1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

Basketball Cards - The Zion/Kobe/Jordan Effect

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by Supermac34, May 2, 2020.

  1. Supermac34

    Supermac34 President, Von Wafer Fan Club

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2000
    Messages:
    6,968
    Likes Received:
    2,194
    I don't know if any of y'all collect basketball cards, but an sort of amazing thing has been happening the last few months. Basketball card collecting has been on fire.

    There are three basic reasons:

    1. Modern cards have seen an explosion do to the Zion chase. New collectors have been brought in chasing Zion rookies and many Paninini products were basically sold out at retail and exploded on the secondary market. This led to big price increases to post-2000 rookies in general.

    2. Kobe's death. One of the biggest catalysts in basketball collecting occured when Kobe passed away. Overnight, Kobe cards were selling for 5 to 10 times prices just 2-3 days before. Everybody was going back and looking at their old cards and pulling out $20 Kobe rookies and selling them for $200. This caused a BIG lift in Lebron and Michael Jordan cards too as people have solidified around Kobe, Michael, and Lebron being the "Holy Trinity" of NBA card collecting with a FOMO if something were to happen to them. All of a sudden, Lebron rookies and early cards basically doubled in price, with Jordan cards (already holy grails in the mid 80s) starting to creep up.

    3. "Last Dance" Documentary. Jordan cards have skyrocketed. New generations of fans that never saw him play are being inundated with his career highlights. Already expensive rookie and "first fleer" cards are exploding in value. Late 80s Fleer cards that were previously worth 50 cents are now worth $12. All those junk 1990 fleer wax boxes that you could still buy for $12 now sell for $75-80. It has also brought a big increase to Pippen and Rodman cards which may be more temporary. Fairly low priced Starting Lineup figures now are hot commodities too. Inserts from 90s sets (Fleer Ultra and Fleer Metal, UD, etc.) for Jordan have really shot up too.

    All of this against a backdrop of an economy which you'd expect to see a significant drop in prices of memorabilia. Perhaps people flush with stimulus money and bored at home are scouring eBay. Perhaps a generational shift (people that watched these guys play are growing up with disposable income). I just thought it was amazing some of the prices.

    Anybody else been following this phenomenon?
     
    Mr. Brightside likes this.
  2. peleincubus

    peleincubus Member

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2002
    Messages:
    25,313
    Likes Received:
    13,165
    All I know is I wish I collected NBA and NFL cards when I was kid instead of baseball. I could have made a lotttt of money. My great aunts husband worked at a wholesale warehouse and my grandma would get me box after box of cards. All baseball though.
     
  3. Supermac34

    Supermac34 President, Von Wafer Fan Club

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2000
    Messages:
    6,968
    Likes Received:
    2,194
    Yeah, if you were a kid in the junk era, that was particularly brutal for baseball. Football isn't that much better though.

    The next era: The very late 90s and the early 2000s is GOLD for basketball and football.

    Go back and search for Jeters. A TON of people didn't collect Jeter in his first few years. It took a long time for Jeter to emerge as a star, and despite (IMHO) being a little over rated as a player, as a collectible, he's at the top of that era. I was surprised to go back into my collection a few years ago and pull a bunch of Jeter rookies and early cards from my "junk" boxes.
     
  4. Dr of Dunk

    Dr of Dunk Clutch Crew

    Joined:
    Aug 27, 1999
    Messages:
    45,156
    Likes Received:
    31,111
    Around that time when Shaq came into the league (early 90's), the basketball card market was inundated with so many cards I think most of them ended up being worthless. There were cards that skyrocketed to $300 because of their supposed rarity. But then you started seeing everybody buying multiple boxes of cards looking for "that one card", an insert, a special edition card, etc. There were so many of the cards, most of them were worthless. Same thing kind of is happening and happened with comic books. "Issue #1" of anything has like 20 variants (nowadays even more) just to get people to buy all the variants or multiple variants. I busted out laughing when I realized they were selling "blank covers" as a variant. LOL. The most desirable comics nowadays are usually ones before 1980-1985.
     
    Patience likes this.
  5. Supermac34

    Supermac34 President, Von Wafer Fan Club

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2000
    Messages:
    6,968
    Likes Received:
    2,194
    That's the thing I was talking about though. In those worthless sets, all of a sudden the Jordans aren't worthless. You'd be shocked at 1993 Fleer Ultra insert prices on Jordan. You ARE correct on a lot of that stuff being junk...thus being part of the "Junk Era". Basically ran from 1987 - 1996ish.

