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UD Griffey what is going on
PSA 10s appear to be going close to ..... 4K?????? Meanwhile, 10s of Randy Johnson -- probably a better pitcher than Griffey was a hitter, honestly, arguably top 10 of all time -- sell for 150. Bubble? Market manipulation?
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I don’t know. There are about a trillion Griffey‘s out there. But it’s long been considered one of the iconic cards of the hobby.
The ‘89 UD Randy Johnson is not. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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Card prices are often not driven by best career stats. Sure Johnson was better than Griffey as far as overall career goes. And Hank Aaron (and many others, take your pick) was better than Mantle as far as careers go. But there are a whole lot more Mantle and Griffey collectors than Aaron and Johnson for reasons other than just statistics. Throw in that the iconic nature of some cards increases demand and price exponentially, and you get a second year Mantle or a junk wax airbrushed Griffey rookie that sell for many times what other comparable cards sell for. It's supply and demand. Every collector wants a Griffey in their collection, if for no other reason than nostalgia over what that card used to be in the hobby. Just like a Mattingly or Canseco rookie. But there is no nostalgia for a Johnson rookie.
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The 1989 Upper Deck Griffey is considered an iconic card, almost from the day it first appeared in 1989. For many years, the kids of that era longed for that card to be the cornerstone of their collection.
Great as Randy Johnson was as a pitcher, he's never been considered a cornerstone collector card. Plus, remember Griffey was an advertisers dream in the 1990's when our current generation of collectors were kids. RJ not so much. Sometimes, yes, it is that simple. Rich |
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Isn't it also a pretty much accepted theory that Upper Deck printed a boatload of extra Griffey Jr. cards?
....or did my tinfoil hat get the better of me just now? Randy Johnson was a beast. He was his era's Nolan Ryan....but better. Also, no steroid stink on him like Clemens. Just didn't capture peoples imaginations outside of inside baseball people for whatever reason. |
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When I worked in a shop during the late 90s to mid 00s, a guy walked in with an 800ct box of them. I thought this was insane at the time but I have since read several others sharing similar stories of seeing these 800cts at card shows at that time as well. |
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Just a note to add to this
"You don't even need a tinfoil hat, UD employees/exec outright stated that McWilliam ordered them to do so in Card Sharks" Yesterday was Pete Williams' birthday. I'm sure he'd be pleased to see people still remember his work on Card Sharks Regards Rich |
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The sheer popularity of the 89 UD Griffey Jr being so great that it outweighs the sheer amount of cards is kinda impressive. Even paying $50+ for raw or $70+ for a PSA 8 seems far too much compared to how many are out there, but the prices keep holding.
It's also a testament to junk wax that a totally rare occurrence of Pedro Martinez only having 1 RC issued by any company (91 Upper Deck Final) can be had raw for a couple bucks and a PSA 10 for around $40. Top 20 all-time pitcher, no other option but this for his RC...$40 for what is considered a "best of the best" example. |
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I suppose we can give Fleer a break in '86, but to miss him two years in a row... |
The Jeter SP is another Griffey like card even though it was a slightly more premium product for the time. There’s still a million of them.
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Has Jeter lost a bit of the iconic status he had a couple of years back? I don't know, I don't follow it closely, but I suspected that eventually he might drop a bit due to not being a home run hitter. On the other hand, despite a very long stretch of mediocrity by the metrics, Pujols with his 700 HR I think will endure. And we have seen what happened to Mike Trout, now seemingly destined to be a .230 hitter as he plays out his career. How do you now rank the post 1980 hobby icons? Griffey seems clearly at the top. After that?
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I think the 86 Topps Traded Bo Jackson will be a lasting card too. Not rare but as soon as future collectors find out who Bo Jackson was they’re going to look for it.
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Here's mine. I think Bo will be one of those guys who will forever be collected. He has a lot more going for him than Deion. I don't know anyone who wants Deion baseball cards:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...7eb7e56c17.jpg |
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Bonds is not surprising to me. As time goes on less and less people care about the PED usage, and the generation that watched him play as children grow older. 10 year old me, did not even know what steroids were. He did know that Bonds was built like Hercules and clobbered 500 foot moonshots. And on paper, even with an asterisk attached to his name, He's still has 7 MVP's, a slew of gold gloves and 762 Home Runs. Unless if his records are stricken from the books (Which they won't be) his numbers will continue to live on in infamy. |
Let Spike Lee tell you about it...
https://youtube.com/shorts/Im_RYVvWQ...oWgB2exAO0P3OE This stuffs better than stocks. |
First, go and see the prices for PSA 1-5 of the 89 UD Griffey. And the .5 pt increments are highly sought after.
Griffey is nostalgia. His cards were expensive when I was a kid. And now that I have a little pocket change, I can try to grab some of the cards I always wanted when I was younger. As for modern stars, I know that Jeter prices soared for a bit with Covid but have settled again. And Bonds was a recluse in the hobby for a long time. He hardly signed any pack inserts. So his absence likely helped fuel his strong prices. But I don't think he'll ever be as popular as Griffey. Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk |
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In September 2025 the highest selling 80s card on eBay was a 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany Barry Bonds PSA 10 for $11,850. A 1989 Topps Traded Tiffany Ken Griffey Jr PSA 10 sold for $5995 and was the 7th highest priced 80s card to sell last month on eBay. #3 was a 1989 Fleer Bill Ripken PSA 10 for $8228.:D |
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I think it's insane, but at this point I'm used to a steady dose of insanity from the hobby a few times a year since I first became interested in the early 80s. |
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Here's a Bonds auto that'll be interesting to see how high it goes — '86 Topps Traded Tiffany: https://www.ebay.com/itm/31744738535...Bk9SR-aRhZPCZg
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I'm always tempted to buy more Bonds, on the theory articulated that over time people will care less about PEDs and he will be seen as less of a pariah. I never quite convince myself though.
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A SGC 10 sold last night for $100k on Heritage. The PSAs are double that. I think 22 PSA 10s from what I remember Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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I'm confident Jeter will remain iconic for generations to come.
Even if he was a curmudgeon (he's not) to everyone, the hardware alone would cement his legacy. Yes, Jeter's an iconic figure. In my opinion, he always will be. Oh, yeah...he's also got this going for him: 7 - Mantle 5 - DiMaggio 4 - Gehrig 3 - Ruth 2 - Jeter |
5300 just now.
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5800 auction sale last night on ebay.
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Debut tickets are also gaining too.
A newly autographed debut ticket PSA 4 sold for $11k before BP. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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