We Are Back In The Junk Wax Era? Baseball Card Hot Takes!

The junk wax era was a time where everyone was collecting, but 99.9% of cards were worthless. The junk wax era holds a fond place in most of our hearts, but it is scary to think that we may be entering a similar place in our hobby today. In this video I answer a viewers question on whether I think we are entering another junk wax era and more baseball card hot takes!

[@UnionWireman292]

Some of us went through the "junk wax" era. What we are going through now is the junk slab, junk parallel and junk autograph era unfortunately.

[@Darbobski]

I agree with the Junk Slab and autos take. When they have so many autos being handed out that they have to put them on stickers, it is just too much. Getting a player's auto should feel special. As it is now, people gripe if they don't get a big name. An auto should be far more rare. Every player does not need hundreds of signed cards in every set.

[@Carrier4Collectibles]

I agree. Parallels and Autos should be rare. It should be a big deal to get one.

[@ferriswheeler08]

The junk foil era as well.. your take is bang on!

[@jkfactor]

It’s not “junk”!!! There are CJ and Wemby AUTOS! Carrot top bat knob funny short print! MUSICIAN autos.. you can win so much in this lottery box.

[@christophergarbis1444]

Hahahaha

[@mikeschultz6383]

Carrot top lol good call on that one

[@ericsalamon6457]

Lol. There are too many of everything to ever be valuable

[@jonathonsantamont8527]

@@ericsalamon6457agreed. Too much printing!

[@bigal98761]

How many cases you gotta rip to hit the wemby or stroud 80 thousand

[@michaelacton6246]

Been saying this for 2 years now. Walmarts around here have boxes for sale from 2 years ago. Says to me junk wax era 2

[@grayharris672]

I saw 2021 hockey cards getting stocked today at target

[@ronaldleebrogren1244]

@@grayharris672 our target did the same … 22 and 21

[@drpearlmantv6357]

Hot take!! Fanatics/topps is “insulting” it’s consumers! Devalued/too many parallels 😢 Sticker autos😢 Far too many base cards that they know I worth nothing (I am not suggesting there are no need for base cards) 😮 Non-rookie card parallels( pretty much worth nothing when going by the understood hierarchy of ranking valuable cards) 😮 Price point when considering their consumers( working folks/parents of children primarily) with the cards purposely being extremely accessible.😮 Lastly, having no authority on secondary market selling (which is an entire issue all in itself)aka worthless cards ,,,box / card value.

[@mnplumberman]

I think there has been a shift more than anything. It used to be base cards were the chase, now base cards are there just so we can get parallels of them. There are more sets and parallels than I care for, but all that really matters is if the supply outweighs the demand. Whether that number is 1000 cards or 1 million cards is fairly irrelevant.

[@scottiebcards2354]

Great points! The base cards are absolutely made just so we can have parallels. Thank you for watching and commenting.

[@nickdrago7390]

@@scottiebcards2354 Hey Scottie, just a random question. Have you ever done the math and figured out the print runs for 2018 topps chrome update pink refractors?

[@Darbobski]

I feel like we have reached a bit of a crescendo of the 2011 Topps Update Mike Trout effect. At that time there were far fewer people in the hobby as many older collectors had left after the collapse in the 90s. Card production and distribution were less expansive when compared to what is going on now. This made even a base card of a great talent like Trout more scarce. It took a few years for the baseball world to realize how good Trout was. By then, the 2011 product had dried up and simply wasn't available to people rekindling their interest in collecting. Today, there are far more people collecting. It has gone beyond hobby and into the realm of financial speculation. Topps (and Panini to an extent) has upped production considerably but has restrained itself somewhat from overproduction, at least within a single set. That said, there won't be another situation like the 2011 Topps Update Mike Trout. Even if another player of that caliber came onto the scene, he would have many more rookie cards in production and a wider distribution of collectors that get them at the time of product release. I would like to see fanatics cut down on the production of both the number of printed cards and various sets. I would also like to see fewer autos (no stickers please). The hobby will never be "just for fun" like it was in the 80s, but there's no reason that products should cost so much and be hoarded by the secondary market flippers. I think Fanatics is catching on as they often limit how many items people can buy. Many Target stores limit people to three items, which is a trend I like. We are not in a junk wax era, but we are most certainly settling into a more subdued baseline than what we were seeing during covid. Fanatics could certainly dilute the hobby by overproducing, but there's hope that they will look for long-term stability in the hobby instead of a short-term money grab. Just my opinion after 40 years of collecting. Peace.

