Lets have some fun - Add a few lines to this - I remember when.....

jsanz

I remember when 1991 Topps Stadium Club was the hottest thing out and I was paying $3, $4, maybe $5 per pack. Loved those cards.

mlbfan2

I remember getting my first price guide (in 1981 - 1981 Beckett & Eckes #3) and sorting my cards into piles, by price. I remember that my Dave Parker RC was in the highest value pile.

mtcards

I remember when ebay fees for anything was 4% or less and many people paid by money order, check or cash without fees

I remember when you could ship a bubble mailer for 48 cents

I remember when ebay didnt charge a fee for shipping

I remember when Beckett prices were actually close to the going rate of cards

ugaskidawg

I remember when I would walk into my old LCS as a kid and a waft of smoke hit me in the face I stepped in.

I remember when I got excited hitting a 1988 Topps Mark McGwire or Will Clark because I was living near the bay area at the time.

I remember when Mickey Mantle would be an autograph guest at card shows I could have gone to...and I never went!

I remember when Tuff Stuff and Baseball Card Monthly were around and you could get free cards in some issues.

I remember going to Sams Club and being able to buy boxes of cards.

Darin

Opening packs of 1970 topps hoping for a Hank Aaron and getting Tommy Aaron.

1957Braves

I remember when Upper Deck introduced the first Exquisite line in 2003 and asking "who would ever pay $500 for a single pack?". Note; those same packs are now listed on eBay with a BIN of around $8,000.

bobsbbcards

I remember when you would go to Ubid instead of eBay if you wanted to shop for sportscards.

I remember thinking someone had robbed me blind when they didn't ship me my 100 MINT sets of 1987 Topps Milwaukee Brewers cards. How was I supposed to retire without them?

I remember turning down two 1970 Cloth Sticker cards because the dealer was asking $75 apiece, and I wanted to pay $50 each.

I remember not buying a few 1967 Topps Standups because the guy didn't have a complete set of them.

I remember buying a beat up 1969 Topps Johnny Bench card in 1975 in unbelievably bad condition because the dealer said that it was $7 in Mint so the cheapest it could ever be in just-freed-of-the-bike-spokes condition would be $2.

I remember not buying a complete run of 1952 Topps from the Mr. Mint find because I didn't like the cards that didn't fit in 9-pocket sheets.

tbonewilly

I remember when condition wasn't a real issue

I remember when screw-down holders were the best thing in the world to keep your best cards from getting dinged (who knew?)

I remember waiting each month for the Beckett's and Tuff Stuff magazines to see the updated prices and see the new card listings

I remember setting card shows up in Germany in the early 90's and having a blast trading cards with other folks and being happy that I was the only person at the show with 1992 Bowman (which wasn't very exciting at first). I remember being in the states and picking up a bunch of them at Walmart and bringing to our monthly shows there

I remember trading my 1975 Topps George Brett (a beater, but was my favorite) to get my hands on some Frank Thomas cards from 1992...Not one of my better trades (ugh!)

I remember buying pack after pack of 1982 topps with another buddy as we worked to build a complete set, have no clue on how many packs, but I was short 1 card for many years until I saw it at a card show in 1992, a common one and I told the dealer that was the missing card to complete my set and he gave it to me and say "Enjoy!"

tennesseebanker

I remember when a high school buddy and I got packs of 86 Fleer Basketball almost free because the grocery couldnt sell them. Sitting in my 78 Thuderbird and opening them. We would wrap the stickers around Bic lighters.

travis t

I remember remembering. Not so much anymore.

But I do remember hotel ballrooms, high school gymnasiums, local churches and synagogues, parking lots and of course, hot dog stands. I was hungry.

LOTSOS

I remember back in 2015 thinking what kind of moron pays thousands of dollars for small pieces of cardboard with pictures on them. Now I know exactly what kind........

perkdog

I remember when this place was packed with a large group of regulars that posted nearly every day.

psychump

I remember trading this years cards for last years cards! I remember walking over 3 miles each way to get the 1972 topps baseball sixth series packs! I remember puling a 1971 Willie Mays in back of a Toyota station wagon in the pouring rain in Cincinnati after picking up my brother from Tae Kwon Do! I remember watching Rick Wise hitting two home runs AND pitching a no hitter against the Reds in June of '71.

