Is 1996/1997 Fleer the "1984 Donruss of the 1990s"?

Estil · July 9, 2007 10:05AM

Okay, all of you know about the legendary 1984 Donruss set. Sure, it may not be worth anywhere near the $300-$400 is was at its peak in the late 80s, but it's still considered a classic for many reasons, mainly its design, the big rookies (especially Mattingly) and especially its scarcity compared to other 1980s sets. 1985 was also pretty limited in production but not quite as much as 1984.

Which brings me up to 1996 and 1997 Fleer. I've noticed that these sets (especially 1997) are considerably more expensive than other "basic sets" of that decade (Donruss, Fleer, Score, Topps, Collector's Choice), with 1996 booking for $80 and 1997 at $110 (2006 Beckett Almanac). Is this for the same reasons as 1984 Donruss (not counting rookies)? That is, their simple, conservative design (with no gloss of any kind, not even the old-style) and was 1997 (and 1996 to a lesser extent) really that short printed? Hence why I'm asking if 1997/1996 Fleer could be considered the 1984/1985 Donruss (respectively) of the 1990s, again not counting rookies.

fandango · July 9, 2007 11:10AM

you may be the only person who collected in the 90's....

jmbkb4 · July 9, 2007 11:12AM

To answer your question, NO, it is not.

grote15 · July 9, 2007 11:15AM

Definitely not. The post office makes more money off the shipment of those boxes than the seller does (with the exception of 1997 Fleer Series 2).

digicat · July 9, 2007 11:15AM

I've always liked the 1990 Leaf set.

pandrews · July 9, 2007 11:24AM

<< <i>Definitely not. The post office makes more money off the shipment of those boxes than the seller does (with the exception of 1997 Fleer Series 2). >>

nice edit in adding the series 2 comment.. i was looking for the "roll eyes" smiley face to post about your general statement..

Estil · July 9, 2007 8:58PM

I think I need to clarify my question. My question was whether 1996 and/or 1997 Fleer was made in significantly fewer quanitites than the other years' "base brand sets" (Donruss, Fleer, Score, Topps, Collector's Choice). "Preminum" (like Ultra) or "Super Preminum" (like Flair) sets don't count obviously, as they're expected to be limited edition (at least to some extent). See, according to the 2006 Beckett Alamanc, the 1996 Fleer set books for $80, while the 1997 Fleer set books for $110; that's even more expensive than the Ultra sets of those years! Hence why I was wondering if the reason for those higher BV's is perhaps they didn't make as many regular Fleer cards that year like they did other years.

Stingray · July 9, 2007 9:02PM

One thing might be that they did not make factory sets those years??

Estil · July 9, 2007 9:04PM

There were no factory sets for 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1998 (and really almost ALL brands except Topps and Upper Deck from 1993-onward), and those years have more "typical" BV's for regular non-preminum sets. Try again.

jmbkb4 · July 10, 2007 12:10AM

<< <i>There were no factory sets for 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1998 (and really almost ALL brands except Topps and Upper Deck from 1993-onward), and those years have more "typical" BV's for regular non-preminum sets. Try again. >>

no one cares about these years (1996-1997), so no one puts together sets. fewer sets = relative scarcity, hence the higher price. their long-term investment potential is on the low side.

Allen · July 10, 2007 2:44AM

1997 Fleer books more than other set because it is large with 761 cards and has one card, the Ortiz that gives it the higher value. 1996 has 600 cards, they are pretty much in line with other values of large sets from that year. If I had those two sets I would pull the Ortiz card and sell it, then list the full 96 set and the 97 minus one card set on ebay and hope to get $10-12 for the pair.

Estil · July 21, 2007 10:49AM

I have noticed that the Ortiz RC from that year is quite popular on Ebay. But didn't he have other RCs that same year? If so, what makes the 1997 Fleer one so special, unless, as I was guessing, Fleer really cut back on production in 1996 and especially 1997.

Estil · July 21, 2007 10:50AM

<< <i>1997 Fleer books more than other set because it is large with 761 cards and has one card, the Ortiz that gives it the higher value. 1996 has 600 cards, they are pretty much in line with other values of large sets from that year. If I had those two sets I would pull the Ortiz card and sell it, then list the full 96 set and the 97 minus one card set on ebay and hope to get $10-12 for the pair. >>

And I would GLADLY buy it from you. I thought I'd be satistifed with runs up to 1995, but now I want to go up to 1998. I also need 1996-98 Donruss and Score too.

Bigslick · July 21, 2007 1:15PM

The 1994 MLB strike caused print runs to be smaller the next few years. I do recall that Topps advertised their 1995 BB product had the lowest print run since 1964. If that's true are not I don't know. Product didn't seem to be hard to find, and for awhile Basketball was strong. Either the 96 or 97 Fleer was very popular with the matte finish, which seemed to a lot of people to be a throwback.

Is 1996/1997 Fleer the &quot;1984 Donruss of the 1990s&quot;?

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Is 1996/1997 Fleer the "1984 Donruss of the 1990s"?