Which of these junk wax sets do you like and why?

[Classic Wax Cards]

I'm wondering, if you had to pick one of these sets/series to like the best, which would it be, and why?

choices are:

1986 Donruss
1987 Donruss
1988 Donruss
1989 Fleer
1990 Score

My personal choice, as goofy as it seems, is the 1990 score. I know its worth nothing and doesn't really even compare with the others listed, but for me it has a lot of value. I had this set years ago. It had its moment. And when it did, I was there. The Bo Jackson fb/bb card alone was totally sick.... or the Frank Thomas rookie alone could carry the set. I also am one of the ridiculous few that like the bright, different colors the cards are set on. Like with the 89 Donruss. Loved em. I guess the colors appealed to me as a kid and I've not lost that initial feeling towards them.

That being said, I would expect people to favor the 89 Fleer products. Because of all the error cards and variations around.

Just wondering what people would think. I'm about to start ripping a bunch of products of one of those lines, and haven't decided which one. Its a larger scale rip, that I'll devote a good amount of time to, so I thought I'd get input.

[mrmopar]

I suppose I would vote 86 Donruss, because I was still buying packs then and there was none to be found in my area. I had very few of them when they were new and, of course, that Canseco with the wispy mustache was the card to have! I didn't mind the design, although it would be a 4th or 5th favorite out of all of the 80s Donruss sets. Not a great deal of value or excitement out of it these days though, just good old memories for me.

87 was a decent follow up and had the last Donruss card of Steve Garvey and the G. Maddux is still a neat card to find. Always loved the rated rookie subsets back then. It was easier to find in my area that the invisible 84-86 D packs, so that was a plus. I was soon to discover that I couldn't hide from the glut of 88D that would soon follow!

I have had my fill of the rest and don't care for the design of the 88D or 89F. 88D may be the worst out of the 5 you listed in my mind. Absolutely nothing neat or of value in that brick of junk except the R. Alomar RR RC and the Glavine (which is ugly). I do kind of like the factory set variations, where the black and blue borders are reversed for a little flair in collecting, but Garvey had retired, so no card of him in that set to make me chase it at the time (Thanks Score for the ONLY 88 Garvey card). Obviously the Griffey Jr RC and the Ripken FF cards drive a fair amount of interest in the 89F set. The 90 Score does have some neat action shots, reminiscent of the early 70s. Can't go wrong with a F. Thomas rookie card either.

I'm wondering, if you had to pick one of these sets/series to like the best, which would it be, and why?

choices are:

1986 Donruss
1987 Donruss
1988 Donruss
1989 Fleer
1990 Score

My personal choice, as goofy as it seems, is the 1990 score. I know its worth nothing and doesn't really even compare with the others listed, but for me it has a lot of value. I had this set years ago. It had its moment. And when it did, I was there. The Bo Jackson fb/bb card alone was totally sick.... or the Frank Thomas rookie alone could carry the set. I also am one of the ridiculous few that like the bright, different colors the cards are set on. Like with the 89 Donruss. Loved em. I guess the colors appealed to me as a kid and I've not lost that initial feeling towards them.

That being said, I would expect people to favor the 89 Fleer products. Because of all the error cards and variations around.

Just wondering what people would think. I'm about to start ripping a bunch of products of one of those lines, and haven't decided which one. Its a larger scale rip, that I'll devote a good amount of time to, so I thought I'd get input.

[Tennis13]

I'm wondering, if you had to pick one of these sets/series to like the best, which would it be, and why?

choices are:

1986 Donruss
1987 Donruss
1988 Donruss
1989 Fleer
1990 Score

My personal choice, as goofy as it seems, is the 1990 score. I know its worth nothing and doesn't really even compare with the others listed, but for me it has a lot of value. I had this set years ago. It had its moment. And when it did, I was there. The Bo Jackson fb/bb card alone was totally sick.... or the Frank Thomas rookie alone could carry the set. I also am one of the ridiculous few that like the bright, different colors the cards are set on. Like with the 89 Donruss. Loved em. I guess the colors appealed to me as a kid and I've not lost that initial feeling towards them.

That being said, I would expect people to favor the 89 Fleer products. Because of all the error cards and variations around.

Just wondering what people would think. I'm about to start ripping a bunch of products of one of those lines, and haven't decided which one. Its a larger scale rip, that I'll devote a good amount of time to, so I thought I'd get input.


For me, it has to be 1986 Donruss. Pure nostalgia. I remember those packs running like $16 back in 1990. I bought a pack--my one and only--and I got a Jose...Guzman. My heart skipped a few beats as I peeled it back to see Jose, and then I swore off that cocaine. I knew I could have opened up another 35 packs, no problem. Now, I can get a full box for $35, and I think I may have to. For some reason, I am really drawn to this issue.

