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Horror Stories - Cracking Graded Packs for singles - Anyone Else?

lickablebeanlickablebean Posts: 373
in Trading Cards & Memorabilia Forum
Ok - I was bored and thought I would try my luck. In the last few weeks I have cracked (2) 1959 Topps Cellos, (1) 1962 Topps pack and (1) 1968 Topps pack. (All Football)

It started off pretty good with my first 59 Cello pack. I got a couple of 9s and few 8s. PSA Pack

I then opened a pack of 1962 Topps and one of the corners was dinged so naturally all of the corners were dinged on perfectly centered cards. How, the bucks card was nice but off-center, of course. PSA Pack

The 1968 pack was nice and the poster was sweet. PSA Pack

Then, I busted another 59 Cello and shat poured out. All of the cards were really off-center and the two that were decent had edge issues. GAI Pack

That's just over a thousand dollars with only a hand full of nice cards. Only 2 9s so far but I should get a few more from my 68 pack. I'm still waiting on a 66 pack and now I'm afraid to touch it.

I'm not complaining but thought my luck would be a little better. I wasn't expecting loads of 10s but a few more 9s would have been nice. I'm done with cracking for now but I would love to crack open a 1970 - 1972 cello/pack box.

Anyone else had better results or worse (God forbid)

BTW - all of the packs were in PSA 6 or GAI 6 EX-MT condition. So I really can't complain but it's $650 wasted. (I substracted the SMR of the 2 PSA 9s I did get).

It was fun so all isn't lost.

Comments

  • ldfergldferg Posts: 6,755 ✭✭✭
    i had a bad experience with gai 72 football wax pack. there is a thread on here from the archives. gai was notified and offered me a free grade.

    i'm glad you enjoyed the rip. i want to crack a psa wax pack as well.


    Thanks,

    David (LD_Ferg)



    1985 Topps Football (starting in psa 8) - #9 - started 05/21/06
  • steadyeddie33steadyeddie33 Posts: 60
    Buy graded basketball packs. They have the fewest amount of cards
    in the sets which equals better odds for star cards. Take '86 Fleer. 132
    cards in the set, 12 cards per pack. That is 1 in 11 odds for a Jordan. But
    baseball, where there's 660 or 792 cards, the odds are really against you.
    image
  • BigstepBigstep Posts: 209
    You make me feel better about buying one of those "Find the high series 1952 Topps Pack" boxes for $20 from Wal-Mart, although I did get some nice Scottish football players.

    Rich
  • gemintgemint Posts: 6,178 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I've had pretty good luck opening early 70s baseball packs. However, quality control is always an issue with vintage packs and it's not unusual to have a pack with all poorly centered cards. With the prices of packs today, it's nearly impossible to come out ahead by opening them. So if you open them for the fun of it and without much expectation for financial gain, then you'll be ok. If you are looking to pull PSA 10 Mantles or Mike Schmidt rookies, from a pack, then you'd be better off putting the money in a slot machine in Vegas.
    https://ebay.com/sch/gemint/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=
  • stownstown Posts: 11,321 ✭✭✭


    << <i>So if you open them for the fun of it and without much expectation for financial gain, then you'll be ok. If you are looking to pull PSA 10 Mantles or Mike Schmidt rookies, from a pack, then you'd be better off putting the money in a slot machine in Vegas. >>



    Couldn't have said it better myself image
    So basically my kid won't be able to go to college, but at least I'll have a set where the three most expensive cards are of a player I despise ~ CDsNuts
  • BuccaneerBuccaneer Posts: 1,794 ✭✭


    << <i>With the prices of packs today, it's nearly impossible to come out ahead by opening them. >>



    Couldn't have said that better myself.
  • wolfbearwolfbear Posts: 2,759 ✭✭✭

    Opened an ungraded 1967 Topps football cello that I'd gotten cheap off eBay about 4 years ago.
    Got a Namath PSA 8, Ben Davidson PSA 9, plus a bunch of other 9's and 8's. Made out like a bandit.