ElvisP

@jsanz said:
I remember when 1991 Topps Stadium Club was the hottest thing out and I was paying $3, $4, maybe $5 per pack. Loved those cards.

Funny I was thinking about these cards the other day and how great they looked and how exciting it was paying $5 a pack.

lightningboy

I remember when the 1981 Topps Valenzuela card was the first card that was worth $1 or more during its current year of release.
Being from Chicago, I remember slowly pulling 1972 Topps hoping to find cards of the Cubbies only to find the fluorescent pink border was another Indian. At least I got the last laugh.

jsanz

I love the nostalgia, thanks everyone, keep them coming.

I remember when SCD was the place to see all the new and exciting things from the top dealers.

I remember when I first sold on ebay in 2000 and I was shocked that people would send me money in the mail for my old cards which at that time I assumed might be worthless because I had no idea where to sell them. I seriously thought ebay would not last so gladly I unloaded most of my collection at the time. It wasn't much.

I remember when junk wax wasn't junk wax.

BLUEJAYWAY

@ElvisP said:

@jsanz said:
I remember when 1991 Topps Stadium Club was the hottest thing out and I was paying $3, $4, maybe $5 per pack. Loved those cards.

Funny I was thinking about these cards the other day and how great they looked and how exciting it was paying $5 a pack.

I remember those packs quite well and the excitement they caused. Packs in my area were as low as $2 to a high of $6 per pack. Trouble was you could see the top/bottom card through the wrapper and needless to say they were pulled by dealers before the remaining packs were put out for sale. Thomas,Bagwell, and the Ryan tux were all the rage.

mintonlypls

I remember boxes of unwanted 86 Fleer basketball at the checkout of a drug store in Tallahassee while purchasing 1987 Topps rack packs with McGwire...Canseco and Will Clark inside. Oh my what a missed opportunity...excuse me but I have to heave!!!

dtkk49a

I remember trading a bunch of HOF cards for Bobby Mercer's 1971 Topps Card....

I remember ripping pack after pack of 72 Topps trying to complete the set, which I never completed .

I remember paying nothing for some of Tom Brady's best RC's back in 2000

72skywalker

I remember trading my 1981 Fleer Craig Nettles error card for a 1981 Reggie Jackson even though my father said it took him 3 boxes to find that error card. then having my father go to my friend's house to trade it back (along with $20 for his troubles).

travis t

I remember when Mr. Mint said "HA! I've got a warehouse full of those!!"

dennis07

I remember when I would use a clothes pin to attach 1962 Mantle's, Aaron's. Mays' and others to my bicycle spokes.

TheMick

I remember spending my entire allowance on baseball/football cards at the Ben Franklin store and getting 20 packs of 1968/1969 cards for $1 and then chewing all the gum.

I remember looking for a Michael Jordan rookie card because I knew he was going to be great. A dealer had the whole Fleer set that he could sell me for $40, but I decided that was too much and anyway, I only wanted the Jordan.

I remember seeing a graded card for the first time and thinking to myself....that will never take off.

I remember going to a card show in Baltimore (I was on a business trip). One of the tables had beautiful cards from the late 50's. The dealer said it was his personal collection and he wouldn't negotiate his prices. I looked in my Beckett magazine and everything was double the Beckett value. I reluctantly purchased a 59 Topps Banks AS card from him for $40. Some years later, I sent it into PSA for grading with my first batch. Here is the card.

frankhardy

I remember when a card was "mint" if it didn't have a crease.

I remember when I traded a few baseball cards for a complete set of 1986 Fleer Basketball about a year before the first Beckett Basketball Monthly came out.

I remember saying that I would never get rid of that set because the Jordan was going to be worth something someday (I was about 14 or 15 at the time).

