The 1998 Topps Tek Thread

Some of the 2014 Tek cards are reasonably priced, so I'm not sure how much the market can drop. A string of Clouds Diffractors /25 sold for under $5 each at auction - some of those for under $3. Many of the player collectors have already found what they wanted and moved on.

MansGame said:

Still tough to get to $300 or more per box to be honest. I mean I don't know when it started but people feel like every freaking card in the set is a $5 card or better. I mean there is a reason you see the same card over and over again. I've said this before... there is a limited demand market out there... Once I have all the Belle base, I will not be going after any of them ever again... so the lucky person who has the three patterns I do can capitalize on it now but once I have them, I am out of the market. Same goes for this crazy nutty juan gon guy... he might pay $150 a diffractor but he isn't paying that for a pattern he has... therefore the second one of that pattern might be a $10 card lol... it is that simple.

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Yep, all about who needs what.

Still wish the Brewers player selection had been better for 2014 but I guess I'm saving money

RustyGreerFan said:

Many of the player collectors have already found what they wanted and moved on.

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Yup, I'm in this camp.

Just reached my 75th different Ventura TEK card. Need 15 more. The journey is greater than the destination...

Congrats on Ventura card #75 . You are getting pretty close!

I guess the prices of Craig Biggio, Pedro Martinez, and Randy Johnson 1998 TEKs are going up now. Congrats to them as well as John Smoltz for being elected into the Hall of Fame. Next year Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell

Can't wait til Thome gets in!

Still looking for these Ellis Burks 98 Teks if anyone has any. Thanx!

1,4,12,15,18,25,38,42,44,49,60,67,81,83,86

This doesn't happen very often, but I received my 76th Ventura TEK today (two in one week)! Only 14 to go...

Brian, you are off to a great start this year. At this rate you'll be finished with the set by late next month.

togaman said:

I guess the prices of Craig Biggio, Pedro Martinez, and Randy Johnson 1998 TEKs are going up now. Congrats to them as well as John Smoltz for being elected into the Hall of Fame. Next year Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell

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An RJ would have to actually show up for a price increase to occur. On SL, COMC, eBay & Beckett combined: 3 base cards available.

bigunitcards said:

An RJ would have to actually show up for a price increase to occur. On SL, COMC, eBay & Beckett combined: 3 base cards available.

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Well part of that is because 1.. collectors who have Randy Johnson 1998 Teks have them in their personal collections like the three or four guys who have completed the 8100 Master set (ergo who have all 90 RJ patterns) plus one or two others who are close al 90 and none of us are breaking our Master sets.
2.. there are alot of Big Unit Fans who have a handful of 98 TEK RJs in their PCs .. 3... there are many set builders and collectors out there who dont sell on ebay or COMC or Sportlots ( I have 17 Randy Johnson 98 TEK Johnson dupes) or dont want to bother selling cards for a couple bucks.. 4... The set is going on 17 years old... 5.. there are still some unopened boxes out there buried in some back storage areas of some dealers' back rooms or former dealers' U Haul storage units 6. Some have been lost are thrown away due to card damage and 7.

I estimate the real value (not Beckett who does not pay attention to real card values of older sets like these) are now $ 6 each and going up.. Not a bad price for one of the top left hand power pitchers in baseball history. We loved Randy Johnson in his brief time here in Houston in our playoff run when the Astros lost in Word Series to the White Sox. He was scarey and so dominating and said in his HOF interview that his time in Houston was the pinnacle of his career ..

u2me57 said:

Can't wait til Thome gets in!

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When you first commented about Thome my initial thought was that I wasn't sure Thome will get into Hall of Fame. But after looking at his stats I did not realize how good his career offensive numbers really were. Career .400 OBA with 600+ HRs who actually hit over 35 home runs 8 or 9 times with a .276 career batting average with 3 three .300 batting average seasons (that was a surprise) . a Definite no brainer HOF career for James Howard Thome.

Yep those Thome Teks are sure to climb in value as he get close to his first year of eligibility

So do any of you guys have Pattern # 1 or any Same Card# pattern # TEKs I' ll pay High Beckett for any of the common or minor stars

Pattern # 1 Want List (Set # 2) ... 4,6,7,8,16,18,26,29,31,34,35,36,37,38,45,47,48,53,56,58,59,60,61,62,64,65,67,71,72,84,87,90
Same Card #/ pattern # Want List (Set # 2).....61p61, 63p63
Same Card #/ pattern # Want List (Set # 3).....2,5,7,8,29,31,33,45,48,49,52,53,54,55,56,57,60,61,63,64,66,67,69,74,76,78,81,82,83,90

togaman said:

