Sports card collecting

[shandeezy7]

Which Lebron and Kobe rookie cards do you have? I have literally every single Kobe rc with the exception of a few of them that are high 5 figures.

I have a 2003-04 Lebron Upper Deck MVP Gold rookie #201. Same as this:

2003 Upper Deck MVP Gold LeBron James ROOKIE RC /100 #201 BGS 8.5 NM-MT | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2003 Upper Deck MVP Gold LeBron James ROOKIE RC /100 #201 BGS 8.5 NM-MT at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

The Kobe rookie is a 1996 UD3 Hardwood Prospects, like this one:

1996-97 UD3 KOBE BRYANT "HARDWOOD PROSPECTS" RC #19 ROOKIE CARD PSA 10 HOF | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1996-97 UD3 KOBE BRYANT "HARDWOOD PROSPECTS" RC #19 ROOKIE CARD PSA 10 HOF at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[Rocco]

I have a 2003-04 Lebron Upper Deck MVP Gold rookie #201. Same as this:

2003 Upper Deck MVP Gold LeBron James ROOKIE RC /100 #201 BGS 8.5 NM-MT | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2003 Upper Deck MVP Gold LeBron James ROOKIE RC /100 #201 BGS 8.5 NM-MT at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

The Kobe rookie is a 1996 UD3 Hardwood Prospects, like this one:

1996-97 UD3 KOBE BRYANT "HARDWOOD PROSPECTS" RC #19 ROOKIE CARD PSA 10 HOF | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1996-97 UD3 KOBE BRYANT "HARDWOOD PROSPECTS" RC #19 ROOKIE CARD PSA 10 HOF at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Nice I have 2 of the Kobe Hardwood's in a PSA 10 and like 7-8 raws.

You're getting the Lebron graded, right?

 

[Orangezoo]

Just seeing this.

I have a monster Kobe and Jordan collection. Many of which are already graded. I also own several Luka, Trae and Lebron rookie cards. I just got back into it earlier this year and I'm full blown addicted now.

Modern day cards are cool, but there are so many parallels, inserts and numbered sets that they're truly hard to keep track of. I loved collecting in the early-mid 90's. There were usually only 4-5 insert sets for each card company and everyone tried getting them. Ripping packs is a ton of fun.

Props to you for hanging onto them. I had 15 Jordans ( 7 graded) and about 30 Kobe's. I still have a few of each but sold most of them for Home Reno project funds. In retrospect I'm kicking myself even if it was the smart decision at the time.

 

[supp]

Which Jordan cards do you have from the late 80's? Assuming the Fleer sets...

Yeah, Fleer. I also have some early 90s Skybox Jordan cards.

 

[shandeezy7]

Nice I have 2 of the Kobe Hardwood's in a PSA 10 and like 7-8 raws.

You're getting the Lebron graded, right?

Yeah that's my plan! I also have this Lebron Carmelo Wade trio rookie card that I'd like to get graded as well:

2003-04 Fleer Tradition Lebron James RC / D.wade RC / C.Anthony RC Trio RCs ! NM | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2003-04 Fleer Tradition Lebron James RC / D.wade RC / C.Anthony RC Trio RCs ! NM at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[HoustonCuse]

How much does it cost to get a card graded?

 

[Rocco]

How much does it cost to get a card graded?

If you go with PSA or BGS/Beckett, it's at least $200/card, potentially more depending on how it grades out and what it's perceived worth is.

There are other grading companies like SGC, HGA and CSG that are up and coming, so they're alot more affordable. The issue for many "flippers" is that those companies have very weak resale values compared to PSA or BGS.

 

[mgurtz79]

If you go with PSA or BGS/Beckett, it's at least $200/card, potentially more depending on how it grades out and what it's perceived worth is.

There are other grading companies like SGC, HGA and CSG that are up and coming, so they're alot more affordable. The issue for many "flippers" is that those companies have very weak resale values compared to PSA or BGS.

That’s not as true as it used to be. PSA is still the top but SGC sales are closer to both especially to BGS and only change $25 per card. Websites like www.130point.com track sales for free, so you can see the difference. Apps like Cards ladder do it as well but require a monthly fee for the in depth stuff.

 

[Ptzburghcuse]

Non-sports cards also blowing up over the past few years. Pokemon MTG amongst others. Yes, I know, - NERD Alert!

 

[chugg21]

How much does it cost to get a card graded?

It used to be around $20/card for economy grading for cards that are worth around $500 or less. Since they got flooded with thousands (millions?) of cards in their backlog, both PSA and Beckett stopped doing the cheap grading on normal cards.

