The Junk Wax Era- when did it start?

[toad strangler]

Great thread. Need some updated thoughts! Early 80's to mid 80's cases are vanishing. Sure there are many hording it but it's getting tougher to find and very expensive 1985 on down. 1986 Topps wax cases, with virtually no anchor rookie card, command a grand now. Sorry Cecil Fielder lol

[wdwfan]

I agree with this. I've started looking for boxes, rack packs, unopened sets, cases (of Traded/The Rookies sets), Glossy/Tiffany sets, etc. from the 1980s-1990s, and they're expensive. The asking prices are expensive at least. But I'm going to try and start picking a few of those things up.

Originally Posted by toad strangler

Great thread. Need some updated thoughts! Early 80's to mid 80's cases are vanishing. Sure there are many hording it but it's getting tougher to find and very expensive 1985 on down. 1986 Topps wax cases, with virtually no anchor rookie card, command a grand now. Sorry Cecil Fielder lol

[Exhibitman]

The other issues that are starting to rise are the mid-nineties premium issues with either insert cards or serial #d cards. That $200K Select Jeter is the biggest one but high end limited edition cards of the era have a loyal following and are getting pricey. I used to pull them regularly from the cheapo bins and junk wax tables at the National but found relatively few available this past year at the show. The unopened has gone up. If there are decent inserts or parallels in the issue, it isn't a $20 box anymore.

On a tangential but somewhat related note, last year I purchased an unopened box of 2013 Panini Golden Age. It was really cheap (I think about $15) and I was hoping for a signed Bad News Bears card. I got one



but I also pulled a redemption card for a signed Stan Lee card. It was long expired but many states make it illegal to terminate redemptions or require valuables to go through the escheat process. I went to the Panini site and plugged in the code and it showed as active. Four months later my card arrived. So those old redemption cards may still be honored.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

The other issues that are starting to rise are the mid-nineties premium issues with either insert cards or serial #d cards. That $200K Select Jeter is the biggest one but high end limited edition cards of the era have a loyal following and are getting pricey. I used to pull them regularly from the cheapo bins and junk wax tables at the National but found relatively few available this past year at the show. The unopened has gone up. If there are decent inserts or parallels in the issue, it isn't a $20 box anymore.

On a tangential but somewhat related note, last year I purchased an unopened box of 2013 Panini Golden Age. It was really cheap (I think about $15) and I was hoping for a signed Bad News Bears card. I got one



but I also pulled a redemption card for a signed Stan Lee card. It was long expired but many states make it illegal to terminate redemptions or require valuables to go through the escheat process. I went to the Panini site and plugged in the code and it showed as active. Four months later my card arrived. So those old redemption cards may still be honored.

That's really cool.

I had the opposite experience with redemptions. I had a few sort of nice ones, and sent them in before the expiration. They never came. And the companies are now long out of business.

[Orioles1954]

1986 - Junk started
1987 - It really started ramping up
1988 - Junk wax overdrive

[tulsaboy]

I think it's hard to pinpoint a particular year as the "year" that started the junk era. I believe that each year from the mid-70's through some point in the mid-90's saw a pretty steady increase in production totals. I agree that there was an explosion in 1988, topped by Donruss' outstanding efforts. I think any casual glance at the availability of unopened product starting in 1981through 1990, for example, even just on ebay, makes it clear that there is a whale of a lot available for most of the 80's, even if it's not $20 a box. Consider this: next year, in 2020, a box of 1986 Topps will be 34 years old. In 1986, a 34 year old wax box would be 1952. The fact that you can still buy a box of 1986 Topps for $30-40, 34 years later, should make clear how much of that product is still widely available. I love me some 1986 Topps, but it is astonishing that you can still get 30+year old wax for relatively dirt cheap. I for one love the fact that I can relive my childhood for less than the price of a tank of gas. For my dad to relive his childhood in the same fashion would require his house and his 401k.
kevin

[wdwfan]

I totally agree about pricing of the 1980s-90s stuff, haha. I'm talking unopened, not highly graded or super rare inserts For example, I was looking to buy a 1987 Topps box because that's the year that got me started. I just wanted something fun to open for cheap. I can buy a cello box for $25 dlvd. That's a sealed, never opened cello box for less than it costs for my wife and I to go eat.

As much as I love opening 1980s wax, I realize it will NEVER be worth anything. It's all about the nostalgia and fun of opening it moreso than the making money aspect of it.

Originally Posted by tulsaboy

I think it's hard to pinpoint a particular year as the "year" that started the junk era. I believe that each year from the mid-70's through some point in the mid-90's saw a pretty steady increase in production totals. I agree that there was an explosion in 1988, topped by Donruss' outstanding efforts. I think any casual glance at the availability of unopened product starting in 1981through 1990, for example, even just on ebay, makes it clear that there is a whale of a lot available for most of the 80's, even if it's not $20 a box. Consider this: next year, in 2020, a box of 1986 Topps will be 34 years old. In 1986, a 34 year old wax box would be 1952. The fact that you can still buy a box of 1986 Topps for $30-40, 34 years later, should make clear how much of that product is still widely available. I love me some 1986 Topps, but it is astonishing that you can still get 30+year old wax for relatively dirt cheap. I for one love the fact that I can relive my childhood for less than the price of a tank of gas. For my dad to relive his childhood in the same fashion would require his house and his 401k.
kevin

[RayBShotz]

Originally Posted by Orioles1954

1986 - Junk started
1987 - It really started ramping up
1988 - Junk wax overdrive

This, for sure.