It's officially time to start buying pre-war cards again

[tbob]

Ramly 40s for $135, nice D311s for $200, it looks like it is definitely time to start buying pre-war cards. I don't know if collectors are having fire sales or if the economy is to blame, but prices on a lot of really nice cards are almost half what they were selling (and being purchased) for about a year, year and a half ago. If you can sort through the reprints and junk on ebay there are a lot of great deals out there.
Just my 2 cents.

[scooter729]

Bob, I was the underbidder on the Ramly last night with a $133 bid, and when I saw it only went for $135, I was kicking myself for my low bid. Who knows how much higher the winner was ready to go, but I was mad for not trying harder!

[Bicem]

Bad economy, plus ebay is also to blame, their format makes browsing for cards a true beating.

[ullmandds]

scott...i feel your pain as I was the underbidder on the d311...by 2.50 as well...definitely deals to be had...I picked up a tango eggs common for a little over $100 recently and as was said...lots of tougher issues are selling for 1/2 what they were a few years ago...it IS a good time to buy!

[ethicsprof]

I agree!!
it's a great time to be a type collector! i've had great luck lately.

best,
barry

[M's_Fan]

Originally Posted by Bicem

Bad economy, plus ebay is also to blame, their format makes browsing for cards a true beating.

I haven't thought of this, the auctions are so few and far between the ocean of BIN listings, that bidders don't even see thre true auctions anymore, they are lost among the crap.

This may even have a snowball effect, as sellers that want to list items at auction are now forced to do BIN listings.

[jb217676]

I've noticed hockey cards are going for good $ lately. I would regularly pick up 1963 Parkhurst commons in PSA 8 last year for $25-$35. Recently I've lost out on commons bid up to the $50-$75 range. I used to pick up the stars for that price!

[usernamealreadytaken]

I have observed over several years of collecting, buying and selling that prices drop over the summer months and pick back up in late fall, winter, and early spring...Just not as many stuck inside pouring over ebay, auction houses, BST, websites etc. Anybody else notice this?

[Kehfee]

Originally Posted by jb217676

I've noticed hockey cards are going for good $ lately. I would regularly pick up 1963 Parkhurst commons in PSA 8 last year for $25-$35. Recently I've lost out on commons bid up to the $50-$75 range. I used to pick up the stars for that price!

Yeah I've seen a lot of hot hockey the last few months.

[mackmen]

its funny that hockey got brought up. I am mainly into pre war baseball, but the last two years my friends and I have begun to really get into hockey and have all begun to collect the cards as well. there is so much more talent for the newer cards (lots of great rookies and young stars), the older cards are rare enough to garner my attention and collecting efforts, the game is more consistent and entertaining than many other sports imo to watch, and learning the history has been fun. Modern hockey is pretty neat, I think its a good product.

However, hockey card collecting will never trounce my goudey, diamond stars, and t-card collection. I LOVE pre war baseball, just not modern baseball.

[Leon]

I picked up a D311 Melchoir (sp?) for my collection recently, in a 40 holder, for about $265. I picked up another Crofts Candy HOF'er in a 30 holder for about $150. Both of these are about half of what they would have brought 2-4 yrs ago. It is a good time for collecting, however, anyone that bought for resale 2-4 yrs ago, with that inventory....is not in a good spot today. I am glad I am a collector at heart.

[36GoudeyMan]

.. it would seem.

[tbob]

As far as selling goes, as always, it's hit or miss on ebay. Having a notice in the ebay section of the BST definitely helps as a lot of my buyers in my recent sale were from the Board. The E93s (all graded) went for decent prices which I was ok with although there were definitely some real bargains there. Strangely, the 1961 Fleer basketball near set I sold card by card brought more than I would have thought. Perhaps the lack of reprints and other crap cards in this section means buyers are navigating through sections other than pre-war much more easily.
I set all my pre-war cards as auctions and not BINs and that seemed to work fine but you always hold your breath when you do this.

[mybuddyinc]

Boxing cards have dropped to very low lows ....................

[Exhibitman]

Some have, Scott, some haven't. Run of the mill stuff is way down. Rarities are still breaking records.

Bob's right, though, there are some definite deals on Ebay. I was pleasantly surprised this a.m. to find I'd won an 1889 baseball currency White Sox piece for 40% of what I'd seen a comparable one for at the National two years ago.

[alanu]

It seems to be a good time to buy in comparison to the past few years, but a year from now prices could be half of what they are today. Doesn't seem possible, but when a $350K house in Las Vegas dropped to $250K, who would have thought they would be $150K a year later.

[nolemmings]

As usual, I'm behind the curve. The sets I collect are not going cheaply at all. M101s are stable if not high. An m101-5 blank back common Zinn Beck SGC 60 went for $213 last week, three times what the card is worth, with three separate bidders over $150. I have not seen prices lowered on anything mid grade or higher in these sets for some time. Also, I posted in another thread how Worch commons--minor leaguers no less (which are traditionally less highly prized)-- were going for about $200 in SGC 40 and 50.

By contrast, I dabble in T202s, and notice that they have gone down in price.
Maybe collectors have filled many of the more "popular" prewar sets and are now expanding into other areas.

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

By contrast, I dabble in T202s, and notice that they have gone down in price.
Maybe collectors have filled many of the more "popular" prewar sets and are now expanding into other areas.

T201s and T202s have really taken a hit the past year or two. Prices are sometimes half what they were then (except for the ones I buy).

[Rich Klein]

With Joe Jax in the middle doing

[sgbernard]

I'd happily buy T209 IIs on e-bay, but I haven't seen many recently.

