Have you purchased from...

mygotta

I am scouting some 79 and 80 wax boxes, but was wondering if anyone here has purchased any unopened boxes/packs from these guys on eBay:

jmcards.com

krukcards

bigskysc

vintagegradebaseball

llafoe

No, No, No & No

I've looked at boxes from all these sellers too but have been afraid to make any purchases.

vintageinvestments

Purchased a case of 1987 Fleer racks years ago during Bonds hype. Opened all with no Bonds. 72 Racks and 0 Bonds. This was from krukcards. I try not to talk bad about any sellers but this was obvious. Who knows if they had purchased this way unknown or what, but definitely searched.

Jason

mygotta

<< <i>Purchased a case of 1987 Fleer racks years ago during Bonds hype. Opened all with no Bonds. 72 Racks and 0 Bonds. This was from krukcards. I try not to talk bad about any sellers but this was obvious. Who knows if they had purchased this way unknown or what, but definitely searched.

Jason >>



Quite honestly, I bought from krukcards recently and was disappointed with the purchase. I debated to make a stink about it, but let it go. I bought two 85 rack packs with Clemens on bottom. While it was what I ordered, it was clear someone was searching as they had a "thumb ding" on the side of the cards from pushing them around inside the pack. One was apparently so much that it opened the header end of it, so they slid around. Not mentioned in description. Also bought an 85 leaf box, which was not the same box scanned, and it looked like it came from someone's cellar after a flood - and smelled like it. The packs were soiled, and some of the packs I opened had like soot on the side of the cards. It did turn up 3 Puckett rookies, but all were off center. Ok. I was just hoping with them it was a solitary incident. So they are off my list.

skinnyjh

I try to only comment on stuff I know, but I had a few people to tell me to be leary of products from Kruk that "could" be searched. This is not to say that Kruk does it, but they may not be as "selective" on what they purchase.

llafoe

Okay, krukcards is off the list... what about the other 3?

vladguerrero

jeffcbay

I can only speak for Krukcards, and I say save your money... they suck. Slow shipping, crappy cards. Not sure about the rest, but if I'm spending a few hundred bucks on 70s or 80s wax, I'm not buying from some unknown seller on ebay.

I would say either buy this 1979 Topps Wax Box, or this 1980 Topps Vending Box. Anything else isn't worth it's weight in cardboard.

SloshedJosh

Hmm I bought a box of Garbage Pail Kids Series 15 from Krukcards. Box and packs look great. Was planning on keeping it unopened anyway.

skinnyjh

jmcards.com "looks" good and has no negatives, but I wouldn't want my first try with this seller to be a $500 lesson.

I would be patient and wait for a few more responses as well.

cadets68

I would also avoid Kruk, my experiences with them have been bad.

They have been mentioned on this board a whole bunch over the years. Never in a good way. Usually the threads get "poofed"

mygotta

<< <i>I can only speak for Krukcards, and I say save your money... they suck. Slow shipping, crappy cards. Not sure about the rest, but if I'm spending a few hundred bucks on 70s or 80s wax, I'm not buying from some unknown seller on ebay.

I would say either buy this 1979 Topps Wax Box, or this 1980 Topps Vending Box. Anything else isn't worth it's weight in cardboard. >>



I bought the 79 box and was refunded the next day. Day after it shows "sold". Today it does not. I called and Steve said it is sold.

ldferg

That 79 box has really jumped in the last 1-2 years. They used to be sold for around $360.

I've not yet been burned by Kruk. My experiences have been positive. However, they do lag on email response.

Good luck on your quest.

mknez

in

Porkins

As has been mentioned, I was scared at first by many threads here in which people had poor things to say about Kruk.

However, one day, around a year ago, I was searching for a 91 Action Packed Football Rookie Update box (needless to say, the only time I do this with wax is when BBCE does not have item in stock or there is a SIGNIFICANT discount and I have to have it asap).
Kruk was the only seller at the time that had an unopened box (not factory set) of this product listed.

