Any of you guys collect cards?

**ChuckyTheGoat** · 12-24-23, 04:00 PM

Originally posted by BigBlueNYG

I used to be big into the hobby but got out of it. My son has started showing interest in it. He likes doing the online breaks, I don’t understand the appeal to that.

Electronics are expensive but nothing compared to baseball cards, 2 Hobby boxes put me out $500. A PS5 ain’t that much

Yes, blue. But I collect Vintage.

I don't understand the modern cards. Over-produced, and the interest in certain cards is too much. My belief is that those cards won't have staying power.

**Shark** · 12-24-23, 04:03 PM

Originally posted by BigBlueNYG

I used to be big into the hobby but got out of it. My son has started showing interest in it. He likes doing the online breaks, I don’t understand the appeal to that.

Electronics are expensive but nothing compared to baseball cards, 2 Hobby boxes put me out $500. A PS5 ain’t that much

The online breaks make no sense to me. I don’t see how that lasts. Fanatics is ruining everything they’ve touched so far with the hobby. They just don’t get what collectors are into and they are just watering every aspect down.

**BigBlueNYG** · 12-24-23, 04:10 PM

I don’t understand why you would want someone to open your cards, that’s a majority of the fun is pulling a big card.

And I completely agree, I bought some Acunas and Ohtanis recently, but I only buy PSA at this point, or numbered RCs.

As to the vintage , that’s why I got out of the hobby, I bought a Mantle from a card show for close to $1000 back almost 20 years ago from a respected dealer and when I went to get it graded found out it was a fake, and got stuck with it, got me out of the hobby

**ChuckyTheGoat** · 12-24-23, 04:16 PM

Originally posted by BigBlueNYG

I don’t understand why you would want someone to open your cards, that’s a majority of the fun is pulling a big card.

And I completely agree, I bought some Acunas and Ohtanis recently, but I only buy PSA at this point, or numbered RCs.

As to the vintage , that’s why I got out of the hobby, I bought a Mantle from a card show for close to $1000 back almost 20 years ago from a respected dealer and when I went to get it graded found out it was a fake, and got stuck with it, got me out of the hobby

Oh, wow, that sucks. Yes, it's very much a trust game.

I have pretty good knowledge on the vintage market. Have been dabbling for the last few years.

As a hobby, it's fine to collect things you enjoy. As for turning a profit, very tough. I'd say that the dealers who clear a profit have it down to a system.

The top dealers are on the right side of the Bid/Ask spread. They turn the cards around pretty quickly and make their $$.

**BigBlueNYG** · 12-24-23, 04:49 PM

I used to collect Nolan, Mantle, and Yogi Berra. Mainly a baseball guy

**Mr KLC** · 12-24-23, 04:52 PM

Did it in my high school days. I just collect cards that mean something to me now. I have the complete Astros set for every year from 1976-2012. Still working on the more recent years.

**BigBlueNYG** · 12-24-23, 04:54 PM

When doing vintage do you buy PSA or CSG or just buy raw?

**hehfest** · 12-24-23, 05:55 PM

I have thousands of 89 Donruss baseball for you. Or would you like my worthless sets of 83 fleer baseball and 84 donuss?

**ChuckyTheGoat** · 12-24-23, 08:24 PM

Originally posted by hehfest

I have thousands of 89 Donruss baseball for you. Or would you like my worthless sets of 83 fleer baseball and 84 donuss?

83F/84D aren't worthless. Some key rookies in those sets.

89D is more modern. But that does hit the Griffey Jr rookie. Not bad.

**packerd_00** · 12-24-23, 08:31 PM

I sold some old Basketball Hobby Boxes not to long ago. I had saved them for quite a few years.

**mjsuax13** · 12-24-23, 08:31 PM

I have a small collection of cards that are mostly over 30 years old. Mostly 84-94 years. Unfortunately- years back someone broke in my dads house and took all of my really good ones. I wouldn’t know where to begin today. My 6 year old has show some interest though so I may get back into it.

**hehfest** · 12-24-23, 11:47 PM

Originally posted by ChuckyTheGoat

83F/84D aren't worthless. Some key rookies in those sets.

89D is more modern. But that does hit the Griffey Jr rookie. Not bad.

