Last Updated on July 17, 2024 by Mathew Diekhake
Some basketball ball cards I see are way overpriced and some are so far underpriced that it doesn’t make sense to me. Here is an example of the latter.
This Ray Allen rookie card is on sale for under $40 on eBay today. Granted, one person apparently has it in their shopping cart according to eBay, but it’s still there.
This style of card was common in the 90s and typically they aren’t valuable cards. The reason I don’t love them is because the picture of the player is so small. That said, hardwood is very important to the game of basketball, and this hardwood design will always be relevant and timeless. Moreover, this is an Upper Deck card which means it’s awesome regardless of design. This is a beautiful basketball card. I would have thought it was worth at least $400 if it was in mint condition. As a Gem Mint 10 by PSA, it wouldn’t have surprised me to see it on sale for $4,000. I have no idea how it’s $40. But I can’t afford the $40 so it’s staying there.
Notes:
This UD3 isn’t the only Ray Allen card I’ve seen that is undervalued. Just the other day, I noticed a very colorful and fancy graphic Fleer rookie card available for roughly the same price. The Fleer may have been under $40. That particular Fleer is called 1996-97 Fleer Ray Allen Lucky 13 Rookie RC #5. There is also another Fleer card called the 1996 Fleer Metal Basketball Rookie Card RC #186 which is even cheaper.
Some Ray Allen cards are worth a lot of money. However, some of his rookie cards are still very cheap by comparison. Ray Allen was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018, so I don’t know why some of his rookie cards are so cheap still.