Baseball Cards Price

When did the price of baseball cards collapse?

I always thought that competition among sellers at eBay ultimately led to the collapse in the value of baseball cards, but a friend believes that values collapsed before eBay was ever a factor. Does anyone know when baseball cards became essentially worthless?

Public Comments

1. Ebay killed the value of the baseball card. Cards were so valuable becasue they were so hard to find...now you just do a quick search on EBAY & bam there is the card! EBAY has basically killed the price & value of ALL collectables!
2. This was caused before eBay as even a factor. But eBay is a factor in itself. What caused more collectors to come into the hobby, as well as sellers, was the rise in autographed cards and game-used cards. This led people back to collecting. And then people found they could make a profit off of these cards. This is where eBay comes in. People just start selling these cards, and the card companis continue to make more and more. And of course, with more supplies, the cost is less. For example, an Evan Longoria Rookie Card isn't as much as it should be, too many people have gotten them. Also, there are so many brands out that have these "rare" cards, and all of a sudden, many people get promised an auto or game-used cards in boxes. And they they are sold. What I want to happen is cut the amount of brands in half, and make jersey and auto cards much more rare! Then if you get one, it's much better! But when a jersey card is only $3.00, something is wrong.
3. I would have to agree with Kevin A. Value is always as a result of both supply and demand, and eBay has taken the supply issue right out of the mix. There is an over supply of most cards on ebay and with that the pricing falls.
4. In the mid-80s was the beginning. The oversaturated market and then by the mid-90s the companies started putting out multiple sets. They started charging ridiculous prices for packs that contained about a quarter's worth of cards, they did themselves in by being greedy. I wish everyone today could experience what it was like to collect cards like when I was a kid in the 70s so you could see what it was really like.
5. Overproduction in the late 80's and 90's, reliance on "gimmick" cards that let companies jack the price of a pack up past $1, drop of number of cards in a pack, from 15 to 8 or 6 for 10 times the price. As in I didn't think it was a big deal to wheedle a dollar from my parents for 3-4 packs of cards, but ten dollars for 3 packs and guess what? Junior isn't collecting cards like his old man. Steroids also contributed to the problems because any record set after about 1988 is in serious doubt. Therefore if Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmiero, Ivan Rodriguez, Mark McGuire aren't seen as legitimate record holders or great players there is no market for their cards. All of a sudden all these lead pipe lock HOFers are a joke and that whistling sound is the value of your collection falling.
6. Slappy pretty much nailed it. In the early 80's card shows started appearing all over and people realized that baseball cards were valuable. They started buying cards in hopes of selling them in the future. It took a few years but the baseball card companies realized whatever they put out there, people would buy it. As more and more people started investing in cards more and more sets were released. In 1980 there was 1 national set (Topps) and maybe about a dozen or so minor sets. 10 years later there were probably 100 different national sets alone (Topps, Bowman, Fleer, Flair, Donruss, Leaf, Upper Deck, Collectors Choice, Score, Pinnacle, Pacific, etc). What eventually happened was there were more people investing in the cards then there were collecting them. That's why you'll see so many people even today trying to sell their cards from that era and nobody around to buy them. Cards before 1980 continue to sell pretty good on ebay. I know, I'm 100 cards away from completing my 1952 to 1980 sets and am having trouble finding them at a decent price, even in poor condition.
7. I'm with you, Slappy. As a kid in the 70s, I used to walk ditches in my neighborhood looking for soda bottles (when they were 16oz and glass) and taking them to my local convenience store, turning them in for the deposit to buy a pack or two of cards (which contained bubble gum) and a Tootsie Roll (all for less than $1). Now I go to a card shop to pay $5 for a pack with 3 cards in it and there's an 8-year-old kid next to me with a price guide looking up the price of every card he gets. No thanks, it's not fun any more. It scares me how much money I'm out today because of all the Reggie Jackson cards I destroyed by clipping them to my bicycle spokes for noise makers!
8. There's a lot behind it, and really cards aren't worthless. It's actually easier these days to get money for your cards than before. Back in the late 80s cards were really overproduced, and tons of them just ended up in warehouses or stock rooms or clearance shelves or people's closets. Most of those cards aren't worth a lot, but there are some specific players worth a few bucks. Overproduction killed the price of those cards. With the coming of premium brands and sets, rarity in production became important. Manufacturer-reduced supply caused higher demands, fueling the market and giving it a golden age. But with great value comes investors looking for some quick money, and the market just doesn't work like that. In 1998 the market collapsed from overproduction - too many brands, too many sets - just too much. Donruss went out of business. Many people left the hobby because it wasn't fun anymore. It was expensive and impossible. 10 years before - in 1988 - there were four majorr sets produced (Topps, Donruss, Fleer, and Score). In 1998, each manufacturer was releasing 2-3 sets per month or more. Every week had at least one new set or series during the season. The rise of the serial-numbered card, certified autograph and game-used card brought card collecting back into popularity but again it was overdone. Over 3000 different sets were being produced in one year for baseball alone counting inserts, parallels, insert parallels, etc. With the removal of manufacturers in 2005, the past 3 years have seen only about 1500 different sets over about 40 releases (these figures include smaller sets such as team-produced sets, as defined by Beckett). With so many game used cards in the market, it was no longer special to hold a piece of Albert Pujols jersey - you had to have a patch piece from the jersey or the barrel of the bat or a unique autograph inscription. Personally, I've been unhappy with most of Upper Deck's game-used and autograph treatments. They're quite plain and most of the uses are tired. Topps has been doing a good job with autographs and game-used material, and thus their product keeps a higher value. The last thing to address is eBay. I think eBay (and the internet) killed most "brick-and-mortar" business because someone with less overhead (no lease, for instance) could sell a card for less and still profit or be happy with their return. But on the flip side, 15 years ago you had to sell your cards to a store, a show dealer, or another collector and usually got less than you can now on eBay. Granted, if I have a stack of 1989 Donruss common cards, I won't get much for them, if anything, but that perfectly mint Albert Pujols rookie autograph I just pulled out of a pack will bring some huge bank. (And no, I didn't just pull a Pujols auto).
9. 1994. The strike.