Sports Cards Mania

Fishercat

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Not sure I understand how images would work for non-numbered cards.
The idea would be that Card Collector would send to PSA. PSA would then open the package and scan the card from multiple angles (front, back, side, corner, differing light) and assign it a case#. Those images would then be sent to a remote grader as part of the case (someone they don't need to pay to be on site and really only need an at-home monitor/computer setup) who would review the images and assign grading as if they would do in person. KFP's point on surface is probably hard to overcome but that's the idea - the grade is assigned and it goes through labeling/encasing/return shipment from the main site without the grader touching the card. I don't see how the numbering affects this tbh.

Not sure how much less sense it makes. A PSA 9 or 10 is going to fetch a lot more money than a CSG or SGC graded card will. Maybe that will change in the future, but we're certainly not there yet. PSA (and Beckett/BGS) are the true holy grail of card grading. Let's take a few examples.

A 1983 Topps Wade Boggs PSA 9 goes for around $100 regularly.

August 6th for $105.01: https://www.ebay.com/itm/175368171856?hash=item28d4c1f150:g:wr4AAOSwZdJi5Zd3
August 8th for $91.09: https://www.ebay.com/itm/304581765064?hash=item46ea7ce7c8:g:EecAAOSwWEZi51GM

A SGC 9 by comparison:

August 2nd, for $49.99: https://www.ebay.com/itm/403759342125?hash=item5e01eea22d:g:wZMAAOSwPtZixkgh
May 15th, for $47.16: https://www.ebay.com/itm/313989271037?hash=item491b380dfd:g:X14AAOSw3xFieDAw

A 1989 Upper Deck, PSA 9 of Ken Griffey Jr:

Goes for $235.00 on August 9th: https://www.ebay.com/itm/295146228139?hash=item44b81609ab:g:U3AAAOSw3dVi8bbz
Also August 9th, $229.50: https://www.ebay.com/itm/363932016514?hash=item54bc09df82:g:XeMAAOSwx9Ji66l0

BGS on August 9th (Beckett) for $152.50: https://www.ebay.com/itm/265798228461?hash=item3de2cf19ed:g:1i8AAOSwsRdi4Fuz

An SGC 9 goes for $103.50 on June 26th, https://www.ebay.com/itm/354115545118?hash=item5272ee681e:g:dsEAAOSwtJdinNUN
Another goes for $185.00 on July 18th: https://www.ebay.com/itm/175349911998?hash=item28d3ab51be:g:bloAAOSwDt5iskrY

The issue folks run into with values is 90% of all buyers in the market when searching for graded cards will put in "1983 Topps Tony Gwynn PSA 9." They'll get results showing almost all PSA graded cards. As a result, those auctions have way more eyeballs than an SGC or even a BGS graded card, so if I'm going to pick a company to value a super expensive card (ie. over $1,000), I'm sending it to PSA. The only exception I make is with auto cards. I send those to Beckett, as they grade the card and the auto separately.
To your point though, the devil is in the details. I think for things like you describe - very expensive card with relatively static pricing, I agree it's PSA or bust. With PSA largely caught up on it's pandemic backlog and pricing for the slow services equalized it's an easier call now. I am thinking more of those folks that submitted Luis Robert rookie cards mid-2020 to get them back in 2021, or those cards where a month or two difference on return makes a huge difference, or if you think a card will be a BGS10 or SGC10 but a PSA9*, which is where it may change the equation a bit.

