@UlyssesExtravaganza said:
I'm not sure either. Just going by the pic which I cant read too well and I did not study it closely then.
Mostly just looking at what boxes they were highlighting. But I'm sure the prices are the same as what they have on the web site. I know the 78 Topps football was 2400 and that stood out cause I remember getting one for 300 in around 2012 and said as much to the staff there. The 1984 Donruss not from a sealed case $829 felt lower than I would have expected.
To clarify, I have no connection to them, just passed by their booth at a show and felt I should take a picture of the eye candy.
I was buying a ton of the 78 football a few years back and they were going for about half that. I always loved that set even though centering is always a mess. I like a lot of the photos in that set.
I picked up an 84 Donruss wax at REA last night and that's basically what I paid after their fee, taxes and shipping! I did a random bid in the afternoon, was out for the evening and was surprised that I got it. I certainly thought someone else would snatch it.
I got two Preston Pearson PSA 10s from my 78 Topps football box and a lot of packs. But no other 10s. 9s were even hard to come by. Got tons of 8s. It was a little frustrating but do love the set.
Congrats on the 84D win. Best of luck if you plan to open. That was an incredibly fun one to open for me. I'll leave the door open to maybe getting another someday.
@UlyssesExtravaganza said:
I got two Preston Pearson PSA 10s from my 78 Topps football box and a lot of packs. But no other 10s. 9s were even hard to come by. Got tons of 8s. It was a little frustrating but do love the set.
Congrats on the 84D win. Best of luck if you plan to open. That was an incredibly fun one to open for me. I'll leave the door open to maybe getting another someday.
I don't think I ever got a 10 out of those boxes. Most I couldn't even grade due to the OC'ing on those. I REALLY wanted a Stabler 10.
@craig44 said:
I think it is interesting that Fritsch only seems to have a few certain years of unopened baseball in wax/cello or rack. if memory serves:
1968
1970
1973
1975
1978
1979
we will never know with certainty, but i wonder why no 69 or 67 or 71 etc.? did he not order in quantity those years? did he sell out of those years?
if he had them, you would think we would have seen some throughout the years
This is accurate aside from 78 if we're discussing baseball only. The 1970 PSA cello pack population is largely due to Fritsch inventory and 1970 cellos would be even more valuable than they are today if not for the Fritsch supply. Conversely, 1971 cellos are super rare with value for them about 5X 1970 cellos because there are only about 30 in the pop report (vs nearly 500 for 1970 cellos).
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
@UlyssesExtravaganza said:
I got two Preston Pearson PSA 10s from my 78 Topps football box and a lot of packs. But no other 10s. 9s were even hard to come by. Got tons of 8s. It was a little frustrating but do love the set.
Congrats on the 84D win. Best of luck if you plan to open. That was an incredibly fun one to open for me. I'll leave the door open to maybe getting another someday.
I don't think I ever got a 10 out of those boxes. Most I couldn't even grade due to the OC'ing on those. I REALLY wanted a Stabler 10.
I'm probably ripping that bad boy!
Yeah that Stabler is awesome. I would have loved to have a nice one too. Any off center ones I have are sitting in semi-rigids cause the grading fee would have been a waste of money. Love the Staubach too with the camera angle and the hotel in the background.
I'm noticing price increases across the board in popular baseball boxes 1989-1999. Some have doubled or tripled off the post covid lows. Lots of product out there at the moment, but prices are higher.
@West22 said:
I'm noticing price increases across the board in popular baseball boxes 1989-1999. Some have doubled or tripled off the post covid lows. Lots of product out there at the moment, but prices are higher.
Agreed..for vintage pre 1980 product, too..not necessarily on the BBCE site but in the multitude of auctions that come up every other week or so.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
@craig44 said:
I think it is interesting that Fritsch only seems to have a few certain years of unopened baseball in wax/cello or rack. if memory serves:
1968
1970
1973
1975
1978
1979
we will never know with certainty, but i wonder why no 69 or 67 or 71 etc.? did he not order in quantity those years? did he sell out of those years?
if he had them, you would think we would have seen some throughout the years
I had a long phone discussion with Larry 20 years ago or more, one of the topics that came up was after Topps found he bought in huge quantity, they would contact him when they had a lot of unsold product and didn't want to pay to have it disposed of.
On at least one occasion they sent him a train car full of cards and all he had to do was pay for shipping.
If I remember right, it was mainly early 1970's football when he got one particularly huge shipment.
Another of his stories was when he was in Minneapolis in 1961 or 62, he grabbed some matches from the front desk of the hotel he was staying at. He noticed there were pictures of the Minnesota Twins on them.
