Anyone have success submitting '71 Topps looking for 9's?

BaltimoreYankee

I'm just wondering how tough they are to achieve. Sometimes I see raw cards on eBay that look like they could be 8's or 9's but there is usually a pretty big price difference.

gregmo32

Incredibly difficult. And somewhere near 100 % of eBay sellers know that if a 1971 Topps card is in extremely high grade it should be graded before being sold.

BaltimoreYankee

Excellent point there Greg, regarding sellers knowing to grade. Especially true if sellers have both ungraded and raw cards for sale.

byrd3102

Very difficult...we just sent off 280 1971's expecting around 10% to hit 9's....wasn't even close...hit more sevens than I thought was possible. Did however get some stars in nine holders but overall was very disappointed.

yankeesman

Agreed its super difficult. I've sent in maybe a hundred high grade 1971's and received one 9.

gregmo32

I will further clarify my point to say that I would estimate that the percentage is even low when you consider the condition sensitivity of the black borders . In other words , even though a submitter is aware how difficult the cards are to get in mint condition they are still invariably surprised at how few of the cards they believed to be Mint end up in a PSA 9 holder. Even though it is rare , ocasionally I have received a nine on a card from that era which I thought would receive an eight . No such underestimation has ever occurred for me with a 1971 card.

Dpeck100

I just ran the numbers.

A 2.822% chance of a PSA 9 and a 0.0067% chance of a PSA 10.

Dang these are tough.

backbidder

I agree with everyone else...it is very difficult.

Here are the results of my 71 submissions over the years. I only submit 71's that I think would receive an 8 or better.

Grade Cards Percent
PSA 8 269 47%
PSA 7 201 35%
PSA 7.5 42 7%
Not graded 21 4%
PSA 6 14 2%
PSA 8.5 13 2%
PSA 9 8 1%
PSA 5 2 0%
PSA 6.5 2 0%
Total Submitted 572 100%

Fortunately, two of my nines sold for $1000+

gemint

I haven't tracked my results but I've probably received 4 or 5 9s on my own submissions out of maybe 2000 '71s I've submitted over the years. When I ripped the '71 rack pack, I thought a few had a shot at a 9 but no luck. That tells you how tough they are. I even have cards that have no visible chipping on the edges and corners and are well centered that ended up getting 8s or 8.5s.

JoeBanzai

Sent in 2 Killebrews from vending (bought from Mark Murphey) and another I thought would be a 10. Vending were slightly off center otherwise perfect. Got two 8's and an 8.5.

These were the best three I had found in over 20 years collecting Killebrew.

Decided to give up on submitting '71's

BaltimoreYankee

Thanks for all the feedback, guys. Looks like the way to go is to buy already graded 8's that just look really nice. Here is the link to the card I was going to buy. NY Yankees team card. The image looks really nice. I sent the seller a question, asking how the back was, and the auction was inexplicably ended:

Text

ClockworkAngel

I am a huge fan and collector of high grade 1971's. I have made the mistake too many times of going to card shows and shops and buying a bunch of raw 1971's that look good to my eye, subbing them, and getting hammered on the grades. It doesn't help that PSA has gotten to tough on grading across the board, especially 1971's. It is such a tough set to find true 9's, but that's part of the appeal and the charm to me. If having that sticker that days PSA 9 is important to you, I echo everyone's thoughts that the best way to go is to buy them already graded. But for HOF's, you are paying hundreds and usually thousands for PSA 9's...

sportscardstop

You guys are making me rethink submitting the 30-35 1971s I have set aside for this month.

ClockworkAngel

<< <i>You guys are making me rethink submitting the 30-35 1971s I have set aside for this month. >>



Depending on the cards, it may still be worth submitting. Some 8's still fetch crazy numbers. At the CC pricing specials, it's not a bad investment

mattyc_collection

The price jump from 7 to 8 to 9 when it comes to 1971 Topps is so great, yet is the card really that much better? Thousands of dollars better? It seems so illogical, to pay a big sum for such a small increase in card quality. The 71s are so sensitive and it is so easy for the tiniest thing to be flagged to knock them down, that I can justify the price jump from, say, the quality of a 4 to that of a 7 or even 8, but not from an 8 to a 9. The nicest 7s are a really great value, from the collector buying side. For a subber/seller a 9 in this set is a real jackpot.

hammered

I just hit a 9 on #728
But it was the first time I got a 9 from this set in over three years, and 728 is actually one of the easier high numbers to find in 9.
Incredibly difficult to find 9-quality raw cards from this year.
You have a much better chance of buying well centered 8s and reviewing

gemint

<< <i>The price jump from 7 to 8 to 9 when it comes to 1971 Topps is so great, yet is the card really that much better? Thousands of dollars better? It seems so illogical, to pay a big sum for such a small increase in card quality. The 71s are so sensitive and it is so easy for the tiniest thing to be flagged to knock them down, that I can justify the price jump from, say, the quality of a 4 to that of a 7 or even 8, but not from an 8 to a 9. The nicest 7s are a really great value, from the collector buying side. For a subber/seller a 9 in this set is a real jackpot. >>




It really comes down to the strength of a card. There are 8s that only reveal a small chip at the edge or corner under magnification that drops it from a 9. Then there are 8s that look dog ugly with massive chipping and/or noticeable wear on a corner or two. The nicer 7s and 8s can be good value but many people see them as such and therefore those examples are likely to sell for above VCP if not well above VCP. I will say if there is a set where it pays to invest for higher grades, it's this one. The black reveals flaws more than any other issue. Corner wear on a white bordered card may only be noticeable under bright light and magnification but that's usually not the case with 71s.

PaulMaul

<< <i>The price jump from 7 to 8 to 9 when it comes to 1971 Topps is so great, yet is the card really that much better?

It really comes down to the strength of a card. There are 8s that only reveal a small chip at the edge or corner under magnification that drops it from a 9. Then there are 8s that look dog ugly with massive chipping and/or noticeable wear on a corner or two. The nicer 7s and 8s can be good value but many people see them as such and therefore those examples are likely to sell for above VCP if not well above VCP. >>



Amen! 8 is really the grade where a lot can happen. I have some really beautiful 8s, and have passed on some butt-ugly ones with corner wear, tilt, horrible centering, etc. It's a real luxury to be able to cherry pick 8s from sets or large groups (as I was fortunate enough to be able to do with your extra set years ago). I find it a very enjoyable challenge to stick mostly to 8s while holding out for nice examples. Of course, I'll likely never finish the set, as I feel like I've been hovering around 65-75 % for years.

PaulMaul

One way to look at it is, since it's so tough to get 9s, there must be a lot of nice 8s out there! I'm very happy with a bunch of the 8s I've picked up over the years, a few of which I scanned from the beginning of the set. And I've never paid any real premium over VCP for any of these.