Author Topic: Wonder Bread Series  (Read 6416 times)

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Offline drono

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #35 on: December 01, 2022, 07:59:43 PM »
So the oily Twinkies were sitting right on the card.  What a travesty.

Nobody cared about that or centering before grading cards ruined the hobby and made it a business.

Offline bludevilok

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #36 on: December 01, 2022, 10:02:17 PM »
I remember those cards very well.  Since stores around Oklahoma City never seemed to have gotten series 3 through 6, when I found that Wonder Bread had some Wackys that I didn't, I had to have them.  So, as my mother shopped through the rest of the store, I would peek through every Wonder Bread on the shelf and pick the ones with cards I didn't have.  (I'm sure the other Wonder Bread customers were happy about squished bread on the shelves.)  My mother wasn't too pleased, especially since that was not the regular brand that we usually bought, but I put on my cutest kid face and begged her and promised I'd eat the bread.  She relented and bought them for me, but she froze them so they'd keep.  I ate Wonder Bread for the next year!

I do remember that most of them had moisture stains from the bread.  I probably have them tucked away somewhere, but not with the rest of my collection.
« Last Edit: December 01, 2022, 10:17:20 PM by bludevilok »

Offline Paul_Maul

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #37 on: December 02, 2022, 02:57:44 AM »
Nobody cared about that or centering before grading cards ruined the hobby and made it a business.

Nonsense. I always cared about things like this. Not sure why so many seem to think that wanting things to be in nice condition is only about money.

Offline drono

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #38 on: December 02, 2022, 06:07:45 AM »
Not sure why so many seem to think that wanting things to be in nice condition is only about money.

Nice condition is one thing.  I get that - dirty, dinged corners, creases are less desirable - but it seems like with better printing capabilities today that centering is the main focus of grading, and it has translated to vintage items.  I feel the focus on older collectibles should be elsewhere such as damage from handling or simply just "aging."  Shouldn't "out of the pack fresh" be a gem mint 10 as long as there weren't obvious printing flaws?  I really doubt that you cared about centering as an elementary student when it was just something fun to do.  Could your 10-year-old eye really detect the centering difference between what PSA would grade as a 9 compared to a 10? 

And you're correct that grading shouldn't be about the money, but that's what it has become.  It should simply be a way for a recognized authority, using a transparent standard, to 1) verify that the item is genuine, and then 2) qualify the quality of the item.  In my opinion, it's the consumer that has become obsessed with owning the gem mint 10 that has turned the hobby into a business, not the act of grading itself.

Offline bandaches

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #39 on: December 02, 2022, 07:18:36 AM »
I’m a fan of the 1975-1979 Hostess Baseball cards that had to be scissor-cut out of the box bottom.  When I bought some lots on eBay I was confused as to why some looked grease-stained, more like coffee-stained, the staining was so dark and ugly.  Later I found out why - some cards were part of the tray cardboard used in single-serving packs.  So the oily Twinkies were sitting right on the card.  What a travesty.
Yes, I loved those baseball card cutouts, very much different from the baseball cards we collected so not chasing a copyright variation.  I don't recall any of mine having stains.  They didn't last the test of time, no idea what happened to mine, they might be in one of the boxes I have that fills my closet with all the sports cards I collected over the years. 
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Offline bandaches

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #40 on: December 02, 2022, 07:22:55 AM »
Nonsense. I always cared about things like this. Not sure why so many seem to think that wanting things to be in nice condition is only about money.
your obsession with condition is the minority for sure.  As a kid before "value" of what we collected meant anything, I knew of ZERO kids who cared about centering and condition.  We flipped baseball cards clearly "ruining" the value and not one of us cared, all we cared about was getting Jon Matlack as for whatever reason, nobody in our neighborhood had that card, I think it was 1975.  When I re-collected wackys as an adult, I just tried to get one of each, then when I started buying collections, I upgraded my keeper set for awhile and then I realized I just don't give a shit so it is very likely in my hoard of extras, there are higher grade cards than in my keeper set.
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Offline bandaches

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #41 on: December 02, 2022, 07:27:48 AM »
Nice condition is one thing.  I get that - dirty, dinged corners, creases are less desirable - but it seems like with better printing capabilities today that centering is the main focus of grading, and it has translated to vintage items.  I feel the focus on older collectibles should be elsewhere such as damage from handling or simply just "aging."  Shouldn't "out of the pack fresh" be a gem mint 10 as long as there weren't obvious printing flaws?  I really doubt that you cared about centering as an elementary student when it was just something fun to do.  Could your 10-year-old eye really detect the centering difference between what PSA would grade as a 9 compared to a 10? 

And you're correct that grading shouldn't be about the money, but that's what it has become.  It should simply be a way for a recognized authority, using a transparent standard, to 1) verify that the item is genuine, and then 2) qualify the quality of the item.  In my opinion, it's the consumer that has become obsessed with owning the gem mint 10 that has turned the hobby into a business, not the act of grading itself.
I think one feeds the other like chicken and egg.  Grading companies filled a need for the obsessed and then created a new need for folks who previously didn't really care once the $ kicked in....slowly the grading population is being penetrated by other companies and PSA changing its standards making older graded cards somewhat obsolete is all part of the game to keep people chasing this.  Instead of .5 grades, soon the .25 grades will come and all those PSA8s that really could be 8.25 or 8.5 of today will need to be regarded.....and those collections that lead the PSA race will need to be regarded to get some decimal bump ups....
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Offline drono

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #42 on: December 02, 2022, 11:54:35 AM »
As a kid before "value" of what we collected meant anything, I knew of ZERO kids who cared about centering and condition.  I upgraded my keeper set for awhile and then I realized I just don't give a shit.

