The early years of Starting Lineup Figures (1988-1990) were the most significant. Especially football. What Kenner did was ship out 2 different cases of SLU's. One case was the home town team case that was regional (49ers in SF, Cowboys in Dallas, etc) and an "All-Star case" to everyone, which included the biggest stars of the time like Joe Montana, Jim McMahon, Dan Marino, etc.). Because of this, today, it's the lesser known players who are the hardest to get and can be extremely valuable, especially 1989 NFL. This makes them a lot of fun to collect and to hunt for online. It's very difficult to collect a whole set, sometimes it's even impossible. After the 1990 series Kenner changed things up and only shipped out the all-star cases. They no longer shipped regional cases. So because of this 90% of SLU figures from 1991-2000 are worth very little. Also, fun fact, the 1988 Michael Jordan, which goes for anywhere between $100-200 depending on condition, was THE most mass produced Starting Lineup figure they have ever made. About 7 years ago when I first started collecting these you could get one for about $30 in mint condition.
I’ve been waiting for this one. I bought the 1992 SLU dream team basketball set and the Shaq rookie piece MIB for both long-term holds and nostalgia overload. Thanks for the video!
I've always loved SLU figures and still have a few thousand sealed figures in storage. They got so unpopular I put mine away and even added more here & there as they had gotten so cheap. Hoping the time will come where It may be worthwhile to go through them and sell a few extras off. I loved this video and hope to see a few more on this down the road. Thank you for sharing.
Just saw a FB advertisement for a Pearl Jam poster that depicts them playing an outdoor concert - in the photo you can see they have several starting line up basketball figures sitting on their equipment
new sub here. i collect a ton of topics including SLUs. i open mine on youtube now but before that i started collecting them in 1991 and sold the money ones. i flipped them for years. i have an extensive loose collection now.
Oh wow I had 3-4 full boxes of SLU still in the package that I sold about 5 years ago to make room in my garage. Sold them all for about $60 🤦♂️ Nothing crazy like Jordan or Kobe, but wish I had kept them now.
My Dad, Brother and I used to own 3B Collectibles in the 90’s at one point we had the 2nd SLU collection in the world next to the “Kenner Kid” 😂, we were actually the first people to develop the “clam shell” protective case for SLU figures and eventually most action figures under the name of “Peerless Products”, awesome to still see some interest in Starting Line Ups!
Had over 1,000 SLUs at one time, dumped them then bought Mcfarlanes, bottom fell out sold them and went all in on vintage baseball cards - I enjoyed the figures the most - nice display pieces and miss them although the investment exchange to 50s 60s baseball cards probably a good financial decision - I still can’t believe you can grab a 1988 Jordan SLU for a couple hundo or less, everyone should have a few SLU GOATs to hold onto, there will be a market - good call on the 03 Lebron set I picked them up today after watching!
This is my list of the top ten present day (April 2023) SLU bargains, based on eBay sales. These can be had for tiny fractions of the prices they sold for in the long gone days of old. In short, you can get them dirt cheap. 1. 1994 Brett Favre SLU (rookie) 2. 1993 NHL Goalie SLUs (any) 3. 1996 Chipper Jones 4 1997 Tim Duncan Extended (rookie) 5. 1991 Emmitt Smith (rookie) 6 1991 Dan Marino 7. 1995 "The Streak" Cal Ripken Extended 8. 1997 Terrell Davis (rookie) 9. 1999 Randy Moss (rookie) 10. 1991 Dennis Rodman (rookie)
Just sold a Barry Sanders Starting lineup ! Found it at my thrift store .Had damage to the plastic covering with cracking,but still really nice to collect and pick up and put on my store for people to grab. Thanks
I love these! I have probably close to 30. They are hard to store and keep in mint condition. Especially the older ones from the late 80s and early 90s.
My favourite Starting Lineup story is from the hockey set. The Original Grant Fuhr goalie Figure was a huge error. They made him white (Grant Fuhr is black) because I assume Starting Lineup figured all hockey players were white. It’s one of the rarer figures to find.
I had a Todd McFarlane Allen Iverson but opened it up and built a glass display box for it. Wish I would have kept it sealed. I’m with you on Barry “The Sandman” Sanders he was hands down the best running back I ever saw period. Had he not retired he would hold the rushing record by a long shot.
