The best unopened wax bargain in the 70s and 80s.....

CDsNuts

As many of you know, I'm busting a ton of unopened product from the 70s and 80s in attempt to relive my crappy childhood. I'm curious to know what you guys think is the best bargain in terms of unopened, lets say, wax box in all the 70s and 80s (excluding hockey). Assume the box has been kept in the middle of a sealed case untoucherd since its release. Here are the factors to consider:

- price of box (on average)
- big RCs in set
- value of graded stars
- condition sensitivity of set
- "real" value of cards inside box- is it worth opening.

Here are some of my choices:
1982 Topps FB ($100)- Montana 2nd yr, RCs of LT, Lott, and Munoz
1983 Topps BB ($80)- Gwynn, Boggs, Ryno RCs, Ripken 2nd yr
1985 Topps BB ($100)- McGwire, Clemens, Puckett RCs (still could go up because Clemens is active).
1981/82 Topps BK east ($175)- McHale RC, Magic, Bird 2nd yr. Although very condition sensitive, still great value getting 3-5 of each card.
1985 Topps FB ($80)- Moon RC, Elway, Marino 2nd yr. Black border cards command huge prices if graded 10. Not bad to take a shot at under $100.

NickM

How about '81 Fleer and Donruss - $40 to $50 a box apiece (and maybe cheaper). There probably aren't any HOF rookies in the sets, but both are loaded with HOFers (many of whom had more than 1 card included), PSA 10s sell quite well, card quality is miserable on centering but decent in other areas, and if you hit on an early run box, you will find collectible errors.

Nick

Axtell

Where are you finding 83 topps wax boxes for $80?

And I'd agree with the 81F...I'd like a box, but BBExchange ran out.

softparade

I have a box of 81 wax Donruss

Stone193

<< <i>Where are you finding 83 topps wax boxes for $80? >>


Axtell
I was thinking the same thing...vending yes and cheaper but not wax. And, although you may find guys cheaper on ebay, I will be the dissenter here and say that I would rather pay more to Murphy, e.g., than take a chance with some guy I don't know.

your friend
Mike

softparade

<< <i>

<< <i>Where are you finding 83 topps wax boxes for $80? >>


Axtell
I was thinking the same thing...vending yes and cheaper but not wax. And, although you may find guys cheaper on ebay, I will be the dissenter here and say that I would rather pay more to Murphy, e.g., than take a chance with some guy I don't know.

your friend
Mike >>



I echoed this same sentiment in another thread Mike. I have my $575 wax box of 78's coming from Steve and have had no hint of remorse. That is until I pull nothing but OC's

TheCARDKid

I love 88/89 Fleer basketball packs.

-Boxes go for about $450
-Tons of key rookies; Pippen, Rodman, Stockton, Reggie Miller, plus regular stars, plus the stickers.
-They are condition sensitive, but it's not extreme. You won't get a box with every card off centered (or PD'ed). 9's and some 10's are virtually guaranteed.
-Real value of raw cards: It's solid. You average 3 sets and 3 sticker sets per box. It's not hit or miss like some baseball boxes.

Mega bonus ----- Pull a PSA 10 Jordan sticker and you just made a profit of 5 figures.

Other basketball boxes are underrated. The 78/79 and 79/80 boxes are all but forgotten about.

jayhawke

I always liked 1984 Fleer. Colorful but a simple design. I never collected the set for the Mattingly or Strawberry. I also liked how the cards were in order by team. Easier to put the together. I believe the first 20 plus cards started with the World Series Champs and so on.

bobsbbcards

Here's an auction for a 1983 Topps Wax Box that went without a bid at $29.95 last time. Good luck!!

1983 Topps Wax Box-NRMT

1977topps

<< <i>Here's an auction for a 1983 Topps Wax Box that went without a bid at $29.95 last time. Good luck!!

1983 Topps Wax Box-NRMT >>

easttexascardsandgames

You can get that Ricky Martin rookie card maybe even 2 or 3.. LOL

smallstocks

I have a bunch of those early run 81 Fleer boxes in my closet. Until I returned to the hobby recently, I thought they would never be worth anything.