    Then I won three cheap ungraded 1961 Fleer football packs from different sellers off eBay.
    Two were resealed junk and the other one was real but nearly all the cards were badly off-center.

    Done opening vintage for now. I get my ripping kicks by opening stuff from this century ... image
    Pix of 'My Kids'

    "How about a little fire Scarecrow ?"
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,839 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I pulled a PSA 9 Munson out of a GAI 9 1972 OPC pack, a PSA 10 Doyle Alexander out of a GAI 9 1973 OPC pack and a PSA 10 Lou Brock RB card #1 out of a GAI 8.5 1978 pack recently. I've had some great luck with some packs and poor luck with others, but overall I'd say I'm about even. The real vintage wax packs (pre 1970) are virtually impossible to make a profit on as there are only 5 cards per pack and at least 2 of those will have gum and wax issues. You'd have better luck with mid-70s wax, IMO, but it's all luck of the draw.


    Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
  • lickablebeanlickablebean Posts: 373
    Here are the results of my first 59 cello. This packs cost me $350 but I think I got my value from it.

    1959 TOPPS 96 STAN JONES N/A 6 - HOF
    1959 TOPPS 99 RAY WIETECHA N/A 8
    1959 TOPPS 103 ALEX KARRAS N/A 5 - Rookie
    1959 TOPPS 103 ALEX KARRAS N/A 9 - Rookie - SMR $265
    1959 TOPPS 110 BILL WADE N/A 6
    1959 TOPPS 129 OLLIE SPENCER N/A 8 - Nice Card
    1959 TOPPS 140 BOBBY MITCHELL N/A 8 - Rookie/HOF and very close to PSA 9 - Card was in the middle of the pack. image
    1959 TOPPS 154 LEO SUGAR N/A 8 - Wish it were sweeter
    1959 TOPPS 161 CLEVELAND BROWNS CHECKLIST BACK 6
    1959 TOPPS 164 JOHN MORROW N/A 7
    1959 TOPPS 164 JOHN MORROW N/A 9 - Needed for my set
    1959 TOPPS 169 JUNIOR WREN N/A 7

    Pack cost $350
    Grading cost $170
    The chance to open a 59 Cello and pull two PSA 9s Priceless

    I'll probably send the other crap cards from the other packs in for grading when I get my 12 free grading vouchers. Not worth spending the shipping on them but at least they will be slabbed. Who knows.... In 20 years a PSA 5 or PSA 6 from the early football sets might hit a $12 SMR. image
  • Mikesc98Mikesc98 Posts: 44
    I opened a bunch of vintage packs about 15 years ago and I'm just now getting the cards graded after getting back into collecting. I'm about to submit some 1959 Topps football from cello packs, some 1954 and 1955 Bowman FB cards ('54s from wax and '55s from cellos) and some '64 Philly cards that I think were from either cellos or multi-cello packs that resembled rack packs. Nothing too amazing and only about 20-30 cards from each year, but I hope to get some 9s and a bunch of 8s since many of the cards are decently centered. Probably 6s and 7s for the ones with crummy centering, and I'm expecting at least a few random "EVID TRIM" results in there just to drive me nuts, of course! I can't imagine it would be economical to crack packs now with the current prices, but it sure was fun to open those packs way back when they were less expensive!
  • rbdjr1rbdjr1 Posts: 4,474 ✭✭
    I think I'm going to my storage room and find those wax packs that were from "Fun Packs" (These were "grab bags" of 27 or 30 assorted wax packs from the 70's and early 80's of misc. sports and non-sports)

    THIS THREAD GOT ME IN THE MOOD TO RIPPPPPPPPP! image

    CHEAP THRILLS!

    rd


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    Here's some sample scans of a typical "Fun Packs""

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    Quicksilver Messenger Service - Smokestack Lightning (Live) 1968

    Quicksilver Messenger Service - The Hat (Live) 1971
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,839 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The 70s fun bags are worth a lot more sealed than the sum of their parts (packs), though, Rob. I'd rip a box instead of tearing open those fun bags, but that's JMO. Good luck!


    Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
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