You got me into SLUs.. the Kobe rookie is not cheap... I'm also buying Simpsons memrobillia, that's America's past time now like baseball. Love the content Dad
JS I recently found interest in them, of course because of price point I was getting them at. In a short time amassed a fairly good collection. I really think that could be the next wave. I mean toys have exploded and cards too, it's only time for retro sports figures to back up the trending card market. The only thing about these figures is that only certain ppl made the cut every yr, so popular players should be about to blossom in the pre spike market. Even the low end should see a peak in collector's eyes even the unboxed, that only adds to the scarcity.
I still have my 1992 Dream Team set in the box. A lot of restraint to keep them in the box. 😂 I also bought about 25 Jordans from 1988 and 1990 last year but I pulled out the cards and sent off for grading recently. Got some good ones for sure! Also have a few Kobe rookies, some Garnetts, Duncan, Jabbar and others. Loved them as kid and love them still. Have fun!
Great video. I love this stuff and have been chasing them for a few months, and even have some from the 90s. Do you know what the turnaround is for grading?
In January I bought 2 ‘91 Jordans, one for $20 in good condition, in box, and the other one the box was dirty so I opened it and sent the card into psa - I saw 8s going for over $300. I’m holding the unopened one for a long time until it becomes valuable.
i have picked up random SLU’s from the thrift store or swap meet. Last month i bought a lebron james rookie year bobblehead w/ card enclosed. i even have some space jam jordan figurines put away somewhere
Love the video! Love the message. This video brought me back to my Toys R Us days of hunting for starting lineups. I used to buy and sell and flip them. Been out of the game for more than 15 years. I think I might get back into it. I appreciate this video and the content! Good Times
An AFA 85 is equivalent to a PSA 10. AFA 90 is like a Black Label BGS 10..almost nonexistent. 95s are impossible for anything vintage. I have done star Wars for a long time
Never could get into those mainly because of the space they would take up. Who Dat from a fellow Saints fan. Nostalgia hit me when you mentioned Ironhead.
Bought two lebron reds and one white months ago. Seemed like a solid investment. Glad to see someone else thought so as well 😂 another great video man. Keep up the awesome content
That Bo Jackson is sweet! I have a ton of McFarlane Sports Picks in the attic, hope they make a comeback soon. Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods had a line of figures called Pro Shots which are awesome, you should check them out. Great video as always man.
Awesome episode! I'm a huge Dominique Wilkins and Deion Sanders fan. I own all Niques and both sports for Deion. I have Niques McFarlanes too. The only one I'm missing is the Wilkins/Barkley duo. Still out of my price range. 😫 Keep it up Dustin!
Have you noticed the Kelly Gruber Starting lineup has an error. The hat on the coin is an orioles hat. Would this make the value go up? Or no... because it's Kelly Gruber???
The 'print runs' on SLUs are much lower than cards, so you would think they'd have greater value. I guess McFarlane ruined this with his more lifelike figurines.
Remember NFL Series 1 Mcfarlane no helmets - these things were the rarest of rare - I used to dream about the Urlacher no helmet- can’t believe most are around $125 on eBay after just looking - thoughts on the no helmets? I might try to get the set since they have come down so much
Not to be the "well actually...." guy but well.....actually.....😒 Bo "didn't know" Oakland. Bo Jackson played for the LOS ANGELES Raiders and not Oakland Raiders. From 1982 thru 1995 The Raiders were in LA. 😁
I'm a collector been off and on since the 90s. I love these figures and we have a awesome group on Facebook Kenner starting lineup check it out Joe Curcio is the admin and has a ton of knowledge
to many fake cards out there as far as I no there are no fake line ups. I have quite a few of them but my thing is. The older toys like the Broadway joe dolls and the Dr J dolls and Oj Simpson dolls and the Gretzky dolls. But spent plenty of gas looking for SLU.
That feeling you feel when the universe is at one and you are just a molecule floating through uphoria feels kinda like if there were Pokemon SLUs.
The early years of Starting Lineup Figures (1988-1990) were the most significant. Especially football.