Being Larry, he went to the nearest Diamond Match warehouse and went to the loading dock and bought a case of boxes of matchbooks for $25.00. The guys thought he was nuts.
He sold me a mint full book with Killebrew on it for $50.00. I've never seen a full book on ebay before or since. Of course, since I have one, I dont really search for them.
Also got an unused Franklin Milk carton with Killebrew. Similar story, he went to the local distribution place and bought a bunch of unused cartons. Again, the guys there thought he was out of his mind. Why buy unused milk cartons?
He didn't really advertise this stuff and it seemed he didn't really seem to care if he sold it or not. I heard about the milk carton from a fellow Killebrew collector and found out about the matchbook during our conversation. The guy could TALK!
2013,14 and 15 Certificate Award Winner Harmon Killebrew Master Set and Master Topps Set
@craig44 said:
I think it is interesting that Fritsch only seems to have a few certain years of unopened baseball in wax/cello or rack. if memory serves:
1968
1970
1973
1975
1978
1979
we will never know with certainty, but i wonder why no 69 or 67 or 71 etc.? did he not order in quantity those years? did he sell out of those years?
if he had them, you would think we would have seen some throughout the years
I had a long phone discussion with Larry 20 years ago or more, one of the topics that came up was after Topps found he bought in huge quantity, they would contact him when they had a lot of unsold product and didn't want to pay to have it disposed of.
On at least one occasion they sent him a train car full of cards and all he had to do was pay for shipping.
If I remember right, it was mainly early 1970's football when he got one particularly huge shipment.
Another of his stories was when he was in Minneapolis in 1961 or 62, he grabbed some matches from the front desk of the hotel he was staying at. He noticed there were pictures of the Minnesota Twins on them.
Being Larry, he went to the nearest Diamond Match warehouse and went to the loading dock and bought a case of boxes of matchbooks for $25.00. The guys thought he was nuts.
He sold me a mint full book with Killebrew on it for $50.00. I've never seen a full book on ebay before or since. Of course, since I have one, I dont really search for them.
Also got an unused Franklin Milk carton with Killebrew. Similar story, he went to the local distribution place and bought a bunch of unused cartons. Again, the guys there thought he was out of his mind. Why buy unused milk cartons?
He didn't really advertise this stuff and it seemed he didn't really seem to care if he sold it or not. I heard about the milk carton from a fellow Killebrew collector and found out about the matchbook during our conversation. The guy could TALK!
wow! I LOVE those type of stories. thank you for sharing. I met Larry just once. 30+ years ago he had a baseball card "museum" in cooperstown. on one of our family trips there, we stopped in and larry was in. he was a really nice guy to talk to. I was just a teenager then and unfortunately dont remember much of our conversation as I was pretty glued to the cards. my dad did most of the talking while i looked. i remember he was selling hats/shirts/mugs/glasses etc. he also had cards for sale. i wanted a 75 yount rookie he had in the worst way, but i remember it was WAY overpriced. we were probably there for 45 minutes or so. I remember dad bought a hat!
i wish i would have had the wherewithal to ask him about the older days dealing with cards. youth i guess...
@craig44 said:
I think it is interesting that Fritsch only seems to have a few certain years of unopened baseball in wax/cello or rack. if memory serves:
1968
1970
1973
1975
1978
1979
we will never know with certainty, but i wonder why no 69 or 67 or 71 etc.? did he not order in quantity those years? did he sell out of those years?
if he had them, you would think we would have seen some throughout the years
I had a long phone discussion with Larry 20 years ago or more, one of the topics that came up was after Topps found he bought in huge quantity, they would contact him when they had a lot of unsold product and didn't want to pay to have it disposed of.
On at least one occasion they sent him a train car full of cards and all he had to do was pay for shipping.
If I remember right, it was mainly early 1970's football when he got one particularly huge shipment.
Another of his stories was when he was in Minneapolis in 1961 or 62, he grabbed some matches from the front desk of the hotel he was staying at. He noticed there were pictures of the Minnesota Twins on them.
Being Larry, he went to the nearest Diamond Match warehouse and went to the loading dock and bought a case of boxes of matchbooks for $25.00. The guys thought he was nuts.
He sold me a mint full book with Killebrew on it for $50.00. I've never seen a full book on ebay before or since. Of course, since I have one, I dont really search for them.
Also got an unused Franklin Milk carton with Killebrew. Similar story, he went to the local distribution place and bought a bunch of unused cartons. Again, the guys there thought he was out of his mind. Why buy unused milk cartons?