I guess the prices of Craig Biggio, Pedro Martinez, and Randy Johnson 1998 TEKs are going up now. Congrats to them as well as John Smoltz for being elected into the Hall of Fame. Next year Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell

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Pedro has been my guy since 1999. My daughter ('little Pedro') and I started collecting his cards back then, and I have a major collection of his cards through 2004. My daughter was thrilled to have him sign her little kid's softball glove and chat with him. Pedro asked her if she played, and she said 'Yes'. He asked her 'What position?' and she said 'Pitcher'. He then asked her if she was any good? The little nine-year-old sounded kinda insulted and said "They call me 'little Pedro' for a reason" and that completely broke Pedro up. Laughed so hard I thought he was going to pee his pants. He asked her what she wanted to do when she grew up, and she said she wanted to be a doctor. Pedro said that's what he wanted to do if he did not become a professional ball player. My little one went on to become captain of her high school softball team for two years, then captain of her college softball team. She's in medical school right now. Very happy to see Pedro in the HOF, and I'll plan on getting out to Cooperstown in July. Last time I was there was for the Ozzie Smith induction.

I follow the eBay listings for Pedro cards pretty closely. Every once in a while I find something I need. I have not noticed a price increase in Pedro cards in the build-up to the announcement or since, but I did notice a huge -- a massive dump of common Pedro cards. A couple of big dealers listed about 100 cards each, almost all for $1.00. Instead of maybe 100 to 150 Pedro cards listed each day, for the past several days there were at least 500 listings -- virtually all commons.

rinkrat38 said:

I follow the eBay listings for Pedro cards pretty closely. Every once in a while I find something I need. I have not noticed a price increase in Pedro cards in the build-up to the announcement or since, but I did notice a huge -- a massive dump of common Pedro cards. A couple of big dealers listed about 100 cards each, almost all for $1.00. Instead of maybe 100 to 150 Pedro cards listed each day, for the past several days there were at least 500 listings -- virtually all commons.

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simple reason - or at least it's a belief i've always held and have heard echoed by many "experts"....

there will almost never be a surge in book values or sale prices for someone elected to the hall of fame (in any sport) if he is considered a lock to reach the hall....makes sense because everyone "knows" it is inevitable (barring a circumstance like pete rose or the ped-era players who may be left on the outside looking in) and gradually picks up what they want or need over time....by the time he's elected , most people have already built their collection.....

on the other hand , if the player is more of a toss-up instead of a lock , his election may catch some by surprise and lead to a surge in prices (overall , i think this applies more often to offensive linemen and defensive players in football than baseball players , but there are definitely a good many examples in both sports)....

in BOTH cases however , many sellers simply hear "he made the HOF" and see nothing but dollar signs and EXPECT everything to take off so they list ...and list...and list....and list....some goodies may surface but you can expect to see tons of the more common material......i don't really view this as a problem - just a side effect of the "get-rich-quick" idea that many people adopted regarding cards during the late 80's to mid 90's "bubble"....

rinkrat38 said:

Pedro has been my guy since 1999. My daughter ('little Pedro') and I started collecting his cards back then, and I have a major collection of his cards through 2004. My daughter was thrilled to have him sign her little kid's softball glove and chat with him. Pedro asked her if she played, and she said 'Yes'. He asked her 'What position?' and she said 'Pitcher'. He then asked her if she was any good? The little nine-year-old sounded kinda insulted and said "They call me 'little Pedro' for a reason" and that completely broke Pedro up. Laughed so hard I thought he was going to pee his pants. He asked her what she wanted to do when she grew up, and she said she wanted to be a doctor. Pedro said that's what he wanted to do if he did not become a professional ball player. My little one went on to become captain of her high school softball team for two years, then captain of her college softball team. She's in medical school right now. Very happy to see Pedro in the HOF, and I'll plan on getting out to Cooperstown in July. Last time I was there was for the Ozzie Smith induction.

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Story brought a smile to my face! Love that. Pedro's always been a likable guy.

bigunitcards said:

An RJ would have to actually show up for a price increase to occur. On SL, COMC, eBay & Beckett combined: 3 base cards available.

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/Randy-Johns...1729560933?pt=US_Baseball&hash=item3cf04c2965

I'd say that's a few.

athletics07 said:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Randy-Johnson-1998-98-Topps-TEK-59-DIFFERENT-Patterns-Houston-Astros-HOF-2015-/261729560933?pt=US_Baseball&hash=item3cf04c2965

I'd say that's a few.

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That's me though Thought I'd test the waters on my dupes.

bigunitcards said:

That's me though Thought I'd test the waters on my dupes.

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Hah, never mind then!!