Always a gamble when you break vending. This box was typical for a 1980s vending box...which is not a good thing 🤣 Here are the stars and rookies that continue to pile up from my breaks...
I pulled the big two RCs from the set, but both are in the PSA 8-9 range. Still a thrill to pull a box fresh Ripken RC. That never gets old...
There were only 5 contenders for PSA 10 in this box, headlined by a cool looking Stargell IA...
This thread has really been quite the follow. I have been watching and reading since the beginning. I can't imagine doing as many sets as you are chasing . I am working 1989 Topps aggressively and it feels overwhelming at times . I recently started 1983 Topps and found that quite a bit more challenging.
currently collecting baseball of 2004 spx 1989 topps psa 10 1959 phillies Phillies of the 70's
@hankcaddy said:
This thread has really been quite the follow. I have been watching and reading since the beginning. I can't imagine doing as many sets as you are chasing . I am working 1989 Topps aggressively and it feels overwhelming at times . I recently started 1983 Topps and found that quite a bit more challenging.
Wow...91% complete and nearly all PSA 10 on your 1989 Topps set is impressive. This is one of my favorite sets and central to my pack ripping days as a kid. I still love the Abbott, Sabo, Sheffield and Ventura RCs as those were major hits as a kid. Add to it the FTCs of Jefferies and Grace and you have a perfect example of 1980s hot prospects. Ironic how the three RC HOFers in the set weren’t even on most folks radar back in 1989 (Johnson, Biggio and Smoltz). Thanks for following the thread and keep us posted on your 1989 and 1983 set progress. I am only about 15% of the way there on pack pulled 1989 candidates for PSA 10, so more to come...
Production quality by 1989 was very poor for Topps. They were printing, packing and shipping as quickly as possible. Here are the growing piles of stars and rookies that miss the mark...
Pulled these two HOF RCs...
There were only 2 candidates for PSA 10 in this entire vending box...
@jordangretzkyfan said:
That box was a strange one in that it totally missed the standard DK insertion rate of 4 per box. Oh well, at least I landed another DK checklist 😂
yikes - bad break on that one. and yeah, weird there's only 2 DK's... maybe that's a good omen that an elite is just around the corner!
@thehallmark said:
What has been your hit rate on Elites so far, if you had to guess?
I am 9 boxes into a fresh case and haven’t landed a single Elite yet. I have read reports that range from estimating them at 1:20 boxes to 1:50 boxes. I have a few cases, so will try to add some data to the actual hit rate. I am guessing them in the 1:40 box rate which would be one every other case.
@jordangretzkyfan said:
That box was a strange one in that it totally missed the standard DK insertion rate of 4 per box. Oh well, at least I landed another DK checklist 😂
No 10 candidates either?
2013,14 and 15 Certificate Award Winner Harmon Killebrew Master Set and Master Topps Set
Time to try a box of 1988 Donruss. Crazy tough set on condition, since those black and blue borders show any hint of chipping. I love the Grace RC in this set, so here is hoping for perfection...
@jordangretzkyfan said:
Time to try a box of 1988 Donruss. Crazy tough set on condition, since those black and blue borders show any hint of chipping. I love the Grace RC in this set, so here is hoping for perfection...
Aren't the cards really thin, too? I still have nightmares about this set, but not sure they are accurate.
Aren't the cards really thin, too? I still have nightmares about this set, but not sure they are accurate.
Yep...paper thin, which adds to the condition nightmare. I actually really like the look of this set the more I rip. Classic rookies of Glavine, Alomar, Grace and Jefferies take me right back to 1988 every time. Here are the stars and rookies that missed the mark...
I was surprised to land 5 candidates for PSA 10 in this box. No star power, unless you love Julio Franco. These cards are gorgeous when they are dead nuts...
I was surprised to land 5 candidates for PSA 10 in this box. No star power, unless you love Julio Franco. These cards are gorgeous when they are dead nuts...
Well, it was the year with Bedrosian's Cy Young stats.