He didn't really advertise this stuff and it seemed he didn't really seem to care if he sold it or not. I heard about the milk carton from a fellow Killebrew collector and found out about the matchbook during our conversation. The guy could TALK!
wow! I LOVE those type of stories. thank you for sharing. I met Larry just once. 30+ years ago he had a baseball card "museum" in cooperstown. on one of our family trips there, we stopped in and larry was in. he was a really nice guy to talk to. I was just a teenager then and unfortunately dont remember much of our conversation as I was pretty glued to the cards. my dad did most of the talking while i looked. i remember he was selling hats/shirts/mugs/glasses etc. he also had cards for sale. i wanted a 75 yount rookie he had in the worst way, but i remember it was WAY overpriced. we were probably there for 45 minutes or so. I remember dad bought a hat!
i wish i would have had the wherewithal to ask him about the older days dealing with cards. youth i guess...
I have the Museum; Shot Glass (with their Doyle logo) and a glass Beer Mug/Stein with the Wagner. Also have the set of 4 glasses with Cracker jack Cobb and others.
I was just a kid when i was there no idea why I picked up so much glassware The Shot Glass and Wagner Beer have been displayed on my home bar the last 20 years . The set of 4 glasses is packed way but now that I think about it I should display them as well....
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
@craig44 said:
I think it is interesting that Fritsch only seems to have a few certain years of unopened baseball in wax/cello or rack. if memory serves:
1968
1970
1973
1975
1978
1979
we will never know with certainty, but i wonder why no 69 or 67 or 71 etc.? did he not order in quantity those years? did he sell out of those years?
if he had them, you would think we would have seen some throughout the years
I had a long phone discussion with Larry 20 years ago or more, one of the topics that came up was after Topps found he bought in huge quantity, they would contact him when they had a lot of unsold product and didn't want to pay to have it disposed of.
On at least one occasion they sent him a train car full of cards and all he had to do was pay for shipping.
If I remember right, it was mainly early 1970's football when he got one particularly huge shipment.
Another of his stories was when he was in Minneapolis in 1961 or 62, he grabbed some matches from the front desk of the hotel he was staying at. He noticed there were pictures of the Minnesota Twins on them.
Being Larry, he went to the nearest Diamond Match warehouse and went to the loading dock and bought a case of boxes of matchbooks for $25.00. The guys thought he was nuts.
He sold me a mint full book with Killebrew on it for $50.00. I've never seen a full book on ebay before or since. Of course, since I have one, I dont really search for them.
Also got an unused Franklin Milk carton with Killebrew. Similar story, he went to the local distribution place and bought a bunch of unused cartons. Again, the guys there thought he was out of his mind. Why buy unused milk cartons?
He didn't really advertise this stuff and it seemed he didn't really seem to care if he sold it or not. I heard about the milk carton from a fellow Killebrew collector and found out about the matchbook during our conversation. The guy could TALK!
wow! I LOVE those type of stories. thank you for sharing. I met Larry just once. 30+ years ago he had a baseball card "museum" in cooperstown. on one of our family trips there, we stopped in and larry was in. he was a really nice guy to talk to. I was just a teenager then and unfortunately dont remember much of our conversation as I was pretty glued to the cards. my dad did most of the talking while i looked. i remember he was selling hats/shirts/mugs/glasses etc. he also had cards for sale. i wanted a 75 yount rookie he had in the worst way, but i remember it was WAY overpriced. we were probably there for 45 minutes or so. I remember dad bought a hat!
i wish i would have had the wherewithal to ask him about the older days dealing with cards. youth i guess...
I have the Museum; Shot Glass (with their Doyle logo) and a glass Beer Mug/Stein with the Wagner. Also have the set of 4 glasses with Cracker jack Cobb and others.
I was just a kid when i was there no idea why I picked up so much glassware The Shot Glass and Wagner Beer have been displayed on my home bar the last 20 years . The set of 4 glasses is packed way but now that I think about it I should display them as well....
i wish i still had the hat dad bought that day. as i remember, it was a trucker style (that went out of style years ago, but now is back in style again) with the mesh back and foam style front panel.
i am sure it got tossed 25 years ago!
i never bought any cards from larry. they seemed overgraded to me at the time, with lots of centering issues and overpriced compared to the other ads in tuff stuff and sgc at the time.
i imagine if you were looking for the rare and esoteric item, it would be a different story
Question about opened product since I'm not close to being an expert on the topic. For vintage unopened items - Let's say 1985 and before for example - How much is usually the difference in price between a BCCE certified wax box from a sealed case vs a BBCE certified wax box not from a sealed case?
For those of you who invest/collect this material do you always go with the sealed case wax box or does it depend on other factors?
@Yankees70 said:
Question about opened product since I'm not close to being an expert on the topic. For vintage unopened items - Let's say 1985 and before for example - How much is usually the difference in price between a BCCE certified wax box from a sealed case vs a BBCE certified wax box not from a sealed case?