The Julio Rodriguez SP from Series 2 is an interesting case study. If you can get the PSA10 it was the best move in pretty much any case, but the timing on this changes so much. A PSA10 of that card which came out a month ago (so if the PSA timing is true you're likely still waiting for your card if you submitted at the $30 or $50 tier) went for around 1600, 1300, 2200, 2000 (rounding) in its first four sales in mid July. The last four sales in early August were 1176, 906, 1060, and 885. In comparison that 885 and 906 went for about the same price as the last sold SGC10 from two weeks prior. Contemporary PSA10s had the premium you describe for sure, but when days and weeks matter so much for certain cards (remembering the insanity of S1 Wander), that return time and value for grading also matters a ton. Nevermind the calculations effing up if you miss the 10 and get a 9. That was more my point - if I was opening cards on release day and pulled some hugely hot name that I need to sell off immediately, the cost calculation gets really fuzzy

*I don't know how often this really comes into play. For instance on Julio, SGC had graded 64 copies - 36 SGC10, 23 SGC9.5, and 5 SGC9. PSA has graded 88 copies - 65 PSA10, 19 PSA 9, and 1 PSA 5 and PSA 6, so if anything PSA seems easier but there's a lot of variables.
 
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Ale Xander

Hamilton
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Oct 31, 2013
72,460
Got my Home Run Challenge winners. Surprised these things aren't worth more. Not huge print runs.
Not the best packaging, just loose in a 10 card plastic set box. Had 2.
 

Traut

lost his degree
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Got my Home Run Challenge winners. Surprised these things aren't worth more. Not huge print runs.
Not the best packaging, just loose in a 10 card plastic set box. Had 2.
It is a great idea in theory and I know aesthetic is subjective - but those cards are ugly as sin.
 

Fishercat

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May 18, 2007
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I think the aesthetic is a big deal. Collector's Choice did the same concept (albeit simplified due to the era) in the 1990s and I thought the cards looked sleeker. I do think the HRC cards are a tiny bit undervalued, the issue being that a player like Judge would hypothetically have 40 or 50 "variants" that all look the same with different counts, and it will mean more to the person who got the date right than anyone buying it usually.

Collector's Choice You Crash the Game Baseball Cards of the 1990s (beckett.com)
 

Traut

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I think the aesthetic is a big deal. Collector's Choice did the same concept (albeit simplified due to the era) in the 1990s and I thought the cards looked sleeker. I do think the HRC cards are a tiny bit undervalued, the issue being that a player like Judge would hypothetically have 40 or 50 "variants" that all look the same with different counts, and it will mean more to the person who got the date right than anyone buying it usually.

Collector's Choice You Crash the Game Baseball Cards of the 1990s (beckett.com)
That's a great point - and if Judge hits 62 this season - that card could be worth a premium.

And I guess the thing is that the hobby only cares about Bowman firsts, Rookie parallels, SSPs, 1/1 super refrectors, autos, and game used relics.

HRC cards are sort of like Topps Now in the great nether world of rare but not valuable.
 
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Bergs

funky and cold
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Jul 22, 2005
21,613
I've been slowing down my box ripping and am spending the money on Red Sox team sets and Sox/Bruins cards I like. Better use of the money, and no agitas about "gambling and losing."

I am especially enjoying Topps Heritage team sets and all the autos/relic stuff that is out there (and cheap!).
 
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Traut

lost his degree
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I've been slowing down my box ripping and am spending the money on Red Sox team sets and Sox/Bruins cards I like. Better use of the money, and no agitas about "gambling and losing."

I am especially enjoying Topps Heritage team sets and all the autos/relic stuff that is out there (and cheap!).
Same here. I will pick up some blasters of series 1 or 2 at target and open with my son. We got 2 Bowman megas which were cool.

Otherwise I just collect Ortiz and Pedro.
 

Bergs

funky and cold
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Jul 22, 2005
21,613
Same here. I will pick up some blasters of series 1 or 2 at target and open with my son. We got 2 Bowman megas which were cool.

Otherwise I just collect Ortiz and Pedro.
I'm putting together my checklist of topps cards I need to compete my 1967 to present run of Red Sox. Fewer than 100 cards total from the 60's/70's and some stuff in the 00's and 10's that I'm just gonna buy as team sets. I plan to have that complete by the end of next year.
 

