Blunders and Wonders in Collecting

[JustCollectVP]

Most of us have stories that we love to share about the great finds that we've made. Whether it be a scarce card found in a discount box or in a vintage lot or some prospect we banked on when no one else seemed to care.

Less often do we recall, or risk sharing, the blunders that we make. Maybe we sold something that we didn't realize had scarcity or sold before a price spike. Perhaps something or someone that we overpaid or over invested in.

I think it would be a unique exercise to share a blunder and a wonder from our collecting pasts.

Mine:

Blunder -- Investing in Marc Newfield in 1991. I used to buy bulk rookies and received significant discounting on volume. I wanted to buy Newfield and was quoted a nickle a card. I asked about quantity and was told that they had upwards of 500,000 of each player and that quantities over 20,000 were available for 80% off. So, I ordered 25,000 1991 Marc Newfields (along with about 75,000-80,000 other cards) for a whopping total of just over $1800.00 (the Newfields were $312.50) delivered. Needless to say, I've still got 5 5,000 count monster boxes of Marc Newfield rookies sitting in storage. Maybe it is time for a private signing...

Wonder -- Buying a 1900 Clemson Baseball Cabinet card from a group of $10 "common" 1890-1910 cabinets. The coach of the team, and also in the team photo, was John Heisman - of Heisman Trophy fame.

What are your blunders and wonders?

[wolfdogg]

Could have purchased a 1910 T210-8 Old Mill Joe Jackson in around GD/GD-VG (raw) back in late '90s for under $7K.....backed away from it. Did not know at time that there were maybe 12 known at time AND I was on the Black Sox kick at the time and already has the E90-1 RC, 1915 Cracker Jack and the 1917 D350-2 Standard Biscuit Jacksons.....would have looked nice next to those

Kick myself in rear everytime I get in and out of shower now

[goudey1933]

Not baseball but a huge blunder....in 1988-89 basketball prices were just taking off...bought a 1986-87,87-88,and 88-89 Fleer basketball sets plus stickers in mint condition for $150.Sold a couple months latter for $250 and thought I made a killing....if only I knew!This was before grading took off...possible PSA 8 Jordan rookie not to mention everything else.
Baseball wise ...selling about 3000 pack fresh 1971 Topps baseball a year latter to a friend for a couple bucks and his old baseball glove.
1988 sold a nice ,probably if graded now PSA 3-4, green backed Cobb portrait for about $400.
Luckily I never "drank the koolaid" on the 80's rookie card investment period.I didn't buy any baseball issued then.
Scott

[David W]

Traded hutson, four horsemen, and a few other Topps all American cards for about 10-15 cards of Eric Davis, Cory Snyder, Todd worrell rookies.

[egri]

Blunder: Getting so excited at the prospect of finding a few tough cards for my project that I lost my objectivity, and bought a couple hundred dollars of forgeries. Also, when I was getting in to autograph collecting about 10 years ago, I didn't write to more of the old timers who were still alive. At the time, there were still a few guys left from the Goudey and Play Ball sets (now it's just Bobby Doerr) and even more from the late 1940s Leaf and Bowman sets, and most of them signed for free or for low fees.

Wonder: When I got back in to collecting (around the summer of 2014) I focused almost exclusively on old timers. I've found that much more rewarding than when I collected modern players, especially because a lot of them are just happy to be remembered.

[JustinD]

I haven't made too many huge mistake purchases. My problem is overthinking everything and always missing the bus.

I can just only remember tons of triggers I should have pulled and never did.

I think the big one I wish I did is much like a few have mentioned. In the late 80s I really thought the basketball cards were a passing fad and passed on so many jordan rookies its silly. Instead I was buying modern 80s and 90s baseball which is now about good as kindling.

Luckily I was never monied enough to buy the stuff I wanted to so I didn't really get buried under it. I just wish I had grabbed that 80s fleer basketball.

I could say I wish I bought prewar in the 80s, but at the time I wouldn't have gave it a second thought. It makes me remember once sitting at the local card shop around 84, dreaming at the 1978 trammell and Whittaker rookies and buying Topps commons to finish that years set as the shop owner bragged to his friend about selling t206 cobbs to some old lady for a hundred bucks each and how he made a killing.