A quick rip outside of the 80s while I hunt for a perfect Frank Thomas Rookie Sensations card. I remember first seeing this card at a local mall card show in 1992 with a price tag of $100 and thinking I had to have one! After much swindling, the card was finally mine. I never appreciated how condition sensitive these are straight from the pack and the consistently terrible T/B centering. Here goes a fun rip for nostalgia sake...
@jordangretzkyfan said:
A quick rip outside of the 80s while I hunt for a perfect Frank Thomas Rookie Sensations card. I remember first seeing this card at a local mall card show in 1992 with a price tag of $100 and thinking I had to have one! After much swindling, the card was finally mine. I never appreciated how condition sensitive these are straight from the pack and the consistently terrible T/B centering. Here goes a fun rip for nostalgia sake...
can't wait for this one either! i was also obsessed with the rookie sensations - that phil plantier card was the one to have!
@jordangretzkyfan said:
A quick rip outside of the 80s while I hunt for a perfect Frank Thomas Rookie Sensations card. I remember first seeing this card at a local mall card show in 1992 with a price tag of $100 and thinking I had to have one! After much swindling, the card was finally mine. I never appreciated how condition sensitive these are straight from the pack and the consistently terrible T/B centering. Here goes a fun rip for nostalgia sake...
can't wait for this one either! i was also obsessed with the rookie sensations - that phil plantier card was the one to have!
Saw those and immediately knew what they were! I was looking for the Chuck Knoblauch, never did find one.
2013,14 and 15 Certificate Award Winner Harmon Killebrew Master Set and Master Topps Set
Saw those and immediately knew what they were! I was looking for the Chuck Knoblauch, never did find one.
Love it! Yep, Plantier and Knoblauch were can’t miss prospects. That’s the best part about a “can’t miss prospect,” This box did yield a perfect Thomas, but not the one I was hoping for. I still haven’t pinpointed how many Rookie Sensations you are supposed to hit in a box, but guessing this one was on the lighter side with only two of them. Here are the stars, rookies and inserts. Was pretty happy to hit Bagwelll and always nice to pull a sub worthy Thomas card...
Those sets were outstanding, or maybe I had too much bourbon this evening. This can be a tough set for centering and edge chipping. I was shocked to find 17 candidates for PSA 10 at first blush this round. First, here are the stars and rookies that missed the mark...
And here are the 17 contenders at first pass. I will recheck these in the morning to make sure the bourbon wasn’t clouding my better judgement...
1988 Donruss are brutal when it comes to finding perfect examples. This box only contained 1 contender for PSA 10. Here are the piles of the stars and rookies that miss the mark...
If you are only going to land one candidate for PSA 10 in a 1988 Donruss box, this card certainly doesn’t suck as your sole contender 😎
@NJ80sBBC said:
How did the review go with the BAC closer to zero?
Serious star power right there with Williams, Nokes, Santiago and Maddux!
I must have pretty strict standards even when sipping bourbon. I decided to throw back the Minton due to L/R centering and the Pacillo since I don’t love the top right corner. The rest will make the PSA 10 worthy pile including Maddux, Williams, Nokes, Santiago and Steinbach. Really happy to have landed many of the key cards in the set.
I always enjoy ripping 1989 Topps. Classic design, lots of stars, rookies of the past and 3 HOF RCs make for a solid set. Here are the piles that miss the mark...
I did find two Randy RCs in this box...
And typical for the year, there were only 3 candidates for PSA 10 in the entire box...
Come on actual insert ratio! Another odd box in the middle row of this case that only produced 2 DKs instead of the standard 4. Hope this is an omen that an Elite is buried in this case somewhere!
Come on actual insert ratio! Another odd box in the middle row of this case that only produced 2 DKs instead of the standard 4. Hope this is an omen that an Elite is buried in this case somewhere!
No checklist! Things are looking up! Good luck on the search for the elusive elite.
@jordangretzkyfan said:
We are at the midpoint of the factory sealed case and still no Elite. Here goes box #10...
maybe you need to give this case a rest for about a week or so maybe then the results will be better. so far donruss really struck out with this case so far as the diamond kings are terrible and no elite. hopefully the second half of the case is better. still fun watching you opening so far even though the results have been not so great.