What Kenner did was ship out 2 different cases of SLU's. One case was the home town team case that was regional (49ers in SF, Cowboys in Dallas, etc) and an "All-Star case" to everyone, which included the biggest stars of the time like Joe Montana, Jim McMahon, Dan Marino, etc.). Because of this, today, it's the lesser known players who are the hardest to get and can be extremely valuable, especially 1989 NFL. This makes them a lot of fun to collect and to hunt for online. It's very difficult to collect a whole set, sometimes it's even impossible.
After the 1990 series Kenner changed things up and only shipped out the all-star cases. They no longer shipped regional cases. So because of this 90% of SLU figures from 1991-2000 are worth very little.
Also, fun fact, the 1988 Michael Jordan, which goes for anywhere between $100-200 depending on condition, was THE most mass produced Starting Lineup figure they have ever made. About 7 years ago when I first started collecting these you could get one for about $30 in mint condition.
I’ve always like these and thought of as collectible, but I just don’t have space for them
I’ve been waiting for this one. I bought the 1992 SLU dream team basketball set and the Shaq rookie piece MIB for both long-term holds and nostalgia overload. Thanks for the video!
Yep, I remember fondly watching the 92 Olympics. My parents were going through a divorce and the Dream Team was a bright spot for me
The Bo Jackson SLU is from 1990. His first one was 1989 and he also had a Football one from 1990 and 1992.
I've always loved SLU figures and still have a few thousand sealed figures in storage. They got so unpopular I put mine away and even added more here & there as they had gotten so cheap. Hoping the time will come where It may be worthwhile to go through them and sell a few extras off. I loved this video and hope to see a few more on this down the road. Thank you for sharing.
Just saw a FB advertisement for a Pearl Jam poster that depicts them playing an outdoor concert - in the photo you can see they have several starting line up basketball figures sitting on their equipment
new sub here. i collect a ton of topics including SLUs. i open mine on youtube now but before that i started collecting them in 1991 and sold the money ones. i flipped them for years. i have an extensive loose collection now.
Really appreciate you hitting on this. Huge slu collector.
Glad you liked it! Will do these SLU videos periodically moving forward
Oh wow I had 3-4 full boxes of SLU still in the package that I sold about 5 years ago to make room in my garage. Sold them all for about $60 🤦♂️
Nothing crazy like Jordan or Kobe, but wish I had kept them now.
My Dad, Brother and I used to own 3B Collectibles in the 90’s at one point we had the 2nd SLU collection in the world next to the “Kenner Kid” 😂, we were actually the first people to develop the “clam shell” protective case for SLU figures and eventually most action figures under the name of “Peerless Products”, awesome to still see some interest in Starting Line Ups!
That's awesome, those were the good ole days :)
What service do you recommend for Starting Lineup grading?
Had over 1,000 SLUs at one time, dumped them then bought Mcfarlanes, bottom fell out sold them and went all in on vintage baseball cards - I enjoyed the figures the most - nice display pieces and miss them although the investment exchange to 50s 60s baseball cards probably a good financial decision - I still can’t believe you can grab a 1988 Jordan SLU for a couple hundo or less, everyone should have a few SLU GOATs to hold onto, there will be a market - good call on the 03 Lebron set I picked them up today after watching!
Thanks for the video, I bought a lot of these in the early 90’s, hopefully they make a comeback!
The Marino would look good next to my painting.
:)
This is my list of the top ten present day (April 2023) SLU bargains, based on eBay sales. These can be had for tiny fractions of the prices they sold for in the long gone days of old. In short, you can get them dirt cheap.
1. 1994 Brett Favre SLU (rookie)
2. 1993 NHL Goalie SLUs (any)
3. 1996 Chipper Jones
4 1997 Tim Duncan Extended (rookie)
5. 1991 Emmitt Smith (rookie)
6 1991 Dan Marino
7. 1995 "The Streak" Cal Ripken Extended
8. 1997 Terrell Davis (rookie)
9. 1999 Randy Moss (rookie)
10. 1991 Dennis Rodman (rookie)
Very cool! Thanks for providing this
Just sold a Barry Sanders Starting lineup ! Found it at my thrift store .Had damage to the plastic covering with cracking,but still really nice to collect and pick up and put on my store for people to grab. Thanks
I love these! I have probably close to 30. They are hard to store and keep in mint condition. Especially the older ones from the late 80s and early 90s.
