Need some help on MLB /NFL /NHL player Cards 1988 - 1993

[Franz555]

I saw a post by Wager of Ken Griffey Jr & Pops next to a LeBron & Son pic. It reminded me of my sports cards collection in a bunch of boxes in storage. I know I have several Ken Griffey Jr rookie cards , since I collected a lot of him as a fan ( 1989 Upper Deck I believe ). When I googled to find out what they might be worth , I was shocked. All my cards, that weren't purchased as a set , were put in plastic casings with my kids help. I have no idea about the diff in grading ( prices seem to vary a lot between a 6 and a 10 ) but they were all kept in a cover after purchasing them. Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[BigJay]

I was a big collector as a kid during that era of the card boom too

Unfortunately when I look back on a few of the ones I still had they aren’t worth much at all compared to what they were back in the day

Most of those cards during that era were mass produced to keep up with the growing demand, therefore driving the price way down as the years went by and this fact was realized

 

[Franz555]

I was a big collector as a kid during that era of the card boom too

Unfortunately when I look back on a few of the ones I still had they aren’t worth much at all compared to what they were back in the day

Most of those cards during that era were mass produced to keep up with the growing demand, therefore driving the price way down as the years went by and this fact was realized

A friend of mine said the same thing to me about 5 years ago. This particular card is listed between $2,000 to $5,000 Cdn.

 

[djefferis]

Ungraded - the Griffey UD rookie would bring $65-100.

Graded - it’s easy to find comps - but I’ll warn you the number of PSA 9 and 10s is exceptionally low for a reason - that little hologram on the back makes a BIG difference. It must be perfect both no chips (will be at best a 7 with a small chip - which many were straight from the pack) and centered (again - many off center and and 8 at best off center).

I’m not sure if there is a difference in value between the “pulled” (cards pulled from a pack) or the ones UD sold out the back door (as late as 1994 - UD was still printing these cards and selling in bulk to select dealers) - I’m also not 100% if the ones UD sold in bulk were packaged with the ready made sets they sold - but guessing that’s a possibility. It’s easy to tell the ones that were produced individually as they were like 3/16 inch longer - won’t notice when you look at it alone - but next to a pulled version - the pulled looks trimmed.

Got like 6 “wax” boxes of these still - no idea if they were searched - but have been sealed since by a grading company. Those boxes were easy as hell to figure out Initially - just go clockwise down based on the rookie from the pack on top - there were what 20 or 25 rookies and just follow down till you got to pack #1 for Griffey.

Donruss/Fleer sell for about $10 I think. Can’t remember the sequence for those - but I do remember look for the Canseco 40/40 for a Bill Ripken Fleer card. Sad the stuff I remember. Used to have print sheets with every Topps sequence list to search out packs at KMart for the “money” cards.

 

[Franz555]

Ungraded - the Griffey UD rookie would bring $65-100.

Graded - it’s easy to find comps - but I’ll warn you the number of PSA 9 and 10s is exceptionally low for a reason - that little hologram on the back makes a BIG difference. It must be perfect both no chips (will be at best a 7 with a small chip - which many were straight from the pack) and centered (again - many off center and and 8 at best off center).

I’m not sure if there is a difference in value between the “pulled” (cards pulled from a pack) or the ones UD sold out the back door (as late as 1994 - UD was still printing these cards and selling in bulk to select dealers) - I’m also not 100% if the ones UD sold in bulk were packaged with the ready made sets they sold - but guessing that’s a possibility. It’s easy to tell the ones that were produced individually as they were like 3/16 inch longer - won’t notice when you look at it alone - but next to a pulled version - the pulled looks trimmed.

Got like 6 “wax” boxes of these still - no idea if they were searched - but have been sealed since by a grading company. Those boxes were easy as hell to figure out Initially - just go clockwise down based on the rookie from the pack on top - there were what 20 or 25 rookies and just follow down till you got to pack #1 for Griffey.

Donruss/Fleer sell for about $10 I think. Can’t remember the sequence for those - but I do remember look for the Canseco 40/40 for a Bill Ripken Fleer card. Sad the stuff I remember. Used to have print sheets with every Topps sequence list to search out packs at KMart for the “money” cards.

Appreciate the info. I honestly don't know what the term " graded " really means. Do I take my cards to an expert to have them assessed and hence graded ? Are there indicators on the cards themselves ?
Truth be told , I have 1,000's of cards from that era. I bought complete sets, and most often just grabbed the packs of 10 at a store on my way to the train home ( worked in Toronto back then ). I also bought a lot of cards in 93 while I was living at The Downtown Athletic Club in NY. I used to put the individual cards in the plastic casings with my kids and give them the holograms that came with the packs. I know I have at least a dozen Ken Griffey Jr rookie cards like the one I posted. Wayne Gretzky 2nd year cards , Roberto Alomar rookies , John Olerud etc...
I just happened to Google the value of Ken Jr when I saw Wager's post today. I haven't looked at any of them for over 25 years now. If there is any decent value in any of them , how would I be able to assess them ?
Sorry for my naievity on the matter , I just don't have a clue about grading and overall values.
Appreciate all the insight

 

[djefferis]

www.psacard.com

is the leader in grading - basically you mail the card off - and in about 2 months they send it back in a sealed slab with a grade. Very similar to how coins are graded and slabbed.