Woke up in a 1990 Leaf kind of mood this morning. Here go 4 packs each of series 1 & 2. This is one of my favorite sets of all time. Such a clean design and iconic images of the 1980s and early 1990’s greats...
I love this set more every time I open them. I could never find these packs much as a kid, so ripping them is like seeing many for the very first time all over again. Here are the stars and rookies that missed the mark. Glad to see Larry Walker finally getting some well deserved hobby love...
Pretty happy to average 1 candidate for PSA 10 per pack. Decent prospect power in these 8 contenders. Ricky Jordan anyone???
the more you open 88 topps the more i am starting to like the set. other then 81 88 were my least favorite set by topps in the eighties.
Completely with you...the 1981 and 1988 designs were the weakest of the 1980s for Topps, but nostalgic me likes them more with each rip. This box was a condition nightmare. Not a single card worthy of PSA 10 status. Here are the key cards I pulled that missed the mark...
All was not lost though. I did find this cool pack with Ryne Sandberg on top. Will add this to my stars-on-top pack collection...
I feel like I don’t have enough Brett Favre cards. Let’s face it, the guy was a beast and along with Marino became the blueprint for pass first and run second. Brett was the ultimate competitor and he just looks cool in a Packers uniform. Sure Ben Stiller cannot pronounce his name (Brett Fav-Rah) and Cameron Diaz is a Niners girl, but there is something about Brett. Decided to crack the seal on a 1992 Topps High Number Series case for some new ripping material...
Here goes the first box. The sweet part is that the high # set is only 99 cards, so there should be 5 of each card on average...
Such an underrated set. Forgot how many HOFers are in this set along with some sweet prospects from back in the day. Add the gold cards into the mix and you have one fun rip. I’m not trying to build this set in perfect condition, so this is just about looking for stars and rookies in gold along with any of them in PSA 10 condition. Here are the key cards...
Forgot about the #1 pick insert set of four. Pulled the Emtman in this box...
Pulled these four nice Favre, but none are perfect...
Here was the stack of gold cards along with a nice Jason Hanson RC...
This Woodson RC looks perfect, so I will sub this one hoping for a PSA 10...
And the coolest part of this box was the sick Favre staring back on the top of this pack. Will keep this one sealed...
Onward to the second half of the 1992 Donruss case in search of the elusive Elite insert, or at this stage I would be happy with more Frank Thomas DK cards. Box #11...
@jordangretzkyfan said:
With a double up of the Julio Franco DK in this box, I am starting to think the second half of this case will be a “hot case”...
Comments
It’s been a while since I went on a hunt for the Iron Man. Let’s roll the dice with a 1982 Topps vending box...
The 87TT Williams was a big Card for a while. I have like 12 PSA9 maddux 87TT. No PSA10.
Good luck on the 82’s!
Always a gamble when you break vending. This box was typical for a 1980s vending box...which is not a good thing 🤣 Here are the stars and rookies that continue to pile up from my breaks...
I pulled the big two RCs from the set, but both are in the PSA 8-9 range. Still a thrill to pull a box fresh Ripken RC. That never gets old...
There were only 5 contenders for PSA 10 in this box, headlined by a cool looking Stargell IA...
Thanks John...always fun to rip 80s and chase our childhood heroes immortalized on cardboard. Thanks for continuing to follow!
This thread has really been quite the follow. I have been watching and reading since the beginning. I can't imagine doing as many sets as you are chasing . I am working 1989 Topps aggressively and it feels overwhelming at times . I recently started 1983 Topps and found that quite a bit more challenging.
2004 spx
1989 topps psa 10
1959 phillies
Phillies of the 70's
Wow...91% complete and nearly all PSA 10 on your 1989 Topps set is impressive. This is one of my favorite sets and central to my pack ripping days as a kid. I still love the Abbott, Sabo, Sheffield and Ventura RCs as those were major hits as a kid. Add to it the FTCs of Jefferies and Grace and you have a perfect example of 1980s hot prospects. Ironic how the three RC HOFers in the set weren’t even on most folks radar back in 1989 (Johnson, Biggio and Smoltz). Thanks for following the thread and keep us posted on your 1989 and 1983 set progress. I am only about 15% of the way there on pack pulled 1989 candidates for PSA 10, so more to come...