When I finished off my 69-72 football sets about two years ago, I looked at the ones from my childhood, and they were EX+ at best.  However, I decided not to upgrade anything that didn't have a crease or was miscut and not to worry about NM for the new additions I purchased.  I doubt I spent $500 finishing them off.  I just looked at the Dec/Jan price guide, and the Bradshaw 71 rookie is $250-600, the 71 Greene rookie is $150-300, and the 72 Staubach rookie is $200-500.  I remember paying $100, $75, and $50 for the three, respectively, and they're all NM.
« Last Edit: December 02, 2022, 12:00:24 PM by drono »

Offline bandaches

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #43 on: December 02, 2022, 12:12:58 PM »
When I finished off my 69-72 football sets about two years ago, I looked at the ones from my childhood, and they were EX+ at best.  However, I decided not to upgrade anything that didn't have a crease or was miscut and not to worry about NM for the new additions I purchased.  I doubt I spent $500 finishing them off.  I just looked at the Dec/Jan price guide, and the Bradshaw 71 rookie is $250-600, the 71 Greene rookie is $150-300, and the 72 Staubach rookie is $200-500.  I remember paying $100, $75, and $50 for the three, respectively, and they're all NM.
Nice, all my football cards got washed away in some hurricane in the mid 1970s, I don't recall which one.  Somehow my baseball cards survived as I think I cared more about baseball and they were in my room versus football which were in a bag in the based that flooded significantly.  Not entirely sure what happened to all my wackys, I found a stash of around 100 but they were clearly extras, had tan maddie, Bum, Choke but in general were not in good shape.  I recall some kid harassing me(I think his name was greg Forester or something like that) always wanting my wackys in the late 1970s after I had stopped collecting them and they were not in stores any more, I am wondering if I got hood winked into giving him my collection.
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Offline Paul_Maul

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #44 on: December 02, 2022, 12:29:51 PM »
Sorry, I didn’t mean to suggest I was obsessed with condition as a little kid. I wasn’t. I did evolve into that as I kept collecting through my early teens.

What I meant was that I cared a lot about condition before I ever cared about PSA or grading. Even so, I have to admit I am still not and never have been a centering nut. I care much more about overall card condition, a straight cut and whiteness than centering.

Offline RawGoo

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #45 on: December 02, 2022, 12:42:38 PM »
Sorry, I didn’t mean to suggest I was obsessed with condition as a little kid. I wasn’t. I did evolve into that as I kept collecting through my early teens.

What I meant was that I cared a lot about condition before I ever cared about PSA or grading. Even so, I have to admit I am still not and never have been a centering nut. I care much more about overall card condition, a straight cut and whiteness than centering.

I cared about condition as a kid, too.  I picked the best as my "keepers" and used the others for trading and sticking. 

Offline Plastered Peanut

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #46 on: December 02, 2022, 02:52:03 PM »
I cared about condition as a kid, too.  I picked the best as my "keepers" and used the others for trading and sticking.

The biggest thing I care about is the clarity of the sticker, and the color saturation.   I'll treasure a nice, clear, deep-color sticker over a slightly blurry, less colorful one regardless of centeredness or slightly rough edges.   Obviously the manual printers and ink dispensers and what-not of the 70's gave us the wide range of quality that is seen in the OS wackys.   I love finding that sticker that has sharper small print and/or bolder color. 
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Offline vahsurfer

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #47 on: December 07, 2022, 06:44:01 PM »
I still have the complete run.

Richard
#StayWacky

Offline Gurgle

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #48 on: December 09, 2022, 11:30:40 AM »
This is a great point. There's so much talk about centering and edges, but I think this is what it should be about, how crisp and rich the art is.

The biggest thing I care about is the clarity of the sticker, and the color saturation.   I'll treasure a nice, clear, deep-color sticker over a slightly blurry, less colorful one regardless of centeredness or slightly rough edges.   Obviously the manual printers and ink dispensers and what-not of the 70's gave us the wide range of quality that is seen in the OS wackys.   I love finding that sticker that has sharper small print and/or bolder color.

Offline ToadallyDude

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #49 on: December 12, 2022, 04:37:25 PM »
Nothing like a triple-decker "Buddy and Jim" peanutbutter & jelly sandwich on Wonderbread on a 1970's summer day!  It was like having a cake for lunch!  And Webers didn't cut it.  I remember those days where maybe they were out of Wonder and we got Webers instead... yah, NOT cool!  That's like getting the plain bag of potato chips instead of barbeque, or regular milk instead of chocolate milk, or plainwrap store-brand soda instead of Coke, A&W, or Shasta!  Shastphemy!

BONUS POINTS:  For anyone who understood my Buddy & Jim reference above.
(No prize... just points)

Offline drono

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #50 on: December 12, 2022, 08:20:29 PM »
BONUS POINTS:  For anyone who understood my Buddy & Jim reference above.
(No prize... just points)

I never watched Sesame Street, so I had to look it up.

Offline bandaches

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Re: Wonder Bread Series
« Reply #51 on: December 12, 2022, 09:09:10 PM »
I never watched Sesame Street, so I had to look it up.
I watched Sesame Street and didn't know either  >(
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