What happened to T3's? - hijacked

[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!

[rainier2004]

Craig: Thanks for that detailed timeline. Even though I stopped to stare at the T3's, I never cared if they were slabbed or not...Im definitely hooked on the crack so that observation, generally like many others, flew right by me.

I appreciate all the other answers and there seems to be different energy with the T3 folks that Ive encountered on the board and at nationals. I use to not consider them a card but definitely do now. I would personally like to get the Tigers Team one day of T3's, but I tend to build sets and fear it would become an obsession similar to CJs for me now and start to push for a set...and sometimes your wallet struggles to keep up with obsessions.

[BleedinBlue]

I am very new to the T3 game but already know where it is going based on my history with obsession. In the last few months I cleared the 500 level in my pursuit of a T206 set and with the opportunities to add new cards to my collection quickly diminishing I decided to work on a T-card type set. I had picked up a lot of the more common T-type cards but an affordable T3 had eluded me until late last month. A fellow board member sold me a PSA 2 Bill Bergen card which I viewed as a great addition to my Brooklyn collection and at the same time filled a hole in my type set.

It's been a long time since I opened a package and was in awe. I've had the card for a couple of weeks now and can't force myself to put it away. I really enjoy looking at the card. The aesthetics are unmatched in an other issue I've found. The next logical step for me is to pick up the other Brooklyn players. After that I'm sure I'll go for a set of the Baseball Players. Then I'll want a Boxing Type card. Then the rest of the T9's will get onto my list. Cost and budget are going to be butting heads for a while I'm sure.

[kcohen]

In one sense, at least for me, it's ironic that the advent of slabbing T3s fueled the price rise. IMO, it's one issue, more than most others, whose aesthetics are destroyed by slabbing. So much nicer in their natural state.

Note: This is not meant to be an anti-grading rant, simply an opinion on the aesthetics.

[rainier2004]

Originally Posted by kcohen

IMO, it's one issue, more than most others, whose aesthetics are destroyed by slabbing. So much nicer in their natural state.

Note: This is not meant to be an anti-grading rant, simply an opinion on the aesthetics.

Couldn't agree more...I hate slabs and if I were to purchase a T3 I would be slab busting as always. The Cobb would make me think about it for awhile first but eventually Id get into the Jameson and Id get slab crackin...For a guy that just won a ton of CJs Im doing a lot of thinking about T3's.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by kcohen

In one sense, at least for me, it's ironic that the advent of slabbing T3s fueled the price rise. IMO, it's one issue, more than most others, whose aesthetics are destroyed by slabbing. So much nicer in their natural state.

Note: This is not meant to be an anti-grading rant, simply an opinion on the aesthetics.

Really with you here, Ken. I've gotten used to seeing most cards in their slabs (didn't say I like it), but these beauties really need to be on their own. Someday maybe they will come up with a method of authentication (and grading, if they must) without entombing, so we can have the best of both worlds.

[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.

[ShoelessCrusader]

Not really sure how to insert images in this format but thought I'd try reviving this thread from a few of my favorite cards from the most beautiful set ever...

[ShoelessCrusader]

Guess it didn't work...

[Bosox Blair]

Couple more of mine with great color and gloss:

[jtschantz]

Glad to see this thread back on top again!...If your collecting T3's, or are thinking about starting one, rumor has it there will be a very nice set comming up for auction in Jan.