The other one I really like is the 1985 fleer and 1984 Topps. Both when I really started collecting a lot. I would ride my bike down to the drug store and buy the cello packs.

[bnorth]

I have an insane 89 Fleer Bill Ripken and Randy Johnson error/variation collection so I would have to go with that set of the ones listed.

I also really like the 90 Score set, I have several only known wrong back pairs from this set.

Not mentioned but just for looks I like the 90 Donruss set the best. Some like it hot but I like it RED.:)

[Jayworld]

I had stopped collecting new/modern cards after 1984, but of those you have listed, the 1987 Donruss is the best looking from a design perspective with the black boarders. I personally don't like cards in which the subject extends beyond the border of the picture, which is why I never thought the 1989 Fleer cards were attractive. Of course, this is all from a graphic design perspective and has nothing to do with the actual player contents of each set. In fact, that's generally how I made my decision in the early 1980s of which set to collect once Donruss and Fleer entered the market; i.e. I collected the 1981 Fleer and 1982 Donruss.

[ALR-bishop]

Of those listed, 89 Fleer. As Ben noted the Ripken and Johnson variants are fun and there a few others as well

[slinger23]

I have always been fond of three of the set you mentioned: 1986 Donruss, 1987 Donruss and 1990 Score. Let me start with 1986 Donruss, obviously Canseco was the key but there are decent second tier rookies like McGriff and O'Neill included and plus I never found these in stores were I grew up. As far as the 1987 Donruss, I remember buying packs and rack packs at Eckerd's Drug Store. Solid rookie collection with Bonds, Jackson, McGwire (technically not a RC), and Maddux. I both hated and loved the black borders but centering on that set drives me nuts. I have always been a big fan of the 1990 Score set with its simplistic approach of the green, red and blue borders for the majority of the set and the last 44 cards or so were treated with the white borders that included the extremely popular Bo Jackson B/W card. That card and the Frank Thomas card were the ones to get. Too bad production was out of control but I do have fun thumbing thru some of those sets as it is my "time capsule" to go back in time. Good times. 1990 Score as my pick with the other two sets runner-up.

[Iwantmorecards77]

My first choice would be 1987 Donruss. As a rookie collector - this set is loaded! Maddux, Bonds, Palmiero, Cone, Brown, Moyer, Clark, Larkin, Bo, etc. Fun, inexpensive box to rip.

Then, 1986 Donruss. The iconic (for 1980's) Canseco rookie, along with McGriff, O'Niell and more.

1989 Fleer is a fun set too (though not the greatest design.) The Griffey rookie and the variations. Bought a box on eBay a couple of years ago - pulled 2 Griffeys and the Ripken FF. Good times!

Inexpensive boxes - not huge value - but I wouldn't consider them junk! (Though I realize many do.)

...always liked the design of the earlier Score sets.

[bswhiten]

I would vote 87 Donruss. The Bo and Maddux rated rookies out of that set are two of my favorite cards. They are certainly tough to get in mint condition with those black borders though.

[vintagetoppsguy]

For me, it has to be 1986 Donruss. Pure nostalgia. For some reason, I am really drawn to this issue.

'86 Donruss for this reason. Although I bought packs from previous years, this was the first year that I really started collecting. I remember ('88?) when Canseco broke the 40/40 club and his rookie was selling for $100+. Good times.

'87 Donruss a close second. Remember all the rookie prospects from that year? Maddux, Bo, Larkin, Bonds, Bonilla, Will Clark, Mike Greenwell, Kevin Mitchell, Benito Santiago, Palmeiro. And there's still probably at least half a dozen that I'm not remembering.

[D. Bergin]

'86 Donruss for this reason. Although I bought packs from previous years, this was the first year that I really started collecting. I remember ('88?) when Canseco broke the 40/40 club and his rookie was selling for $100+. Good times.

'87 Donruss a close second. Remember all the rookie prospects from that year? Maddux, Bo, Larkin, Bonds, Bonilla, Will Clark, Mike Greenwell, Kevin Mitchell, Benito Santiago, Palmeiro. And there's still probably at least half a dozen that I'm not remembering.


Good ol' days. $100 raw. :D

I remember going to a baseball card show and one of those card brokers that was popping up in SCD at the time was set up there.

They were buying Cansecos for $90 bucks and selling them for $100 bucks, and there were more people buying the Cansecos then selling them.

That being said, of the ones listed, I probably also had the greatest affinity for 87 Donruss, because it was accessible to me at the time and had that great selection of Rookies. 86 Donruss was never easy to find and when the Canseco and McGriff took off, the wax was not very affordable for a teenager like myself.

