Card(s) you wish you purchased

[steve B]

Over the last 40+ years?
No way to pick just one.

Goudey Ruths at 100? Nope!
Bobby Orr US rookie also for 100... What? A hockey card for that much?!
Pretty much any T206 Hof er for $10
Aaron rookie for 60
52 Mantle for under 1000 - not great ones, but probably solid 5-6s.
A boxful of tiny felt backed football cards, except most of them were college players, and there was no checklist anywhere.

So many things I just didn't go for.

But I did get some cool stuff, so I'm mostly ok with how it all worked out.

[Foo3112]

I remember seeing some cards for sale at the below prices which felt like a lot you had to be rich in order to acquire. Now looking at prices today, seems like even the most average collector can put just a handful of cards together and easily come up with 10K of value/sales. In fact, if you didn't have a card that was valued at even 10K during the pandemic hike, then you were perhaps collecting the wrong thing lol. Seriously though, looking back, I wish I would have picked these up but the reality also is that I didn't have the funds to purchase most even back then unless I was willing to sell some stuff and the stuff I did sell went towards other cards in my collection. I really like my small collection today so I cant complain as I realize I cant buy everything I want. I am happy with what I have and staying debt free is perfectly fine with me.

1954 Topps Hank Aaron RC PSA 8 10K (I had the chance to purchase one)

1981 Topps Joe Montana PSA 10. At 10K prices.

1982 Cal Ripken Traded when they were about $1,200. This card is still do-able today but they have begun increasing in price again. I believe they are around 7K today but they were even much higher during the spike.

1986 Fleer Jordan PSA 9 at $1,100 all day and the PSA 10's when they were just hitting 10K back around 2013/14. I thought 10K was a crazy amount of money.

2000 Topps Brady Chrome PSA 10 were at about $1000 back around 2016/17.

2003 Topps Chrome Refractor Lebron PSA 10 were at about 7K around 2017. Stupid me is all I can say.

2009 Bowman Chrome Refractor Mike Trout PSA 10 was at 17K on eBay back in late 2019. The last one I remember seeing sold at about 58K.

[Ricky]

Originally Posted by Foo3112

I remember seeing some cards for sale at the below prices which felt like a lot you had to be rich in order to acquire. Now looking at prices today, seems like even the most average collector can put just a handful of cards together and easily come up with 10K of value/sales. In fact, if you didn't have a card that was valued at even 10K during the pandemic hike, then you were perhaps collecting the wrong thing lol. Seriously though, looking back, I wish I would have picked these up but the reality also is that I didn't have the funds to purchase most even back then unless I was willing to sell some stuff and the stuff I did sell went towards other cards in my collection. I really like my small collection today so I cant complain as I realize I cant buy everything I want. I am happy with what I have and staying debt free is perfectly fine with me.

1954 Topps Hank Aaron RC PSA 8 10K (I had the chance to purchase one)

1981 Topps Joe Montana PSA 10. At 10K prices.

1982 Cal Ripken Traded when they were about $1,200. This card is still do-able today but they have begun increasing in price again. I believe they are around 7K today but they were even much higher during the spike.

1986 Fleer Jordan PSA 9 at $1,100 all day and the PSA 10's when they were just hitting 10K back around 2013/14. I thought 10K was a crazy amount of money.

2000 Topps Brady Chrome PSA 10 were at about $1000 back around 2016/17.

2003 Topps Chrome Refractor Lebron PSA 10 were at about 7K around 2017. Stupid me is all I can say.

2009 Bowman Chrome Refractor Mike Trout PSA 10 was at 17K on eBay back in late 2019. The last one I remember seeing sold at about 58K.

Where are you seeing 1982 Topps Traded Ripken’s for 7k? I see a 10 on eBay for $750 right now..

[sbfinley]

Originally Posted by Ricky

Where are you seeing 1982 Topps Traded Ripken’s for 7k? I see a 10 on eBay for $750 right now..

That’s a BCCG and is probably at best an 7 under the absolute best circumstances.

