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The 1998 Topps Tek Thread

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MansGame

Active member
Sep 25, 2009
15,324
20
Dallas, TX
Why don't you ask him , privately....


Ryan
Haha

I think it is clear the market for 1998 Tek cards has shifted drastically and may never, at least in the near term, turn back around or return to the glory days for the "old school" Tek guys. I think you have to adapt in this hobby and this is one set which has moved away from some guys and where they're comfortable paying for cards given where the set was value wise for so long. Pretty crazy to observe. Not to mention we're getting to the point where this set is nearly 20 years old! That is nuts.
 

togaman

Well-known member
Oct 27, 2008
1,298
26
Houston
I think a someone pointed out one time there appear to be less than 10 guys bidding up the TEK diffractors. Once xyz or anyone else gets the specific patterns he/she wants and one or two others who appear to be running the prices up trying to do one 90 card diffractor set you should see a return to normalcy of the TEK diffractor prices. Then of course you get those who are still picking up their favorite player diffractors so hard to tell how long this craze will last.. 2020 maybe?

Haha

I think it is clear the market for 1998 Tek cards has shifted drastically and may never, at least in the near term, turn back around or return to the glory days for the "old school" Tek guys. I think you have to adapt in this hobby and this is one set which has moved away from some guys and where they're comfortable paying for cards given where the set was value wise for so long. Pretty crazy to observe. Not to mention we're getting to the point where this set is nearly 20 years old! That is nuts.
 
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MansGame

Active member
Sep 25, 2009
15,324
20
Dallas, TX
I think a someone pointed out one time there appear to be less than 10 guys bidding up the TEK diffractors. Once the # 1 diffractor guy gets the specific patterns he wants and one or two others who appear to be running the prices up trying to do one 90 card diffractor set you should see a return to normalcy of the TEK diffractor prices. Then of course you get those who are still picking up their favorite player diffractors so hard to tell how long this craze will last.. 2020 maybe?
I think that was me. Using myself as the example, I might pay $10 for a base pattern that I need but once I have it, I will not even look at another one and therefore the price for that card might go back to $1 or even $0 if no one needs it. My point is there is high demand but there is not much back-up to the demand for each card. That said, I think the craze will only get worse for the cards needed but we may never see it return to what you say is more normal valuations or Beckett Value times... just my opinion but those days are long gone.

Another example is I use to be able to get ANY Belle card for $100 or less. Had never spend over $100 on a Belle card ever and then BOOM... the market starts to shift... demand starts to change... a few more guys enter the arena for his stuff and now maybe 95% of his cards can be hand for at the most $150 or $200 with the extremely rare cards going for at the very very very most top dollar of $300 for like the bat barrel or name plate or something. For the record, I didn't pay that much for mine but have lost out on a name plate booklet for that much, etc.

Point in all this is the hobby evolves, especially from a value perspective and if you're not willing to change or adjust the way you feel, you will likely become an onlooker. That happened to me with Belle cards... I had to make a decision that I was going to continue collecting with the increase in prices I had to pay or move one... I wasn't going to sit back and just complain all the time about how stupid people are and that they're throwing their $ away on Belle cards because I KNOW what the value really is but they're just stupid and continue to pay more. I think it is the market that has moved and I would have been left behind in that scenario.

GOT TO LOVE TEK CARDS!!!
 

togaman

Well-known member
Oct 27, 2008
1,298
26
Houston
Well put. Do you happen to have a White Elephant or Holy Graile list of Albert Belle cards. Email me and one day I might go digging for you as I have alot and I mean alot of cards
 

brian26

Member
Nov 12, 2010
679
10
I think a someone pointed out one time there appear to be less than 10 guys bidding up the TEK diffractors. Once the # 1 diffractor guy gets the specific patterns he wants and one or two others who appear to be running the prices up trying to do one 90 card diffractor set you should see a return to normalcy of the TEK diffractor prices.

Yeah, unless those 10 guys are working on "multiple sets" or "pattern #/card#" or "pattern #1 " sets. Then, it will go on forever.
 

togaman

Well-known member
Oct 27, 2008
1,298
26
Houston
Yeah, unless those 10 guys are working on "multiple sets" or "pattern #/card#" or "pattern [URL=http://www.freedomcardboard.com/forum/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=1]#1 [/URL] " sets. Then, it will go on forever.

Uh.. I dont get involved in bidding wars. I already have 2 separate Pattern #1 90 card completed sets and three completed Same Card #/ pattern# 1998 TEK sets and one additional partial #1 set (40 to go) and two more partial Same Card/# pattern # sets (6 cards and 44 cards to go, respectively). While building the Master set I just so happened to end up with a bunch of those specific types of TEK cards I started building separate sets for the fun of it until I finished my Master set. If I can buy on ebay for buck I will or trade 98 TEK for 98 TEK for them ... If not, its no big deal to me. But once I start a set I dont break sets completed or not.

