Sports Card Collecting

[WillUSAF 226]

On 7/8/2021 at 12:18 PM, OU Sucks said:

This may be old news for most of you, but for those of you just getting back into collecting like I am, just know that there's a shit ton of blatant shill bidding happening on eBay.  Here's a cheap card I was following yesterday...I noticed there was a flurry of bids all of a sudden (on a not-very-popular card with few watchers), and looked at the bid history.  These were all actual bids and not automatic ones:

Notice how the shill bidder/seller kept inching up the price by a dollar until they hit the other bidder's max, then retracted the over-bid that had them winning their own card.  Even more damning is looking at that bidder's stats:

2,654 bids in 30 days, 99% of which are only for one seller (himself).  Then a whopping 200 bid retractions in a month.  The nail in the coffin is only having 74 lifetime feedback for that many bids over the course of just a month.  And eBay doesn't do a single thing about it.  Remembering how sleazy some of these people are definitely puts a damper on me getting back into the hobby.  Virtually every card I've been watching from various sellers has the same shady stuff going on.

PWCC just got kicked off of Ebay because they were caught doing this. They had thousands of auctions taking off and can no longer sell. I'm glad. Companies like this are killing our hobby. This isn't the first time that PWCC has been caught cheating. There are other companies on Ebay that we all know do this. Lets hope this ends all of the bullshit for good. 

[conVINCEd 21469]

On 7/29/2021 at 8:17 PM, LW Goatman said:

I was huge into collecting as a kid, even had a table at a couple of small card shows around the metroplex. Well one guy wrote me a hot check in Richardson for my 1961 Mickey Mantle card (was saving for a nice Ryan rookie). I can still see that fuckers face and that was over 25 years ago.

Also, I'm back dabbling into cards because my kid gets a kick out of it. There is a new scam where people are trimming cards in order to center them for grading. 

We probably know each other.

[OU Sucks 8797]

1 hour ago, WillUSAF said:

PWCC just got kicked off of Ebay because they were caught doing this. They had thousands of auctions taking off and can no longer sell. I'm glad. Companies like this are killing our hobby. This isn't the first time that PWCC has been caught cheating. There are other companies on Ebay that we all know do this. Lets hope this ends all of the bullshit for good. 

Glad they got called out for it.  I just read an article about it and thought PWCC's reply was hilarious:

Quote

PWCC, in a statement, said its executives were “shocked” to hear of the accusations presented by eBay. That eBay allegedly never presented them with such evidence and that “to PWCC’s knowledge, its employees have never engaged in any behavior that violates eBay’s agreements and policies.”

PWCC said it is considering “all available legal options in response to eBay’s defamatory press release and its bad faith action to restrict PWCC’s privileges on eBay.”

LOL, shocked I tell you.  We make our listings private for the privacy of our customers....not to shill bid up the ass without the buyer realizing it!!1

It would be great if these companies suffered some real legal action over stuff like this and the card trimming.

[conVINCEd 21469]

On 7/29/2021 at 8:17 PM, LW Goatman said:

I was huge into collecting as a kid, even had a table at a couple of small card shows around the metroplex. Well one guy wrote me a hot check in Richardson for my 1961 Mickey Mantle card (was saving for a nice Ryan rookie). I can still see that fuckers face and that was over 25 years ago.

Also, I'm back dabbling into cards because my kid gets a kick out of it. There is a new scam where people are trimming cards in order to center them for grading. 

Also, trimming is not new.  Been around for a long time.  You can also flatten a card to expand it’s size by a few mms so when you trim it to fix the centering or sharpen the corners it still measures within acceptable parameters.  High grade stuff isn’t my thing, but any vintage cards with razor sharp corners are automatically suspect to me unless there is some provenance.

[conVINCEd 21469]

1 hour ago, OU Sucks said:

Glad they got called out for it.  I just read an article about it and thought PWCC's reply was hilarious:

LOL, shocked I tell you.  We make our listings private for the privacy of our customers....not to shill bid up the ass without the buyer realizing it!!1

It would be great if these companies suffered some real legal action over stuff like this and the card trimming.

