Junk Wax Era: Are My 90s Sports Cards Worthless?

Nothing beats the feeling of rummaging around in an old cardboard box and coming up with a pack of old cards. Depending on when these cards were created, you could either be dealing with so-called ‘junk wax cards’ or a one-of-a-kind parallel. Are your 90s cards truly junk? Get the answers you need right here at Giant Sports Cards.

Why Are 90s Cards Considered ‘Junk’?

Many terms are thrown around when it comes to this era of sports cards. While ‘junk’ and ‘worthless’ are exaggerations, there is more to these cards than meets the eye. Let’s take a closer look at why some collectors consider these cards to be subpar.

• Volume: When it comes to sports trading cards—and collectibles in general—volume and value tend to be inversely related. The more cards you have, the lower their value on resale markets.
  
  The term ‘junk wax era’ typically refers to cards made from the mid-1980s to 1990s. These cards were coming fresh off the heels of a booming market, especially for baseball cards. Speculation was at an all-time high, and manufacturers were confident that every new release would find a home.
  
  As you might expect, this meant that even rare football and baseball cards were readily available, quickly saturating the market. Imagine pulling a rookie auto Jackson Holliday from nearly every Topps Chrome Jumbo box!

• Quality: Quality control also took a nose dive for 90s sports cards. While the occasional printing error (see Shadowless Charizard) can do wonders for the value of a trading card, frequent misprints only serve to dampen card values further.
  
  1991 Upper Deck releases from the junk wax era are infamous for these misprints. Collectors noted excessive grain in player photos, making the cards hard to sell later on. Topps’ 1987 releases featured similar defects, with notoriously off-center cards.
  
  

• The Bubble Bursts: Every major manufacturer, from Panini to Topps, wanted to capitalize on the boom. This meant a massive increase in active product lines during the 90s. Companies assumed consumers would snap up the increased output only to realize later that hundreds of boxes remained unopened in their warehouses.
  
  Collectors who hadn’t yet caught onto the reality of junk wax cards bought up as many cases as they could upon release, expecting to sell them for easy profit later on. This is why even a special Topps Michael Jordan baseball card (you read that right!) goes for less than $20 today.

Supply and Demand

The reality of the junk wax era ultimately comes down to basic economics: supply and demand. There were far too many 90s sports cards going around for too few collectors. The memorable shirtless Jose Canseco card is a great example of this. Upon its release in the late 80s, this Donruss card could easily fetch upwards of $100 on the secondary market. 

Today, you can buy it for less than $5. There’s simply no reason for most buyers to pay more for these cards when there are still unopened 500-card lots sitting around in attics and warehouses.

It’s also worth mentioning the impact these events had on the overall habits of collectors. If you were a collector in the junk wax era, or even someone looking into buying cards from that era, you had no real incentive to invest heavily in inserts or parallels since there were so many of them everywhere.

The Bright Side 

It’s not all doom and gloom for cards from the 80s and 90s. As a collector, there’s a lot to love about this unique era of sports card cases, and you might be able to find value if you look closely. 

The Value of Nostalgia

Topps’ popular Allen and Ginter hobby boxes might celebrate pre-1950s cards, but they’re also a sign that some 90s sports cards from the junk wax era might just be valuable at some point in the future. Collectors are always looking for a way to celebrate their favorite athletes and sports moments, and nothing brings those to life like an authentic sports card from that very time.

Aesthetics also have a huge role to play here. Junk wax cards were a product of their time, featuring unique designs that some collectors still look fondly back on. Upper Deck’s frequent use of neon borders is a great example.

If you have a few older sports cards lying around, consider working with a certified PSA dealer to get them graded. Grading sports cards is the best way to ascertain their true value, and it can help you discover rare gems in your collection you might have otherwise missed.

Collect The Classics

Whether you’re looking to grade pieces from the junk wax era or order new sports card releases, Giant Sports Cards has you covered. We’re more than a sports card store. As a certified PSA dealer and authorized retailer, we work directly with top manufacturers like Panini and Topps to bring the latest sports card releases straight to your doorstep. Order online and  Unbox Your Love Of The Game™ today.