Question on an Unopened Box

nendee

Lets say I have collected a full box of 1975 Topps. Since each pack was a piecemeal purchase, can I sell this together as an unopened box of 75 Topps? Do you think that 1973 Box from Fritsch in auction were collated packs? Thanks all!

grote15

Boxes from Fritsch are original and intact and have been in their possession since the year of issue. Both kinds of boxes are legitimate as full boxes, IMO, but a premium should be placed upon an original box consisting of the packs that originally came with it.

mygotta

The collation might be off. In this instance, one could get 3 Brett rookies and no Younts. Or none of either. But otherwise it would still be a legitimate box provided all the packs are legit.

flatfoot816

Boxes from Fritsch are original and intact and have been in their possession since the year of issue. Both kinds of boxes are legitimate as full boxes, IMO, but a premium should be placed upon an original box consisting of the packs that originally came with it.

Tim I disagree that a pieced together box is a legit box. The individual packs may all be legit, but the box itself is not.

That's why Steve listed that '76 cello box as such. I was thinking of getting it, but not as a pieced together box. Essentially, a person could buy a legit factory box, search and take the packs with stars on top and if they know collation take the good packs, and then put in a few to make up for it? Would you buy that as a legit factory box? Not me.

grote15

<< <i>Boxes from Fritsch are original and intact and have been in their possession since the year of issue. Both kinds of boxes are legitimate as full boxes, IMO, but a premium should be placed upon an original box consisting of the packs that originally came with it.

Tim I disagree that a pieced together box is a legit box. The individual packs may all be legit, but the box itself is not.

That's why Steve listed that '76 cello box as such. I was thinking of getting it, but not as a pieced together box. Essentially, a person could buy a legit factory box, search and take the packs with stars on top and if they know collation take the good packs, and then put in a few to make up for it? Would you buy that as a legit factory box? Not me. >>



Unfortunately, though, there is no way to know for certain that a box is truly original inless you are pulling it straight from a case which is very unlikely in today's market, if we're talking about 1970s boxes. (Fritsch is really the only place where you are getting these boxes from the original owner.) In the case of the 1976 cello box Steve had, he was able to surmise that the box was put together because of the inordinate number of packs with a Reds player showing and the number of star packs in the box, not to mention the fact that the box was purchased from a collector in Cincinnati, Ohio. But that was an obvious case and for every one of those there are several for which there is no way of knowing, as Topps did not factory seal their wax and cello boxes during this era.

More specific to the question the OP posed, though, I was referring more to wax boxes, not cellos, the value for which can fluctuate greatly depending on what star packs are showing. (And to that end, I believe it's just as likely to encounter a "cherrypicked" cello box as a box in which star packs have been "planted" to enhance value.) That factor is far less prevalent for wax, though, and as I also said, I do believe a premium should be placed on an original box over a put together box.

PaulMaul

I've found that at least with wax boxes, it's usually visually pretty evident whether a box is original or pieced together. Whatever nuances the wrappers have, whether it's printing oddities, the way the packs are centered, etc., will usually be pretty uniform throughout, so that the packs have a similar appearance. That obviously would not be the case for a pieced together box. Here's an example from a '76 wax box from a Huggins and Scott auction. Note how the wrap of the packs is very similar throughout.

dontippet

I certainly would not call it an "unopened" box. It is a 1975 wax box, but it is not unopened. My definition of unopened is that the entire box has never been messed with.

grote15

I would agree that generally speaking it is easier to tell with a wax box as opposed to a cello box if a box is original, though that can vary too.

Juggs

I would call it an open box, because, I would open it and all the packs inside. Do it!

DCanfield

Unless you or someone you know with a stellar reputation cracks a case, telling if a box is "unopened" is difficult if not near impossible. Personally, I like to consider sealed material as either authentic or tampered. Makes my life easier.
Doug

PFB

What series is the '73 box - I picked up a series 4 from them a couple of weeks ago for $2100. With 6 days left, they are close to the price. If it's a series 5, than I think it still has some room to go. They were out of the series 5.

Myself and another collector have picked up boxes from Fritsch Sports. He said is was the nicest box he had seen in 20 years - I would have to agree.

grote15

<< <i>What series is the '73 box - I picked up a series 4 from them a couple of weeks ago for $2100. With 6 days left, they are close to the price. If it's a series 5, than I think it still has some room to go. They were out of the series 5.

Myself and another collector have picked up boxes from Fritsch Sports. He said is was the nicest box he had seen in 20 years - I would have to agree. >>



The one up for sale now is a 4th series box.

mtcards

I have bought unopened from other dealers we all know and love and had bought a 1983 Topps Wax and received 4 Gwynn rookies, no Boggs and 1 Sandberg. Was happy with the results, but kind of felt that it was an "accumulated" box. If the person opens it and hits a lot of stars, they will be happy too, if not, they will think searched

cincyredlegs

Maybe instead of calling it an "un-opened box" we should call it an "un-utouched box" or "original box". I agree with Tim and Doug, unless you know it has come from a sealed case, you really don't know.

Mark