I remember when my uncle called me up and offered me a deal I just couldn't turn down..... Some baseball cards worth a couple of hundred dollars for said 1986 Fleer Basketball Set..... And I took his offer.

I remember about a couple of months later when the first Beckett Basketball Monthly came out...... I wanted to hurl my lunch!

I own a Jordan PSA 7 now, but I still do not own a set.

Stingray

I remember trading away all the 1971 Topps Baseball cards to a neighborhood kid for a 1978 Topps Dale Murphy, because I was going off to college!!

travis t

@dennis07 said:
I remember when I would use a clothes pin to attach 1962 Mantle's, Aaron's. Mays' and others to my bicycle spokes.

That's all well and good, but life doesn't begin until you attach your bicycle to a larger moving object and then jump it off an elevated piece of plywood. This is how yard sales are born.

totallyradd

I remember when packs went from $0.50 to $3, $4, $5 and knocked this middle school aged kid RIGHT out of the collecting park. I remember that lead me to comic books, and then the same thing happened there. Took me about 20 years to get back into the hobby, but so glad I did even if I'm not actively buying or building my sets up as I "should" be.

steel75

I remember those 1 inch thick screw-downs for your best cards.

jordangretzkyfan

I remember when...

• I saved my $2/week allowance for a month to buy a 1984 Topps Strawberry RC (still love it)

• My best friend and I would stay up all Friday night trading (life was so simple then)

• Riding my bike 8 miles to a remote general store to buy packs of 1989 Upper Deck for $1

• Buying 86/87 Fleer basketball for $60/pack in 1991 and thinking it was expensive (little did I know)

• I never pulled a Jordan RC from the handful of packs I opened (I did pull two stickers)

• I bought my first Jordan RC in 1991 for $300 and then spending the remainder of the summer mowing lawns to pay my dad back (Jordan's RC is my collecting opium and has been ever since)

• I worked in a baseball card shop as a summer job from 1994-1998 and knowing it was going to be the best job I ever had...and it was!! I make a lot more money now, but would gladly trade my best day in the office for my worst day in that card shop.

OddRodz

I remember when opening a pack of cards had no worries pertaining to the destruction of the U.S. economy. Nowadays, someone can open a pack of cards and get one that can sell for 10K if centered and rare and gets graded a 10. This makes a less than a tenth of a cent of material substance suddenly worth 10k. If ya think about that, that is how artificial inflation of the American dollar expands.

Yep....am pretty much blaming the sports card world for the ruination of the global economic market.

Dboneesq

rock was young
Me and Suzie had so much fun
Holding hands and skimming stones
Had an old gold Chevy and a place of my own

travis t

Nice Doug. Where's the hands clapping applause icon thingy when you need it?

maddux69

@Dboneesq said:
rock was young
Me and Suzie had so much fun
Holding hands and skimming stones
Had an old gold Chevy and a place of my own

Doug, I would pay good money to hear you do that karaoke song. That would be the biggest kick I ever got!

Dboneesq

Oh Lawdy mama those Friday nights singing Karaoke!

jsanz

I remember when in the 80's you could hit multiple card shows in your area on the same day.

I remember when $20 for an autograph was a lot.

I remember it was like a feeding frenzy at the local stores when 1988 Donruss racks came out and everyone was looking for the Greg Jefferies.

yankeesman

I remember hanging out by the pay telephone at a Biloxi casino because it was Friday night and Teletrade had an auction that was ending.

I remember setting up at card shows and selling star Starting Lineup figures for $50 to $100 each.

Speaking of Starting Lineups, I remember going to an Starting Lineup National convention in Atlanta.

ajw

I remember opening a case of 1989 Fleer raks and finding the Billy Ripken FF error showing on the front of one pack. It was about a week after the error had been discovered and I couldn't believe it. We sold it to a dealer that weekend and paid for the rest of the case.

I remember seeing my first price guide, which came in a collector's set likely from a school book fair. The 1982 Topps Tim Wallach rookie was my big find that day.

