Home› Trading Cards & Memorabilia Forum

1985 Topps Football Question.

RemynSkylerRemynSkyler Posts: 234
in Trading Cards & Memorabilia Forum
Please help.

I want to start a 1985 Topps Football set registry and would like to know if it would be better to open a wax or cello box for cards to be submitted later for grading to PSA? I am new to this forum and any insight into this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Markimageimage
1981-82 Topps Basketball PSA 9 or 10
1992-93 Topps Basketball PSA 9 or 10
1976 Topps Baseball PSA 9 or 10
1981 Topps Los Angeles Dodgers PSA 9 or 10
1982 Topps Los Angeles Dodgers PSA 9 or 10
1986 Topps Los Angeles Dodgers PSA 9 or 10
1975 Topps Wacky Packages Series 15 PSA 9 or 10

Comments

  • mkg809mkg809 Posts: 1,320 ✭✭
    In my opinion rack packs always produce the better cards.
  • AxtellAxtell Posts: 10,037 ✭✭
    If you open wax you are going to lose a great number of cards to gum stains, typically 1-3 cards per pack.

    Throw in the way the packs are wrapped, and PSA's critical viewing of corners and edges of this set, and rack packs would be your best bet looking for raw. Keep in mind this set is a monster to complete in high grade, and that high grades are quite rare.

    Good luck to you!
  • ssgunnipssgunnip Posts: 335
    I just bought 6 1985 FB rack packs form various sources. I was disappointed in the corners. I thought they would be better than wax or cello. I think out of the 300 or so cards, between centering, fading, and corners, I maybe had 10-15 cards that would get 8's and zero cards that would get 9's or 10's. I think there were a lot of 7's in those racks. I figure I would have to buy a case to get any 9's.
  • AlanAllenAlanAllen Posts: 1,530 ✭✭✭
    Your best set is to contact one of the bulk modern submitters (4sharp, dsl, rockbottom, etc.) and try to work out a deal. That's especially true if you're looking to build the set in 8 or 9... you'd build most of the set for less than grading fees.

    Joe
    No such details will spoil my plans...
  • ldfergldferg Posts: 6,745 ✭✭✭
    remynskyler,
    welcome. i have actually started this set in 8s. i've had a few of these graded and like some of the others have said, your best bet is with rack. my latest submission was decent with some 9s and very few 10s. i don't mean for this thread to be a shameless plug for my auctions, but if you want to get an idea of the price, i have some duplicate 8s listed in my ebay store (and some 9s and 10s ending this weekend).

    i'm sure sixdart and some others will chime in and give you some helpful information.

    good luck.


    Thanks,

    David (LD_Ferg)



    1985 Topps Football (starting in psa 8) - #9 - started 05/21/06
  • CDsNutsCDsNuts Posts: 10,092 ✭
    Not sure how much money you have to spend on them, but you want to go rack and try to get cases or case fresh boxes. Any racks that have been handled will likely yield results similar to ssgunip's. Contact Steve Hart at the BBCExchange and ask if he has any access to 85 Topps rack cases. If you can luck out and pull a PSA 10 of any decent star, you could sell it on ebay and make a fairly big dent in the set.

    Lee
  • sixdartsixdart Posts: 821 ✭✭
    Hello Mark,

    We'd love to have another CU member join our '85 Topps Football fraternity!

    If you're seriously interested in starting a Registry set, I'd strongly recommend purchasing PSA 9s singles on EBAY. The expense of unopened material combined with PSA submission fees makes these PSA 9s very affordable. This process could get you to the 33%-40% level in a relatively short period. To go beyond this level, you'll need to begin submitting on your own. This will also let you view PSA's criteria for PSA 9s and offer a comparison before submitting cards on your own.

    The card’s packaging is the key. Because of the black borders, edges and corners chip very easily. Even handling the cards after opening can cause chipping.

    Of all the options, rack-pack boxes offer the most consistent quality material. There is less card damage/loss as there is no gum and wax stain damage. These boxes are the most desired and are expensive. They can range from $325-$450.

    Cello packs are packaged tightly ... resulting in more corner wear, but cleaner edges. You'll also find that the gum placement can warp cards and you may average loosing 2-3 cards to gum/wax stains per pack. This often affects the key cards due to the collation sequence. I’ve also seen that sugar from the gum can crystallize/coat the card surface. Overall, this is your second best option. Cello boxes can range from $150-$225.

    The next best alternative is wax box. As with the cello packs, you may average loosing 2-3 cards to gum/wax stains per wax pack. Wax boxes have increased $30-$45 on average in the last year, but they are the most available.

    From my experience, the best wax or cello boxes are the non-factory close outs. Factory returns are the ones with a black "X" or mark across the front. Clean boxes have been handled less and stored better, therefore, less wear and tear. Factory returns may also contain mixed packs from various boxes, so your collation can be poor.

    Vending boxes can be very hit or miss on quality. As with most vending, the packaging in general offers little protection to the cards. You’ll also never know what collation could be - all commons? These don’t come up for sale that often.

    Another source is the Topps factory set, but they don't surface that often.

    Bottom line is … there is no guarantee on any amount of PSA 9s or PSA 10s contained within any of these boxes.

    Good luck and let us know what you decide!

    Thanks again,

    Marcus
Sign In or Register to comment.