Set collectors - flaws you are ok with

[Vintagevault13]

The last set I completed was 1975 Topps baseball. It was about five years ago and I drove myself crazy ensuring that I had no cards with print dots/fish eyes. I have taken a break from set building, but I’m about to start back. I will primarily focus on the 70s sets. I don’t know if I can be as picky this time around because so many of the 70s cards have these types of print imperfections. For you fellow set collectors, what types of print flaws are you OK having in your sets. I draw the line with imperfections that were not part of the production process (writing, creases, etc.). Thanks in advance for your thoughts.


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[GasHouseGang]

For me, it would have to be slightly off center. Some OCD types just can't take a card that's off center. But for me, if a card has really sharp corners and looks like new but is off center, I'm okay with it.

[Eric72]

Flaws I don't mind for set building:

• Off-centered cards, up to about 65/35
• Corner wear
• Print imperfections that aren't on the player's face
• Very minor wrinkles/bends (older sets only)

Flaws I can't tolerate:

• Undersized cards
• Any surface issues (scuffs, snow, fisheyes, etc.) on the player's face
• Miscut cards (as in, the cardboard is not rectangular)

[Harliduck]

Same as others...off center with some border still showing...ok, and really accepted with sharp corners. Not accepted post 56, creases of any kind. I'd say 95% of my 57 to 80 would grade 4 to 6...I'm constantly looking for upgrades.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by Harliduck

Same as others...off center with some border still showing...ok, and really accepted with sharp corners.

Off center cards didn't bother me as a kid. Therefore they still don't bother me now even up to 90/10.

Printing fish-eyes I hardly notice either. It's after market wear such as soft corners and creases that I find totally unacceptable.

[JustinD]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Flaws I don't mind for set building:

• Off-centered cards, up to about 65/35
• Corner wear
• Print imperfections that aren't on the player's face
• Very minor wrinkles/bends (older sets only)

Flaws I can't tolerate:

• Undersized cards
• Any surface issues (scuffs, snow, fisheyes, etc.) on the player's face
• Miscut cards (as in, the cardboard is not rectangular)

This is a great summary. I would say I am a little stricter on centering…maybe accepting 60/40 on a bad day for something I have been looking for. But the rest are bang on.

[mortimer brewster]

Creases are a No-No. 80 20 centering is acceptable. I don't mind gum stains as long as they're on the back of the card. I don't want any paper loss. Slightly touched corners are okay.

[UKCardGuy]

I'm old school... For me condition starts with the corners and no wrinkles/creases.

• For 1950s and up I'm really looking for sharp corners and straight edges.
• I don't mind a card that's a little off center. But if it's 90/10, I'm gonna pass.
• Like others, I don't mind d price issues like fisheyes if the don't take away from key parts of the image.

For Pre-war, I have a lot more flexibility. I don't mind a T205 with some rounded corners. In fact, I think it makes the card attractive. But for my post-war... No thank you.

[bnorth]

I am OK with almost all flaws and actually go out of my way to find cards that are way off center and have print flaws.

About the only thing that makes me pass on a card is damage to the players face area like paper loss or huge creases.

[bk400]

I find tilts and diamond-cuts very distracting and try to avoid them, even if they grade high.

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Ed, good to see you back at it again! I have loosened up a lot over the years. As someone who tries to build sets from the early 1950s, I can tell you that the cards aren't getting any cheaper. I prefer well centered cards, but if a common is OC, I can live with it so long as it's not MC. I used to toss out a card with a wrinkle. Now, I'm using binders again (been all over the place with that, too), and I figure a card with a wrinkle or a crease not on the face isn't going to make a big difference. I just want reasonable looking copies of cards. As I've gotten older, just completing sets has become the objective. I'm about 60ish% complete on four different sets. Two of them I'm rebuilding after having sold off the commons a while back. I used that money to buy some stars for some other sets. It's all working out, and I'm having fun.

[steve B]

I've always been ok with flaws. The really bad ones get put into the box of printing errors.

I am thinking of working on fisheyes, which I've always considered to be very transient. That bit of stuff causing it could be there for one sheet, or 50. I've seen some here that must have stayed in the press for a long time.

[Tere1071]

Budget now dictates what I'm willing to collect. The cards that I'm looking to upgrade are: miscuts, tilt/diamond cuts, and creases. Some sets are pretty much "locked-in"

My 53 Bowman Color is in vg-ex overall, mostly due to centering. The funds aren't there for upgrades.

1967 p-vg/ex and 1968 Topps Baseball f- vg/ex- too many creased cards to fully upgrade

1969 Topps Baseball- g-vg (miscuts and creases) slowly upgrading it to vg to vg-ex condition

1970 Topps Baseball vg/ex- there are centering issues, and the Bench and Ryan are in vg condition

1971 Topps Baseball ex-mint overall. I'm upgrading the stars and hard to find commons that are centered in ex-mint condition. This set is my priority.

