I was giving $10 each for 1990 Leaf Kevin Maas, 1991 Stadium Club Phil Plantier. Had at least 10-15 of each. Was buying alot of 1989 Fleer Hal Morris, 1988 Fleer Mark Grace, 1990 UD Deion Sanders, Ben McDonald, etc. Gave $1-3 each for 1990 Skybox Shawn Kemp. Had close to 100 and still have them somewhere.
However, I bought 20 1990 Leaf Steve Avery cards around $1.00 each and sold them for $20.00 a piece. Had a about 10 sets of the 1990 Fleer Rookie Sensations Basketball that I gave $10-15 each and sold for $45.00 each.
At least then you could speculate on prospects beacuse they were cheap. And most or all of them were at least playing at the major league level. Today people are still doing the same thing. Only the prospects are costing 10X-100X what they did then. And they have zero playing experience even at the lowest minor league level.
Most of the rookies and errors mentioned here, I pulled from packs (when they were still afforadable - remember when $3 was the expensive pack?). All the cards were seeded evenly, not like today where you need to break open several cases as opposed to a 2 boxes to get at least one of every card.
My biggest mistake would have to be an 83 Topps Traded Darryl Strawberry for $90. I sold it on ebay a few months back for $1.25. It go so bad with that card that I took it out of a top loader when I ran out of them and just stuck it in with a pile of commons. The card was NM/MT in its prime, but I sold it as NRMT as I'm sure the the condition degraded as I started handling it without any protection (it wasn't even worth a penny sleeve or binder page for me).
New to PSA - who hasn't jumped on someones bandwagon! I've got a stack of Cal Eldred RC's, Pete Incaviglia RC's, Matt Williams RC's e.g. collecting dust - I also got caught up in the "buy by the brick" crap in the early 90's - truth or dare: how many people, back around 1990, thought that they were going to open a nice, lay-back cardshop and chuck that 8-5 job and the boss that came with it!
How about being simply a stupid, newbie buyer? Here are some prices I paid for cards way back when, and the prices realized (or estimated to realize) when sold almost FIFTEEN years later:
DUMB MOVES:
1969 Topps Reggie Jackson: PAID $100 in 1985. Slabbed in 2001 and graded as PSA 7 (OC). Sold in 2002 for $75.
1973 Topps Mike Schmidt: PAID $50 in 1986. Estimated to be a PSA 4/5. It might sell today for $35 if I'm lucky.
1954 Topps Richie Ashburn: PAID $10 in 1985. Lost in 1989 during a move. Was as nice as the '69 Reggie, but better centered. Might sell today for around $100 if it is/was PSA 7.
Virtually every other HOFer card purchased in 1985. At best PSA 5 and not worth grading. Estimated cost paid in 1985: around $200. Might sell for a fraction of that today because of the really abhorrent conditions.
But not all is pathetic. Here are some "successes":
SMART MOVES:
1955 Bowman Russ Meyer: PAID $1.00 in 2000 on Ebay. Slabbed in 2002 as a PSA 8. Sold in 2002 for $45.
1965 Topps Roberto Clemente: PAID $8 in 1985. Slabbed in 2001 as a PSA 7. Sold in 2002 for $105.
1982 Donruss Cal Ripken: Paid $0.25 for a pack in 1982. Slabbed in 2001 as a PSA 9. Sold in 2002 for $90.
1967 Topps Roberto Clemente: Paid $6 in 1985. Slabbed in 2001 as a PSA 6. Sold in 2002 for $50.
Comments
However, I bought 20 1990 Leaf Steve Avery cards around $1.00 each and sold them for $20.00 a piece. Had a about 10 sets of the 1990 Fleer Rookie Sensations Basketball that I gave $10-15 each and sold for $45.00 each.
At least then you could speculate on prospects beacuse they were cheap. And most or all of them were at least playing at the major league level. Today people are still doing the same thing. Only the prospects are costing 10X-100X what they did then. And they have zero playing experience even at the lowest minor league level.
My biggest mistake would have to be an 83 Topps Traded Darryl Strawberry for $90. I sold it on ebay a few months back for $1.25. It go so bad with that card that I took it out of a top loader when I ran out of them and just stuck it in with a pile of commons. The card was NM/MT in its prime, but I sold it as NRMT as I'm sure the the condition degraded as I started handling it without any protection (it wasn't even worth a penny sleeve or binder page for me).
DUMB MOVES:
1969 Topps Reggie Jackson: PAID $100 in 1985. Slabbed in 2001 and graded as PSA 7 (OC). Sold in 2002 for $75.
1973 Topps Mike Schmidt: PAID $50 in 1986. Estimated to be a PSA 4/5. It might sell today for $35 if I'm lucky.
1954 Topps Richie Ashburn: PAID $10 in 1985. Lost in 1989 during a move. Was as nice as the '69 Reggie, but better centered. Might sell today for around $100 if it is/was PSA 7.
Virtually every other HOFer card purchased in 1985. At best PSA 5 and not worth grading. Estimated cost paid in 1985: around $200. Might sell for a fraction of that today because of the really abhorrent conditions.
But not all is pathetic. Here are some "successes":
SMART MOVES:
1955 Bowman Russ Meyer: PAID $1.00 in 2000 on Ebay. Slabbed in 2002 as a PSA 8. Sold in 2002 for $45.
1965 Topps Roberto Clemente: PAID $8 in 1985. Slabbed in 2001 as a PSA 7. Sold in 2002 for $105.
1982 Donruss Cal Ripken: Paid $0.25 for a pack in 1982. Slabbed in 2001 as a PSA 9. Sold in 2002 for $90.
1967 Topps Roberto Clemente: Paid $6 in 1985. Slabbed in 2001 as a PSA 6. Sold in 2002 for $50.
I still remember getting the Diamond King inserts, even still have them.