A suddenly skyrocketing market for Michael Jordan cards has spread across the hobby with at least two auction houses planning heavily promoted Jordan-centric auctions while eBay sellers are spending their days wishing all of their listings would be like Mike.
Data analysts at eBay say the company sold more than 360 1986-87 Fleer Jordan rookie cards during the month of April, totaling over $1.5 million. That’s up 150 percent from March and seems to correlate to the increased attention on his career through the ESPN series “The Last Dance.”
In announcing the creation of a special Jordan section on its website last month, eBay said that since the series announcement earlier this year, searches for Jordan’s 1984-85 Star Company XRC rookie card had surged more than 60 percent.
While the sports card and memorabilia market as a whole, and the basketball card market in particular, has been strengthening for many months, there’s little doubt the international attention on Jordan and the 1990s Chicago Bulls isn’t hurting.
eBay says the average price of a Jordan rookie card sold in April was over $4,500. Any PSA or SGC graded Jordan rookie rated Mint 9 or higher now typically sells for a five-figure price. Those numbers would have seemed unrealistic at the end of the winter. The March issue of SMR listed the value of a PSA 9 Jordan at $5,500.
eBay tells Sports Collectors Daily the price of Jordan trading cards overall was $115 last month, a staggering figure considering the number of low cost Jordan cards that have been issued over the past 30 years.
It’s not just the rookie cards bringing big dollars, though. Jordan’s rare autographed inserts and a 1984-85 Star Company card has also generated big sales.
Among the top selling Jordan cards in April:
- 2003 Upper Deck Exquisite Limited Logos $121,000
- 1986-87 Fleer rookie card SGC 10 $41,340
- 2007 Exquisite Scripted Swatches dual auto with Kobe Bryant # to 5 $35,300
- 1986-87 Fleer rookie card SGC 10 $35,000
- 1986-87 Fleer rookie card BGS 9.5 $30,000
- 1997-98 Upper Deck Season Ticket autograph $28,500
- 1998-99 Upper Deck Game Jersey autograph PSA 8.5 $27,800
- 1997 SPx ProMotion autograph #17/100 $26,612
- 1984-85 Star Company XRC BGS 9 $25,100
- 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Exclusive dual autograph with LeBron James $24,999
- 1986-87 Fleer rookie sticker PSA 10 $24,601
The 1997 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems Green Jordan sold last year remains the highest priced basketball card ever sold on eBay at $350,100.
Goldin Auctions and PWCC say they are both planning both planning Jordan-oriented auctions.
The current ‘most watched’ auctions for Jordan cards on eBay can be found here.
