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The Official Sports/Non Sports Card Pron Thread (3 Viewers)

Senzrock said:
Damn that 52 Mantle is crazy - very nice. And interesting decision to say the least re: keeping those potentially well graded HOFers in a binder! Definitely seems like a throwback, I don't think I could do it myself.
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Due to the inconsistency and often arbitrary standards of grading, I often regrade cards if I know they are under-graded in their current slab, or if the grader just flat out got it wrong (most graders don't actually have a clue what they're doing believe it or not. There's only a small percentage of graders at each company that has a lot of experience and competence). So if I have a card that looks like a 6, but it's sitting in a PSA 4 holder, I will crack it out of the slab pretty much every time. Most of the raw HOF cards I have were cracked out for this reason, and I just prefer to keep them raw. But if/when I decide to resell them, I just regrade them, and I usually get a higher grade when I do.

Here are a few examples of before vs after regrading.


1960T Mickey Mantle SGC5-PSA7.jpeg
1961F Oscar Robertson PSAA-SGC4.5.jpeg
1958T Mickey Mantle BVG4.5-PSA5.5.jpeg
1951B Willie Mays SGC3-PSA4 (1).jpeg
1964T Bob Gibson SGC4.5-PSA 8.jpeg
 
Senzrock said:
Yeah so unfortunately most will not be worth much. As we were discussing above, centering and overall condition is the key to the value of a card. But any Mickey mantle in decent condition is probably worth grading, it doesn’t have to be near mint for it to be worth it (will be easier to sell graded if you ever wanted to do that). Post some pics!
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OK, here are a few of my better, older cards. Nothing like what @RainmanTrail is posting, but they are meaningful to me because I pulled them from packs myself as a kid. Except for the Banks card that I bought at a card show, because he was my favorite player, and the Griffey, that I picked up as an adult.

20240203_005043.jpg

20240203_005151.jpg

20240203_005253.jpg
 
I also ran across a box that had a complete set of Topps from 1987. yeah, I know, high production and low quality cards. But my question is, how likely is something like this to have a few of these grade at PSA 10? According to an article I found, these are likely the most valuable if any should happen to grade as 10s.

20240203_004706.jpg
 
TX_Golf_N_Poker said:
I also ran across a box that had a complete set of Topps from 1987. yeah, I know, high production and low quality cards. But my question is, how likely is something like this to have a few of these grade at PSA 10? According to an article I found, these are likely the most valuable if any should happen to grade as 10s.

View attachment 1266462
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You would need a jeweler's loupe and a bright light to be able to determine the difference between a Mint card and a Gem Mint one. And even if you find a Gem Mint one, it still often grades as a 9. If you have a stack of 100 cards that look perfect to you, you'd probably only have a couple, maybe 5 at most, that would grade as a PSA 10. Unless you're an extremely experienced grader and confident in your grades, it's not worth sending them in. You'll just end up losing money because they're pretty much worthless in a 9 holder, or at least worth less than the cost of grading anyhow.

Your 68 Mantle, the Bench RCs, the 71 Aaron, and 56 Banks are probably all worth grading. I would send them to SGC. I could grade them with one of my upcoming orders if you'd like, and I could also look them over first and tell you what grades to expect.
 
Thanks for the info and the offer. Is this because I would get a better price per card by combining mine with yours? About how much does grading cost? I've never had cards graded before.

Also, I'm curious why you use SGC instead of PSA? Don't PSA graded cards command higher prices when you do want to sell?
 
TX_Golf_N_Poker said:
Also, I'm curious why you use SGC instead of PSA? Don't PSA graded cards command higher prices when you do want to sell?
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SGC specializes in vintage, with faster turn around times and better pricing while still having good resale value (obv not as high as PSA because they’re head and shoulders above the other two main graders. BGS & SGC) if I’m not mistaken.
Folks also like the “black tuxedo” look their slab gives off.
 
TX_Golf_N_Poker said:
Thanks for the info and the offer. Is this because I would get a better price per card by combining mine with yours? About how much does grading cost? I've never had cards graded before.