I remember reading every copy of SCD until it was near tatters. That thing went with me everywhere.

I remember saving to buy the 1983 Sandberg to complete my set, then riding my bike home in the rain with the prized possession.

I remember buying some wax packs from 1978 in the mid 1980's and giving the gum to my mom. She was not impressed and still complains about it. (but boy did she love Topps gum when it wasn't half a decade old.)

I remember asking my parents for multiple copies of the 1984 Fleer Update set, as I thought it would be a good investment. My dad told me one was enough.

I remember putting my 1984 Fleer Clemens and Gooden rookies in plastic cases on a display shelf in my room. I also remember how they turned yellow from the years of sunlight.

I remember buying 1000 1984 Topps cards from Renata Galasso's catalog to build a set. I had no idea they would be all commons with any stars removed.

I remember trading for a Star Jordan rookie back when no one cared about basketball cards. How did we not see that wave coming? All the kids loved basketball and Jordan, but the cards got no respect.

I remember trying to trade for my friend's 1978 Bob Lemon card but being rejected because he was in the Hall of Fame.

I remember loving the 1982-1984 Topps All-Star cards. And the 1982 Topps In-Action subset. (I still do!)

I remember the day some friends told me there was a "baseball card store" in the next town. What? Really? I also remember having to wait until 1:00 when it opened before we could go. Man, that morning took forever!

I remember playing pack wars with 1984 OPC and pulling a Mattingly rookie!

I remember minutes and hours and days and weeks and years spent with my hobby. With my best friend, with my dad, and with friends I've met online. I can only hope my son finds a hobby which brings him so much enjoyment. I also hope he will let me share it with him.

Edited to add some more:

I remember the 1986 Topps Don Mattingly having the coolest photo I could imagine. I remember the next year being shocked by how boring his 1987 Topps card was. I actually remember thinking "I'll have to look at this ugly photo all year long."

I remember the 1986 Rookie/Update/Traded sets being the hottest things ever.

I remember Roger Clemens blowing up in early 1986 when he started the season on a tear.

I remember bringing my 1983 Strawberry traded card to show other kids at school.

I remember my annual tradition of going to every card shop in Milwaukee over spring break as a kid. My mom would drive me from one to the next all day. Thanks, mom!

RyanAdmirer

I used to be able to do all night long what it now takes me all night long just to do.

jsanz

@ajw said:

ajw , great post. I remember a lot of that. Growing in NJ I can relate to the popularity of Mattingly/Strawberry. My 1984 Fleer set was my a centerpiece of my collection. Great memories.

VaRedsFan

@BLUEJAYWAY said:

@ElvisP said:

@jsanz said:
I remember when 1991 Topps Stadium Club was the hottest thing out and I was paying $3, $4, maybe $5 per pack. Loved those cards.

Funny I was thinking about these cards the other day and how great they looked and how exciting it was paying $5 a pack.

I remember those packs quite well and the excitement they caused. Packs in my area were as low as $2 to a high of $6 per pack. Trouble was you could see the top/bottom card through the wrapper and needless to say they were pulled by dealers before the remaining packs were put out for sale. Thomas,Bagwell, and the Ryan tux were all the rage.

I remember when that Frank Thomas booked for $30, and I was so happy that a dealer had half off of everything and I got it for $15!!

VaRedsFan

I remember:

• getting 25 cents off on a card purchase if they removed it from the hard case holder.
• buying my first packs of 1978 Topps for .25 cents each, and was so mad when they went up to 30 cents in 1979.
• wrapping all my cards up (tightly) in wads of rubber bands and taking them to school for show and tell.
• building a card house, like on the Brady Bunch, 7 stories high with baseball cards,
• being sooo happy to pull a Diamond King insert from 1992 Donruss or the 1991 Upper Deck Hank Aaron Hologram

tennesseebanker

I remember when my balls did't slap against the back of knees when I walked.

thunderdan

I remember when Tommy was posting pics of his boss he was _____ while ______ and pics of Julio Jones who was _____ with _______

Good times.