Has the Junk card era ended? If so, when?

[Republicaninmass]

These box breaks don't even SHIP cards unless they are hits. I don't think any collector could have imagined that in 1990. Vast wasteland of modern cards

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Republicaninmass

These box breaks don't even SHIP cards unless they are hits. I don't think any collector could have imagined that in 1990. Vast wasteland of modern cards

My favorites are the 1/1s that sell for 4 and 5 figures of players that have no MLB experience. Then sell for $5 or less a couple years later.

[steve B]

I think of it as a transition, from pure junk wax of the late 80's to the early 90's and a bit beyond where there were some pretty nice cards with much more limited production, but a very few great inserts. That eventually led to now, what I sometimes call the lottery era, with overly elaborate base cards that even with lower production aren't really worth much even years later, and a very few very low production inserts that may be worth a lot but only if it's the "right" player.
I'm not sure what's next.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by bnorth

My favorites are the 1/1s that sell for 4 and 5 figures of players that have no MLB experience. Then sell for $5 or less a couple years later.

I love those stories of speculators getting badly burned! The lesson of course is to not buy any new issues until they're at least two years old.

[Tripredacus]

For baseball, since Fanatics took over (so since 2024) we are in the junk era yet again.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

I love those stories of speculators getting badly burned! The lesson of course is to not buy any new issues until they're at least two years old.

I would say more like 8 years, to be safe, going from the date of the first prospects issues.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I would say more like 8 years, to be safe, going from the date of the first prospects issues.

So on that question, inserts/chase cards first appeared in packs over thirty years ago now. Have the earliest releases started to recover from their lows? if so, how long has it taken for them to start recovering in price? Or looking at the question in another way, what's the sweet spot for a buyer - two to eight years after issue perhaps?

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by Lucas00

Right,
To me personally Junk wax started in about 1972 and continues to this day. It's just how I see it, I have no desire to own 99.9% of any cards post 1971.

Meh, I love baseball cards and I love baseball. People who scoff at certain eras aren't really baseball card collectors to me. They are era collectors. There are great cards of great players across all eras of baseball.

Originally Posted by Balticfox

So on that question, inserts/chase cards first appeared in packs over thirty years ago now. Have the earliest releases started to recover from their lows? if so, how long has it taken for them to start recovering in price? Or looking at the question in another way, what's the sweet spot for a buyer - two to eight years after issue perhaps?

That's probably a safe spot. I might even extend it out to about 15 years or so. Usually there is a pretty lengthy period between first release hype, and when nostalgic collectors go back to the cards they loved when they were younger. For instance, it sounds like you are asking about some of the earliest rare inserts (presumably mid-late 90s) recovering from their lows. As a 90s insert collector, I can tell you that rare inserts of the 90s are by far (lightyears) the hottest era of sports cards right now. They also command extremely high prices. And I just collect Barry Larkin. His best cards are usually only 4 figures. Guys like Griffey and Jeter's best cards from the 90s can cost several hundred thousand dollars.

[Lucas00]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

Meh, I love baseball cards and I love baseball. People who scoff at certain eras aren't really baseball card collectors to me. They are era collectors. There are great cards of great players across all eras of baseball.

I collect because of second hand nostalgia. And I just don't have nostalgia for anything really past the 50s/60s. Even though that was far before my time. If I collected because of my love of baseball and just because players were great In the 80s I'd have a collection that is meaningless to me.

I'd wager to say half the forum is the same way but for pre war cards, who don't touch anything past the 40s. Some maybe not even collect out of the 1800s.