30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Saturday, April 18, 2020

Something's In The Air

Isolation can mess with your mind and make you do things you might not normally do... like watching Tiger King on Netflix, baking cookies in the middle of the week, or waking up after 7am.  I'm not sure which one surprises me more, but all of these things are out of character for me.

Another thing that I did was clean out my garage and dig through all of my flea market boxes.  I'm not talking about boxes I purchased at the flea market.  I went through the stuff I tried to sell as a vendor.  Based on some Colin Kaepernick cards I found in the boxes, it's been six or seven years since I last set up at the flea market.

I spent about six hours sifting through boxes and ended up filling one super shoe box and a 3,500ct. box with cards with any monetary or sentimental value.  There's way too much stuff to fit into one post and honestly most of the items feature Bay Area teams, since that's who I catered to when I sold.

The actual inspiration for the garage organization project had nothing to do with A's, Giants, Warriors, 49ers, Raiders, or Sharks cards.  Nope.  I was looking to see if I had any cool Michael Jordan cards.  The day before, I watched a YouTube video that discussed how the upcoming Chicago Bulls documentary has totally driven up his card values.

And even though I'm not into flipping cards, I was definitely curious to see what I had stashed away in those boxes.  There ended up being hundreds.  Most of them are multiples of early 90's overproduced cardboard with some late 90's Upper Deck thrown in.

I've gotta say, Jordan does have some fantastic looking base cards, which I might show off in the future.  Today, I picked five cards that were sitting in my dollar bin that I discovered this week are selling for some pretty good money.

1991 Upper Deck #SP1

But before we get to those, here is the obligatory baseball card for the majority of my readers who seem to primarily collect baseball cards like myself.  Back in 1991 this was a pretty popular card in our hobby and for the first time in decades... these are fetching double digits on eBay.

Surprise!  Here's one more baseball card of Jordan:

1994 Fleer ProCards Minor League #633

Two weeks ago, I would have guessed that this Birmingham Barons card was the most valuable Jordan card featured in this post.  Actually, it's the most affordable.  You should be able to still pick this card up for under five bucks.

Okay... let's get to some dollar bin cards that aren't selling for a dollar anymore...


#1:  1995-96 Finest #229


Completed sales on this card (and every other Jordan card out there) are all over the place.  But the majority seem to sell in the $40 to $50 range.  Don't even bother asking me why collectors are paying this much, because I haven't got a clue.


#21996-97 Topps #139


Okay.  So this card is only selling for $20 to $30 on eBay.  However if you're sitting on the Chrome version of this card, it's going for close to $400 right now.  Is that insane or what?


#3:  1996-97 Fleer Metal #11


Fleer Metal Jordans from the 90's are super hot right now... especially his 1997-98 Metal Universe card that's selling for hundreds of dollars.  Unfortunately for me, I couldn't find a single copy of that card in my collection.  I did find this card which is selling right now in the $30 to $45 range.


#4:  1997-98 Topps Chrome #123


This is another card that seems to be all over the place.  Some sell for $30... while others go for $75.


#5:  1998-99 Metal Universe #1


One more dollar box card that's been closing in the $30 to $50 range the past few days.

Who knows how long the hype will last... but for the time being... they're fun to track.  I kinda feel like my father, who enjoys tracking and monitoring his stocks.  The only difference is I don't have it in me to sell any of these.  Not because I think they'll go up in value.  I'm 99% sure they'll settle back down in due time.  I don't sell because my days of collecting as an investment are in the past.

What about you?


Do you sell cards?  Do you ever track card sales?

By the way, I actually collect Jordan.  In fact, this week I rescanned all of my high-end cards.  But this post is way too long already, so I'll save them for a future post.

That's it for today.  Happy Saturday and sayonara!


Extra Innings

Anyone else a fan of Star Wars: The Clone Wars?  I've been a fan since the beginning and Ahsoka Tano is one of my favorite characters.  I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't watched yesterday's episode, but it was really good.  Like really, really good.  


It's a shame that there are only three episodes left... but on the bright side... things are really heating up.

24 comments:

Zippy Zappy said...

I'm waiting for the CW to end so I can binge watch the last season in one entire sitting.

