Factors that go into picking a graded set to collect?
majestic
Posts: 7
Hello collectors,
As a new member to this board i'd like to pick your brains (sorry, you have to pick your own noses).I collect mostly 50-60's Football and 70's Basketball but set building is set building so these questions apply to whatever is being collected.My personal experience has been that i choose a set i like and then scoop up as much graded material as i can find, then i eventually hit a wall and can't find cards i need.So, i pick another set and do the same thing.I see many of you are also working on numerous sets.What factors come into play when you decide to build a set?Do you already have an abundance of high-grade raw cards in hand?Do you have vending boxes or wax boxes in storage?Did you find a source for particular high-grade raw available to you?Does it make sense to say "Hey i really like the 1965 football tallboys" and set your eyes on that set without any means to get your hands on any?Is the better approach to wait and say go to a show or ebay and find someone was 50+ high quality raws and buy them as a base for your new set?Just wanted to get an idea how you guys initially start a graded set...much thanks with your help..Fred
As a new member to this board i'd like to pick your brains (sorry, you have to pick your own noses).I collect mostly 50-60's Football and 70's Basketball but set building is set building so these questions apply to whatever is being collected.My personal experience has been that i choose a set i like and then scoop up as much graded material as i can find, then i eventually hit a wall and can't find cards i need.So, i pick another set and do the same thing.I see many of you are also working on numerous sets.What factors come into play when you decide to build a set?Do you already have an abundance of high-grade raw cards in hand?Do you have vending boxes or wax boxes in storage?Did you find a source for particular high-grade raw available to you?Does it make sense to say "Hey i really like the 1965 football tallboys" and set your eyes on that set without any means to get your hands on any?Is the better approach to wait and say go to a show or ebay and find someone was 50+ high quality raws and buy them as a base for your new set?Just wanted to get an idea how you guys initially start a graded set...much thanks with your help..Fred
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Comments
Money, patience and standards.
If you don't have patience, do not try any set >100 cards from the 1950s.
If you don't have money, don't try and competitive set or any set with an SMR over what you expect to spend. (i.e. if you want a set in PSA 7, and the value of a PSA 7 set is $25,000, make sure you have at least $40,000 to spend on your set)
It depends on your standards. Virtually any set can be done if your standards are zero. You can pick up low-grade commons and get them graded until you can find better examples to upgrade your set. If you go into a set thinking "I only want a PSA 8 set", check the population, and the number of graded sets.
As an example, I went into the 1955 Bowman set knowing that it would be a 5-10 year project to get it to where I want it. In 3 years (and after too much money), I have been able to acquire 47% of the set in "best-known" grade. I.E. there are 150 cards I will never have to worry about upgrading, unless some new PSA 9s or 10s get graded. There are still a significant number of cards from the set that have a PSA 8 or better population of less than five. This necessitates purchasing PSA 7s as holes and waiting years for the 8s.
Money, patience and standards. It sounds like you have very high standards and very litte patience. Unfortunately, it becomes very hard to build a set under that criteria. My advice: Do not pick a large set. Think 1961 Fleer basketball. If you want to build it in PSA 8, get all the 8s you can and fill in holes with PSA 7s. It sounds like your initial expectations are too high, and that is only something that you can change. Unless, of course, you have the money not to worry about it. If you have six figures to spend on a vintage graded set, I know a dealer or two who can set you up nicely.
Mikeschmidt gave you a lot of sound advice. I would only add the following as obvious as it may sound: Make sure you love the set that you collect or why bother doing it?
I would try to find a set that I like on EBAY with a good base of cards already graded...for instance...I saw a complete 1973 set with superstars worth about $515 of of SMR go for a little over $600.
I prefer to have a base to work from. Nice sets take time...so just relax and enjoy the process of the hunt.
Regards,
Alan
EBAYID: ACOWA
I about 75% of the to completing my 65 topps set and I've been thinking of starting a new set. I figure the last 25% will take me much longer to complete than the first 75%.
I want this set to be a mixture of 8's, 9's, and 10's which rules out the extreme high dollar sets. I thought about 1963 but the 9's are just selling so high I wouldn't be able to get enough of them to really make a nice set. I also considered 1975 because that was the main year I collected as a kid (and yes I sold all of them for $225 many many years ago) but it seems like the 9's are selling for huge prices as compared to other years.