Inspired by Hankcaddy, here goes a box of 1989 Topps vending...
Production quality by 1989 was very poor for Topps. They were printing, packing and shipping as quickly as possible. Here are the growing piles of stars and rookies that miss the mark...
Pulled these two HOF RCs...
There were only 2 candidates for PSA 10 in this entire vending box...
The hunt for an Elite continues with box #9 from the case...
That box was a strange one in that it totally missed the standard DK insertion rate of 4 per box. Oh well, at least I landed another DK checklist 😂
yikes - bad break on that one. and yeah, weird there's only 2 DK's... maybe that's a good omen that an elite is just around the corner!
What has been your hit rate on Elites so far, if you had to guess?
I am 9 boxes into a fresh case and haven’t landed a single Elite yet. I have read reports that range from estimating them at 1:20 boxes to 1:50 boxes. I have a few cases, so will try to add some data to the actual hit rate. I am guessing them in the 1:40 box rate which would be one every other case.
Strange only having 2 DK's in the box. At least you'll have the market cornered the checklists.
No 10 candidates either?
Not of the key stars or RCs. I am not building the set, so didn’t bother looking at the commons.
Time to try a box of 1988 Donruss. Crazy tough set on condition, since those black and blue borders show any hint of chipping. I love the Grace RC in this set, so here is hoping for perfection...
Aren't the cards really thin, too? I still have nightmares about this set, but not sure they are accurate.
Yep...paper thin, which adds to the condition nightmare. I actually really like the look of this set the more I rip. Classic rookies of Glavine, Alomar, Grace and Jefferies take me right back to 1988 every time. Here are the stars and rookies that missed the mark...
I was surprised to land 5 candidates for PSA 10 in this box. No star power, unless you love Julio Franco. These cards are gorgeous when they are dead nuts...
Nothing but great memories. First Seitzer in Donruss. And of course, Gregg Jeffries.
And most important. $.50 per pack. Like a bargain compared to the elusive 87D packs at $1.25 at LCS
Well, it was the year with Bedrosian's Cy Young stats.
A quick rip outside of the 80s while I hunt for a perfect Frank Thomas Rookie Sensations card. I remember first seeing this card at a local mall card show in 1992 with a price tag of $100 and thinking I had to have one! After much swindling, the card was finally mine. I never appreciated how condition sensitive these are straight from the pack and the consistently terrible T/B centering. Here goes a fun rip for nostalgia sake...
can't wait for this one either! i was also obsessed with the rookie sensations - that phil plantier card was the one to have!
Saw those and immediately knew what they were! I was looking for the Chuck Knoblauch, never did find one.
Love it! Yep, Plantier and Knoblauch were can’t miss prospects. That’s the best part about a “can’t miss prospect,” This box did yield a perfect Thomas, but not the one I was hoping for. I still haven’t pinpointed how many Rookie Sensations you are supposed to hit in a box, but guessing this one was on the lighter side with only two of them. Here are the stars, rookies and inserts. Was pretty happy to hit Bagwelll and always nice to pull a sub worthy Thomas card...
Time to go back to the 1987 Topps Traded set well...
Those sets were outstanding, or maybe I had too much bourbon this evening. This can be a tough set for centering and edge chipping. I was shocked to find 17 candidates for PSA 10 at first blush this round. First, here are the stars and rookies that missed the mark...
And here are the 17 contenders at first pass. I will recheck these in the morning to make sure the bourbon wasn’t clouding my better judgement...
Alright, let’s try a box of 1988 Donruss this morning...
How did the review go with the BAC closer to zero?
Serious star power right there with Williams, Nokes, Santiago and Maddux!
1988 Donruss are brutal when it comes to finding perfect examples. This box only contained 1 contender for PSA 10. Here are the piles of the stars and rookies that miss the mark...