Cool stuff!
My favourite Starting Lineup story is from the hockey set. The Original Grant Fuhr goalie Figure was a huge error. They made him white (Grant Fuhr is black) because I assume Starting Lineup figured all hockey players were white. It’s one of the rarer figures to find.
I had a Todd McFarlane Allen Iverson but opened it up and built a glass display box for it. Wish I would have kept it sealed.
I’m with you on Barry “The Sandman” Sanders he was hands down the best running back I ever saw period. Had he not retired he would hold the rushing record by a long shot.
Completely agree on your thoughts on Barry.
Barry was the man!
You got me into SLUs.. the Kobe rookie is not cheap... I'm also buying Simpsons memrobillia, that's America's past time now like baseball. Love the content Dad
Good call, I think at $200/$250 Kobe rookie SLU still good long term investment! I’m getting one
JS I recently found interest in them, of course because of price point I was getting them at. In a short time amassed a fairly good collection. I really think that could be the next wave. I mean toys have exploded and cards too, it's only time for retro sports figures to back up the trending card market. The only thing about these figures is that only certain ppl made the cut every yr, so popular players should be about to blossom in the pre spike market. Even the low end should see a peak in collector's eyes even the unboxed, that only adds to the scarcity.
Been waiting for this one! Sweet card content!
I still have my 1992 Dream Team set in the box. A lot of restraint to keep them in the box. 😂 I also bought about 25 Jordans from 1988 and 1990 last year but I pulled out the cards and sent off for grading recently. Got some good ones for sure! Also have a few Kobe rookies, some Garnetts, Duncan, Jabbar and others. Loved them as kid and love them still. Have fun!
The Jordan's would have been worth far more if they were graded moc. Unless they were in bad condition, of course.
Been buying again over the last year , but kinda like to sell because they do take up space and have to be very gentile with storing them as well.
I have a TON of SLUs. I've always liked them since I was young
Good stuff
Got '96 Kobe, '88 Jordan, Bird/Magic One On One, tons of '88 NBA. You know SLU is the jam!
Yessir! Love that '96 Kobe
I found a box with a bunch of these figures, they aren’t in the original box’s though and I don’t know what to do with them, any advice?
Bought one Kobe rookie starting lineup plus I bought 3 of the Lebron McFarlane ones, 2 white and 1 red. I haven't looked into grading them.
Great video. I love this stuff and have been chasing them for a few months, and even have some from the 90s. Do you know what the turnaround is for grading?
Thanks! Not sure on turnaround times currently
In January I bought 2 ‘91 Jordans, one for $20 in good condition, in box, and the other one the box was dirty so I opened it and sent the card into psa - I saw 8s going for over $300. I’m holding the unopened one for a long time until it becomes valuable.
(Paid $6 for the other one)
i have picked up random SLU’s from the thrift store or swap meet. Last month i bought a lebron james rookie year bobblehead w/ card enclosed. i even have some space jam jordan figurines put away somewhere
Love the video! Love the message. This video brought me back to my Toys R Us days of hunting for starting lineups. I used to buy and sell and flip them. Been out of the game for more than 15 years. I think I might get back into it. I appreciate this video and the content! Good Times
Thanks for watching Bob! Glad the video could bring back some good memories
I've got a 199? MCFARLANE John LeClair without a stick in the package. Always wondered if the error added any value.
When I got back into the hobby in 16 I thought about this and grabbed all the starting lineups I could find! Still missing MJ tho lol
It’s no problem to find them on eBay
An AFA 85 is equivalent to a PSA 10.
AFA 90 is like a Black Label BGS 10..almost nonexistent. 95s are impossible for anything vintage. I have done star Wars for a long time
Thanks for this info, helpful!
Never could get into those mainly because of the space they would take up. Who Dat from a fellow Saints fan. Nostalgia hit me when you mentioned Ironhead.
Who DAT?!? The Dome Patrol Saints were fun to watch. Best LB core ever imo
I agree , but still really like them deep down. ..
Do these do well? If I buy a old hordan from 1988 is it gonna be slimy or sticky like some old marvel toys?
