T206 set.....cheapest route currently?

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Posted By: Dave F

With prices somewhat having lowered or at least leveled off with T206s in general...any thoughts on currently what it might take to make a serious run at the set in lowest condition possible? PSA 1...SGC 10 type cards... could $15,000 get you close minus the big four?

A year ago I would have thought you could get close with $20,000....but now I really am thinking $15k, I think especially if your able to acquire a couple large lots of 100 cards each or so.

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Posted By: Perry Eaves

Why would anyone want to accumulate a pile of psa 1 junk?

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Posted By: jay behrens

because some of us don't have a lot of cash to spend. If you are so wealthy, then why not share it with those of us that are on limited budgets. Otherwise, don't belittle people for what they collect. I bet I can have a blast poking fun at the way you collect if you tell what it is collect.

Jay

The richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.

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Posted By: barrysloate

15K works out to about $28 a card. The majority would cost half that and the common HOFers around that price. But you still have Demmitt, O'Hara, Elberfeld, 4 Cobbs, Mattys and Johnsons, all the Southern leaguers,etc.

Maybe you could do it for 15K, but I'll guess it will take a little more.

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Posted By: Dave F

Perry-
Thanks for the smartass remarks. You know I cant remember seeing you post here before...until your other smartass remark you made in Joe's post about getting out of the hobby. If you have nothing better to contribute, then please dont.

Actually, my goal is to eventually put a very low grade set together...and no, I dont think that is an embarrassing accomplishment. But since you must have large sums of money, then keep olaying with your high dollar cards while the rest of the world and society passes you by.

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Posted By: barrysloate

If Dave wants to put together a set in PSA 1, and it gives him satisfaction to do so, why does it even have to be an issue? I don't know why we keep having these fights.

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Posted By: T206Collector

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Posted By: Anonymous

Dave, do you want cards that are actually graded PSA 1 or raw cards in poor condition? If you want raw cards I would suggest looking for large lots of cards and then finding like-minded collectors to trade your duplicates with.

Howard

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Posted By: Dave F

Howard-
I havent quite reached that decision yet. I had reached 10% of the set in PSA 1-3's before basically getting tapped out with money..so I sold them all off and have been doing some different things to create more money....which is another thing frowned upon by alot on the board...but, to get up to 15k or so thats what I'll have to do...i'm about half way there.

After thinkking though...I probably will have to get slabbed cards...for no other reason being young kids here at the house....its alot easier to deal with a cracked slab due to a toddler getting hold of it and tossing it down then it is a torn in half T206.

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Posted By: Jason L

Honestly,...reprints

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Posted By: Dave F

Barry-

The Demmitt and O'Hara I agree..I'd have to bite the bullet on them. The others, Elberfeld, Cobb, Young...I'd hope to maybe find some real beaters that are still ungraded..then hope they would fall into 1 or 10 holders...seems like when those do come up for sale they are still a bit cheaper than slabbed because so many stay away from them.

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Posted By: Dave F

And this may have been the way to go on some of the key cards....not at the asking price..but if you could have got a deal...I would have just liked some better scans of the cards up close...too hard to tell much like this

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=230162283918&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=013

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Posted By: Scott T

...but you might be able to get somewhat close to completion. I have about $9,500.00 "invested" in my ultra low grade T206 set. (497 of 524)

As for the "PSA 1 Junk" comment...

there are "1's" with good presentation value



and some with not so good presentation value



I collect what I can afford and enjoy what I collect. Budget limits will affect collectors differently. Thankfully, I am not competing with any of the "big guns" as far as collecting goes. I am not at all jealous of the high grade, ultra rare collections that others have.

(OK...maybe a little jealous, but not in a bad way.)

Scott

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Posted By: Steve Murray

SGC 10

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Posted By: Matt E.

Scott T.
What time frame did that take you?

Currently there are not that many T206 PSA 1's available on Ebay. Only 7 auctions came up when I searched a minute ago.

Is there a shortage of the very low end graded PSA 1's?
Seems like I saw more high end PSA T206's at National than the PSA 1's. Just wondering.

