Author Topic: newbie looking for advice on collecting  (Read 8262 times)

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Offline Feetena

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newbie looking for advice on collecting
« on: March 19, 2010, 04:11:00 PM »
Hi there.  Although I collected Wackys as a kid in the '70s, I am just getting back into the hobby now for the first time in roughly 35 years.  I would really like to try and obtain a few of the original sets.  What is the best (meaning paying reasonably fair value) way to buy or accumulate whole sets that are in excellent condition?  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!! 

Offline bandaches

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #1 on: March 19, 2010, 06:15:39 PM »
Hi there.  Although I collected Wackys as a kid in the '70s, I am just getting back into the hobby now for the first time in roughly 35 years.  I would really like to try and obtain a few of the original sets.  What is the best (meaning paying reasonably fair value) way to buy or accumulate whole sets that are in excellent condition?  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!! 
To find the cheapest prices, trolling non-sport shows and hoping to find non-sport dealers who aren't all that educated on wackys and hence selling below fair market value is the way to go but this takes a lot of time and luck.

The next best way is to buy in bulk, ie I have almost all original series available and the more someone buys, the better the price. Middle series sets, ie 3 through 10 are the most common and buying a run of all of them can get you the highest number of stickers for the best price.

You should be as specific as possible as to what "excellent" condition means to you as everyone grades stickers differently so I prefer to call out acceptable flaws, see my very detailed grading guide with pictures.

http://www.wackypackage.com/Wacky%20Packs/GradingGuide/gradeguide.html

Send me a message at bandaches@yahoo.com to discuss further.
Contact me at bandaches@yahoo.com as I have tons of wackys for sale!  Visit my website http://www.wackypackage.com/

Offline Gurgle

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #2 on: March 19, 2010, 08:59:10 PM »
It's usually cheaper to buy complete sets and some people on the forum sell them. Some think it's more fun to put a set together themselves by buying partial sets and filling in the holes, but it's always a crap shoot and you sometimes ending up spending more that way. (Even so, I do it.) Ebay can be a decent place, but you have to be careful as the quality can vary widely. Some sellers are honest, others intentionally overestimate the condition of the cards. You have to go in knowing what's a good deal and what isn't. You should be able to get all the help you need from the forum. Good luck.

Offline BumChex

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2010, 10:57:52 PM »
To find the cheapest prices, trolling non-sport shows and hoping to find non-sport dealers who aren't all that educated on wackys and hence selling below fair market value is the way to go but this takes a lot of time and luck.

The next best way is to buy in bulk, ie I have almost all original series available and the more someone buys, the better the price. Middle series sets, ie 3 through 10 are the most common and buying a run of all of them can get you the highest number of stickers for the best price.

You should be as specific as possible as to what "excellent" condition means to you as everyone grades stickers differently so I prefer to call out acceptable flaws, see my very detailed grading guide with pictures.

http://www.wackypackage.com/Wacky%20Packs/GradingGuide/gradeguide.html

Send me a message at bandaches@yahoo.com to discuss further.

Ern, how would you consider track marks as a qualifier? I sent in to PSA a whole set of series 13's that I thought were cherry. I got back all PSA 6's and one 4. The only thing I could find with these is that they all had the roller marks. They degraded them at least 1 point if not 2. I would have considered this set to be NM to NM+ meaning PSA 7's or 8's all around. The roller marks obviously sent this set in the other direction. I know the roller marks are pretty common in the 13-15 series. I don't have any in the 11th and 12 the series. I wonder how many sets have the roller marks and what collectors think about this?

Offline BumChex

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #4 on: March 19, 2010, 11:10:30 PM »
Hi there.  Although I collected Wackys as a kid in the '70s, I am just getting back into the hobby now for the first time in roughly 35 years.  I would really like to try and obtain a few of the original sets.  What is the best (meaning paying reasonably fair value) way to buy or accumulate whole sets that are in excellent condition?  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!! 