Well, I haven't checked the price guide in forever. Yes, I think Strawberry is in one of them. 83/84. When I got the 84 for a X-Mas gift it was a few hunge. Yeah, I might have some 89 Griffey in different cards too. I think I have some good Shaq stuff. The one set I did really good on back then was 88-89 Fleer Basketball. Think I have 3 Jordan's from that set and 3-4 Stockton RC.

**hehfest** · 12-24-23, 11:53 PM

Originally posted by mjsuax13

I have a small collection of cards that are mostly over 30 years old. Mostly 84-94 years. Unfortunately- years back someone broke in my dads house and took all of my really good ones. I wouldn’t know where to begin today. My 6 year old has show some interest though so I may get back into it.

I'll tell you something that happened to me. I had a Mario Lemieux RC and this acquaintance kid shows up. He traded me this old Hank Aaron card to me. The Aaron was worth more but not by much. Few weeks later, Cops show up at my door. They ask for the card back. The card was stolen and transferred 3 times already and I ended up with it. They were aware of the Mario RC but never recovered it. That sucked! They caught the punk who stole it but I doubt much happened to him. Of course, me being this kid I'm scared thinking they thought I stole it....LOL.

**homie1975** · 12-25-23, 12:00 AM

like most people, my parents threw out most of cards in the 80s because i was misbehaved naughty kid

**hehfest** · 12-25-23, 12:03 AM

Originally posted by hehfest

Well, I haven't checked the price guide in forever. Yes, I think Strawberry is in one of them. 83/84. When I got the 84 for a X-Mas gift it was a few hunge. Yeah, I might have some 89 Griffey in different cards too. I think I have some good Shaq stuff. The one set I did really good on back then was 88-89 Fleer Basketball. Think I have 3 Jordan's from that set and 3-4 Stockton RC.

Rodman and Pippen RC too

**djefferis** · 12-25-23, 09:15 AM

Getting back into it - but yea vintage and some of the “early” junk wax stuff.

Bought a case of ‘89 Fleer wax - several ‘85 Donruss wax boxes and some ‘89 UD “wax”. I trust the source of the UD wax - but again alot of stuff can happen in 25+ years and the early ones were super easily searched.

No interest in breaking them open - and never understood the “online break” phenom - way too many scams out there.

Vintage stuff - I’m looking to pick up a few key rookie HOFers I always wanted in the late 80s/early 90s - Ryan, Clemente, Koufax - and some Bowman and Goudey stuff. Sticking to PSA 2-4s only - no desire to hold a “perfect” card - nor paying serious bucks for a beat to shit card. 2-4 you get nice “presentable” cards that aren’t super expensive. Bonus - most of those guys are dead (or will be soon) - no scandals or issues causing prices to crash - can’t say that about guys like Wander Franco - imagine spending serious cash on one of his 1/1 “Chase” cards and then the suspension.

**djefferis** · 12-25-23, 09:23 AM

Should mention - it was cards that brought me into gambling. As a “kid” (late teens/early 20s) between 1989-1995 - I did ALOT of sportscard shows. Seems cards were just an extension of gambling for a lot of the “old guys” (who were in their 30-40s probably at the time). Wound up working for a guy who used a mall kiosk card stand as a “front” for his gambling operation. Basically didn’t care if I made a dime - just as long as I kept it busy so he wouldn’t get harassed for running a book out of his kiosk. Within a couple of months of taking over and cleaning things up - we started making PROFITS selling cards too - so he brought me into the other side of the operation too. Miss those days - I really do. Some of the characters we dealt with every day - it was a roller coaster ride I’ll never forget. Most long gone now. Between those days and some of the poker games that took place after the card shows -

**ChuckyTheGoat** · 12-25-23, 10:05 AM

Originally posted by djefferis

Should mention - it was cards that brought me into gambling. As a “kid” (late teens/early 20s) between 1989-1995 - I did ALOT of sportscard shows. Seems cards were just an extension of gambling for a lot of the “old guys” (who were in their 30-40s probably at the time). Wound up working for a guy who used a mall kiosk card stand as a “front” for his gambling operation. Basically didn’t care if I made a dime - just as long as I kept it busy so he wouldn’t get harassed for running a book out of his kiosk. Within a couple of months of taking over and cleaning things up - we started making PROFITS selling cards too - so he brought me into the other side of the operation too. Miss those days - I really do. Some of the characters we dealt with every day - it was a roller coaster ride I’ll never forget. Most long gone now. Between those days and some of the poker games that took place after the card shows -

Good stories. Makes sense, too. Gambling/cards, both cash operations with antiquated record-keeping.