Traut

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“When you take into consideration how much could have been lost here, you not only have to calculate all the trading cards that are graded and in collections, but also the trading cards that are not yet graded, all of the raw product in sealed boxes and cases that will be negatively impacted by this event,” said Ken Goldin, executive chairman of Goldin Auctions. “To me, the total impact to the collecting community could approach $100 million, especially when you take into account that just one single card — the 2016 Bowman Chrome superfractor — likely had a decrease of $2.5 million in itself.”

https://www.actionnetwork.com/mlb/fernando-tatis-drug-suspension-could-cost-collectors-investors-north-of-100-million?fbclid=IwAR14Vyy8Rnytf1nf1uJB8J3Y9wwj6ZhYMosKiqQTpA9qeTCXA6XEN4ccLlA
The guys who bet on prospects would be better gambling at a casino right now.
 

staz

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The cradle of the game.
So glad Reuben Sierra Papi toned down that leg kick!

I'm up to 606/660 for my raw, mid-grade ($500 cap) 75 Topps baseball set after scoring: Ryan, Munson, Seaver, Rose, Aaron (#1), Fisk, Morgan, Winfield, Brock and Jackson for $78+ ship/tax. All EX/EX-MT/NM... about PSA 5/6/7. That #1 Aaron is so hard to find with clean brown edges on the lower half. Got a decent Yount (same difficult brown edges) for $30. Still looking for a decent inexpensive Brett.
 

djbayko

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Jul 18, 2005
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$12.6 million

The sale makes the card the most valuable sports collectible in the world, according to the auction house.

The price almost doubled the previous record for a baseball card set when a rare Honus Wagner sold for $6.6 million last year. And it also beat out the record for any item of sports memorabilia, bypassing the $9.3 million sale of Diego Maradona's famous 'Hand of God' jersey.
Anthony Giordano bought the Mantle card for what was a record-breaking price in 1991: $50,000. He kept it hidden away for three decades before bringing it to Heritage Auctions, according to the release.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/28/business/mickey-mantle-baseball-card-sale-trnd/index.html
 

Deathofthebambino

Drive Carefully
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Apr 12, 2005
41,948
Just crazy how a card that old survived in that condition.
No shit, a 9.5 '52 Mantle is pretty much the definition of a unicorn. That card will likely sell for double that in 10 years. That's more rare than lightning striking the same person 3 times.
 

Fishercat

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May 18, 2007
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Is Stadium Club ever coming out? I heard delayed from July until end of August. Now I see maybe end of September?
Allen and Ginter is shifted to November too.

I think the card market at retail is cooling a decent amount too so these multi-month product delays might costs Topps/Fanatics a lot. I'm really itching to rip some wax but I've had my fill of Series 2 and Gypsy Queen and the more expensive hobby stuff just feels like burning money quickly whereas SC and A&G let me burn it slowly at least.
 

Bergs

funky and cold
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Jul 22, 2005
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I'm putting together my checklist of topps cards I need to compete my 1967 to present run of Red Sox. Fewer than 100 cards total from the 60's/70's and some stuff in the 00's and 10's that I'm just gonna buy as team sets. I plan to have that complete by the end of next year.
I've decided to go 1960-present. I'm really enjoying this much more than ripping open boxes of new stuff.
 

staz

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The cradle of the game.
I've decided to go 1960-present. I'm really enjoying this much more than ripping open boxes of new stuff.
After a 39 year break, I'm kinda liking the variety of a little of each: I've been eBaying a 75 set and cracked a bunch of 22 Topps Series 1 and 2. Nostalgia one night, marvelous photography and printing the next - scoring an occasional high value card is pretty cool too.
 

