Current State of Sports Cards?

libertydude

First time posting in the sports cards section of these forums. I used to collect sports cards (primarily baseball/basketball, some football) back in the early to mid-90s. Funny story, I started because my mom urged me to find a hobby other than 'playing sports and video games' all the time. Anyway, I settled on sports cards because my friends were collecting.

I collected pretty frequently until I got burnt out (and broke) trying to keep up with all the special sets, inserts, etc. I think I finally stopped after buying a pack of cards that came in a can. At that time, I noticed the price of 'common' star player cards tanking but the cost of packs escalating because of all the ridiculous special inserts that were included.

During my collecting days, some legendary players emerged and I have their rookie cards (e.g., Griffey, Iverson, Kobe, Shaq, etc)..... but it appears they are of little value anymore. I don't think that I ever scored many good inserts (I remember getting a sweet Rick Mirer insert, but he ended up being a bust!). All these cards sit up in my attic, but after some searching through ebay of cards that I recall owning, looks it isn't even worth my time to search through them (ugh!).

Looks like I started during a boom and stopped during a bust. Ironically, mom used to yell at me for buying cards and I'd respond, "they're an investment." HAHAHA.

Anyway, I'm curious what the current state of card collecting is. Did it ever recover from that insane period of insert madness?

mattinglymint23

I take it you don't live any where near Rosemont IL?

look up the following on ebay to get a sense of the state of the hobby:

1975 Topps 228 PSA 9
2013 Puig

then let me know what you find in your attic.

itzagoner

i think by using insane and madness in the same sentence you pretty summed up the National.

in the meantime, the current state of collecting indicates that are quite likely more collectors than ever before. some of them rarely leave the house.

gemint

I would say the hobby is very strong right now, though it depends on what you have. Early 90s mass produced cards are still mostly worth little and beat up vintage cards don't bring in the haul they did in the late 80s, early 90s. However, vintage unopened, high grade vintage and select modern cards are selling strong now.

itzagoner

<< <i>....beat up vintage cards don't bring in the haul they did in the late 80s, early 90s. >>



i've noticed a strong upward trend on low grade vintage over the past year or so.....of course, it depends on what and how much you sell, but if you're willing there's definitely a place out there for mass marketing.

if low grade vintage was bringing good $$ a quarter century ago, perhaps there wasn't enough quality stuff around to compare to.

now, some of the quality stuff is completely unaffordable and makes the lower grade cards much more appealing to collectors.

schapko

To me, what was thought of as "High Grade" or Mint or Near Mint in the late 80s is one to two grades lower of what PSA grades cards now for. Therefore prices have skyrocketed for truly Mint cards as we know that these cards are truly mint. Back in the 80's it seemed like Mint cards were more offcenter than what PSA 9's are now, therefore there are less cards of that true grade, thus a much higher value.

Mapleleaf

There may be some hope for the 90's cards since they were very popular at the time. Like you I quit collecting because I was burnt out on all the cards being offered and put my cards away (I've only bought about 3 packs of new cards in the last 20 years). I rejoined the hobby once I discovered PSA graded cards and started searching through my old cards for PSA 10's. What I thought were all mint cards turned out to be mostly 8's. Once I realized how hard PSA 10's are to find, I started buying them online already graded which can be more cost effective for modern cards.

I think a PSA 10 set of your favourite 80's or 90's issue is a good way to go since it's affordable and may even have some financial upside. I wouldn't do it for investment though.

Dougnddeb

<< <i>

<< <i>....beat up vintage cards don't bring in the haul they did in the late 80s, early 90s. >>



i've noticed a strong upward trend on low grade vintage over the past year or so.....of course, it depends on what and how much you sell, but if you're willing there's definitely a place out there for mass marketing.

if low grade vintage was bringing good $$ a quarter century ago, perhaps there wasn't enough quality stuff around to compare to.

now, some of the quality stuff is completely unaffordable and makes the lower grade cards much more appealing to collectors. >>



+1

libertydude

Thanks for all the info. I did some ebay searches of popular modern players and found that the more valuable cards are rare cards... and graded. Kind of a bummer. I remember using a price guide (Beckket... sp?... does it still exist?) with subjective grades to determine value. Basically how sharp the edges were. LOL.