I reviewed the threads about Kruk and noticed that Miconelegacy had vouched for Kruk. So between this and the fact that 2 boxes were only gonna run around 24 bucks I go for it...

Since then I have had 50+ dealings with them and have never had what I consider a bad experience.

The only thing I will say is that maybe 3-4 times I have noticed exactly what you mentioned mygotta: my box/packs smelled musty (where is ol' Kruk is storing these things?) However, after ripping and throwing the box and packs away, keeping only the cards, the odor mostly dissipated, so I could live with it.

If I have ever had a problem or a question Steve (not that Steve) in customer service has been very helpful. The one time I had a return (not because of any fault of theirs), it was handled with both kindness and promptness.

As for shipping being slow, I don't purchase from too many buyers on eBay so I am no expert, but to me shipping times are acceptable. Most other people I have dealings with are a bit faster, but I have been more than willing to wait 2-3 days extra for something that is hard to find or is a good deal.

Finally, as to items being searched, I don't know if this should be the end all be all for anyone, but it was for me... About 4-5 months ago Kruk had a lot of 6 loose 85 Topps Hockey packs up for auction. Well, I put it on my watch list, thinking that if I could get them for a good price I would go for it. I end up getting the lot for maybe half of what they should go for. Well, I rip the packs and end up with multiple hall of famers, including a very nice RC of a particular Penguin...

Anyway, as you would say, just my 2 cents
-Scott

miklia

I've also had no problems with Kruk, although I can see how their occasional lack of customer service can really grate the wrong way for some.

ldferg

Other than Kruk, I have no experience with the the others mentioned in the OP.

mygotta

If you wanted to add another seller I am curious about, it would be:

the dugout unopened wax

Ok, I guess I will be open to try Krukcards again, but not on a $500 box.

Incidentally, I see another box of 1980 being offered at $300, but again, I dont know the seller.

olb31

met kruk or krook or whatever his name his, at the national. he had wax boxes that were beat all to hell. I asked some questions about some of his ebay items and he told me he listed all his cards nm/mt or better but he had never really viewed them because he doesn't have time to deal with some of items. he wasn't very nice and quite frankly i felt like i was wasting his time. just an fyi.

Dodgerfanjohn

<< <i>If you wanted to add another seller I am curious about, it would be:

the dugout unopened wax

Ok, I guess I will be open to try Krukcards again, but not on a $500 box.

Incidentally, I see another box of 1980 being offered at $300, but again, I dont know the seller. >>



I realize I'm new here, but I bought a 1980 vending box from that seller. It hasn't arrived yet...should be here today or tommorow.

I can post the results after it arrives.

1980 Vending box

Porkins

<< <i>If you wanted to add another seller I am curious about, it would be:

the dugout unopened wax

Ok, I guess I will be open to try Krukcards again, but not on a $500 box.

Incidentally, I see another box of 1980 being offered at $300, but again, I dont know the seller. >>




I think many around here will tell you that this seller is legit, although at times, high. (dugout that is)

mygotta

<< <i>

<< <i>If you wanted to add another seller I am curious about, it would be:

the dugout unopened wax

Ok, I guess I will be open to try Krukcards again, but not on a $500 box.

Incidentally, I see another box of 1980 being offered at $300, but again, I dont know the seller. >>



I realize I'm new here, but I bought a 1980 vending box from that seller. It hasn't arrived yet...should be here today or tommorow.

I can post the results after it arrives.

1980 Vending box >>



Yes, when you get it, I would like to see what you get and your experience.

ldferg

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>If you wanted to add another seller I am curious about, it would be:

the dugout unopened wax

Ok, I guess I will be open to try Krukcards again, but not on a $500 box.

Incidentally, I see another box of 1980 being offered at $300, but again, I dont know the seller. >>



I realize I'm new here, but I bought a 1980 vending box from that seller. It hasn't arrived yet...should be here today or tommorow.

