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How many Griffeys would you expect to pull from an unopened case of '89 Upper Deck?

corvette1340corvette1340 Posts: 3,384 ✭✭✭
in Trading Cards & Memorabilia Forum
Since I was in Biloxi and totally forgot to bid on the '79 Topps Rack Case, I still haven't found anything cool to rip.

I was tossing around the idea of buying a case of low or high number '89 Upper Deck. How many Griffeys could one expect to pull from each of the cases (low/high)?

Also, what is everyones experience/opinions on this being profitable/unprofitable etc...with today's case prices.

Comments

  • goraidersgoraiders Posts: 2,158 ✭✭✭
    Don't know anything about baseball,sorry.
    Just wondering how you made out in the tourney?
    J.R.
    Needs'
    1972 Football-9's high#'s
    1965 Football-8's
    1958 Topps FB-7-8
  • corvette1340corvette1340 Posts: 3,384 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Don't know anything about baseball,sorry.
    Just wondering how you made out in the tourney? >>




    I didn't cash. I made a pretty good bit in the cash games though. I was sitting in a 10/25 NL game that had around $500,000 on the table. Most cash I've ever seen.
  • easydoesiteasydoesit Posts: 547
    You'd be lucky to average one a box in high numbers. Lows can can run in streaks so its tough to say. I have seen 5 in a box and then boxes without any.
    "I put my pants on just like you... One leg at a time. The differences is when I put them on, I make gold records."
  • thenavarrothenavarro Posts: 7,497 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Since I was in Biloxi and totally forgot to bid on the '79 Topps Rack Case, I still haven't found anything cool to rip.

    I was tossing around the idea of buying a case of low or high number '89 Upper Deck. How many Griffeys could one expect to pull from each of the cases (low/high)?

    Also, what is everyones experience/opinions on this being profitable/unprofitable etc...with today's case prices. >>




    Corvette1340,

    How about a box of 2001 Upper Deck SP Golf for $175.00 delivered? If interested see my group rip thread, will be shipped direct from Baseball Card Exchange. It meets your parameter of cool to rip perhaps.

    Mike
    Buying US Presidential autographs
  • TheVonTheVon Posts: 2,725 ✭
    I agree with easydoesit. I'd also say that I think it usually averaged out to about 1 or 1 1/2 per box for the low series.
  • jasoneggertjasoneggert Posts: 486 ✭✭
    You get 540 cards per box. With 700 cards in the low series you should get 77% of the cards in the set from the low series box. A high series box will only yield 67% of the cards.

    Go with the low series, and you should get about 15 Griffey's from the case. The high should yield 13.

    -Jason
  • tennesseebankertennesseebanker Posts: 5,434 ✭✭✭
    Get a un-opened factory set case, they have 15 sets in them with 15 Griffeys. and they are less than half the price of a regular case.
    image

  • nam812nam812 Posts: 10,602 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Get a un-opened factory set case, they have 15 sets in them with 15 Griffeys. and they are less than half the price of a regular case. >>



    That's a man who is using his noodle.
  • tennesseebankertennesseebanker Posts: 5,434 ✭✭✭
    That's a man who is using his noodle.

    well, I played with it for so long I thought I had better start using it.
    image

  • jeffcbayjeffcbay Posts: 8,951 ✭✭✭✭
    Since Griffey is #1, you might have surface and corner wear going the factory set route, although I've heard others say their Griffeys were fine when they cracked a factory set. Centering is still obviously an issue. The only real experience with 1989 UD was when I cracked open a low number box and pulled Z-E-R-O rookies of any kind. Obviously a dirty seller. Never again for me.
  • BoopottsBoopotts Posts: 6,784 ✭✭


    << <i>Get a un-opened factory set case, they have 15 sets in them with 15 Griffeys. and they are less than half the price of a regular case. >>




    Better yet, buy 15 well centered 9's (or 8.5's) on Ebay, crack 'em and resubmit 'em. You save about seven hours of your time, don't have to agonize over pitching the commons in recycling, and probably save about $500.

  • ripkenintheminorsripkenintheminors Posts: 2,186 ✭✭✭
    I bought a pair of low number boxes from a friend that was a dealer years ago. The first box didn't have one and the next box had 2.
    -Chris

    image
    Ripken in the Minors * Ripken in the Minors Facebook Page
  • BaileyBailey Posts: 25
    I think the high number boxes actually have a disproportionate number of high number cards, something like four per pack. That means you would only get 396 low cards per box or about 8000 per case. That would mean you would get about 11 or 12 Griffeys if the four per pack number is correct.
  • nam812nam812 Posts: 10,602 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>........You save about seven hours of your time, don't have to agonize over pitching the commons in recycling........ >>



    We're supposed to pitch the commons? image
  • diamondmandiamondman Posts: 2,020
    Go with the low series, and you should get about 15 Griffey's from the case. The high should yield 13.

    -Jason >>



    I think this nailed it about on the head except the High # might only yield 9 to 11 JMHOimage
  • RogermnjRogermnj Posts: 1,809 ✭✭


    << <i>You get 540 cards per box. With 700 cards in the low series you should get 77% of the cards in the set from the low series box. A high series box will only yield 67% of the cards.

    Go with the low series, and you should get about 15 Griffey's from the case. The high should yield 13.

    -Jason >>



    high series packs had (approx) half a pack of hi#'s and half low #'s so these #'s are off.

