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Baseball Cards Too Expensive?

12
Vote

by Niteowl049

I remember when the 1990 baseball cards came out and you could still buy them for 50 cents a pack in some places. They made umpteen billion cards that year rendering them almost worthless no matter which hot rookie card you might have. I had a John Olerud rookie card I paid five dollars for and now if it is worth 25 cents I would be very surprised.

No telling how much Barry Bonds rookie cards would be worth today if he wasn't such a jerk with fans. Instead his cards have not gone up nearly as much in value as you would think they would. Even the Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card, which has fallen way down in value due to so many seasons recently when he was injured and posted less than stellar numbers for him.

Nowadays, when you buy baseball cards you can't find many if any cards under a dollar a pack and the packs have fewer cards. Many baseball card shops have folded in the last few years due to lack of sales of baseball cards. It is not unusual to find a pack of baseball cards for $3 or more.

My collection had 32,000 baseball cards but most of those were from buying 50 packs. My best card was the 1969 Nolan Ryan second year card if I remember right. I sold it for $120 at a baseball card show and doubt if it is worth any more than that today the way card values have fallen.

I finally sold my collection for $600 to my son and he turned around and sold the collection for $700. I liked the cards more for the info on back on the cards than for any profit making motive.

Wish we could go back to the good old days when the Bowman cards showed players inside a TV screen...now those were cards you wish you had held onto.


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Niteowl049AAA-er
825 days ago
Score 0+-
My mistake...the Olerud card cost me $5 not a dollar.
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RomiezzoLegend
825 days ago
Score 1+-
fixed.
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RomiezzoLegend
825 days ago
Score 2+-
I have been asking myself the exact same thing. Baseball fans where I live keep asking me things like, "If I buy this card, how much will it be after _______ retires?" I reply, "It depends." I'm sure that the Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card is going to go down right now, but what happens when he gets into the hall of fame? His card is going to boost up A LOT!

Barry Bonds rookie cards are probably going to stay where they are due to his "possibility" of cheating.

As for Jon Olerud, it should be worth something in my opinion. He was a pretty good player, but some good players are forgotten. When you pay for baseball cards, pay wisely. I know a guy who I buy all my baseball cards from. I've collected for about 7 years now, and last time I counted, I have around 14,000 cards... ALL from that store. Anyways, he was willing to sell me an A-Rod PROSPECT card for 10 bucks. 10 BUCKS! Well, I took that card in a heartbeat. Now, imagine if he's caught taking steroids. Not only would I be shocked, but the value of the card is going to go down. But, if he doesn't get caught for taking steroids, and he gets inducted into the Hall of Fame, his value is going to be way up. If he dies, and baseball cards are still in style, his value is going to be higher than ever.

But yeah, prices of cards always go up and down. It just depends on what people think about the player, and how well he does throught his career. Buying baseball cards is always a bargain, which is why it's probably still going on today...
Permalink | Reply
Tyrone BriggsHall of Famer
825 days ago
Score 2+-
Olerud had one of the sweetest swings in MLB history.
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RomiezzoLegend
825 days ago
Score 2+-
And one of the best gloves at first base in MLB history. I used to love watching him play as a kid.
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Tyrone BriggsHall of Famer
825 days ago
Score 2+-
<humor>Hey Kelsdad, how about John Olerud for the Hall of Fame?</humor>
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Kwitt11Varsity Captain
824 days ago
Score 2+-
Most cards from the 80's aren't worth much...around that time, players from the 60's were retired and their cards were selling for lots of money, so companies started printing more cards and people started saving their cards in the 80's in case they also became worth lots of money...because there are so many of those cards out there, they're worth very little.
Permalink
Silencer76AAA-er
825 days ago
Score 1+-
I still have a lot of mine in storage, like the 89 Classic Purple set...I remember that in 90, the most expensive cards were the Upper Deck at 99 cents a pop. The holograms you used to get in those sets were sweet.
Permalink | Reply
ChristofMVP
825 days ago
Score 1+-
Does anyone buy new baseball cards anymore?
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RomiezzoLegend
825 days ago
Score 1+-
I'm guilty.
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Kwitt11Varsity Captain
824 days ago
Score 1+-
I used to do so a lot, but after they cut the market to just two companies a couple years back, I kinda lost interest...
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Niteowl049AAA-er
824 days ago
Score 0+-
Buy a couple of packs a year nowadays...just can't see paying $3 for a pack with 7 cards in it.
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Niteowl049AAA-er
824 days ago
Score 0+-
Romiezzo, you got a good card...A-Rod would go into Hall of Fame if he never plays again his numbers are so good so your card will keep appreciating in value.
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Niteowl049AAA-er
824 days ago
Score 0+-
Tyrone...good point about Olerud...some players you like to watch swing and Olerud was one of them...Clint Hurdle never was a superstar but enjoyed watching him swing the bat.
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Donnie35JV Squad
824 days ago
Score 0+-
I collect baseball cards and actually have a very good collection. I got a pack for Xmas a few years ago and it books for $500, but card collection is now a very big money making buisness
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SeanlahmanJV Squad
824 days ago
Score 0+-
Is it? Between the over-saturation in the 80s and 90s and the equalizing effects of online selling, it seems to me like the bottom has fallen out of the market.
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