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poll on gai wax packs/investment

if you were going to speculate on gai wax packs, which years would you buy and why? focus= long term holding, ideally an increase in investment

Comments

  • mikeschmidtmikeschmidt Posts: 5,756 ✭✭✭
    I would buy all seventeen 1953 Topps GAI-graded packs in the next Mastro auction. With a monopoly on the market -- I should be able to divest a good number of them to willing collectors and still end up with two or three costs at net zero cost.
    I am actively buying MIKE SCHMIDT gem mint baseball cards. Also looking for any 19th century cabinets of Philadephia Nationals. Please PM with additional details.
  • You could buy virtually any 1950's pack and do well (save for the many X Mas racks floating around).

    10 years ago you could have bought a 1958 Topps football pack for $250, '54 Bowman baseball for $250-300, or '57 Topps football for $300.

    All of those packs now are worth at least $1,500 to $2,000. The ROI of penny packs is much lower, but they still make solid investments.

    The packs I'm buying are nickel and cello's to a lesser degree.

    Even in the 60's, there are still many great investments. 1965 Topps football has always been rare; I can't imagine what that would sell for now. '62 and '63 Fleer football is also very rare.

  • Stone193Stone193 Posts: 24,407 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Do you think you have to stick to really older wax for ROI? What about more affordable wax from 1975 to 1979? Opinion?
    Mike
  • mikeschmidtmikeschmidt Posts: 5,756 ✭✭✭
    TheCardKid:

    Do you happen to have a 1955 Bowman baseball pack that you would consider parting with...? PLMK
    I am actively buying MIKE SCHMIDT gem mint baseball cards. Also looking for any 19th century cabinets of Philadephia Nationals. Please PM with additional details.
  • pcpc Posts: 743
    i'ld be modern gai 10s for peanuts since 10s are 10s
    and the cost is minimal.if i could "sell short" the ebay
    prices on 60s and 70s rack packs that would be my choice.
    Money is your ticket to freedom.
  • Marc,

    I haven't seen a '55 Bowman baseball pack in ages. The packs and boxes from the Mr Mint find have either been very well stored away or they've nearly all been opened up.

    Packs from the '70's haven't produced the kinds of returns as older, rarer packs have. Some are still great buys though. 71/72 Topps basketball packs are spectacular. They were rare 5-10 years ago, and they are still some of the rarest packs of the decade in any sport. 73/74 Topps rack packs are somewhat rare and undervalued.

    Baseball packs from '75-79 are certainly solid investments. But supply and demand isn't as favorable IMO from this era as earlier material.

    The allure of 50's material is not only of the unopened pack itself. But also, the fact that it's one of the only ways to pull out uncirculated cards from that era. There are no rack packs or vending boxes to speak of (compared to the 70's for example). So if you want to pull a Mint condition Mantle or a mint condition Jim Brown rookie, packs are the only way to go. And with such little new supply coming onto the market, prices have only gone up.

    Will they continue to go up in the future? I buy them purely as a great collectible. If they keep going up, that's an added bonus.
  • jmoran19jmoran19 Posts: 1,611 ✭✭✭
    Speaking of 71/72 packs, I just got these back last week. Does anyone know how many GAI has graded for this year? Thanks, John.

    Current obsession, all things Topps 1969 - 1972

  • Is one of those packs a 5? It looks really good.
  • jmoran19jmoran19 Posts: 1,611 ✭✭✭
    The one on the left is 8.5, the right one is a mint 9.

    Current obsession, all things Topps 1969 - 1972

  • Nice. Probably a $800-1,000 for the pair.
  • packCollectorpackCollector Posts: 2,786 ✭✭✭
    71 basketball might have been a great investment and it is definately a rare pack but at $1000 a pop which is what they real packs have been going for, doesn't seam like much of a return is possible. probably not much of a loss is possible either so it sounds like a good collectible to me. Any collectible that I won't lose too much on is a great investment, if I make some $$ , even better.image

    all 71 packs are expensive due to their scarcity and low production runs and will most likely hold their value. christmas racks are a nice collectible but only at lower prices based on what they are. an aftermarket pack.

    60's 5c packs are probably not the greatest investments right now, you have to remember the people that are paying 800-1200 a pack already have an enormous collection so their relative cost is not that high when looking at the big picture. buying these packs at these prices on an individual/investment basis is probably not wise

    my thought is to buy the rarer 50/60's packs as the scarcity will always drive the price. do not chase the big $$ on the more common 60's packs and buy the 60's that are selling at a discount relative to the rest of the pack market due to oversupply, example 61 fleer football and 67 baseball cellos 6 months ago. happy hunting

  • packCollectorpackCollector Posts: 2,786 ✭✭✭
    for the record, I think that 71 basketball gai 9 would garned 1200 + on ebay.
  • ICE9ICE9 Posts: 552 ✭✭✭
    jmoran 19, if you don't mind me asking, where did you get the 71/72 Basketball packs?!? Very impressive!!! I've been looking high & low for about a year and a half for a 71/72 Basketball wax pack, and haven't even come close to finding one. I've tried Dave & Adam's, BBC Exchange, Mark Murphy, eBay, Mastronet, etc., etc, you get the idea.

    Anyway... years ago, I collected Stephen King limited edition books. They were typically small press runs published prior to the massive Doubleday editions, usually signed and numbered. Steve once commented that, even though the limited editions were sold out prior to publication, they were not rare books because they were readily available on the secondary market (at inflated prices). He stated that a truly rare book was one could not be located after searching for a year, regardless of cost. Sounds like a 71/72 Basketball wax pack.


    "Must these Englishmen Live That I Might Die? Must They Live That I Might Die?" - The Blue Oyster Cult
  • jmoran19jmoran19 Posts: 1,611 ✭✭✭
    The 8.5 pack I got on Ebay in 1999. The other pack I purchased from Steve Glaze (formerly PAAK, now Staxofpax) in 1998. On average, I paid $170 each. Thankfully I started collecting unopened stuff before it really took offimage

    Current obsession, all things Topps 1969 - 1972

  • Does anyone know of any pre 1948 packs still in circulation?

    1933 Sport King packs use to show up every now and then. And there use to be the occasional 1910 unopened Tobacco pack with a T 206 card in it.

    I believe Collectors Universe auctioned off a 1948 Bowman basketball pack a few years ago. Talk about amazing.....
  • I have a few pics under the "pack identify" section on my site. If your interested in (old) wax ....you might aswell check out my site. www.honestshawn.com
  • WinPitcherWinPitcher Posts: 27,726 ✭✭✭
    Good for you.
  • Dennis88Dennis88 Posts: 5,797 ✭✭✭
    I just bought this one:

    imageimage


    Comments are welcome!!
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