Even now, I see dealers who keep records by hand on a Green columnar sheet. You pay some taxes, make it look honest (in case of an audit). The card/gambling connection makes perfect sense to me.

**ChuckyTheGoat** · 12-25-23, 11:30 AM

My basic advice for card-collecting. I'm stealing the tagline from a solid collector:

"Collect what you love."

That way it's a win/win proposition. I'm biased toward older cards. I view the modern cards as being over-produced.

Card-collecting is a trip down memory lane for me. So many great players I looked up to. Those are the cards I like to collect.

**Coolcanuck79** · 12-25-23, 12:10 PM

I am big into card collecting and I run a break group on FB. Huge $$$ in this stuff but the hobby has slowed tremendously in 2023 due to the rise in cost of the product.

**hehfest** · 12-27-23, 09:39 PM

[IMG]<img src="https://i.ibb.co/VDnKmQz/grif.jpg" alt="grif" border="0">[/IMG]

**ChuckyTheGoat** · 12-27-23, 11:38 PM

Originally posted by hehfest

[IMG]<img src="https://i.ibb.co/VDnKmQz/grif.jpg" alt="grif" border="0">[/IMG]

Centering is the first thing I trained my eye to look at.

The Griffey you show is pretty well-centered. Definitely compared to the average 89D.

89D isn't too well-respected. 9 or 10, tho, commands some $$. Sadly, big diff btw 9/10.

Looks like light corner-wear. Centering might be a 9, maybe not a 10. The graders are very tough.

**hehfest** · 12-28-23, 12:40 AM

Originally posted by ChuckyTheGoat

Centering is the first thing I trained my eye to look at.

The Griffey you show is pretty well-centered. Definitely compared to the average 89D.

89D isn't too well-respected. 9 or 10, tho, commands some $$. Sadly, big diff btw 9/10.

Looks like light corner-wear. Centering might be a 9, maybe not a 10. The graders are very tough.

I've never had a card graded, but I will do it soon. Send a good one away. Yeah, being a kid and handling the cards too much then trying to get them in those protector sleeves can screw up corners if not careful. I just looked up that 88-89 fleer hoops i have a lot of last night and i can't believe the prices way up last 5 years. A gem mint 10 Pippen is almost 2k....but I wonder what gets that grade? Probably very few? Then, someone has to want it too and maybe those prices were in Zimbabwe dollars lol.

**mjsuax13** · 12-28-23, 02:59 AM

Originally posted by hehfest

I'll tell you something that happened to me. I had a Mario Lemieux RC and this acquaintance kid shows up. He traded me this old Hank Aaron card to me. The Aaron was worth more but not by much. Few weeks later, Cops show up at my door. They ask for the card back. The card was stolen and transferred 3 times already and I ended up with it. They were aware of the Mario RC but never recovered it. That sucked! They caught the punk who stole it but I doubt much happened to him. Of course, me being this kid I'm scared thinking they thought I stole it....LOL.

Ugh, I remember trading a few cards of my own. Never stolen ones!

**mjsuax13** · 12-28-23, 02:59 AM

Originally posted by homie1975

like most people, my parents threw out most of cards in the 80s because i was misbehaved naughty kid

Homie, I’d throw yours out now pal!

**Jayvegas420** · 12-28-23, 04:13 AM

There used to be a site called sports card trader form, where guys would gamble on sports using cards as the currency.... for example, 20 guys would enter a pickem
Sunday NFL pool, and everybody would have to put up a card worth at least $50 or more. The winner would take all the cards. there were also guys who would just bet straight up.
I collected a good amount of game used Jersey cards and autographs on this site. I lost a lot too LOL.

**djefferis** · 12-28-23, 06:47 AM

The grading shit is out of control.

I’m not a fan - at least on “modern” cards. The fact you can buy a pack - pull a card and have it deemed a 6 or 7 consistently is ridiculous.

On the “vintage” stuff - I get it - but I remember when this started in cards and what it did to the coin market. Exactly as it killed coin collecting with people tiring of the BS - it hurt card collecting. Yes - when your dealing with a quarter of a million dollar ‘52 Mantle you need more than 4 or 5 grades of mint, nm, ex, by and fair - but when your talking a 1989 NBA Hoops Jordan - who cares if it’s a 9 or a 10 - it’s a $5-10 card.