There are actually some people who have done time over stuff like shill bidding, but it’s rare.  When you are shill bidding $100 auctions on eBay nothing will happen, when you fuck over millionaires on 6 figure items, watch your cornhole.  
 

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/former-owner-mastro-auctions-sentenced-20-months-federal-prison-shill-bidding-scam

Edited August 19, 2021 by conVINCEd

[WillUSAF 226]

21 hours ago, OU Sucks said:

Glad they got called out for it.  I just read an article about it and thought PWCC's reply was hilarious:

LOL, shocked I tell you.  We make our listings private for the privacy of our customers....not to shill bid up the ass without the buyer realizing it!!1

It would be great if these companies suffered some real legal action over stuff like this and the card trimming.

I had to read it twice because I couldn't believe what I was reading. The second time I got a good laugh from it. They are such a fucked up company. I never bought anything from them (thank goodness). I hope they NEVER sell 1 more card in our hobby.

[WillUSAF 226]

19 hours ago, conVINCEd said:

There are actually some people who have done time over stuff like shill bidding, but it’s rare.  When you are shill bidding $100 auctions on eBay nothing will happen, when you fuck over millionaires on 6 figure items, watch your cornhole.  
 

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/former-owner-mastro-auctions-sentenced-20-months-federal-prison-shill-bidding-scam

WOW I never heard of this case or the company for that matter. I'm not a high roller. I'm glad they got time. But reading the link you sent I think they should have gotten more!

Hope to see PWCC go bye bye like they did

[conVINCEd 21469]

35 minutes ago, WillUSAF said:

WOW I never heard of this case or the company for that matter. I'm not a high roller. I'm glad they got time. But reading the link you sent I think they should have gotten more!

Hope to see PWCC go bye bye like they did

They were the big swinging dick in the sports memorabilia world at the time they were busted.

[WillUSAF 226]

 MLB is taking their license from Topps after the contract is up and the license will be going to Fanatics 

With a Frenzy of Deals, Fanatics Swoops In to Reorder the Trading-Card World - WSJ

Edited August 20, 2021 by WillUSAF

[shnsajax 3591]

1 hour ago, WillUSAF said:

 MLB is taking their license from Topps after the contract is up and the license will be going to Fanatics 

With a Frenzy of Deals, Fanatics Swoops In to Reorder the Trading-Card World - WSJ

This just seems wrong.

[Macanudo 12974]

19 hours ago, shnsajax said:

This just seems wrong.

No shit.   Expect all sorts of shitty stuff once Fanatics is in charge.

[shnsajax 3591]

1 hour ago, Macanudo said:

No shit.   Expect all sorts of shitty stuff once Fanatics is in charge.

Sounded like the leagues will have a % of ownership in this as well. 

[BoomMF 1398]

I have quite a few cards in PWCC's Vault. I should probably have them ship them back (for a crazy fee, no doubt).

[Tex-19 2872]

Has anyone ever tried one of these sports card marketplace sites like Starstock or Alt? If so, what have your experiences been like?

Just came across them from a WSJ video and it awakened my inner nerdy child from when I was big into baseball cards

[Jackson P. Neighbors 136]

I completely forgot about my cards when I left for Austin in 96 and really thought they were thrown away/lost from moms house until a couple years ago. Like many have said here, my faves are the ones I remember buying in the 80's using lawn mowing funds. Growing up, there was a pretty awesome card shop a 10 minute bike ride away, so spent a ton of time there. Crazy, but all my complete sets and hand organized binders were all still there in my old closet. As well as all my "good cards" in shoeboxes. Thanks mom.

No idea at all what anything is worth and don't care, I'm happy just looking at all of 'em now. A few ones I pulled out: 

 

[Jackson P. Neighbors 136]

Nolan signed that card for me at a Beckett card convention at the Ft. Worth convention center sometime in the late 80's. There was a gun show going on in the hall next door so I vividly remember a bunch of camo-clad dudes with shouldered rifles and shotguns just wandering through the aisles looking at all the cards. 

