Trading Cards

Found a pic of the Elway baseball card I was speaking of in my last post:

http://sportscardinfo.wordpress.com/2008/11/25/baseball-rookie-of-a-football-hall-of-famer/


...and if this eBay listing reflects the going rate for this card, then I am seriously going to shoot myself in the Fk'in head!! HOLY CRAP-A-MOLEY!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/1982-TCMA-John-Elway-Rookie-Yankees-SGC-98-10-SMR-2250_W0QQitemZ110288761562QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_SM_Sports_Cards

I didn't even look at the auction you referenced, but I know that Elway minor league baseball card is quite valuable in top condition.

stevegarveyfan wrote:

I didn't even look at the auction you referenced, but I know that Elway minor league baseball card is quite valuable in top condition.

The "Buy It Now" price on that Elway is $1900...

I e-mailed the link to my brother, who sez "I think I know where that card is," so he's going to tear our Mom's house apart looking for it. I'm sure our card is nowhere near "top" condition, but who knows, maybe we can get some Cha-CHING out of it if he can find it.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Found a pic of the Elway baseball card I was speaking of in my last post:

http://sportscardinfo.wordpress.com/2008/11/25/baseball-rookie-of-a-football-hall-of-famer/


...and if this eBay listing reflects the going rate for this card, then I am seriously going to shoot myself in the Fk'in head!! HOLY CRAP-A-MOLEY!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/1982-TCMA-John-Elway-Rookie-Yankees-SGC-98-10-SMR-2250_W0QQitemZ110288761562QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_SM_Sports_Cards

I never knew such a card existed. Weird. I know it's the uniform buldging, but John looks like he's got a beer belly in that pic. As for the ebay auction, you'd think for that BIN price the guy could throw in free shipping. Cheap bas*ard is charging an additional $4 bucks.

I just got an email from my bro tellin me he found the Elway card! WOW! I don't know what kind of shape it's in or anything, we're gonna have to decide what to do with it over a few beers sometime soon.

Fat Freddy wrote:

I just got an email from my bro tellin me he found the Elway card! WOW! I don't know what kind of shape it's in or anything, we're gonna have to decide what to do with it over a few beers sometime soon.

I'll trade you WWIII's When Go Turned Away featuring Mandy Lion for it. It's a goth/rock/metal classic!

Fat Freddy wrote:

I just got an email from my bro tellin me he found the Elway card! WOW! I don't know what kind of shape it's in or anything, we're gonna have to decide what to do with it over a few beers sometime soon.

Now you'll be able to afford that awesome Michael Bolton record with Bruce Kulick on it. Today is your lucky day, my friend!

My bro's unemployed at the moment so for all I know, he may have already sold the card, taken the money and split for Las Vegas...

I actually saw one of those Elway cards, graded a "Pristine 10" by Beckett (BGS or BVG, not BCCG), and the BIN was $25K, if memory serves. I don't think it sold for that, but it's probably worth most of that BIN.

stevegarveyfan wrote:

I actually saw one of those Elway cards, graded a "Pristine 10" by Beckett (BGS or BVG, not BCCG), and the BIN was $25K, if memory serves. I don't think it sold for that, but it's probably worth most of that BIN.

I'm not up on the various grading systems for cards nowadays but I doubt this particular one we've got would be "pristine" ... is there such a rating as "Pretty Damn Good?"

Where would you take that card to be sold? I'd think eBay would be too iffy a place to sell it. I'm sure there are con artists a-plenty waiting for inexperienced card sellers on eBay.

SpectreFate wrote:

Where would you take that card to be sold? I'd think eBay would be too iffy a place to sell it. I'm sure there are con artists a-plenty waiting for inexperienced card sellers on eBay.

Lord only knows... there are a lotta sharks out there in the collectible biz. My bro is friends with a guy who's way more into the trading card scene than either of us, we're hoping that maybe he can point us to a dealer/appraiser who can at least give us an idea of what grade this card might be and therefore how much it might be worth, then suggest where to go from there. I have never eBayed in my life and neither has my brother so I doubt we'd take that avenue.

Who knows, maybe next time you turn on your TV you'll see us getting it appraised on "Antiques Roadshow".

Try PSA. They are among the two or three most reputable graders out there. The website is www.psacard.com and the phone number is 800-325-1121.

Another highly reputable grader is Sportscard Guaranty (also one of the elite two or three grading companies), located in Parsippany, NJ. Their website is www.sgccard.com and the phone number is 800-742-9212.