And then there’s the grading companies - if it’s not PSA - it’s worthless to most people. But PSA is so damn stupid - many complaints of only “power buyers” gaining 10s - and some certainly questionable grades out there. Would be nice for what they charge if they would explain WHY they graded a card a certain way.

Now it’s the damn chase cards too - I remember when they started these in the early 90s - again - said it would kill the industry as they turned packs into lottery tickets. What was it - 1990 or 91 when upper deck did the Ted Williams autos and Score did Mantle then DiMaggio. Something like 500-1000 across a million cases - yea..great odds there. Then in 1991 Topps did the 40th anniversary 1 of everything hidden in their packs - 1 of every card they ever made was randomly packed - and people went nuts. Worked out to be like 1 vintage card per case roughly. Imagine opening packs to randomly “win” a “vintage 1986 Topps common in 1991 - like seriously - who thought this was a good idea. Again - figure how many cards over 40 years - say 600 per year (792 was the standard for at least a decade - but prior there were less). That 24,000 cases - and I guarantee Topps made more than that…so clearly there had to be more than 1 of everything in the promo to keep up with the 1 per case ratio that suckered people in. Guarantee they used cheap commons to keep that promo going.

**lakerboy** · 12-28-23, 08:49 AM

Originally posted by hehfest

[IMG]<img src="https://i.ibb.co/VDnKmQz/grif.jpg" alt="grif" border="0">[/IMG]

I think the upper deck one was the most valuable if im correct or was it the Bowman Tiffany edition?

**ChuckyTheGoat** · 12-28-23, 08:50 AM

Originally posted by hehfest

I've never had a card graded, but I will do it soon. Send a good one away. Yeah, being a kid and handling the cards too much then trying to get them in those protector sleeves can screw up corners if not careful. I just looked up that 88-89 fleer hoops i have a lot of last night and i can't believe the prices way up last 5 years. A gem mint 10 Pippen is almost 2k....but I wonder what gets that grade? Probably very few? Then, someone has to want it too and maybe those prices were in Zimbabwe dollars lol.

Go to this site:

Just a moment...

https://www.psacard.com/pop/basketball-cards/1988/fleer/36762

About 2% of the Pippen Rooks graded to 10. Very difficult, especially the years where the centering was inconsistent.

Things I look at:
1) Centering. I even have a measuring ruler that I use. 10 normally has to be no worse than 45/55.
2) Corners. With a magnifying glass, see how sharp the corners look.

Very, very tough to qualify as a 10.

**hehfest** · 12-28-23, 07:58 PM

Originally posted by lakerboy

I think the upper deck one was the most valuable if im correct or was it the Bowman Tiffany edition?

Yes, I think you're right both are more valuable.

**hehfest** · 12-28-23, 07:59 PM

Originally posted by ChuckyTheGoat

Go to this site:

Just a moment...

https://www.psacard.com/pop/basketball-cards/1988/fleer/36762

About 2% of the Pippen Rooks graded to 10. Very difficult, especially the years where the centering was inconsistent.

Things I look at:
1) Centering. I even have a measuring ruler that I use. 10 normally has to be no worse than 45/55.
2) Corners. With a magnifying glass, see how sharp the corners look.

Very, very tough to qualify as a 10.

Thanks will check that out.

**hehfest** · 12-28-23, 08:02 PM

Now, Stockton is all-time assists leader and steals leader. I did notice after buying these packs riding my bike 4 miles a day to the party store.....with paper route money - that I got more Stockton RC's than Pippen or Rodman or others. Perhaps, this is why he is of less value? SHOW AND TELL!

[IMG]<img src="https://i.ibb.co/PNsyNkP/stock.jpg" alt="stock" border="0">[/IMG]

**hehfest** · 12-28-23, 08:03 PM

^ glare from light and scratches on plastic cover not on card.

**hehfest** · 12-28-23, 08:07 PM

My favorite card as a kid even though I hated Jordan because of the Bad Boys..or end of them that is. LOL. This is the All-Star card of that same year along with regular. Bad-ass picture imo!

[IMG]<img src="https://i.ibb.co/WfrNTp7/mj.jpg" alt="mj" border="0">[/IMG]