[BurdineBandit 815]

I have a bit of a newfound interest in the hobby.  Drove down to South Austin last weekend since I saw there was a newer collectible shop open in Austin, finally, and bought a blaster box of basketball and a hanger box of baseball for about $70 total. The hobby is enjoying a resurgence, but seems like a shit time to be getting back into it for the consumer. Panini runs basketball and football, and shit is severely overpriced. I remembered that old feeling of wasting money after opening the boxes. $70 worth of shit singles and inserts. The one that excited me was a Josh Primo (Spurs) rookie parallel that looks great, but might fetch $4 on Ebay. To top it off I paid $40 for a Donruss basketball blaster that sells for $25 on Target's website. The local guys were really cool and helpful and outgoing, but fuck man. 60% markup? And you're telling me how much you love your wholesaler and how much they hook you up while I'm there. And how you visit walmart weekly to make sure you're staying price competitive.....  That's on me though, I should've comp'd the prices before going in. 

 

Most notable card thing to happen in the past month was finding my old Upper Deck Victory Tom Brady rookie card, that I'm pretty sure I bought at a Tri-Star show in Houston as a teenager (no way I had the guts to spend more than $10-15 to spend on a single card).... going for $300+ on ebay raw. Going to get that one graded though, it's selling for $500+ at a Mint 9. Mine seems to be in really good condition.

[Scraps 13560]

If you really want to waste money download the whatnot app and you can get into any sports card breaks by the minute.

I pulled some amazing shit off there, but also paid a shit ton over time. I had to bail in like February lol

[drewlaws 126]

I was huge into baseball cards growing up in the 90s. I would go to the card shop weekly and visit the card shows that came to town or when taking family trips.

My parents have been asking me to take them out of their house for 15 years which I did in December. Looking through them was a wonderful experience. I was texting my childhood friend all sorts of great memories. I bought him a box of '89 Upper Deck for a groomsman gift. Alas, no Junior RC. He still dabbles in the hobby, primarily autographs.

The most valuable card I have is the one that actually triggered the end of the hobby for me. It is a 1999 Flair Showcase Legacy Collection Griffey. It was 1 of 99, the most rare card I had ever pulled, and it was my all time favorite player. I was 15 or so at the time and figured how could I ever top that. I've seen them on ebay for $1500+ but Beckett online says its $200-$500 depending on condition. It's well preserved but not graded. I also found an EX-2001 ARod signature card, a few refractors (Bernie Williams, Piazza, McGuire), Maddux RC.

I have full sets of 1998 Topps Finest, 1998 EX-2001 and 1997 SPX. The Finest set has become discolored even though it was in protective sleeves. I remember loving the die cut SPX set. Of course, I have thousands and thousands of common cards from the early and mid nineties.

When I set up my new office/man space, I am going to purchase some bucket list collectibles to display - autographed Griffey jersey and PSA 10 Griffey RC. I also will get a VY signed jersey and Spieth and Scheffler Masters flags - to add to my signed Tiger Woods and signed Crenshaw Masters flags. 

Edited April 20, 2022 by drewlaws

[UT_OB1 2213]

On 3/10/2021 at 7:12 PM, BoomMF said:

This is a shot of the display case with the important cards and sports figures from my youth as well as cards I picked up recently of players that were important growing up but I didn't have the funds then to collect the good stuff. (Cutoff to the right is Magic and Texas players collection. The Magic collection, for value, absolutely dwarfs the sports cards total in about a 10th the quantity of cards. But that's another story for another time.) If it's in this case and PSA graded, it's a 9 or a 10. And speaking of crazy prices recently, about 3 Super Bowl wins ago I picked up a PSA 10 (hologramed) 2001 Brady Black Diamond because, of the affordable Brady rookies, it looked by far the best - cool design and coloring. I paid $140. It's been selling at auction from between $5000 (non hologramed) and $10000 (hologramed) within the past few weeks. Jesus.

That 1996 Kobe is also a PSA 10 that I got a few years ago for about $60. It's 5 digits now as well.

Thinking about cashing out my childhood, but probably won't because I'm a sentimental fool.

Are you sitting on a ~$50k black lotus?  Is that alpha Serra?

[BurdineBandit 815]

22 hours ago, drewlaws said:

I was huge into baseball cards growing up in the 90s. I would go to the card shop weekly and visit the card shows that came to town or when taking family trips.