[@oldfox0015]

I thought I was gonna be rich when I pulled that 1989 Todd Van Poppel 😅

[@ICEICEBABY-yk3ck]

lol same

[@BunklesWorld]

And a driveway full of Deloreans with Jeffries!

[@BEARDED_V1LLA1N]

We have been in junk wax forever and a day lol

[@hitmanskid-td4pg]

meh. maybe. its buy a box of cards and hopefully get a 1/1 wemby or cj stroud.

[@benspringer8783]

Great questions and insights. I believe we are in a new junk wax era, it's not the same as the last one but product is over produced and way too many products. I buy just one team and enjoy that. I agree that these cards will hold their value in the long run unlike the junk era.

[@khadorstrong]

IMO we definitely are, and Im good buying older stuff even if it doesn't feel as fun

[@AZCARDSCARDSCARDS]

Print counts are out of control but the inserts in parallels are great!

[@DriveForShow]

We are in a new junk wax era…The cards are nicer, but that’s the reality….Yes, way too many product releases each year. Every couple weeks there’s a new release. I got back into cards in 2021…I’m now pretty much done buying retail. I now only buy singles on occasion.

[@michaelacton6246]

Agree only buy numbered signed preferably. Or numbered or signed only 3 types of cards. I buy mainly rookies

[@uwetetzlaff8967]

I actually agree w/u! And who has the money for the potential upper deck tier? Basically card box buying is like winning a lottery anymore! And I watch u more than anyone else, I like ur knowledge and facts u bring to the sport even tho u only do MLB! Thanks and keep bringing it!

[@rockiesinoctober]

I do think cards are overpriced. So are groceries, fast food, houses, gas, tickets... basically everything is overpriced.

[@hitmanskid-td4pg]

somethings gotta give soon. cause incomes are not rising unless you are scamming people

[@Darbobski]

As soon as covid hit in Jan 2020 it seems like every purchaseable good started climbing in price and never came back down. The only good thing I can say is that my wages have increased over the last 18 months and inflation has slowed, but equalization hasn't happened yet by a long shot.

[@jacoblarsen7309]

Base is pretty much junk. Numbered, sp, ssp, image variation, and autos of good players are what will hold value.

[@jasonwilliams4159]

I like to collect the year a particular player does good and wins a SS, MVP or GG. When this happens it usually raises their RC and the card they have for that particular year remains the same in value.

[@rickm6232]

Want prices to change? DON'T BUY! If there were no auto's, parallels or relics, basically inserts then it would far exceed junk wax!!!!!!!!!!!

[@fliplife67]

People are just milking the hobby dry with some of theses unreal prices.

[@SmackyThaFrog24]

I agree Scotty, I'd rather have cheaper boxes than these stupid breaker channels

[@BigRichfrank]

Me and the kids opened up 2, 2011 update blaster boxes . clearance sale from Walmart 11. 99 . Pulled a trout and a gold eric Hosmer . 😂 Ohtani series 1, topps team set card is his real rc ..imo

[@joedill4311]

I agree with you 90% of the time, but there are some SUPER VALUABLE 1990 Fleer error cards. Its not what you'd imagine......that set has gotten hot, with the err's, in the past few years. But that's an odd niche, I will admit! 😂

[@larrydavidcs]

the PSA numbers on wemby are out of control. even if he IS the next kareem, so what? everyone will have piles of his cards. they wont be rare at all. thats my entire emphasis of collecting.. low pop number vintage hofers and my favorite players growing up. i dont care for modern sports cards. i rip wax for fun and sell them and buy cards i want with that to sustain the hobby. im pretty much done buying new hobby boxes unless i just wanna enjoy a rip. its sad. baseball was the last affordable good rip and now its just trash. your video discussing the death of topps chrome really opened my eyes and i cant thank you enough scottie, im reenergized in my search for vintage in my PC and future 1st ballot HoFers from my childhood like verlander.

[@mikeholm-sv9cr]

I heard from a breaker a number of years ago that the number of sets (and the split of high-end, mid-range, and entry-level sets) was dictated by the contracts with the leagues/players associations.

[@sunshinegunpowder1164]

Breaking boxes took the fun out of buying packs at the counter. And why buy topps series one or 2 when there really no value for us retail they are for breakers to sell us singles.

[@dylanrichey8332]

Without them how would you get sinlges?

[@sunshinegunpowder1164]

@dylanrichey8332 same way we used too. Buy packs . At one time hobby boxes weren't readily available at the touch of a screen. All am saying is trading cards are a big boys game now. At the prices of boxes am happy to pay for singles. But if you have to have a 5000sq facility to get and open cards. Seems not so fun.

