Building the '75 set. I'd love some advice, please

[the 'stache]

Hey gang,

Some of you known I started building the 1975 Topps set from a few of the cards I shared in our monthly pick up threads. Well, after a short break, I'm back to working on it exclusively for the next couple of months, and I'd like to put a nice dent into it. I'm holding off on making any major purchases until after the start of the new year. I'm very close to my savings goal, and the sooner I hit it, and a little cushion above it, the sooner I can really go nuts buying cards. And I am going to go nuts.

What I would love is some input from our set builders. The last time I hand collated a set was back in the 80s. Then, I wasn't nearly the perfectionist I am now. By the time I am done, all 660 cards, without exception, will either be PSA 8 or higher, or the ungraded equivalent. And I am very picky when it comes to eye appeal. I want cards with outstanding centering. I am a little more forgiving on top to bottom centering, though it should still be quite at least 60/40. The left to right centering needs to be exceptional. I'm talking approximately 55/45 or better. The cards all need to have clean edges, sharp corners, and clean surfaces. No gum stains (including the back), no obvious soiling from handling, no nothing. And no print flaws that jump out. If there are really small ones, that's ok. Some print flaws are real eye sores.

Here's my Robin Yount "place holder".



It's a really nice card, and I think most set builders would take this, and not look back. The left to right centering is ideal. It's a bit off top to bottom, but it's not an eyesore. The edges, while not as bad as the black borders on the '71 set, show flaws quite easily against a black background. This card has outstanding edges. It fails me in two spots. There's an imperfection in the upper right hand corner. It looks like somebody took the world's smallest pin, and just dinged the surface right below the corner. And then there's a print flaw in the "S" of Brewers. So, I will upgrade this card. I might go nuts and get a 9 since I'm a Robin Yount Super Freak, but an 8.5 would be acceptable, too.

So, how do you set builders keep costs down? I can start a thread on the BST, and will. I check it every day, too, and I'm not seeing a whole lot for this set. That's ok. I'm in no rush. This is going to be fun, so if it takes me 2 years, no problem. I like COMC.com, which is excellent when I need a Bowman Chrome prospect auto. But those cards are much more durable, and when I look at scans on their site, the top loader/penny sleeve combo really impedes my getting a good look at the corners.

Are there any other sites besides Ebay and this one I should be looking at?

Also, what is the best site for graded 70s cards? I've purchased some really nice cards from 4 Sharp Corners. Other suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thank you, everybody.

[K-Nole]

Mickey's Clubhouse

&

Sportlots.com

[the 'stache]

Awesome, Knole. Thank you. I will check those both out.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Bill, it sounds like you are building the ultimate high end 75 set. It appears that you have set some strong expectations of what type of cards you want in your set...which is good.

Having built both a high end raw 75 set, followed by a PSA 8+ set ( http://www.psacard.com/PSASETREGISTR...et.aspx?s=3545 ), I could recommend the approaches I took.

With the raw set, I looked for a raw lot/starter set of commons in high end shape. Ten+ years ago this was an easier find than today. This got me most of the way, minus stars and some of the other key cards. I picked up some raw stars at shows, but found the graded cards of stars were plentiful and eventually completed the raw set with some PSA stars (8+). However, a third of the set was in EX-MT to NM shape or off-centered, and like you, I wanted a NM-MT set that was centered. I found it cheaper at this point to buy several other high end 75 sets, go through the each of the newly purchased sets and upgrade my set. This upgrading was actually the funnest part of building this (or any) set. Eventually I was satisfied with my mainly raw set. The extra raw sets I then sold off one by one, and in most cases at least covered my costs.

The PSA stars I had picked up for my mainly raw set were nice and gave me a decent start on a full PSA set, so I decided to start the PSA set. I picked up a starter lot off of the CU BST, worked a few additional trades, and suddenly I was half complete. 4SC and other ebay sellers helped me complete it. I sold off my raw commons to cover a small portion of the cost of the PSA set, but a decent portion of the cost had long since been covered as I had many of the stars already in PSA form from my raw set.

My recommendation if you chose to build a raw set would be to either buy multiple raw sets, pick out the upgrades for your set, then resell the sets (maybe through an ebay consignor), OR buy the raw cards in person (shops/shows). Trying to buy high end single commons, such as the one's you are seeking for your set, online can be a very frustrating venture.

Obviously more costly and time consuming than a raw set, the 75 PSA set is one of the easier PSA sets to build.

[the 'stache]

What a great post, Saved, Thank you! Oh, how I wish you had pictures of your cards uploaded with your PSA registry set.

I thought, too, about maybe buying a couple of those vending boxes from Steve Hart, but I don't see any, and I'm sure they would be pretty expensive. But I can get a set EX/MT for $300. I might pick one of those up at the end of the month. In the mean time, I've found a few sellers online selling near mint commons for 99 cents each, with combined shipping. Sportslots has some nice cards, too.

