Gordy Bonker
- Dec 5, 2023
- 4 min read

Bonkers Cards Newsletter #2 HUGE WEEK!!

Man, what a busy week this past week was. I have a TON of updates for you guys, so let's get right into it.

1952 Topps Set Break THIS SUNDAY at 8PM on YouTube!

The date has been officially set on the 52 Topps break! Someone's collection will forever be changed this Sunday evening when they win the Holy Grail of the Hobby... the 1952 TOPPS MICKEY MANTLE!

As a reminder please be sure to Subscribe to the YouTube channel, Bonkers Cards to be able to watch the action.

(I will also be streaming on Instagram at Bonkerscards as well - electing to do this off of TikTok just to play it safe on having the account suspended again. )

The stream will kick off at 8PM, and following the break, I will be giving away a 1952 Bowman Willie Mays card to one person who joined the break and did not win big on the 52 Mantle or 52 Mays. We will then follow the giveaway with our regular Sunday Show!

1952 Bowman Willie Mays SGC 1, Giveaway Card

Baltimore News Babe Ruth Rookie Card + REA Event!

As I am sure you guys have seen by now, the Ultra-rare Baltimore News Babe Ruth rookie card sold at REA on Sunday night for $7.2 Million - making it the most valuable Babe Ruth card ever sold at Auction, and 3rd on the all time highest sports card sales ever.

I had the pleasure of getting to go to the Rally Museum in Manhattan last week, and see the card in person for a private event held by REA.

Here is my interview with Brian Dwyer, President of REA about his record setting auction:

Philly Card Show was a huge hit!

Over the weekend I went out to the Philly show at the Philadelphia Expo Center for one of the largest card shows in the country.

Check out my recap video I just dropped on YouTube!

Here are some of my key takeaways from the show:

1. There was very strong attendance.

I was at the show Friday and Saturday, and while Friday was probably an average day, there were droves of attendants at the show Saturday. I probably asked 30-40 dealers how the show was for them over the weekend, and the vast majority shared very positive feedback on deal flow.

2. Vintage is in.

The card market has been incredibly volatile since the boom of 2020. Card prices soared in 2020 and 2021, and the market has since been coming down over the parabolic highs of 2021, especially in modern cards.

While there are pockets of the vintage market that have been hit from this correction, overall vintage held up vs the rest of the market quite well. And collectors and investors alike have taken notice.

I noticed more vintage cards for sale at this show than I was expecting, and even had many conversations with modern card dealers telling me they were looking to move many of their modern cards to purchase more stable vintage cards.

I even saw one of the largest card content creators in the space, Geoff Wilson, discussing his focus on trying to pick up more vintage cards for purchase.

3. Dealers were more reasonable.

I was pleasantly surprised to see many dealers at the show open to offers, and often time priced very close to comps.

I think given the time of year, dealers were antsy to make some moves, which helped get deals done. (Historically, December and January are the slowest months for the baseball card market. You will often see prices fall a bit in these months, and then in February as baseball season is around the corner, activity will pick up, moving prices higher.)

If you are a baseball card collector, this is prime time to score some deals. Especially on some of the blue chip name players, prices will likely go up on many of these cards in the next few months.

Roberto Clemente and Ernie Banks GIVEAWAY!

I am giving away both of these iconic vintage cards of Roberto Clemente and Ernie Banks - I'll be giving them away to one follower on my Instagram @bonkerscards and one follower on my back-up TikTok account @Bonkerscards2 when we hit 1k followers!

1970 Roberto Clemente | 1966 Ernie Banks - Follow on Social Channels to Enter!

My TikTok is Back!

As many of you saw, my primary channel on TikTok was taken down again without warning last week. After speaking with some people who have similar issues, I think it might have to do with the Live-Selling component to my show and my content.

In the coming months, I will be continuously working on expanding my brand across multiple channels, including this newsletter, Instagram, YouTube, and WhatNot. (there is a link at the end of the newsletter for a free $15 credit on WhatNot when you download the app using that link)

Unfortunately I cannot control the powers that be on the TikTok algorithm, so I please ask that all of you follow my channel across all platforms - I am incredibly grateful for that!

Cards for Sale this week:

Each week I will be listing the top 5 best cards I have for sale this week on the channel. If you are interested in buying, please shoot me an email back at bonkerscards@gmail.com, or DM on Instagram / TikTok to claim the card.

1972 Nolan Ryan PSA 8: $575