bust or sit on boxes??

[andrewconnors9]

as i see it, card collecting isn't how it was back in 70s and 80s, as if you had a sealed box of an early 80s set, you would get a fortune for the box as yes the cards will be mint and your guaranteed any top rookies in the set for the most part. But now and 20 years down the road, you won't have to worry about mint cards as there are so many graded copies of cards anyways. Like 05-06 UD S1 for example, 20 years down the road it might go for a little more, but there will still be tons of graded mint crosby YG's kicking around, and for the price you'd sell the box for in 20 years time, i would doubt it would be worth the 20 year wait

thats my 2 cents anyways

[RGM81]

FWIW, there's a box of Habs Centennial on eBay that's over $300 with 4 days remaining. It was $120 when it came out and quickly sold out.

[30ranfordfan]

You're not a whole lot younger than me :) I was born in 1980 (and started collecting cards in 1990).

If I recall, sets like 1990-91 Upper Deck or OPC Premier were pretty close to what a pack of UD Series 1 costs now. Between $3 and $4. People were spending $100+ on boxes...... you could get sets like Score or Pro Set pretty cheap ($1 a pack, after they were a year old you could get them for less).

I just don't see today's wax being worth much more down the road. Let's say you get 06-07 SPA (it's been mentioned elsewhere in the thread). Right now, we talk about it like it's the holy grail of modern boxes, because you can get Malkin, Crosby, and OV Future Watch RCs in it.

How much is this really going to go up? In 20 years only those 3 player's RCs are going to be desirable pulls. The rest will get tossed aside (unless someone is trying to build a set).

We already see that the over production of GU cards has made them only slightly more valuable than 'inserts'. You can routinely pick up GU cards of mid-tier players for less than the price of a cup of coffee.

I just don't see that the odd chance of getting one of the 3 big hits is going to make that box any more valuable than it is right now. If I really want a Sidney Crosby RC in 20 years, go buy one. It's a sure bet.

Remember - If you can find a box of 1979-80 OPC, you're pretty much guaranteed to get a Grezky. You're likely to get 2. A box of 85-86 Topps is likely to yeild 3-4 Lemuix RCs. That's why boxes like that sell for so much. Odds are, you'll get the best card in the set (the one you want) that's already worth 100s. Modern boxes, it's pretty much a guarantee that you WON'T get the big RC (odds are against you, anyway).

well thats why i am asking :) now i was born in 84, so what were the cost of those early 90s cards when they released like score and pro set and upper deck? where they expensive or where they like 30 a box?

[patsfan84]

the last few posts have relly got me rethinking the sitting part, but the problem with say 79-80 gretzkys year those boxes were not sealed if i am correct??? so who is to say the box has not been tampered with? or would it be blatently obvious if it was?? from what i recall hearing those packs were easy to search and reseal but i really dont know as i have never bought a box lol. and i guess a lot of those cards probably didnt come out of the boxes in the best condition to begin with unlike todays cards??? if i am wrong please let me know, because like it was mentioned a lot of quality grade rookies are around today from recent years, but hardly ever do you see a 8.5 or higher gretzky grade

[30ranfordfan]

My understanding of old style 'wax packs' (because that's what they really were sealed with) is that they were easy to open, and re-seal. All you needed was a candle that would melt clear..... and then use a bit of that wax to seal the pack back up after you were done searching.

Boxes, you should be able to tell if they've been tampered with though. They didn't have a plastic seal / hologram like they do now..... but if you opened one up, you'd have to break some of the cardboard (likely).

The condition on those cards (especially anything before 1985) can really be up and down.

- Centering is a chronic problem with them.
- Gum and/or Wax stains on the top and bottom card
- That style packaging makes them more likely to have bad corners
- Factory Cutting wasn't as advanced as it is now, so cards often have rough edges

(and that's just the factory problems, that you can't do ANYTHING about)

- Much higher percentage came from retail stores, instead of hobby shops, so they weren't displayed / handled / sold with as much care
- Didn't have the same supplies back then that we do now, so harder to keep them in nice shape


Nowadays, if you have a Sidney Crosby RC..... it's inside a Penny Sleeve, and a Top Loader as soon as you pull it from a pack. Maybe protected even better than that.

How many Gretzky RCs were put into a stack of other cards, and kept together with an elastic? Glued onto paper, so kids could store them in a binder?

the last few posts have relly got me rethinking the sitting part, but the problem with say 79-80 gretzkys year those boxes were not sealed if i am correct??? so who is to say the box has not been tampered with? or would it be blatently obvious if it was?? from what i recall hearing those packs were easy to search and reseal but i really dont know as i have never bought a box lol. and i guess a lot of those cards probably didnt come out of the boxes in the best condition to begin with unlike todays cards??? if i am wrong please let me know, because like it was mentioned a lot of quality grade rookies are around today from recent years, but hardly ever do you see a 8.5 or higher gretzky grade

[patsfan84]

people glued their cards thats nuts!!! i do remember my lcs owner and my dad saying they remember growing up and having like 10 bobby orr rcs and throwing them agains the wall or putting them in their bike spokes lol. the only time i have ever seen boxes in a shop from that era where in the west edmonton mall when i was there in 05 for a lacrosse try out. my dad bought a pack of 83/84?? whatever lemiuex's rc is, and man that gum was horrid lol. i remeber growing up always chewing the opeechie gum, aaaah the good ol days

hope this isnt too dumb a question but what made the values of the early 90's late 80's cards so low?? just because they were mass produced?

[tavares97]

hahahah yeah, the good old days!
i remember my dad bringin me back packs in teh evening when he got off form work, and I would bust them and get TONY O, etc... (1980)

I bought a box of 05-06 SPa two years ago...LESSON LEARNED!
dont do this. I was gonna do what you planned, sit on it for 10 yrs...the guy i boght it form was as well, but he needed cash. SO I won! or so i thought....

could not control teh itch after three months! BUSTED IT! actually glad I did...
I got a bunch of double f/w auto rookies and the only and i mean ONLY good card was a f/w auto PHANEUFF...REDEMPTION! had 6 months to redeem it luckily!

I just dont see it viable to do this with any thing that posisbly has a redemption in it, as the redemtion will be one of the key cards in your case for sure.

[patsfan84]

yes but in 06/07 all the non released redemptions of those 05/06 rookies are in the 06/07 boxes with out the redemption.