The grading fee for this card, in the condition you noted, would probably be $25 or less. Good luck!

stevegarveyfan wrote:

Try PSA. They are among the two or three most reputable graders out there. The website is www.psacard.com and the phone number is 800-325-1121.

Another highly reputable grader is Sportscard Guaranty (also one of the elite two or three grading companies), located in Parsippany, NJ. Their website is www.sgccard.com and the phone number is 800-742-9212.

The grading fee for this card, in the condition you noted, would probably be $25 or less. Good luck!

Thanks for the tips, Parsippany's not that far from me either.

By the way, I haven't actually seen the card. But when I e-mailed my bro this afternoon after he found it I asked "What kind of shape is it in?" his reply was "looks pretty damn good to me," thus the reason I asked "is there such a grade as 'pretty damn good.'" Haha.

So... this thing goes for anywhere from $25 or less all the way up to $25K depending on the condition? That's a pretty wide playing field ain't it? Hopefully our card will come out somewhere in the middle... or the high end of the middle.

I collected Baseball Cards from 1982-1994 still got my collection too

[quote="Fat Freddy"]

stevegarveyfan wrote:

So... this thing goes for anywhere from $25 or less all the way up to $25K depending on the condition? That's a pretty wide playing field ain't it? Hopefully our card will come out somewhere in the middle... or the high end of the middle.

The $25 is what I think it may cost you to have it graded and permanently encapsulated (and therefore protected), not what it's worth. It COULD be worth 5 cents if it's in really bad condition, but as much as several thousand, but that would only be if it graded out at a 10. Even a PSA 9 wouldn't bring more than several hundred, most likely. A 10 is what you want, but those grades are VERY hard to get.

stevegarveyfan wrote:

The $25 is what I think it may cost you to have it graded and permanently encapsulated (and therefore protected), not what it's worth. It COULD be worth 5 cents if it's in really bad condition, but as much as several thousand, but that would only be if it graded out at a 10. Even a PSA 9 wouldn't bring more than several hundred, most likely. A 10 is what you want, but those grades are VERY hard to get.

Ahhh, OK, now I gotcha. I'm so not hip to how the sports card scene works nowadays. Last time I checked into the hobby as a kid, if you wanted to sell baseball cards you simply brought your cards to Comic Book Guy down at the Android's Dungeon and he would look them over and then sneer at you, "Oh, please. Why are you wasting my valuable time with these worthless cards? They are merely commons. I can offer you no more than five cents for the entire pile. Take it and leave my store immediately."

Nowadays you gotta get'em appraised, graded, hermetically sealed in them bulletproof plastic thingies, etc., etc. ...I had no idea it had become so complicated!!

I have a couple hundred graded cards, and if they're nice enough, it's great to have them in a PSA holder. If it's a 1986 Donruss Rance Mulliniks, you've wasted your time. But the Elway card might be worth grading just because it's an early Elway card.

Fat Freddy wrote:

stevegarveyfan wrote:

The $25 is what I think it may cost you to have it graded and permanently encapsulated (and therefore protected), not what it's worth. It COULD be worth 5 cents if it's in really bad condition, but as much as several thousand, but that would only be if it graded out at a 10. Even a PSA 9 wouldn't bring more than several hundred, most likely. A 10 is what you want, but those grades are VERY hard to get.

Ahhh, OK, now I gotcha. I'm so not hip to how the sports card scene works nowadays. Last time I checked into the hobby as a kid, if you wanted to sell baseball cards you simply brought your cards to Comic Book Guy down at the Android's Dungeon and he would look them over and then sneer at you, "Oh, please. Why are you wasting my valuable time with these worthless cards? They are merely commons. I can offer you no more than five cents for the entire pile. Take it and leave my store immediately."

Nowadays you gotta get'em appraised, graded, hermetically sealed in them bulletproof plastic thingies, etc., etc. ...I had no idea it had become so complicated!!

pretty much the reason I got out of comics too... I have a modest collection of comics but people laugh at you when they ask if they have been read and you say yes..

Alex

exact33 wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

stevegarveyfan wrote:

The $25 is what I think it may cost you to have it graded and permanently encapsulated (and therefore protected), not what it's worth. It COULD be worth 5 cents if it's in really bad condition, but as much as several thousand, but that would only be if it graded out at a 10. Even a PSA 9 wouldn't bring more than several hundred, most likely. A 10 is what you want, but those grades are VERY hard to get.

