Do any of you collect Sports Cards?

[Ram Tough]

I know we are all crazy about Fantasy.. but I was wondering if anyone on here still collects sports cards?

I have gotten back heavy in the past 4-5 years and enjoying investing into high end sports cards.. (MLB, NBA,NFL) mostly rookie cards. I know it's becoming very popular again and just was curious if anyone on this board is into it.

 

[mall3013]

I know we are all crazy about Fantasy.. but I was wondering if anyone on here still collects sports cards?

I have gotten back heavy in the past 4-5 years and enjoying investing into high end sports cards.. (MLB, NBA,NFL) mostly rookie cards. I know it's becoming very popular again and just was curious if anyone on this board is into it.

Yes. I'm mostly into NHL cards. I just purchased the 2005/06 Fleer cardset, which has Crosby, Ovechkin and other rookie cards. I got my son an autographed rookie card of Carter Hart. We are huge Flyers fans. I also collect MLB and NFL as well. I've been collecting since I was a kid. I have quite a collection.

 

[Ram Tough]

@mall3013 very cool! Do you get them graded at all?

I like most people had a large collection as a kid... Still own most of my cards from 98,99,00... Then have a few of Jeter and Griffey Jr's popular rookie cards

But now as an adult I am into these high end rookies from sets such as National Treasure, Flawless and I collect mostly the Panini brand now. Except for MLB I enjoy the Bowman's 1st rookies.


My collection and card value has taken off since I collected Pat Mahomes in 2017... I bought an absurd amount of Mahomes Rookies both non high end and high end.. and it turned out to be the best investment of my life so far. Sold about half my Mahomes collection since the Super Bowl win.

 

[RobBase]

Not anymore but I did in the early 90s. I have all kinds of somewhat valuable NFL, NBA and NHL cards. Stuff like rookie cards for Deion Sanders, Barry, Emmitt etc...

 

[fordman84]

I know we are all crazy about Fantasy.. but I was wondering if anyone on here still collects sports cards?

I have gotten back heavy in the past 4-5 years and enjoying investing into high end sports cards.. (MLB, NBA,NFL) mostly rookie cards. I know it's becoming very popular again and just was curious if anyone on this board is into it.

Not anymore. Once it got down to having to be a graded card and there were hundreds of grading companies but only 1 was seen as "legit" but everyone differed who that one was. So I have a ton, tens of thousands still, from the late 80's and early 90's. I got on a kick a few years ago and started buying up what was my favorite set of all time, 1989 Upper Deck factory sealed sets. I'd buy em on eBay when they would come up and I think I have about 35 unopened, factory sealed ones now. A few more that were opened and re-sealed and listed incorrectly. I was picking them up for $15-$20 a set. The price is starting to go back up now.

 

[fordman84]

Not anymore but I did in the early 90s. I have all kinds of somewhat valuable NFL, NBA and NHL cards. Stuff like rookie cards for Deion Sanders, Barry, Emmitt etc...

About two months ago I bought a box of 1989 Score packs, which way back when was the first pack of cards I ever bought. I thought they were the best and I still love the plastic bag they come in and the look of the card. Every so often I'll go in and get a pack out and open it up. Sounds stupid but it's pretty fun. The first pack I opened out of this new box I pulled a Jose Canseco. What a flashback. Had I pulled that when I was a kid I would have been on freaking cloud 9.

I also have a lot of my old Beckett magazines. Pretty cool to look back at the stories and the prices.

 

[Ram Tough]

@fordman84 I love the 89 upper deck baseball series... One of the most popular sets by far


For grading it's BGS( Beckett grading services) or PSA... Anything else you are correct you mine as well keep it a "raw" card rather than go through an offbeat grading company

 

[fordman84]

@fordman84 I love the 89 upper deck baseball series... One of the most popular sets by far


For grading it's BGS( Beckett grading services) or PSA... Anything else you are correct you mine as well keep it a "raw" card rather than go through an offbeat grading company

In 1989 when that set first came out I didn't even know about it. Luckily my brother and dad did. I remember getting in the truck with them and my dad said we were going to go take $100 out of each of our savings and go buy a set because someday they will be worth a lot more. That was something we NEVER did, he didn't even like me spending money on packs. But for some reason this was the one. He was right for a long time, and I was the king of my friends because I had THE Griffey rookie card everyone wanted. I kept that set together, but opened. That set has one of the most identifiable smells, as odd as that sounds, of anything I've ever seen.