My parents have been asking me to take them out of their house for 15 years which I did in December. Looking through them was a wonderful experience. I was texting my childhood friend all sorts of great memories. I bought him a box of '89 Upper Deck for a groomsman gift. Alas, no Junior RC. He still dabbles in the hobby, primarily autographs.

The most valuable card I have is the one that actually triggered the end of the hobby for me. It is a 1999 Flair Showcase Legacy Collection Griffey. It was 1 of 99, the most rare card I had ever pulled, and it was my all time favorite player. I was 15 or so at the time and figured how could I ever top that. I've seen them on ebay for $1500+ but Beckett online says its $200-$500 depending on condition. It's well preserved but not graded. I also found an EX-2001 ARod signature card, a few refractors (Bernie Williams, Piazza, McGuire), Maddux RC.

The best advice I seem to have gotten since getting back into the hobby (half-assed) is to search ebay for sold items. You have to scroll down on filters but it's there. The last 99 Showcase Legacy Collection Griffey to sell was a 9.5 SGC-graded, went for $1500 plus. The days of Beckett are over, the market is basically what people will pay online. That's a sick card, can't seem to find any others on ebay, which makes sense because it's /99. 

 

I've been doing the same cleaning out since my dad is selling his home in Houston. I took a bin home of my old high school shit and I have plenty of loose cards I had left behind. Found a Troy Polamalu SP Authentic Rookie /2200 that I wouldn't have thought much of, but it's going for $100+ on ebay. Might triple in value if I can send it in and get a 9 or higher out of it. It's pretty sharp. Don't forget about those stars that maybe you didn't think about much but others might. 

[Armybrat 40821]

I only have two cards...

 

[drewlaws 126]

The best advice I seem to have gotten since getting back into the hobby (half-assed) is to search ebay for sold items. You have to scroll down on filters but it's there. The last 99 Showcase Legacy Collection Griffey to sell was a 9.5 SGC-graded, went for $1500 plus. The days of Beckett are over, the market is basically what people will pay online. That's a sick card, can't seem to find any others on ebay, which makes sense because it's /99. 
 
I've been doing the same cleaning out since my dad is selling his home in Houston. I took a bin home of my old high school shit and I have plenty of loose cards I had left behind. Found a Troy Polamalu SP Authentic Rookie /2200 that I wouldn't have thought much of, but it's going for $100+ on ebay. Might triple in value if I can send it in and get a 9 or higher out of it. It's pretty sharp. Don't forget about those stars that maybe you didn't think about much but others might. 

Good info, thanks. I have heard the graders are super backed up. I’m sure it’s a significant hit to value to sell ungraded?

I also found a Fleer Ultra Gold David Ortiz (Arias on the card) RC. That was my best “find” when I went through them since I never knew I had the card.

[BurdineBandit 815]

14 hours ago, drewlaws said:

Good info, thanks. I have heard the graders are super backed up. I’m sure it’s a significant hit to value to sell ungraded?

I also found a Fleer Ultra Gold David Ortiz (Arias on the card) RC. That was my best “find” when I went through them since I never knew I had the card.

In general yeah you can probably wrangle a few hundred more out of a card like that if it's graded well. But if it's sitting at an 8 or lower, you might as well keep it raw. If you're selling it on ebay though, you can set your minimum and go from there. 

[BoomMF 1398]

Are you sitting on a ~$50k black lotus?  Is that alpha Serra?

Probably not $50k. It's an ungraded beta, but should pull a 6 without much issue. The Serra is beta too. I don't have any alphas. I got into Magic during Antiquities/Legends, back when that beta Black Lotus could fetch about $200 from some desperate sucker,, and even then alphas were rare.

[UT_OB1 2213]

4 minutes ago, BoomMF said:

On 4/20/2022 at 11:55 PM, UT_OB1 said:

Are you sitting on a ~$50k black lotus?  Is that alpha Serra?

Probably not $50k. It's an ungraded beta, but should pull a 6 without much issue. The Serra is beta too. I don't have any alphas. I got into Magic during Antiquities/Legends, back when that beta Black Lotus could fetch about $200 from some desperate sucker,, and even then alphas were rare.

