Posted By:
warshawlawPlease convey to the powers that be that the hobby and your readers are being done a disservice by listing pages of new crap and delisting old and valuable cards...
On an unrelated note, I have to comment on the exhibit card valuations. Let me first preface this by saying that I think your book is head and shoulders above the rest, and I have nothing but respect for you. It was nice to see the 1928 PCL set quintuple in value and the 1924 set triple in value, but these increases as well as the price drops on some of the other cards are inexplicable in light of market activity. I believe in the rarity of the 1928 set and I am constantly on the prowl for them. I've seen only a few sell over the last year and I scoured the National for these cards, without success. I had a standing offer to buy them at book for years in the VCBC classifieds. Never a bite. While I believe that the prices shown in the 2005 book are closer to the reality of the set if any ever came to auction, I just haven't seen widespread sales that support the pricing. And if we are engaged in an exercise in theoretical pricing, then why is Reese's value 1/3 that of Averill and less than Wally Berger's? Makes no sense, since Reese hasn't been to market in years and would sky if it ever did come up because of the Yankee and Jewish collector interest. If anyone has a Reese, I'll take it for the book price adjusted for the grade. Heck, I'll pay the ex price for a vg card.
Nor have I seen data supporting some of the price drops. I have no data supporting, for example, that the 1929 Exhibit Star Picture Stamps Ruth has fallen in value. I track this card for my boxing book because of the Dempsey on it. The two sales I've seen have been for cards in less than vg condition and have exceeded the VG price in the book. There have been no sales of near mint or even ex examples of this card, at least none I've seen. Dropping the price on the basis of the data I've seen is unsupported.
Most of the Exhibit HOFers have values entirely out of line with reality, especially when adjusted for condition. Many of the prices haven't moved in years. Also, there just isn't a straight mathematical progression through the grades for these cards, especially the later full bleed dark colored issues, where true ex-mt or better has to be considered a condition rarity. Gehrig and Ruth have dropped under $1,000 each in near mint in many sets and have been reduced by hundreds in others. Where are these cheap near mint Gehrig and Ruth cards? Can you hook me up? Certainly nothing on Ebay has shown this sort of weakness. I know because I am in on virtually every Ruth out there with bids similar to the condition-adjusted prices in the 2005 book, and I never win. Usually, not by a long shot. A 1928 Hack Wilson for $100 in nm? Not this decade...when you find Hack, which is rarely, his cards pull in $75-$100 in vg.
Last of all, the Zeenuts. When oh when will the valuations on the HOFers be adjusted to reflect the actual values of these cards??? I mean, the book is under a hundred bucks on vg examples of many of these cards. Hook me up, dude, I'll take all the 1915 Heilmann's in vg at $90 that you can find me...1919 Dazzy Vance for $60? Where; I am so on that. Zeenuts HOFers sell into the hundreds even in lower grades.