Advice on Buying an Opened 1960 Topps Baseball Vending Box
spencerdorsey
Posts: 76
The seller of an opened and searched 1960 Topps vending box offered it to me for $400: Link
Is this a good deal? I figure there are 15+ Robin Roberts and some possible PSA 9s. What kind of resale value would something like this have? I've seen unopened 1960 Topps vending boxes go for around $7k, but this is obviously a different situation. Any advice would be great appreciated.
Is this a good deal? I figure there are 15+ Robin Roberts and some possible PSA 9s. What kind of resale value would something like this have? I've seen unopened 1960 Topps vending boxes go for around $7k, but this is obviously a different situation. Any advice would be great appreciated.
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Comments
"I know 0 about cards" is a red flag. I can understand why the first buyer at 700+ got cold feet.
263 - Darrell Johnson
264 - Robin Roberts
265 - Rip Repulski
266 - Joey Jay
267 - Jim Marshall
268 - Al Worthington
269 - Gene Green
270 - Bob Turley
271 - Julio Becquer
272 - Fred Green
273 - Neil Chrisley
274 - Tom Acker
275 - Curt Flood
276 - Ken McBride
277 - Harry Bright
278 - Stan Williams
279 - Chuck Tanner
280 - Frank Sullivan
281 - Ray Boone
282 - Joe Nuxhall
283 - Johnny Blanchard
284 - Don Gross
285 - Harry Anderson
286 - Ray Semproch
I can't imagine Topps would have ever issued a vending box of 500 cards with only 23 different cards in it. Topps isn't even that bad nowadays
Good luck in whatever you decide.
<< <i>If it doesn't come from Steve Hart, stay away! >>
WTB: PSA 1 - PSA 3 Centered, High Eye Appeal 1950's Mantle
"Live everyday, don't throw it away"
Seems like a good seller.
<< <i>Looking at her/his feedback I don't see any previous card sales.
Seems like a good seller. >>
I took a quick glance before, and there was one previous card sale that I saw.
It's of course not a scam, but in my opinion there won't be any "hidden treasures" in there either...I think this seller likely knows that card collectors like to bite on hidden treasure possibilities in auctions.
<< <i>Good luck, I hope they come with some blazers!
Your in for like a $100 to $200 gamble. You could resell the lot easily and recoup half your money. We take risks with racks and cellos all the time and have little or no resale value.
Smart gamble... >>
Couldn't have said it any better.
this is very low risk worst case scenario , you pull 10 cards that get you a hundred bucks and you sell the rest of the lot for a few hundred and you come close to breaking even or seller sends you a box of vg crap and you file a claim with paypal and return it.
I took a flyer on a seller that was a regular seller and had no clue about baseball a few years ago, I have tripled my money on a 3k investment and still have all the best stuff left. do your research and if you have minimal downside , it is worth a shot every time.
The main thing some of ya here don't factor in is the "time"...and time is money...at least to me it is. So what are ya gonna do with a multiple card lot like this of 1960 commons to achieve maximum value? You all know how to sell on ebay so I'll dispense with a dissertation...suffice to say it would entail a lot of time and effort to either break even or make very little money considering the work involved in doing it.
This seller has a number of low priced lots of other collectible items listed with multiple scans, and he's got the cards in hand and in my opinion he likely knows card values, and he is obviously willing to exert time and energy selling on ebay to make a small profit on auctions as he currently has around 450 listed. So why didn't this seller break up the lot and sell the cards individually or in smaller lots to achieve maximum value? If he had any lock 8 or 9's in there, he would have listed those cards individually, or got the potential 8's or 9's graded and then listed it.
I think ya could probably make more money stocking shelves at Walmart, considering the time and effort needed trying to flip a lot such as this, from a seller such as this...plus at Walmart ya'd get some exercise while doing it.
all ya gotta do is find 20+ people who need the exact same 24 cards for their raw EX-MT set.