[glynparson]

One was in 1984 and would have been every penny in my 12 year old bank account. I was allowed to get it verified by experts for authenticity. I am very confident it was real. And in 1997 I was offered a second one and given the opportunity to pay for it in installments. I greatly regret passing in both of these. For all the obvious reasons. This one was authenticated by PSA.

[glynparson]

Originally Posted by Ricky

Where are you seeing 1982 Topps Traded Ripken’s for 7k? I see a 10 on eBay for $750 right now..

Ripken topps
Traded is way closer to 7k in a PSA 10 than 750. Bccg is an absolute joke. The fools on here that constantly bitch about PSA but don’t say squat about this Beckett travesty are a joke.

[Seven]

A 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle before the price Jump. A 52 Topps Mays as well.

[egri]

I passed on picking up Mantle for my project several times over the years. It's still doable, but went from being a 'There goes my card budget for the month' to something I'll need to budget for for a while.

[rugbymarine]

When I first got back into collecting in 2004-2009ish, I wish I would've been more intentional about buying blue-chip vintage and older, instead of modern product. Instead of $600 on a case of 2007 Topps Heritage to rip, I wish I would've sought out a really nice Jordan RC or 51 Mays.

I look back at when I started buying again after another break (late-2014), and I have the same thoughts.

Whatever era you prefer or can afford to collect, stick with the greats.

[Kevin]

I have discussed this before: mid 1980s, my family made the trek to Cooperstown. Larry Fritsch must have been putting the finishing touches on the “museum”/card shop he had opened up. My dad and I walked in there and the place was empty. What happened next is something that I’m blown away with today. We saw all of his cards; I believe he had Wagner on display. After this personal tour, he brought my father and I in the back room - his office - and started showing us rare cards. I believe we handled a Joe Doyle. He was putting one on display and I think he offered to sell my father another one that he had. (Dad was collecting 1950s Dodgers and 1950s Browns). He had absolutely no interest in tobacco. Me? I was locked in.

The Doyle was lost on my father and I. Why would we want that? So we left the back room and came to a display case. It was a big case with barely any cards in it. He had: Evers, Chance, Mathewson and 2 Red Cobbs. I had brought all my paper route money: over $100. Evers ($50), Chance ($60), Mathewson ($70), Cobb paper loss ($225), Cobb intact ($250). I had the $100+ and at that point, dad said “what if we take all 4?” and there was some negotiations. Dad let me choose which Cobb and me, being the good son trying to save my dad $25, chose the lesser Cobb.

35+ years later, it still bothers me. Here is a link to pictures from my Twitter page:

https://twitter.com/kevinseanfeeney/...983782407?s=21

https://twitter.com/kevinseanfeeney/...983782407?s=21

[commishbob]

Nothing as dramatic as some of the stories already posted but when I first kicked around the idea of putting the '67T set together a dealer I was talking to offered me the Seaver and Carew rookies and a small stack of other SPs for about $300 total as i recall. I passed thinking I could do better on eBay at some point.

In the last six months I finished the set and spent well over a grand for the two rookies.

[egri]

Originally Posted by rugbymarine

When I first got back into collecting in 2004-2009ish, I wish I would've been more intentional about buying blue-chip vintage and older, instead of modern product. Instead of $600 on a case of 2007 Topps Heritage to rip, I wish I would've sought out a really nice Jordan RC or 51 Mays.

I look back at when I started buying again after another break (late-2014), and I have the same thoughts.

Whatever era you prefer or can afford to collect, stick with the greats.

Same. I think about all the money I plowed into junk wax and mid-2000s shiny stuff that I could have put towards vintage. I'd enjoy the vintage a lot more these days, and I'd still have it, unlike the modern stuff I tossed because it was taking up too much space. At least when I got back in to the hobby I didn't make that mistake again.

[kmac32]

Saw a 1921 E121 pSA graded Ruth with a grade of 3 at National for $7000. Last I checked card was going for north of $125,000.

[rjackson44]

Try not to think on this subject I’ll get sick 🙄🙄