I started in 4th edition.  Saved up my allowance to buy super expensive (to me) $20 dual lands a few times (which I lost or were stolen over the years). Always wanted to buy a black lotus but $300 was a lot for a 7th / 8th grader. Couldn’t believe people spent that much. Still hard to believe it would have been a good investment and worth more per ounce than gold. They’ve lost a lot of their value with reprints, but best I was ever sitting on was a set of FS Goyfs, all the shock lands, most of the sac/search lands. Getting married and having kids really put a dent in my playing time and money.  Kids are getting old enough they are learning though 

[T’Boo Ted Marshall 2731]

Good info, thanks. I have heard the graders are super backed up.

Had drinks with my buddy at Beckett and they have over 40k to be graded.

[OU Sucks 8797]

On 5/4/2022 at 10:48 PM, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

Had drinks with my buddy at Beckett and they have over 40k to be graded.

Can your buddy at Beckett please make sure my Burrow Auto RC comes back at least a 9.5?  Thanks in advance!

PS: It's probably a 8.5-9 at best.

Edited June 7, 2022 by OU Sucks

[CleverNickname 1308]

Guess who had a delta 8 gummy and ordered two kitty cat baseball cards? This guy!

[statsman 5450]

I don’t collect cards, but I do collect other UT sports memorabilia. I see where eBay has this “vault” where they (physically?) store your card collection. Does that mean there is a database of who has what? Can that facilitate trades?

 

[yoladu 4090]

i have some fleer, donruss, and topps baseball sets from  '79, '80, 81'.

Weren't worth much last time i looked. Used to "store" them in old velveeta boxes back as a kid - they fit perfectly.

 

[Prepuce of Doom 21052]

Doomlet came home from school today with what might be the least valuable basketball card in the world, which some other kid gave to him. 

He's completely spellbound by the idea of sports trading cards, and wants to start buying basketball cards. 

He obviously has no idea what a messy shitshow the entire scene is, and frankly, neither do I anymore, but what brand of basketball cards should I steer him towards? Cheap and durable are the two most desired characteristics. He's likely going to look at them constantly - no interest in seeking whatever passes for collectability these days. 

[Boerne Horn 418]

 

Pulled this on Whatnot last night to add to the collection.

[Slacks 6819]

On 8/18/2021 at 5:53 PM, WillUSAF said:

 

I did not intend to quote that...

14 hours ago, Prepuce of Doom said:

Doomlet came home from school today with what might be the least valuable basketball card in the world, which some other kid gave to him. 

He's completely spellbound by the idea of sports trading cards, and wants to start buying basketball cards. 

He obviously has no idea what a messy shitshow the entire scene is, and frankly, neither do I anymore, but what brand of basketball cards should I steer him towards? Cheap and durable are the two most desired characteristics. He's likely going to look at them constantly - no interest in seeking whatever passes for collectability these days. 

My oldest son has been playing Doom a lot lately... I've started calling him 'Doomlet' and think of you every time I do.

Having said that, I have THOUSANDS of old baseball trading cards that I got from @Macanudo about 10 years ago. If you want some, let me know. My kids aren't interested in them. I'm not interested in selling them, but passing some on to a kid is what I'm here for.

Edited February 25, 2023 by Slacks
Crappy skills and swypos

[Prepuce of Doom 21052]

33 minutes ago, Slacks said:

I did not intend to quote that...

My oldest son has been playing Doom a lot lately... I've started calling him 'Doomlet' and think of you every time I do.

Having said that, I have THOUSANDS of old baseball trading cards that I got from @Macanudo about 10 years ago. If you want some, let me know. My kids aren't interested in them. I'm not interested in selling them, but passing some on to a kid is what I'm here for.

I really appreciate the offer, but they would be wasted on him. He's all in on basketball and has little interest in baseball, and probably won't develop much, if any - I only halfway pay attention to baseball once the playoffs start, so he's not going to pick much up from me. Plus I'm kind of avoiding the hassle of having to explain all the rules of baseball to him...

[Henry Hill 3156]

8 minutes ago, Prepuce of Doom said:

I really appreciate the offer, but they would be wasted on him. He's all in on basketball and has little interest in baseball, and probably won't develop much, if any - I only halfway pay attention to baseball once the playoffs start, so he's not going to pick much up from me. Plus I'm kind of avoiding the hassle of having to explain all the rules of baseball to him...

