Overwhelmed with vintage collection...any help?

Mat84 · February 28, 2012 9:25AM

Hello I was hoping for a little advice about the best way to approach the collection I have.

Backstory: I inherited a collection of about 20,000 cards from my dad and uncle, they are all 63-75 topps baseball, basketball, football and hockey.

For the past 6 months in my free time I have been organizing the cards sticking them in card savers and submitting all the heavy hitters to PSA, ie mantles, ryan rooks, rose rooks, aaron's, mays etc. It has been quite profitable but I am at a point now where I am not exactly what to do next.

My problem is trying to figure out what exactly is worth it to submit while staying profitable. I guess I am looking for advice on if I should just unconditionally submit any hall of fame card that doesn't have an obvious flaw and what to do with the boxes and boxes of commons I have. I am sure I have many high grade commons but trying to pick them out is literally making me go insane. I mined a box of football cards for high grade commons and some of the stuff I picked out came back 5s and 6s where I was hoping for 9s and 10s. I have read the psa grading standards and stared at the psa photograde tour more times than I care to admit and I still struggle to really understand the grading process or least identifying my high grade cards.

I guess my main question is would it be worth it to bulk submit commons and hope for high grades or is there any edge I can give myself with what I submit besides the obvious. Does this have to be as much of a gamble as it seems? What kind of price can I hope to get from PSA in a 500 card sub? I keep going back and forth on if its better to sell ungraded cards that would probably grade 4-7 or try and sub to PSA and hope for that 6 or 7. This is a really tough game and I have endless respect for anyone who has mastered it.

brianwintersfan · February 28, 2012 9:30AM

Well I would say that checking out the pop report might be a good place to start. That way you would have something to go after in all of those cards. Digging out some low pop commons might be worth your time. As far as grading goes it gets easier the more you send in. We have all missed things and had cards come back like your's did.
Sounds like a fun collection to dig through.

VitoCo1972 · February 28, 2012 9:41AM

Just put all the late 60's hockey in a box. I'll send you my address

benderbroeth · February 28, 2012 9:45AM

<< <i>Just put all the late 60's hockey in a box. I'll send you my address

>>

no mine

miconelegacy · February 28, 2012 9:48AM

You could post some scans here. If your looking to sell it all, have someone help you with it.

Brick · February 28, 2012 9:49AM

Hi, hello, how are ya?

Good advice to check pop reports. Along the same lines a sub to VCP would be valuable. Many commons aren't really common in high grade and sell for quite a premium.

FavreFan1971 · February 28, 2012 10:18AM

<< <i>You could post some scans here. If your looking to sell it all, have someone help you with it. >>

Agreed, we could also help you out in telling what we think you should submit

NickM · February 28, 2012 10:37AM

As a general rule, commons are not profitable in anything below 8 from those years. There are a few exceptions, mainly from certain high number series.

Don't submit just any HOFer cards - Submit any HOFer rookie without an obvious flaw, and any cards of the very popular HOFers that you think should get 7 or above (e.g., submit a Clemente, Wilt, or Namath, but not a Niekro, Billy Cunningham, or Bob Brown).

Post large scans on this board of cards that you are considering submitting and ask for recommendations - while the members are not always accurate, the wisdom of crowds helps.

It's also possible to sell directly from these message boards - use the Buy/Sell/Trade board or Vintage Cardboard Trading board for that.

Nick

dtkk49a · February 28, 2012 11:02AM

You just need to make sure the cards are in good enough condition to submit. PSA always has specials every month and for $5 a card, it may be worth it to get a lot of the vintage stuff into plastic if it grades at least PSA 8. Can you post some pictures so that we can get an idea of what condition these cards are in? Is there any unopened material? Packs, racks, cellos?

1954 · February 28, 2012 11:03AM

That is a good problem to have. I would grade out the cards that you feel are a good value or risk. The rest I would break into a low grade, medium and nrmt lots and then sell them on the board. There are many collectors here that are looking for lots to buy ranging from low to nrmt quality. There used to be a dealer in the early 80's that had 100, 200, 300, 400 ct lot of every year. I was so young with no money when he offered these in publications but always thought how cool it would be to buy some of them.

Mat84 · February 28, 2012 12:01PM

Thanks for all fast helpful replies.

In terms of the collection, it's all just raw cards, a few coins and tons of late 69 and 70 pin-up inserts in every sport besides hockey. The bulk of the cards and the decent ones are 69 and 70 all sports and 74 and 75 baseball. But there is a lot of low grade 63-68 baseball as well.

