OT: Any baseball card collectors?

[newell138]

I don’t other than my old 1960s and 70s Mets cards but saw this sale in Margate this weekend. Guys got over 100,000 old cards. Auction style for the cards

Rockwell Estate Sales in Margate Estate and... starts on 5/16/2025

View information about this sale in Margate City, NJ. The sale starts Friday, May 16 and runs through Sunday, May 18. It is being run by Rockwell Estate Sales.

www.estatesales.net

 

[RUPete]

If he doesn't have a Dave Chalk squaring up to bunt in mint condition, I'm not interested.

 

[Mr Magoo]

Haven’t collected in years but was a collector as a kid in the early 70s. I would order plastic pages from mail order in California while my friends flipped them and wrapped them in rubber bands. Who knew those pages were loaded with acid but it didn’t matter since I sold all of them in the 90s for about $15k when we were moving to a new house. I had multiple complete mint sets from those years including those black bordered 71s with the often chipped edge Nolan Ryan Mets card. I even knew the order of the cards produced by Topps so I would sit in the back of the local krauzers sifting through cello packs with cards that I needed. All of it with my paper route money, which I had illegally when I was 9. (My older brother gave me half of his). At least this was one time where my anal retentiveness paid off…🤓

 

[goru1869]

I have EVERY card I have ever bought EXCEPT for my Washington Senators cards from 1971, the first year I started collecting. I thought the Senators were a fake team, so those cards got the cloths pin treatment to the bicycle wheels. Been kicking myself in the ass ever since. I do still buy some a few times a season because I buy them for my son also.

 

[ru109]

As a kid I bought pack and abused them like everyone else but I still have them. Now I just collect cards I want. Right now I'm working on getting every Reggie Jackson tops card.

 

[newell138]

Haven’t collected in years but was a collector as a kid in the early 70s. I would order plastic pages from mail order in California while my friends flipped them and wrapped them in rubber bands. Who knew those pages were loaded with acid but it didn’t matter since I sold all of them in the 90s for about $15k when we were moving to a new house. I had multiple complete mint sets from those years including those black bordered 71s with the often chipped edge Nolan Ryan Mets card. I even knew the order of the cards produced by Topps so I would sit in the back of the local krauzers sifting through cello packs with cards that I needed. All of it with my paper route money, which I had illegally when I was 9. (My older brother gave me half of his). At least this was one time where my anal retentiveness paid off…🤓

I started my paper route at age 9 too, didn't know it was illegal, maybe mom was skimming the profits

 

[Mr Magoo]

I started my paper route at age 9 too, didn't know it was illegal, maybe mom was skimming the profits

It was the Home News based in New Brunswick…known then as the Daily Home News. I remember my weekly customers paid me $1.09 each week, plus tip. My best customer gave me a quarter tip each week (wow, I’m ancient).. I didn’t mind it except for getting up at 4:30 Sunday mornings to fold, “rubber band” and deliver the Sunday News before 6:30. It also meant being home every day around 2:30-4:00 during the summers. I believe their “legal age” was 12. My dad just made my brother give me half his customers. Idleness is the devil’s playground, you know..😜

 

[yesrutgers01]

My first wife bought me two items that was super exciting for me in regards to baseball cards.
1) A 1969 Mint Condition 1969 Tom Seaver topps card in a protective case
2) A shadow box that had all of the 1986 WS box scores as well as the topps cards of each of the starters which included Gooden as the SP.

The first one- somehow disappeared after our divorce when I went to pick up my stuff - Our divorce was actually very civil but I guess she decided to be at least a little petty. And there was not a "bad" event that ended the marriage. lol

The shadow box- had it for years and decided to sell it. I think I got $200 for it.

I also went through a phase after 86 where I decided to buy two topps baseball card boxes each year- one to open and one to save. Had maybe 10 years of these. Only to find out they really werent worth a damn at that point. - I am thinking there had to have been some valuable cards in them but just sold them off as well.

 

[newell138]

It was the Home News based in New Brunswick…known then as the Daily Home News. I remember my weekly customers paid me $1.09 each week, plus tip. My best customer gave me a quarter tip each week (wow, I’m ancient).. I didn’t mind it except for getting up at 4:30 Sunday mornings to fold, “rubber band” and deliver the Sunday News before 6:30. It also meant being home every day around 2:30-4:00 during the summers. I believe their “legal age” was 12. My dad just made my brother give me half his customers. Idleness is the devil’s playground, you know..😜

That’s funny, I split the route with my older brother. We called it the long route and the short route for obvious reasons. I got the long route I was told because he was older. When he went to HS I split the route with my younger sister. She got the short route because she is your little sister I was told 🤣. Coincidentally they both became slackers as adults

Daily Advance from Morris county was .15 a day, and most people gave $1.00 for the week. Amazing how good it felt getting that quarter tip

 

[BABYBULL24]

Covid brought back interest in the hobby. At the height of Covid the card values went through the roof but have since comeback down to Earth. It's definitely not a kids game anymore - Dealers swoop in to Walmart & Target and clean them out after a restock. The stores used to have buying limits on the cards but think that has pretty much gone away.