Seems like the 'insert' craze is still alive and well though. Not that there's a problem with it depending on your goals. I don't really follow specific modern players anymore. Think I may just sort through my collection, keep my favorite players' cards, and liquidate the rest. Do sports cards stores even exist anymore? I can't recall the last time I saw one! Probably just sell online.

Will go through collection this Winter and offer anything worth decent value (if anything) here!

* EDIT: Please don't tell my mother how poor my investment turned out...... hahahaha

stormtrooper80

You should contact Wes Spece and find out what he's been selling a lot of in his shop.

Besides Pogs and Beanie Babies, of course.

jeffcbay

<< <i>Anyway, I'm curious what the current state of card collecting is. >>



Latest Group Rip

Maurice

TheMick6

The hobby always seems to invent something new to keep people coming back for more but what I've found in the last thirty years is well centered sharp vintage card are never out of style! The beauty about this hobby is the term vintage is always being redefined. Now the talk is off stuff I ripped as a kid being vintage but when I was working in a card shop during the boom 1975 thru mid 80's where considered to new to care about. Everyone want the Ripken error or a billion Greg Jefferies future stars!

GB5HOF

<< <i> >>



That's just hilarious....

MrNearMint

In my opinion, the sportscard market is huge and not going anywhere. But it also depends on what is being collected. If you talk to people that don't know much about it or just aren't involved in the hobby then they tend to say things like, "sportscards are worthless and the hobby is dead/dying." alot of those people may have collected in the late 80's and early 90's and have a shoebox full of barry bonds and mark mcgwire rc's that aren't worth much anymore.

I think the main value comes from high grade cards, vintage and some modern that are graded by the big 3. Just do a random eBay completed search of graded cards and look at the insane prices people are paying for rookie and star cards.

Dodgerfanjohn

<< <i>Thanks for all the info. I did some ebay searches of popular modern players and found that the more valuable cards are rare cards... and graded. Kind of a bummer. I remember using a price guide (Beckket... sp?... does it still exist?) with subjective grades to determine value. Basically how sharp the edges were. LOL.

Seems like the 'insert' craze is still alive and well though. Not that there's a problem with it depending on your goals. I don't really follow specific modern players anymore. Think I may just sort through my collection, keep my favorite players' cards, and liquidate the rest. Do sports cards stores even exist anymore? I can't recall the last time I saw one! Probably just sell online.

Will go through collection this Winter and offer anything worth decent value (if anything) here!

* EDIT: Please don't tell my mother how poor my investment turned out...... hahahaha >>



To me, this has always been a hobby, not about what the cards were worth. I guess it was a little bit of an issue in the mid 80's when I brought a binder of my best cards to school and had classmates drooling over my FIVE Henderson Rookies, but other than that, meh.

I've been into cards off and on for since I hit college in 1990. This last stretch has been the longest away...other than the Topps base set and a random pack here and there, I really never paid much attention to baseball cards from about 2004-mid 2012. Poker became a very profitable hobby for me during that time and suddenly in my best year ever...2012, I abruptly because terribly bored and tired of poker and quit. I haven't played a serious hand since then. And amazingly, with some extra spending money and lack of a hobby, I found that many of the vintage cards I liked as well as unopened stuff, were quite inexpensive. The unopened stuff has gone bonkers since then, and I had to fork over some dough in the last group break to get the last cello box I needed in my run of cello boxes from when I first collected(1980...which I won't pay what current market is asking...honestly I won't pay half that) up until the end of gum in packs(1991). The vintage cards that grade in the 5-7 range are still generally well priced save for the few very expensive guys(Rose, Mantle, Ryan, Clemente). These cards when they are well centered and have good color and surface tend to present really well. I like these a lot and their within my price range many times....occasionally theres even a steal, particularly on Beckett and SGC graded cards. And recently I've gone back to buying 9's of rookies from mid 80's to early 90's HOF and soon to be HOF players and semi stars...Randy Johnson, Mike Piazza, Greg Maddux, Craig Biggio, Daryl Strawberry, etc. These cards look great and are very inexpensive....almost all are under $20, many under $10