Mike

CDsNuts

CardKid,
I agree with you that the 88-89 was a great set and a good value. You would think that since Stockton is my favorite player I wouldn't have overlooked it, alth ough I'm not so sure the PSA 10 Jordan sticker would still fetch 5 figures. Seems like those balls-to-the-wall Jordan PSA 10 collectors have settled down a little and regained their sanity.

As far as you 81 Fleer and Donruss lovers, just because it's 24 years old and cheap, doesn't mean it's good. I think both sets are tied for the ugliest card design ever. I guess I should've added visual appeal to the list of factors. Harold Baines, while underrated for most of his career, isn't the rookie you want carrying your set. So you have a bunch of ugly cards of Ryan, Rose, Schmidt, Brett, R.Henderson, etc...... Personally, I'd rather spend the extra few bucks for the 81 Topps. I always liked that cool looking hat at the bottom.

The funny thing is that while Fleer continued to improve their card design, Donruss went tackier and tackier as they headed towards the 90s. They got a little adventurous in 84, they dug up the 70s in 85, same in 86, I like 87, 88- ugly again, 89 nothing special, 90- Hey there's those wacky 70s again, 91 they let a kindergarten class design, and finally in 92 they decided to go modern.

Lee

Axtell

<< <i>
As far as you 81 Fleer and Donruss lovers, just because it's 24 years old and cheap, doesn't mean it's good. I think both sets are tied for the ugliest card design ever. >>



That may be your personal opinion...the donruss cards are indeed tacky, but for a lot of people, these were some of the first cards they ever opened.

I remember collecting the 1981 fleer set vividly from my youth because I always wanted to collect the seemingly infinite error cards.

You seem to be looking at this strictly from an investment standpoint...and your posts always seem to be of the vein 'hey, look what I got! I made 3x my money back on this box!!!' You say you are trying to relive your 'crappy childhood' when it seems all you are trying to do is make a buck (I'm not against making money, but don't pretense it by saying you are just busting wax for good times).

You come here asking for advice from a majority of people who are *collectors* not investors (though I know there are quite a few), so of course you are going to get some sentimental responses.

Unless you are getting some fantastic deal on unopened wax, your odds are quite poor of even breaking even on the cards of anything, even worse in the glutton of cards that began with the 80s.

Let's say you spend $100 or so on an 83 topps baseball wax box (which would be a fantastic price, as bbcexchange has em for $135)...you'd have to get 10s of both boggs and gwynn (which is highly unlikely, but might happen), in order to make a few bucks.

Look...I'd tell you to just break what you want, have fun with the hobby, instead of being obssessed with what is going to make you the most money.

ctsoxfan

No doubt that this whole concept is a crapshoot at best, especially when you add grading fees to the mix. I recently busted a 1983 Topps football wax box - not a single gradeable card in there. Also, 2 boxes of 1981 Topps baseball from BBC Exchange yielded nothing. Not a single card you could grade; when I submit cards of this vintage you need to think the card has at least a shot at a 10 to make it worthwhile. 9's might get you grading fee (a few rookies excluded), 8's are losers from a return on investment standpoint. I definitely take this same approach (busting older wax), but the times you actually come close to breaking even are few and far between.

TheCARDKid

As mentioned, 78/79's are very underrated.

The set had an uninspired design, no huge rookies (Bernard King, Dennis Johnson) and the NBA at the time was in no mans land. It's probably the second least desired box from the 70's and 80's (79/80 is at the bottom, 81/82 scores a notch higher because of the Magic, Bird and McHale cards).

Still, it's good value for the money. There are still plenty of stars (Walton, Maravich, Dr J, Jabbar, Malone, Gervin, Rick Barry). And the best part is 14 cards per pack with 132 in the set.

CDsNuts

Wow Ax, it appears I offended you.

In my few weeks being here I've posted both positive and negative results in my venture, which up to this point is an experiment. I clearly stated that what I'm trying to do is get mint copies of the cards I wanted/collected as a child, through the fun of busting unopened material, then trying to recoupe (and yes, possibly make) a few bucks. I never said I could do it, but it's certainly a goal. In any case, I'm having fun since I like to hear about others' collecting ventures, I figured this would be of interest to people collecting hi grade sportscards. I'm not doing this to make money; I'm doing it because I want the cards, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to get them in the condition I want them in- ie. my experiment. But carelessly spending on overpriced wax (1976 Topps BB, 1981 Topps FB, etc..) is something I'm trying to avoid, so I'm asking for the advice of the folks here who know more than I do. And yes, I know this is a crapshoot; if it weren't everybody would be doing it. If I end up paying for for my crads this way than if I had bought them graded, then so be it. But it's hard to put a price on the fun of busting boxes.

