February 1981 The Trader Speaks

Klif50

I recently bought a copy of this magazine off Ebay (Rate it a 7 or 8 due to some writing inside and on the cover) and have spent several hours going down memory lane with it.

I bought a copy in 1981 (got a new copy each time it came out) along with Tuff Stuff and later on Sports Collectors Digest and read them all cover to cover. 1981 was my intro back into cards and I had a blast. I worked in a coin shop in Maryland and while I sold and bought a lot of coins and stamps and later comic books and then we started out with a card corner and I was hooked.

I had my old original collection of Dixie Cup Ice Cream tops cards and some random cards I hadn't done much since entering the Air Force in 1970 so I was in hog heaven. Wife and I sorted boxes of Topps, Fleer and Donruss cards all over the living room floor making sets as hard as we could go.

Old cards were a little strange to me at the time. Wayne Miller (now a professional clown act along with his wife) ran the card corner and he steered me to a lot of really neat stuff. I remember the first time he came in with T cards in sheets and I was amazed at the size and condition of cards from the beginning of the century. He was always patient and careful in explaining grading, condition, rarity and authenticity.

Back to The Trader Speaks, there are ads in there for 1969 Topps Dekle edge sets for $33. I had a couple of sets but didn't think they would ever be worth anything. 1956 Topps Mantle #135 ex-mt for $60, 1933 Goudey R319 cards ex or better running from $8 - $25 each and other pages after pages of great deals (I thought they were expensive at the time) and here almost 30 years later I would to shop at those old prices.

Pull out some of your old magazines and ads and take a look at what things were going for back them (yes, I know you could get a Ford Maverick for less than $2,000 then). Take a trip down memory lane and refresh yourself.

Nathaniel1960

In the 1981 Baseball Cards Magazine there is an advert for a combo deal - all three 1981 BB Sets for $80 delivered (east of Mississippi). If only I had a time machine.

KbKards

@Nathaniel1960 said:
In the 1981 Baseball Cards Magazine there is an advert for a combo deal - all three 1981 BB Sets for $80 delivered (east of Mississippi). If only I had a time machine.

To buy them or sell them at those prices?

dontippet

@Nathaniel1960 said:
In the 1981 Baseball Cards Magazine there is an advert for a combo deal - all three 1981 BB Sets for $80 delivered (east of Mississippi). If only I had a time machine.

I would think that in 1981, $80 for three new sets is extremely expensive. I think they would have been more like $15 each, maybe less.

2dueces

In 1981 you could buy T206’s at shows for $5-10. Rows of them in boxes in good condition. HOFERS from $20-50. That includes all Cobbs. No distinction between Green, red, bat on or off. I never saw a NM/Mint T206 ever but I saw a lot of fat boarder T206’s. Hmmmm.

Klif50

I went back and looked at the ad for the 1981 Topps, Donruss and Fleer sets. The Topps was 15.5, Donruss was 15 and Fleer was 16.50 or all 3 for $45.

They also had unopened packs of 1975 topps Mini Baseball Cards for $6 each.

If I only knew then what I know now I would not have spent as much of 1981 cards and more on T206 and early Bowman and Topps cards. But hindsight is no good in retrospect

clarke442

dontippet

@Klif50 said:
I went back and looked at the ad for the 1981 Topps, Donruss and Fleer sets. The Topps was 15.5, Donruss was 15 and Fleer was 16.50 or all 3 for $45.

They also had unopened packs of 1975 topps Mini Baseball Cards for $6 each.

If I only knew then what I know now I would not have spent as much of 1981 cards and more on T206 and early Bowman and Topps cards. But hindsight is no good in retrospect

And I assume those set prices are probably on the high side of retail.

Tibor

While it is fun to take a stroll down memory lane, grading standards have tightened considerably.
I'm sure most if not all of the sets being sold then had wax/gum stained cards along with dozens
of off-center cards. In 1981 you could easily buy Topps, Donruss and Fleer baseball sets for $10- $15
each. The above mentioned stained and OC cards would have landed most sets in @Horse 's pool.

Gansetttime

I agree on centering, but the majority of sets offered by dealers back then came via vending. Was the cheapest option to put sets together. Demand for wax/cello at retail didn't exist for dealers when vending was offered, unlike today.

mrmopar

@Nathaniel1960 said:
In the 1981 Baseball Cards Magazine there is an advert for a combo deal - all three 1981 BB Sets for $80 delivered (east of Mississippi). If only I had a time machine.

That seems high to me. I thought sets were selling for around $15-20 each back then. I could be wrong.

mrmopar

@clarke442 said:

Basketball, Hockey and to some extent Football, was all low $. I specifically remember buying the close out boxes of 84T FB for $5 with the big black marks on them. That was either same year or maybe 1986, but not much later. $0.14 per pack! Not a lot of people were buying it seems. Baseball was where it was at. I have some old TCMA, Renata Galasso and Pacific Trading Cards catalogs. Those have direct meaning to me because I actually bought from them. I also come across a box now and again from an old mail order seller who is still around. I remember Paul Marchant Cards and for some reason was surprised when I found him on ebay years back. Not sure why I found that surprising, unless i figured all the old timers would be gone by the time internet got rolling.