Some "Rookie" Questions For The Veterans

Loyalty32

As I mentioned in my first thread, I'm new to the world of grading. That being said, I've decided to go after a 1987 Topps Baseball PSA 10 Set. I love this set! I do however have some questions I would like to ask you folks who have been at this for a while. Thank you in advance for anyone who takes the time to answer!

-Is a vending case the best way to go in terms of condition and price?

-Does anyone on the board organize group submissions?

-Has anyone ever used Slab-Renew? Does it work?

-How often are the POP Reports updated? Do you find them accurate?

-I know the PSA Labels previously had "GEM MT 10" on one line. I was informed that after the .5 point grading system was implemented, that changed to the "10" being listed under "GEM MT". Does this make the cards with the newer label more desirable? I assume some of the cards graded a 10 prior to the .5 point scale would likely be a 9.5 now?

Thanks
Craig

ShootyBabitt

<< <i>-I know the PSA Labels previously had "GEM MT 10" on one line. I was informed that after the .5 point grading system was implemented, that changed to the "10" being listed under "GEM MT". Does this make the cards with the newer label more desirable? I assume some of the cards graded a 10 prior to the .5 point scale would likely be a 9.5 now? >>



Welcome to the boards. Just to hit your last question, there is no 9.5. There are 1.5s - 8.5s.

MCMLVTopps

Is a vending case the best way to go in terms of condition and price?

I responded to you on this approach some time ago. I advised you to buy not one, but two cases...yes, you'll have a gazillion extras, but for the price, which as I recall was well under $150 for both cases, you would have, IMO, an excellent shot to obtain all cards in the set that would reach a grade 10. Additionally, you might want to actually call and speak to Joe Orlando, the President of PSA and see if he would give you some kind of big break for a massive grading submission. The key is to very, very carefully pull the cards and immediately place the cards into card savers to avoid any potential dings. You may well end up with many complete sets, but then choose carefully from those stacks to see which cards have the best shots at a 10. You're gonna need a big dining room table to pull this off I would think. You can then try to sell all the extra sets to recoup some of your cost. In any event, if I were on this adventure I'd pop for the 2 cases and consider it an investment...where else are you gonna get a shot at getting ALL cards many times over in one fell swoop. There may even be some rare or hard to obtain cards in the 1987 set, which would then really help you recoup your investment.

-Does anyone on the board organize group submissions?

I don't do group submissions...call Joe as stated above and control your destiny. Some have been burned by group submissions.

-Has anyone ever used Slab-Renew? Does it work?

Doin't know about this.

-How often are the POP Reports updated? Do you find them accurate?

The POP report is in some instances rife with inaccuracies. Maybe not for the 1987 set, but follow this quickly. If somebody cracks out a PSA 7, that he or she thinks deserves a higher grade, sends in the card raw, and the card comes back as a PSA 7.5 or higher, what happens to the original red tag from the PSA 7? In most cases it is not sent in, thus a "ghost" PSA 7 now exists in the POP report, as the original card is now holdered in a PSA 7.5 or PSA 8 or higher slab. Got it? One way to determine if the POP report is potentially off is to go to the POP report and look up the 1987 Topps set...if you see lots and lots of half-point cards, it may well be an indication that there are a certain number of PSA 6,7 or even 8 cards that really do not exist.

GEM MT is GEM MT, to me it means nada where the numeric 10 is located. There are no 9.5 grades.

GL,
Al

Loyalty32

ShootyBabitt - Thank you! I don't know why I didn't realize there was no 9.5 ... I wonder why that is?

MCMLVTopps - Thanks for the response! I do remember you saying buy a couple vending cases. I had a couple others saying rack cases were the way to go because if the vending cases weren't stored properly they would be trash. I appreciate the info on the POP Report as well!

Thanks again!
Craig

digicat

<< <i>That being said, I've decided to go after a 1987 Topps Baseball PSA 10 Set. I love this set! >>



If you decide to pursue your love for this set by trying to complete it in PSA 10, I'll warn you ahead of time, you're gonna pay heavily for your love, and you will probably spend a lot of money you will not be able to recoup in the event that you change your mind.