[T206Collector]

Originally Posted by usernamealreadytaken

I have observed over several years of collecting, buying and selling that prices drop over the summer months and pick back up in late fall, winter, and early spring...Just not as many stuck inside pouring over ebay, auction houses, BST, websites etc. Anybody else notice this?

I've noticed this in myself back in the late 1990's when I collected shiny and pre-war at the same time for a couple of years. When the baseball season is on, I focused on the hot new players. When the season was off, I went back to the old-timers. I don't think I was alone in this practice.

[martyogelvie]

I simply filter out BINs when I am on eBay at first.. then i go back and filter for only BINs.. it makes it easier to find good deals...

[tbob]

I noticed on ebay the other day there were 10,000 prewar BIN listings from 1900-1919 (approx) and 500 auctions. Anyone else remember the good old days when these figures were reversed?
I do the same thing Marty does, filter out all BINs (which gets rid of a lot of that crap and reprints) from 1900-1919 and check the auction cards. Then peruse the BINs hoping to find something other than the standard seller dumps which appear time and time again. There are definitely deals on ebay still but you have to really search for them now, which, I guess, is one reason they ARE deals, because a lot of collectors don't have the time and energy or lack the patience to do these searches.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

Maybe collectors have filled many of the more "popular" prewar sets and are now expanding into other areas.

Could be. My suspicion also is that many collectors are leaving the mainstream cards for another time because they would prefer to spend their money on the suddenly more affordable more difficult cards. I know I haven't bought a T206 in a few years but have acquired several type cards that I'd not have bought had the prices not come down on them.

[Orioles1954]

I sold my 1933 Delong Gehrig SGC 40 in 2008 for $1500. I bought the same card in April for $900. Conversely, I'm making a ton of money in the shiny card market right now.

[Golfcollector]

Yes it is a buyers market for a lot of cards in my opinion.

Collecting vintage golf is my main interest, and prices overall have been as affordable as they have been in years. I have picked up a lot of both raw and material recently, and most of it at roughly half or slightly less than it would have cost me 6 months ago.

Good time to be a buyer, not so great of a time to be a seller.

[cmcclelland]

I totally agree that pre-war is much cheaper than it was a few years ago. I recently "bought back" an E104 Nadja Hall of Famer for less than half of what I sold the same card for a few years ago. This was not just the same player and grade, it was the exact same card with the exact same serial number on the SGC holder.

Not sure if we've hit the bottom yet (my guess is no), but the pre-war cards sure seem cheap right now. Also, I think the bargains are with the lower to mid-grade cards more so than with the higher grade stuff. My guess is the deep pockets are not feeling the pain of the economy as much as the average Joe, so the high end stuff doesn't suffer as much from desperation selling nor from the lack of a strong buyer.

[nolemmings]

Colt, is that you? Not that we've ever met or anything, but I remember when you were a regular, with intersting contributions. Glad to see you back, and here's hoping you will be a regular again!!

[cmcclelland]

Yes - it's me. I kind of got out of the game for a while, and sold off a lot of my stuff. I'm starting to dip my toes back in the water.

[nolemmings]

Good to hear. Shrewd timing on your part, no doubt the result of careful planning

[cmcclelland]

In retrospect, I did sell at the right time. Sometimes even a blind squirrel finds a nut!

For what it's worth, this blind squirrel is recommending the following asset allocation:
33% Cash
33% Gold and Silver
33% Old Cardboard

[nolemmings]

Cash? Gold and silver? Never heard of 'em. Old cardboard--now wait a minute, I think you're onto something there. How many subscriptions to Old Cardboard should I buy? Lyman-thoughts?

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by tbob

I noticed on ebay the other day there were 10,000 prewar BIN listings from 1900-1919 (approx) and 500 auctions. Anyone else remember the good old days when these figures were reversed?

When tBob speals, EBay listens:



Subject: FREE to list Auction-style, any start price, June 29-July 12 Received: Jun-28-10
From: eBay Expires: Jul-12-10
TWO WEEKS! June 29-July 12
Free Insertion Fees for up to 100 Auction--style listings
Start the bidding where you want
Pay only if your item sells

[tbob]

It would be good if those auctions started at $9.99 or .99 instead of $450, though. I think sellers are still gun-shy about what prices pre-war cards might "fetch." I was bidding on an E90-3 Gandil in a 30 holder which started out at .99 opening bid and no reserve and after 3 or 4 days the auction was pulled and the card listed with a BIN of $1450.00.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

When tBob speals, EBay listens:



Subject: FREE to list Auction-style, any start price, June 29-July 12 Received: Jun-28-10
From: eBay Expires: Jul-12-10
TWO WEEKS! June 29-July 12
Free Insertion Fees for up to 100 Auction--style listings
Start the bidding where you want
Pay only if your item sells

I never received that e-mail. Is this another one of those offers where you are exempt if you bought one of the stores Ebay forced on everybody a few months ago?

[Matt]

I thought the 100 free listings was part of their most recent fee structure changes - up front is free, but if it sells they take 12%.

[Matthew H]

Originally Posted by Matt

I thought the 100 free listings was part of their most recent fee structure changes - up front is free, but if it sells they take 12%.

I think the most they take is $50

[glchen]

Ebay offer is only valid if you don't have an ebay store and if your seller rating is either less than 10 items sold or over 4.5 DSR. The 100 free listings is no insertion fee no matter what the starting price is. Typically, your insertion fee is only waived if you start the auction at 99 cents.

[Exhibitman]

What Gary said.

I'll gladly pay 12% FV fee and 3% paypal fee if I can dictate the price structure of the auction.

[ethicsprof]

always a great eye from tbob for bargains and for the need for change.

best,
barry