"From Vending." Huh?

elway65

Hi all,

What does it mean if someone describes a card and says, "From vending." For example: "1963 Topps Pete Rose SGC96, From Vending." My guess would be that cards from vending can actually be slightly smaller in size than the same cards issued in wax packs or cello..But I don't know for sure. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks, marc

AlanAllen

The implication is that the card is exceptionally nice and well-preserved. For a graded single though, who the heck cares what the original packaging was? It has some meaning for complete raw sets, because there will be no wax stains. Of course, I have bought sets "from vending" with wax stains, that didn't take long for me to return.

Joe

jrdolan

As AlanAllen says, the seller is pitching the idea that the card was untouched in a vending box until just recently. Certainly SGC 96 is about right for an extra-nice vending card, but how the heck would you know? And once it's graded, why the heck would you care? "Vending" is usually a pitch for raw cards.

Wabittwax

I'm pretty sure that "from vending" is a way to spam listing titles. I do searches for multi-card lots of vending cards to look for gradable ones. Mostly I'm looking for some who opened a vending box back in the day and the cards have been sitting in his closet for 20 years. Anyways, when I do those searches, every auction that has "vending" in the title pops up, including single card auctions which is not what I'm looking for. It's annoying but I'll sift through the mountains of uninteresting auctions to hopefully find the diamond in the rough.

Buccaneer

Ok, here's one. Why did they make all these cards for "vending" anyways? In all of my years of collecting, I only saw one vending machine that actually dispensed cards and that was in a Woolworth's in 1972. Wax and Racks were everywhere and into the 1980s, I bought cases of vending boxes but still didn't know why they were produced in that manner.

metsfan

Vending boxes were made so dealers could make sets. This way they they didn't have to worry about opening up packs,getting wax stains,etc. It was just boxes of cards. I don't know why they call them "vending" boxes.

AlanAllen

They were initially intended for the card vending machines that date back to the 40's and 50's. That's why vending boxes have been discovered as old as 1957 (or older?), when card dealers did not exist (ok, maybe a half dozen did, not enough to market a product towards). As vending machines faded into obscurity and the organized hobby started taking off, dealers realized vending boxes were the easiest way to build sets. So although the product completely changed audiences, it kept the same name.

Joe

Pittfan

Vending boxes were made so dealers could make sets.

That really sucked if they had to make sets by hand. It takes days to break down just one vending case.

WinPitcher

no, what sucked was after they made them by hand they had to sell them for 20 bucks or so

Buccaneer

<< <i>no, what sucked was after they made them by hand they had to sell them for 20 bucks or so >>



You just gave me a real bad flashback to 1987-88 when I had to make dozens of 87T and 88D sets while working for a dealer. Nothing like creating worthless sets by hand that instantly turned all of the cards into ExMt condition. Of course, they were sold as Gem Mint sets.

Dallas88

Interesting insights guys! Thank you!

I always had those questions about vending also!

How cool would that have been to grab some coins and "vend-out" a Mantle, Aaron, or similar, while your jealous friends watched over your shoulder!

Dal

jvineyard

My local dealer still has an old vending machine in his shop. He's got it full of junk baseball, Yugioh and Pokemon cards, but my kids feed quarters into every time I take them to the shop. Not one card comes out of that machine without dinged corners.

ctsoxfan

I buy vending boxes all of the time for my own submissions - and, many times, the cards "straight from vending" are not always your best bet for sharp cards. If someone dropped the box, just once, at some point in its life, good luck pulling a card from the box without a ding in it. "Straight from vending" is meaningless hyperbole.

elway65

Thanks everyone for the great insights! You all be smart and stuff.

LateBloomer

Steve,

Your link is broken: Buccaneer's Treasure 61 All-Stars

Buccaneer

Thanks. Fixed now (I think).

gemint

I have some graded 1971's that I list periodically that I include 'Vending' in the title. The reason is that I purchased a 1971 vending box in an auction last year and pulled the cards from that box. Since the cards were pulled from the box in the very recent past, I feel it's ok to include the 'Vending' monicker.

MRyanF

<< <i>My local dealer still has an old vending machine in his shop. He's got it full of junk baseball, Yugioh and Pokemon cards, but my kids feed quarters into every time I take them to the shop. Not one card comes out of that machine without dinged corners. >>



Ever wonder if that was a factor in picking what went into the machine?

I have actually seen modern vending machines scattered around here and there, but most vend assorted cards. In upstate NY last year I found a card vending machine in a hut at an outside ice skating rink. Apparently no one has used it in years and it was still vending out 1983 Topps cards. I started using up my change until I realized that my great "find" was not so spectacular--who really wants a bunch of loose 1983 topps cards that wouldn't just buy a vending box off ebay. So I left them in there, hoping that maybe some kid would get excited when he get an unexpected supprise. Though from the look of it, I doubt that happens much.