Quantity or quality?

[JailOJohn]

I suspect that I know the answer here…but… pretend you made a flea market find…would you collectors rather acquire a large quantity of mediocre quality Wackys OR a small quantity of high quality titles? This hypothetical find is Original Series…..

[RawGoo]

Small quantity of high quality Wackys, any day!

[quas]

Small quantity of high quality Wackys, any day!

Absolutely!  Even a single high quality Wacky!

[MoldRush]

Quality now, but definitely quantity when I first discovered and entered the hobby.

Come to think of it, quantity still has a purpose now - homemade flexible magnets!

[RawGoo]

Quality now, but definitely quantity when I first discovered and entered the hobby.

Come to think of it, quantity still has a purpose now - homemade flexible magnets!

True, but I have plenty of magnets at this point!!

[roughwriter]

I guess I'm in the minority, because I'd definitely love a stack of "well loved" survivor cards over a few crisp cards that never saw the light of day. My cards weren't perfect when I was a kid. In fact, many of mine ended up stuck on something! I will happily give any unloved cards an appreciative home!

[chipereno]

I was at a flea market last summer and stumbled across a binder filled with 70’s wackys.
Tag was $125. Do I really need these? I gotta grab’m. Walked away to think about it.
Came back and offered $100. Got home and found 4 sweet series 16’s which easily paid for the lot.
I love that kind of stuff!

[MoldRush]

I guess I'm in the minority, because I'd definitely love a stack of "well loved" survivor cards over a few crisp cards that never saw the light of day. My cards weren't perfect when I was a kid. In fact, many of mine ended up stuck on something! I will happily give any unloved cards an appreciative home!

I’m somewhat in this camp as well.  Although nice condition cards are always desirable, a little handling wear is ok too.  As long as they don’t reach the point of surface wear that little specks of the color get worn off.  That happened to my Reissues from excessive handling wear, flipping through them many times.  None of my childhood sportscards would grade high either.  My mentality toward new issues is the opposite however - as an adult collector I expect anything I buy new to remain NM to Mint.  We’re not ‘scaling’ them in street games anymore after all.

[BattleCaps]

Quality over quantity...I'm not 7 years old anymore (at least physically)   

Whoops...are we talking about wackys or women?  :

[JailOJohn]

I assume Chiperino’s flea market binder were in pocket pages? I know a lot of kids (me included) stuck wackys on binders and notebooks. I dont think already stuck on stickers have any monetary value. I used to go to tons of flea markets and yard sales looking for comics…and never  found wackys….

[MoldRush]

I used to ho to tons of flea markets and yard sales looking for comics…and never  found wackys….

This reminds me of one reason I was so floored upon finding the existence of a Wacky hobby and community in 1997.  For years whenever I found a card/comic shop that carried any kind of vintage cards, I would ask about Wacky packages.  Not only did none of these shops have any, but the proprietors all sounded like they hadn’t even seen one since the heyday of Wackys.  And if said proprietors were younger than me, they knew nothing about them at all.  This contributed to my growing belief at the time that Wackys were the dinosaur of the non-sport card world, wiped off the face of the earth never to be seen again.

[freetoes]

This reminds me of one reason I was so floored upon finding the existence of a Wacky hobby and community in 1997.  For years whenever I found a card/comic shop that carried any kind of vintage cards, I would ask about Wacky packages.  Not only did none of these shops have any, but the proprietors all sounded like they hadn’t even seen one since the heyday of Wackys.  And if said proprietors were younger than me, they knew nothing about them at all.  This contributed to my growing belief at the time that Wackys were the dinosaur of the non-sport card world, wiped off the face of the earth never to be seen again.

This is similar to the feeling we had when we were younger that if you missed a series or a particular card, you were just out of luck forever, unless someone else happened to have what you were looking for.

In general, I would prefer one or two high quality cards, but mixed lots can be fun. Chip's story reminded me of the guy who would approach dealers selling wheat cents out of a bucket for three cents each at coin shows and ask how much they wanted for the entire lot. Of course, the dealers had no idea how much was in there, and sometimes he would get them for less than face value.

[Plastered Peanut]

I was at a flea market last summer and stumbled across a binder filled with 70’s wackys.
Tag was $125. Do I really need these? I gotta grab’m. Walked away to think about it.
Came back and offered $100. Got home and found 4 sweet series 16’s which easily paid for the lot.
I love that kind of stuff!

I love stories like this.   The few times I've ever ventured into flea markets or yard sales or estate sales, if I ask about Wacky Packages, I get more-than-blank looks.   Maybe one day I'll luck out!

[Paul_Maul]

I think the increased interest in quality is a function of much greater availability of cards. Let’s be honest, in the 1990s finding super nice wackys was not an easily achievable goal.

[bandaches]

I think the increased interest in quality is a function of much greater availability of cards. Let’s be honest, in the 1990s finding super nice wackys was not an easily achievable goal.

the 1990s we all were reliving our childhoods exactly as we did as kids, we simple wanted to collect them all...then money, greed, grading, art and other things we didn't care about as kids took over.....

[jleonard1967]

the 1990s we all were reliving our childhoods exactly as we did as kids, we simple wanted to collect them all...then money, greed, grading, art and other things we didn't care about as kids took over.....

You are not wrong on that.

[Alexeirex]

I've found ludlow backs for OS 1 and 2 at an estate sale, which was strange as I thought ludlows never made it to the west coast. Also a book of die cuts where I bought every one at a flea market, leaving the 1960s batman cards.
i don't mind quantity over quality esp if there are cards I don't already have....but I wouldn't turn down an unopened box of diecuts, ads or OS....
A

[Plastered Peanut]

You are not wrong on that.

Amen!   I think the "point of no return" for this hobby, for me at least, was the introduction of the term "raw".   

[Paul_Maul]

Amen!   I think the "point of no return" for this hobby, for me at least, was the introduction of the term "raw".   

Strange how something that would not affect your collecting at all would be so significant.

[RawGoo]

Amen!   I think the "point of no return" for this hobby, for me at least, was the introduction of the term "raw".   

Why is another option so distressing?  I opted for graded on my originals, and don't regret it.  And, I am selling off my ungraded Wackys, so all the better, yes?