90s MJ Refractors: A Good Investment?

[Starman101]

As well as 90s high end Jordan Inserts and Vintage Star Jordans, I have a major addiction to 90s MJ refractors

They were soooo hard to pull back in the 90s and are so cool to look at now when you can now buy them on Ebay, when they were like unicorns back in the pre to early internet days...

Brings back so many memories of those days.....

Back then you could go to 3 card shows and still not find anyone with any MJ refractors!!

Population numbers on MJ refractors are pretty low especially in high grade, so I was wondering how you think these will appreciate over time....

Do you think refractors will stand the test of time as legendary as well as MJ himself??

Any thoughts anyone?

[bkcardcollector]

Investing for what? Profit?
....gotta be near the peak price...No?

[rttrffg2012]

Originally Posted by bkcardcollector

Investing for what? Profit?
....gotta be near the peak price...No?

No, they are low now.
Some of these cards were in the thousands and now are $150.

I think it will take some time, but high grade refractors will eventually become the new 86-87 jordan. (There are probably less refractors of Jordan than there are 86-87 fleer)

[bkcardcollector]

Originally Posted by rttrffg2012

No, they are low now.
Some of these cards were in the thousands and now are $150.

I think it will take some time, but high grade refractors will eventually become the new 86-87 jordan. (There are probably less refractors of Jordan than there are 86-87 fleer)

It wasn't a good investment for the people who spent $1000 before. It is not a good investment for people spending $150 today. I will not be a good investment for people spending $20 in the future.

It is just a piece of cardboard that can easily be duplicated and sold for less. RC cards of the best of the best are the only things that come even close to staying ahead of inflation and this will only continue as long as the hobby is somewhat mainstream.

A finished cardboard product will never be a "good" investment and the only reason it is worth so much now is that people like you and me have way to much money to spend on them. Combined with the fact that athletes are the modern day "gods" for a lot of people, myself included.

Try giving a starving man a Jordan refractor for his last bowl of rice and you will quickly learn how valuable these "investments" are.

If you want to invest in something buy some land you can grow food on, buy a teacher who can help you to educate yourself, buy a hammer and nails to build shelter, buy a needle and thread to make some clothes.

Sports cards are not an investment they are a purchase.

Collect if you want but I would avoid thinking your investing for the future.

Have a wonderful day

Sorry for the rant

[pejc300]

Originally Posted by bkcardcollector

It wasn't a good investment for the people who spent $1000 before. It is not a good investment for people spending $150 today. I will not be a good investment for people spending $20 in the future.

It is just a piece of cardboard that can easily be duplicated and sold for less. RC cards of the best of the best are the only things that come even close to staying ahead of inflation and this will only continue as long as the hobby is somewhat mainstream.

A finished cardboard product will never be a "good" investment and the only reason it is worth so much now is that people like you and me have way to much money to spend on them.

Try giving a starving man a Jordan refractor for his last bowl of rice and you will quickly learn how valuable these "investments" are.

If you want to invest in something buy some land you can grow food on, buy a teacher who can help you to educate yourself, buy a hammer and nails to build shelter, buy a needle and thread to make some clothes.

Sports cards are not an investment they are a purchase.

Collect if you want but I would avoid thinking your investing for the future.

Sorry for the rant
Have a wonderful day

Sorry for the rant

Is this real life?

[bkcardcollector]

Originally Posted by pejc300

Is this real life?

what you think collecting sports cards is more real than eating food?

[trixstar]

Wasn't the Jordan market completely shilled?

[sniperx]

Originally Posted by rttrffg2012

No, they are low now.
Some of these cards were in the thousands and now are $150.

I think it will take some time, but high grade refractors will eventually become the new 86-87 jordan. (There are probably less refractors of Jordan than there are 86-87 fleer)

Wait up, which refractor cards were in the thousands and now in $150 range??

[Jasondr91]

Originally Posted by trixstar

Wasn't the Jordan market completely shilled?

A huge huge portion is/was. And I hate to break it to the 03/04 exquisite worshipers, but it has been too.

[duron]

Originally Posted by bkcardcollector

It wasn't a good investment for the people who spent $1000 before. It is not a good investment for people spending $150 today. I will not be a good investment for people spending $20 in the future.

It is just a piece of cardboard that can easily be duplicated and sold for less. RC cards of the best of the best are the only things that come even close to staying ahead of inflation and this will only continue as long as the hobby is somewhat mainstream.