    Those comics from that era...it usually isn't the #1s that are worth anything, its the first apprearances or special stuff. All the Amazing Spiderman from that era is going up, especially with one of the three features of: Being McFarlane era, having Venom, or having Carnage. Also, first appearances by Cable and Deadpool are gold, and have been for a while. Even some of the Valiant stuff that was worth 10 cents for two decades is starting to have some stuff increase to at least 10-15 bucks. Not going to make you rich, but not worthless either.

    I agree that we are in "variant hell" in today's comic market, but overall production is 1/1000 of what it was in the 90s. Also, if you buy for the stories (to actually read), I think we might be in a mini-golden age for comics. So many awesome writers and artists in the market right now, reviving old properties or building new ones. As for those "blank" covers...those are specifically made for sketches. Have your favorite instagram artist sketch the cover for you, or take them to a show and have the original artist do a sketch. They are made to be drawn on.
     
    Dr of Dunk likes this.
  6. Supermac34

    Supermac34 President, Von Wafer Fan Club

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2000
    Messages:
    6,968
    Likes Received:
    2,194
    Every household on earth had this card somehow. They spontaneously appeared in kids rooms in 1990. You could buy them for 25 cents a month ago. Now they are actually selling for $5-10.

    [​IMG]
     
    Invisible Fan likes this.
  7. CometsWin

    CometsWin Breaker Breaker One Nine

    Joined:
    May 15, 2000
    Messages:
    28,028
    Likes Received:
    13,046
    It's funny that all of us that grew up with Jordan have been telling these kids that he was the greatest and now that they get to see him with their own eyes they finally believe us. That **** Jordan was doing on drives to the bucket were nuts even by today's standards.

    This has got to be my favorite when you put in context that it was a playoff game and Laimbeer was the dirtiest player in the league.

     
    Patience, Caesar and Supermac34 like this.
  8. conquistador#11

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2006
    Messages:
    35,962
    Likes Received:
    22,343
    That was my favorite move to pull on Super Nintendo's EA SPorts Bulls Vs Blazers. I'd score 70 with Jordan alone.
    I collected NFL and NBA cards through the mid 1990s stopped in High school. Then started buying random players I liked growing up out of nostalgia. Nostalgia is a drug!
     
    Patience likes this.
  9. JumpMan

    JumpMan Contributing Member
    Supporting Member Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2004
    Messages:
    7,921
    Likes Received:
    4,356
    Just take a look at the opposing team's bench on that play and especially on this play:

     
  10. emoreland

    emoreland Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 1999
    Messages:
    1,359
    Likes Received:
    166
    I’ve been keeping up with the recent prices on eBay. They are insane! I’ve been buying up graded Akeem fleer RC’s and now Drexler fleer RC’s because they have exploded.

    I hope moestavern kept the Jordan I sold him several years back. He made out great on that deal.
     
  11. CCorn

    CCorn Member

    Joined:
    Dec 26, 2010
    Messages:
    21,378
    Likes Received:
    21,097
    Jordan was great if you liked crappy basketball
     
  12. Dr of Dunk

    Dr of Dunk Clutch Crew

    Joined:
    Aug 27, 1999
    Messages:
    45,156
    Likes Received:
    31,111
    Yeah, I went back and bought some stuff from the 1940's - 1980's for the past 10 years or so, but just for giggles. Nowadays what seems to drive them up is potential movie appearances which then has people speculating first appearances. I generally don't collect modern comics (although I have gotten quite a few for kicks because of the topic). I had no idea about the blank variants. I always had heard of sketch covers, but I thought those had the "clear" cover/sketch paper being a fake cover that sat on top of the real cover of the comic that the artist would draw on. That way they could do pencilwork. I learned something new. Thanks. :D
     
    Supermac34 likes this.
  13. Asian Sensation

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 1999
    Messages:
    17,883
    Likes Received:
    6,874
    Just skimmed through a portion of my collection of cards that I kept since I was a kid. This thread made me dig them up. I haven’t touched them in 12 years since I last moved and the first time opening the storage box they were in in over 20 years. What a trip down memory lane.

    I saw a ton of Jordan, Hakeem and Drexler cards. I remember trading my Spurs friend all my Robinson cards for his Olajuwon’s. Drexler was my fav so I had to have as much as I could get of his.

