Graded Baseball Cards

[bucksfan2]

I don't know if this has ever been talked about, or if this is in the right place, anyway if it needs moved, please to do.

Has anyone ever sent their cards off to PSA to have them graded? About a decade or so ago when I had some real disposable money I bought a few "cool" cards. I have a couple of Mickey Mantle because I "wanted" one. I would buy some HOF'ers rookie cards if I could find them cheap, I bought a Joe Morgan, but not Pete Rose of Johnny Bench because they were too expensive.

Anyway what really got me thinking about this is seeing the sports card market booming and one card in particular that I had. I bought a Tom Brady Skybox Rookie, which was pretty much his only RC at the time. I have seen where PSA cards sell for more, and I don't know if I intend to sell, but was kicking around the idea of getting some of my better ones rated.

[klw]

I have to assume this sale was not of your Brady card.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...rd-132-million

[bucksfan2]

I have to assume this sale was not of your Brady card.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...rd-132-million

Yea, unfortunately that was not my card.

[cincinnati chili]

I have to assume this sale was not of your Brady card.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...rd-132-million

I can’t understand paying that much money for memorabilia period. But I especially don’t understand it for a card that was mass produced a couple decades ago, signed by a guy who is still alive. I don’t really know what Tom Brady is like off the field but I imagine that if you spent a quarter of that on one of his pet charities he probably agree to meet you for dinner or play a round of golf with you and would at least put in authenticatable signature on something valuable for you.

[Danny Serafini]

If you think that's bad, check out this bit of ridiculousness:

https://robbreport.com/shelter/art-c...on-1234599364/

[Kingspoint]

A card tends to reach it's peak when the average person who watched their career as a child reaches their late 40's to early 50's when they have disposable income they don't know what to do with other than to relive their youth. If you can add into the equation a high population sports fan market, like New York,....well, New York is the only one, except for Cubs fans, who are a breed of their own, then you have value. The "Mantle" peak ended three decades ago as most of the people who watched Mantle's peak years in the 50's are now dead, or they don't have disposable income to wasted on images from their youth.

Even sports cards had their peak three decades ago, as it stopped being a popular youth activity like it was in the 40's, 50's and 60's. The market got flooded with cards while the youth since then had money to burn with 1000's of other items replacing sports cards as entertainment. Pogs, MTG, Video Games and hundreds of other fads and activities replaced the sports card that created the soul of a youth.

The publishers of the major buying guides and the major card producers such as Topps, Fleer and Donruss got together for a couple meetings in Hawaii in 1987 to discuss the future they all saw coming. They came up with the idea (illegal as it was) to falsely inflate values for cards in order to keep their industry afloat. This is really no different than any other industry as it happens time and time again throughout history.

So, what they were left with after this idea was put into motion, as it would only last for about half a decade (that's all you can get from a false market) was gimmick creation. Every gimmick that could possibly be created to take advantage of the small percentage (about 15% of any market) of kids/people who want the newest for newest sake (those strange people who stand in line at an Apple store for the next gimmick) so they can say they were first. This has been the sports card/memorabilia market for the last three decades. There's also the foolish ones who chase trends by "speculating" on items deemed popular who figure if they hold onto it long enough they can sell it for a profit. The problem they run into is that they can't sell it, because it's rise was because it was a gimmick and the newness is gone.

Sports memorabilia, or any collecting, should be done because you enjoy it for the pleasure it gives you. If you think you'll make money on it, it's not going to happen. Just ask anyone holding onto beanie babies, cabbage patch kids or any other fad they didn't sell out of when it was new.

I know this because I was in the business during the mid-80's with many connections at the time.


I have to add, because there's always the dolt who tries to point out the exceptions, "Yeah, but such and such just sold for...". Rare examples of any collectible will almost always hold their value....almost, but even they lose it eventually because the people who would have purchased it eventually all die.

[bounty37h]

A card tends to reach it's peak when the average person who watched their career as a child reaches their late 40's to early 50's when they have disposable income they don't know what to do with other than to relive their youth. If you can add into the equation a high population sports fan market, like New York,....well, New York is the only one, except for Cubs fans, who are a breed of their own, then you have value. The "Mantle" peak ended three decades ago as most of the people who watched Mantle's peak years in the 50's are now dead, or they don't have disposable income to wasted on images from their youth.

Even sports cards had their peak three decades ago, as it stopped being a popular youth activity like it was in the 40's, 50's and 60's. The market got flooded with cards while the youth since then had money to burn with 1000's of other items replacing sports cards as entertainment. Pogs, MTG, Video Games and hundreds of other fads and activities replaced the sports card that created the soul of a youth.

