I'm not selling, but I'd like an apprasial of my 1980s pack collection

Estil

A few years ago I assembled an almost complete run of 1980s wax/rack/cello baseball packs. Can you tell me about how much my collection is worth? Some of these were super hard to find even on Ebay. Here's my collection:

Topps Wax: 1980-1999
Topps Rack: 1981-92
Topps Grocery Rack: 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986
Topps Cello: 1981-90
Topps Jumbo Rack: 1987-90
Fleer Wax: 1981-89
Fleer Rack: 1981-89, including 1983 jumbo rack, and the very rare 1984 & 1985 "three pack racks"
Fleer Cello: 1982-89
Donruss Wax: 1981-89
Donruss Rack: 1981-89

grote15

Unopened product from the 1980s is very plentiful, and most of these racks and packs are worth anywhere from $1-$10 each on ebay. I'd guess about $200 for the lot if you were to list it on ebay, more if star players are showing.

Estil

If it's soooo plentiful, then where are all the 1985 Topps Grocery Rack packs? I guess Ebay is like a double edged sword. It makes it possible and practical to collect vintage packs, but it also makes the supply that much more available, you know what I mean?

grote15

I do know what you mean, though ebay is much better than having to go through a dealer who sets his prices for what he will accept for the product. Ebay, on the other hand, allows the market (collectors) to determine the true value of a card or pack (and if a bidding war escalates, the final price may wind up being even much higher than the seller would even have asked in the first place).

The grocery racks are definitely scarcer in some cases, but only the pack collectors would be willing to pay much of a premium for those as most people are buying packs from the 1980s to bust open looking for gem mint cards and the packaging is not that important. The truth is that any unopened product post 1980 is just so plentiful that it will probably always be affordable.

Even the 1980 grocery wax racks which contained three wax packs in a cellophane sleeve and are very desireable because they are truly factory sealed, don't wind up going for much of a premium when you compare the value of those racks to the cost of three loose wax packs on ebay, though there is a difference for sure.

grote15

Probably the one exception to all the 80s product being so cheap is the 1984 Donruss set. Boxes from that set go for comparatively big bucks as this is oone of the scarcer of the 1980s sets. For example, look at the 1985 Topps set. There are three HOF (or very potential HOF) Rookie cards from this set and yet you can pick up an unopened wax box (case-fresh) for a little more than 100 bucks which breaks down to about 3 bucks a pack. Modern packs go for more than that these days in Walmart.

Estil

Well, I already own the complete sets of most of the sets I mentioned, so I have no reason to open any of the packs. And I've noticed that oftentimes a vintage wax box will go for considerably more than the complete set, even though it's not possible to make a complete set out of one wax box. I guess in this case you're paying more for the scarcity of the wax box, not for what might be in it.

XanaduNow

While scarcity plays a role in it I think the determining factor is that the only people that buy those sets are set collectors. With the exception of factory sets, complete sets for virtually all of the 80s and 90s sets will be less because one assumes (and rightfully so) that the cards received will not be in mint condition. In this day and age where everyone and their mother is submitting everything to PSA in the hopes of getting the coveted GEM MINT 10, we just assume that if someone else puts a 1985 Topps McGwire in the set they're selling it's not coming back a MINT 9. Wax, on the other hand, has the possibility and that's what people buy ... possibilities.

frankhardy

I woudn't mind an appraisal on my wax pack collection. I was born in 1975, so I decided to collect packs from 1975 to present. I have Topps from 1975 to 2006 (series 1 and 2), Fleer 1981 to 1991, and Donruss from 1981 to 1991.

The 1975 is GAI authenticated.

I do have other cellos and racks, but the wax is where I have the "complete run".

Any ideas what the whole lot would bring. Not sure I want to sell, though.

grote15

Hi Frank,

I've been an avid collector of unopened material for many years now of pre-80s product, so I'm not sure what the value of the more modern packs in your collection would be, but if the 1975-1980 Topps packs are in NM-MT condition (GAI 8), I'd estimate their value being the following:

1975 mini wax: $40 (the regular size 75 wax packs command a small premium over the "mini" size)
1976: $50 (tougher year to find for wax)
1977: $20
1978: $15
1979: $10
1980: $5

with any post-1980 packs being worth anywhere from a few cents (1986, 1988) to a few dollars (1982, 1985).

1980s product is just so plentiful that only full boxes are really worth the effort and time of selling. Hope this helps.

Estil

Yay! I finally completed my 1980s pack set! Well, except for those 1987-89 Donruss blister rack packs, because I don't know if they'll fit in my 5000 count monster boxes (where I keep my rack packs; I took the divders out).

Pair of 1985 Topps Grocery Racks! Final piece of my puzzle!

Since I only need one rack pack, I hope I can get a good chunk of my $25 back (counting shipping) for the spare one. Then again, there is a 1:22 chance of Big Mac hiding in that spare...

Also, can anyone give me a list of all the different types of 1993 and 1994 Topps rack/jumbo packs they made?