Also, I'm curious why you use SGC instead of PSA? Don't PSA graded cards command higher prices when you do want to sell?
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You would save a little bit on the return shipping fees. Also, it's usually a good idea to have someone with a lot of grading experience review the cards first, just in case there is something you might have overlooked that makes any of the cards not worth grading (tiny pinhole, surface wrinkle, alterations, etc).

I would go with SGC mainly because they are far more consistent and accurate with their grades for vintage cards. PSA had to hire a ton of new graders over the past couple years and all those kids basically have no clue how to grade vintage. They are just hammering people left and right now with their grades of vintage. Especially stuff like this in mid grade condition. A PSA 5 might outsell an SGC 5 of the same card, but it's not going to outsell an SGC 6, and unfortunately at least for now, that's the reality of grading. You can typically expect at least a full grade better through SGC right now for cards like this. Hopefully that changes in the future, but for now, I would definitely send these to SGC if you're considering selling them.

SGC grading fees are $15 per card and we'd get them back in about 2-3 weeks.

PSA grading fees are $19 per card if submitted in a large bulk order and $25 if just sending in a few cards, unless they determine a card is worth more than $500, then the grading fee bumps up to $75. But the real kicker is the turnaround times. It's taking PSA about 4 or 5 months to get your vintage cards back to you!
 
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RainmanTrail said:
You would save a little bit on the return shipping fees. Also, it's usually a good idea to have someone with a lot of grading experience review the cards first, just in case there is something you might have overlooked that makes any of the cards not worth grading (tiny pinhole, surface wrinkle, alterations, etc).

I would go with SGC mainly because they are far more consistent and accurate with their grades for vintage cards. PSA had to hire a ton of new graders over the past couple years and all those kids basically have no clue how to grade vintage. They are just hammering people left and right now with their grades of vintage. Especially stuff like this in mid grade condition. A PSA 5 might outsell an SGC 5 of the same card, but it's not going to outsell an SGC 6, and unfortunately at least for now, that's the reality of grading. You can typically expect at least a full grade better through SGC right now for cards like this. Hopefully that changes in the future, but for now, I would definitely send these to SGC if you're considering selling them.

SGC grading fees are $15 per card and we'd get them back in about 2-3 weeks.

PSA grading fees are $19 per card if submitted in a large bulk order and $25 if just sending in a few cards, unless they determine a card is worth more than $500, then the grading fee bumps up to $75. But the real kicker is the turnaround times. It's taking PSA about 4 or 5 months to get your vintage cards back to you!
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This is what I’m reading also - but this is a much better/succinct recap of the current trend(s) - super helpful
 
RainmanTrail said:
You would save a little bit on the return shipping fees. Also, it's usually a good idea to have someone with a lot of grading experience review the cards first, just in case there is something you might have overlooked that makes any of the cards not worth grading (tiny pinhole, surface wrinkle, alterations, etc).

I would go with SGC mainly because they are far more consistent and accurate with their grades for vintage cards. PSA had to hire a ton of new graders over the past couple years and all those kids basically have no clue how to grade vintage. They are just hammering people left and right now with their grades of vintage. Especially stuff like this in mid grade condition. A PSA 5 might outsell an SGC 5 of the same card, but it's not going to outsell an SGC 6, and unfortunately at least for now, that's the reality of grading. You can typically expect at least a full grade better through SGC right now for cards like this. Hopefully that changes in the future, but for now, I would definitely send these to SGC if you're considering selling them.

SGC grading fees are $15 per card and we'd get them back in about 2-3 weeks.

PSA grading fees are $19 per card if submitted in a large bulk order and $25 if just sending in a few cards, unless they determine a card is worth more than $500, then the grading fee bumps up to $75. But the real kicker is the turnaround times. It's taking PSA about 4 or 5 months to get your vintage cards back to you!
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Cool. Great information. I really appreciate the offer to help me out and can really see the benefit of having someone with experience look at my cards. Thanks so much. I will reach out to you via PM to discuss.
 