[njdunkin1]

Blunder - I first began to collect about 5 or 8 years ago, then took a 2 year break in the middle. I'm just getting back into the swing of things now and I realize how much Trout rookies go for - I probably opened up a few and threw them away as commons

Wonder - nothing major, I just try to soak up as much knowledge as I can about cards, so I can get good deals when I go to shops or garage sales and whatnot. I went to a shop owned by two older gentleman outside Minneapolis a few months back. Happening to look through the .25 pile, I found a Dirk Nowitzki Bowman's Best rookie refractor /400. Raw that card sells for about 50 bucks. Profit margin = 19,900%

[xplainer]

Blunder - Dean Palmer. Bought in quantity. They now sit in my moms attic.

Wonder - Still waiting on it.

[GregMitch34]

Blunder: One of my first big ticket card purchases ever, more than 20 years ago, was an ungraded Hugh Duffy Mayo Cut Plug, which turned out to be a reprint.

Wonder: The dealer, Alex's in Manhattan, took it back without question, and gave me a t206 Matty PSA 4 Cycle, which I still have.

[judsonhamlin]

My biggest blunder was not buying all the Broadleaf 460 cards that I found at Ft. Washington in an older dealer's case. I bought two (Snodgrass and O'Leary) and consigned the O'Leary to Barry Sloate. I left at least 4 behind, with some 350's as well.

[bmattioli]

I will always regret not buying more '86 Fleer basketball. I could have had all I wanted.. Also, trading away my signed in person Mickey Mantle 8x10 for comic books was a blunder..

[irv]

Wonder: Receiving my current collection of 52 Topps from my Father.

Blunder(s): Likely not offering enough for some cards from a member on here(?), and not acting fast enough to purchase a 56 Clemente from another member on here just recently.

[ajquigs]

Biggest blunder is willfully ignoring the value difference between PSA and SGC. Even though I knew better, I was able to justify some good sized SGC BIN purchases based on the market for PSAs in the same grade. I'm happy with the SGCs I have in my collection and it doesn't keep me up at night, but there were a couple of definite overpays (20% or more). I still like buying SGCs, but I'm more rational about it now.

Wonders are limited. I had some good luck pulling singles from sets that I had since I was a kid ... a 1978 Murray rookie (PSA 8.5) and a 1979 Rose (PSA 9) each sold in the $150 range. Those plus some PSA 9 Ripken and PSA 8 Rickey rookies gave me a chance to have some fun on COMC picking up ungraded 50's and 60's cards that I like way more than the cards I sold. Backfilling the sets with a decent looking card cost only a few bucks each, so I was happy with that deal all the way around.

[ooo-ribay]

Who the hell is (was) Marc Newfield???!??

No out and out blunders.

Maybe my Bonds GU LS H238 will someday be a wonder when the sanctimonious a**holes pull their heads out and recognize greatness.

[Bill77]

Biggest blunders: Not selling my Prince Fielder autograph rookies when they were worth more than $150, as well as my Francisco Liriano autographed rookie when it topped out at $210. Other blunder trading a topps traded Pujols rookie for a 1987 Topps Barry bonds rookie.

Wonders: Will I ever sell anything?

[pokerplyr80]

For blunders, similar to what others have listed, purchases I regret not making on cards that have exploded in price over the last couple of years, especially the Mantles. And not focusing on vintage as a kid. They seemed too expensive at the time, late 80s and 90s, but obviously I would have been much better off buying a card or two here and there than all the packs and boxes I opened that are basically worthless now.

The only wonder that comes to mind is picking up a 51 Bowman Mantle and Mays together off ebay a few months ago. The price I paid seemed like a good deal at the time, and they've been going up ever since. If I ever decide to sell either I'm sure I'd do ok.

[wolfdogg]

Was offered 7 unopened wax boxes of 1986-87 Fleer Basketball in mid/late 1987 for $10/box......turned it down because who collected basketball at that time?.geesh

[wolfdogg]

#1-Acquiring my N172 Dummy Hoy in a trade/cash deal. Dealer I bought a lot from had some Old Judges he had picked up. As he called the players names off to me over the phone (days before widely used internet) he says "Hoy, Washington." I say "stop!"...."Hoy?...what's the price?" He says "$80"...."It's mine!"....we work out a large cash/trade deal that included the Hoy in the group....$80 was value placed on the Hoy. After the deal was agreed on I asked him if he knew who Hoy was? he says "No"....so I explain it to him. At the time I think Hoy pretty much listed just over a common in guides. I told him to watch the value of that card in next few years. I remind him everytime I talk to him now.....