Bergs

funky and cold
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Jul 22, 2005
21,613
After a 39 year break, I'm kinda liking the variety of a little of each: I've been eBaying a 75 set and cracked a bunch of 22 Topps Series 1 and 2. Nostalgia one night, marvelous photography and printing the next - scoring an occasional high value card is pretty cool too.
I hear you, but I have spent a couple grand on boxes to rip the last year. I was lucky enough to have a couple nice hits fund a lot of it, but goddamn. And I almost always feel like I lost gambling (which I hate). Spending $$$ on known commodities gives me no such consternation.
 
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Mugsy's Jock

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2023 flagship series design released:

55072

I love the box with the portrait shot and the logo background, though it’ll work better for the excellent Orioles logo than it will for the Cubs or the Angels whose logo is just their name written out.

Nitpicks:

The “RC” shield here would probably work better top left.

The player name, again, is too small for my aging eyes.
 
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Mugsy's Jock

Eli apologist
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Allen and Ginter is shifted to November too.

I think the card market at retail is cooling a decent amount too so these multi-month product delays might costs Topps/Fanatics a lot. I'm really itching to rip some wax but I've had my fill of Series 2 and Gypsy Queen and the more expensive hobby stuff just feels like burning money quickly whereas SC and A&G let me burn it slowly at least.
Stadium Club is 100% my favorite set - the photography is just incredible. The one set where I buy a hobby box and rip and set build. Still missing 3-4 cards from my 2022 set, but trading my way there before giving in to just buying the stragglers.
 

Fishercat

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May 18, 2007
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Manchester, N.H.
Putting it out to the folks here. It seems a lot of my best cards from my youth are lost to time. Which is part of it all really. There is only one card I really miss for sentimental reasons that I can't just repurchase for cheap (other pricy ones I lost I don't really feel the need to reacquire) I am looking at the 1996 SpX KGA1 Griffey Auto. I pulled one from a pack in my grandmother's old apartment and gave it to my parents for safe keeping which isn't so.

The bright side is that there are a few on eBay. The downside is that it's a very pricy card and comps are all over the board. One raw with a bad auto (imo) went for around 300, a better one for 1k. Finding historic comps beyond 90 days is very tough on this too.

Now is the first time I've really been a spot where I can financially justify it, I'm just looking for some advice on the price range I should look at and, if raw, if folks here feel good about eBay authentication not letting me drop some notable change for a fraud.
 

Oil Can Dan

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Putting it out to the folks here. It seems a lot of my best cards from my youth are lost to time. Which is part of it all really. There is only one card I really miss for sentimental reasons that I can't just repurchase for cheap (other pricy ones I lost I don't really feel the need to reacquire) I am looking at the 1996 SpX KGA1 Griffey Auto. I pulled one from a pack in my grandmother's old apartment and gave it to my parents for safe keeping which isn't so.

The bright side is that there are a few on eBay. The downside is that it's a very pricy card and comps are all over the board. One raw with a bad auto (imo) went for around 300, a better one for 1k. Finding historic comps beyond 90 days is very tough on this too.

Now is the first time I've really been a spot where I can financially justify it, I'm just looking for some advice on the price range I should look at and, if raw, if folks here feel good about eBay authentication not letting me drop some notable change for a fraud.
This is supposedly eBay sales for the past 365 days but it's odd to me that there are a bunch of sales since March but none from Feb-Sept 2001. Anyway, hope this is helpful:
 
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djbayko

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Jul 18, 2005
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This is supposedly eBay sales for the past 365 days but it's odd to me that there are a bunch of sales since March but none from Feb-Sept 2001. Anyway, hope this is helpful:

Link
Really weird. Not sure if it's just me, but your link directs to:
https://www.ebay.com/sh/landing

Which obviously isn't what it's supposed to be. I see that it's supposed to be something much more complex with Griffey card search terms. No idea why it's not resolving correctly for me.
 

