I have hit the wall on my 71 Topps set [UPDATE!]

Mefer

It has been a while since I have hit these boards, or for that matter, bought any cards for my 71 set. I am currently at a tad over 83% complete and have hit the wall. I actually hit the wall about six months or so ago and have not bought any graded cards since. The wall I am facing is 200 feet high, flat and covered with butter. I cannot for the life of me make it over. eBay is frustrating and not helping. It takes more time to sift through the postings to find the 17% of the cards I need. The ones I bid on I get out bid. It seems like I am not going to finish this set after getting so close. Arghhh!!! If anyone has some 71s I need, let me know. My set is PSA 7 or better. I am number 17 on the list.

SOM

You think 83% and six months is frustrating? Try 95% - and almost a year! And that's for 1978 baseball!!

Hang in there, though...you can do it! (But I can't help...)

RonBurgundy

I am at 82% for my 1957 set, but still have some pretty good mojo. Nothing, not even pauljas, is going to stop me from getting this done this year. Well, maybe those $#@%! Lou Kretlow and Alex Kellner cards will. I don't think Topps ever made either one of those cards centered.


Stay classy,


Ron

lostdart58

Building monster sets is a marathon and not a sprint.......The last 10 % can and WILL take longer then the accumulation of the first 90%

MY 72 Topps set ( 787 cards) quest has gone on now into the 17th month. I reached 90% after 10.5 months. This morning I reached 98.97% complete...........................

..The last 8 cards might take me till the end of the year...or beyond!!

RobBobGolf

Hence the name of my 76 Topps FB set "Rob Marcus 76 Topps 10 year Plan"

3 years for 95% 7 years for the last 5%

theczar

mefer,
when you get close to the finish line and are not finding much to bid on why lose out on stuff you need that does come up on E-Bay?. i would be bumping every bid i placed. of course it is costly but if you are 83% finished there probably are not a lot of high pops that you need so the competition is plenty.

IMHO time to take off the gloves and start spending...

cardfan07

I've got # 64 and 66. Rbi leaders and HR leaders. Both PSA 7. PM me.

sagard

Email the other 1971 Topps registry members. They likely have some extras. Also email people lower on the list to see if you can buy from them. Be prepare to buy groups larger than you need.

thesplendidsplinter

Nothing worth having is easy achieving. If it was, everyone would do it.
Hang in there. Imagine the elation you will have whenever it is done.

bobwilley

I have been putting up a bunch of 1971's recently.
I just put up a bunch of high #'s (400-700 range).
I will be listing a lot more in the lower #'s shortly.
All are PSA 8
I had some PSA 9's and one PSA 10 that was sold earlier this week.
Two POP 1's.
Was a monster set.

Check them out HERE

Fabfrank

Mefer- Stick with it and you might need to step up your bidding. With the new current special, you might see an increase in pops. 71 is a popular set and it goes through cycles falling and rising prices. I know I overpaid (at the time) for the last 5-10% of my set, but justified it by knowing I purchased at least 10-20% below market. In the end it all evens out and you'll have a complete set. Let loose the Benjamins!!

Mefer

Thanks all. What is even more maddening about this is that most of the cards I need are in the 1 to 400 range and are commons. I seem to always see high numbers listed on eBay; a little tougher on the low numbers. I have a few raw cards left from my stash that I think I will need to send in. Of course, that means I need to join PSA again.

I would love to let the Benjamins fly on the last cards I need. The only problem is if I did that, my wife would let the fists fly on me. Maybe its time I invest in some new clothes for her to massage cash for cards through......

FB

Mefer,

I know exactly what you're saying. I haven't won a 1972 PSA 10 in over a month. I've raised my bidding up 10 - 15%, but there are some new yahoos on board spending 50 - 70% more than I am. But, you know what??? I'll stick to my guns and I'll buy what I need when they decide to sell their sets off at 50% complete. I've done it plenty before. I just look at this dry spell as a chance to save some money.

And it sounds like you're getting some good advice about checking with registry members lower on the list. I'm still working on my 71 even though I haven't updated in months. But, I have had guys talk to me about other sets that I've lost interest in and was able to help them out. So good luck!

Frank B

Downtown1974

Mefer, It just so happens I may be able to help you out. Heres the deal. A friend I work with has a skid full of cards at his house that he is storing for his uncle that owned a card store long ago. My friend asked me if I would go over and see if there is anything good in the collection. I asked him if he knew off hand what years they were, and he said " they are mostly 1970s, most of them have the black border." COOL I thought! I was thinking of grabbing some Munsons off him. I will see if there are any cards that you need for your set. I am going over his house on Wed. morning. I hope I am not setting myself up for disappointment. I will let you know!

Mefer

UPDATE--

Well guys, thanks again to your prompting and advice, I am less than one percent away from hitting the 90% mark on my set! Mainly commons I need in PSA 7 or better. The three tough ones to get will most likely be:

536 Claude Raymond (I lost out on a PSA 7 o/c that was on eBay; those who collect 71s know how tough this one is)
608 Mike Wegener
708 Russ Nagelson

Outside of the above three cards it should be, relatively speaking, easy to get the balance I need in PSA 7 or better. After that, it is upgrading the stars for me.

Bosox1976

Good progress Mefer! Grind it out!

Bob - the suspense is killing me - what happened with the skid of 1970's cards?