How do I get started collecting Pre-war Baseball cards?

Justified

Hey yall, this is my first post here, just wondering if anyone has any advice for starting a prewar baseball collection. I am trying obtain rookies for the entire baseball HOF. I realize ebay is a great resource, but what else is out there? I live in a city that has no baseball dealers(Calgary, Alberta), and ebay doesn't always have what I am looking for(namely 1914-15 Cracker Jack and 1920's Caramel sets, as well as pre-1900 Baseball).

Also I am very used to using ebay as my price guide, but for cards that show up only every couple of months online, how do you know what is a reasonable price?

Thanks for reading,

Justin

tennesseebanker

Try posting a "Wanted to buy" thread in the Buy,sell, trade area, That usually brings out quite a bit of sellers.
Good Luck with your collection.

djspann

There are many other big auction houses as well. I know very little about the CJ's and Caramels, but if they're anything like the stuff I collect, you'll find mostly low to mid value stuff on eBay and mid to large value stuff at the other auction houses. In either case, determining price could be difficult. Perhaps others have better ways to determine market value. In my case, most of the cards I'm looking for can be found at least once per year, so it's tough to estimate price, but not impossible. Here are the names of a few other auction houses: mastro, lelands, heritage, memory lane, mile high.


Good luck!

Doug

P.S. I used to live in Montana, and I've visited Calgary, Banff, and Jasper -- it seems like a great place, unless possibly for collecting cards...

zef204

Price should be determined by what you are willing to pay for it. If it goes higher than what you thought, move on. If lower, well, you got yourself a deal.

You'll see that this is a sliding scale as you continue your venture. If you get down to say 2 cards you need, you'll likely adjust your willing to pay for price a bit. But keep in mind, when you see a card go for way more than you are willing to pay, it may be someone else pressing because they need that card there and now.

My advice would be, don't get too caught up in worth, value, and investment. As a buyer you can name your price and either you can get it for what you want, or you can't.

Good luck with your pre-war cards and please, show us your finds!

Welcome to the boards,

Jordan.


GO BEARS

djspann

I definitely agree with Jordan's comments. The sliding scale is certainly a big factor, and sometimes cards sell for much more or less than average.

That leads to my next suggestion -- just observe for a while to see the trends and average prices for the cards you are interested in. This is what I do at first. It also sounds like you've been watching for a while, too.

After you've watched and possibly purchased a few cards, you can evaluate whether or not you are willing to pay what the market bears for the specific cards you want. At that point, you can either adjust the condition you're targeting (higher or lower), or you can get out entirely and go after something else. In rare issues, I'll sometimes pick up low grade cards just to get them, because they're scarce. I hope to upgrade when others become available.


Doug

Skinpinch

Justified,

For your goal, I hope you have a ton of $$$$, a long time to wait, and a clear definition/acceptance of what the players rookie card is!

Rookies for the entire HOF is a HUGE venture. Do you have enough cash for Babe Ruth's rookie? Thats if you even consider his 1915 Sporting News card his rookie, as he has a rare card a year before that one.

I gave up on a similar goal. THe problem was waiting for the cards to surface, AND waiting for the 'best' rookie card. I had a '38 Dimaggio, but that really wasn't his rookie, as he has a 1936(o-Pee-chee) card I believe. So I didn't really have his rookie.

Was a 1921 Hornsby American Caramel his rookie? It could be, but he has a 1919 issue somewhere I believe(not a mainstream card).

I was saving the Ruth for the end. But even if you only consider the mainstream cards as rookies, it will cost you a LOT of money.

My advice would be to get rookie cards of all the POST WWII players, as there is a more clear line of what/when that rookie card is. THen for the Pre war players, I would get a nice example of a player during his playing days, and not to get those examples from all the same sets, i.e. don't get all T206...get some from all sets.

Otherwise, unless you are loaded, a Babe Ruth or Honus Wagner card will put your goal out of reach. Not to mention a bunch of others that will blow your budget. Buy a nice 1911 Sporting Life Honus Wagner for example. Same pose as the T206, but affordable. I recommend a 1921 American Caramel Ruth. I had both of those and enjoyed them very much. I ended up selling them all though. Or a 1916 Sporting News Ruth.

Your goal would make a nice collection. Maybe down the road I may jump back on the wagon

cravetopps

go to the forums at oldcardboard.com (vast knowledge about pre-war cards) and ask a lot of dumb questions (these guys are extremely knowledgeable and it can be intimidating but do it; subscribe to a couple of the different price guides such as SMR and Vintage Card Prices (there are others); there are a lot of subscribers on this board and others who will trade, swap or sell cards so don't rely solely on ebay. EBAY is a great resource but for certain series, you will rarely see them listed on ebay. Find the key dealers for vintage cards.....good listing at oldcardboard.com. Lastly, and above all, be patient.

1960toppsguy

The easiest way is to win the lottery, sell your house, go to law school and live in a dorm with a roomate who has some connections.

fsjeter

There are quite a few sellers that specialize in pre-war cards. I would become acquainted with as many as possible. Here is a link from the Network 54 forum of sellers and collectors of pre-war cards with several links that should be beneficial. Hope this helps.

Scott

wolfbear

How does one get started collecting Pre-war Baseball cards?

step 1 : get a frontal lobotomy

step 2 : see step 1

Justified

Thanks for the advice. At least initially I am going to focus on the HOFers from the T206, Cracker Jack, and Goudey Sets. I realize most of these aren't rookies, but they are easier to find relatively than any other issues. As for the Plank and Wagner, the T206 cards aren't at all viable pricewise for me, so I would probably go with the E90 Caramel cards.

incugator

It's probably a good idea to turn on your private messages, too. That way people can get in contact with you if they have something to sell.