Fishercat

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May 18, 2007
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I think Ebay was just being weird, it worked just now when I looked but not before.
It is helpful for sure to know the 270 was a real lowball sale as opposed to the 1k being too high.
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

posts way less than 18% useful shit
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Nov 17, 2010
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I just hit a restock at Walmart, and I gotta tell you: the 2021 Chronicles Baseball Mega boxes are fucking AWESOME to open. There are some really beautiful cards in here, plus at least 1 auto. One of the better $25 values I've seen for sports cards. Which is why I bought 8 of them.
 

djbayko

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Jul 18, 2005
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Los Angeles, CA
I think Ebay was just being weird, it worked just now when I looked but not before.
It is helpful for sure to know the 270 was a real lowball sale as opposed to the 1k being too high.
Nope. Still not working for me. Must be some user specific thing I guess. Don't worry about it. Unimportant. I thought maybe you needed to fix the link for others as well.
 

Traut

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Nope. Still not working for me. Must be some user specific thing I guess. Don't worry about it. Unimportant. I thought maybe you needed to fix the link for others as well.
130point.com is amazing. It has a lot of data on card values.
 

Fishercat

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May 18, 2007
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I love 130point it’s just not a frequently sold card and it seems the last auction was a huge outlier.

I have an offer in now so we will see.
 
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Oil Can Dan

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Nope. Still not working for me. Must be some user specific thing I guess. Don't worry about it. Unimportant. I thought maybe you needed to fix the link for others as well.
Sorry about that - not sure what happens. Hopefully this screenshot will work?

55541
 

Tim Salmon

Member
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Oct 24, 2005
3,294
hobby box $300 value box $35
still not sold out

weren't the value boxes $25 in 2019?
I almost bought one, but decided against it after watching several breaks on YouTube. I watched many, many hobby and jumbo boxes opened, and I saw very few cards of note.
 

Fishercat

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May 18, 2007
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Manchester, N.H.
Well, one more record to add to that Griffey Spx Price History now. Ended up a bit below most other comps and while I wont likely spend that much on a card again it's been my white whale since my copy was officially lost. Very happy.
 

LogansDad

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Nov 15, 2006
29,067
Alamogordo
Well, one more record to add to that Griffey Spx Price History now. Ended up a bit below most other comps and while I wont likely spend that much on a card again it's been my white whale since my copy was officially lost. Very happy.
Nice!! Congrats on the pickup.
 

Fishercat

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May 18, 2007
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Thanks! It's to Ebay authentication now. I don't think it's an incredible deal and I definitely should have hunted like...5 years ago but I feel good about the buy. I'll see if I want to grade when it gets here.

In more relevant news for everyone, there is some not so grand news on Topps Chrome. Long story short, the five rookie short prints (Julio and Bobby Witt Jr. and Torkelson being the three biggest) were not inserted into the print run of any of this set. The autographs are still out there but the base set SPs are not in there despite being on the print list. Topps/Fanatics has confirmed. Topps will be sending out silver packs to those who bought boxes direct, to shops to give to their members, and to breakers - but if you bought any way other than direct you're kind of at the will of your seller.

So if you bought, go to your seller to try and get your silver packs that might have those rookie short prints or parallels. If you didn't buy...seriously consider before you do because without these rookies the breaks look ROUGH
 

Bergs

funky and cold
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Jul 22, 2005
21,613
Well, since you asked...
#101 - Adalberto Mondesi
#151 - Luis Patino
#200 - Mike Trout (actually have one for the collection, but want a second for the set)

Happy to trade if anybody's got loosies to spare.
I'll take a look tonight.
 

Bergs

funky and cold
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Jul 22, 2005
21,613
Well, since you asked...
#101 - Adalberto Mondesi
#151 - Luis Patino
#200 - Mike Trout (actually have one for the collection, but want a second for the set)

Happy to trade if anybody's got loosies to spare.
I'll take a look tonight.
@Mugsy's Jock , I have the Trout and the Patino. No #101, sadly. PM me your addr and I'll kick them over to you.

edit: my PM settings are a bit fucked of late. You can get me your info through @absintheofmalaise , @E5 Yaz , or @Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat.
 
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