Another 90's Insert Set: '93 Fleer All-Stars

As many of you know, I collect a lot of different players, sports and types of cards, but my main passion is 90's basketball inserts. I simply can't get enough of them. I feel this time period produced some of the most creative and best designed cards in the hobby's history. It also didn't hurt that this was a golden age for the NBA as well. This was also the time when companies couldn't rely on the player auto or jersey relic. Although there were a few on-card autographs being produced during the 90's (click here), they were not as heavily produced as they are today. Whether it was a hologram, die cut, refractor, great photography or simply a well thought out design, 90's inserts had it going on.

One of the more popular basketball inserts of the early 90's was the '93 Fleer All-Stars set. This was a 24 card set that featured the Western and Eastern All-Stars from the '92 NBA All-Star Game. Hence, no Shaquille O'neal rookie all-star card unfortunately even though this is a set from his rookie year. However, the set is littered with tons of 90's stars and superstars like Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Scottie Pippen and many more.

The set featured a horizontal design with images of the players in their All-Star uniforms. There's a blue background that looks great, but is unfortunately susceptible to chipping. This is the biggest problem collectors need to worry about when attempting to put this set together and is very noticeable as you'll see the tail-tail white edges or chunks that indicate edge wear and chipping. Definitely look closely at any images if your are buying these cards on-line through the secondary markets or trading.

The set is not terribly difficult to put together. It only consists of 24 cards and the cards were inserted into series 1 pack at a modest rate of 1:9. It has a solid book value of $100, but you should be able to put the entire set together for well under that if you can save on shipping costs. Most of the cards sell as singles for around $2.00 to $5.00. The Jordan is the tough one, but can be had for right around $15.00. Here's a PSA Graded 9 Jordan for sale on eBay as a Buy Now: (click here) and a BGS 9 Live eBay auction: (click here). Also, here's a completed set in a Live eBay auction with a $59.00 reserve: (click here).

I took the easy way out and bought the entire set all at once from a seller on eBay. I haggled the price down to $30.00 plus $5.00 shipping for the entire set. No question, good deals are out there if you are willing to be a patient collector. Although this '93 Fleer All-Stars set is not my favorite insert set from the 90's, it's high on the list. Many of my favorite hoops stars are in this set and I love the overall design. Hope you enjoyed this installment of yet Another 90's Insert Set and of course… "Every Bounce of the Ball"!