If you buy in bulk you still would have to add the grading fee.

I think it is a great idea myself.

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Posted By: peter ullman

matt...that's because, as we speak, all of those 1's are being "converted" to 4's,5's, and up by that card restoration web site!

pete in mn

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Posted By: Rick McQuillan

I think one of the reasons that you don't see many PSA 1's is that for most common cards it doesn't make sense to spend 12 bucks or so to grade a twenty dollar card. It seems that one of the best places to pick up lower end T206's is right here on this board.

Good luck!

Rick

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Posted By: Dave Hornish

Nothing wrong with 1 and 2's. Almost all my T cards fall in that category. Personally, I don't mind rounded corners so I look for that defect but then try to find a bright obverse. Paper loss on the back is OK with me too, although I also try to obtain a presentable example of each back. To each his own.

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Posted By: Paul

You could save some money by sticking to a single back, like Piedmont or Sweet Caporal. Then you can avoid O'Hara and Demmitt.

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Posted By: JimB

Perry,
What is the point of comments like that? We all enjoy this hobby and there is room for all types of collections on all types of budgets. If I had a 15k budget for my collection, I would probably prefer to have a T206 set in PSA 1s than a single HOF in PSA 8.
JimB

Edited to add some lowgrade junk. Currently resides in an SGC 20 holder.

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Posted By: Anonymous

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Posted By: Eric

Now there's some PSA 1's/SGC 10's I'd like to have!

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Posted By: DJ

Comments about a person budget is uncalled for, always. Collecting is collecting on so many different levels and that's what is great about the T206 set.

If you want to pick up PSA1 "type" grade cards that are ungraded, I have seen commons in bulk (20-30) sell for as little as $7 a piece. I see no reason to grade Poor conditioned cards, because after all, as noted above, the grading fees will suck your wallet dry and a Poor conditioned card is a Poor conditioned card in any language and any experts eye.

For me, I have been working on a set for many, MANY years and all my cards are raw and in a book where I can flip through them. After all, do you really want 500+ bulky holders laying around? I honestly think you can get an ungraded set for $15K and work at it over time, like myself.

Good Luck!

DJ

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Posted By: Eric B

Dave,

Nice comment on wanting them slabbed because of the little ones in the house. Just a little warning though. It doesn't get any better. After a comment to my 6-year old on how I'm going to throw away some of her toys if she doesn't clean her room she replied that she would "throw away some of my stinkin cards".

I put away the good ones.

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Posted By: Adam

Good for you Dave for trying to put the whole T206 set together in PSA 1, I think it's a great idea. I tried to do all PSA 1s for the longest time but then got frustrated as some cards hardly ever show up for sale as PSA 1s (and I have already sent PSA far too much money to have cards graded). As such, I started buying some PSA 2 and PSA 3s for the holes that I really wanted to fill but was having difficulty finding in PSA 1.

I agree that T206 prices are dropping a bit (I just bought a PSA 3 Cobb Red for about $725 . . . I think that's an amazing deal).

The one different approach I am taking to putting the set together is I have decided to buy and keep all common cards raw. So if anyone has some batches of those low grade T206 commons available for about $7 a card (price mentioned in an earlier post), I am interested!! (I would also be interested in going in jointly with someone on a large lot of commons as well.)

Best,
Adam

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Posted By: Rick McQuillan

Adam, keep me in mind if you are looking for someone to team up with on a large lot of commons.

Rick

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Posted By: Jim Dale

I'm curious if its going to matter that much if its $15k or $20k or even more....they reason I ask is because building that set (something I am not doing) is going to take you a LOT of time. My guess is the closer you get to the end the more you will be willing to pay when that "one" card shows up you still need. I think its admirable you want to build a set - some say set builders are dead and gone but I like to build them sill and am glad to read others want too....I just expect its going to take you much longer in terms of time then you think - rather then money.

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Posted By: Perry Eaves

No need to cuss at me. I wish you the best in your pursuit of the PSA1 set. My question is why? Would you rather have a 50's Corvette in mint condition or a whole lot full of rusty junk cars. For me it is a no-brainer but if you prefer the clunkers more power to you.

