say is more nuanced and complicated than it appears on the surface. In any case, I am just looking at this from the phenomenon of cards. The Sheffield rookie in question is not going up, I believe, due to anything recent about Sheffield himself, but it seems to be a larger trend of many star rookie cards. Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, and Jim Abbott have seen similar upswing as I have been tracking those cards too. I have not seen such bull market behavior on cards since the craze of the late 80s/early 90s. With an economic downturn now in effect, they are still rising.

I had a chance to get a 1983 Topps Traded Strawberry in PSA 10, centered, for less than a $100 a few years ago, but I was not urgent about it figuring that it will always be at that price. It ended up selling before I made up my mind to buy it and I was only a little disappointed because I assumed the price was not going anywhere and can get it later. Miscalculated on that one big time! Now it is $200! Should I get it now, or could the price settle a bit because it went up too fast and the looming gloom of the economy is still likely ahead of us? It is a tough call. I waited for the 1984 Donruss Mattingly PSA 10 to come down a little from its $600 price a few years ago as some believed along with me that it rose fast to that level and would settle a bit before even going up again. I was dead wrong on that too.

One the other hand, I did buy 10 of the Sheffield rookies in PSA 10 as a lot for around $15/card not too long ago because I did like him as a player, but I also calculated (not just a gut feeling) that he would likely make the HOF at some point due to the numbers we have talked about previously. Whether he makes it or not does not undermine the gains these cards have already made. I can sell just 3 of the cards and get my money back, plus still have 7 Sheffield's for my permanent collection.

JoeBanzai

Guten Morgen,

The economy doesn't have that much to do with card collecting. Logic is also not often applicable here.

The magical number TEN does.

Nines of modern players are, with a very few exceptions, worthless. Guys like Sheffield, Strawberry and Bo Jackson will most likely never get in the HOF, and it doesn't really matter. Right now collectors are buying 10's of (some) star players.

Bo Jackson is an example of a guy who probably would not have put up the numbers to make the HOF even if he had stayed healthy, yet his cards have good/great value. Even well centered 9's sell for more than it costs to grade them.......sometimes.

While the HOF "factor" is part of it, some players are just popular. Some are not, even if they are in the HOF, were never linked to PEDs and were "good" guys.

I have always thought Larry Walker was/is overlooked. Other than Bonds, who has LOTS of issues, Larry was the best player of his time (yes, he hit better in his home park MOST of the time), yet his Leaf rookie in a 10 goes for around $150.00.

Sammy Sosa's card sells for twice as much, and he is not in the HOF, and may never get in and there are almost four times as many Sosa 10's.

DeutscherGeist

JoeBanzai,

There are obviously a lot of variables and complexities to consider regarding card prices and maybe the economy does not have such a large influence, but may prompt a guy living hand to mouth because of unemployment to sell a few cards fast and not necessarily at top dollar for that matter. The really top cards of the hobby are virtually recession proof, of course. So far, prices are solid across the board.

One story I would like to share regarding all this star card craze. The 1990 Leaf Larry Walker PSA 10 was a card I was actively searching to buy because I never had one of this fine player and I calculated that he had a high probability of making the HOF soon, making his card more expensive to obtain. I think it was about a year before his induction I bought his rookie for $20, but more was not available. Now it is $150 indeed! Could be higher as you argued. He was a 5 tool player who simply did not get the notoriety that he deserved.

DeutscherGeist

I was justing checking completed auctions on eBay, and the Sheffield Upper Deck rookie is holding steady at

PSA 9 ~ $15
PSA 10 ~ $50

The PSA 9 was basically below the cost of grading not too long ago. Now I think it caught up.

This card has been fun to watch from a hobby point of view. I know its value surge in PSA 10 was part of the overall market correction for baseball cards in general. What some might of thought as a bad deal some years ago, all of a sudden became a good one. His increase in HOF vote totals is another interesting phenomenon to watch in the next few years as well. He is well above the 40% mark right now.

JoeBanzai

@DeutscherGeist said:
JoeBanzai,

There are obviously a lot of variables and complexities to consider regarding card prices and maybe the economy does not have such a large influence, but may prompt a guy living hand to mouth because of unemployment to sell a few cards fast and not necessarily at top dollar for that matter. The really top cards of the hobby are virtually recession proof, of course. So far, prices are solid across the board.

One story I would like to share regarding all this star card craze. The 1990 Leaf Larry Walker PSA 10 was a card I was actively searching to buy because I never had one of this fine player and I calculated that he had a high probability of making the HOF soon, making his card more expensive to obtain. I think it was about a year before his induction I bought his rookie for $20, but more was not available. Now it is $150 indeed! Could be higher as you argued. He was a 5 tool player who simply did not get the notoriety that he deserved.

I TOTALLY agree with you on Walker and picked up his Bowman Tiffany rookie (in a 10, of course).

@DeutscherGeist said:
I was justing checking completed auctions on eBay, and the Sheffield Upper Deck rookie is holding steady at

PSA 9 ~ $15
PSA 10 ~ $50

The PSA 9 was basically below the cost of grading not too long ago. Now I think it caught up.

This card has been fun to watch from a hobby point of view. I know its value surge in PSA 10 was part of the overall market correction for baseball cards in general. What some might of thought as a bad deal some years ago, all of a sudden became a good one. His increase in HOF vote totals is another interesting phenomenon to watch in the next few years as well. He is well above the 40% mark right now.

I have the feeling both collectors and investors see the value in a 10 over a 9.

I am generally neither as I cannot afford either/or.