Baseball Card Market Report for December 28, 2023-January 3, 2024 - Top eBay Sales post

PLUS -- Checking in on all-or-nothing sluggers

Jan 05, 2024

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Out with the Old, in with the … Well, Old

The bad news is, several Tom Brady numbers still showed up among last week’s top-selling “baseball” cards on eBay (see bottom of post for full list).

The good news is, the very top of the list features real and classic cards of players like Sandy Koufax and Willie Mays and Shohei Ohtani.

There are even some 1963 Jell-O cards. Always room for those, right?

Heck, the only major omission from that list down there is a good, old-fashioned “Casey at the Bat” type of slugger.

We can take care of that little oversight…

Checking in on All-or-Nothing Sluggers

A couple weeks ago, on Dave Kingman’s 75th anniversary, I asked collectors on Twitter (X) what their favorite Kong card is.

Both that thread and an earlier back-and-forth about all-or-nothing sluggers prompted us to dig into recent sales of Kingman cards for a YouTube video:

I thought we’d carry on the theme here in the market report early in the new year.

So I racked my memory banks and the record book to find ten players with strong home run totals, big strikeout swings, and low batting averages.

From there, I used the PSA Auction Prices Realized tool to find approximate selling prices for each player’s rookie card from late in 2019 (before the pandemic) to late in 2023.

Here’s what I found:

1966 Topps Nate Colbert (#596) - PSA 7

2019 Value: $25
2023 Value: $35
Profit/loss: $10
% change: 40

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

1972 Topps Dave Kingman (#147) - PSA 8

2019 Value: $15
2023 Value: $40
Profit/loss: $25
% change: 167

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

1974 Topps Gorman Thomas (#288) - PSA 8

2019 Value: $18
2023 Value: $15
Profit/loss: -$3
% change: -17

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

1982 Topps Steve Balboni (#83) - PSA 10

2019 Value: $32
2023 Value: $35
Profit/loss: $3
% change: 9

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

1983 Fleer Ron Kittle (#241) - PSA 10

2019 Value: $28
2023 Value: $40
Profit/loss: $12
% change: 43

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

1986 Topps Traded Rob Deer (#31T) - PSA 10

2019 Value: $17
2023 Value: $50
Profit/loss: $33
% change: 194

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

1986 Topps Traded Pete Incaviglia (#48T) - PSA 10

2019 Value: $12
2023 Value: $15
Profit/loss: $3
% change: 25

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

1986 Topps Traded Cory Snyder (#132) - PSA 10

2019 Value: $65
2023 Value: $65
Profit/loss: $0
% change: 0

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

1999 Bowman Chrome Adam Dunn (#369) - PSA 10

2019 Value: $5
2023 Value: $5
Profit/loss: $0
% change: 0

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

2011 Bowman Chrome Prospects Khris Davis (#BCP163) - PSA 10

2019 Value: $7
2023 Value: $15
Profit/loss: $8
% change: 114

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

—

Most of these rookie cards increased in value, though a few more or less held steady. Gorman Thomas actually showed a decrease in price, but the overall trading volume for these cards is relatively small.

At least compared to the top-of-market guys like Shohei Ohtani, Mickey Mantle, Ken Griffey, Jr., and the rest.

As a group, these big swingers saw about a 40% increase in value for their rookie cards during the pandemic. Not peanuts, but a tick or two below players in the Hall of Fame discussion, like Steve Garvey (165% increase), Dale Murphy (70% increase), and actual Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett (75% increase).

These numbers are another reminder that collectors continue to love the long ball, but that over the long run, it’s the Hall of Fame that continues to drive a player’s prices upward.

Here are some other cards that their new owners surely hope have legs of their own for the long haul …

Top Baseball Card Sales on eBay for December 28, 2023-January 3, 2024

(Quick note — this list contains affiliate links to the original eBay listings.)

If you want to see updated 30-day market toppers anytime, we have a couple of resources over on WaxPackGods.com:

Most expensive baseball cards sold in the last 30 days
Most expensive football cards sold in the last 30 days
Most expensive basketball cards sold in the last 30 days

Now, on with the show …

Baseball Card Values Newsletter

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