#2-Purchasing my Ruth RC at time I did

[goudey1933]

Originally Posted by wolfdogg

Was offered 7 unopened wax boxes of 1986-87 Fleer Basketball in mid/late 1987 for $10/box......turned it down because who collected basketball at that time?.geesh

You get the prize!My friend who I bought my fleer from had the opportunity for multiple boxes but bought a few sets instead because he thought they would be easier to sell.Its funny the next year Skybox came out and it was touted as the next 86 Fleer ...boxes selling out at card shops at $70 or more.Now junk wax.
Scott

[Rich Klein]

Scott OP did not mention his biggest misstep, the Wild Card fiasco but what he did after that, made him one of the best people I have ever met in this business.

And I will tell you when all the details of what he did back then came out, Dr. Beckett was also a big fan of how he recovered and made good.

Rich

[JustCollectVP]

Thanks for reminding me, Rich -- but that wasn't a blunder -- that was an epic misapplication of trust. Rimrock and Warminster still make me cringe when I hear them. It wasn't WC, though, but the delays in the Topps premium release that caused the two SN stations to run a scam that caught me hook-line-and-sinker.

[bnorth]

Blunders: Bought all(around 250) the left over Wade Boggs 3000 hit dolls from the manufacturer that the Devil Rays handed out on Wade Boggs day celebrating his 3000th hit. Sat on them way to long and still have a large box(around 100) of them left.

Wonders: 89 & 90 Topps DoubleHeaders. I bought several cases of these in the late 90's when eBay was noting like it is now. I was about the only one selling them as singles for close to 2 years. After shipping I had about 10 cents apiece into them and sold all the McGwires and Griffeys for $20+ each and sold the others for $1-$5 each. Made several thousand on a couple hundred dollar purchase.

[esd10]

Blunder-back in 2006-07 I was getting back into collecting on ebay this guy was selling d304 and I paid over a $100 dollars for what where reprints.

Wonder-I sold a e90-1 johnny seigle raw in excellent condition for less than $50 and now the only ones I can find are over $1000 on ebay.

[Zach Wheat]

Biggest Blunder - to date my biggest blunder occurred when I was in the midst of finishing a T206 set. I was working fiendishly at it and was in the 75% range....with a number of backs, most of SL'ers and a number of HOF'ers. I purchased a nice Cy Young portrait from someone on N54.

I received a number of packages in the mail that day. Somehow I managed to throw away one of the last HOF'ers I needed, along with all the packing material. I searched & searched for it - to no avail. The card had existed for 100+ years but get it in my hands and it was gone within minutes.

Z

[7nohitter]

Originally Posted by zach wheat

biggest blunder - to date my biggest blunder occurred when i was in the midst of finishing a t206 set. I was working fiendishly at it and was in the 75% range....with a number of backs, most of sl'ers and a number of hof'ers. I purchased a nice cy young portrait from someone on n54.

I received a number of packages in the mail that day. Somehow i managed to throw away one of the last hof'ers i needed, along with all the packing material. I searched & searched for it - to no avail. The card had existed for 100+ years but get it in my hands and it was gone within minutes.

Z

ouch!

[packs]

Blunder: not buying the T206 Ty Cobb green portrait freak error card (half of two cards on one card) that sat in a display case in White Plains forever. I always passed over it because I figured who wanted half a card? I must have walked by it 10 shows in a row.

Wonder: bought a Grover Cleveland Alexander signed baseball (sweetspot) along with a few other signatures from the original owner for $80. Sold it for $2,000 later.

Wonder 2: bought a poorly listed Carl Horner cabinet on eBay for $300. Flipped it for $900.

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Blunders: Bought all(around 250) the left over Wade Boggs 3000 hit dolls from the manufacturer that the Devil Rays handed out on Wade Boggs day celebrating his 3000th hit. Sat on them way to long and still have a large box(around 100) of them left.

Wonders: 89 & 90 Topps DoubleHeaders. I bought several cases of these in the late 90's when eBay was noting like it is now. I was about the only one selling them as singles for close to 2 years. After shipping I had about 10 cents apiece into them and sold all the McGwires and Griffeys for $20+ each and sold the others for $1-$5 each. Made several thousand on a couple hundred dollar purchase.

The 89 Doubleheaders were real tough, the 90's were a bit easier. But those 1989's -- not easy at all

[pitchernut]

Getting drunk and going on ebay...

[Iwantmorecards77]

A couple of blunders...

A few years back, I purchased a raw T213 Cobb from an auction house. Turns out it was altered. Burned - and an expensive lesson learned.

..and on a lighter note - back in 1992 as a youngster, I was choosing between a box of 1992 Stadium Club or a box of 1992 Bowman (both were around $65 a box.) My thinking was - 1991 Stadium was much more popular than 1991 Bowman - so I went with the box of Stadium Club in 1992. ...ugh.