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Advice on collecting in 2017
yoadrian49
Posts: 17 ✭
I recently just renewed my passion for collecting baseball and football cards, what is the best way to obtain autograph cards? Just buy random packs or boxes in the store? Thanks for your replies.
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I find it much cheaper to just buy the ones you actually want on eBay.
What he said. Adding....Avoid the lottery with modern packs. Have a budget and study the ebay market....strike when you are comfortable and see what you really want. Good luck. Lots of good stuff out there
Thank you for your replies,
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Good advice, all the way, from Stone 193.
About 45 years ago, a hobby pioneer advised me to buy a card I need, then upgrade it. I listened to him, but did not agree with the man. I always strove to get it right the first time, and thus buy the card I wanted when I saw one I really liked. However, times have vastly changed if you collect vintage. The price for the one you find just right for you may very well be beyond your means. So, get the card with the best eye appeal you can afford, regardless of the grade.
We have a gent on here that got his dream card, a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, in a PSA 4.5. The color, print registry, and the centering are all at the highest level. These key characteristics were those the collector valued the most. Collectors vary in what they value, so decide what you really like in a card. Honestly, for the man with the mid-grade '52 Topps Mick, the card outshines many others with grades of 1 - 4 points higher. He aced the purchase of that card.
If you collect modern, keep in mind, there is a world of difference in the price for a PSA 10, as compared to a 9. It's almost as if a MINT 9 is taken for granted. You will pay a massive premium for the double-digit 10. But, and this is an important BUT; when it comes time to sell, that PSA 10 will fetch the boo coo bucks. Keep in mind, most collectors are ahead of you in speculating. Topps has made all sorts of cards of current Yankees rookie slugger Aaron Judge. The PSA 10s are already very expensive---especially the kind you like, the autographed cards. The advice from 49ersGuy mirrors my own---go to eBay and do your buying, but check out what's available for what you are looking for---and compare, compare, compare!!! Be choosy; that is, very choosy.
In the end, when you buy or bid, strive to buy things that you have a deep sense of "no regrets", but rather "exhilaration", at the time you buy it, or win it.
----Indiana Jones (Brian Powell)
I actively collect Kirby Puckett. I have collections of Michael Jordan, Emmitt Smith, Roberto Clemente, Dwight Gooden, Tom Seaver, Errict Rhett and Evan Longoria.
You should buy the auto cards you want off eBay, COMC or this site. Don't try to pull them out of packs.
Go out on a limb if you have to, but always buy the best grade card you can afford.
99.9% of all modern cards are and always will be totally worthless, even in top grade.
Research, research, research. There is now so much info out there.
Make sure you keep it fun !!!
They call me "Pack the Ripper"
Don't collect new cards when they come out. Wait a couple of months and pick them up at a fraction of original price.
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