I can post the results after it arrives.

1980 Vending box >>



Yes, when you get it, I would like to see what you get and your experience. >>



+1. I've always wondered about kazoo. Is he a board member?

MrNearMint

while were on the topic...About a year ago my brother purchased a box of 85 topps baseball (I won't mention the source yet) and got 3 Kirby Pucketts, 2 Cal Ripken jr's, no Roger Clemens and no Mark Mcgwires.
One of the packs had doubles of every single card in the pack. Since then, we always thought this box was fishy but thought no more of it.
I know with buying un-opened material there is always the fear of it being tampered but do you guys think there was a good chance of this particular box being searched?

Dodgerfanjohn

<< <i>while were on the topic...About a year ago my brother purchased a box of 85 topps baseball (I won't mention the source yet) and got 3 Kirby Pucketts, 2 Cal Ripken jr's, no Roger Clemens and no Mark Mcgwires.
One of the packs had doubles of every single card in the pack. Since then, we always thought this box was fishy but thought no more of it.
I know with buying un-opened material there is always the fear of it being tampered but do you guys think there was a good chance of this particular box being searched? >>



First of all, the 1980 vending box will probably have to wait until Friday night. It didn't arrive today and I have tix for Clippers/Celtics tommorow night and then work on Friday. I'll post a you tube video of the break.

As to the doubles in the vending box.....

I recently ordered an 83 and an 85 vending box from a guy named johnphilliesfan58 on ebay.

1985 Topps Vending Box

He says in his auctions that he is selling off the old stock of a family friend. They were slightly underpriced..$35 for the 83, and $20 for the 85 plus $12.50 combined shipping. I pulled every key card in those sets...

Sandberg, Boggs, Gwynn, and Ripken from the 83

Puckett, McGwire, Mattingly, Clemens, and Joe Carter from the 85

I think the only card I didn't get was Gooden in the 85. There were very few doubles...maybe 15-20 in each box. Each box was beat to crud and basically falling apart. The seller used shipping tape to keep the boxes together and they were SUPER TIGHT.

I just got done with an 82 Topps vending box...This guy here:

82 Topps Vending Box

This box was packed relatively loose. The patterns of the cards was staggered like it should be in a vending box and there was 500 cards in there. I'm guessing 100 duplicates plus 50 more triplets. Bizarre. Like the same pattern ran through the box a few times. And no Ripken. The seller has no negatives in the past year and lots of people really happy with unopened packs. I have no evidence that there was any tampering whatsoever, just a suspicion. Which I suppose is not fair for me to think. Really, its probably just how some things got packed.

For anyone wondering why so many vending boxes?

My grandfather started buying me cards when I was 8, in 1980. As any kid might do, I played with the cards...a lot. The 1980-1984 were pretty dinged up but many years later I decided to assemble the cards into sets, which was quite easy. There were very few cards I had to go buy and I had tons of duplicates. At one point I had five Rickey Hendersons. I traded most off when I was still a kid...probably for something stupid like an Alfredo Griffen or Jorge Bell Rookie. Starting in 1985 he started getting me factory sets. The 85 set was beat up a bit, but by 86 I was 14, and the cards went straight into plastic pages(wish I could reverse all that somehow ). I bought an 84 vending box years back because that was the only one that was inexpensive, so the 1984 set is nice and NrMt-Mt.

So the vending boxes are a lot cheaper nowdays...an 85 for $20? I didn't think things would tumble that far. But they did and it allows me an easy out into filling in my sets. I'm hoping the 1980 turns out ok. The Henderson I have is probably a PSA 7, so thats not bad, but I've never owned a decent 1980 Rose or Ryan, and the Ozzie has pretty dinged up corners too. Around 400 cards out of the set could use replacing/

brianwintersfan

I have bought from the dugout unopened and was always happy with what I got from him. Everything looked to be box/case fresh.

jeffcbay

<< <i>

<< <i>If you wanted to add another seller I am curious about, it would be:

the dugout unopened wax

Ok, I guess I will be open to try Krukcards again, but not on a $500 box.