 

[dollarbill44]

I have a fair amount of cards that I collected growing up and even some in adulthood. I would just buy random packs when I saw them. You can't do that anymore because the professional collectors buy them all up and remarket them for multiples of the retail price. They've really ruined it.
I started collecting probably around 4 years old with the 1973 baseball set. I accumulated a lot of decent cards over the years. After I moved to VA, I had a friend who was a huge Yankees fan. He would trade me some really good cards just to complete his NY sets. He also traded some p@rn mags he swiped from his older brothers, but I digress. The best cards I got back then got damaged because we used to put a rubber band around them and bring them to school, so they got creased and the corners got rounded. I have a ton of the 1978 football cards. - nearly the entire set. Too bad I didn't know to take care of them. I have some hockey cards from the 70s too. I pull them all out from time to time and flip through them.

 

[kirbivore]

He also traded some p@rn mags he swiped from his older brothers, but I digress.

Better that way than depending on finding a stash in the woods.

 

[dollarbill44]

Better that way than depending on finding a stash in the woods.

Oh, we had many methods.

 

[Cusedad2X]

I have a fair amount of cards that I collected growing up and even some in adulthood. I would just buy random packs when I saw them. You can't do that anymore because the professional collectors buy them all up and remarket them for multiples of the retail price. They've really ruined it.
I started collecting probably around 4 years old with the 1973 baseball set. I accumulated a lot of decent cards over the years. After I moved to VA, I had a friend who was a huge Yankees fan. He would trade me some really good cards just to complete his NY sets. He also traded some p@rn mags he swiped from his older brothers, but I digress. The best cards I got back then got damaged because we used to put a rubber band around them and bring them to school, so they got creased and the corners got rounded. I have a ton of the 1978 football cards. - nearly the entire set. Too bad I didn't know to take care of them. I have some hockey cards from the 70s too. I pull them all out from time to time and flip through them.

Ready for a wisea## response??

Being on the dealer side of the table, I heard countless stories about cards being thrown away, used in bicycle spokes, played "toppies with them, stored in rubber bands, glued in albums, pinned on the walls, drew moustaches on them, etc. etc. etc.

I would always let the person finish the story of telling me their card collecting woes and tragedies. Then, I would reach across my table and showcases and extend my hand for a handshake. Next, I would say " stories like yours are what make my cards worth money today". Sad in a way, but very true.

 

[tbonezone]

i have a vintage 1972 merv rettenmund baseball card not exactly signed but forever stained.
after luis tiant had just beaten them for the 4th time i asked merv to autograph my TOPPS card .
he took my card and gave me an ugly glare and said "ok kid, read this! " he then reached back behind himself and into his uniform and appeared to swipe the card up and down his butt cheeks.
oriole team mates andy etchebarren and bobby grich were bent over laughing . he then handed it back to me and said "@#@#ing bird is the word " . any idea of what this card might be worth today ?


(above story might very possibly be total fiction, except for the luis tiant part.)

 

[Cusedad2X]

i have a vintage 1972 merv rettenmund baseball card not exactly signed but forever stained.
after luis tiant had just beaten them for the 4th time i asked merv to autograph my TOPPS card .
he took my card and gave me an ugly glare and said "ok kid, read this! " he then reached back behind himself and into his uniform and appeared to swipe the card up and down his butt cheeks.
oriole team mates andy etchebarren and bobby grich were bent over laughing . he then handed it back to me and said "@#@#ing bird is the word " . any idea of what this card might be worth today ?


(above story might very possibly be total fiction, except for the luis tiant part.)

The card would only be worth a story to you...lol
However, nowadays (after watching countless episodes of Forensic Files), DNA could make ur card worth something to somebody else...lol

 

[HakAttack]

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO last night had a very interesting story about sportscard collecting. I was absolutely obsessed with it as a kid in the early 90s. My favorite places in Syracuse were Hot Corner in Liverpool and George's on the Northside.

I just assumed that the hobby was extinct because kids were more interested in social media and illuminated screens, but apparently, the market for sports cards is absolutely insane right now. Over the past generation, sports cards have actually out-performed the S&P 500. They interviewed a high school kid who has made a few million dollars by age 17. There are Giannis and Luka cards, for instance, worth literally 5 or 6 figures. And then the holy grail Honus Wagner card is worth millions.

My most valuable card as a kid was a John Stockton rookie card worth $25 and I cared for it like it was the Hope Diamond. Unfortunately, because cards from my childhood era were so overproduced, none of them have much value.

Does anyone here have any particularly valuable sports cards?

I found a James Harden rookie card that I distinctly remember pulling from a pack back in 09’, reason being that I also got a Jonny Flynn rookie in the same pack. I was much more excited with the Flynn rookie. I had zero concept of value of rookie cards back then so I stuck it in a shoebox in a stack of other cards.