1987 Topps is not a heavily collected set in graded form, and the raw cards themselves are extremely plentiful.

Lets say that you have an awesome grading eye and manage to submit PSA 10s for each card in one shot. If you manage to work out an awesome deal with PSA and get your cards graded for $3.50 each, you'll spend $2,772 in grading fees alone for those 792 cards.



There, now that I've gotten that out of the way, you'll find your best cards in rack cases. Vending boxes have very tightly packed cards with corners that are flush with the edges of the box. If the box got bumped around at all, there's a pretty good chance that all 500 cards in the box will have sustained corner damage.

jradke4

I have to echo MCMLVTopps. Though Rack packs might be better but for the price 2 cases will yield roughly 25+ complete sets. Yes you might get burned a 500 count box in the case but there will be others that should make up for it.

Also, go straight to Joe or as they recommend Roy. Visit the sub center and look for where they talk about bigger discounts on larger bulk orders. However, I dont think you will get a $3.50 special for just 792 cards. At least that isnt what I have heard lately from PSA. If anyone has heard, or gotten that type of deal lately plese let me know.

justmichael

I have a 3200 count box of singles from rack packs in mothers basement.Next time I am there I will look for them if you want.They are yours for the cost of shipping if I can find them.
Mike

Loyalty32

digicat - This part sounds familiar "you're gonna pay heavily for your love" Kind of like getting married! I appreciate the words of wisdom though. I know it won't be something that I'll make money off. I've never collected for that reason though, so no problem there. I appreciate the response!

jradke4 - Thanks for the advice! I'm leaning Vending Case to be honest. Although, it would be fun to bust some rack packs! I really had no idea you could call Mr. Orlando himself to ask about a bulk discount. I like the fact that someone is that hands on.

justmichael - That is really kind of you! I appreciate the offer! If I haven't picked up a vending case or 2 by the time you find them, I will take you up on that!

I appreciate the comments everyone!

Thanks
Craig

mikeschmidt

Vending is better in terms of value. If you place a premium on your time -- it may be slightly more expensive, but a Factory Set case is already sorted for you and it will make it easier to sort cards for submission purposes.

Sorting through a vending case takes [many] hours -- but I'm not sure how valuable that time may or may not be for you.

digicat

<< <i>but a Factory Set case is already sorted for you and it will make it easier to sort cards for submission purposes. >>



I don't know about 1987 Topps, but 1989, 1990, and 1991 Topps factory sets had what seemed like random sorting. The whole set was there, but you had to sit there and put everything in number order.

WinPitcher

Have you considered Topps Tiffany?

As for the sets being collated IIRC the white boxed sets sold to dealers were, the brown ones were not.

Not sure about the Christmas sets in the fancy boxes.


IMO if you can find a nice run of racs (the large case) that may be the way to go.


I was thinking of trying it myself with 86's, but in 9 as a minimum grade not 10's.


Good luck, sounds like you will have some fun.


Steve

digicat

<< <i>Not sure about the Christmas sets in the fancy boxes. >>



The sets I opened from 89-91 were in the colorful "fancy boxes".

Loyalty32

mikeschmidt - I'll just be doing it when I have down time. I've always liked sorting cards and such, so it shoudn't feel like work!

digicat - Good to know! I thought about a set case as well.

WinPitcher - I did think about the Tiffany for a quick second, but it just wouldn't be the same for me. I love the '87 Topps that I ripped from the packs. I don't think I even knew about Tiffany until years later to be honest. I was only 9 though!

Thanks
Craig

mrpeanut39

Regarding the grading, is it imperative that you get the cards graded ASAP? That's a substantial chunk of change to drop all at once. At least for me. Personally, I'd rather chip away at the set. Submit on the monthly specials only. The specials have been as low as $4.25/card lately. Send in 50 or 100 at a time. Or whatever you can afford. You can hone your grading eye that way. Hopefully your eye will be more trained as you go on. Also, if you get the "grader of death", it's a lot easier to swallow on a 50 card sub than a 792 card one.

Loyalty32

mrpeanut39 - This is going to be a long term project for me. I knew that going in. I will buy what I can already graded. I am looking forward to "training" my eye on a Vending Case or 2 though! I will keep an eye out for those specials!