[@kinell188]

Boxes from 2024 wont even be remembered because of the number of unique sets year on year. This is a junk era because 95% of your box is junk with the remaining 5% of the box with only potential to be worth something of value.

[@johnrodriguez6480]

If we’re basing “junk wax era” off of overproduction then there’s an argument to be made. The problem I have is when breakers open boxes and if they don’t pull a multi hundred dollar card or better a lot of people comment “we’re in the junk wax era” Everyone sees the highlights of people making rare pulls and compare the average breaking experience to that

[@SreyAun-sd1eb]

Junk set era. When there is no way to collect every set it makes them less relevant. So much of the "good" cards will end up worthless. Breakers are by and large people we don't want in the hobby. Sleazy. Most of them ARE bad people.

[@Chad-bp3hm]

I was thinking about starting a car company up and just cutting up some jerseys and sticking some holograms on their. It's like there's a new company starting up every week. These card companies have turned into a joke

[@tiggerz3574]

Yes we are its parallels too infinity and still nobody knows the cards with true value the rare Jerseys that are game used that are old and the inserts and parallels from sets that where made 90s into mid 2000s. Most of what's left is truly junk you will see, in the last 10 to 15 years as much as 80% is just pretty paper.

[@jasonwilliams4159]

I like to collect the year a particular player does good and wins a SS, MVP or GG. When this happens it usually raises their RC and the card they have for that particular year remains the same in value.

[@David-fv7zg]

So…..in response to your non obtain rookie card……..bowman 1st aren’t considered rookie cards because they haven’t made it to the majors yet?

[@ghostnotes5667]

Topps Series two are terrible. Pulled tons of hangers and haven’t pulled a single insert worthy of a top loader. Stowed them all in commons box. What a let down.

[@Shadowmaster82311]

We're totally in a new junk wax era. Even auto's of hall of famers that you call hits go for $5 right now. It's all garbage at this point.

[@bobjohnson7294]

I stick to bowman, Topps Flagship, and Topps chrome. That is way more than enough

[@patrickmccracken8652]

Collect 80s Tiffany And 90s inserts Barry Bonds. Prices are undervalued

[@lovetruth1776]

Another thing people need to consider w/ rising card values is inflation, especially over the decades

[@oldguycollector]

We are in sec junk wax yes. But they cut down production just ask stryker he broke down the odds.

[@Fabian-ew7ly]

Breakers are bad for the hobby

[@Darbobski]

I hear this a lot. Can you specifically explain what is bad about breakers?

[@garygordon3075]

​@@Darbobskipretty much everything from charging high prices to scamming the ppl that buy into breaks. Also, let's not forget that they buy up most of the better products to break meaning we pay higher prices for wax

[@Darbobski]

@@garygordon3075 What kind of scams?

[@MrWrestling2]

1952 Topps Mantle... "You can always find it" Laughable statement. Perhaps on ebay but not at local card shows or at an LCS. They are always memorable when you see one in person.

[@PhilthyCards]

"We are in the junk wax era!" isn't even a hot take at this point. People have been shouting it from the rooftops for the last few years. I enjoyed your feedback on the various take's Scottie. Keep up the good content.

[@Krysdavar]

Breakers have been breaking the hobby for years now. That's my hot take.

[@XCapone1929]

Yes it is it's why I quit collecting it's junk wax over printed to point of no value, buy a box for 500 get $5 worth of cards

[@mcdowed]

You can also buy a box for $15 and get $5 worth of cards. Just be smart about it

[@fgstech4857]

Nowhere near the junk wax era. We're lucky to see 2 or 3 (configurations) cases of any individual set across the board . I have 3 Walmarts in my immediate area . On a popular set like NBA Prizm, I saw maybe 4 blaster restocks per store, and after that, it was gone. Social media makes everything seem abundant when, in reality, it isn't. Go open up 40 blasters, and you may get 2 Victor Wembanyama base or a cracked ice. Junk wax nope, but still fun to collect!

[@hjordan1782]

On the Shohei 2013 rookie card versus 2018 rookie cards, it's another 1984 Stars #101 versus 1986 Fleer #57 debate. Interesting.

[@82mprosen]

Breakers are good for profits, bad for the hobby

[@filmfan2250]

100%. Flagship has at least 7 SKU's

[@madcitybrew]

Great video but the price for hobby boxes were not over price like today. I remember buying a box from 1989 to 1992 for under $40.

