Christmas Rack Packs

LJB17

In an effort to buy some cards in raw form in order to add to my sets I was looking at possible purchasing some vintage packs. I came across some "Christmas Rack Packs" from the 50s and 60s. These are Topps cards, but they do not appear to be issued by Topps. Can somebody shed some light on what these are and the condition that one could expect to find? I was also wondering if these were searchable as I know some older rack packs are.

AlanAllen

As a pack collector, I'd advise against opening any of the Christmas Racks. They are quite searchable, with typically 4 cards per "cel" in the rack, and for some reason the cards seem to be in worse shape than from other unopened media. Plus, crazy pack collectors like me drive up the price such that the average value of the cards inside is much less than the cost of a pack. Good luck,
Joe

theBobs

Try this thread.
Or here.
And here.

mikeschmidt

They're in bad shape, they were packaged after-market, and they are not "ideal" investments for a pack collector.

waitilltheytrytosell

Stay away from them if your intention is to obtain raw cards for your sets. You are paying too much of a premium for the pack aspect. They contain very few cards, they are not high grade, and they can be searched but it really isn't necessary to do so. They were not packaged by Topps. They were not packaged in the same year as the year of the card contained inside. A popular theory among those selling them is that they were packaged in the 60's.

LJB17

Thanks for the input. I thought I remembered reading about these in the past, but I was unable to locate the threads.

Luke

Philabuster

STAY AWAY!!!!!! I bought a 1959 Christmas Rack about a year ago that advertised the cards inside as near mint. This pack had a Mays on top. The cards were total junk!!!!! I think the Mays may have graded a five if I were lucky but realistically would have come back a four. I'm serious, these cards were that bad. Needless to say I promptly got my money back and I now ignore this person's ebay site. I say again. STAY AWAY!!!!!!

CDC4

I would stay away from these rack packs.....they have usually have all stars or some have all Dodgers or Yankees.....I've never seen true NrMt-Mt cards in them.

Tipem

Hi,

I bid on a couple of those on E-Bay a while back from some guy that was selling them as a private auction where the bidders identity was concealed.I made the mistake of not checking his feedback and when I did I was sweating bullets until I was outbid.He had feedbacks that showed that he was repackaging them and had made the mistake of inserting a card that had a wax stain on the back.What an idiot!!! I can't remember his ID but you can easily identify this guy by his auction methods(as previously stated). I agree with the other members on this topic.STAY AWAY!!!. Whatever condition your are looking for can usually be found on E-Bay and many times in the form of larger card lots.Go to sets in the favorites catagories and you will find almost anything if you are patient. A lot of the times you can e-mail sellers and they are willing to sell lots if they have them.Good Luck.

Vic

helionaut

I've heard various stories from various sources regarding the origin of the Christmas packs, but nothing I've ever thought was 100% reliable and definite. Most likely they are similar to those packs you see in Target that have 50 random cards of all makes in them. I've heard they came from a single department store chain, a candy distributor, Topps themselves, or are just recent homemade creations. One thing I can tell you is definite, though, is whoever packaged them had a sense of history and/or humor. A few years ago there was a batch of them from various years on ebay including a 1962 rack. Two of the face cards were Roger Maris and Tracy Stallard. And if you don't know those cards, Stallard has a look on his face like a little kid after a bully stole his favorite baseball cap peed on it. Maris, of course, is following through a swing with a slightly more perplexing look on his face. Those two cards, facing each other, made me laugh for quite a while.

Buccaneer

So sad.

rvc

i gave in last year and bought a '53 xmas rack pack. i threw in a bid and surprisingly won. complete waste. the cards on top were in the best condition to fool everyone. i think i ended up with 12 cards and there were 2 sets of doubles. the cards inside were so bad in contrast to the nice outer wrapping that it seemed quite obvious someone had made this pack. but how could i prove it? i guess most dont open these up-stay away!

bobby