For those of you who invest/collect this material do you always go with the sealed case wax box or does it depend on other factors?
Unfortunately, there isn't a one-size-fits-all answer to this. From a sealed case commands a premium, but that premium is dependent on a variety of things. When there is a product with known collation and/or the ability to make out the top or bottom cards in the packs, FASC will command a higher premium, especially if it's from a set that has some key cards in it. There are also sets where cases are not as plentiful as others, so boxes from those can command a higher than normal premium (1984 and 1985 Fleer come to mind, as compared to its Topps counterparts).
I would always prefer a FASC box over a non-FASC box. The fact that nobody has gone through it or pieced it together is worth something to me.
@Yankees70 said:
Question about opened product since I'm not close to being an expert on the topic. For vintage unopened items - Let's say 1985 and before for example - How much is usually the difference in price between a BCCE certified wax box from a sealed case vs a BBCE certified wax box not from a sealed case?
For those of you who invest/collect this material do you always go with the sealed case wax box or does it depend on other factors?
Unfortunately, there isn't a one-size-fits-all answer to this. From a sealed case commands a premium, but that premium is dependent on a variety of things. When there is a product with known collation and/or the ability to make out the top or bottom cards in the packs, FASC will command a higher premium, especially if it's from a set that has some key cards in it. There are also sets where cases are not as plentiful as others, so boxes from those can command a higher than normal premium (1984 and 1985 Fleer come to mind, as compared to its Topps counterparts).
I would always prefer a FASC box over a non-FASC box. The fact that nobody has gone through it or pieced it together is worth something to me.
Great comments thanks. So let's say you want a 1983 Topps Wax Box. Would you pay an extra $300 from a sealed case? $400? $500? For this particular item what's the most additional you would spend? I'm just trying to get an idea on the premium for a specific item since you commented that this is not a one size fits all answer. If you rather use the 1984 or 1985 Topps wax box as an example that's fine. Thank you,
I had a long phone discussion with Larry 20 years ago or more, one of the topics that came up was after Topps found he bought in huge quantity, they would contact him when they had a lot of unsold product and didn't want to pay to have it disposed of.
On at least one occasion they sent him a train car full of cards and all he had to do was pay for shipping.
If I remember right, it was mainly early 1970's football when he got one particularly huge shipment.
I bet the Topps guys thought he was nuts at the time as well (early 1970s). What great foresight to have, to be wise enough to start a store by reselling unsold product. That store is still very successful 55+ years later.
Edited to add: That was just one of Larry's hustles. He also made minor league cards (years before Classic came out with their minor league cards). The 1983 Kirby Puckett comes to mind.
@Yankees70 The premiums being paid for FASC boxes also links to one specific factor in that BBCE is the most proficient and trustworthy authenticator/provider of such items. From only a very small sample size, I can surmise that a FASC 1983 Topps Baseball Wax Box could command at least a 20% premium above a similar box without the endorsement.
@ElMagoStrikeZone said: @Yankees70 The premiums being paid for FASC boxes also links to one specific factor in that BBCE is the most proficient and trustworthy authenticator/provider of such items. From only a very small sample size, I can surmise that a FASC 1983 Topps Baseball Wax Box could command at least a 20% premium above a similar box without the endorsement.
I think 20% is about right on this one. These are more plentiful, but is a highly desirable box becasue of the key rookies in the set. Personally, I prefer the Michigan version of this one because there's no wax.
@ElMagoStrikeZone said: @Yankees70 The premiums being paid for FASC boxes also links to one specific factor in that BBCE is the most proficient and trustworthy authenticator/provider of such items. From only a very small sample size, I can surmise that a FASC 1983 Topps Baseball Wax Box could command at least a 20% premium above a similar box without the endorsement.
I think 20% is about right on this one. These are more plentiful, but is a highly desirable box becasue of the key rookies in the set. Personally, I prefer the Michigan version of this one because there's no wax.
Do you prefer the mich. test boxes to vending for 83T baseball? when considering price I mean.
I remember this post from way back! I remember back in 2012 when I started collecting unopened, you would see a bunch of 1970s packs and even a few boxes on BBCE website. I would get 1975 baseball cellos for about $100, and mini wax packs for $25 or 30. 1978 rack packs were like $35, and I even picked up a 1983 Topps Michigan box for like $250.
I wish I would have started at least 15 years earlier and picked up any 1950s or 1960s wax, cello or rack packs and just put them away. I had no idea even in 2012 this stuff would go as high as it is now. Some of you unopened guys were way ahead of the curve! Kudos 👏
Looking for 1960 to 1989 Unopened Football cellos with Oakland Raiders on top or back of any packs as well.