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

HMMM. I may have to reconsider my decision to not sell cards. Here are PC Jordan cards:

MICHAEL JORDAN: 143 DIFFERENT


1989 collegiate collection 13 bkb
1989 collegiate collection 14 bkb
1989 collegiate collection 15 bkb
1989 collegiate collection 16 bkb
1989 collegiate collection 17 bkb
1989 collegiate collection 18 bkb
1989 collegiate collection 65 bkb
1989 fleer all stars sticker 3 bkb
1989 hoops 200 bkb
1990 collegiate collection 3 bkb
1990 collegiate collection 44 bkb
1990 collegiate collection 61 bkb
1990 collegiate collection 89 bkb
1990 collegiate collection 93 bkb
1990 fleer 26 bkb
1990 hoops all star east 5 bkb
1990 hoops 65 bkb
1990 skybox 41 bkb
1991 fleer 29 bkb
1991 hoops 5 bkb
1991 hoops 455 bkb
1991 hoops 536 bkb
1991 hoops 543 bkb
1991 hoops 579 bkb
1991 slam dunk 1 bkb
1991 slam dunk 2 bkb
1991 slam dunk 3 bkb
1991 slam dunk 4 bkb
1991 slam dunk 5 bkb
1991 slam dunk 6 bkb
1991 slam dunk 7 bkb
1991 slam dunk 8 bkb
1991 slam dunk 9 bkb
1991 slam dunk 10 bkb
1991 slam dunk 11 bkb
1991 slam dunk 12 bkb
1991 slam dunk header bkb
1991 upper deck 75 bkb
1991 upper deck sp 1
1992 hoops 269 bkb
1992 hoops 320 bkb
1992 si for kids series 2 january 4 bkb
1992 skybox 105 bkb
1992 skybox bkb (card back) 315 bkb
1992 skybox bkb (card back) 318 bkb
1992 skybox 545 bkb
1992 topps highlight 3 bkb
1992 topps 115 bkb
1992 topps 141 bkb
1992 upper deck 44 bkb
1992 upper deck 48 bkb
1993 fleer tall boy 33 bkb
1993 fleer 238 bkb
1993 fleer bkb 246 bkb
1993 fleer 273 bkb
1993 hoops 257 bkb
1993 hoops 283 bkb
1993 hoops face to face ftf 10 bkb
1993 hoops tribute tr 1 bkb
1993 topps 205 bkb
1993 ultra jam session 2
1993 ultra daughertys card 209
1993 ultra 216
1993 upper deck 15 bkb
1993 upper deck bkb 23 bkb
1993 upper deck with pippen 62 bkb
1993 upper deck 67 bkb
1993 upper deck checklist 311-370 419 bkb
1993 upper deck checklist 421-470 420 bkb
1993 upper deck 425 bkb
1993 upper deck 453 bkb
1993 upper deck 453 bkb
1993 upper deck 488 bkb
1993 upper deck faniMation 506 bkb
1993 upper deck faniMation 510
1993 upper deck all division team ad 9 bkb
1993 upper deck all nba team an 1 bkb
1993 upper deck hologram aw 1 bkb
1993 upper deck mcdonalds p 5 bkb
1994 action packed 23
1994 classic 1
1994 fleer 224 bkb
1994 sports stars usa bkb retirement one of 15K nno bkb
1994 stadium club triple double 1 bkb
1994 stadium club 181 bkb
1994 ted williams insert dg 1 #d 39341
1994 ud american epic bonus card bc 2
1994 ud minors scrapbook mj 1 bkb
1994 udcc 23
1994 udcc 204 bkb
1994 udcc (bubble gum) 635
1994 udcc 635
1994 udcc 661
1994 upper deck 19
1994 upper deck bkb 23 bkb
1994 upper deck bkb 180 bkb
1994 upper deck bkb 193 bkb
1994 upper deck bkb 198 bkb
1994 upper deck central region c 2
1994 upper deck michael jordan retires mjr 1 bkb
1994 upper deck rare air nno bkb

PART 1

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

PART 2:

