BY MARK A. LARSON
Between April 13-May 12 I conducted an in-person random survey of 56 stores in the Twin Cities area to determine the availability of 1984 baseball cards. First, I wanted to find out if cards were readily available at drug stores and convenience stores. And secondly, if the stores did carry them, did they have Topps, Fleer or Donruss?
My travels were limited to the eastern and southern portions of the Twin Cities, but included 16 cities. Over a dozen different types of stores were included in the survey. Here’s what I found:
• Over 80 percent of the stores surveyed carried at least one company’s 1984 cards.
• Of those that had cards, 82 percent carried Topps; 44 percent carried Fleer; and 9 percent carried Donruss.
• Of those that had cards, 49 percent carried Topps only; 13 percent carried Fleer only; and a mere 2 percent carried Donruss only. To put it another way, of the retailers that carried only one company’s cards, 76 percent of the time it was Topps; 21 percent of the time it was Fleer; and 3 percent of the time it was Donruss.
• Of the stores that carried cards, 31 percent carried more than one company’s cards – 24 percent carried both Topps and Fleer; 2 percent carried both Topps and Donruss; 4 percent had Topps, Fleer and Donruss; but none carried Fleer and Donruss.
• As a side note, of the 56 stores surveyed, only one carried Donruss Action All-stars and only one carried Donruss Champions.
• Several stores carried Topps stickers and a few carried 1984 cards in cello packs.
• Prices on the regular 1984 cards ranged from 30 cents to 40 cents per pack. About one-fourth of the retailers that had cards ignored the suggested price of 30 cents per pack and charged more.
Clearly, Topps still dominates the retail market. When 82 percent carry Topps – nearly twice as many as those that carry Fleer and nine times as many as Donruss – it shows that Topps’ claim as “THE REAL ONE” cannot be disputed. This is solidified by the fact that almost half of the retailers that had cards carried Topps only – as compared to only 13 percent carrying Fleer only and 2 percent that carried Donruss only.
There were no real surprises in the survey, except possibly for the almost total lack of Donruss cards. Of course, Donruss has discontinued production of its 1984 regular set. But the survey began in mid-April – early enough, that if Donruss had any significant market share it would have been noted. I revisited one drug store two weeks later that had Donruss only to find no more Donruss, but plenty of Topps. And with Topps so readily available at all types of stores over a wide area, it’s hard to imagine that healthy sales are not far behind. To sell ’em, you gotta have ’em.
• • • • • •
• Originally Published in May 1984 “Twin Times” •
THIS ARTICLE FROM THE “TWIN TIMES” NEWSLETTER – OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE TWIN CITIES SPORTS COLLECTORS CLUB – IS REPRINTED WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR. IT HAS BEEN RETYPED, BUT NO CONTENT HAS BEEN CHANGED (EXCEPT FOR VERY MINOR ADJUSTMENTS, CORRECTIONS TO ANY TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS AND THE ADDITION OF GRAPHICS). COMMENTS OR INFORMATION IN THE ARTICLE MAY BE OUT-OF-DATE.
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