Returning collector and new member -- Where to buy reasonable vintage??

[DeanH3]

You can still find some nice cards at decent prices via auction style on eBay. It takes some patience. However, I will say if you see something you like, even at a slightly higher price than you'd like, buy it. The regrets I have are the ones I didn't buy. Good luck and welcome back!

[Casey2296]

Welcome.
Greg Morris cards has a good selection and a great reputation, Cleansweep too. Some sellers will have their own specific websites which helps avoid the eBay margin. The smaller auction houses are fun to watch/bid and very informational about the current market, they usually have higher quality items and can be trusted more.

I found I had to be very focused on what I wanted when I got back in so I built a 300 card excel spread sheet with all of the cards I wanted in my collection. It covered 1908-1971 but was very specific in which cards/years/players etc.

I found that helped me not just throw money at stuff, if it wasn't on my list I wasn't bidding/buying. Now the list has changed a bit but it was a good start for me to stay focused.

And this is the best place to hang out and meet great people in the hobby.

[ASF123]

Thanks to all of you for the advice! I like the idea of developing a focused target list...it will be really hard to narrow it down that much though. The few purchases I have made have been of the “Tobacco card with decent eye appeal for $25? Sure, ok” variety. I don’t know enough yet about prewar cards to know which ones I would really want.

On the high end, mid-grade 51B and 52T Mays are definitely on there, but it seems like every listing for one of those is $2000 above the “most recent sale” for the same grade in the PSA database - from like two weeks ago.

I know that SGC and Beckett slabs are in less demand than PSA (the whole grading mafia thing seems pretty absurd to me, but I’m a realist, and the market is still buying PSA for whatever reason). How much is the general price difference between them?

Thanks again for the responses - I’m looking forward to getting to know people here and picking their brains.