Not listed but I preferred Fleer of all the releases in 1987. Just had a very clean look to them, and for some reason there seemed to be a lot less of them out there then Donruss, and obviously those ugly Topps wood borders.

[Classic Wax Cards]

great anwsers and explanations! I appreciate the feedback. And I'm glad the 1990 score still gets a little love.

thinking about how I feel about each set...

1986 Donruss: its got the Canseco obviously. And a couple others like the McGriff.
1987 Donruss: I had a lot of these when they were current. I didn't really respect them though at the time. I think now, my opinion is they have the better group of cards overall to have of the sets listed.
1988 Donruss: Doesn't really do much for me.
1989 Fleer: I didn't really like the design. That being said, I guess I'd consider this one the most collectible. Has the most branch offs to other rabbit holes with all the errors and variations.
1990 Score: Probably the junk of the choices, but I had this factory set when it was new, and I about wore it out from going through it. Brings back the most memories for me of the bunch.

seems like the 86 Donruss gets the most love!

[PineTar5]

In this order

1986 Donruss
1987 Donruss
1989 Fleer
1990 Score
1988 Donruss


I like 84-97 Donruss but '88 was the beginning of my perception of massively overproduction plus it seemed a bit cheap (although I now have some interest in perfect copies as they tend to flake easy)

90 Score - similar to the first 88 set with nice back pics and good info on the players.

89 Fleer was the last Fleer set I liked


I like picking a player and having the main base card from each manufacturer in order by brand. Page 1=Barry Bonds Donruss by year, Page 2=Barry Bonds Fleer by year, etc.

[Harliduck]

It's funny the years you mentioned...the local card shop had 87 Donruss, 89 Fleer, and 90 Score wax boxes (well, wrapper boxes for the Score) and I bought 5 boxes of each. I opened them with my 10 year old son at the time (last year) and he got the thrill of looking for all those rookies. Recaptured some teen card years for me big time...what a great time we had. I'll go with 87 Donruss...just too many cool cards. I think I pulled 8 super clean Maddux cards and only 4 Bo's...

I wonder just how many unopened boxes from those years are left out there...seems to always be around.

[Rich Klein]

Of that group, 1990 Score.

Not because it is the most valuable but the photos front AND back are good as well as the write ups

Also, there are some neat things to look for -- variations and rookie cards and the factory set inserts

Rich

[jp1216]

'89 Fleer by a landslide. :)
I still open (on average) one box a year. Wax, cello or rack. The look, the feel, remembering the sequences etc. I can hear Guns N Roses in my head. It's 1989 all over again....

[Bcwcardz]

86 Donruss because it was tough to get when I was a kid and now i can buy truckloads of it. I love the design too. It brings back memories of the 100 plus canseco and the 4 dollars i paid for the Gooden DK. At one time Gooden and Canseco were under the glass.

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[D. Bergin]

86 Donruss because it was tough to get when I was a kid and now i can buy truckloads of it. I love the design too. It brings back memories of the 100 plus canseco and the 4 dollars i paid for the Gooden DK. At one time Gooden and Canseco were under the glass.

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Forgot about Gooden. 2nd year regular issue card was probably tracking upwards quite a bit to.

Imagine what what the high demand Strasburg cards would have done if he had a similar Rookie year and 2nd year stretch like Dwight? :eek:

[RayBShotz]

86 Donruss.

[Bcwcardz]

Forgot about Gooden. 2nd year regular issue card was probably tracking upwards quite a bit to.

Imagine what what the high demand Strasburg cards would have done if he had a similar Rookie year and 2nd year stretch like Dwight? :eek:
All the what ifs. Gooden cards all still great cards to me. That 85 topps with him just staring straight at you. Iconic. Both him and Canseco crashed hard.

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[BearBailey]

1987 donruss, that summer I was 11 and just started cutting lawns in the neighborhood, I bought so many of these boxes from the local pharmacies and card shops I put together 12 hand collated sets. Liked them just a bit more than topps and fleer, but bought loads of them too. Can't go wrong with any of them just my preference.

[seanofjapan]

I`ll go with 1990 Score. I also loved the colorful borders (and team logo). 1990 was a pretty good year for those (everyone hates 1990 Topps but me).

I also remember the craze over that Bo fb/bb card that summer, that card was going for like 12$ easily for a couple months there. Ah the good old days.

87 Donruss would be a second choice - that had one of the most impressive rookie selections back in the day. I think I paid like 7 or 8$ for a Mike Greenwell rookie card from that set at one point.....and thinking I had got the better end of the deal.

[JoeDfan]

Of those listed, 89 Fleer. As Ben noted the Ripken and Johnson variants are fun and there a few others as well

+1

[pokerplyr80]

If I was going to break a box from the group you mentioned it would be 87 donruss for sure because of all the rookies someone else mentioned.