Tricks, Tips, and Rules to buying T206's

[MooseWithFleas]

I bought my first T206 card two weeks ago (with the help of users on this board :)). Now I am getting hooked. I haven't bought another card because I am trying to maintain a safe budget and it's a marathon not a sprint. With that in mind, I have been daily checking auction sites for deals and am trying to stay committed to only the best buys.

So what I was wondering is what guidelines do you have to buying T206's?

For instance, a nice little template to fill out would be.

Maximum I will spend on an ungraded common:
Maximum I will spend on a lot of ungraded commons (5):
Maximum I will spend on a lot of ungraded commons (10):
Maximum I will spend on a lot of ungraded commons (20):
Maximum I will spend on a low grade common:
Maximum I will spend on a SL:
Maximum I will spend on a common HOF:

etc.

When scouring the board, I see a lot of good tips, but no specific prices that one should commit to when buying which is why this came to mind.

Right now I am trying to find ungraded commons for 10-15 dollars. If an auction goes over that, I just let it roll off my back and don't think about it again. I feel that if I stay patient, those deals will come my way in time.

So what are your tricks?

[bbcard1]

No trick really to it...I usually like to go to shows and buy lots of low grade raw commons at 10 each. I am flexilble enough to go to about 12, but generally they have to be something more special before I go more than that. Keep in mind I have been regularly buying T206s for more than two decades and have had several finds, so I feel pretty comfortable with them and I am more comfortable in the friendly creases of a low grade card than a pristine HOFer where you have to worry about all manner of trimming, recoloring and rebacking.

Ebay has been a little competitive lately, but prices normally moderate in summer. I guess outdoor activity tamps down the competition. Keep an eye on the bst here. I have found some of my better buys here.

[MooseWithFleas]

When you buy your low grade commons for 10, where do you think they would grade were you to submit them (keeping in mind the volatility of grading sometimes). Are they real beaters or would they get a 1 or a 2. Just wondering because 10 dollars seems like quite a bargain when buying individually.

[bbcard1]

When you buy your low grade commons for 10, where do you think they would grade were you to submit them (keeping in mind the volatility of grading sometimes). Are they real beaters or would they get a 1 or a 2. Just wondering because 10 dollars seems like quite a bargain when buying individually.

I usually have to buy 10 or more at one swoop to get them at $10-12...in other words, you're spending a $100 bill with a dealer on what they consider marginal inventory. I am forgiving on back damage. I don't like slabbed cards and don't have any concerns about that. Most things I buy would probably only be a 1 but there are nice looking 1s and ugly 1s. You also usually have to find a dealer who has had a relatively slow show...

All depends on what you're looking for. The reality is that if you buy $10-$15 Tcards, they will never have a dramatic rise in value, but they will probably also never go down much.

Stars and minor HOFers and (I suspect) Southern Leaguers can be had in the $35-40 range, depending on the degree of their trangressions. I picked up both a Joss and a Crawford in that range here.

[mintacular]

I think $10 is a bit low to realistically get cards with decent eye appeal, $12-15 maybe if you buy in bulk...

[bbcard1]

I am also a believer in don't walk away from something you want if the money isn't that much of a difference maker. I recently bought a group of raw T205s which I think would grade 2s or even a couple 2.5s at $10 each...I was buying them to upgrade my set, but none of them were huge upgrades, so had I not been able to get them at my price, I would have walked away. The buyer was happy because he got his money, no muss, no fuss and I am happy because I figure I can upgrade about six of my cards from p-f to f-g or a little better and then sell the cards I upgraded to recover most if not all of my $. It all depends on how big of a rush you are in and how picky you are. The difference between $10 and $15 on a single card should not make you walk away if you like the card. The difference of $200 and $300 on a lot of 20 is more significant and sometimes you then need to think about "unbundling" them.

[Brian-Chidester]

It depends on whether condition matters to you and/or whether you are buying as an "investment." Most smart collectors will tell you that cards aren't investments, unless you buy near-one-of-a-kind cards or are a very serious dealer, where you buy for much less than retail, and hence have the mechanism for mark-up. Obviously to get to that level of "investment," you have to put up considerable capital.

If you just like the series and want to collect to get familiar with the deadball era or you like tobacco cards and old printing and advertising, or any other reason why you are attracted, then maybe you think about ways to just get your feet wet, and not worry about grading.

I bought my first T206 at a card show in Valley Forge, PA in 1985. My dad gave me and my brother $20 to go buy cards. My brother bought two boxes of the latest Topps baseball/football sets, and me, I went and bought six or seven pre-1920 beaters. There was no grading then, and though my T213 Knabe and T206 Collins were creased up and had back damage, I was hooked on those particular cards, not even knowing what I had. As time goes on, you learn more. I continued buying beaters all through my teen years. As I said in another post, I also bought a full Galasso 1983 reprint set of the T206 series while on my first visit to Cooperstown. It's not the way most collectors would go, but as a kid, that helped me become familiar with every image and player in the set, and I went about finding an original to replace the reprints with. That's just how I chose to do it and have never regretted it.

More recently, I've had some of the most fun these past few years reading Ted Z.'s post about the ins and outs of the set. It never ceases to make me want to run to my collection and see if I have anything that he wrote about.

[Bridwell]

I think it is cool that we can buy a baseball card that is over 100 years old, and get it for only $10. Here's a few tips, for buying low-cost T206's:

a. Buy cards you like, and want to look at in your collection. Take your time since there are many available.
b. Don't assume they have any investment value, although you can probably sell them later without losing money.
c. A little paper loss on the back is a deterrent to the big collectors, so grab those cards at cheap prices.
d. Don't bother having them graded. No sense spending $10 to grade a $10 card. If you can find any graded cards for $10-15, grab those since somebody else spent more than that on them.
e. Watch out for the reprints, especially the HOF players. Watch out for oversized super white borders and phoney looking aging.
f. Buy cards with bold color and good centering.
g. Ebay has lots of T206's to buy, but avoid low-rated sellers and high shipping fees.
h. Avoid bidding wars. Pass and bid on something else.
i. Any HOF players for under $50 are worth it.
j. You might consider buying PSA 2-3 grade commons or SGC 30-40 in the $15-$30 range since they usually have nice eye appeal compared to poor cards and the grading helps you know the cards are authentic.
k. Remember to have fun, and not take it too seriously!
l. Search net54 archives. There are many good threads about T206.

Hope that helps.

[Brian-Chidester]

Couldn't have said it better myself, Ron.

[MooseWithFleas]

Thanks again for the advice guys :)