It's also important to note that FASC boxes (aside from 1975 thanks to Fritsch) do not exist from 1976 and earlier for baseball. I'd say the FASC premium is higher vs non FASC for those boxes that are tougher to find in FASC form. For many of the mid to late 80s boxes, FASC is pretty easy to acquire so the premium is minimal.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
This seller is one of many that are using AI these days for the description of the item. See below:
"These standard-sized cards are made of card stock and were manufactured in the United States by Topps. The set includes 12000 cards from the Major League Baseball season of 1985, making it a desirable collectible for baseball fans and card collectors alike. Each box holds a piece of baseball history and nostalgia from that era."
I've struck gold in the past with these types of eBay auctions; the ones which look like some dude who buys stuff at yard sales and then sells it on eBay auction with terrible knowledge of what they're selling so it doesn't get enough, or the right, traffic. But... it's been a while. I mostly thought the misspelled names were worth sharing.
@ElMagoStrikeZone said: @Yankees70 The premiums being paid for FASC boxes also links to one specific factor in that BBCE is the most proficient and trustworthy authenticator/provider of such items. From only a very small sample size, I can surmise that a FASC 1983 Topps Baseball Wax Box could command at least a 20% premium above a similar box without the endorsement.
I think 20% is about right on this one. These are more plentiful, but is a highly desirable box becasue of the key rookies in the set. Personally, I prefer the Michigan version of this one because there's no wax.
Do you prefer the mich. test boxes to vending for 83T baseball? when considering price I mean.
Yes. I don't open, so the only reason I would want vending is if I was thinking about opening. Definitely a cheaper alternative to wax. I prefer boxes with packs - for someone who potentially wants to buy to open, you can't beat the satisfaction of opening packs (eventhough I've curbed that temptation).
I have read that rack packs are best for receiving high grade cards. What's second best wax boxes or vending? For discussion this has to do with Topps Baseball from 1980-1985.
@bgr said:
I've struck gold in the past with these types of eBay auctions; the ones which look like some dude who buys stuff at yard sales and then sells it on eBay auction with terrible knowledge of what they're selling so it doesn't get enough, or the right, traffic. But... it's been a while. I mostly thought the misspelled names were worth sharing.
I was once able to purchase at auction a 1971 PSA 6 "Thurmon Munsun" for under $20 delivered, roughly 10 years ago. Lol
I've also had a lot of luck with purchases over the years that looked sketchy or had blurry pics or not enough pics. My successes far outweigh the ones that I took a loss on.
I have yet to be lucky enough to purchase one of those albums with pictures of cards on the outside cover and end up with PSA 9+ candidates of those same cards inside.
@bgr said:
I've struck gold in the past with these types of eBay auctions; the ones which look like some dude who buys stuff at yard sales and then sells it on eBay auction with terrible knowledge of what they're selling so it doesn't get enough, or the right, traffic. But... it's been a while. I mostly thought the misspelled names were worth sharing.
I was once able to purchase at auction a 1971 PSA 6 "Thurmon Munsun" for under $20 delivered, roughly 10 years ago. Lol
I've also had a lot of luck with purchases over the years that looked sketchy or had blurry pics or not enough pics. My successes far outweigh the ones that I took a loss on.
I have yet to be lucky enough to purchase one of those albums with pictures of cards on the outside cover and end up with PSA 9+ candidates of those same cards inside.
@Yankees70 said:
I have read that rack packs are best for receiving high grade cards. What's second best wax boxes or vending? For discussion this has to do with Topps Baseball from 1980-1985.
I got a case of 83T vending which I've opened about half of so far. This was one of those that must have been stored in a humidor cabinet or something because the cards were perfectly maintained. That they were all sharp in untouched vending boxes and centered was beyond my expectations. I open a box a year and just sleeve everything. I pulled these from a 5k box full of 83T. I think you can get lucky with any packaging but dollars to donuts vending is my top pick for finding 10s.
@ElMagoStrikeZone said: @Yankees70 The premiums being paid for FASC boxes also links to one specific factor in that BBCE is the most proficient and trustworthy authenticator/provider of such items. From only a very small sample size, I can surmise that a FASC 1983 Topps Baseball Wax Box could command at least a 20% premium above a similar box without the endorsement.
I think 20% is about right on this one. These are more plentiful, but is a highly desirable box becasue of the key rookies in the set. Personally, I prefer the Michigan version of this one because there's no wax.
Do you prefer the mich. test boxes to vending for 83T baseball? when considering price I mean.
Yes. I don't open, so the only reason I would want vending is if I was thinking about opening. Definitely a cheaper alternative to wax. I prefer boxes with packs - for someone who potentially wants to buy to open, you can't beat the satisfaction of opening packs (eventhough I've curbed that temptation).