OK, you guys have given me the bug again. At this moment, my favorite current athlete is Brock Purdy. I grew up in Iowa and Iowa State is the college I follow, so I probably watched about half of his college games on TV, and obviously I'm super pumped about his success with the Niners.

So what would be some recommendations of current cards I should go after, or packs that would be good to purchase to try to find good cards of his? Gonna admit, I have never collected football cards so know absolutely nothing about that branch of sports card collecting. School me! LOL.
 
SCG for vintage, PSA for modern should always be the rule.

PSA sucks now for modern cards too but is still the standard. There are a million videos/posts of people getting lower than expected grades from PSA so they crack and resubmit and get the higher grade they are looking for. Absolute trash quality control these days.

My dad collects and I help him and during the Pandemic we did BVG (BGS vintage) because they were the only ones offering live quick turnaround and they completely screwed us on his 1954s. Now we will need to get them regraded by SCG at some point. Don't do BVG.
 
Zmasterben said:
SCG for vintage, PSA for modern should always be the rule.

PSA sucks now for modern cards too but is still the standard. There are a million videos/posts of people getting lower than expected grades from PSA so they cracke and resubmit and get the higher grade they are looking for. Absolute trash quality control these days.

My dad collects and I help him and during the Pandemic we did BVG (BGS vintage) because they were the only ones offering live quick turnaround and they completely screwed us on his 1954s. Now we will need to get them regraded by SCG at some point. Don't do BVG.
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This sounds right!
 
One other thing worth learning is that SGC is more strict than PSA on centering, but PSA is more strict on corners.
 
TX_Golf_N_Poker said:
OK, you guys have given me the bug again. At this moment, my favorite current athlete is Brock Purdy. I grew up in Iowa and Iowa State is the college I follow, so I probably watched about half of his college games on TV, and obviously I'm super pumped about his success with the Niners.

So what would be some recommendations of current cards I should go after, or packs that would be good to purchase to try to find good cards of his? Gonna admit, I have never collected football cards so know absolutely nothing about that branch of sports card collecting. School me! LOL.
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I thought someone with more knowledge than me would respond to this but, based on my (pretty intense) research over just this past month, a big thing to keep in mind is to not overpay when a particular player is "hot." Purdy's prices are arguably the most inflated of any athlete at the moment. I am a lifelong 49ers fan, and I love Purdy too, but I am not in the market for any of his big cards because it's been the two weeks leading up to the SB and no one is in the spotlight more.

So buy Purdy in the off-season, or right after he has a mediocre game, and you will get a discount. The same formula goes for anyone else. Spotlight or additional story-lines add hype, but hype is not our friend when we are targeting that player. You want to sell the hype and buy when the market cools off.

Other things to keep in mind:

-QBs command by far the most $ for their cards
-If you're going to collect Purdy but have a soft spot for Iowa/State - understand the his college cards will command far less $ than his pro cards (in 49ers jersey). Back in the early 90s, the trend was to collect the earliest possible card of a player, which led to grabbing up college cards, but it seems the taste has dramatically shifting completely the other way in the decades since.
-All Purdy cards will be in the last 2-3 years obviously, including college cards, but the "Ultra-Modern" card market is extremely volatile. It is rarely economical to invest heavily in a Brock Purdy SP/numbered card vs HOFs and all time greats that you know are popular with card collectors.

All of this to say... tough time to collect specifically Brock Purdy - I would wait to make any large purchase. But I am just learning...
 
Senzrock said:
I thought someone with more knowledge than me would respond to this but, based on my (pretty intense) research over just this past month, a big thing to keep in mind is to not overpay when a particular player is "hot." Purdy's prices are arguably the most inflated of any athlete at the moment. I am a lifelong 49ers fan, and I love Purdy too, but I am not in the market for any of his big cards because it's been the two weeks leading up to the SB and no one is in the spotlight more.

So buy Purdy in the off-season, or right after he has a mediocre game, and you will get a discount. The same formula goes for anyone else. Spotlight or additional story-lines add hype, but hype is not our friend when we are targeting that player. You want to sell the hype and buy when the market cools off.

