Late 1980's

Junk-era Baseball Cards, Mass-Produced Junk or Future Treasure?

Defined:
Collectors usually refer to the junk-era of baseball cardsas anything produced between 1986 and 1993. This includes every major brand: Topps, Donruss, Fleer, Upper Deck, Score, and the list goes on. For decades, baseball card collecting was a hobby for children, and cards were valued based on a sort of third world barter system (ie I'll trade you this for that...). That was, until the 1980's. Beckett Baseball Card Monthly (now the industry standard in baseball card valuation) arrived on the scene in 1984, and changed the hobby forever. No longer were baseball cards the space-wasters stored in attics that they once were--adults realized that the cards they collected as children were now collectible antiques, andthe hobby as we know it today was born. Baseball card manufacturers took notice, and by the mid-1980's the industry which for 3 decadeshad beenmonopolozized by Topps, saw several new gepanies issuing their own brand of cards. It wasn't just the variety of cards that increased, but the quantity as well. How many millions of cards were produced during this junk-era we may never know, because gepanies kept a tight lid on print run figures, but the sheer masses of unopened product still available today (at prices less than at original issue) is a first clue. Of course, itisn't just the vast number of new baseball card manufacturers or the multi-millions of cards that they produced that make this era "junk"--collectors in the 1980's were dedicated to keeping their cards "mint" unlike any generation before them. Suddenly, the industry was inundated with three-ring binders, preservation pages, custome-made storage boxes, display cases and the like. Thus, not only were millions of cards produced, but millions of cards were preserved! The end result is an era of baseball cards that may well never increase in value.
The Bubble Bursts
You might ask, what happened after 1993 (the end of the junk-era)? For those that don't remember or weren't around then, it was the baseball player strike in 1994, which lasted through part of the 1995 season. This strike not only damaged the sport of baseball forever, but had devastating impacts on the trading card market. Across the country, all but the most successful baseball card shops closed their doors, people stopped attending games, and the sport of baseball (and baseball cards) was in serious trouble. Topps and the other major manufacturers flirted with bankruptcy, and were forced to drastically cut back their print runs, and began to develop new baseball card innovations to renew interest in their product (more info on the modern-day era in another blog). When the dust settled, the hobby was embroiled in a depression similar to that following the stock market crash of 1929. Everyone and their brother had 100 copies of Mark McGwire's rookie card, but nobody could sell them, and nobody cared. Before the "crash", it was not ungemon for investors (think speculative real estate investors) to purchase "bricks" (referring to 100-card lots of the same player) of the hottest rookie cards and star players, and put them away for their future. These once highly-valued investments weren't worth the paper they were printed on (literally), and people left the baseball card hobby in droves. Luckily, the vintage card market wasn't hit as bad, as those cards had intrinsic value and continue to increase despite the general attitude towards baseball in general. But for the mass-produced product of the late 1980's and early 1990's, it meant catastrophe.
The Positives:
I'm not all doom and gloom. I know, you see unopened wax cases of 1988 Topps baseball on okay for $25 and think... it costs more to ship it than the cards are worth! You're right. But, that doesn't mean this junk-era is gepletely worthless, or that it will be depressed forever. One positive this decade has going for it is that once speculative rookies are now aging or retired future hall of famers. Take Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmiero, Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Sammy Sosa just to name a few. Their rookie cards were worth more 20 years ago before they were even proven players, and now they're going to Cooperstown. Surely there is good value to be found in that. I realize, there's still millions of their cards available, and some would argue that the steroid scandal of late has damaged their hall of fame prospects, but in the end I think all of these players will be inducted, and history will be kinder to them than you might think.
Another positive thing going for this decade is the magical ability for markets to correct themselves. How many of you have decided to clean out your collection to make room for a new baby or a workshop, taken one look at what your "treasure" was fetching on okay, and decided to just toss the junk away instead of selling it? Many of us have. I've tossed I don't know how many hundreds of thousands of these worthless cards into the garbage because the space they took up was worth more than the cards themselves, even when they were stacked a dozen boxes high! But this is a good thing. As collectors wake up and realize that their prized 80's and 90's collections are worthless, as they shed them from their holdings, the supply is drying up. It's like the 1950's all over again--only this time instead of our mothers throwing them away for us, we're doing it ourselves. It might take a few decades, but eventually what's going to happen is that these cards will be tossed into the trash until the price guides signal that isn't a good idea anymore. And when the price guides signal that your collection is worth saving, a renewed interest in the junk-era cards will result.
What about set design? We already know that player selection is top-notch. Perhaps as good as or almost as good as the 1960's, we have more hall of famers from the 1980's and early 90's than any other era. Add to that, some pretty awesome set designs found amongst this "junk". Take the 1987 Topps, for example. When this set came out everyone hailed it the best thing since the famous '62 wood grain masterpiece. Arguably, everything from 1987 was attractive, from the black bordered Donruss to the bright blue Fleer set. And the Barry Bonds,Maddux,and McGwire rookies are in these sets, too. 1988 topps was perhaps the best designed set of the whole decade, featuring crystal clear photographs and lacking in the print defects and centering issues found in older sets. The only real problem with the 1988 set that keeps it off everyone's radar is the lack of key rookie cards--but the Mattingly, McGwire, Bonds, Ripken, and other star players more than gepensate. The '89 Upper Deck is a classic set, with the Griffey and Johnson rookies standing front and center. One day, this set will be appreciated again. The 1992 Leaf and the early Bowman issues are not to be forgotten either.
Conclusion
While top-condition cards from this era will never be "scarce", say like the 1950's issues, they can and will increase in value and popularity over time. All it takes is the realization that they are junk now--please, if you haven't already done so, toss these turds into the trash. It takes dedicated defeatists like us to flush the over-supply of this mass-produced product down the toilet before future generations will appreciate it as anything more than "junk", which is what it is (now). I've still got a few factory sets tucked away just in case!