What happened to T3's? - hijacked

[rainier2004]

I have never owned a T3 but have always thought they were possibly the most aesthetically appealing issue and always stopped stared at them at the national. Eventually I would like to own a couple and it seems like the prices have dropped drastically. Why has the price of this set, full of beautiful cards and stars seem to drop so drastically? Have prices just returned to pre-spike level? I seem to remember for awhile about 10 years ago every time I saw a T3 the price had risen. Maybe my memeory just sucks...

[Griffins]

I know a few years ago there was some pretty intense competition between a few people building the set. A guy in Maryland, another in NYC, both paying and trading very generously for cards they needed. As we've seen in other sets, the market isn't that deep, and once their sets were completed competition (or lack thereof) worked to drop the market price.

[rainier2004]

Are todays market prices in-line with the previous prices prior to those set builders enetering the market? I guess I thought more folks were involved in T3s than that.

[CW]

I think the hobby also saw a slight pricing spike when these cards first started to be graded by PSA and, later on, SGC. For years, those two graders didn't slab T3's, and once they started grading these gems (5 to 7 years ago?) the prices seemed to take off. This, of course, also ties into the registry, which likely ties into the competition that Anthony already mentioned.

[Jerry G]

Originally Posted by rainier2004

I have never owned a T3 but have always thought they were possibly the most aesthetically appealing issue and always stopped stared at them at the national. Eventually I would like to own a couple and it seems like the prices have dropped drastically. Why has the price of this set, full of beautiful cards and stars seem to drop so drastically? Have prices just returned to pre-spike level? I seem to remember for awhile about 10 years ago every time I saw a T3 the price had risen. Maybe my memeory just sucks...

Nothing wrong with your memory. There is a similar discussion including the boxing Turkey Reds over on the Boxing Forum.

[Republicaninmass]

I think they are a great buy at these prices, they a visually appealing and I would think the prices will start climbing. Also, it appears there have been quite a few for sale recently

[T3s]

Hello,

Thought I'd chime in, but essentially just to agree with the points made in each of the previous comments on this thread.

I can remember 10 years or so ago, buying a stunning T3 common on Ebay with a BIN of $300. At the time, I couldn't believe I was paying so much for a T3 - easily the most I'd ever paid for a common - and hoping I wouldn't regret it. Sometime around 2005, when PSA started grading them, I sent the card in and it received a 6. I ended up trading that card for a pile of other T3's (actually wish I had it back, but it was an offer I couldn't refuse), that were probably worth about $3500. That was an insane deal, and I certainly couldn't get that much today, but the right buyer would still go $1500+ for that card.

I remember being angry and a bit confused as Dave Levin paid what seemed like way too much for some nice commons on Ebay one day. Only to discover that he was being shrewd and must have known that PSA was beginning to grade them and prices would most likely rise. Very, very shortly thereafter, the big slabs appeared. Well played, Dave.

So in short, the T3 market has absolutely come back down to earth, relative to the start of their debut with PSA. However, when compared to the late 90's and early 2000's, they're still way ahead. Further, most PSA-3 thru PSA-5 examples right now are a great deal - in my opinion. Over the years, I've loosely tracked the PSA pop report and it's easy to see that submissions have slowed to a crawl. Certainly expensive to submit, but not that many more out there to be submitted.

I hope you enjoy them. They are beautiful cards.

Happy Collecting,
Craig

[BCauley]

Looks like I might need to pick up my token T3 card for the collection soon then, Jake Stahl. Great looking cards and like the first poster, I always make sure to stop and check them out when I see them.

[mintacular]

I think they suffer from folks like me who do not view them as "cards" due to their enormous size. Thus they are in the blindspot of cardaholics who might appreciate their aesthetic qualities but view them more as a baseball "antiques". Also, storage issues, easier to hold a few boxes of cards/binders than picture-frame sized stuff.

[Republicaninmass]

Originally Posted by mintacular

Also, storage issues, easier to hold a few boxes of cards/binders than picture-frame sized stuff.

Nothing like two giant rubbermaid containers filled with t3's!

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by T3s

Hello,

Thought I'd chime in, but essentially just to agree with the points made in each of the previous comments on this thread.

I can remember 10 years or so ago, buying a stunning T3 common on Ebay with a BIN of $300. At the time, I couldn't believe I was paying so much for a T3 - easily the most I'd ever paid for a common - and hoping I wouldn't regret it. Sometime around 2005, when PSA started grading them, I sent the card in and it received a 6. I ended up trading that card for a pile of other T3's (actually wish I had it back, but it was an offer I couldn't refuse), that were probably worth about $3500. That was an insane deal, and I certainly couldn't get that much today, but the right buyer would still go $1500+ for that card.

I remember being angry and a bit confused as Dave Levin paid what seemed like way too much for some nice commons on Ebay one day. Only to discover that he was being shrewd and must have known that PSA was beginning to grade them and prices would most likely rise. Very, very shortly thereafter, the big slabs appeared. Well played, Dave.

So in short, the T3 market has absolutely come back down to earth, relative to the start of their debut with PSA. However, when compared to the late 90's and early 2000's, they're still way ahead. Further, most PSA-3 thru PSA-5 examples right now are a great deal - in my opinion. Over the years, I've loosely tracked the PSA pop report and it's easy to see that submissions have slowed to a crawl. Certainly expensive to submit, but not that many more out there to be submitted.

I hope you enjoy them. They are beautiful cards.

Happy Collecting,
Craig

Very nice, thorough analysis, Craig. Seems spot on, IMHO. I think that you'll see that they will be somewhat cyclical in nature re their prices, with that cycle trending upwards over a longer period of time, since for the most part, they are relatively available. In practical terms, their values will surge when they start to look like veritable bargains compared to other cards of the era. Their beauty is truly beyond dispute; because of that, they have tremendous power to reach out and grab you, transporting you right back to that era of play.

Best wishes,

Larry

[rainier2004]

Originally Posted by ls7plus

Their beauty is truly beyond dispute; because of that, they have tremendous power to reach out and grab you, transporting you right back to that era of play.

That was very nice Larry.

[Bosox Blair]

FYI, I have an unslabbed T3 McConnell for sale/trade on the BST, here:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...ight=mcconnell

Also, I picked up a gorgeous Griffith T3 from the BST here a few months back - now in a SGC 60 holder and not for sale...a keeper...here is the pre-slab scan:

[Bosox Blair]

As to the original post, I agree and have noted the same thing. In my mind, the T3s are one of the sets that took the worst beating in the downturn from late 2008-2011.

I was truly shocked by some of the low prices at auction in that timeframe...even on high grade cards for that set, like 5-6 grades.

Not sure if they have bounced back recently, but it seems to me that a few sets are on the rebound in the last few months.

Cheers,
Blair

[Sterling Sports Auctions]

Got this bad boy about 5 or 6 years ago for $250, never thought I would own one, a true classic:



One more for the quality T3's, prime candidate for pinning on the wall:



Lee

[jmk59]

[2dueces]

Joann, Very nice example!! I think they are the nicest looking cards ever made. JMO

[jmk59]

Originally Posted by 2dueces

Joann, Very nice example!! I think they are the nicest looking cards ever made. JMO

Thank you Joe. It's one of my favorites. I posted it for the Detroiter upthread (or the DTW collector, anyways).

J

[Republicaninmass]

ONe of my worst, but a great background. The beginings of a huge NYC infracstructure loom in the bacground beyond the Brooklyn field.

[novakjr]

My lone T3. Joss, looks like sh!t, but got it for around $15, so I can't complain.