Another thing to consider when collecting the original series is that quite a few of the cards were mis-cut. This is why when you see a nice set on ebay, that you don't have, the price may justify it's self. There were a lot of mis-cut cards in all the wacky runs so to get a nice set with good centering means you will pay a bit more. It all depends on what you classify as excellent. I have my own definition, as do others on this forum, so it depends on the collector. You have to realize these cards are almost 40 years old so their condition will very. I am very particular and most of my collection I would consider NM but others could say that they are all MINT! It's in the eye of the beholder. I have been burned by quite a few auctions over the years because it didn't hold up to my standards of quality. I want fantastic cards in my collection! I will try to be as honest to condition as I can be when selling because it means that much to me!
If I sell a set that I list as EX, then most of the cards will fall into this category. It could be half, but when listing a set you have to realize the overall condition of cards and the centering. I wouldn't list a set as EX if most of the cards have rounded corners. An EX set would contain a majority of fairly solid cards with nice corners and centering. If I said it was NM then all of the cards would be really nice as far as eye appeal. PSA might have another reaction when put under a microscope  ^-^

wackyone

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2010, 11:28:02 PM »
Good questions  :^)
Although i think PSA is a load of crap,they don't seem to have any guidelines.Almost seems like no standards exist except for the bunghole that does the grading that day.
I have cracked open every one of my PSA's except for my 16th so far.I look at them with a mag glass and really inspect them.I see many things that don't make much sense.
I have one NM 7 card that has a stick of gum impression and it's marked "stained" as well.
So if that's the case then roller marked cards should grade just as high or higher if near flawless otherwise in my opinion.
As for miscut cards grading NM i think is a real push.I think that even EX cards should have be cut to dispaly well and contain decent corners,A card that has been cut with a tight boarder containing no white edge at all should grade VG+ at best.

Offline slayskool

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #6 on: March 20, 2010, 03:02:48 AM »
Ern, how would you consider track marks as a qualifier? I sent in to PSA a whole set of series 13's that I thought were cherry. I got back all PSA 6's and one 4. The only thing I could find with these is that they all had the roller marks. They degraded them at least 1 point if not 2. I would have considered this set to be NM to NM+ meaning PSA 7's or 8's all around. The roller marks obviously sent this set in the other direction. I know the roller marks are pretty common in the 13-15 series. I don't have any in the 11th and 12 the series. I wonder how many sets have the roller marks and what collectors think about this?
There is no WAY any card with roller marks should get a 7 or 8. Just because it naturally occurred doesn't mean it is forgiven.  That's why miscuts are degraded also.  Those are natural too.  PSA did right in this case.
Remember, all's swill that ends swill.

Offline BumChex

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #7 on: March 20, 2010, 07:45:27 AM »
There is no WAY any card with roller marks should get a 7 or 8. Just because it naturally occurred doesn't mean it is forgiven.  That's why miscuts are degraded also.  Those are natural too.  PSA did right in this case.

I know what you mean but I also wonder what other collectors think about the roller marks for their own collection.

Offline BumChex

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #8 on: March 20, 2010, 07:52:46 AM »
Another strange thing I noticed is if you go to ebay and search for wack* pack* you will get over 5000 results. That is a lot for sale!

Offline Sunstroke

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #9 on: March 20, 2010, 08:19:23 AM »
I like perfect corners better than centering. But I like Centering more than roller marks. Above all though, I like perfect color registration & a white sticker face.
Looking for Saunders Art cards: Especially Wackies, Frankenstein stickers, Mars Attacks & Battle

Offline Feetena

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #10 on: March 20, 2010, 08:22:41 AM »
Thanks to all of you for the help!!  Honestly, I was happy to even get a response considering most of you are such seasoned veterans in the hobby.  I'm looking forward to contributing on the forum discussions.

Offline RonZombie

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #11 on: March 20, 2010, 08:38:22 AM »
Thanks to all of you for the help!!  Honestly, I was happy to even get a response considering most of you are such seasoned veterans in the hobby.  I'm looking forward to contributing on the forum discussions.
Welcome aboard!!! Nice avitar! RonZ 8)
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Offline BumChex

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #12 on: March 20, 2010, 01:16:59 PM »
Thanks to all of you for the help!!  Honestly, I was happy to even get a response considering most of you are such seasoned veterans in the hobby.  I'm looking forward to contributing on the forum discussions.

Ask away! We are here to help. It's great seen new people getting into the hobby.

