Wow, we must be different out west.... no one wanted score american where i was... why would you want something that costs the same to buy but has half the value once opened? Air must be different in the east, god thing i moved from there in 77

Hey Rob---
 

--Glad I rekindled a nice memory--That's a great story and Benes certainly had the stuff to be a winner--at least I thought so!

Don't know why he faded & didn't last longer or do better, but my stack of RC's didn't cost much at all when I got them, so I'm not out anything!

In fact, I never was one to "invest" in RC's in the '80's & '90's, but I somehow thought he was worth taking a flyer on so I grabbed a few anyhow.

No Mention
 

of Kevin Maas and Ben McDonald yet?? I remember my brother and I only needing Kevin Maas to finish the 1990 UD set (yeah a year late to jump on the UD bandwagon). We ended up plunking down $20 for it! Yikes.

YES!!! Kevin Maas!!! I remember that 1990 UD Maas was like gold when he hit all those home runs.

One year later I remember a minor stir being caused by Todd Van Poppel. His 1991 UD rookie card was going for at least $5!!

I was at a small flea market a couple months back. A vendor there had everyone of these cards all marked at 20 year old prices.

He had Juan Guzman at $5, Kenny Lofton rookies, Ben McDonald, Eric Davis, the "rare" Juan Gonzalez reverse negative he tells me for $10, the works.

I don't think the guy had bought a card since about 1995. I don't think he has sold a card since about 1995.

What kind of deal did he have on Todd Van Poppel?

Van Poppel
 

Last time I checked Todd Van Poppel prices at my local flea market (it was about a month ago), his rookies were still at $5. ... The guy would pay you $5 for every Van Poppel you agreed to take off his hands. Pretty reasonable if you ask me.

Wasn't there some Van Poppel Upper deck logo error or something circa 1990?

I'm sure he had some there. What a way to waste the weekends of your life.

For me, it was his Leaf Gold Rookie that cost me two arms and a leg! (i think 40$)

About 4 years ago i bought a pack of cards at the dollar store because there was a card on top i wanted, inside.... a Lead Gold rookie of Todd Van Poppel!

Wasn't there some Van Poppel Upper deck logo error or something circa 1990?

That was Ben McDonald

I can take your slings and arrows, so laugh it up.

oh wow, this is an awesome thread. Just last year I went back and purchased the following sets. 84 Donruss and Fleer, 86 Donruss, 89 Score football, 90 Leaf and 92 Bowman baseball, football and hockey. Ok, so not all were from the 80's but some of my favorite cards were in those sets back when I was younger and just starting to collect. Couldn't afford them then, so it was fun to get them now. Oh yeah, and I was also able to pick up a Jordan Rookie for next to nothing. Not in the greatest shape, but still fun to have.

Joe

A Jordan rookie for next to nothing?!
 

please share a scan!
It is fun to go back and buy a few things that you couldn't afford to do back then, isn't it?
My latest example was re-discovering the 1986 Fleer Star Stickers, and buying 3 unopened boxes for like $12-15 each and going nuts opening packs!
My sons loved it too, even though they only knew to look for Ozzie Smith and Kirby Puckett.

I have a few Jordan rookies.... Bryan Jordan unfortunately!

I think he was in the 80's....or early 90's. Its all good.

It's funny how a bunch of these ultra-hyped rookies of the '80s kind of flamed out and then ended up having pretty good careers. Rob mentioned Andy Benes. I remember, as other posters have mentioned, the incredible hype machines for Mark Grace, Todd Zeile, and Gregg Jefferies in 1988. They all seemed to not live up to the hype, but in retrospect were pretty good, especially Grace, who had an excellent career. Someone told me he had the most hits in the 1990s and he finished with almost 2450 hits. Zeile had over 2000 career hits and Jefferies had two excellent seasons with the Cardinals (two top 20 MVP finishes).

But I guess when it comes to hyped rookies in the late 1980s, for every Mark Grace, there were 10 Ricky Jordans.

Players from this decade like Canseco, McGwire, Strawberry, Clemens, Jefferies, Dykstra, Fernando, etc will always stick in our minds for many different reasons. Just a good/strange time.

I bought two packs of 90 Leaf when they came out for $1.50 a pack iirc. I hit on a Maas Rc and the shop owner, who was a very nice fella, offered me 3 packs for it. I took it, and pulled another from the following packs. I declined his offer for more after that lol

I guess the biggest bummer of this time period for me was trading away "boring" safe players for the next big thing. I traded a Topps Clemens Rookie for the aforementioned UD Van Poppel (gosh that name was fun though). I also unloaded a stack of Maddux rookies after he went to the braves. It seems I've had a bunch of cards that I'm in the process of buying back now. Bonds rookies, Boggs Rookies, etc. When I came back to collecting, the only thing I found among my stacks of Jeffries, Raines, and later Tim Salmon (puke) were Griffey Jr. Rookies. I guess he was adequately hyped or I wouldn't have kept him.

BTW the only true grail of the 80's is that Billy Ripken Error. It's by far my favorite card of all time. I think I read that it sold for 300 bucks somewhere. As I would have said in the 80s, that's radical dude.

I got the Billy Ripken "FF" card in a pack at a card show in 1989. The dealer who had the table offered me $75 for it and I declined. I ended up trading it to a friend for about $600 worth of cards, including several Boggs, Gwynn, and Mattingly rookies.

I remember pulling the Billy Ripken F-Face card out of a pack in 1989 as well. I don't collect many modern cards anymore, but that card will always be a part of my collection. It's a classic. By the way, there's a good discussion of the Ripken card in the recent book "Mint Condition" (excellent book all around, by the way).

I pulled the Ripken card in 2006 at a Wal-Mart outside Cooperstown thanks to a flat tire. Eating at a McDonald's, in a Wal-Mart opening baseball cards is probably the most American thing I've ever done.

And sadly, my favorite part of Cooperstown.

Is this guy still a friend? If so, I have to meet him.

I still see the guy from time to time and he reminds me of it :) That was the very definition of selling high. When I pulled the card, it had just been discovered. So I sat on it for several weeks before pulling the trigger. It's the one moment in collecting that I can compare to the whole Strasburg hype.

Strasburg hype has died.. The next one guys will be laying down the bucks for will be Bryce Harper!!!

few more
 

For a while, the 1987 Fleer Will Clark was red hot. Think it peaked in the $30s. Maybe higher. Another very solid player whose card values just dropped off a cliff. One of my personal favorites from the era.

How about fan favorite Pete "Inky" Incaviglia? Breaking the wall with a spring training home run. Stuff of legends.

Don't think the price got very high, but I remember a decent amount of hype for Ty Griffin (1988 Topps Olympic set).