What's going on with 1998-99 precious metal gem prices?

[zyceoa]

So I did a recent ebay search and all the prices are astronomical. Especially for 98. Even scrubs like Jeff King, Dean Palmer, Todd Hundley are fetching a few hundred dollars. And the cheapest ones still available will set you back half a grand. Also there's a couple grifters offering single packs for a hundred bucks. 99 is a bit less insane, but the cheapest ones still sell for a hundred or so. I'm considering unloading my Damian Easley at these prices.

 

[mrmopar]

At least those you named were all-star level players at one point (King was never an AS, but he was better than a common in my opinion). Some of those smaller sets didn't have but 1-2 true common players.

It seems that a lot of stuff is still selling strongly. I think it is still a lot of people with too much money and not enough knowledge. As an example, I'll use someone on a facebook group who said they just returned to collecting at the beginning of this year and had already spent $50K! Maybe this is not as high a number as I think it is, but spending $50K in about 1/4 year is insane to me.

 

[banjar]

I posted about this same thing on the Alomar thread after I saw one of his PMG's sell for $1826. By far the most expensive Alomar sale I'd ever seen, well above the 98 Crusade Reds that have sat unsold on ebay for years. There was some discussion from a few members about reasons behind this insane PMG craze.

https://www.freedomcardboard.com/forum/threads/roberto-alomar-collectors-thread.152878/page-19

 

[Yanks2151]

Hey guys it’s been awhile.

Well I have noticed the same thing ever since I returned a bit to the hobby. I spend most of my time talking/posting about the hobby on Instagram. There is a majority of people/collectors there that go insane for the PMG cards. It’s almost like a cult like some “Topps Tek” guys here. I’m just glad I never sold my stuff while I took my 5 year break.