A finished cardboard product will never be a "good" investment and the only reason it is worth so much now is that people like you and me have way to much money to spend on them. Combined with the fact that athletes are the modern day "gods" for a lot of people, myself included.

Try giving a starving man a Jordan refractor for his last bowl of rice and you will quickly learn how valuable these "investments" are.

If you want to invest in something buy some land you can grow food on, buy a teacher who can help you to educate yourself, buy a hammer and nails to build shelter, buy a needle and thread to make some clothes.

Sports cards are not an investment they are a purchase.

Collect if you want but I would avoid thinking your investing for the future.

Have a wonderful day

Sorry for the rant

This guy is on the ball. What you really want to invest in are refractor seeds.

One question I have, bkcardcollector... How much room should I leave between each seed? Living in NYC, I have an extremely limited garden area, are there any tricks to optimizing space? Thanks in advance.

[bkcardcollector]

Originally Posted by duron

This guy is on the ball. What you really want to invest in are refractor seeds.

One question I have, bkcardcollector... How much room should I leave between each seed? Living in NYC, I have an extremely limited garden area, are there any tricks to optimizing space? Thanks in advance.

hahahha

For optimal growth leave 2 inches between refractor seeds. Also be sure to plant "companion" die cut seeds between refractor seeds. The die cut cards fix nitrogen in the soil and your refractor cards will thrive.

A good way to optimize space is layers. Refractor cards don't mind a bit of shade, so you can make a shelving unit and grow your refractors in containers (on the shelf) and their growth will not suffer.

Make sure to wear neoprene gloves to avoid contamination when harvesting. Also after harvest be sure to store in a dry and dark place to avoid "hulking" or "greening" of your specimens.

If you are lucky enough to have a refractor sprout with the image of MJ on it pay great attention. The MJ refractor is a unique variation and you might have something very rare and special indeed. If you don't have expertise knowledge of MJ refractors you should probably send it off and pay $10 for someone to tell you just how special it is and have it put in a special case.

[duron]

Originally Posted by bkcardcollector

hahahha

For optimal growth leave 2 inches between refractor seeds. Also be sure to plant "companion" die cut seeds between refractor seeds. The die cut cards fix nitrogen in the soil and your refractor cards will thrive.

A good way to optimize space is layers. Refractor cards don't mind a bit of shade, so you can make a shelving unit and grow your refractors in containers (on the shelf) and their growth will not suffer.

Make sure to wear neoprene gloves to avoid contamination when harvesting. Also after harvest be sure to store in a dry and dark place to avoid "hulking" or "greening" of your specimens.

If you are lucky enough to have a refractor sprout with the image of MJ on it pay great attention. The MJ refractor is a unique variation and you might have something very rare and special indeed. If you don't have expertise knowledge of MJ refractors you should probably send it off and pay $10 for someone to tell you just how special it is and have it put in a special case.

rofl

i lol'ed

[k13]

MJ'S rc has not gone up in 25 years....why would this?

[smalltown]

Originally Posted by bkcardcollector

If you want to invest in something buy some land you can grow food on, buy a teacher who can help you to educate yourself, buy a hammer and nails to build shelter, buy a needle and thread to make some clothes.

Love it. I live on a farm and raise animals and grow food, My wife is a teacher and i think we have a sewing machine.

[rttrffg2012]

Originally Posted by sniperx

Wait up, which refractor cards were in the thousands and now in $150 range??

For one, the 1994-95 finest refractor originally booked $1200. This was when book price meant something. That card sells for under $200 consistently now.
It was believed short print, as Jordan was wearing # 45.

Hard to believe that was almost 22 years ago. I remember the buzz about that card like it was yesterday

[rttrffg2012]

Just to be clear- there are more 86-87 fleer Jordan printed than all Jordan refractors combined.

[Jasondr91]

Originally Posted by rttrffg2012

For one, the 1994-95 finest refractor originally booked $1200. This was when book price meant something. That card sells for under $200 consistently now.
It was believed short print, as Jordan was wearing # 45.

Hard to believe that was almost 22 years ago. I remember the buzz about that card like it was yesterday

Good stuff here. Man I remember that was THE card to have next to the Kidd and Hill. I still want this Jordan.....in actuality, the 94-95 Finest set as a whole is grossly undervalued and quite scarce to find wax. It was not printed in levels many other Finest products were. There are some refractors from this year that are pretty tough to locate.

[drobfan8]

I think key Jordan Refractors will be a great investment.

