Donruss is a legendary brand in the baseball card industry known for its iconic designs and focus on photography. In 2021, Donruss released its highly anticipated “2021 Donruss Baseball” set which featured a retro design paying homage to classic 1980s Donruss issues. This release was met with much fanfare and demand among collectors. Here we will take an in-depth look at the 2021 Donruss Baseball set and analyze what cards from the release have been in high demand on the popular online marketplace eBay.
The 2021 Donruss Baseball set marked the brand’s return to the baseball card landscape after several years away. It contained 396 total cards including base rookie and veteran players as well as inserts. The design was a throwback to the 1980s “traded” sets that featured bold colors, team logos, and large action photos of the players. This retro style was very popular among collectors nostalgic for the old Donruss look. The photo quality and card stock were also praised for being an upgrade over recent Donruss releases of the past decade.
Some of the most coveted rookie cards in the set included Wander Franco, Luis Robert, Cristian Pache, and Jarred Kelenic. With Robert and Franco being two of the game’s brightest young stars, their rookie cards were hot commodities. Within weeks of the product’s release, PSA 10 and BGS 9.5 graded versions of these rookies were commanding prices well over $100 on eBay. The hype around these players, combined with the retro Donruss design, made their cards a must-have for collectors.
In addition to the star rookies, veterans Mike Trout, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Ronald Acuña Jr. also had highly sought after base cards. Their popularity as some of baseball’s best active players, along with the rarity of their autographed and memorabilia cards in the set, resulted in huge eBay sales. Pristine Trout and Tatis autographs were selling for thousands within the first month after release. Acuña’s 1/1 printing plate autograph even went for well over $10,000. These three superstars anchored the demand from high-end collectors.
Several popular inserts in the 2021 Donruss Baseball set also found high prices on the secondary market. The “Diamond Kings” parallels, featuring refractors of the game’s elite on dazzling card designs, moved quickly. A BGS 9.5 graded Mike Trout Diamond Kings sold for over $700. Rated Rookies, Stadium Club, and Base Kings parallels containing the star young players like Robert and Franco did very well too. Even base parallels like the Green /499 and Gold /50 sold out quickly online with the hottest names.
The retro design also led to strong secondary market reception for vintage-style inserts like “Turn Back The Clock”. Featuring older photos of current players in classic uniforms, these were a big hit. Autographs and memorabilia from set-exclusive inserts such as “Donruss Originals” and “Diamond Anniversary” also found very high prices. Collectors loved the throwback aesthetic and were willing to spend for cards styled after the 1980s Donruss issues they remembered from childhood.
While base cards and less valuable inserts from the 2021 Donruss Baseball release can still be found on eBay for affordable prices, the premium rookie cards, parallels, and autographs have remained largely out of reach for most collectors. This is a testament to how much demand there was right out of the gate for the set’s most coveted cards, especially of stars like Trout, Tatis, Robert and the other big names. For a modern-day release to sell out of PSA 10 rookies so quickly and command such high prices shows just how much collectors appreciated Donruss’ return to form with this retro-styled set paying homage to their rich history in the hobby. The strong initial sales and aftermarket reception bode well for the brand’s future in the baseball card industry.
The 2021 Donruss Baseball release was a major success story that captivated collectors upon its release. Rookie cards of emerging talents and superstar veterans alike immediately found huge demand and prices on the influential eBay marketplace. While affordability has remained an issue for the set’s most elite cards, Donruss re-established themselves as a premier brand producing highly sought after modern and vintage-inspired baseball cards. Their retro design philosophy resonated strongly with collectors and led to one of the breakout card releases of 2021. It will be exciting to see where Donruss and this newfound momentum goes in future years.
