What is the best way to acquire 1985 Topps Football cards for grading?

reggie1

I want to start a 1985 Topps Football registry set. What is the most economical way to do it? Buy raw in case form and grade yourself( what type of case has the best examples for grading in the 1985 Topps Football set- Rack,Vending, grocery rack or wax. What about just buying them from a seller on E-bay? Any info would be most helpful.

sixdart

Here is an earlier thread regarding 1985 Topps Football ... PSA 1985 Topps Football Thread .

Other PSA Forum Members that have had direct submission experience with '85 Topps football are ... Bkritz, metalmike20, Wayne8348, carkim, NHLfightguy, mintstateinc ... PSA 9s, thefootballcardstore ... PSA 10s - PSA 9s listed as second string inventory, AlanAllen, Fabfrank, JasP24.

Lately, the best results come from vending and grocery cello racks. However, those were from sealed cases vs. individual boxes. They have produced 2 of the 3 very rare #33 Walter Payton PSA 9s (POP 3 - no PSA 10s) that each sold for $300 with EBAY buy-it-now, and a few #314 Marino PSA 10s (POP 10 out of 1853 submissions) that have sold as high as $1200. They have also generated many PSA 10 commons, but we'll have to see if that trend continues. This set is very condition sensitive.

Recent prices for the following ... Wax Case $1700-$1800, Grocery Rack Case $1200, Cello Box $200-$225, Rack Pack Box $200-$225, Wax Box or Vending Box $85-$125, Grocery Rack $10-$20, Wax Packs $3-$5.

The tough cards of the set are ... #24 Richard Dent RC, #33 Walter Payton, #238 John Elway, other difficult cards are #251 Waren Moon RC, #253 Mike Munchak HOF RC, #308 Mark Clayton RC and the Checklists (final 3 cards).

As far as purchasing from EBAY vs. breaking open material and submission, it all depends on your budget, patience and available time. If you don't currently have a PSA membership, then you'll have to factor in that cost as well. Submitting to PSA involves grading fees (which can vary) and the shipping & insurance expenses (both ways) that can add to the bottom line per card. However, you won't have to pay $300 for a PSA 9 Walter Payton or $80 for a PSA 10 common - should be fortunate enough to pull one?

EBAY can offer nice value for PSA 9s. They can range from $5 to $50, however many commons can be had for $7 to $15. PSA 9 1/1 commons usually sell for $30-$40 and there are many singles yet ungraded. You might face some competition from 3 to 6 current '85 set builders - depending on the card. In particular M O S H ... #1 PSA Registry Set, and myself ... #2 PSA Registry Set. In addition to the set builders, the '85 set is popular enough that there are many HOF, RC and team collectors spot bidding when lower POP cards come up for auction.

Many of us also have extras to trade and sell. Good luck with your set!

Marcus

Buccaneer

That ^^^^^^^^ is one nice analysis.

reggie1

Thanks Marcus for all the info. Much appreciated. Robert.

thefootballcardstore

Yes, just great - thanks
Jeremy

FYI - I have yet another batch of 85s in now, about 50-100.

sixdart

Jeremy,

Are they all listed on your website now?

Marcus

reggie1

Marcus would the grocery cello packs be too tightly packaged since they were wrapped twice and would the corners be slightly rounded like the 1987 Donruss factory set cards or would they be nice and sharp.

gregm13

I find the grocery racks to be wrapped too tightly - leading to few sharp corners. I find that regular cello's or racks are the best. Vending is hit or miss. For whatever reason, I tend to get a ton of o/c cards in vending (I'm referring to 70's and 80's vending in general).

Regards,

Greg M.

thefootballcardstore

The ones I have now yes, but the 50-100 at PSA, no.
I'll email you directly when the results are in ASAP, list unaltered.

Jeremy

Fabfrank

Go with the rack boxes. Wax, vending, grocery packs are all hit or miss (for that matter so are the racks), but to a much lesser extent.

AlanAllen

That's excellent advise Marcus. Although I have experience submitting '85s, I don't have any success submitting '85s. I would recommend staying away from grocery racks though, because my experience with other years has been poor. The cards are too tightly wrapped and come out warped.

Joe

shouldabeena10

Great advise Marcus! I'd imagine the 85's will be one of the hottest sets from the 80's someday.... just based on looks alone. Beautiful cards.

Mike

thejam

racks are only way to go....look for centering on top/bottoms cards

NHLfightguy

Just what the Jam said. On grocery and cello packs if the card showing is o/c then most likely the rest will follow.

thefootballcardstore

email sent Marcus, to your earthlink address.
Good luck with your fantasy team this weekend!

Jeremy

Bkritz

Reggie or any other registry members, I can get you 100+ NM-MT sets with tons of psa 9s and maybe a few 10s in there. I sell on ebay as bkritz. You can ask sixdart and others about my reputation with 85 topps cards. The sets are complete except for the Marino All Pro and Marino/Montana Passing leaders. You can pull TONS of 8s and 9s here. Email me at briankritz@aol.com

I will give you an excellent price, price dependent on quantity.

Thanks

Bkritz

Brian