Thanks
Craig

Rushhead2112

Good to see someone having some interest in a post 1986 set. Sure they are mass produced and may not pose the same challenge as a 1975 set, but they are still good looking cards! Good luck with the set, and I may be in the market for some of your 10's if you manage to get some doubles!

WinPitcher

The next 10 to 15 years will really be telling if any interest will be given to them.

It will be in that time period where the kids that originally collected them possibly will have a retro

moment and will want to collect them again. The thing is will they want them in gem mint 10 or 9 graded

or simply in a binder?


One thing that's going for them is that their is plenty of product out there for them.

Hopefully it will be there when they want it.


Steve

digicat

<< <i>It will be in that time period where the kids that originally collected them possibly will have a retro

moment and will want to collect them again. The thing is will they want them in gem mint 10 or 9 graded

or simply in a binder? >>



I'm one of those kids. I started off wanting to get my modern cards graded, but after realizing that paying PSA a $5 fee to put common modern cards in holders is just not for me.

If I wanted to blow $2000 and never hope to see it again, I'd plan a small vacation. I'd personally rather form new memories than try to relive old ones.

Now, I stick with raw for modern stuff, with a few exceptions.

thehallmark

I definitely feel like we're kindred spirits, Craig. I have collected 1987 Topps baseball in PSA 10 at one point, though I gave it up as my collecting desires developed a bit more. I truly understand the allure of having a long term project involving an overproduced, mostly worthless set that you love (1990 Pro Set football for me). Let me give you a couple of tips.

First, find the cheapest sources of unopened wax, racks, cellos, vending, & factory sets. Keep those sources noted in a spreadsheet. Buy some of each kind of unopened pack and make YOUR OWN determination of what works best for you. Some racks are great, but some vending is awesome for grading. Loose cellos can be better than a lot of racks and wax is usually the least expensive on a $ per card basis. Try to get a sense of where your money is best spent before you start spending in greater amounts.

Next, setup Ebay searches so that you get emailed when 1987 Topps PSA 10s show up. When they do show up, DO NOT OVERPAY!! Have a price range in mind and stick to it. If you are paying $30 for a PSA 10 Harold Baines, you are not making the best use of your money. Better to let it go and hope the price normalizes. Also, keep in mind that you will be submitting hundreds and hundreds of cards on the $4.50/$5 specials so paying more than $15 for a card you are including on your next submission may not be the best idea.

Get familiar with Ebay seller 4 Sharp Corners. This is major bulk submitter/seller of PSA cards and they have the ability to help you complete much of this set. They need to make a profit, though, so be prepared to pay. If you can get a hold of anyone over there and communicate this collecting goal, I guarantee they will submit more 1987s and put them up for sale.

Keep having fun, pal. If you love 1987 Topps the way you seem to, collecting it in PSA 10 will be challenging but enjoyable. I promise you the money you spend will seem insignificant as you start piling up those 10s. Make sure to sign up in the registry and TAKE PICS of your cards!! We'll look forward to your updates. Good luck!

-DJ

Loyalty32

Thanks for the GREAT responses everyone! I appreciate all of the info! I just picked up (2) 1987 Topps Vending Cases. I can't wait to start sorting through these. This will bring back so many memories! I remember the backs more than the front, from stat reading as a kid!

Thanks again!
Craig

ThoseBackPages

Craig, Awesome! cant wait to read your progress!

MCMLVTopps

Good move IMO, pls keep us posted on how you are progressing and how the cards look in terms of potential "10" prospects.

Loyalty32

ThoseBackPages - Thanks!

MCMLVTopps - Thank you!

Do you guys suggest signing up for the PSA Gold or Platinum Membership? Are the monthly specials different for each plan or the same? If not, I assume the only difference is the number of "free" Submissions?

Thanks
Craig

bking

<< <i>ThoseBackPages - Thanks!

MCMLVTopps - Thank you!

Do you guys suggest signing up for the PSA Gold or Platinum Membership? Are the monthly specials different for each plan or the same? If not, I assume the only difference is the number of "free" Submissions?

Thanks
Craig >>



The only difference is the number of free subs.

EDIT: I should say "The only MATERIAL difference"; maybe there is a subtle difference in the throw-ins, but big whoop...