To get him into the hobby, it’s hard to go wrong with retail (Walmart, Target, etc.) offerings of Panini Prizm, Select, Donruss Optic and NBA Hoops. He’ll get some really cool cards with potentially a few hits (relics and/or autos) without you having to break the bank. Most boxes and mega boxes are <$50 and hanger packs are even less.

Hobby boxes are steep - I’ve looked at getting a box of the Cadillac of basketball offerings, National Treasures, but can’t quite justify having to explain a ~$6k purchase for a pack of cards.

Stay away from group breaks, razzes and the grifters on Whatnot. You can burn through so much money without having anything but regret to show for it.

[Prepuce of Doom 21052]

7 minutes ago, Henry Hill said:

To get him into the hobby, it’s hard to go wrong with retail (Walmart, Target, etc.) offerings of Panini Prizm, Select, Donruss Optic and NBA Hoops. He’ll get some really cool cards with potentially a few hits (relics and/or autos) without you having to break the bank. Most boxes and mega boxes are <$50 and hanger packs are even less.

Hobby boxes are steep - I’ve looked at getting a box of the Cadillac of basketball offerings, National Treasures, but can’t quite justify having to explain a ~$6k purchase for a pack of cards.

Stay away from group breaks, razzes and the grifters on Whatnot. You can burn through so much money without having anything but regret to show for it.

Cool - thanks!

I'm basically looking to figure out what would be the equivalent of mid- to late '80s Donruss - volume over quality. He's going to pore obsessively over them, and they will end up grubby and creased before he moves on to his next obsession. I don't really want to get him worried about complete sets, future value, condition/preservation, etc., just because he would go overboard...

[patrickdrinksbeer 788]

Sorry, wrong link.

https://instagram.com/thepryancollection?igshid=iu6e4gsoqbih

I’ve known p.ryan since we were underclassmen at UT and recently visited his house to see his collection in person. it’s really amazing. seeing his stuff and also reading Ball Four and Joe Posnanski’s Baseball 100 last year gave me the itch to get into some vintage cards. as a kid i started with ‘87 topps but always loved the look of the 1971 set. decided i’d try to collect every HoF from that set. took a couple months, but got all the players plus the managers who were elected as players.

[Scraps 13560]

Sent in my first ever submissions to PSA a month ago and got them back yesterday. Was hoping for a 10 on this one and got it.

[drewlaws 126]

Sent in my first ever submissions to PSA a month ago and got them back yesterday. Was hoping for a 10 on this one and got it.

What was the process like? I have a few cards I want to get graded. I know PSA was always the gold standard but do people look down on other graders like Beckett?

[Slacks 6819]

3 hours ago, Prepuce of Doom said:

I really appreciate the offer, but they would be wasted on him. He's all in on basketball and has little interest in baseball, and probably won't develop much, if any - I only halfway pay attention to baseball once the playoffs start, so he's not going to pick much up from me. Plus I'm kind of avoiding the hassle of having to explain all the rules of baseball to him...

Same. My oldest doesn't care about sports at all. Youngest is all basketball.

No Cards At All

[Slacks 6819]

1 hour ago, patrickdrinksbeer said:

I’ve known p.ryan since we were underclassmen at UT and recently visited his house to see his collection in person. it’s really amazing. seeing his stuff and also reading Ball Four and Joe Posnanski’s Baseball 100 last year gave me the itch to get into some vintage cards. as a kid i started with ‘87 topps but always loved the look of the 1971 set. decided i’d try to collect every HoF from that set. took a couple months, but got all the players plus the managers who were elected as players.

P Ryan still around here? Haven't seen that dude in years.

[patrickdrinksbeer 788]

P Ryan still around here? Haven't seen that dude in years.

he’s still in houston. built a wildly successful company with a business partner and now focuses a ton of time and energy (and cash) on sports collectibles.

[Slacks 6819]

1 hour ago, patrickdrinksbeer said:

he’s still in houston. built a wildly successful company with a business partner and now focuses a ton of time and energy (and cash) on sports collectibles.

Last time I met up with him, he was talking about doing something new, in addition to the tickets... I figured he'd do well. 

