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Unopened Cellos - What should I be looking for?
erba
Posts: 285 ✭✭✭✭
I'm usually just collect autographed rookie cards, but have been toying with the idea of collecting unopened cellos with certain players/cards on top. I have never collected anything that's been graded so I'm not 100% sure what I should be looking for as far as condition for raw/ungraded packs.
Also, any ideas where I can find out values of packs? Just check around for ebay's sold auctions?
Any advice is appreciated.
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I’d pay the Psa 9 equivalent of the card for it showing on the front of a sealed pack. Good luck and enjoy.
Join the Rookie stars on top PSA registry today:
1980-1989 Cello Packs - Rookies
This is one of those areas of the hobby where there's so much bad product in it and there's been so much bad product pumped into it for so many years that I just wouldn't pay a penny of a premium for any cello with a star/rookie showing.
Steve likes to say that there's more bad unopened on eBay than there's good (and I believe him). Well, that ratio gets blown to hell on star cellos. I have, maybe one or two star cellos in my collection and I got them from busting boxes from BBCE.
But, if you're going to abandon all logic and dive into septic tank, you've GOT to educate yourself about what it is you're looking to buy. I'd buy a box of 1989 Topps cellos and sleep with them under your pillow. I mean, really get to know what the seals look and feel like. This isn't going to cover all of the years but it's a good, basic, first step. Ask opinions on all future purchases. There's a lot of good guys here that know a lot about unopened and they're very helpful.
The #1 thing that almost all resealers cannot replicate is the the secondary folds. They can get the first, outer seal lined up and get it to look tight and good on the corners but it's the secondary fold UNDERNEATH that that is so difficult to simultaneously get factory tight as well. You'll see a lot of bunched up cellophane that gets pressed down on top of itself and later on it puffs out just a little bit away from the corner. If you see that, no bueno.
Arthur
Thanks for the info and advice, I appreciate it.
So this would be total garbage?
At the very best, that's a miswrap, but I highly suspect it wouldn't pass authentication by anyone reputable. Different years have different quirks, but I would expect the back of an 85T cello to look like this (stealing a forum members eBay pic) ...
Another thing to pay attention to is sheet sequencing for each year. For some years, it should be highly improbable -> impossible for a given key rookie to appear on top if say the collation is A/B/C sheets above the gum, D/E/F below, seeing a key rookie on top from the D, E, or F sheet should raise some red flags.
My advice is to buy PSA/ Steve Hart authenticated packs for anything over $20-30. The pack above with Clemons looks pretty rough but I have seen packs like that as authentic. I try to find non star packs of the same year and compare as mentioned above.
Collation is important for anything pre-1984ish... Some bad packs have made it through in the early years of packs being slabbed but anything newer should be good. Some star rookies will/ should be only found on backs of packs based on this.
Lots of experienced collectors out there- that's what has helped me with my pack collection. Ask questions often!
PC Walter Payton - Bear Down!
I should add, the majority of my hands-on experience is from post-1980. I've bought 1970s stuff and have certainly spent many hours researching but I would defer to a number of other collectors here when it comes to the 1970s stuff. Hopefully they'll chime in with their expertise. They've been at it MUCH longer than I have and know MUCH more than I do.
Arthur