About a year ago I got into the hobby as the collecting craze took off. I completed the 2020 Topps Series 1 & 2 set as a gift for my baby twins. Didn’t think of looking through my old shoebox of cards until this spring. I pulled out the Harden, it was in great condition, probably an 8-9 if it was graded, and sold it on eBay raw for $250.

I also have a bunch of Leaf card autos including Mo Rivera, Wade Boggs, Jim Thome, Robbie Alomar, Mo Vaughn, Will Clark, Andy Pettite & Tim Salmon among others.

The Rivera card alone is worth maybe $500. Not much, but it’s a start.

I’ve been collecting and putting together baseball card sets. All the good LCS shops in the area are closed. I sometimes go to Southpaw Sports in Cicero. Anyone know of any other good ones?

Also down to trade/swap some cards if anyone’s still into that. I trade baseball cards with folks over the Internet all the time. I’m building up a great Mets, deGrom and Alonso PC.

 

[JOC44]

I have a 1986-87 Fleer Jordan rookie card.

 

[Owens guy]

I have a 1986-87 Fleer Jordan rookie card.

I had a Jordan rookie card but I sold it along with a few other rookie cards in that Fleer set (Barkley, Mailman, Akeem, Clyde and Ewing) for $500 back in 1989 when I was 17 years old.

However, I did use that $500 to buy a sweet gold chain with a medallion with my initials engraved (think Ken Griffey Jr. Upper Deck rookie card) that I wore when playing high school baseball so I looked cool.

I told my wife this story when I found this gold chain recently and she was not happy when I told her how much those basketball cards are worth if I still had them today.

 

[Cusedad2X]

I had a Jordan rookie card but I sold it along with a few other rookie cards in that Fleer set (Barkley, Mailman, Akeem, Clyde and Ewing) for $500 back in 1989 when I was 17 years old.

However, I did use that $500 to buy a sweet gold chain with a medallion with my initials engraved (think Ken Griffey Jr. Upper Deck rookie card) that I wore when playing high school baseball so I looked cool.

I told my wife this story when I found this gold chain recently and she was not happy when I told her how much those basketball cards are worth if I still had them today.

My dad always said, when u make a profit. never look back. The coulda/shouldas don't always pan out and u drive urself nuts thinking about what could have been. U can't change the past. The cards that rolled thru me are worth ??????????????? now.
You might want to weigh that gold chain and medallion. I used to sell that for $10/ gram. lol That has about tripled now. So, depending on where, when and who you bought that from...u may have some cash to make the wifey happy.

PS...this card market has crashed before due to over production. There is no real scarcity of the items u sold. Those prices may come back to earth. Don't loose sleep over it.

 

[shandeezy7]

My dad always said, when u make a profit. never look back. The coulda/shouldas don't always pan out and u drive urself nuts thinking about what could have been. U can't change the past. The cards that rolled thru me are worth ??????????????? now.
You might want to weigh that gold chain and medallion. I used to sell that for $10/ gram. lol That has about tripled now. So, depending on where, when and who you bought that from...u may have some cash to make the wifey happy.

PS...this card market has crashed before due to over production. There is no real scarcity of the items u sold. Those prices may come back to earth. Don't loose sleep over it.

The crazy thing to me is that people know the population for the Fleer Jordan rookie is really high and they are still paying thousands for it.

 

[GooseMutt]

The crazy thing to me is that people know the population for the Fleer Jordan rookie is really high and they are still paying thousands for it.

When I drink I’m capable of anything

 

[tep624]

It used to be around $20/card for economy grading for cards that are worth around $500 or less. Since they got flooded with thousands (millions?) of cards in their backlog, both PSA and Beckett stopped doing the cheap grading on normal cards.

I did the economy grading back when I was building the the T206 set and I want to say with an annual membership it was like $10 a card through PSA. This would have been 8-10 years ago.

 

[chugg21]

I did the economy grading back when I was building the the T206 set and I want to say with an annual membership it was like $10 a card through PSA. This would have been 8-10 years ago.

Yeah its completely stupid now. If I was just looking to slab some things I was planning on keeping I would send them to GMA. Sent them a few the kids wanted done and it was cheap and turnaround was quick. Exactly what I was looking for.

 

[tep624]

Yeah its completely stupid now. If I was just looking to slab some things I was planning on keeping I would send them to GMA. Sent them a few the kids wanted done and it was cheap and turnaround was quick. Exactly what I was looking for.

Holy crap I just looked at the PSA site - $150 a card?!?!?

Glad I got out when I did lol.