 

[TREFF]

I was big into it in the 80's, primarily baseball. Got into football in the 90's, but about 95-97..just kinda faded away. Coincedently that was when grading started becoming a big thing, just didn't want to go through that hassle. Plus the over saturation of the market with all the different brands and subsets and on and on. Hell, even the damned price guides starting not giving a shit to conserve space. They'd list like 5 cards out of a set, and move on.

Every now and again, if I'm in a register line that has a bunch there, I'll grab one, just to see how they look these days, but with all the self checkout shit going in, even that's pretty rare. You actually have to seek them out, and they just aren't a priority anymore. Kinda sad, 'cause I definitely enjoyed it. Can still feel that anticipation of opening up my '87 topps wax packs and praying I found another McGuire or Bo Jackson

 

[TREFF]

In 1989 when that set first came out I didn't even know about it. Luckily my brother and dad did. I remember getting in the truck with them and my dad said we were going to go take $100 out of each of our savings and go buy a set because someday they will be worth a lot more. That was something we NEVER did, he didn't even like me spending money on packs. But for some reason this was the one. He was right for a long time, and I was the king of my friends because I had THE Griffey rookie card everyone wanted. I kept that set together, but opened. That set has one of the most identifiable smells, as odd as that sounds, of anything I've ever seen.

Truth

 

[averagejoe]

I used to.
Saved a few rare cards (at least, i thought they were rare). Like Doug Flutie as a Chicago Bear. Jaromir Jagr's rookie card.

Have no idea where they might be.

 

[fordman84]

I was big into it in the 80's, primarily baseball. Got into football in the 90's, but about 95-97..just kinda faded away. Coincedently that was when grading started becoming a big thing, just didn't want to go through that hassle. Plus the over saturation of the market with all the different brands and subsets and on and on. Hell, even the damned price guides starting not giving a shit to conserve space. They'd list like 5 cards out of a set, and move on.

Every now and again, if I'm in a register line that has a bunch there, I'll grab one, just to see how they look these days, but with all the self checkout shit going in, even that's pretty rare. You actually have to seek them out, and they just aren't a priority anymore. Kinda sad, 'cause I definitely enjoyed it. Can still feel that anticipation of opening up my '87 topps wax packs and praying I found another McGuire or Bo Jackson

I feel ya. I've tried to get my son into baseball cards, but I was about 10 when I finally got excited about them and he just turned 9. However, I also have an issue when he would open a pack and pull someone like a Trout out and then just leave it laying around. "Dude, you need to get that in a sleeve" fell on deaf ears.

And he is more interested in Pokemon cards, which honestly are worth more.

 

[fordman84]

I have a cool story, or at least I think so, so I'm going to tell it

Whenever it was, 1992, that Topps had their 40th anniversary they did that promotion where every pack had a white card in it and if the card had an "X" on it then you won a prize. I went to Eckards like I always do with a friend and we bought packs just for that since one of the prizes was a box set from every year Topps existed. Brilliant marketing. We went out and sat on the curb and I remember saying "If there is an X card in here I'll kiss this ground" being stupid like 12 year olds are. I opened it up and after having bought hundreds of packs there it was. An X card. I lost my shit and ran all the way home. Ended up having to make copies and get a certified letter and buy insurance all sorts of crap to send it in, but I did. No idea what I was getting in return. It was as close to the Big Award the dad in Christmas Story feeling as I have had in my life.

Well like 3 months go by and I forgot all about it until one day I get home from school and there is a brown bag sitting on the porch. TOPPS Cards was written on the return address. Dude I was fired up. Ran inside, opened it up, and a super heavy duty acrylic clamshell case falls out. Inside is a mint condition, never been touched...Bob Roselli 1956 Topps #131. Had never heard of him, but Beckett listed him as a common card and worth $1.50.

Wasn't the Mantle Rookie I was hoping for, but still to this day obviously implanted in my brain. And yes, I did end up going back a few days later with by friend and kissing that fucking parking spot.

 

[SmokingMonkey]

Big national card show came to St Louis in the early 90s, my dad let my brothers and I go through what was left of his childhood baseball card collection (50s-60s), go to the show and try to sell off some of his duplicates that had value.

Sold Tom Seaver rookie card and another card for $500-$600. While my brother was haggling on price (we asked for 700), a guy standing nearby offered a full 1983 set in exchange for just the Seaver card, which prob carried more hypothetical value at the time with Cal Ripken Jr rookie as the headliner, but we wanted cash in hand. Also sold a bad condition Nolan Ryan rookie card where there's 2 Mets rookie pitchers on the same card.