After studying the population reports, smr, and watching ebay auctions I've decided on 1969 as a second set. The reasons are that I like the looks of the cards, there are a higher availability of psa 9's and 10's than many of the surrounding years, and they seem to sell more reasonably than the other years. Anyways, that's they thought process of one fairly new, uneducated, card collector.
Wayne
Wayne
I was very fortunate to start putting together high-grade vintage sets (ungraded) since 1989. So ten years later, when I decided to start getting cards graded from those sets, it was only a matter of paying grading fees. But since my standards are for PSA 8 or better with no qualifiers, I found that only half of the cards were worthy of being graded. Therefore I still had to buy quite a few cards and I still will continue for years to come.
If I had to start from scratch, I'd definitely start with a set I was in love with. From that point on, I'd look for good deals on cards. Sometimes Superior or Mastro has 20, 40 or 100 card graded lots of one particular year. Sometimes those sell low, so that's a good starting place. If you can find a nice ungraded set, that could also be a terrific starting point. Good luck!
**(note)** when i say you can start your set with nothing i am wrong to a point you will need alot of $$$$$$!
ENJOY THE HOBBY!
The 69 set is probably a winner for being able to build a high end graded set for relatively low dollar amount (5 figures instead of 6). Just set yourself a dollar amount that you're willing to spend on stars and commons and don't vary too much from that. Don't get emotionally involved in the auctions. 69's come around quite often. You should also be able to pick up nice raw cards from some of the major shows. If you compare them against the cards you already have slabbed and send in the best of those, it'll be cheaper than picking up cards on-line. Best of luck on your set! Frank Bakka
Sets - 1970, 1971 and 1972
Always looking for 1972 O-PEE-CHEE Baseball in PSA 9 or 10!
lynnfrank@earthlink.net
outerbankyank on eBay!
Thanks for the quick and helpful feedback.
Some points that were brought up:
1)I agree you must LOVE the set to even consider collecting it.
2)Standards:I guess to each his own.I understand you can build a PSA5/PSA6(post 1960) set in no time.And an All-Time Greatest set PSA8/PSA9/PSA10 ia a life-long project.Personally as long as i am happy with my set it doesn't need to be "the best".I think PSA8NQ is the most economically feasible and enjoyable goal.Sure, some of the sets on the registry make me drool, but i have to be realistic.Mikeschmidt's set for example....AMAZING!!
Mikeschmidt>Excellent commentary on the set-collecting "mindset".Very insightful!I didn't mean to sound impatient, i understand the "hunt" is the best part. And Yes i do have six figures to spend, just as long as there is a decimal point after the first four digits!!..LOL
Vargha>Yes, i agree..the first 75% is a breeze and then it starts to get ugly
Acowa>Good advise for building a base
Dude>I thought i had high-grade sets until i started to send them in to be graded.Seems like a large percentage of my cards are in 7 heaven.
Footballdude>Yes, money is always the best base to start with..lol..good luck with the 48's.
Thanks you were all very informative and any other opinions are always welcome...Fred
Just remember that the ride is as, if not more, enjoyable than arriving at your final destination.
Have a nice trip! Jim S---#5 current: 1956 Topps baseball
Just a thought for you: PSA is just about to put a "Hall of Fame" baseball set in the registry. If you did this, you could focus your collection 100% on guys who are NOT commons, because you will see that HOF'ers are always much more available in graded condition than unknown guys (whose cards all got thrown away or folded)!!
Also, it would be relatively inexpensive to fill up most of the set, since you could buy (example) a Hank Aaron card from ANY year to meet your need. I suspect that a PSA 9 1976 Hank Aaron card is MUCH CHEAPER than a PSA 9 1956 Aaron card!!! And, if you ever complete the set ... then you can ALWAYS upgrade over the rest of your life by buying a PSA 8 1955 Mantle card to replace your PSA 8 1965 Mantle card, etc.
This is why I think the HOF set will be so popular ... because if you NEED a PSA 8 card of Nolan Ryan ... there are about 25 YEARS worth of different cards from which you can find ONE to meet your need!!!!
I started out building a 65 PSA 8 set. For right now, I'm not real flush with $$$ (2 little kids) so I have modified my "set" to getting all HOF's from the 65 set. I think there are between 35-40. I think the 40 cards will still be nice to look at.
Do what pleases you!