Baseball Card Market Report for October 27-November 2, 2022 - Top eBay Sales
PLUS -- Does the market prefer base or traded rookie cards?
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The Mustache and the Low Ceiling (and Floor)
Take a look at the list of the top-selling baseball cards on eBay last week (bottom of post), and a couple of things might pop out at you.
First, Babe Ruth and the “modern Babe Ruth” are well represented.
Between them, The Bambino and Shohei Ohtani show up five times. Ohtani is probably getting a bit of limelight boost from his name being bandied about in Cy Young discussions and in trade rumors as he enters his final season before becoming a free agent.
Another thing you might notice is that the prices at the top of the eBay market this week are a bit soft compared to what we’ve witnessed all season long and through the bulk of the postseason. I generally cut these proceedings off at $5000 on the lower end, or about 35 cards max. In practice, we hardly ever see a “bottoming out” at 5K because there are usually more than 35 cards above that level.
Not even close this time around.
And, with that low barrier of entry, we see some sort of unexpected medalists, like a few multi-card lots and an autographed 1986 Donruss Jose Canseco Rated Rookie. I’d wager it’s been awhile since you’ve seen one of those on a hot list, huh?
Maybe this is just a breather for what has been a feverish market for nearly three years.
Maybe it’s a pause as we all watch the Phillies and Astros in the World Series.
Or maybe we’re seeing some seepage of the gloom and confusion that seem to be the hallmarks of the economy in general into our fair hobby.
Whatever the case, it will be interesting to see what the weeks ahead bring so we can start to sort out whether this is the beginning of a trend, or a blip on the old radar gun.
And, speaking of trends and questions we need answered, how about we tackle …
Does the Market Prefer Traded Cards?
You can blame November for this one.
See, back in the old, old days of the hobby, flipping the calendar to November meant the World Series was long behind us and that there were no new baseball cards to look forward to until spring.
But back in the merely old days, like the 1980s and 1990, November meant we definitely had something to look forward to — Traded sets!
And, a bit later, Update, Rookie, Rookie & Traded, Final Edition, and any number of other incarnations of traded sets.
Generally speaking, these babies would come out in box-set form
Cal Ripken - base before traded
1982 Topps Cal Ripken (#422)
January 2020: $21
July 2022: $65
profit/loss: $125.00 (595%)
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
1982 Topps Traded Cal Ripken (#98T)
January 2020: $185
July 2022: $400
profit/loss: $215.00 (116%)
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
Ron Kittle - base before traded (different company)
PSA 10
1983 Fleer Ron Kittle (#241)
January 2020: $25
July 2022: $35
profit/loss: $10.00 (40%)
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
1983 Topps Traded Ron Kittle (#55T)
January 2020: $40
July 2022: $70
profit/loss: $30.00 (75%)
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
Darryl Strawberry - traded before base
1983 Topps Traded Darryl Strawberry (#108T)
January 2020: $35
July 2022: $60
profit/loss: $25.00 (71%)
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
1984 Topps Darryl Strawberry (#182)
January 2020: $12
July 2022: $30
profit/loss: $18.00 (150%)
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
Kirby Puckett - traded before base (different company)
1984 Fleer Update Kirby Puckett (#U-93)
January 2020: $175
July 2022: $300
profit/loss: $125.00 (71%)
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
1985 Topps Kirby Puckett (#536)
January 2020: $25
July 2022: $70
profit/loss: $45.00 (180%)
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
Top Baseball Card Sales on eBay for October 27-November 2, 2022
(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
Most expensive hockey cards sold in the last 30 days
Now, on with the show …
1933 Goudey Babe Ruth 149 PSA 5
Selling Price: $26,766
Date Sold: 10/27/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
2018 BOWMAN CHROME SHOHEI OHTANI RC Auto GOLD PSA 9 PITCHING
Selling Price: $15,988
Date Sold: 10/28/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
1909-11 T206 POLAR BEAR TY COBB HOF PORTRAIT RED PSA 5 50012713
Selling Price: $14,600
Date Sold: 10/30/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
1951 Bowman Willie Mays WELL CENTERED SGC 3.5
Selling Price: $11,200
Date Sold: 10/28/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
1909-1911 T206 Ty Cobb Red Portrait Sweet Cap 350/30 HOF Detroit Tigers PSA 4
Selling Price: $10,100
Date Sold: 10/30/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
1933 Goudey #53 Babe Ruth New York Yankees HOF CSG 2 " RARE "
Selling Price: $9,999
Date Sold: 10/30/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
1948 Leaf #79 Jackie Robinson Rookie SGC 3! Iconic HOF Jackie Robinson RC!
Selling Price: $8,556
Date Sold: 10/29/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
SHOHEI OHTANI 2021 Topps STERLING GAME USED 'Japanese' Bat Barrel NAMEPLATE 1/1
Selling Price: $8,515
Date Sold: 10/30/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
RARE 1991 DONRUSS BASEBALL #375 JOSE URIBE TRIPLE ERROR CARD EX+ GIANTS RARE
Selling Price: $8,000
Date Sold: 10/28/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
1951 Bowman Baseball #305 Willie Mays Rookie RC SGC 3 VG HOF Giants
Selling Price: $8,000
Date Sold: 10/27/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
2018 Topps Chrome Gold Wave Refractor Shohei Ohtani RC Rookie AUTO /50 PSA 10
Selling Price: $7,900
Date Sold: 10/27/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
HUGE Mickey Mantle baseball card collection-Lot!!1951-1969!!Graded!!
Selling Price: $7,776
Date Sold: 10/30/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
1953 Topps Willie Mays PSA auto 10
Selling Price: $7,500
Date Sold: 10/30/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
2020 BOWMAN CHROME JEREMY PENA SAPPHIRE PURPLE REFRACTOR AUTO PSA 10 GEM MT /10
Selling Price: $6,900
Date Sold: 10/29/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
Jose Canseco Signed 1986 Donruss #39 RC Rookie Recollection Collection 1/1
Selling Price: $6,600
Date Sold: 10/30/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
2022 Topps Clearly Authentic Julio Rodriguez GOLD Parallel Rookie Auto 1/1 RC
Selling Price: $6,300
Date Sold: 10/28/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
baseball cards
Selling Price: $6,000
Date Sold: 10/27/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
Julio Rodriguez SEA 2022 Topps UPDATE 20 Case (15JUMBO+5HOBBY) PLAYER break
Selling Price: $5,686
Date Sold: 10/30/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
Graded Alex Gordon Error/Rookie Cards Collection, Beckett Graded 2006/2007 RARE
Selling Price: $5,126
Date Sold: 10/30/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
1954 Topps Henry Hank Aaron RC Rookie PSA Grade VG-EX 4. Card # 128
Selling Price: $5,115
Date Sold: 10/30/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
🔥Donruss 1991 Ken Griffey, Jr. All-Star⭐ CF (ERROR CARD NO DOT after INC)
Selling Price: $5,000
Date Sold: 10/29/2022
See listing (affiliate link)
1954 TOPPS BASEBALL SET #1-250 HANK AARON RC PSA AUTHENTIC PLEASE READ
Selling Price: $5,000
Date Sold: 10/30/2022
See listing (affiliate link)