The 1982 Topps baseball card set is one of the more unique issues from the boom years of the 1970s and 1980s. What makes this particular set stand out compared to regular Topps issues from other years is that it was exclusively sold through Kmart retail stores. Because of its limited distribution channel, the 1982 Topps Kmart baseball cards have developed a strong cult following among collectors. Let’s take a deeper look at the background and current value of these special edition cards.
In 1982, Topps signed an exclusive deal with Kmart to produce 200 card sets that would only be available for purchase in Kmart stores. This was done as a promotion to drive customers into Kmart locations during the baseball season. Each wax pack contained five common cards and one bonus card that was either a star player, rookie, or insert. Some of the rookies included in the set were Kirby Puckett, Darren Daulton, and Jeff Reardon. In addition to standard base cards, the 1982 Topps Kmart set included Special Offer cards that readers could mail away for to receive baseball cards from past years.
At the time of release in 1982, the exclusive Kmart distribution meant these cards were not as widely available as the flagship Topps set released in hobby shops and convenience stores. This scarcity led to the cards having increased demand among collectors looking to complete their 1982 collections. Even though production numbers were only in the low hundreds of thousands compared to the millions printed for the standard Topps issue, they were inexpensive to acquire if found on Kmart shelves in the early 80s.
Fast forward to today in 2022, and the limited original print run of the 1982 Topps Kmart cards combined with strong nostalgia has made them significantly more valuable than typical 1982 Topps commons in worn condition. Near mint examples of common players can sell for $10-25 while stars are $50-100. The real keys to value are rookie cards, short prints, and the elusive Special Offer mail-away cards. Rookies of Puckett, Daulton, and Reardon in good shape will bring $150-500. Short prints under the 100,000 print mark can sell for over $100. And finding an intact Special Offer card still attached to its original offer form could net a collector well over $1000.
When it comes to grading, the earlier Kmart exclusive distribution means these cards are scarcer in high grades compared to the main Topps issue. An example is Mike Schmidt’s card, which is a standard $5-10 card in PSA 8 from the Topps set but demands $50-100 in the same grade from 1982 Topps Kmart due to rarity. This price gap grows even larger the higher the card grade, with pristine PSA 10 examples of stars reaching four figures. Rookie cards that crossover to the GM are particularly desirable for truecompletionists.
While plenty of common 1982 Topps Kmart baseball cards can still be found affordably to collect for nostalgia purposes, the combination of the issue’s limited original sales outlet and the passing of time has made high grade examples, stars, and especially the tough rookie cards quite valuable to dedicated vintage collectors. Examples still attached to mailer redemption forms for the never-redeemed Special Offer cards represent some of the true condition census-level gems from this exclusive mini-set buried in the 1980s card boom. With the right card in the right grade with the right story behind it, a 1982 Topps Kmart card today could easily command a four-figure price tag.