[dcar00 14150]

On 2/25/2023 at 3:42 PM, patrickdrinksbeer said:

I’ve known p.ryan since we were underclassmen at UT and recently visited his house to see his collection in person. it’s really amazing. seeing his stuff and also reading Ball Four and Joe Posnanski’s Baseball 100 last year gave me the itch to get into some vintage cards. as a kid i started with ‘87 topps but always loved the look of the 1971 set. decided i’d try to collect every HoF from that set. took a couple months, but got all the players plus the managers who were elected as players.

those are damn nice cards. 71 such a great set with the black borders. right before Covid hit in late 2019 I finally pulled out all my cards from 70's and early 80's.  My goal was to complete all the Topps sets from 70 to 85 for football and baseball. luckily I had a good amount of the HOF baseball from 1973 on and bought some  nice ebay lots of 70, 71, 73 right before the Covid bounce happened.  Found a guy selling the first 4 series of 1970 baseball on craigslist in Ex condition for $100.

My 71 set is probably VgEx to Ex overall.  I was more looking to complete the sets by finding deals vs. trying to get something that would be PSA 7+

I still need to finish 72 and 73 baseball.  72 is a bitch for high numbers.  have 72(1-263) to 90 complete for football.  not sure if I will ever complete 70/71 football.  

I also found I had 80-81 topps basketball set with Magic Bird and nice hockey with Lemieux rookie, Roy rookie.

[Henry Hill 3156]

On 2/25/2023 at 4:43 PM, drewlaws said:

What was the process like? I have a few cards I want to get graded. I know PSA was always the gold standard but do people look down on other graders like Beckett?

PSA has a portal to create submissions by card type and service level. Very straightforward process and turnaround time for my last bulk submission was ~2 months (down from the ~year plus at the peak of Covid card mania). PSA Gem Mint 10s outperform BGS’ Gem Mint equivalent of 9.5s and hold their value well. BGS Pristine 10s and black label 10s (perfect quad 10 sub grades) are pretty rare but will boost values significantly.

PSA and BGS are tops in the industry with SCG being a distant third, IMO. Covid brought in so many grading companies that will essentially slab your cards with meaningless grades on the cheap. If you’re going to do it, go with PSA or BGS.

[Henry Hill 3156]

On 2/25/2023 at 2:07 PM, Prepuce of Doom said:

Cool - thanks!

I'm basically looking to figure out what would be the equivalent of mid- to late '80s Donruss - volume over quality. He's going to pore obsessively over them, and they will end up grubby and creased before he moves on to his next obsession. I don't really want to get him worried about complete sets, future value, condition/preservation, etc., just because he would go overboard...

I’d go with retail Panini NBA Hoops or Donruss. They are bottom tier products you can snag at Walmart/Target that have hanger packs of ~30 cards for $6-$7 and blaster boxes of ~90-120 cards for $20-$30.

[Scraps 13560]

What was the process like? I have a few cards I want to get graded. I know PSA was always the gold standard but do people look down on other graders like Beckett?

Fairly easy. You just fill out submission online then have to follow step by step instructions on how to pack and ship the cards. I only did 4 cards since it was my first time and it cost me like $114 after everything was said and done. I got them back in a month. On your account they have a step by step process where they show you when it moves along to next step and mine stayed accurate to that.

You can probably get them done cheaper elsewhere, but I (and probably most collectors) hold PSA as gold standard so I paid more to go with them instead of one of the cheaper ones.

[Scraps 13560]

On 2/25/2023 at 12:50 PM, Boerne Horn said:

 

Pulled this on Whatnot last night to add to the collection.

Whatnot is the devil lol. Not really, cool app but jesus christ you can spend a shit ton of money so fast because there is always something going on.  I get on there for baseball breaks all the time.  Gamechanger for collectors for sure.  

[Prepuce of Doom 21052]

Doomlet has a cheapo combination safe where he stores his "valuables."

He's recently removed the ~$250 collectible silver coin gifted to him by an old relative, and replaced it with that tattered Matty Goukas card. 

He's got a $24 set of Panini basketball cards en route right now, and has already jumped headlong into the obsession. 

Brought this home from school yesterday:

 

Edited February 28, 2023 by Prepuce of Doom