Beckett does it too - cost is similar - most cards $15-25 if under $500.

Most anything post 1988 is considered “junk wax” - values are low but the Upper Deck Griffey rookie does have some value. Even guys like Randy Johnson/Biggio don’t hold a lot of value in the UD set.

Pre 1988 - hockey - especially Gretzky have some value. The rookie is the big one of course and OPC is generally more valuable than Topps. Definitely would be worth investing in grading on any earlier cards of his.

The whole grading thing I think is kinda a scam. Charge through the nose - keep your cards 2-3 months and wanna bet they don’t grade high volume clients stuff higher ?

 

[Franz555]

All my cards were put into casings right away , so they should still be in decent shape. Just googled that I should seek out a 3rd party specialists to assess their value. Will do that when I get back home to Canada next week.

Thanks again for all the insight

 

[Franz555]

www.psacard.com

is the leader in grading - basically you mail the card off - and in about 2 months they send it back in a sealed slab with a grade. Very similar to how coins are graded and slabbed.

Beckett does it too - cost is similar - most cards $15-25 if under $500.

Most anything post 1988 is considered “junk wax” - values are low but the Upper Deck Griffey rookie does have some value. Even guys like Randy Johnson/Biggio don’t hold a lot of value in the UD set.

Pre 1988 - hockey - especially Gretzky have some value. The rookie is the big one of course and OPC is generally more valuable than Topps. Definitely would be worth investing in grading on any earlier cards of his.

The whole grading thing I think is kinda a scam. Charge through the nose - keep your cards 2-3 months and wanna bet they don’t grade high volume clients stuff higher ?

This is good stuff. Thanks for taking the time to explain it all.

 

[charliebrown]

Most likely cards are not even 8s.

Sorry but this era of cards ain't worth shirt

 

[djefferis]

Sadly - true. Quality control was not job 1 at the companies pushing this stuff out in the late 80s.

Also - those rigid top load sleeves were crap - filled with PVC that reacted with cheap cardboard - and god forbid you left it in UV light any length of time.

I’ve got some stuff still - but sold a lot in mid 90s - holding a few vintage pieces.

 

[quantumleap]

I was a big collector as a kid during that era of the card boom too

Unfortunately when I look back on a few of the ones I still had they aren’t worth much at all compared to what they were back in the day

Most of those cards during that era were mass produced to keep up with the growing demand, therefore driving the price way down as the years went by and this fact was realized

I remember buying my nephew a series of cards from 1990 which included the Sammy Sosa rookie card. About 10 years later I decided to look up the value. It didn't appreciate much.

 

[quantumleap]

This is good stuff. Thanks for taking the time to explain it all.

Here's the PSA "Pop report" which tells you how many cards of a certain type have been graded by each grade. In other words, if you have a Ken Griffey then you put in "1989 upper deck ken griffey" (including the quotes) to get a list of search results.

Clicking the "1989 Upper Deck" link will bring you to this page:

https://www.psacard.com/pop/baseball-cards/1989/upper-deck/52298

Looking at the top line you can see that 4,179 cards have been graded by the company as a perfect 10.

Here's another website that is a pay website but gives you a free trial period that shows the prices paid on certain cards that have been sold within the past few years. Just type in a card to see the recent sales.

https://marketmovers.sportscardinvestor.com/dashboard?ct=sports-card

 

[quantumleap]

I've been looking for a Shohei Ohtani 2018 rookie card for some time now. The problem is that the autographed ones are going for tens of thousands of dollars now if they are highly graded.

I recently settled for a 2023 Jackson Holliday autographed rookie card. I got it for half of what someone else paid for it a few months ago.

I'm thinking about buying a 2018 Shohei without the autograph. It won't appreciate as much over time but at least it will still be a good investment.

 

[BigJay]

Sammy Sosa rookie card

 

[Franz555]

Here's the PSA "Pop report" which tells you how many cards of a certain type have been graded by each grade. In other words, if you have a Ken Griffey then you put in "1989 upper deck ken griffey" (including the quotes) to get a list of search results.

Clicking the "1989 Upper Deck" link will bring you to this page:

https://www.psacard.com/pop/baseball-cards/1989/upper-deck/52298

Looking at the top line you can see that 4,179 cards have been graded by the company as a perfect 10.

Here's another website that is a pay website but gives you a free trial period that shows the prices paid on certain cards that have been sold within the past few years. Just type in a card to see the recent sales.

https://marketmovers.sportscardinvestor.com/dashboard?ct=sports-card

That's awesome Quantum. Appreciate the info and links