T206 Rookie Question

[burritosdaily]

First, I just wanted to say that this forum has provided an amazing amount of information and although I have read much of it I am still digesting. I expect I will be for a very long time... which is one of the things that draws me to this beautiful set.

I just purchased my first T206 which is a Bill Burns Piedmont 350 off eBay. I figured a good first step would be to gather some of the players associated with the Black Sox scandal. I expect that to be a gateway into more collecting projects within the set. Just saying that I want to complete the set seems a bit too overwhelming (on many fronts).

My Question: Where do you guys find is the best place to focus your buying efforts? Are you fairly evenly spread between eBay and local shows or is there a known best place for trusted cards and prices?

Thanks for everything!

[njdunkin1]

Great question, and welcome to the T206 set!

For deals and exceptionally rare cards, I find the B/S/T here at N54 to be excellent. I've found a variety of wonderful cards and people, all of which who has helped my collection grow.
For frequent auctions, there's no place better than eBay. Save some searches, jump on the train, and wait for the right cards--picked up about half of my collection there.
Lastly, some auction houses offer great selections every now and then. Lee at Sterling Sports does great work and has good offerings, along with Love of the Game and, of course, REA.

I live in the middle of nowhere, but any chance you get to go to the National or even local shows is always good. Scan through for vintage and T cards; you never know what you might find!

Best of luck in the T206 set. It's a lot of fun and has so much flavor, it's hard to stop chewing!
NJ

[Leon]

As NJ said, most of use buy everywhere we can that is legitimate. (had to preface that)

Our BST is great (you can save fees), ebay is great, the auction houses are great. It's a good time to be in the hobby in my humble opinion. The selection on the internet is mind boggling compared to what it must have been like in the 1980s and earlier, pre-internet. Personally I got back into it around 1996 so have been on the net pretty much the whole time. Good luck in the hunt (which is a lot or most of the fun to many, including me)

[burritosdaily]

Thanks for the help guys... I need to begin watching the B/S/T page.

[Bpm0014]

Ebay has the best selection, but mostly overpriced. The best bargains, and my favorite place to buy T206's, is our BST board right here. Good luck!

[steve B]

Focusing buying efforts? What's that?

Cards are where you find them, like any other collectible. I've bought cards at coin shows, stamp shows... I've also bought both at card shows. And picked up sports collectibles at shows like a small restaurant china show.

But yes, card shows, the BST here, and ebay are the easiest, unless you've got a really good local card shop.

[burritosdaily]

Originally Posted by steve B

Focusing buying efforts? What's that?

Cards are where you find them, like any other collectible. I've bought cards at coin shows, stamp shows... I've also bought both at card shows. And picked up sports collectibles at shows like a small restaurant china show.

But yes, card shows, the BST here, and ebay are the easiest, unless you've got a really good local card shop.

Ha... I understand what you mean. I guess being newer to the set and early on the learning curve, I'm a bit nervous of getting taken advantage of in regards to price or authenticity (if I was looking at raw cards).

I'm loving the learning curve... but it is steep.

[BleedinBlue]

Originally Posted by burritosdaily

I just purchased my first T206 which is a Bill Burns Piedmont 350 off eBay.

One down, 523 to go! Unless you decide to do back runs. In that case you are about 5200 cards and several winning PowerBall lotteries short of completion.

Everybody has already echoed my thought on buying locations. BST, eBay true auctions (most eBay BINs are priced at museum prices) and smaller auction houses are great places to find about 510 of the 524 cards. Bigger dollar cards may require bigger auction houses. If you stick with it you’ll get a great education in no time.

[NYYFan63]

Originally Posted by burritosdaily

First, I just wanted to say that this forum has provided an amazing amount of information and although I have read much of it I am still digesting. I expect I will be for a very long time... which is one of the things that draws me to this beautiful set.

I just purchased my first T206 which is a Bill Burns Piedmont 350 off eBay. I figured a good first step would be to gather some of the players associated with the Black Sox scandal. I expect that to be a gateway into more collecting projects within the set. Just saying that I want to complete the set seems a bit too overwhelming (on many fronts).

My Question: Where do you guys find is the best place to focus your buying efforts? Are you fairly evenly spread between eBay and local shows or is there a known best place for trusted cards and prices?

Thanks for everything!

I have had some good transactions with forum members using the B/S/T as well as local shows and eBay. I would check what the cards are selling for on eBay or VCP to determine whether you are buying for the right price.

I just started buying T206 in December and have about 40+ so far. The HOF'rs will be more expensive than the common players. Also depending on the which card back (Piedmont, Sovereign, Polar Bear, etc) will determine price as well. There are a lot of variables to deal with when determining price/value of the T206 cards. I am still learning...

Best of luck to you.