I think I'll probably end up with around 25+ graded:

Robin Yount
George Brett
Keith Hernandez
Gary Carter
Jim Rice
Fred Lynn
Hank Aaron
Pete Rose
Nolan Ryan
Brooks Robinson
Johnny Bench
Bob Gibson
Lou Brock
Frank Robinson
Joe Morgan
Rod Carew
Harmon Killebrew
Thurman Munson
Steve Carlton
Tom Seaver
Reggie Jackson
Carlton Fisk
Joe Morgan
Mike Schmidt
Carl Yastrzemski
Dave Winfield
Mark Belanger
Jim Palmer

Maybe a few others. A few of these I have ungraded in exceptional condition. I'll get those graded.

This Bob Gibson, for example is gorgeous.



Thank you again! I <3 Net54. Such great people here

[Shoebox]

Bill,

You showed me that Gibson in an earlier conversation and it is a gem. In the enormously unlikely event it ever gets bumped from the set I am declaring that I want first shot at getting it from you. Good luck.with the set building.

I personally don't do much set building, but respect and admire the focus and commitment the endeavor tends to require.

[D.P.Johnson]

The only '75 card I have is #112 Larry Hardy (Don't ask me why......). It's in PSA 8 condition if you'd like to work a trade or something down the road...

[the 'stache]

Thanks for the input, guys. Daniel, I think that's one of the cards I'll just pick up unslabbed

[savedfrommyspokes]

Your welcome Bill, enjoy and good luck with your conquest.

[D.P.Johnson]

Originally Posted by the 'stache

Thanks for the input, guys. Daniel, I think that's one of the cards I'll just pick up unslabbed

Thanks Bill. Have fun putting the set together! If anyone else reading this thread wants the Larry Hardy card, they can have it for $2 shipped (or trade).

[the 'stache]

Thanks, guys. I am thinking about expanding my list of graded cards a little bit for this set. I just picked up a beautiful Tom Seaver. The thing is gorgeous for an 8. Another one of those that is probably undergraded.

[kamikidEFFL]

Keeping cost down on such a high graded set haha that's funny.

But in all seriousness it's very tough to do. The main thing is patients. Easier said than done. What you want to do is set a price that you want to spend on the cards. First commons and then the big name cards. Stay at that those prices and no matter what have discipline to stay at that price. It's tough to do but watching auction houses sometime you can find great deals. Where your being very picky with centering and such may be tough to do.

I myself have been building my set for sometime but I have prices on where I want to be on the cards and I refuse to go above that price. It's been slowly coming together but it also helps with blowing money left and right.

So what to do

1. Set prices on commons and stars
2. DON'T GO OVER THOSE PRICES
3. Have fun building your set

[the 'stache]

Hi Jesse.

Ya, I'm doing a pretty good job at learning where to look. The suggestions have helped. Now I need to learn which auctions to play. I'll snipe away, and add cards slowly over time. The way I look at it, I'll probably spend a good deal over what I should for this set. But I will have a set I am really happy to own. And this set will be much easier to build than the T206 set, that's for sure.

I have a lot of different cards I want to buy. Cracker Jacks, early Goudy cards, some 19th century beauties, some supplements like the M101-2, postcards, etc. As of the start of the year, I can start putting that collection together. And I will. I don't have any other big expenses, so I'll just pay my bills, and build my collection.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by kamikidEFFL

The main thing is patients.

Having patients takes patience

[kamikidEFFL]

Good look on the spelling correction. I spoke into my IPad so doesn't always spell stuf right but good lookin out.

[the 'stache]

This set is driving me nuts. This set has so many issues, it's just maddening. The centering is atrocious, and too often when you find a centered card,the card is diamond cut. The corners and edges aren't generally bad, and you can tell how clean they are easily, thanks to the coloring. But the printing imperfections are all over the place. Little print bubbles..I'm going to have nightmares about them soon.

I see this set being sold near mint. I'd love to take a look at some of the cards from these sets, because I guarantee you they won't be near mint. I can't imagine a lot of people take the time to build this set from the ground up.

[mgugs46]

I actually started this set a while ago, as i was born in 75 ... I was going to do both the mini and regular sized set. Had the same frustrations with buying near mint lots that all too often had those pesky print dots. Got some great looking cards from packs from bbce, but the prices have really jumped the last year or so.

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by mgugs46

I actually started this set a while ago, as i was born in 75 ... I was going to do both the mini and regular sized set. Had the same frustrations with buying near mint lots that all too often had those pesky print dots. Got some great looking cards from packs from bbce, but the prices have really jumped the last year or so.

And that's the problem with buying lots. While the cards may be in near mint condition, the print dots are a major eye sore. The only real way to avoid them is to buy the cards individually. If you buy 200 mint cards, I'm betting you might get 20 cards without any print flaws. So, you end up buying them again, anyway.

It's ok, I'm in no rush to complete this set. It will be done right. When it is done, should I ever want to, or need to sell it, it would command a premium for its superior visual quality.