Dad gave us each 100 and kept the rest, and bought a bunch of plastic cases and sleeves for the pieces of his collection he kept.

 

[SmokingMonkey]

But no, I don't still collect, but have most of my cards and memorabilia left.
Wife just asked if she could throw away all of my old Beckett's and Playboys, the only 2 magazines I ever had a subscription for more than 2yrs.

I have a bunch of Frank Thomas, Griffey, ARod, and a few others still in binders. Best non-baseball card I have is a Troy Aikman rookie card, bought for $1 at a y yard sale from a lady that didn't know what she had.

 

[Cedrique]

I feel ya. I've tried to get my son into baseball cards, but I was about 10 when I finally got excited about them and he just turned 9. However, I also have an issue when he would open a pack and pull someone like a Trout out and then just leave it laying around. "Dude, you need to get that in a sleeve" fell on deaf ears.

And he is more interested in Pokemon cards, which honestly are worth more.

When I started collecting the sleeve thing hadn't happened yet. We used to play games where you throw them against a wall and the closest one wins all the cards (not good for the corners).

 

[Cedrique]

@mall3013 very cool! Do you get them graded at all?

I like most people had a large collection as a kid... Still own most of my cards from 98,99,00... Then have a few of Jeter and Griffey Jr's popular rookie cards

But now as an adult I am into these high end rookies from sets such as National Treasure, Flawless and I collect mostly the Panini brand now. Except for MLB I enjoy the Bowman's 1st rookies.


My collection and card value has taken off since I collected Pat Mahomes in 2017... I bought an absurd amount of Mahomes Rookies both non high end and high end.. and it turned out to be the best investment of my life so far. Sold about half my Mahomes collection since the Super Bowl win.

I can't say I have collected any recently since I haven't bought any cards for years, but I have thousands lying around. Now that there are a million companies making cards it seems kind of complicated. But since I'm "sheltered in place" and kind of bored I'm intrigued. So how do you go about buying cards now as an adult? Do you still buy packs or since you collect certain players do you just buy them? Also, do you buy them already graded?


Wow, just looked at some ebay sold listings. You're right, people paying big bucks for some of those Pat Mahomes cards.

 

[TREFF]

I can't say I have collected any recently since I haven't bought any cards for years, but I have thousands lying around. Now that there are a million companies making cards it seems kind of complicated. But since I'm "sheltered in place" and kind of bored I'm intrigued. So how do you go about buying cards now as an adult? Do you still buy packs or since you collect certain players do you just buy them? Also, do you buy them already graded?


Wow, just looked at some ebay sold listings. You're right, people paying big bucks for some of those Pat Mahomes cards.

I can tell you how I would do it, but certainly not how you should do it. I think its gonna be slightly different for everyone.

For me, yes, I do want particular players, and don't really care for the others, even if its considered valuable. But theres no "joy" in clicking "buy it now" on eBay. I want that excitement of buying a pack, and thumbing through the cards, hoping theres one of my guys in there.

Now, if you get serious about any one guy, and theres just a few cards that you want to complete your "set", sure I'd probably go the eBay route, or a card show.

 

[obxyankeefan]

I collected them as a child and started back up about 15 years ago. Now my office is full of them and I have spent most of this shutdown sorted and making sure my computer list of my collection is correct.

For those of you that were asking about where you would go today, I would suggest websites that deal with cards. The two main ones I use are www.tradingcarddatabase.com and www.cardboardconnection.com

Also most of the cards from the mid 80s to the mid to late 90s were overproduced and did not keep their value. Your value is either in vintage cards or new inserts that are 1 of 1s.

 

[Cedrique]

I collected them as a child and started back up about 15 years ago. Now my office is full of them and I have spent most of this shutdown sorted and making sure my computer list of my collection is correct.

For those of you that were asking about where you would go today, I would suggest websites that deal with cards. The two main ones I use are www.tradingcarddatabase.com and www.cardboardconnection.com

Also most of the cards from the mid 80s to the mid to late 90s were overproduced and did not keep their value. Your value is either in vintage cards or new inserts that are 1 of 1s.

How would you have an opportunity to get one of those rare inserts? Could you get one in a random pack? Or when you buy a box do you automatically get a couple? I'm not sure exactly how it works. Like Bowman Baseball for example.