Other things to keep in mind:

-QBs command by far the most $ for their cards
-If you're going to collect Purdy but have a soft spot for Iowa/State - understand the his college cards will command far less $ than his pro cards (in 49ers jersey). Back in the early 90s, the trend was to collect the earliest possible card of a player, which led to grabbing up college cards, but it seems the taste has dramatically shifting completely the other way in the decades since.
-All Purdy cards will be in the last 2-3 years obviously, including college cards, but the "Ultra-Modern" card market is extremely volatile. It is rarely economical to invest heavily in a Brock Purdy SP/numbered card vs HOFs and all time greats that you know are popular with card collectors.

All of this to say... tough time to collect specifically Brock Purdy - I would wait to make any large purchase. But I am just learning...
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Thanks! Appreciate the input and it pretty much confirms what I was also thinking. It's almost like it's factored in that they will win the super bowl. I wish I was more of a card collector and I would have grabbed a few many months ago. The only other thought is that I don't mind overpaying a little for a cool card or two. I;m not doing this as an investment. Just like with poker chips, I rarely sell stuff, only buy... :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:

Are there any particular cards that you think are better than others? Cards you would be watching for if they were to drop in the off-season?
 
TX_Golf_N_Poker said:
Thanks! Appreciate the input and it pretty much confirms what I was also thinking. It's almost like it's factored in that they will win the super bowl. I wish I was more of a card collector and I would have grabbed a few many months ago. The only other thought is that I don't mind overpaying a little for a cool card or two. I;m not doing this as an investment. Just like with poker chips, I rarely sell stuff, only buy... :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:

Are there any particular cards that you think are better than others? Cards you would be watching for if they were to drop in the off-season?
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The boring but tried and true technique seems to be:

1. Have cards you are collecting for your PC (personal collection) and obviously there you care less about the price as you anticipate keeping them
2. For cards you are buying either to trade or to hold as some type of long term investment, best to stick with the Goats in each sport (Jordan, Rice/Montana/Brady/Mahomes, Lebron, Mays, Mantle etc).
3. Rookie cards in PSA 9-10 of HOFs that are under-valued for whatever reason.

Stay away from the ultra modern stuff unless it really sticks out (Prizm has million of color parallel's that are hot for a few months but inevitable won't retain value). Chasing up and coming rookies is tough, as many more rookies appear exciting vs actually pan out (mostly its a combination of busts and players who do well but never excel to the point where lots of people are wanting their cards).
 
TX_Golf_N_Poker said:
Thanks! Appreciate the input and it pretty much confirms what I was also thinking. It's almost like it's factored in that they will win the super bowl. I wish I was more of a card collector and I would have grabbed a few many months ago. The only other thought is that I don't mind overpaying a little for a cool card or two. I;m not doing this as an investment. Just like with poker chips, I rarely sell stuff, only buy... :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:

Are there any particular cards that you think are better than others? Cards you would be watching for if they were to drop in the off-season?
Click to expand...
Oh and like @RainmanTrail mentioned in an earlier post - join some FB groups. They are much better then eBay generally, once you understand how to navigate them a bit. I made some mistakes paying eBay fees on cards I just wanted and were available but could have shopped around for if I was a bit more patient (sort of like poker chips lol),
 
Senzrock said:
Very cool! What are these going for?
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I paid $250 show price but liked it because it was a Red Sox Ruth card. You can probably get similar for 180-220.

Leaf is an unlicensed product so they go cheaper than normal. The licensed stuff he wanted $600+ for. Ruth obviously sells for way more than any other player.
 
Zmasterben said:
I paid $250 show price but liked it because it was a Red Sox Ruth card. You can probably get similar for 180-220.

Leaf is an unlicensed product so they go cheaper than normal. The licensed stuff he wanted $600+ for. Ruth obviously sells for way more than any other player.
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Yeah makes sense!
 
Random shot in the dark but if anyone else here is set building 2023 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary I'm trying to finish off my set and looking for some trading.
 

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