    Looks like my card buying spree came to a halt right around 93-94. I saw way too many Vin Baker, Glenn Robinson and Nick Van Exel cards in my “good pile”. A lot of them were
    in cases. I even had a Glenn Robinson card in a case with the screws :eek:
     
    Supermac34 likes this.
  14. emoreland

    emoreland Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 1999
    Messages:
    1,359
    Likes Received:
    166
    Wow, I just realized that moestavern19 hasn’t been here in over a year. I hope he's doing well. I sold him a Jordan rookie that he then sent in to PSA and it came back a 6 which is worth a crazy amount right now. Probably 2k.
     
    Supermac34 likes this.
  15. emoreland

    emoreland Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 1999
    Messages:
    1,359
    Likes Received:
    166
    Anyone else out there still collecting?
     
  16. JumpMan

    JumpMan Contributing Member
    Supporting Member Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2004
    Messages:
    7,921
    Likes Received:
    4,356
    I have a LeBron Topps Chrome refractor rookie. Jewel of my small collection. Remember buying the box way back then and opening it right there in the card store. There was also a Shaq jersey card in one of the packs.

    I also have a lot of random Jordan inserts. I would trade Kobes for them. Kobe was ridiculously popular back then in the late 90s early 00s.

    Have a ton of Rockets. Most from the championship teams. A lot of Robert Horry and Sam Cassell. Stopped collecting Rockets around the Steve Francis era so...
     
  17. The Real Shady

    The Real Shady Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2000
    Messages:
    17,170
    Likes Received:
    3,966
    Feels like we are approaching bubble territory with sports cards. Bought a Giannis rookie in March during the dump, and also loaded up on several Yordan Alvarez's. Have a Deshaun Watson rookie encased 1/1. Not a popular card, but I like knowing I have the only one.

    When you have people like Gary V bringing in athlete money into the market it can cause price spikes.

     
  18. Buck Turgidson

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2002
    Messages:
    84,998
    Likes Received:
    83,164
    Who gives a crap about cards anymore?
     
  19. AleksandarN

    AleksandarN Member

    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2001
    Messages:
    4,444
    Likes Received:
    5,860
    Speaking about cards. Damn YouTube rabbit hole. I came across this video. The guys reaction is priceless



    Got to 11:20 mark. The guys reaction priceless
     
  20. PhiSlammaJamma

    Joined:
    Aug 29, 1999
    Messages:
    28,719
    Likes Received:
    6,991
    Now is the time to buy as people need cash. You can easily make low offers on good cards. Kobe and Jordan are through the roof. The Astros world series topps now autos are going at reasonable prices. My recommendation is the obvious, collect the names of the top 3 in each sport that everyone knows, and buy cards limited to 25 or less. That is where the value will always be, but it takes about 20 years. There will be a time when printed cards no longer exist. And that's when you will want to have them. For me, it's not advisable to buy when they are rookies as the prices are jacked with no guarantee of a return. Also, look for signatures on the card, not on a sticker. I agree with collecting what you love, but also, collect the famous, and they will deliver long term. The Topps now world series stuff is underrated I think, and they've only been doing it for three years. I see a lot of potential there even for the Astros stuff.

    Kept on through the lean years and it has paid off:
    08 Jordan/Olajuwon premier dual auto
    00 Jordan Spx Shoe/Warm Up auto
    00 Spx Kobe Warmup auto
    04 UD links Brady/Montana Dual auto
    00 Master Collection Jordan auto
    06 Jordan/LeBron Glass dual auto
    14 James Madison auto
    04 Orville Wright auto
    15 Albert Einstein auto
    01 SP Legendary Jackie Robinson auto
    01 SP Legendary Walter Johnson auto
    03 Netpro Serena Williams rookie auto
    02 SP Tiger Woods Red Shirt auto

    My mistakes:
    Collecting Vince Young/Tiger Woods rookie/Roger Clemens/Chris Johnson/Alex Rodriquez/Barry Bonds/ And collecting in the early 90's.

    Should have collected, but did not:
    insert cards. I miscalculated they would be worthless. They are not.
    Jeter
    Mantle
    Steph Curry
    Kevin Durant
     
    #20 PhiSlammaJamma, May 21, 2020
    Last edited: May 21, 2020

Share This Page

  • About ClutchFans

    Since 1996, ClutchFans has been loud and proud covering the Houston Rockets, helping set an industry standard for team fan sites. The forums have been a home for Houston sports fans as well as basketball fanatics around the globe.

  • Support ClutchFans!

    If you find that ClutchFans is a valuable resource for you, please consider becoming a Supporting Member. Supporting Members can upload photos and attachments directly to their posts, customize their user title and more. Gold Supporters see zero ads!


    Upgrade Now