If you are only going to land one candidate for PSA 10 in a 1988 Donruss box, this card certainly doesn’t suck as your sole contender 😎
I must have pretty strict standards even when sipping bourbon. I decided to throw back the Minton due to L/R centering and the Pacillo since I don’t love the top right corner. The rest will make the PSA 10 worthy pile including Maddux, Williams, Nokes, Santiago and Steinbach. Really happy to have landed many of the key cards in the set.
Let’s see if there is anything hiding in this 1989 Topps vending box that is worthy of submitting...
I always enjoy ripping 1989 Topps. Classic design, lots of stars, rookies of the past and 3 HOF RCs make for a solid set. Here are the piles that miss the mark...
I did find two Randy RCs in this box...
And typical for the year, there were only 3 candidates for PSA 10 in the entire box...
We are at the midpoint of the factory sealed case and still no Elite. Here goes box #10...
Come on ELITE!
Come on DK checklist!!
Come on actual insert ratio! Another odd box in the middle row of this case that only produced 2 DKs instead of the standard 4. Hope this is an omen that an Elite is buried in this case somewhere!
No checklist! Things are looking up! Good luck on the search for the elusive elite.
Nic
Guides Authored - Graded Card Scanning Guide PDF | History of the PSA Label PDF
maybe you need to give this case a rest for about a week or so maybe then the results will be better. so far donruss really struck out with this case so far as the diamond kings are terrible and no elite. hopefully the second half of the case is better. still fun watching you opening so far even though the results have been not so great.
Woke up in a 1990 Leaf kind of mood this morning. Here go 4 packs each of series 1 & 2. This is one of my favorite sets of all time. Such a clean design and iconic images of the 1980s and early 1990’s greats...
I love this set more every time I open them. I could never find these packs much as a kid, so ripping them is like seeing many for the very first time all over again. Here are the stars and rookies that missed the mark. Glad to see Larry Walker finally getting some well deserved hobby love...
Pretty happy to average 1 candidate for PSA 10 per pack. Decent prospect power in these 8 contenders. Ricky Jordan anyone???
Time to get back to the 80s quest. Up next is a box of 1988 Topps cello...
the more you open 88 topps the more i am starting to like the set. other then 81 88 were my least favorite set by topps in the eighties.
Completely with you...the 1981 and 1988 designs were the weakest of the 1980s for Topps, but nostalgic me likes them more with each rip. This box was a condition nightmare. Not a single card worthy of PSA 10 status. Here are the key cards I pulled that missed the mark...
All was not lost though. I did find this cool pack with Ryne Sandberg on top. Will add this to my stars-on-top pack collection...
I feel like I don’t have enough Brett Favre cards. Let’s face it, the guy was a beast and along with Marino became the blueprint for pass first and run second. Brett was the ultimate competitor and he just looks cool in a Packers uniform. Sure Ben Stiller cannot pronounce his name (Brett Fav-Rah) and Cameron Diaz is a Niners girl, but there is something about Brett. Decided to crack the seal on a 1992 Topps High Number Series case for some new ripping material...
Here goes the first box. The sweet part is that the high # set is only 99 cards, so there should be 5 of each card on average...
Such an underrated set. Forgot how many HOFers are in this set along with some sweet prospects from back in the day. Add the gold cards into the mix and you have one fun rip. I’m not trying to build this set in perfect condition, so this is just about looking for stars and rookies in gold along with any of them in PSA 10 condition. Here are the key cards...
Forgot about the #1 pick insert set of four. Pulled the Emtman in this box...
Pulled these four nice Favre, but none are perfect...
Here was the stack of gold cards along with a nice Jason Hanson RC...
This Woodson RC looks perfect, so I will sub this one hoping for a PSA 10...
And the coolest part of this box was the sick Favre staring back on the top of this pack. Will keep this one sealed...
Onward to the second half of the 1992 Donruss case in search of the elusive Elite insert, or at this stage I would be happy with more Frank Thomas DK cards. Box #11...
With a double up of the Julio Franco DK in this box, I am starting to think the second half of this case will be a “hot case”...
I hope so! Fingers crossed!
Certainly has not been hot so far. Got to get better!