If people are willing to look at my cards I will surely get some scans going here in a little bit. I got a stack of 1969 brooks robinson's that I been thinking about subbing and I would love to have somebody else look at.

I have grazed the pop reports but I guess I need to study those a little better, thanks for the advice.

I will also have to look into the buy sell trade forum as I am already seeing some requests I can probably satisfy. Up to this point I haven't sold any raw cards, just stuff I get back from PSA on eBay. For the people that mentioned interest in my hockey cards feel free to PM me your e-mail or what you might be looking for - I have the least hockey, maybe 500 cards and it's only from 69 and 70 but its in great shape. On the 10 cards I have already submitted most were 7s and 8s.

fattymacs · February 28, 2012 12:04PM

Welcome to the board. Take your time and search the boards and completed ebay auctions for an idea of what you have. Look at scans posted here and elsewhere of graded cards to get an idea of the condition of your items. Posting some sample scans will garner honest opions from many here that know the stuff. No need to jump in all at once, dip your toes and enjoy the ride.

JoeBanzai · February 28, 2012 12:35PM

Concentrate on Baseball.

You have stated that you picked out the obvious high dollar cards and submitted them. The commons that came back as 5's and 6's either had surface "wrinkles" or you need to develop a better eye for grading. Any grading company will also make mistakes, PSA seems to undergrade quite a few of the cards I send in, re-submitting them often (but not always) gets me a better grade.

Examine cards with a loupe under a bright light.

If you are overwhelmed with what's left, set aside the other three sports, and allocate a certain amount of time to spend each day or week on cards. Pick out the HOF players, star players and the high numbers then the nicest commons.

When that's done, if you have a very large number of cards contact PSA (I am assuming you are submitting to them) and inquire about a special price on a bulk submission. While the cards are being graded, you can either take a break from cardboard or you can go through the remaining cards for anything that you might have missed, sending them in for your final submission, again if this amounts to a big group, check on special pricing. You should have NO problem staying profitable unless a majority of the cards are grading below PSA6.

Offer what's left on the BST board, after that, sell the remainder on eBay in lots by year or team.

I would love to have your problem, I am unemployed and have been selling a lot of my collection to pay the bills. You aren't gambling since you don't have anything invested in the cards except your time.

Good luck!

Joe

Edited to add; If you rush through this you will leave a LOT of money on the table. There are many who will try to take advantage of a "rookie".

Mat84 · February 28, 2012 1:37PM

Here are some obnoxiously large front and back scans of cards that I for example am not sure whether to grade or just sell raw.

Sorry haven't figured out how to thumbnail these yet but I'll scan some more cards if I get any useful feedback.

Sean1125 · February 28, 2012 1:39PM

That's stuff I sell raw.

Dboneesq · February 28, 2012 1:43PM

I'll chime in on the EZ one ... those '69 Brooks should NOT be graded. After paying for grading and shipping both ways, not going to be a profitable endeavor.

Keep showing us what you have. ALWAYS fun to see what others "found", especially when it comes down from family.

MantleMarisFordBerra · February 28, 2012 1:45PM

<< <i>That's stuff I sell raw. >>

Agreed. Nothing worth grading there (just not cost effective when you consider shipping & grading fees vs. what you'll net for the cards). Sell 'em raw.

WinPitcher · February 28, 2012 1:54PM

Hi and welcome, any 66's? Certain variations may be profitable.

Steve

leathtech · February 28, 2012 2:06PM

all those posted look somewhere between 4-6.5ish to me... probably not worth grading. I put them into a lot and maybe sell raw on ebay.

JoeBanzai · February 28, 2012 4:27PM

The middle Ryan looks pretty good a PSA 5 went for $20.00 recently. The Reggie might be worth a shot. You need cards closer to the rookie year, prices plummet on most players after year 3 or 4 unless its a scarce card or minty.

Good luck!

Joe

handyman · February 28, 2012 4:31PM

Those 1974 Ryans look nice. Id send them in.

msassin · February 28, 2012 8:11PM

I'd sell all of the Robinsons and '74s raw

jay0791 · February 28, 2012 8:26PM

I also agree. Nice cards but are not going to add premiums graded vs raw.

You could actually lose money if you send in ex. cards.

Overwhelmed with vintage collection...any help?

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