- I picked up the Dylan Harper & Ace Bailey RC's recently.
-Anyone remember Don West hawking cards on late night TV in the 90s- Classic: )

 

[Rhuarc]

I miss the junk wax era where the cards had no value but were cheap and fun to collect whole sets.

I have no money to collect cards now and wouldn't even I did because of the prices and lack of value in ripping open a pack. The rush of completing a set was always my number one priority. It was less about the stars. I remember having my Dad drive me to Rt. 18 flea market, Rt. 1 flea market and Englishtown auction with my numbered Topps list to complete that year's set. That was the freakin' best.

 

[newell138]

I miss the junk wax era where the cards had no value but were cheap and fun to collect whole sets.

I have no money to collect cards now and wouldn't even I did because of the prices and lack of value in ripping open a pack. The rush of completing a set was always my number one priority. It was less about the stars. I remember having my Dad drive me to Rt. 18 flea market, Rt. 1 flea market and Englishtown auction with my numbered Topps list to complete that year's set. That was the freakin' best.

For me it was all about getting Mets cards

 

[Rutgers Chris]

Went through all of my old cards with my son recently, fun times. Went to a local store and watched adults ripping $25 packs. Crazy

 

[goru1869]

We buy some from Amazon. Still a rip off, but no travel needed, or time wasted hoping that a store has them when you get there.

 

[SkilletHead2]

My Mom gave all mine away while I was at college. I turn 75 tomorrow, so I had Mantle, Mays, Aaron, Yogi, Larsen, Colavito, etc.

When Skillethead Jr started collecting in the 80's we got a bunch of pretty good ones. Have Tinkers, Evers, and Chance, a bunch of Sandy Koufax's and even a Moe Berg!

But the best buy we made in collectibles was a First Edition, First Printing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That baby has skyrocketed! He still has it.

 

[Shelby65]

Speaking of cards, Shelby has the world’s largest collection of Frank Tanana cards and he’s looking to downsize. If anyone wants 1 or 150 or any number in between, message him.

 

[Rhuarc]

My Mom gave all mine away while I was at college. I turn 75 tomorrow, so I had Mantle, Mays, Aaron, Yogi, Larsen, Colavito, etc.

When Skillethead Jr started collecting in the 80's we got a bunch of pretty good ones. Have Tinkers, Evers, and Chance, a bunch of Sandy Koufax's and even a Moe Berg!

But the best buy we made in collectibles was a First Edition, First Printing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That baby has skyrocketed! He still has it.

That book is def. a keeper!

 

[Postman_1]

Covid brought back interest in the hobby. At the height of Covid the card values went through the roof but have since comeback down to Earth. It's definitely not a kids game anymore - Dealers swoop in to Walmart & Target and clean them out after a restock. The stores used to have buying limits on the cards but think that has pretty much gone away.

- I picked up the Dylan Harper & Ace Bailey RC's recently.
-Anyone remember Don West hawking cards on late night TV in the 90s- Classic: )

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I remember that guy. Everyone was buying junk era wax from the 80's and 90's thinking they would be worth the cards from the 50's and 60's so many years later. I got back into the hobby around 2010 for a bit. Now I will buy a vintage card every once in a while as long as it is PSA authenticated. Some of these prospect auto cards sell for more then a HOF players, only to be worth a few bucks a year later. That drove me away from the hobby.

 

[bac2therac]

I miss the junk wax era where the cards had no value but were cheap and fun to collect whole sets.

I have no money to collect cards now and wouldn't even I did because of the prices and lack of value in ripping open a pack. The rush of completing a set was always my number one priority. It was less about the stars. I remember having my Dad drive me to Rt. 18 flea market, Rt. 1 flea market and Englishtown auction with my numbered Topps list to complete that year's set. That was the freakin' best.

But what about that flat stick of gum!

 

[Rhuarc]

But what about that flat stick of gum!

Yep, that was some good stuff.

 

[yesrutgers01]

It is amazing what we all had to do as kids to find career stats on players.
Baseball cards were the go-to for that.

Kids of the past 20-30 years have had that info just a click away at all times.

 

[toby83]

I miss the junk wax era where the cards had no value but were cheap and fun to collect whole sets.

I have no money to collect cards now and wouldn't even I did because of the prices and lack of value in ripping open a pack. The rush of completing a set was always my number one priority. It was less about the stars. I remember having my Dad drive me to Rt. 18 flea market, Rt. 1 flea market and Englishtown auction with my numbered Topps list to complete that year's set. That was the freakin' best.

FLea market "shops" were the best. There was one in the Hillsborough on rt 206 somewhere. I bought a Don Mattingly O Pee Chee rookie card for about $10 bucks, was a lot of money.
Funny the only other thin I remember about that flea market was a guy that sold spectacular pickles out of a barrel.

 

[Rutgers Chris]