I'm not sure whether you're using this forum for info, fun, or other motives, but I'm here for the info and because I like to hear about others' stories/cards as well as share my own. You seem to have a "high horse" complex and go on the offensive directly targeting people with the majority of your posts, which for the life of me I can't understand why you would waste your time doing.

Oh, and if I was trying to make money, the sportscard hobby would not be my first, fifth, or hundredth choice. I get attached to these pieces of cardboard and would have a hard time selling a lot of "profitable" items. I'm just trying to find a way to sell the cards I don't want for my collection and figure out the best way to maximize my revenue. No different than what just about everybody here does. I think you need to lighten up and not take everything so seriously.

Lee

Axtell

No, you didn't offend me.

It just gets a bit tiresome to hear your only posts to be telling of how you opened this box, got these cards, and are going to make X amount of money back.

My posts are always on the offensive? Hardly.

Do I speak my mind? Definitely. I'd rather have an opinion and voice it than have no real insight at all.

You say you've only been here a couple of weeks, then you attempt to tell me how 'all' of my posts are on the offense? What, did you go back and look through every single one of them?

I didn't think so.

You say all of my posts are on the offensive? I could say every single one of your posts are about how much money you are making back on this or that box break you just had.

CDsNuts

No I didn't check all of your posts. However, I used the term "majority of" (not all) because I can remember on at least 3 occasions before today, that I have read one of your posts and thought: "Wow, what an a-hole". I'm not saying you are one, so please don't misquote me again. I'm saying the tone of the posts you use to belittle people and what they post about makes you seem like you're trying to prove something.

And for the record, I've posted about what I've opened in 3 or 4 threads, and a lot of people have responded with comments like "sounds like fun" and "keep sharing your results." If you're not interested, don't read them.

And also, for the record, I never said I'm making money with this experiement. In fact, I'm probably down a good bit up to this point. I've had good boxes and bad boxes. But again, it's fun to open the boxes, and it's fun to share the results. When I am not interested in a topic, I don't read it, and I certainly don't post negatively about it. I would ask you to do the same.

Lee

larryallen73

Yes it sounds like fun to open packs, etc... but I agree with Axtell it's getting old. Come up with a new topic.

dontippet

Don't read it if it's getting old. I enjoy reading it.

Don

larryallen73

My apologies Don. You are right I should not read it then. I guess I was also sticking up for Axtel because packbuster dude was making it some sort of personal attack on Axtel and we don't need that.

dontippet

Apology accepted, and I understand what you are saying.

Don

Axtell

I really wish these forums had the ability to ignore other users here.

Would make reading these forums a lot more enjoyable.

Axtell

Here are some of CDnuts' 'highlights':

http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=11&threadid=364942
"ps - I know it seems like I'm bragging, and I guess I am."

http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=11&threadid=364862
"I definitely could've done better. I'll probably end up losing a few bucks on the deal"

http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=11&threadid=364928
"1981 topps bradshaw...I think it has a shot..."

http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=11&threadid=364482
"Well it would appear I got the Joe Montana box"

http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=11&threadid=363484
"I got a great deal on this: $1050 for the box....I should be able to recover what I spent, maybe even make a few bucks."
"I think I may be able to get my money back if some of the stars can get a GEM grade"
"If I can get $1100 of the $1360 I spent I'll be happy."
"Should get the $170 back I spent."
"Should get my money back."
"I should get my money back or at least come close."
"Some possible 10s of stars could help get my $470 back."

http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=11&threadid=363520
"I'm pretty sure this is by far the nicest version of the set that has surfaced..."

CDsNuts

Wow, you have a lot of time on your hands. Like I said, if you don't care about what I have to say, don't read my posts. I'm done with this "argument" that no one really cares about, because if I go any further, the teacher might make me go to the time out desk. For anybody who has followed this thread, I sincerely apologize for the time you've lost reading my own and Axtell's infantile bickering.

Lee