What percentage of a set do you acquire before you register it?

bosoxphan · February 11, 2002 7:12AM

Seen some register a couple cards in a 700 card set. How long do you wait before you register your set?

zardoz51 · February 11, 2002 7:24AM

One card! The registry is the best checklist that you could ever want. So what if you have only one half of one percent of the set, You know what you intend to do with the set, the only thing between you and being with the "players" is time and money. Both will come along eventually.

As a checklist, it is fabulous. Trades and purchases from other collectors is facilitated to the question "What do you need", just tell them to check the registry. Simple as that. I have done this on several occasions without the need of me emailing a long list of #'s

The registry is not just a game of one-upmanship, it has many other uses depending on how you want to use it.

theBobs · February 11, 2002 8:08AM

I agree. I just registered my 1.17% of the 65 set. I did wait until 5 other sets were registered to avoid being top 5 with such a small group of cards though...

FatCat · February 11, 2002 8:37AM

100%

(and only if I do not plan to upgrade at all)

carkim · February 11, 2002 8:53AM

boxsox>

I agree with z...

As a checklist, it is fabulous. Trades and purchases from other collectors is facilitated to the question "What do you need", just tell them to check the registry. Simple as that. I have done this on several occasions without the need of me emailing a long list of #'s

I had a PSA seller who is not on the Registry look at the holes in my 1974 Topps Baseball Set and emailed me and asked if I wanted him to get some of the cards graded that I needed. He did this at his risk and cost knowing I would only want cards graded PSA 8 and higher. Of the 20 cards he sent in 17 came back a PSA 8. Needless to say I bought them at a VERY nice price to boot. A lot of people look at the registry and will offer you cards at a fair price before they go on eBay and the bidding wars begin.

Carlos

69topps8 · February 11, 2002 9:46AM

Although anyone should be allowed to add their collection to the registry, I typically don't register a partial set unless I intend to keep building it. There are several years that I have one or two PSA cards but I don't register them since I have no intention to add to those sets in the near future.

Wayne8348 · February 11, 2002 10:09AM

I agree with 69topps8. I don't register a set unless I intend to try and build a significant portion of the set.

Wayne

FB · February 11, 2002 10:15AM

I gotta go with Z as well...

Works very well as a checklist and it'll give people a chance to email and check if I'm interested in buying as well as the occasional "how'd you like to sell what you've got?".

Its also sweet from an insurance standpoint. Since I have these cards graded with a standardized value from a third party vendor, I have a much better case should (god, its tough to even write...) I get robbed or have a fire. There's no discussion - this is how much a reputable company has valued my collection at.

thegemmintman · February 11, 2002 10:20AM

Ok guys, let's get something straight. I am "z" or "Z". He is "Zardoz" (The Great). Using "The Great" is always optional when referring to Zardoz.

theBobs · February 11, 2002 10:43AM

I had reservations about listing initially, and have since been encourage by enough folks to give it a go. There are 50+ dealers that have more cards in this set than I do currently. But, I do intend to finish the set. I just can't get it done in 18 months or anything.

I am proud of my 1.17%, and I will slowly add 3-5 cards a month -- sometime more sometimes less. I am holding my breathe (and raw cards) for a registry special similar to the 70s now.

My current timetable is 7-10 years

, but I hear from some folks that those timeframes do shrink. I believe Wayne was looking at 5 years on his 65 set, and in under 2 years he is 90% there...

Brian

mcastaldi · February 11, 2002 11:40AM

I would say one card should be the answer as well. Now. . .I would fell a lot better listing one card if I fully intended to build the entire set, but I'm not sure this can be a requirement. Either way, people have a way of knowing who's serious about building a given set and who's just listing a card or two.

There is one other thing I will say - If you do ask for a set to be listed, and it gets listed - THEN REGISTER YOUR CARDS FOR THE SET! There are a couple sets that have been up for a couple weeks now with no sets registered. You'd think one person would register their cards almost immediately - the person who asked that the set be listed. If your going to ask PSA to put in the time listing a given set, the least you could do is register your cards in a timely manner.
</soapbox>

Mike

Mitochondria · February 11, 2002 12:36PM

One card if your really interested and committed to a set. I thought I knew who the significant players were in the 1969 high grade market; boy was I wrong! Furthermore, I have had individuals with high grade 1969s contact me through my e-mail link to the 1969 set registry. Several cards have been added to my set due to this feature and without the hassles of auctions. Just as important, collectors who are more experienced than me with the 1969 set have taught me alot about variations and condition sensitive issues. Robert Cacamese was able to characterize all the variations in the checklists for me after several unreturned messages to Jim Beckett shed no light. John Constantino is also very knowledgeable in the centering characteristics of many of the cards. Thus, I know which cards I need to prioritize on in regards to high quality aside from the PSA population report!

Ron

HobbyInc · February 16, 2002 5:54PM

I registered my set as soon as I got the fisrt card.

qualitycards · February 16, 2002 10:58PM

Any number is fine as long as the collector plans to assemble the set. I recently broke up mym '54 Bowman set (had 20+% of set) and the 1st thing I did was to delete it from the registry. There are way too many people that just list a card or 2 to "see their name in lights" with no true intent of completion.
With my collection/inventory, I could register a set in 75% of all sets that are offered. From tobacco cards to '92 Bowman and other sports as well. It will drive the set registy # up, but it would be a false #....jay

zacojam · February 17, 2002 12:18AM

I waited until I had a few and was sure that it was the set I wanted to complete.

carkim · February 17, 2002 5:23AM

I will register a set with only one card in it. Even if I won't be working on it for a while. An example of this is my 1976 Topps Baseball Set. I only have 3 graded cards in that set but I have 1000 raw cards that may be sent in for grading. But not right away. It may be 6 months before I even crack open my 2 vending boxes and who knows what the cut on these vending boxes will be.

Carlos

BigKidAtHeart · February 17, 2002 2:15PM

I am not sure what difference it makes if you register a small number of cards.

The resgistry is free & open to any and all who want to "register" their PSA cards.

You can bet that PSA doesn't care. They want you to get excited about it so you will
get all your cards graded by them or even crack those BGS or SGC cards to resubmit!

I Love the concept and keep up with my PSA graded cards with it. Plus it is a great
"checklist" that helps me get excited about getting new cards.

but then again I am not a card snob, I am just a little collector.

What percentage of a set do you acquire before you register it?

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