Have you seen the prices of graded 86/87 Fleer and even 88/89 Fleer?

It won't be long until we see 93/94 and 94/95 Finest as vintage and those key cards will be worth serious coin.

[drobfan8]

But also, I agree with bkcardcollector, if you're main goal is to make money, invest in something else as you never know, the basketball market is changing so much, maybe the classic stuff will be forgotten about someday and everyone will want a new card made out of some rare gems from Mars.

[bkcardcollector]

Originally Posted by drobfan8

everyone will want a new card made out of some rare gems from Mars.

Now we're talking. Its only a matter of time.

Originally Posted by rttrffg2012

Just to be clear- there are more 86-87 fleer Jordan printed than all Jordan refractors combined.

First can you back this up with some numbers? I count around 30 sales of Jordan 90s refractors yesterday alone compared to 4 RC sales today and yesterday (ebay).

Secondly someone could print 1,000,000 more Jordan refractors tomorrow. Then they could print 1,000,000 more the next day. Once licensed Jordan cards start getting printed again (and they will) these "rare" refractors are not so unique anymore. True they would not be "90s refractors" and maybe in 25 years people will be scrambling to get 94 finest refractors instead of 2020 super awesome shinny new crap, but I doubt it.

Rc cards have always and will always drive the sports card market. Once the Rc season is over that's it, no more can be made. Even people who don't know anything about cards know that you want the Rc card.

convo 1
me-"I got this Jordan card"
my mom-"oh is it his Rc?"
me-"no"
mom-"oh"

convo 2
me-"I got this Jordan card"
my mom-"oh is it his Rc?"
me-"yes"
my mom-"oh wow lets see that, was this guy any good?"

now don't get me wrong I like Jordan refractors as much as the next guy but as far as an investment....

[Starman101]

Originally Posted by rttrffg2012

Just to be clear- there are more 86-87 fleer Jordan printed than all Jordan refractors combined.

I know the 86-87 Fleer is an iconic card, but I still think they are way overvalued, especially when the 84-85 Star is his real rookie card, though that's another topic.

I mean over 20,000 86-87 Fleer MJs graded is just not that rare people.

Back in the 90s MJ refractors were THE cards to own in addition to his rookie card and inserts

90s refractors have low population numbers for the most part which was why I asked. Particularily 96-97 Chrome and any 1993 - 1998 Finest Refractors. Hell I even love the Topps Refractor Inserts like bordered, borderless, holding court, and rock stars...

I always had a weakness for key 90s MJ refractors, largely because they were impossible to find in the pre Ebay 90s. If you ever saw one at card shows they were like gold

They look cool and are pretty rare based on the pop numbers. And yes I will not buy one without the peel if it was applied for that particular card

It might sound ridiculous, but I consider peeled ones "altered". Lol

[GC1980]

Originally Posted by k13

MJ'S rc has not gone up in 25 years....why would this?

Posting this over and over again isn't going to make it true.

[OneTackle]

I just want to call attention to this AMAZING exchange from 2015.

[Gem10collection]

I like the MJ 90's refractors as an investment long-term but there are three problems.

1. There are often thousands of them per set.
2. They HULK in a major way.
3. MJ market is at a peak and that's never a good time to buy.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by Starman101

I know the 86-87 Fleer is an iconic card, but I still think they are way overvalued, especially when the 84-85 Star is his real rookie card, though that's another topic.

I mean over 20,000 86-87 Fleer MJs graded is just not that rare people.

Back in the 90s MJ refractors were THE cards to own in addition to his rookie card and inserts

90s refractors have low population numbers for the most part which was why I asked. Particularily 96-97 Chrome and any 1993 - 1998 Finest Refractors. Hell I even love the Topps Refractor Inserts like bordered, borderless, holding court, and rock stars...

I always had a weakness for key 90s MJ refractors, largely because they were impossible to find in the pre Ebay 90s. If you ever saw one at card shows they were like gold

They look cool and are pretty rare based on the pop numbers. And yes I will not buy one without the peel if it was applied for that particular card

It might sound ridiculous, but I consider peeled ones "altered". Lol

No the Star cards were not issued nationally. You couldn't walk into retail stores and buy them. Most hobby stores didn't even carry them. The appeal of the 1986 Fleer Jordan Rookie Card is remembering going into your local grocery or drug store, buying a pack of cards and pulling the Jordan. It may not be rare, but demand far out weighs that of the Star XRC. Also, PSA doesn't even grade the Star.