<< <i>
The main thing some of ya here don't factor in is the "time"...and time is money...at least to me it is. >>
You sure do spend a ton of money on these forums.
<< <i>OK let's put it like this- I'm laying 3/1 that the OP at least gets his money back. >>
Good job - You can do book for Harrahs. LOL
<< <i>
<< <i>
The main thing some of ya here don't factor in is the "time"...and time is money...at least to me it is. >>
You sure do spend a ton of money on these forums. >>
Good observation. But I enjoy posting here...to me it's a hobby not work, and besides, the info I've learned from some of the card and coin posts, has saved and made me a lot of money over the years.
<< <i>not so tough, really Steve.
all ya gotta do is find 20+ people who need the exact same 24 cards for their raw EX-MT set.
I don't disagree with ya...I've done this on ebay a number of times with lots of this sort. But this particular lot with this particular seller, to me seems like a waste of time and effort based on what I've stated.
Hey, I'm not rooting in the least against the OP or any other CU member here who isn't a proven bandit like a Gary...I hope the OP does well, and I'd rather be wrong than right about this auction...but I'm not wrong.
...and if the OP posts a number of PSA graded 8's and 9's from the sale, I'll be one of the first to congratulate him.
<< <i>It's absurd that anybody on this board thinks this is a bad buy. You can get $.75 a card for '60 Topps in EX/MT all day long, so there's your money back right there in a worst case scenario. From the scan it looks like there are at least some sharp corners there, so any 8s ($20-$35 ea) and 9s ($100+ ea) are all gravy. And if there are the right amount of Robin Roberts you're looking at another $50-$75 on top if they are EX/MT. I would buy this box all day long for $400. >>
Couldn't have said it any better......lot's of Debbie Downers around here.
<< <i>
<< <i>It's absurd that anybody on this board thinks this is a bad buy. You can get $.75 a card for '60 Topps in EX/MT all day long, so there's your money back right there in a worst case scenario. From the scan it looks like there are at least some sharp corners there, so any 8s ($20-$35 ea) and 9s ($100+ ea) are all gravy. And if there are the right amount of Robin Roberts you're looking at another $50-$75 on top if they are EX/MT. I would buy this box all day long for $400. >>
Couldn't have said it any better......lot's of Debbie Downers around here. >>
yea, and some Overly Optimistic Oprahs as well.
Yes, and morons too.
<< <i>For $400 it's a great buy. Well worth the chance at a few nice poppages. While I realize that we're talking about cards between 263 & 286 (according to the side of the box), what are the chances the Robin Roberts cards were already pulled out? I doubt it, but I just don't see anywhere that says his cards are in there. Either way, I can't wait to see the OP post some scans! >>
He had a "distant" pic of all the cards, and the Robin Roberts cards are in the lot.
You're right...we'll wait to see the scans, and hopefully the OP hits for a nice score...but I doubt it.
So what that means with 1960 Topps is because of the cardstock and/or the front coating, the corners seem to hold up relatively well, but there still can be more wear on the card itself than what the corners indicate. I've bought a number of lots off ebay with 1960 Topps included, whereby the corners looked relatively sharp on the ebay pics indicating possible 7 's or higher, but the cards in hand would never grade a 7 because of scuff marks, creases, etc. Cards from 1960 with noticable wear on the corners, almost always in hand look worse from surface wear than other years with similar corner wear.
Also when buying lots such as this with "distant pics", and hoping to add value with grading, it's important to know that the cards from any year could look sharp on the corners, but have rubber band indentions, in which rubber band indentations are usually similar to a ding as far as grading, basically bringing the card down automatically to a 6...and in my opinion, this seller probably knows all this...hopefully he doesn't and allowed the OP to "steal" the lot. As Jeff indicated, we'll wait for the scans and see, and even more importantly, wait to see the grades from PSA if the OP submits them.
The other is a cream colored somewhat 'smoother' type back. Off the top of my head I'm not sure
if these numbers come with the cream backs or not. Some numbers come both ways.
