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Tips/Hints for Buying Raw Vintage Cards

natelucknateluck Posts: 25 ✭✭
in Trading Cards & Memorabilia Forum
Hello all,

I'm still new to the whole vintage arena of baseball card collecting and was wondering what advice you guys might have regarding purchasing vintage cards. As in, what kind of routine do you follow when you're looking at a card you might buy? How do you examine the card? And what "tools" come in handy? Any opinions would be great.

Thanks for reading,
Christian

Comments

  • MorrellManMorrellMan Posts: 3,240 ✭✭✭


    << <i> what kind of routine do you follow when you're looking at a card you might buy? >>



    First, I adjust both gloves and tighten the wrists straps exactly 3 times for each wrist; roll my shoulders twice and spit in first my right glove, then my left glove. Now I'm ready.

    If the card is in front of me, I check the corners first. If they're not sharp, I'm done. If they are, I'll tilt the card a number of ways to check the surface for creases or wrinkles, front and back. Centering is a fairly easy assessment and is, of course, subjective. Closer examination requires a 10X loupe; scanning the corners, edges and surface.

    Lastly, I'll bite a corner to make sure it's real.
    Mark (amerbbcards)


    "All evil needs to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
  • tnfan67tnfan67 Posts: 52
    Christian, buy PSA graded cards from sellers with good feedback in the grades that will make you happy. Buying vintage ungraded material is often unsatisfying. I, like many others, have learned that raw vintage grading is very inconsistent on Ebay. That being said, you can find nice,clean ungraded cards on Ebay. However, if you send them in for grading don't be suprised if the grades are lower than you hope for. Good luck with your new interest in vintage cards. Despite what you may have read, this is a great, fun hobby!
  • jskirwinjskirwin Posts: 700 ✭✭✭


    << <i> However, if you send them in for grading don't be suprised if the grades are lower than you hope for. >>



    Amen, brother, Amen.

    I deal with Ebay since all the card shops went bust a few years back. I buy raw all the time and sell it too. It works for me since I'm collecting 12 years of sets (67-78) and reserve the graded cards for the stars. For the stars it is very hard to buy raw because I've found that people pay more for an EX ungraded than they do a PSA 5! This results in relative bargains at the PSA 5-7 levels.

    That said, for raw what most people call NM-Mint is going to grade at PSA 6 - tops. I've learned this from experience and now drop cards 2 full grades - so that NM raw= PSA 5. I then consult the SMR (yes, it's unreliable but it's at least a reference that is better than nothing) and note what a graded card sells for. If the raw is at least a bit less than that, I consider it; if not, I forget about it and wait for a graded card to come my way.

    When I sell, I use PSA standards, meaning that I usually get paid less because I don't overgrade my stuff. But I'm doing this for fun - not for profit - so I don't mind. Still, I've got more than a few "Card was better than advertised" feedbacks which has me wondering...

    Another thing: There is no mint vintage raw card on Ebay. Also beware of comments like "Don't know anything about cards" or my personal pet-peeve "The cards are good for their age. I refuse to bid on the latter since the stuff that gets a decent PSA grade does NOT look its age. It looks like you just pulled it out of a pack at the local dimestore.

    Have fun...



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  • MajorDanbyMajorDanby Posts: 1,343
    As with the others above, i urge you to buy graded if you get cards through ebay. There are far too many swindlers and myopic raw vintage sellers on ebay. As a card newbie, you feel like in card heaven once you enter ebay's auctions. You buy a few raw cards because they are cheap.....a lot of them will come back creased up or not as described in the auction. Save yourself the frustration and hassle....buy graded cards from PSA, SGC, GAI or BGS (modern cards).

    However, if you know a reputable dealer....either on ebay (given advice from these forums) or in a card shop/show....then raw vintage might be a good way to get cards for cheap.

    If youre trying to figure out if a card is altered or a reprint, check the card's paper stock...a lot of reprints are thinner and lighter. Measure the card and use a jeweler's loupe to identify trimmed or colored cards.
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