Offline bandaches

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #13 on: March 20, 2010, 06:52:29 PM »
Ern, how would you consider track marks as a qualifier? I sent in to PSA a whole set of series 13's that I thought were cherry. I got back all PSA 6's and one 4. The only thing I could find with these is that they all had the roller marks. They degraded them at least 1 point if not 2. I would have considered this set to be NM to NM+ meaning PSA 7's or 8's all around. The roller marks obviously sent this set in the other direction. I know the roller marks are pretty common in the 13-15 series. I don't have any in the 11th and 12 the series. I wonder how many sets have the roller marks and what collectors think about this?
I consider factory created flaws as qualifiers.  This keeps the definition of qualifier very nice and simple.  I don't know if PSA has a consistent definition of when they decided to qualify an card.  Track marks were created by topps, centering issues were created by topps, image blurrines and so on.
Contact me at bandaches@yahoo.com as I have tons of wackys for sale!  Visit my website http://www.wackypackage.com/

Offline BumChex

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #14 on: March 20, 2010, 10:01:32 PM »
I consider factory created flaws as qualifiers.  This keeps the definition of qualifier very nice and simple.  I don't know if PSA has a consistent definition of when they decided to qualify an card.  Track marks were created by topps, centering issues were created by topps, image blurrines and so on.

What series are pretty susceptible to the roller marks? I see it happening mostly on series 13 and 14. Any other series I am leaving out?

Offline bandaches

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #15 on: March 20, 2010, 10:48:50 PM »
What series are pretty susceptible to the roller marks? I see it happening mostly on series 13 and 14. Any other series I am leaving out?
Many series, I see them on late middles like series 9 and 10 so I would say series 9-14.
Contact me at bandaches@yahoo.com as I have tons of wackys for sale!  Visit my website http://www.wackypackage.com/

wackyone

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #16 on: March 21, 2010, 02:32:58 AM »
What series are pretty susceptible to the roller marks? I see it happening mostly on series 13 and 14. Any other series I am leaving out?

alot of my 11-12th have mild roller marks
back when i was a offset press operator certain printing presses were worse the others for leaving roller marks.
i can recognize the style of metal drive wheel that leaves that more coarse marking.most of them could be adjusted to minimize the pressure and i often wondered why the 13th in particular was overlooked in that way.
oh well,i'm sure the quality control level of the some "kids stickers" was not a real high priority run for most press operators.

Offline BustedFinger

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #17 on: March 21, 2010, 05:56:58 AM »
alot of my 11-12th have mild roller marks
back when i was a offset press operator certain printing presses were worse the others for leaving roller marks.
i can recognize the style of metal drive wheel that leaves that more coarse marking.most of them could be adjusted to minimize the pressure and i often wondered why the 13th in particular was overlooked in that way.
oh well,i'm sure the quality control level of the some "kids stickers" was not a real high priority run for most press operators.
I wonder how many rollers were used for a sheet?  Since the cards a laid out on a sheet in a particular order and the rollers should always contact the sheets in the same place, it would stand to reason that some titles from a series would almost always have roller marks and other titles would never have them.
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Offline Bigmuc13

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #18 on: March 23, 2010, 11:53:53 AM »
Ern, how would you consider track marks as a qualifier? I sent in to PSA a whole set of series 13's that I thought were cherry. I got back all PSA 6's and one 4. The only thing I could find with these is that they all had the roller marks. They degraded them at least 1 point if not 2. I would have considered this set to be NM to NM+ meaning PSA 7's or 8's all around. The roller marks obviously sent this set in the other direction. I know the roller marks are pretty common in the 13-15 series. I don't have any in the 11th and 12 the series. I wonder how many sets have the roller marks and what collectors think about this?

I know PSA hates them.  For me, I never minded them.  For some reason, they have never bothered me at all.  I would still consider an otherwise NM sticker as NM even with the rollermarks. 
Still looking for Series 17

Offline Dr Popper

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #19 on: March 23, 2010, 05:28:51 PM »
I know PSA hates them.  For me, I never minded them.  For some reason, they have never bothered me at all.  I would still consider an otherwise NM sticker as NM even with the rollermarks. 

I'm the same way.  Obviously if 2 cards are identical quality and one has the roller marks and the other doesn't I'd prefer the one without, but if I have a hi-grade card with roller-marks I don't go out of my way to upgrade it.
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Offline Gurgle

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Re: newbie looking for advice on collecting
« Reply #20 on: March 26, 2010, 01:18:22 PM »
I'm the same way.  Obviously if 2 cards are identical quality and one has the roller marks and the other doesn't I'd prefer the one without, but if I have a hi-grade card with roller-marks I don't go out of my way to upgrade it.

I'll take it one step further. If I have a nice card without roller marks, I go find a roller and add them.