Fwiw some of the debbie downers here have saved some people dough. A certain buyer of 65 topps
comes to mind.
Again good luck to the OP.
I was under the impression the OP has bought this?
"Live everyday, don't throw it away"
<< <i>Stevek 1960 topps has 2 types of paper, one like you say is somewhat thicker (fiberous) gray back
The other is a cream colored somewhat 'smoother' type back. Off the top of my head I'm not sure
if these numbers come with the cream backs or not. Some numbers come both ways.
Fwiw some of the debbie downers here have saved some people dough. A certain buyer of 65 topps
comes to mind.
Again good luck to the OP. >>
Yep, the Debbie Downers, especially on unopened packs, have saved me at least five figures in money I would have hissed away otherwise....and I do appreciate that very much.
The cheerleaders on here, the Overly Optimistic Oprahs are fine, but they don't save or make me any money. LOL
http://www.unisquare.com/store/brick/
Ralph
<< <i>Stevek 1960 topps has 2 types of paper, one like you say is somewhat thicker (fiberous) gray back
The other is a cream colored somewhat 'smoother' type back. Off the top of my head I'm not sure
if these numbers come with the cream backs or not. Some numbers come both ways.
Fwiw some of the debbie downers here have saved some people dough. A certain buyer of 65 topps
comes to mind.
Again good luck to the OP. >>
I've been involved in the printing business, so I do understand what Topps may have been thinking in all this. Printing these kids paper toys to sell gum and make a profit at it, isn't as easy as it may seem. There are all sorts of variables involved such as press speed, handling the sheets, cutting capabilities of the paper, and don't forget deadlines, etc, etc. I can understand Topps "experimenting" with different cardboards and paper coatings and inks, etc, and in fact they still do this today as is seen with the new Topps cards.
It's an interesting business, but one thing for sure, nobody at Topps in 1960 could have thought that their printed cardboard which retailed for a penny a piece, that some would be worth thousands of dollars a piece one day. LOL
<< <i>He had a "distant" pic of all the cards, and the Robin Roberts cards are in the lot. >>
Not sure how I missed that pic... I are blind.
<< <i>didn't see that pic either , you have to scroll the ebay pictures link which I have never done before. after seeing that this was a no brainer as long as he sends you the stuff >>
He'll send the stuff - I don't see any problem there. While I agree there's not much downside risk on this lot, there's little or no upside on it either - just a pathetic waste of time if trying to flip it for a reasonable profit.
What I do see from the pics is a fair number of OC cards and those cards are on the top of the pile. I can't believe the other cards will be any better, and the other cards will likely be worse. And I'm sure there will be a fair number of OC backs as well. This lot reminds me of those "hidden treasure" lots on ebay whereby they show ya pics of a few cards or coins, but then it's a guess as to what else is in there - and virtually all of the time it isn't worth the price if the intention is to flip the lot for a profit.
Just in case some of the Optimistic Oprahs haven't figured it out by now...this lot is exactly the same as a "hidden treasure" lot...with the potential hidden treasure here being high grade cards. In any event, if the buyer enjoys a big lot of many of the same card number 1960 EX - EXMT commons, and possibly some NM OC commons, then I think the buyer will be very happy with the cards.
Good lord, how long is it going to take to sell 20 individual Ex/Mt 1960 Robin RObert cards?
I agree with SteveK. Sure, they may be resold for a $300 profit on the optimisitc side, but it may take two years for that to happen, and many hours of work.
Since there really is no gambling fun associated in this buy...well at least not nearly on the scale of busting a vintage unopned pack...the WalMart analogy is a darn good one.
a wise dealer understands the time consuming requirements of such an investment.
a collector will just wind up with a bunch of the same old cards. it's not the worst move, but most of us would likely prefer to put our efforts elsewhere.
surprised no one has yet mentioned Curt Flood.
<< <i>If I buy it I will most likely resell it as the whole box and not break it up. >>
Not a good idea... break it up, send in the nicer ones... make more money. If not, sell it to me and I'll do it.
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