Being new to vintage, what should I know? + Pickup

[V117collector]

Buy the card and not the grade; this basically means some cards might sell for a premium based on condition and or presentation.

For example; some cards might be OC (off center) or have paper loss which would bring down card value. Buy the card and not the grade especially with lower graded material.

[SethY]

Wow, this is one of the best sites I have seen on the net. You guys are fantastic and I greatly appreciate all the tips! I am definitely buying the card over the grade and make this a good experience! I appreciate all that you guys have to say!

[Anthony S.]

You might consider subscribing to vintagecardprices.com. Free plug, I have no affiliation with it, but if you're just starting out it's a great resource for finding out how much people are paying for cards on Ebay, as well as the major auction houses. And I concur with Cat (every time I look at that photo of John Goodman from "The Big Lebowski" I get the phrase "Shut up, Donny" stuck in my head), that the search function on this site is a fantastic resource.

[chiprop]

Get a second job. This sh*t is expensive!

[yanksfan09]

As others have stated, take it slow and do your homework. I personally don't subscribe to any price guides and feel ebay is the best guide (auction prices not BIN's) Be careful with some of those overpriced Buy-It-Nows on ebay.

I try not to pay to much attention to prices altogether. As long as you have a general sense of the $ range of the stuff you're collecting you should be okay.
Just start out slow and collect what you like at prices you're comfortable with.

Of course if you're buying more for investment purposes, a very strong knowledge on accurate pricing would be more essential.

I would start slow and buy a card or two of a few different players, sets, eras, etc.... and see what you really like. If you're thinking of collecting a set buy a lower end cheaper version so that you can see one in person and decide if that set's for you. Make sure you have fun and don't be scared to take a brake for a while and then come back later.

[deadballpaul]

Leon is correct. I was a sprinter going after the Novelty Cutlery set. I got burned out, but have regained my footing. I now view it as a "marathon", & It feels good to take it slow and easy.

[B O'Brien]

Enjoy/understand the history of the game, the times, and the players.

If you don't understand who you are buying and the times in which they played, then cardboard is only an over priced commodity. The real fun comes from knowing about the guys, both on and off the feild and what was going on in the surroundings of the game.

Spoken like a true Ex History Major! When other folks see the things I buy and sell, all think is "you paid how much for that little piece of cardboard". Once you get the history of the players and the times, it makes the expense not really matter, as long as it is diposable income.

If you don't understand the history, then Walter Johnson (or one of the thousands of others that we collect) was just another guy that died a long time ago that liked to train dogs when he wasn't playing a game that most folks don't love or understand.

I have some pie charts and a couple graphs that the wife put together to try to pull me away from what I enjoy, if I need to share, let me know. I stopped golfing, gambling (sort of), and something else that needs not be mentioned here to justify the expense!

Case and point: I spent way to much loot today on a Cobb card. The wife says "who is Ty Cobb anyway". I says other than being played by Tommy Lee Jones is a pretty solid movie (relate to their knowledge), we live in Cobb County and you drink Coke every day, which he helped support in the early days.

This is just one man's opinion, and that man is,
Bob
upperhandisforemost@yahoo.com

[White Borders]

If you haven't done so already, download and read Scot Reader's "Inside T206" (it's free).

http://www.t206.org/dl/InsideT206-Ce...al-edition.pdf

Best Regards
Craig

[fkw]

Go SLOW! Take your time, and dont burn out and become broke.

Shop around, there are many deals if you learn to not always buy the first card that shows.

Most Important..... Read every single vintage guide, auction catalog, internet post you can, learn all you can.

****Buy Lew Lipsets "Encyclopedia of Baseball Cards" (originally it was a 3 vol. set, but now it has been reprinted in one large book...yellow cover) best buy you will ever do!
http://cgi.ebay.com/Encyclopedia-of-...mZ320288679043

good luck and happy collecting!

[iggyman]

Whoa! A bunch of fantastic advice here... This thread should be a "must-read" for a newbie prewar collector (too bad it will soon scroll-off...). Great stuff!

For me, this little nugget from Leon is key........ "Collect as you are in a marathon and not a sprint." That sums it-up nicely. Prewar cards are not like job openings at your local fast food restaurant. They are not a dime a dozen.

Lovely Day...

[Republicaninmass]

Learn about each player, in the last week or so I have been infatuated with Hugh Jennings and his EE-YAAHHH pose. His has such an incredible story including filling in a manager for John McGraw, and his demise through mental illness.