Another theaory on why High Number series are rare

[steve B]

The place to look isn't at what the kids were buying - Retailer to consumer.
But at the wholesaler to retailer business.

Any retailer, and the corner store people have been pretty sharp forever, would have to believe they would sell through the last series. If not, they wouldn't order them,in favor of something else. And with a need to preorder, the wholesalers salesmen would have been pushing football or something else in late summer to early fall. Then maybe hockey in some areas.


That lasted into the late 70's. Star Wars cards were very popular. First the blue and red sets, then the green and yellow ones. And there I figured it ended.
Until a friend from the other end of town asked if I had any of the orange ones.... In our town of about 50,000, only one store had them, and they sold out pretty quickly. I got a few, but only managed a couple trips up there.
Meanwhile all the small stores near me still had both the green and yellow series. and had them for a long time.

[Zach Wheat]

This is more of an offshoot to the original posters point; however, in the late 60's and 70's Topps selected star players for cards that were numbered at 100, 200, 300 etc/. with minor stars numbered at the 50, 150, 250, 350 positions. Not sure when this practice started or ended, but I remember it occurring.

[waxman27]

I think that Topps held out some of the big stars of the day until the high series, specifically in 1970 and 1971.

I agree with the above post regarding Bench and Robinson in the 1970 Series 7.

The 1970 AL MVP Boog Powell was in the high series in 1971, card #700.

Was Ryan a star after the 1969 World Series? He is in the last series, but only #712 not #700.

[Volod]

Originally Posted by steve B

The place to look isn't at what the kids were buying - Retailer to consumer.
But at the wholesaler to retailer business.

Any retailer, and the corner store people have been pretty sharp forever, would have to believe they would sell through the last series. If not, they wouldn't order them,in favor of something else. And with a need to preorder, the wholesalers salesmen would have been pushing football or something else in late summer to early fall. Then maybe hockey in some areas.

I dunno, Steve - My old man was a retailer in the 1960's and reasonably sharp, I suppose, and his corner store carried a large selection of cards, but the storeroom was relatively small. Since I worked there after school, I can recall many discussions he had with wholesalers about ordering stuff. The salesman would try to push new cards and my father would yell he had unopened boxes of earlier series that had to be returned because he couldn't move them. I recall him getting especially annoyed when the wholesaler once refused to extend a return credit because the merchandise was past its return date. I had to haul a couple of large cases of 1961 baseball cards out back to a dumpster because the storeroom needed more room. Painful memory now.

[Zach Wheat]

Originally Posted by Volod

....I had to haul a couple of large cases of 1961 baseball cards out back to a dumpster because the storeroom needed more room. Painful memory now.

What memories!

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Volod

I dunno, Steve - My old man was a retailer in the 1960's and reasonably sharp, I suppose, and his corner store carried a large selection of cards, but the storeroom was relatively small. Since I worked there after school, I can recall many discussions he had with wholesalers about ordering stuff. The salesman would try to push new cards and my father would yell he had unopened boxes of earlier series that had to be returned because he couldn't move them. I recall him getting especially annoyed when the wholesaler once refused to extend a return credit because the merchandise was past its return date. I had to haul a couple of large cases of 1961 baseball cards out back to a dumpster because the storeroom needed more room. Painful memory now.

That's pretty much what I was thinking, the wholesaler would get pushed by Topps and would push the retailer, who wasn't buying if they still had earlier series.

Damn, cases of 61..... If anyone knew.

[jingram058]

I agree totally with wholesaler to retailer as stated above. However, that said, with my parents' help, I did build complete 1967 and 1968 Topps sets in their entirety, by the checklists, with many, many dupes, from 5 cent wax packs bought mainly at TG&Y and Kroger.

[jchcollins]

Although not nearly as difficult as other high number series either before, (1952) or in the years that followed - I always found it interesting that Topps stuck Willie Mays, Yogi Berra, and Duke Snider (all in NY and huge at the time) in the last series in 1955. Hodges and Rizzuto aren't low numbers either.