Ahhh, OK, now I gotcha. I'm so not hip to how the sports card scene works nowadays. Last time I checked into the hobby as a kid, if you wanted to sell baseball cards you simply brought your cards to Comic Book Guy down at the Android's Dungeon and he would look them over and then sneer at you, "Oh, please. Why are you wasting my valuable time with these worthless cards? They are merely commons. I can offer you no more than five cents for the entire pile. Take it and leave my store immediately."

Nowadays you gotta get'em appraised, graded, hermetically sealed in them bulletproof plastic thingies, etc., etc. ...I had no idea it had become so complicated!!

pretty much the reason I got out of comics too... I have a modest collection of comics but people laugh at you when they ask if they have been read and you say yes..

Alex

And that's why you have to determine beforehand just why you are collecting. If you are in it for the $, then be in it for the $, but if you simply want to enjoy the pleasure of finding the card of your favorite player or the one comic issue you need to finish a storyline, then collect for the sheer fun of it.

I have my Garvey collection, and I know that some have a little value, but if I was in it for the major $, I would be collecting Mickey Mantle, Honus Wagner or Ted Williams. I enjoy collecting what I collect. It's fun!

stevegarveyfan wrote:

And that's why you have to determine beforehand just why you are collecting. If you are in it for the $, then be in it for the $, but if you simply want to enjoy the pleasure of finding the card of your favorite player or the one comic issue you need to finish a storyline, then collect for the sheer fun of it.

I have my Garvey collection, and I know that some have a little value, but if I was in it for the major $, I would be collecting Mickey Mantle, Honus Wagner or Ted Williams. I enjoy collecting what I collect. It's fun!

true. Its just as a kid I got the comics to read and enjoyed them. Now that I dont get that much from them I went to see what they might be worth and the guy laughed when I said I read them. He was trying to chastize me for buying them to read. I know we do it for cds (and think they are worth so much) but if you bought them when you were a kid it is ok to read and enjoy them..

Alex

stevegarveyfan wrote:

I am an avid collector of Steve Garvey baseball cards. I go for the hard-to-find stuff and really enjoy it, although it's sometimes hard to justify spending that kind of money on a piece of cardboard, especially with a young 'un on the way. It's provided YEARS of great fun and I suspect will continue to during those rare moments when I have excess funds.

Here are a few I have acquired over the years:




























These are some of my favorites! There is another board member who collects, but I'm not saying who.

I'm actually lucky enough to have a black & white picture of Steve Garvey hitting his first grand slam at Dodger stadium against the Cardinals ( I believe it was in 1977). My aunt who was living in Michigan at the time happened to be involved in some project/commercial with Steve in the 80's. She had him personalize the autograph to me on this sweet black & white photo which looked to be shot from the upper deck along the 1st base side.

Fat Freddy wrote:

stevegarveyfan wrote:

I didn't even look at the auction you referenced, but I know that Elway minor league baseball card is quite valuable in top condition.

The "Buy It Now" price on that Elway is $1900...

I e-mailed the link to my brother, who sez "I think I know where that card is," so he's going to tear our Mom's house apart looking for it. I'm sure our card is nowhere near "top" condition, but who knows, maybe we can get some Cha-CHING out of it if he can find it.

I remember that card. I never had the card, but I remember seeing that when I was young. I'm guessing the card has some value to it, based on the fact that John chose another career, and wisely may I state. I think John was about a good a baseball player as Danny Ainge was. I think I have a Danny Ainge Blue Jays card floating around somewhere. My collection only lasted for five years (1978-1982 Topps baseball, and then 1986 Don Russ).

metalinmyveins wrote:

I'm actually lucky enough to have a black & white picture of Steve Garvey hitting his first grand slam at Dodger stadium against the Cardinals ( I believe it was in 1977). My aunt who was living in Michigan at the time happened to be involved in some project/commercial with Steve in the 80's. She had him personalize the autograph to me on this sweet black & white photo which looked to be shot from the upper deck along the 1st base side.

Would you mind scanning it and posting it? I'd like to see that.

I found a site that is pretty informative and hilarious when it comes
to card collecting, its www.badwax.com. He has posts about idiots who
put really crappy cards up on Craigslist and try and rip people off and
it is pretty funny. Here is one example:

http://badwax.net/2009/02/15/craigslist-idiot-21509/