[@Blabbin_Bout_Slabbin]

Congrats to the 24% who know Keston> Billy! 🤣

[@BigRichfrank]

The Bowman cards of the rookie cards. Imo. And by everything that makes a rookie card

[@jimpanek9680]

Breakers ruin the hobby

[@fooman27jenkins44]

Jeter isn’t top 10 🤣🤣🤣

[@JWISKI2010]

It's all junk.

[@rendulix]

I hope you got that Billy butler hope Diamond I messaged you about

[@MultiDJWILLIS]

I’d love to get a rankings video from you of the worst to the best topps baseball sets. Would help with identifying what sets to collect in your opinion for long term value

[@altonT]

No, it's not another junk wax era. Back then you didn't pay overinflated prices due to resellers. Now it's the ' how much can we get these people to pay' overproduced era.

[@wutango36o]

Resellers don't set prices, the demand from the buyers does. Dumbest thing I've heard all week

[@Darbobski]

@@wutango36o Dude, there's zero reason to attack a person for their opinion in a discussion about baseball cards.

[@wutango36o]

@@Darbobski ahh got it, so people's lack of understanding of basic economics shouldn't be addressed when their take is completely off base. I keep forgetting how soft people are nowadays where no one is allowed to disagree with a silly opinion. Carry on and thank you for reminding me that sensitivity is at an all time high. People who attack resellers and don't understand economics are clueless. Thank you for respecting my opinion. 🤣

[@altonT]

@@wutango36o how do resellers price their product in your opinion? They buy at retail and mark it up. It's by their determination to set their prices. If it's set by the market, why are there different prices set by different resellers for the same product? Have you ever run a business? I have.

[@wutango36o]

@@altonT Supply and demand dictate price always. I can go buy all the vacuum cleaners at a store and then mark them up on the aftermarket. But no one will pay my price, because there is plenty of supply elsewhere. Flippers exist because product that is in demand sells out everywhere. When that happens, people are willing to a higher price since they can't get it at retail or their normal store/shop, etc. Guess what happens to the flipper when people stop paying aftermarket pricing, they have to lower their price. Guess what happens when they can't keep a product to flip, they raise prices. The buyer is dictating where price fluctuates. This is pretty standard stuff. There isn't a whole group of guys that get in a room and decide a new price, the buyer is dictating by their buying behaviors. Economics always wins....

[@jmsportscards1046]

Always one of the best you tubers when it comes to sports cards. ❤

[@hjordan1782]

Given all the comments about junk wax, I have to wonder if junk wax will hold value at some point with there being relatively low demand, which might reduce the supply. Out of sight, out of mind! Maybe, I am out of mind on this thought.

[@Shadowmaster82311]

You're out of our mind. Low demand by definition means high supply, not low supply.

[@hjordan1782]

@@Shadowmaster82311 It's good to know I am out of our mind. I would agree there is a high supply of junk wax collectibles out there. With that said, the wide availability of junk wax collectibles may shrink the desire and demand for those items for a time and potentially cause a backlash against the supply in some way, shape, or form. Then, at some point, what was once junk wax may yield some gems among their numbers.

[@Bryan45552]

We can complain all we want about fewer packs and cards per pack in newer flagship, but it does at least make base cards more than a penny for the best rookies. 90% of numbered parallels are junk, but the Gold /year, paper black, chrome blue /150, gold /50, red /5 and superfractors should remain coveted because of their longevity.

[@mfreedom1]

What about pink paper and orange chrome 😂

[@nobodys-fool]

Think of it this way...back in the '80's you could only get about 5 rookie cards of any one player...today there are over 50 rookies cards of one player...yea it's worst than the junk wax era...wait and see...those $200 cards in 20 yrs from now won't be worth the cardboard they are made of...hobbyists and dealers have price out the true collector...now everybody just flips cards

[@chrisolivo6591]

Every era since the 1980’s has its junk wax cards and cards that will hold their value. Everyone says the late 80’s were the Junk Wax era, but the Topps Tiffany Baseball cards have held their value. The same thing applies to modern cards as most will be worthless. You just have to find those Tiffany-type cards.

[@LeeCopus]

You couldn't buy Topps Tiffany's. They only made 5k boxes in 86 and 87 and they were given to dealers, auctioneers, special employees etc. Public never could buy those and Desert Storm.

[@Shadowmaster82311]

@@LeeCopus Correct. Only the exclusive VIP cards that were never available to the general public will be worth money from this new junk wax era

[@CORE1.8MINISTERIES]

Excellent video.

[@NomahLovesYah]

I agree!

[@scottiebcards2354]

Thank you for watching, I appreciate it!