Incidentally, I see another box of 1980 being offered at $300, but again, I dont know the seller. >>



I realize I'm new here, but I bought a 1980 vending box from that seller. It hasn't arrived yet...should be here today or tommorow.

I can post the results after it arrives.

1980 Vending box >>



I'm willing to bet there is zero chance that box is unsearched... when you open it, snap a pic of the opened box before you touch the cards, I'd love to see the cut pattern.

It should look something like this:

cpamike

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>If you wanted to add another seller I am curious about, it would be:

the dugout unopened wax

Ok, I guess I will be open to try Krukcards again, but not on a $500 box.

Incidentally, I see another box of 1980 being offered at $300, but again, I dont know the seller. >>



I realize I'm new here, but I bought a 1980 vending box from that seller. It hasn't arrived yet...should be here today or tommorow.

I can post the results after it arrives.

1980 Vending box >>



Yes, when you get it, I would like to see what you get and your experience. >>



+1. I've always wondered about kazoo. Is he a board member? >>



Hello David, I don't think kazoo is a board member, but I've met him and he is a she, LOL.

I think kazoo is legit from my few dealings with her, but she does buy from other sellers on eBay so it is possible she could buy from a bad source. She does not appear to be a resealer though.

In regards to Kruk, he buys a lot of product and sometimes it is good and sometimes it is bad, but he sells it all. So you may get legit stuff or you may not. Luck of the draw. You just need to be careful with what you buy. I've heard people complain about receiving boxes which don't match up to what was shown in the auction, but this may be the result of using stock photos which some of the bigger sellers do. I personally only buy unique packs from them (i.e., with a star card showing on top and/or bottom) which I can usually tell from the picture if they are legit or not. As someone already mentioned, I think Kruk's view is he is much too busy to be bothered closely examining some items so things can slip by. Not a great business model, but to each, his own.

Good luck to the OP!!!

ndleo

<< <i>Purchased a case of 1987 Fleer racks years ago during Bonds hype. Opened all with no Bonds. 72 Racks and 0 Bonds. This was from krukcards. I try not to talk bad about any sellers but this was obvious. Who knows if they had purchased this way unknown or what, but definitely searched.

Jason >>



Doesn't a 1987 Fleer Rack consist of 3 sealed wax packs? I busted a case a while ago and I'm not sure how they could be searched unless there is a pattern.

MiniDuff

I've bought unopened from kruk as well and while I don't think any of it was searched or tampered, I have rarely gotten something clean. Boxes have smelled horribly and been full of soot, both in the box and inside the packs themselves. An 81 donruss golf box had the worst gum melt I have ever seen, including 72 opc. In other cases, key cards were all oc or miscut. In general, I don't get many graded cards from their wax. That said, all the stars are there.

That said, I bought a 75 mini set from them early in the year described as NM with good scans. I pulled a number of psa 9s, including a Schmidt and could not have been happier.

basketballcollector

I don't know why the hell no one likes Kruk. I have purchased from them at every National and have been very happy & have never had any problems with them. The dad is one of the nicest dealers at the show. Very friendly gentleman.

mygotta

<< <i>I don't know why the hell no one likes Kruk. I have purchased from them at every National and have been very happy & have never had any problems with them. The dad is one of the nicest dealers at the show. Very friendly gentleman. >>



I have only had one experience and it was not terrible, but on the disappointing side. I have never been to the National so I cant speak for personality or personal service. But the box and packs I got were not well advertised on eBay as the box seemed to have been in a damp seller somewhere and some packs had soot that seeped onto the cards. They obviously have a good business model and sell lots of stuff. So clearly peoples experience have ranged from disappointing to very good. As will be the case with any large seller.