MICHAEL JORDAN: 143 DIFFERENT



1995 emotion 100 bkb
1995 hoops crunchers 1 of 25 bkb
1995 hoops top 10 ar 7 bkb
1995 topps active leader 1 bkb
1995 ud minors michael jordan retires 1 on 1 3
1995 ud minors michael jordan retires 1 on 1 4
1995 ud minors michael jordan retires 1 on 1 5
1995 ud minors michael jordan retires 1 on 1 8
1995 ud minors michael jordan retires 1 on 1 10
1995 udcc se 238
1995 upper deck electric diamond 200
1996 skybox 278 bkb
1996 udcc stick-ums s 30 bkb
1996 upper deck metal set 1 bkb
1996 upper deck metal set 2 bkb
1996 upper deck metal set 3 bkb
1996 upper deck metal set 4 bkb
1996 upper deck metal set 5 bkb
1996 upper deck metal set 6 bkb
1997 si for kids replace 571 bkb
1997 udcc catch 23 188 bkb
1997 udcc catch 23 191 bkb
1997 udcc bkb 192 bkb
1997 world com 40 minute phone card nno bkb
1998 premium 235 bkb
1998 sports card magazine promotional nno
1998 ud film 9 bkb
1998 ud film 30 bkb
1998 ud film 33 bkb
1998 ud film 71 bkb
1998 ud film 106 bkb
1998 ud film 111 bkb
1998 ud 133 bkb
1998 upper deck film 5 bkb
1999 ud century legends 1 bkb
1999 victory 331 bkb
2009 goodwin champions 114 bkb
2010 ud jordan legacy 9
2012 goodwin champions 123
2323 unknown 1986 topps baseball nno bkb
2323 unknown red border career highlights nno bkb
2323 unknown blue vertical nno bkb
2323 unknown blue double trouble nno bkb

RunForeKelloggs said...

When I buy too much I tend to be forced to sell a few things. I don't enjoy it. I had no idea that some of those Jordans were worthy of something better than the dollar box.

night owl said...

Don't collect basketball cards, don't have any Jordan cards that aren't of him playing baseball, have zero interest in what they're selling for, back to watching old baseball games from the '70s on youtube.

The Lost Collector said...

Good post Fuji. I love how cranky people are getting about MJ!

I couldn't be more excited for the documentary, and I've started to dig up a few of my old Jordans too. Had no idea that regular old 1996-97 Topps was going for $20-30. Crazy. It'll all cool down soon, I suspect.

I actually just finished a fairly similar post showing a few Jordans, but have it scheduled for Sunday morning.

Commishbob said...

I've never sold cards. I did take a table at a show in the Astrodome way back when. Actually a friend and I split the table, he had (and still has) the most astounding collection of late 50s/early 60s raw, nearly pristine cards I've ever seen. Me? I sold off my collection of Astros programs and other paper ephemera. I don't remember for sure but I don't think we made out table cost back. But we had a lot of fun.

sg488 said...

I am about 99% collector and 1% seller,and tracking card sales bores me.

The Diamond King said...

Wow! I have bee reading, but not really looking at cards lately until all the extra time fell in my lap. Your post got me looking at my Jordan's, like Johnny. Not sure I will go sell them off, but it did inspire me to write my first (lame) blog post in forever!! Thanks, hopefully it is the first of many.

acrackedbat said...

I don't track sales at all. My Jordan collection consists of his baseball cards. A couple of these are in the box for future pickpockets. I currently have eight 3000 to 5000 count boxes full of cards that would work well for dimeboxing. I hope to have a garage sale this summer with the right person stopping by to take them off my hands. I briefly considered doing a Saturday show somewhere but my back is not up to that.

Elliptical Man said...

I have 13 different Jordan cards. I also have a Sam Vincent which I only got because it has Jordan wearing 12.

I'm not a seller.

Base Card Hero said...

I heard his cards were selling way over the normal price, but I haven't looked yet. I have a TON of his cards from 1991-92, which was a year I was pretty heavily into basketball cards.

Anonymous said...

Sell the cards and use it to buy something you want.
-Anonymous Paul-

Collecting Cutch said...

I really don't think those prices will last. If I actually had any Jordans left, I would have unloaded them as I have seen them triple in value from only a few months ago. Now is the time to sell and get rid of them while the prices are on the upward trend.

Billy Kingsley said...

I have over 1000 Jordan cards and none are going anywhere. The dupes I sent to COMC are still available at under a dollar. I do have a bunch of duplicates, but I can't consider sending them to COMC until I finish scanning everything and can check against what I have to make sure mine are in good condition.

Rebel Coyote said...

I have sold a few cards on Ebay. The most I got for a card was Dallas Braden Bowman rookie serial to 50. It sold for $103 after he threw a perfect game

Matt said...