[@mannyball2198]

Hey I really enjoyed ripping 1990 fleer when I was 11

[@scottiebcards2354]

Of course! It is so nostalgic. I love having a sheet next to me at all times!

[@kinell188]

Hot take: the hobby is unregulated gambling with no age restrictions. The hobby will see federal regulation within 5 years similar to how ea sports packs were in Belgium.

[@chasec4332]

yes! yes we are

[@D3Csportscards]

Great video. And yes topps makes to many sets now days.

[@toyhunterslasvegas]

So many unwanted,un-needed,low rent autos of players that are over the hill, semi star/not a star players or young players who'll never make the bigs.

[@RamsHouse99]

Incoming boomer comments calling it junk wax era 2.0

[@chrisj2068]

According to the derek jeter herpes tree, he prob gave the most women herpes of all the shortstops of all time! 😂

[@dominatorbooze8381]

Hahahahaha

[@maligatorbaseball2789]

Throw a +1 for mantles card being over valued

[@Susbus69]

Saw this while listening to Morgan wallen “Well I hate to tell you” Video pops up and I see the title 😂

[@NomahLovesYah]

😂

[@scottiebcards2354]

😂😂😂

[@tubenachos]

Mays and Aaron was better than Mantle 💯

[@scottiebcards2354]

Statistically, I agree 100%. Willie Mays is the GOAT in my eyes!

[@RetailRipper]

i get annoyed by the "junk wax" statements from people. Ill also give topps credit for cutting some sets. could definitely give the ax to a few more.

[@scottiebcards2354]

I agree. That was good to see. I hope they get rid of a few more of the gimmicky ones. Thanks for watching!

[@kotch35]

Yeah it's good that they are cutting back on some sets but I wish they killed Archives or Allen & Ginter instead of Gypsy Queen.

[@brutusonbaseball]

No way Jeter is top 3, especially with that defense. I'd put him in the 5-10 range, but a lot of his value to people comes from playing for the Yankees

[@scottiebcards2354]

That is where I have him as well. Top 5-6 SS all time is still pretty dang awesome.

[@brutusonbaseball]

@scottiebcards2354 sure is, nothing to sneeze at!

[@kotch35]

As long as each box or pack still has the potential to produce a banger we will not be in another junk wax era. We are however in an upside-down value era where most cards achieve peak value while still in the pack. That's problematic.

[@bhfromnh3914]

Junk wax has never gone away

[@n00btype]

Exactly, it's more like junk parallel era.

[@scottiebcards2354]

Probably never fully gone away, but maybe evolved. I still think we are in a much much better place than the 90s. Thanks for watching!

[@bhfromnh3914]

@@scottiebcards2354 best baseball card channel out there by far. Keep up the great work brother!

[@hitmanskid-td4pg]

thats why kids are into pokemon cards. they only go up!

[@n00btype]

@@hitmanskid-td4pg Pretty sure kids aren't into pokemon cards because of value

[@elemental11111]

Great feedback and solid observations about the current state of things. When you're freshly shaved - dome and face - those caterpillars look like they want to jump out of the screen and tickle me.

[@ToughpullsTim]

Do you ever have a positive video dude? Man it’s a hobby, I do believe you and your spitball bros take this too seriously.

[@scottiebcards2354]

Hi Tim, thanks for watching. My last 6 videos have been positive. Even in this video I say we are not in the junk wax era. This video is all about viewer questions so that is what I discussed. Not trying to be overly negative or positive.

[@dominatorbooze8381]

Tim you whiney fool

[@Darbobski]

It used to be a hobby, but now it's an international venture worth billions. Sports cards have been more stable and grown faster than the NASDAQ and S&P 500 over the last 20 years. It is not impossible to collect just for fun today, but it's not nearly as easy as it was 30 years ago (even 10 years ago really).

[@dsphillips16]

Random…..channel

[@coreywilkinson2778]

"Junk wax era" is being used too loosely. Anyone who collected during the true junk wax era will tell it isn't even remotely close nowadays.

[@tcsbaseball1]

Exactly . Just a hot take term people thrown out for views. Buying base has never been the way to go anyways

[@coreywilkinson2778]

@Trump4prez-ho9cb It was much cheaper, but we weren't pulling anything of value either. It was all base & heavily printed back then. We searched for errors & collected rookies. There weren't any autos, parallels, or short-print variations. I know I can't recall ever pulling any cards that anyone would be willing to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on, lol.

[@dominatorbooze8381]

Lmao @ jeter being top 3. Top 30 maybe.