1997-98 E-X2001 Credentials

[WilyWestbrook0]

I picked up one of these about a couple of years ago for $100. Beckett was listing it for $60 at the time, but it was one of the last cards I was wanting to complete a project of having at least one card of Credentials, Legacy, Star Rubies, and Atomic Refractors from E-X, Flair, SkyBox, and Bowman, respectively, so I went for it.

If you look at eBay sold prices for these now, they've gone CRAZY. The first printed of the Gugliotta went for nearly $1,000 this month:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1997-98-EX-...gAAOSwURheGeh8

Looks like a standard one goes for about $300 now at the least. I had to put mine in a lockbox after finding this out.

Is there any particular reason for the jump? I checked prices of 1997-98 Rubies, and they seem to be holding steady at about $80-$100 for minor 1990s stars. Why are Credentials now worth much more?

[pwaldo]

Googs fanbase + first one + popular great looking set + basketball cards being hot + probably somebody going after the set = that eBay price

Beckett book value is garbage for most but especially for rare 90s basketball stuff. Honestly if you were going to be investing money I would be doing it into basketball stuff versus the other sports because it is just so popular worldwide. If you thought a card #D to 31 was rare in the US wait till you think of how rare that is worldwide. That stuff isn't going to be going down in value.

And on a side note basketball stuff was really kind of weak for years because they had way less companies than baseball and football. Football had stuff like Collector's Edge, Playoff, and Pacific that basketball of the 90s never had. Just less sets and less of it was made. When do you come across 90s basketball stuff unopened? You don't because they made way less of it than baseball or even football. Even when they did make stuff they really didn't have the same amount of autographs, game used, or even #D stuff. It was overdone in football and baseball but basketball kept production low so if you are looking for high end stuff of your 90s guy there isn't much to choose from versus the other sports.

[WilyWestbrook0]

Googs fanbase + first one + popular great looking set + basketball cards being hot + probably somebody going after the set = that eBay price

Beckett book value is garbage for most but especially for rare 90s basketball stuff. Honestly if you were going to be investing money I would be doing it into basketball stuff versus the other sports because it is just so popular worldwide. If you thought a card #D to 31 was rare in the US wait till you think of how rare that is worldwide. That stuff isn't going to be going down in value.

And on a side note basketball stuff was really kind of weak for years because they had way less companies than baseball and football. Football had stuff like Collector's Edge, Playoff, and Pacific that basketball of the 90s never had. Just less sets and less of it was made. When do you come across 90s basketball stuff unopened? You don't because they made way less of it than baseball or even football. Even when they did make stuff they really didn't have the same amount of autographs, game used, or even #D stuff. It was overdone in football and baseball but basketball kept production low so if you are looking for high end stuff of your 90s guy there isn't much to choose from versus the other sports.

There has been an immense interest and upswing in late '90s basketball stuff in general the last few years. I used to be able to get boxes of late '90s Finest for only about $80 or so, but that time is definitely past. First it was MJ inserts going crazy, and now it's the high end stuff in general. You can hardly find late '90s boxes now for anything less than hundreds.

That said, I still wonder why the Credentials in particular are especially booming. The Rubies are just as rare, but they've been holding steady at about $100 or so per semistar player. Credentials are going for $300 minimum. They used to be comparable but the Credentials are now going for 3x the Rubies.

[pwaldo]

That said, I still wonder why the Credentials in particular are especially booming. The Rubies are just as rare, but they've been holding steady at about $100 or so per semistar player. Credentials are going for $300 minimum. They used to be comparable but the Credentials are now going for 3x the Rubies.

Aren't they #D based on the card from the set minus from 100 in descending order or something? Or maybe I'm confusing it with another set/parallel. They also look a lot cooler than most other sets Rubies included IMO. I've noticed cards that look "cooler" in basketball sell significantly better. Like people want stuff to show off on Instagram or something.

[WilyWestbrook0]

Aren't they #D based on the card from the set minus from 100 in descending order or something? Or maybe I'm confusing it with another set/parallel. They also look a lot cooler than most other sets Rubies included IMO. I've noticed cards that look "cooler" in basketball sell significantly better. Like people want stuff to show off on Instagram or something.

Yeah, good points. The Rubies are all #ed to 50 whereas the Credentials have that special ordering system, so each player has a different # in the Future/Now parallels. Another thread I looked at discussing this also mentioned the better aesthetics of Credentials. Basketball collectors like shiny, eye-popping, colorful stuff, hence the obsession with Prizm colors and such.

[Theodor Madison]

Personally I find these cards great, some of the best. The 96-97 year are nice yet not as sp. Had the Joe smith same year as the Guugs, wish I still had with prices rocketing.
What I find odd is the rubies /50 value less than some other rubies /150. Are there difference between rubies and star rubies.

[WilyWestbrook0]

Personally I find these cards great, some of the best. The 96-97 year are nice yet not as sp. Had the Joe smith same year as the Guugs, wish I still had with prices rocketing.
What I find odd is the rubies /50 value less than some other rubies /150. Are there difference between rubies and star rubies.

No difference; the numbering depends on the year. The later Rubies were part of the earlier 2000s Fleer Premium sets and don't hold the kinds of value that the Rubies from 1997-98 and 1998-99 do.