I don't know how you resist. I hear the Jumanji drums at night.
@Yankees70 said:
I have read that rack packs are best for receiving high grade cards. What's second best wax boxes or vending? For discussion this has to do with Topps Baseball from 1980-1985.
The thing about vending is it can be a brilliant purchase if it was delicately handled at every stop in its life cycle and never hit a bump in the road. If it hit the wrong bump in the road, you may have 500 cards with a ding in the corner that couldn't grade PSA 8 at best. Vending can be a little bit luck of the draw. I feel like I have had one here or there where you have the 100 card block with the ding.
I'd think FASC on vending is more ideal because then if that truck hits the bump in the road while its in the case, the case is the brick and they are all packed tight together so less vulnerable. But the guy putting it on the floor of his SUV and driving it to a show, not selling it and moving it around a lot not so carefully, then its more vulnerable. Even if FASC it comes down to its experience after its out of the sealed case getting into your hands.
You can hit a home run on vending but that vulnerability I would think is why they are cheaper than a box of wax packs.
On average I'd vote wax as your better option for high grade cards unless you buy a full case of vending. Did that with 87 Topps and they came out nice in terms of corners but then you can have a consistency thing. No Bonds or Canseco in 20 plus vending boxes that would grade a 9 but close to all the Barry Larkin and Mark McGwire and Bobby Witt look nice. So luck on the right print run for the cards you want.
@ElMagoStrikeZone said: @Yankees70 The premiums being paid for FASC boxes also links to one specific factor in that BBCE is the most proficient and trustworthy authenticator/provider of such items. From only a very small sample size, I can surmise that a FASC 1983 Topps Baseball Wax Box could command at least a 20% premium above a similar box without the endorsement.
I think 20% is about right on this one. These are more plentiful, but is a highly desirable box becasue of the key rookies in the set. Personally, I prefer the Michigan version of this one because there's no wax.
Do you prefer the mich. test boxes to vending for 83T baseball? when considering price I mean.
Yes. I don't open, so the only reason I would want vending is if I was thinking about opening. Definitely a cheaper alternative to wax. I prefer boxes with packs - for someone who potentially wants to buy to open, you can't beat the satisfaction of opening packs (eventhough I've curbed that temptation).
I don't know how you resist. I hear the Jumanji drums at night.
LOL, I love that.
When I really get an itch, I'll go buy a cheap blaster box of something, and then remember why opening is mostly a losing proposition. Actually, last year, Costco was blowing out their Haunted Hoops after Halloween, so I picked up a bunch. It's garbage, but my two boys love sports and we had some fun opening packs at the same time to see who got the better player. Fortunately, they haven't caught the OCD collector bug like I have.
Comments
I was buying a ton of the 78 football a few years back and they were going for about half that. I always loved that set even though centering is always a mess. I like a lot of the photos in that set.
I picked up an 84 Donruss wax at REA last night and that's basically what I paid after their fee, taxes and shipping! I did a random bid in the afternoon, was out for the evening and was surprised that I got it. I certainly thought someone else would snatch it.
I got two Preston Pearson PSA 10s from my 78 Topps football box and a lot of packs. But no other 10s. 9s were even hard to come by. Got tons of 8s. It was a little frustrating but do love the set.
Congrats on the 84D win. Best of luck if you plan to open. That was an incredibly fun one to open for me. I'll leave the door open to maybe getting another someday.
I don't think I ever got a 10 out of those boxes. Most I couldn't even grade due to the OC'ing on those. I REALLY wanted a Stabler 10.
I'm probably ripping that bad boy!
This is accurate aside from 78 if we're discussing baseball only. The 1970 PSA cello pack population is largely due to Fritsch inventory and 1970 cellos would be even more valuable than they are today if not for the Fritsch supply. Conversely, 1971 cellos are super rare with value for them about 5X 1970 cellos because there are only about 30 in the pop report (vs nearly 500 for 1970 cellos).
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Yeah that Stabler is awesome. I would have loved to have a nice one too. Any off center ones I have are sitting in semi-rigids cause the grading fee would have been a waste of money. Love the Staubach too with the camera angle and the hotel in the background.
I'm noticing price increases across the board in popular baseball boxes 1989-1999. Some have doubled or tripled off the post covid lows. Lots of product out there at the moment, but prices are higher.
Agreed..for vintage pre 1980 product, too..not necessarily on the BBCE site but in the multitude of auctions that come up every other week or so.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
I had a long phone discussion with Larry 20 years ago or more, one of the topics that came up was after Topps found he bought in huge quantity, they would contact him when they had a lot of unsold product and didn't want to pay to have it disposed of.
On at least one occasion they sent him a train car full of cards and all he had to do was pay for shipping.