    I would say a low case would yield 23-25 griffeys.
    Hi case would yield 8-12.
  • StanTheManMusialStanTheManMusial Posts: 2,053 ✭
    The numbers are all over the place, to be honest. Back in the day, I opened boxes that did not have any( from sealed cases direct to us from UD), and then some that had 1 and even 2 per box. I will say one thing, make sure you buy a sealed case if possible(or from a very trusted source), because I do know a specific way to cherry pick each box and pull the Griffey if there is one in there. I'm sure other guys who have opened a ton of this stuff back in the day knows the same thing, so just be cautious.

    A fond memory I still have is a show we done with Ruben Sierra in 1989. I opened a box at the show, and pulled 3 Griffey's from that one box. Yeah, the card was a whopping $12 then. Good times. image
  • lsutigers1973lsutigers1973 Posts: 11,093 ✭
    If you want to dig up our group rip from this past summer you can find your answer. The answer is that there is not an accurate answer. The collation on 89 UD is horrific. You can bust 5 boxes in a row and not pull a Griffey or you can bust one box with 5 or 6 in it. My guess on the total for a case would be less than one per box.
  • corvette1340corvette1340 Posts: 3,384 ✭✭✭
    so if I went the set case route, what kind of grade sampling could I expect from the 15 Griffeys? There is a case right now for $650+shipping. At that price you would only need to get 2 ten's, 3 or 4 nine's, and a few 8's to recoup the entire price of the case. Then you still have the remaining Griffeys, Johnson's, and Smoltz cards. Is this grade sampling possible? Could you possibly get more than 2 tens? Thoughts?
  • thenarcissus01thenarcissus01 Posts: 344
    I think the griffey is the first card in the set and usually not in the best of shape.
  • lsutigers1973lsutigers1973 Posts: 11,093 ✭
    One 10 from a full case would be an accomplishment. The Griffey's pulled from our case break were all OC. A friend of mine joined the rip and pulled 3 from one box. The best one had 75/25 centering T/B on the front. If you include grading fees, you would have to pull 4 PSA 10's of Griffey to turn a profit.
  • slantycouchslantycouch Posts: 1,704 ✭✭✭


    << <i>One 10 from a full case would be an accomplishment. The Griffey's pulled from our case break were all OC. A friend of mine joined the rip and pulled 3 from one box. The best one had 75/25 centering T/B on the front. If you include grading fees, you would have to pull 4 PSA 10's of Griffey to turn a profit. >>



    Love those odds.

    I opened 2 low boxes last year. Got 1 in one box and 3 in the other. Only submitted one because of centering. Sold the others raw.
  • StanTheManMusialStanTheManMusial Posts: 2,053 ✭


    << <i>so if I went the set case route, what kind of grade sampling could I expect from the 15 Griffeys? There is a case right now for $650+shipping. At that price you would only need to get 2 ten's, 3 or 4 nine's, and a few 8's to recoup the entire price of the case. Then you still have the remaining Griffeys, Johnson's, and Smoltz cards. Is this grade sampling possible? Could you possibly get more than 2 tens? Thoughts? >>



    I opened a case where all the Griffey's were dead 50/50 centered, but some had lights dings on the corners, and partial holograms on the back. I do recall opening another case that all the Griffey's were off-centered pretty badly. Just because it's a sealed set, it does not mean you will pull a Griffey that is 10 or even 9 worthy. It's all a gamble, but at least with a set case, you are 99% sure you will have 15 Griffey rookies. By opening a case of foil boxes, it's a toss up as to how many you will end up with.
  • lsutigers1973lsutigers1973 Posts: 11,093 ✭
    STMM is correct. Centering on the Griffey will probably be consistent throughout the case. If you get some that are dead centered, the chances of pulling one with sharp corners and an undamaged hologram are slim. With a full factory set case, your chances of pulling a 10 are even slimmer. Like Jeff mentioned above, the ccards are in the sets in numerical order and the Griffey is the first card in the set. Chances of dinged corners are pretty high.
  • WinPitcherWinPitcher Posts: 27,726 ✭✭✭
    Back in the day the rule of thumb was 12 per case.

    Of course some cases yielded more but none that I recall ever yielded less then 12.

    Steve
    Good for you.
  • jasoneggertjasoneggert Posts: 486 ✭✭
    When these first came out you could pre-order individual cards from a local card shop. Not sure how he got em. Did Upper Deck let dealers buy singles? I can not imagine this guy could have busted enough boxes to sell the cards in bulk lots the way he was. We bought 30 Griffeys for $3 each. I sold most of them when the card was $100. Still have 5 or so.
  • billwaltonsbeardbillwaltonsbeard Posts: 3,748 ✭✭✭✭


    << <i>When these first came out you could pre-order individual cards from a local card shop. Not sure how he got em. Did Upper Deck let dealers buy singles? I can not imagine this guy could have busted enough boxes to sell the cards in bulk lots the way he was. We bought 30 Griffeys for $3 each. I sold most of them when the card was $100. Still have 5 or so. >>



    $3 apiece? Are you sure about that? I don't remember UD Griffeys ever being that low.

    As we have all previously discussed in other threads, 1989 UD boxes are a crapshoot. You could pull zero Griffeys in a box, or you could pull 36 of them. That set is notorious for horrible collation.
    My cards on COMC
  • WinPitcherWinPitcher Posts: 27,726 ✭✭✭
    The lowest I remember was 5.00 so 3.00 in bulk seems reasonable.


    As for singles many a manager at UD got many singles of this card.

    As a matter of fact I think they produced extra sheets of Griffey just for them.

    Steve

    Good for you.
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