Lol I suppose anything you buy from 1988 could be slimy or sticky 😆
Bought two lebron reds and one white months ago. Seemed like a solid investment. Glad to see someone else thought so as well 😂 another great video man. Keep up the awesome content
Thanks Garrett!
Never knew they graded those ! Like the Jordan warm up suit 1 on eBay
That is a 1990 Bo Jackson he does have an 89 baseball piece but his first football piece is 1990
I have about 100 reasons I hope SLUs increase in value.
Fair enough Paul! lol
Great video Dustin. Question...have you looked into Bobbleheads for sports stars? I have a 2001 All-Star for Kobe Bryant.
Haven't looked into bobble heads yet, will research it though!
I collected a few back in the day. If you truly like them then buy them but I don't see them as a good investment.
Fair enough Da
That Bo Jackson is sweet! I have a ton of McFarlane Sports Picks in the attic, hope they make a comeback soon. Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods had a line of figures called Pro Shots which are awesome, you should check them out. Great video as always man.
Thanks Mike! I need to check out those Pro Shots you mentioned
Awesome episode!
I'm a huge Dominique Wilkins and Deion Sanders fan. I own all Niques and both sports for Deion. I have Niques McFarlanes too. The only one I'm missing is the Wilkins/Barkley duo. Still out of my price range. 😫
Keep it up Dustin!
Thanks Joe!
Do you have the Shaq figures? These werent SLUs either but they made one in Shaq's LSU un iform.
Great vid
Have a ton of Starting Lineups and alot of early year Macfarlanes. Still waiting for them to spike
Had an Mj rookie starting lineup I picked up years ago. Sold it for 20 right before prices blew up. Oh well lol
Ah dang
That’s actually a 1990 Bo Jackson. There is an 89 version that’s his rookie piece that’s pretty tough to find
I have 2 of the Bo jackson rookie ones 👍🏽
Don't forget KayBee Toys!!!
Yes! Kaybee was the best
I have a large collection but haven't had any graded... yet.
Have you noticed the Kelly Gruber Starting lineup has an error. The hat on the coin is an orioles hat. Would this make the value go up? Or no... because it's Kelly Gruber???
Didn't know about this one. Have seen some error SLU (one even upside down in the box) lol
I have around 500 different SLUs if I had to guess. Enough to start a small museum. Lol!.
That's awesome Steven!
The 'print runs' on SLUs are much lower than cards, so you would think they'd have greater value. I guess McFarlane ruined this with his more lifelike figurines.
Have over 1,000 figures all still M.O.C
wow!
What about Headliners?
I showed some of my Headliners in the video!
Yes I saw those and they're great. But do you remember the little sports figures called Headliners. The head was a little bigger.
I have many starting lineups waiting for a comeback..
Remember NFL Series 1 Mcfarlane no helmets - these things were the rarest of rare - I used to dream about the Urlacher no helmet- can’t believe most are around $125 on eBay after just looking - thoughts on the no helmets? I might try to get the set since they have come down so much
I need to look into these. Thanks for sharing!
cool stuff
Not to be the "well actually...." guy but well.....actually.....😒 Bo "didn't know" Oakland. Bo Jackson played for the LOS ANGELES Raiders and not Oakland Raiders. From 1982 thru 1995 The Raiders were in LA. 😁
I'm a collector been off and on since the 90s. I love these figures and we have a awesome group on Facebook Kenner starting lineup check it out Joe Curcio is the admin and has a ton of knowledge
will check it out!
🤑
I personally don't like them. I just bought the mj and a few others goats just for the cards and sold the package/figure for some decent amount
I’d rather collect McFarlane, if I had the room to collect dolls.
Topps is going public and you decided not to cover it, 🤔
Separate video coming
to many fake cards out there as far as I no there are no fake line ups. I have quite a few of them but my thing is. The older toys like the Broadway joe dolls and the Dr J dolls and Oj Simpson dolls and the Gretzky dolls. But spent plenty of gas looking for SLU.
They already had there day I was one of the Kings of Starting Lineups. I was selling them for $1500.00
And those LeBron James are not SLUs. Lol!
Yes! Correct McFarlane. Wanted to include them as well though
🤑