I don't sell at all. But, need to go through my Jordans for fun and see if I have any of the hot ones

Fuji said...

zippy zappy - that's what i usually do for television shows, but i was so excited about this season i had to start watching.

johnnys trading spot - that 1992 si for kids card might be kinda rare... at least compared to most of his pack issued cards. the phone card sounds pretty cool... and my favorite card that i recognize off of your list would be the skybox emotion. love that set.

runforekelloggs - i think lack of space will eventually force me to sell cards. right now i just donate stuff to goodwill since most of the stuff isn't worth the price it costs to ship things

night owl - watching 70's baseball games sounds awesome. might put that on today while i continue to sort cards.

the lost collector - looking forward to reading your post and seeing your jordans. as for crazy prices, unopened wax from the 90's is going crazy too. it's so fascinating

commishbob - there have been a few times where i didn't sell enough to cover the cost of setting up at the flea market. one time i drove out to stockton (about 90 minute drive) to set up with my buddy and i sold $3 worth of stuff. never set up out there again. at least i got a free lunch out of the deal

sg488 - i'm the same in regards to the 99% collector and 1% seller. actually, it's probably more like 99.999% collector and .001% seller. but i think tracking sales is fascinating. takes me back to looking up my card's values in beckett as a kid ;)

the diamond king - welcome back! looking forward to reading your post.

acrackedbat - i don't miss setting up a flea markets. my buddy still does and i'll join him from time to time, but usually leave before noon. good luck dumping those boxes. i'm sure it's going to brighten someone's day

elliptical man - i was looking for that card in my boxes, but didn't find a copy. it's pretty cool though.

base card hero - i collected a lot in 1991-92 too. mostly the skybox and upper deck stuff.

anonymous paul - i know i should... but it's just not my thing. maybe one day though

collecting cutch - yeah... totally agree. but i'm not into selling. i am enjoying watching everyone else do it though.

billy kingsley - wow. that's quite the jordan collection. under a buck? looks like jordan collectors should check your inventory on comc.

rebel coyote - nice. that was smart. i actually have a post i'm writing right now that involves braden. hope to have it published this week

sport card collectors - it's been very entertaining. although... now i just want to hurry up and clean my office again

gregory said...

Kind of makes me wish I collected basketball cards back then. I don't sell many cards or track sales to see how certain cards are selling, but I can see how that might be exciting for some folks. (Seems stressful to me, though.)

Nick said...

For the life of me I can't understand why/how common cards skyrocket like this. I almost never sell cards, and if I do it's only because I stumble upon the epiphany that a base card I have is selling for big bucks -- like the base (not even an SP) 2012 Heritage Mike Trout I recently sold for $50. This hobby's insane sometimes.

GCA said...

I set up at a monthly show one time and didn't sell a single card. Soured me on the idea. Everyone wants shiny cards of the hot rookies and absolutely nothing else. I have everything else.
I did sell my Acuna autograph that I pulled from Stadium Club a couple years ago. Also remember selling a Marino rookie card for $70 around 1990. Both were on eBay, which has become so much less friendly to card products now. they used to sort by year, product, single/lot/team/set, but now do none of it.

Comatoad said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Comatoad said...

When I was stationed in Denver, every-other-month my wife and I would set up a table at the Mile High Flea Market and sell cards and comics. It was $15 for the space (a parking spot-sized spot), and two tables for $5. We'd clear about $100 each trip (this was back in 1989-90). While my wife is so-so on sports cards, she did enjoy it, especially talking to the people who visited our table.

Fuji said...

gregory - it's been entertaining to me. i've even considered doing what my dad does with his stocks and actually tracking specific cards over time. as soon as it becomes stressful i'd quit. lol. gotta enough of that right now

nick - me either. the trout is an excellent comparison. i guess it has to do with supply and demand. but there are tons of jordan 90's base cards out there. tons

gca - i think the vintage dealers at the card shows i attend have their regulars. but they're few and far between. most of the dealers have what you mentioned... the shiny stuff. if jordans are popular still in the fall (which i doubt), i might take my stuff and throw them out on my friend's table at clearance prices just to make room for something else.

comatoad - if you can clear 5x your table and space costs, it's totally worth it to set up at the flea market. i think i only 2 or 3 of those days and one of them involved a mountain bike i sold for $800 or $900. plus bonding with you wife at the flea market should count for something too.