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Posted By: Jim Rivera

Dave,
Try not to worry about $$$.Think about the love for the little pieces of cardboard.Rare backs,errors, color varations, HOFers,and team sets -you will
spend, more than what you have aloud for this set. Thats why it is called THE MONSTER!!
10 years ago I started this set and now I have about 700 T206 and still need about 80 cards to complete. My love for rare backs and Baltimore cards has changed my coarse to complete.I have no idea how much I have spent but one day I will complete minus the big four and I am sure it will be worth more than what I spent.
I probably will never sell -my love for the cards is too great!
Currantly always changes!
Currantly PSA 5s are about $100 but when I started they were about $25 and I have about 70 of them but I also have about 450 raw cards. Your set does not have tobe graded. You can get raw cards at shows at a good price. Not altered. Ebay is not the only option.
Spend what you can now but keep an open mind. Years from now you will have more $$.
KEEP COLLECTING!!

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Posted By: Jason Carota

Money is the simple answer to your question. I am currently trying to put the set together in PSA 1/SGC 10 (with the occasional 2 or 3 - again, $$$ rules that decision.) Besides the Monster, I have everyday bills, trips/dinner/entertainment/etc. with my wife, and a kid on the way. In all honesty, if I had the cash to put a high grade set together, I would still go for lower grades. Why? Aesthetics. IMO, creases, stains, rounded corners, writing, etc. all contribute to the history of the card(s).

Here is my favorite "rusty junk car:"

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Posted By: Alan Elefson

Perry-
If I had the money so it would not matter, I personally would rather collect cards in off codition (Good or less) so that myself and others can hold them without worrying about affecting the condition. To echo a prior post, creases and paper loss to me indicate 100 years of usage (if only the card could talk!) that tell a significant story.
I do understand high grade collectors as well. I too am amazed that certain Pre WWII cards have survided in perfect condition. The posts by Jim Crandall were amazing, as well as the images I have seen from Lionel Carter's collection and countless other collectors on this board. Although I question how some cards managed to survive in such perfect shape, I believe provenance (such as from the Carter collection, and other examples when cards can be traced to the original owner) helps to authenticate many cards of high quality. Those with no provenance arouse my suspicions immediately.
Lastly, this is the second time that T206 Wagner has been posted and I noticed barely any mention of it. That is an amazing card! Can you imagine the story it could tell behind all of its creases and wrinkles? No matter what condition I am always amazed to see an example of that card. Congratulations to whomever the owner is!
Alan Elefson
aelefson@hotmail.com

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Posted By: John

Honestly though a bit cliché one mans “Junk” is another mans treasure. I’m glad for the folks who can afford the best and glad for the folks who use coupons for diapers (adult or baby).

Makes no difference to me. So why does it make one to you???


The really funny thing is the message you and some nameless others are so desperately trying to send is that of the super privileged highly intelligent upper crust of society.





The unfortunate, yet funny thing is over the internet on a public baseball card chat board, it has the below result.



This is really how you are perceived by most of us, regardless of your monetary or mental net worth so please I beg you; keep it up so we can keep laughing at you (not with you).

**edited due to settling our differences in a gentlemanly manner”

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Posted By: jay behrens

Perry, you really are clueless. Collecting cars and collecting cards are two completely different animals. How many people collect a complete set of Corvettes? Now compare that number with how many Vettes are out there and then compare the number of people that collect complete sets of baseball cards relative to their numbers, then you will understand. Hell, even on my limited budget, if I wanted to own a collector car, it would be a nice one. I don't think anyone that buys collector cars wants a beater unless they are planning on fixing it up. You can't do that without repercussions in this hobby.

Jay

The richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.

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Posted By: peter chao

Perry really has an outsider's view of collecting...

For most of us we collected to some degree when we were kids, back then I couldn't care less what the condition of the card was. I simply needed the card to complete the series or I used the card for trade bait so that I could get other cards...it was a lot of fun.

I'm willing to speculate that Perry never had the experience of collecting cards just for the fun of it. Thus an outsider's view of the hobby.

Peter C.