The publishers of the major buying guides and the major card producers such as Topps, Fleer and Donruss got together for a couple meetings in Hawaii in 1987 to discuss the future they all saw coming. They came up with the idea (illegal as it was) to falsely inflate values for cards in order to keep their industry afloat. This is really no different than any other industry as it happens time and time again throughout history.

So, what they were left with after this idea was put into motion, as it would only last for about half a decade (that's all you can get from a false market) was gimmick creation. Every gimmick that could possibly be created to take advantage of the small percentage (about 15% of any market) of kids/people who want the newest for newest sake (those strange people who stand in line at an Apple store for the next gimmick) so they can say they were first. This has been the sports card/memorabilia market for the last three decades. There's also the foolish ones who chase trends by "speculating" on items deemed popular who figure if they hold onto it long enough they can sell it for a profit. The problem they run into is that they can't sell it, because it's rise was because it was a gimmick and the newness is gone.

Sports memorabilia, or any collecting, should be done because you enjoy it for the pleasure it gives you. If you think you'll make money on it, it's not going to happen. Just ask anyone holding onto beanie babies, cabbage patch kids or any other fad they didn't sell out of when it was new.

I know this because I was in the business during the mid-80's with many connections at the time.


I have to add, because there's always the dolt who tries to point out the exceptions, "Yeah, but such and such just sold for...". Rare examples of any collectible will almost always hold their value....almost, but even they lose it eventually because the people who would have purchased it eventually all die.

Take a look at current prices, at all time high right now!

[bm1475]

What’s ridiculous to me is people chasing the 1/1 diamond parallel autographed with a swatch of their baby blanket rookie from a “box” that contained two cards and cost $200 that likely has $20 worth of cards in it. It’s kind of fun watching those box breaks on YouTube sometimes, but how do people even enjoy that? It’s become legal gambling instead of a hobby for the young and young-at-heart, and it’s a shame.

[Kingspoint]

Take a look at current prices, at all time high right now!

Current prices according to who? And, exactly what does "all time high" refer to? What types of cards are you referring to? What you have to pay for them? What a dealer will pay you for them (they won't give you a dime except for a rare card, as I said in my post)?

[bounty37h]

Current prices according to who? And, exactly what does "all time high" refer to? What types of cards are you referring to? What you have to pay for them? What a dealer will pay you for them (they won't give you a dime except for a rare card, as I said in my post)?

Vintage sales are setting records almost weekly. Current prices on new stuff is skyrocketing, at least for unopened but once opened its all about the hits, base stuff generally not worth much. A box of unopened cards bought for $20 in retail is turning around and being sold that afternoon for 3 times cost

[bm1475]

What’s crazy to me is that apparently base rookies of guys like Justin Herbert are already selling for hundreds if they come from the higher-end product. Like from $20 blasters you can get from Target. It seems like some people are taking stimulus money to eBay for some reason.

[nmculbreth]

The answer on whether or not grading makes sense likely will hinge on the cards in question. The vintage market is really hot right now, but PSA and Beckett have been overwhelmed with the volume of submissions and the turnaround times are 6+ months in a lot of cases, so it’s hard to say what the market will look like after they finally get back from grading.

That being said grading definitely helps with liquidity, especially if you’re talking about high end cards. I know that I personally wouldn’t touch an ungraded 54 Aaron or something of that sort, whereas it probably doesn’t make sense to submit a 1990 Frank Thomas unless you’re reasonably sure it’s going to come back as a PSA 9 or better.

If you do decide to grade I’d suggest looking into a group submission as the pricing and turnaround time are much better than if you submitted on your own.

[RedTeamGo!]

Current prices according to who? And, exactly what does "all time high" refer to? What types of cards are you referring to? What you have to pay for them? What a dealer will pay you for them (they won't give you a dime except for a rare card, as I said in my post)?

My brother has been buying newer rookie cards the last few years and they have all skyrocketed in price.

[Kingspoint]

My brother has been buying newer rookie cards the last few years and they have all skyrocketed in price.

Sell.

[Captain Hook]

Over the last 3 years I’ve bought up a bunch of PSA graded cards from the 70s, 80s and 90s on the cheap. I got into it mostly because my now 14 year old son got into it. Man was my timing good. I’ve bought over 200 cards, stuck to HOF guys mostly and shot for PSA grades 7-10. This went from early 2018 to about October of 2020 and while I still occasionally buy a card prices now are crazy! Cards I could buy a year ago for $5-$15(it cost more than that just to get them graded) are now going for 5x that much. I don’t know if things will stay that way and to be honest I wish they wouldn’t. The days of getting decent PSA graded cards under $20 are in the past for now.