Building a set: DeLong vs. Tattoo Orbit?

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Posted By: James Feagin

I'm debating starting one of these sets. It will be my first ever attempt at a pre-war set. Questions

1.) Are there unannounced shortprints for either of these sets?
2.) Approximately how much would it cost to put together a mid-grade set?
3.) Which set is more attractive to you?
4.) Which set is more undervalued?
5.) Which set is more difficult?

I appreciate any and all input.

James

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Posted By: Matt

Here's a great article on the topic:
http://oldbaseball.com/refs/Collecting33-41.html

He suggests the Delong are at least doable, while the Orbits may be impossible.

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Posted By: Harry Wallace (HW)

I do not know what it was suggested that the Tattoo Orbit set was impossible. The cards are scarce, but it is certainly a obtainable set. There have been several sets or near sets auctioned off within the last couple of years. Maybe singles do not pop up that much on ebay, but there are many other places to find cards.

1.) Are there unannounced shortprints for either of these sets?
The Tattoo Orbit set has several short print cards. I believe that the price guides all note them. I would think that advanced collectors will have their own opinions on some cards that they personally fournd to be difficult. I do not think that any of the cards in the Delong set are more difficult than others.

2.) Approximately how much would it cost to put together a mid-grade set?
I would guess that a low to mid grade set of either would cost you between $5,000 and $10,000 to put together.

3.) Which set is more attractive to you?
I like the Delong cards better, but the Tattoo Orbits have a nice unique look to them as well.

4.) Which set is more undervalued?
I think that the Delong cards have more value to them.

5.) Which set is more difficult?
The Tattoo Orbit set will be more difficult to put together. The cards are scarcer and it has more cards in the set.

Good luck with whatever set you choose.

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Posted By: Bob

I started and completed both sets during the last 12 months. The DeLong set was much, much easier but the Tatoo Orbit set is doable if you are patient. The Levey card in the TO set is the toughest but there are others which are very tough including Alexander which was my last card. I put the TO set together card by card but I would recommend being on the look-out for a near set or "lot" to try to accomplish this. I would also recommend buying the tougher ones in ANY condition and then upgrading as you go along. There was a Levey on ebay this week with decent eye appeal but a tiny border tear which only went for $100, someone got a huge bargain. I don't look for this card to come up on ebay again for quite some time. Haines was also a toughie for me. The part about being patient is that it seems like these cards either come up in 7s and 8s or mangled so a nice creasless exish set takes a while.

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Posted By: Matt

I don't think he meant "impossible" in the standard sense, because obviously, with enough money, you could do it. He meant "impossible" as in extremely difficult - as he puts it "double black diamond in ski terminology."
tBob - what did the sets cost you to put together?

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Posted By: Bob

Matt- I didn't keep trsck of the total since I was going card by card. I think it is closer than 10k than 5k though because I wanted a creasless set. What's really frustrating is to finally find a card you need like a Cochrane, for example, and it is a PSA 8 and the registry guys drive it up in to the stratosphere. I was very lucky to find a couple of sources for TOs, one from a lurker on this board, who sold me a lot of 50s and 60s and 4s and 5s and 6s which were just fine for my collection.
Again, buy Levey, Alexander and Haines in ANY condition.
Also, don't get ensnared with the "short print" talk from the different books and catalogues. According to them, Blaeholder and Hadley are the two toughest cards yet I have seen several for sale in varying conditions during the last 6 months.

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Posted By: James Feagin

So to confirm in Tattoo Orbit's the "tough" cards are Andrews, Blaeholder, Alexander, Levy and Haines while in DeLong only Lindstrom is semi-tough?

James

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Posted By: James Feagin

By the way, I'm 1/60th from completing the Tattoo Orbit set

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Posted By: Trevor Hocking

I too am working on both sets.

I have a complete Delong set and a near TO set.

Delong:
Delongs by far are the easiest to complete hands down. From buying larger lots I have a complete set and 1/2 of dups as well. I think the set has gone down in value as ebay and internet buying has come about. Before the days of the internet they where considered harder to find IMO. I still think this is one of the coolest set around. Only if it had Ruth

Tattoo Orbits:
I think this set is pretty tough card by card. You do have to get lucky and buy a lot of them IMO. I like the look of this set plus a lot more cards and HOFers. I cheated on this set though. I bought the near set in the last Mastro auction. I have been waiting sometime for a lot of these to come up. I have come to the understanding, that buying a near set is most times the best way to go. Let someone else do all the leg work and you pick it up for about 1/2 of what it would have cost you to get there in the first place, plus you still get to chase a few cards and upgrade as well. I know it takes most of the fun out of it but bidding against some of you guys on ebay is murder!

If it was me I would go for Delong first. You will find you can get a decent set pretty fast and I think very undervalued.

Trevor

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Posted By: Matt

James - is that card a reprint?

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Posted By: James Feagin

Nope, it is not a reprint

James

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Posted By: Matt

It is pristine! Why not have it graded?

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Posted By: James Feagin

Matt,

I plan on getting a technical grade with the card. The more I think of it, I'll do the DeLongs and piece together some Tattoos along the way.

James

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Posted By: ockday

I agree with Trevor..if you can afford it, buy a "near set" in an auction and then upgrade it until you have a set you're happy with. It's not only easier but definitely cheaper than buying 1 card at a time.
I know Trevor got a good deal on the Tattoo Orbits he bought because it was my consignment.
Also the Tattoo Grimes autographed was mine too..I actually sent it in myself to be graded and was puzzled that it didn't get a numerical grade but I figured that was because it was autographed.
Good Luck,
Alan

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Posted By: John Harrell

I done both sets in collector grade and the Tattoo Orbit set was far harder to complete, not only because it has more than twice as many cards, but also because there are are a number of scarce cards. As others have mentioned, besides the catalog-listed short prints, there are others that I suspect of SP's as well. These would include Levey, Haines, Martin, and Clark. It took me years to put the set together, 1 at a time. The Delong set would definitely be an easier task.

John