Anyway, point being I don't buy for investment or future value. I buy what I enjoy and what I can afford soley off my income and what remains of my poker winnings(not much LOL).

If you don't enjoy it as a hobby, might as well sell it off. For lower value cards, I think its a waste of time to piece stuff out. Really I'd just toss an ad up on craigslist(assuming you live where the population will see the ad and respond), and see if I could salvage something without hassling selling the stuff card by card on ebay. But thats me, and maybe selling card by card would get you interested in the hobby again.

TheCARDKid

I think the market could definitely come back. I collected heavily from about 1985 to 1989, then 1990 to 1992/93. It was pretty much my life, my main hobby. Beckett was idolized by many kids then.

-Collecting things in general from the 80's has seen a resurgence. Nintendo collecting has gotten hot. GI Joe, Transformers, MASK. There were so many popular toys then.

-The late 80's, early 90's market could definitely come back. Not like it was at the peak, but maybe a middle ground between the peak and the worst dead years. Bo Jackson cards have gotten pretty hot. I still have an itch to buy 1991 Upper Deck baseball and look for the SP Jordans. Even though it's a $5 or $10 card. There are lots of memories.

I'm still interested in collecting many 90's basketball inserts....like 92/93 beam team, finest refractors, etc. I think it really depends on what you collected in the 80's and 90's. If those cards still hold a strong emotional attachment, you'll probably go back to them.

I think there was so much happening in the hobby around 1989/90/91, it's almost impossible to turn it "off" and never collect or look at cards again. I remember promos, errors, Griffey (89 Upper Deck), the traded sets. Many of them still have good value now in high grade. Look at 1990 pro set football errors on ebay. It's amazing, 23 years later, people are still into collecting them.

libertydude

I think 80s stuff is becoming collectible now because kids back then are now adults looking to reminisce/relive their childhood. Nothing wrong with that. I still have my ALF doll. HAHA.

I agree the hobby is about collecting what you enjoy... I remember trading an entire binder of cards for a Fred McGriff rookie card (just liked the guy). Early on, that's what it was all about-- getting cards of your fav players (trading was a blast too!). Then the insert craze hit, and with my personality, I just had to have 'em all. Guess I lost the spirit of the hobby. Unfortunately, most of my cards were bought because of the craze, so they have to go.

I've always enjoyed reading about early baseball and the players. Are those (tobacco, gum) cards still expensive? Frequently counterfeited? Love the way they look.

EDIT: eBay search answered my questions. Reprint cards........ EEEEK!

gemint

<< <i>

<< <i>....beat up vintage cards don't bring in the haul they did in the late 80s, early 90s. >>



i've noticed a strong upward trend on low grade vintage over the past year or so.....of course, it depends on what and how much you sell, but if you're willing there's definitely a place out there for mass marketing.

if low grade vintage was bringing good $$ a quarter century ago, perhaps there wasn't enough quality stuff around to compare to.

now, some of the quality stuff is completely unaffordable and makes the lower grade cards much more appealing to collectors. >>



I think scarcity was a factor in the value of lower grade cards along with there being a lower focus on the card's condition at that time. I had dealers practically tackling me for a chance to buy my Good to VG '61 Mantle and Maris and '56 Snider at the time. The Snider had a crease and a small piece missing from the corner. That didn't stop dealers from begging me to sell it to them. I think a lot of vintage cards were hidden away at the time and not available on the market. It wasn't like today where you have so many online avenues to buy and sell cards.