Only paying attention to 1998 TEKs anymore to help a few collectors out who are easy to deal with and to upgrade the condition of t 27 cards in my 8100 card Master set that aren't mint or near mint.

One day I will finish a second or possibly a third 90 card 1998 Topps TEK diffractor set but dont see myself joining this feverish competitive bidding scenario. I do bid on a few from time to time but drop out quickly at a max price Im willing to spend on a specific card that just gets put in a binder and forgotten anyway. Not that important to me since I know I will never finish all 8010 of the diffractors (assuming no Pattern# 49 diffractor was made as is rumored but not confirmed by Topps).

Ive sold off some Molitor, Galarraga, Ventura, Griffey, Ivan Rodriguez, Grieve, Bernie Williams, and Ellis Burks 1998 TEK cards in past week to some new 98 TEK collectors who responded on another active trade site. Glad to see I had a pattern # 33 that helped a collector finally finish his Ivan Rodriguez set 17 years later
 
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shadowking86

Member
May 13, 2014
313
0
Well thanks to a deal with Rinkrat, I am now up to 3 diffractors of Sandy Alomar Jr. I still have a long way to go to get to the level of some of you collectors here, but it is a start. I have just not seen too many Alomar diffractors come up over the last year since I have been really focusing on the Tek stuff. Still have 18 base patterns to go too.

Here are the two new additions to my diffractors:
 

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togaman

Well-known member
Oct 27, 2008
1,298
26
Houston
TEk Diffractors

Well thanks to a deal with Rinkrat, I am now up to 3 diffractors of Sandy Alomar Jr. I still have a long way to go to get to the level of some of you collectors here, but it is a start. I have just not seen too many Alomar diffractors come up over the last year since I have been really focusing on the Tek stuff. Still have 18 base patterns to go too.

Here are the two new additions to my diffractors:

If its any consolation you now have one more than I do.. Pat# 1 and 32 are my only two Sandy Alomar 98 TEK diffractors.

So only 86 for you do go now assuming there is not a pattern# 49 diffractor of any of the 90 players in diffactor set...

Are none of the Alomars you need on sportslots? That pkerplyer guy usually has a bunch of TEK up there and does list his patterns unlike many of the seller do regarding the pattern#s on that site

Wish I could help but Im all sold out of Sandy Alomars There was another S Alomar collector out there whose name I have long forgotten who was buying them up a few years ago.
 
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shadowking86

Member
May 13, 2014
313
0
There have not been any Alomar Teks on Sportlots for a long time. I bought several of your Alomars last year. I am aware of the other Alomar collector from a few years ago and actually managed to work out a trade for the Teks he had that I needed. It cost me several duplicates but that's okay. He is not as focused on Tek as I am. I have exhausted the readily available options to find Tek cards. I just have to wait for them to pop up.
 

togaman

Well-known member
Oct 27, 2008
1,298
26
Houston
I will be vieing to add a third Sandy Alomar Diffractor for my third 90 card Diffractor set.. No need for me after 3..
 

togaman

Well-known member
Oct 27, 2008
1,298
26
Houston
I was looking for your thread about "helping other tek collectors" but couldn't find it!!?? That thread had the lists, I thought. I just got patterns 23 and 64.
Congrats on those two. I dropped maintaining the TEK want list on FCB site because of three or four pests who had nothing better to do than send weird emails complaining about one thing or another.

I do have the TEK Collectors list on a couple other more active trading boards like The Bench where the members seem to help each other out a bit more than here. I was able to help a guy with 14 Galarraga TEKs and another with some of Molitor need in the past couple days and another Ventura collector with 2 he needed..

So Congrats with the 2 Gwynns. Im looking for another Gwynn pattern# 23 myself..
 

brian26

Member
Nov 12, 2010
679
10
http://www.freedomcardboard.com/for...1-1998-Topps-TEK-Collector-Set-builders-Want-


Decided not to let a couple paranoid pests effect other's chances to finish their 1998 Topps TEK sets.
1998 TEK Collector Want List have been put backup.
Help each other

You know what's sad?

This thread has been perfectly friendly for three years. All of sudden this guy shows up, and name-calling and belligerent, ignorant comments start getting thrown at people. One guy has ruined the entire thread. Perhaps he's bullying everyone on purprose to try to ruin the thread. I can't speculate any more than that, but it would be nice if things could go back to the amiable way they were. Pleasant and cordial, not over-bearing and rude. Just my humble take on things. I don't like seeing people called pests and paranoid, yet the only paranoid behavior seems to be coming from one person.
 

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