BaltimoreYankee

I have only had one dealing with Kruk: Bought a 'complete' set of 1988 OPC baseball blank backs. I think the set was 396 cards but it came up about 4 short. Of course, being blank backed, there was no easy way to see what I was missing so I just let it go.

1954

No to Kruk. Have been very disappointed in the stuff I have bought from them over the years. Done with those guys.

Shane

gemint

<< <i>I can only speak for Krukcards, and I say save your money... they suck. Slow shipping, crappy cards. Not sure about the rest, but if I'm spending a few hundred bucks on 70s or 80s wax, I'm not buying from some unknown seller on ebay.

I would say either buy this 1979 Topps Wax Box, or this 1980 Topps Vending Box. Anything else isn't worth it's weight in cardboard. >>



Wow! I guess I've been undercharging for the '79 wax boxes I sold.

Dodgerfanjohn

handyman

I bought a 1989 Donruss Rack case from Kurk back in 1998 for about 150 I think. When Jr was hot. Well I busted the case and got about 10 Craig Biggios but 0 Ken Jr Rookies.
Very odd.

mygotta

<< <i>I bought a 1989 Donruss Rack case from Kurk back in 1998 for about 150 I think. When Jr was hot. Well I busted the case and got about 10 Craig Biggios but 0 Ken Jr Rookies.
Very odd. >>



I must say, that the two 85 Topps rack packs I purchased, one had a sticker on it that said "Gooden RC $6.95". The selling point was the Clemens rookie on the bottom. I decided to open the pack and strangely, there was no Gooden in the rack pack. Why it was advertised, I dont know when it was already known a Clemens rookie was on the bottom. I decided to open the second rack pack, which also had Clemens on the bottom, but this one had a Gooden in it. I dont know what to make of it, other than it was not stickered correctly. I am not making any accusation other than...well, like other peoples experiences with rack packs, it was odd.

Dodgerfanjohn

Dont have time to put the video on youtube or post pics. But the 1980 vending box did arrive. With about 200 cards to go I was cursing out loud as I had not received a Brett, Yount, Rose, Ryan, or Henderson. Then in the next 100 cards I pulled the Rose Ryan and Henderson. Stilll 100 cards to go or so. I'll try to post pics tonight and get a video on youtube tommorow.

Griffins

<< <i>No to Kruk. Have been very disappointed in the stuff I have bought from them over the years. Done with those guys.

Shane >>



What he said. 3 times was enough to get the picture.

Dodgerfanjohn

1980 Topps Vending Box, purchased in the auction I listed above. I took a couple pics of the box, as well as some of the cards I pulled:

ldferg

Nice centering on those 80s vending.

grote15

That 1980 vending box was definitely unsearched. Terrific pulls there as 1980 Topps is a tough issue on centering in most cases.

mygotta

Indeed. That Henderson looks really nice. Thanks for showing us.

1all

<< <i>I don't know why the hell no one likes Kruk. I have purchased from them at every National and have been very happy & have never had any problems with them. The dad is one of the nicest dealers at the show. Very friendly gentleman. >>



+1 - When I did have an issue with an item, Steve over at Kruk Cards was great to work with. After hearing of my concerns, he offered me a full refund and will cover my return shipping costs as well.

-Doug

RookieWax

Out of those 5 cards you showed, the Henderson definitely has the best centering. How do the corners and surface look?

Toro

A Henderson sighting, nice!

Dodgerfanjohn

<< <i>Out of those 5 cards you showed, the Henderson definitely has the best centering. How do the corners and surface look? >>



The Henderson could potentially be a 8.5 or 9, but there are "fisheyes" in a couple spots on the card. Honestly, having never possessed a card graded higher than 8, I'm not entirely sure what to look for in a 9 or 10. I'm really happy with the cards overall in the set. Sharp corners and glossy nice clear pictures.

I did post a video of me opening the box on youtube. One mistake....I keep referring to the pattern the cards show in a new vending box as "collation" when I mean pattern.....

1980 Topps Vending Box break