If I remember right, it was mainly early 1970's football when he got one particularly huge shipment.
Another of his stories was when he was in Minneapolis in 1961 or 62, he grabbed some matches from the front desk of the hotel he was staying at. He noticed there were pictures of the Minnesota Twins on them.
Being Larry, he went to the nearest Diamond Match warehouse and went to the loading dock and bought a case of boxes of matchbooks for $25.00. The guys thought he was nuts.
He sold me a mint full book with Killebrew on it for $50.00. I've never seen a full book on ebay before or since. Of course, since I have one, I dont really search for them.
Also got an unused Franklin Milk carton with Killebrew. Similar story, he went to the local distribution place and bought a bunch of unused cartons. Again, the guys there thought he was out of his mind. Why buy unused milk cartons?
He didn't really advertise this stuff and it seemed he didn't really seem to care if he sold it or not. I heard about the milk carton from a fellow Killebrew collector and found out about the matchbook during our conversation. The guy could TALK!
wow! I LOVE those type of stories. thank you for sharing. I met Larry just once. 30+ years ago he had a baseball card "museum" in cooperstown. on one of our family trips there, we stopped in and larry was in. he was a really nice guy to talk to. I was just a teenager then and unfortunately dont remember much of our conversation as I was pretty glued to the cards. my dad did most of the talking while i looked. i remember he was selling hats/shirts/mugs/glasses etc. he also had cards for sale. i wanted a 75 yount rookie he had in the worst way, but i remember it was WAY overpriced. we were probably there for 45 minutes or so. I remember dad bought a hat!
i wish i would have had the wherewithal to ask him about the older days dealing with cards. youth i guess...
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I have the Museum; Shot Glass (with their Doyle logo) and a glass Beer Mug/Stein with the Wagner. Also have the set of 4 glasses with Cracker jack Cobb and others.
I was just a kid when i was there no idea why I picked up so much glassware
The Shot Glass and Wagner Beer have been displayed on my home bar the last 20 years . The set of 4 glasses is packed way but now that I think about it I should display them as well....
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
i wish i still had the hat dad bought that day. as i remember, it was a trucker style (that went out of style years ago, but now is back in style again) with the mesh back and foam style front panel.
i am sure it got tossed 25 years ago!
i never bought any cards from larry. they seemed overgraded to me at the time, with lots of centering issues and overpriced compared to the other ads in tuff stuff and sgc at the time.
i imagine if you were looking for the rare and esoteric item, it would be a different story
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Question about opened product since I'm not close to being an expert on the topic. For vintage unopened items - Let's say 1985 and before for example - How much is usually the difference in price between a BCCE certified wax box from a sealed case vs a BBCE certified wax box not from a sealed case?
For those of you who invest/collect this material do you always go with the sealed case wax box or does it depend on other factors?
Unfortunately, there isn't a one-size-fits-all answer to this. From a sealed case commands a premium, but that premium is dependent on a variety of things. When there is a product with known collation and/or the ability to make out the top or bottom cards in the packs, FASC will command a higher premium, especially if it's from a set that has some key cards in it. There are also sets where cases are not as plentiful as others, so boxes from those can command a higher than normal premium (1984 and 1985 Fleer come to mind, as compared to its Topps counterparts).
I would always prefer a FASC box over a non-FASC box. The fact that nobody has gone through it or pieced it together is worth something to me.
Great comments thanks. So let's say you want a 1983 Topps Wax Box. Would you pay an extra $300 from a sealed case? $400? $500? For this particular item what's the most additional you would spend? I'm just trying to get an idea on the premium for a specific item since you commented that this is not a one size fits all answer. If you rather use the 1984 or 1985 Topps wax box as an example that's fine. Thank you,
I bet the Topps guys thought he was nuts at the time as well (early 1970s). What great foresight to have, to be wise enough to start a store by reselling unsold product. That store is still very successful 55+ years later.
Edited to add: That was just one of Larry's hustles. He also made minor league cards (years before Classic came out with their minor league cards). The 1983 Kirby Puckett comes to mind.
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball
@Yankees70 The premiums being paid for FASC boxes also links to one specific factor in that BBCE is the most proficient and trustworthy authenticator/provider of such items. From only a very small sample size, I can surmise that a FASC 1983 Topps Baseball Wax Box could command at least a 20% premium above a similar box without the endorsement.
I think 20% is about right on this one. These are more plentiful, but is a highly desirable box becasue of the key rookies in the set. Personally, I prefer the Michigan version of this one because there's no wax.
Do you prefer the mich. test boxes to vending for 83T baseball? when considering price I mean.