1972 Topps Baseball vg-ex+ to ex-mint. #695 Carew in in vg/ex condition and a number of the high numbers are off-centered or have a slight tilt.

1973 Topps Baseball vg-ex to ex-mint overall, Schmidt rookie is SGC 4.5.

1974 Topps Baseball ex-mint, need to upgrade the Yankees team card and one checklist.

1975 Topps Baseball ex-mint, Ryan is in ex condition.

I've begun to collect the 1970 and 71 Topps Football sets. A number of the cards have a small pinhole with sharp corners. I would like to collect the stars in vg condition without creases or miscuts.

Off to work now. Willing to trade to complete the football sets.

Phil aka Tere1071

[Zach Wheat]

1952 Topps red stripe cards. Still trying to get a complete set of them.

[Vintagevault13]

Thanks for all of the thoughts and opinions. They helped and I really appreciate reading how so many of you build your sets. Super excited to be back into set building. I’m definitely going to now focus more on having fun and less about little imperfections that really don’t matter. I guess we all have to find what we are willing to accept and then just go for it and have fun!


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[Bigdaddy]

I've built sets from the '50s to the '80s and I guess I'm really on a sliding scale being a bit more lenient with the older/more expensive cards. I realize that may be opposite of some folks that might want the major cards in a given set to be the shinning stars.

In general, I:

• Look for cards with good eye appeal, particularly on the front;
• Centering should be at least 70/30 and definitely don't want any card without a border showing;
• No diamond cuts
• Don't mind wrinkles or even small creases that are hard to see with the naked eye;
• Generally don't mind small marks on the backs of cards;
• Always look for good registration. The TPGs don't seem to take this into account as much as other flaws, but I can't stand a blurry photo;
• I'm OK with EX corners; especially on older cards. Like wrinkles on an older person's face - they just belong there. No dog ears though;
• No trimmed cards;
• Print marks are OK, if not too large/distracting and not on a players face;
• Centering on the reverse is not so important unless it is really bad.

Fortunately, for most Topps sets, there are plenty of cards out there. It may just take some time to find one that fits your liking and price point.

[sthoemke]

I like mis-cuts/off-centered cards that show a part of another card.

[Kevin]

T206 - I have half cards and paper loss on the face in the collection. Those are noted and upgraded.

C46 - Same

1950 Bowman Baseball - I buy anything and upgrade

1950 Bowman Football - I buy anything and upgrade

1955 Bowman Baseball - I buy anything and upgrade

So...anything and everything is in my collection. When I get around to organizing, I'll through some of my dupes on the BST. At least that is the plan...

[Zach Wheat]

I might be the exception but for 1952 Topps, I place a premium on buying cards from an original owner. Therefore cards with flaws, almost any type, are acceptable.

[jayshum]

When I was completing my Topps sets, I was usually buying VG cards that had no tears, writing, pin holes or paper loss. Centering wasn't a big consideration as long as cards weren't miscut. Creases were ok as long as they didn't significantly detract from the overall eye appeal of the card. This was all generally true for the commons and lesser stars. For major stars, creases and a little lesser eye appeal was something I learned to accept if it allowed me to pick up a card more affordable.

When I started collecting pre-war, I still tried to avoid major flaws but realized that paper loss on the back was something I could live with if it didn't involve loss of stats or text.

[Rickyy]

All my Topps sets from 1970 to 1979 that I have are loose. My only pet peeve is diamond cuts or those cards that are tilted.

I think I bought about 5 1976 George Brett and at least four 1972 Nolan Ryan, because after I looked at it more carefully at home after I bought them it had those tilts. haha.

I don't mind top to bottom and side to side off center if they are no more than 70/30 too much on my loose cards.

I had same issue while completing my 1973 Topps Football set too. Too many weird cuts and tilts.

Ricky Y

[Bigdaddy]

Originally Posted by Rickyy

I had same issue while completing my 1973 Topps Football set too. Too many weird cuts and tilts.

Ricky Y

I've almost finished that set (18 cards to go) and I swear that Topps farmed the cutting of those sheets out to some random 3rd grade art class.

[raulus]

Once upon a time, I feel like I had some high standards and drew a firm line on what I would and wouldn't accept.

Then I found that sometimes you have to take whatever you can get, particularly when it comes to issues with lots of condition problems and relatively few that have survived. While I still tend to tightly clutch my condition pearls overall, when it comes to issues like complete Jello boxes, complete Bazooka boxes, or Venezuelan issues, among others, I've learned to be a lot less picky, especially if there's only 1 or 2 that have surfaced.

Here's a great example.

[Zach Wheat]

With some of the '60's and & '70's cards more panels or cards were cut from packaging. For 1971 Milk Duds, I prefer complete boxes. However for most of the other food issues i.e. the Jello issues, I am ok with just panels.