I remember this post from way back! I remember back in 2012 when I started collecting unopened, you would see a bunch of 1970s packs and even a few boxes on BBCE website. I would get 1975 baseball cellos for about $100, and mini wax packs for $25 or 30. 1978 rack packs were like $35, and I even picked up a 1983 Topps Michigan box for like $250.
I wish I would have started at least 15 years earlier and picked up any 1950s or 1960s wax, cello or rack packs and just put them away. I had no idea even in 2012 this stuff would go as high as it is now. Some of you unopened guys were way ahead of the curve! Kudos 👏
Looking for 1960 to 1989 Unopened Football cellos with Oakland Raiders on top or back of any packs as well.
It's also important to note that FASC boxes (aside from 1975 thanks to Fritsch) do not exist from 1976 and earlier for baseball. I'd say the FASC premium is higher vs non FASC for those boxes that are tougher to find in FASC form. For many of the mid to late 80s boxes, FASC is pretty easy to acquire so the premium is minimal.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Great info guys thank you.
If you're looking for 80s stars such as Picket, Clemons, and McGuire you're in luck. 85T straight from this guy's vault.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/187581682065
This seller is one of many that are using AI these days for the description of the item. See below:
"These standard-sized cards are made of card stock and were manufactured in the United States by Topps. The set includes 12000 cards from the Major League Baseball season of 1985, making it a desirable collectible for baseball fans and card collectors alike. Each box holds a piece of baseball history and nostalgia from that era."
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball
I've struck gold in the past with these types of eBay auctions; the ones which look like some dude who buys stuff at yard sales and then sells it on eBay auction with terrible knowledge of what they're selling so it doesn't get enough, or the right, traffic. But... it's been a while. I mostly thought the misspelled names were worth sharing.
Yes. I don't open, so the only reason I would want vending is if I was thinking about opening. Definitely a cheaper alternative to wax. I prefer boxes with packs - for someone who potentially wants to buy to open, you can't beat the satisfaction of opening packs (eventhough I've curbed that temptation).
I have read that rack packs are best for receiving high grade cards. What's second best wax boxes or vending? For discussion this has to do with Topps Baseball from 1980-1985.
I was once able to purchase at auction a 1971 PSA 6 "Thurmon Munsun" for under $20 delivered, roughly 10 years ago. Lol
I've also had a lot of luck with purchases over the years that looked sketchy or had blurry pics or not enough pics. My successes far outweigh the ones that I took a loss on.
I have yet to be lucky enough to purchase one of those albums with pictures of cards on the outside cover and end up with PSA 9+ candidates of those same cards inside.
Heh heh.
I got a case of 83T vending which I've opened about half of so far. This was one of those that must have been stored in a humidor cabinet or something because the cards were perfectly maintained. That they were all sharp in untouched vending boxes and centered was beyond my expectations. I open a box a year and just sleeve everything. I pulled these from a 5k box full of 83T. I think you can get lucky with any packaging but dollars to donuts vending is my top pick for finding 10s.
I don't know how you resist. I hear the Jumanji drums at night.
The thing about vending is it can be a brilliant purchase if it was delicately handled at every stop in its life cycle and never hit a bump in the road. If it hit the wrong bump in the road, you may have 500 cards with a ding in the corner that couldn't grade PSA 8 at best. Vending can be a little bit luck of the draw. I feel like I have had one here or there where you have the 100 card block with the ding.
I'd think FASC on vending is more ideal because then if that truck hits the bump in the road while its in the case, the case is the brick and they are all packed tight together so less vulnerable. But the guy putting it on the floor of his SUV and driving it to a show, not selling it and moving it around a lot not so carefully, then its more vulnerable. Even if FASC it comes down to its experience after its out of the sealed case getting into your hands.
You can hit a home run on vending but that vulnerability I would think is why they are cheaper than a box of wax packs.
On average I'd vote wax as your better option for high grade cards unless you buy a full case of vending. Did that with 87 Topps and they came out nice in terms of corners but then you can have a consistency thing. No Bonds or Canseco in 20 plus vending boxes that would grade a 9 but close to all the Barry Larkin and Mark McGwire and Bobby Witt look nice. So luck on the right print run for the cards you want.
The listing was just pulled. I sent the guy an email asking him a couple of questions about the case and he decided to pull it.
Lemme guess. You asked to see pics of the bricks and the hicks went Pickety-split.
You weren't curious to see where it ended up?
LOL, I love that.
When I really get an itch, I'll go buy a cheap blaster box of something, and then remember why opening is mostly a losing proposition. Actually, last year, Costco was blowing out their Haunted Hoops after Halloween, so I picked up a bunch. It's garbage, but my two boys love sports and we had some fun opening packs at the same time to see who got the better player. Fortunately, they haven't caught the OCD collector bug like I have.