General Forum

Hello, all!  This is my first post to the forum. 

I used to collect cards when I was a kid, from 1988-1993.  Unfortunately, money in my family became tight and since the hobby was in the process of being taken away from kids at that point in time my interests moved on to other things.  I found my way back in late-2011, and while I do enjoy the modern cards they are a bit too slick and there are far too many subsets for my personal tastes.

Recently, I decided that to gain more of a focus with my collecting habits that I would begin to collect unopened.  Money is still tight so I don't have much:  1954 Bowman Football wax pack, 1958 Walt Disney Argentina Zorro wax pack, 1982 Donruss wax box, 1985 Topps Traded wax box, 1989 Score Football wax box, 1989 Upper Deck Low Series wax box, and a 1990 Leaf Series 1 wax box.

I wish I had gotten back into the hobby sooner, as I really REALLY want 1970s unopened, but it is very expensive.  Anyway, does anyone else here like to collect unopened?

 Hi, OneBigDummy, and hello forumites.

I'm new to this site also, and yes, I do like unopened.  Due to the costs involved, I've restricted myself to the 1970s and 1980s packs.  I have some raw packs, but I also like to get them into PSA holders.  Not that I care anything about the grade of the pack, I don't,  but just to have Steve Hart look at the pack to make sure it hasn't been tampered with.  I think I have a pretty good eye when it comes to that, but still, just for the peace of mind...

I have my PSA packs on the PSA Registry, again, not that I am trying to compete for the top grades, but it is a great place to organize the collection, keep track of details such as when purchased, price paid, where I got the pack, etc.

Here is my registry set of 1980s cello packs...

www.psacard.com/PSASETREGISTRY/alltimeset.aspx

Missing the 1986, 1988, 1989 packs.  The late 80s packs are not too easy to find graded, as people think they aren't worth the grading fees.  Hard to argue with that.

Here is what I have of the 1970s cellos.  Still have a way to go on these...

www.psacard.com/PSASETREGISTRY/alltimeset.aspx

This is my wax pack registry set from 1975 to 1989.  Missing the '75 and '86 packs.  The '75 I've had chances at, but they were all minis.  I'm trying to hold out for a regular sized pack, but they don't turn up nearly as often.

www.psacard.com/PSASETREGISTRY/alltimeset.aspx

...and finally, this is my set of 1980's cellos with rookies on top.  The main reason I started this set is because it's the only one that allows Fleer and Donruss packs.  Not all that keen on trying to finish this one.

www.psacard.com/PSASETREGISTRY/alltimeset.aspx

When I started collecting unopened, about three years ago, you could pick a lot of these packs up for a song, but in the last year, the unopened market has gone nuts.  I may be priced out at some point, but at least I have what I have.

Good to join the site.  I've been putting a 1961 Topps baseball set together for decades, and still need 4 cards.  I don't know what I'd do with myself if I ever finished it.

MisterBungle, I am looking at your registry and have to be careful not to drool all over my keyboard! 

Did you hear about the new PSA policy in which they will no longer grade packs with loose gum in the pack?  That's highly disappointing and somewhat kills my enthusiasm for collecting unopened, although I am most interested in wax, cello, and rack boxes.  What do you think of that policy?  I'd hate to have to switch my focus again...  Thanks for sharing your collection!

Yeah, I did hear that PSA has stopped holdering wax packs with loose gum.  They've been having a lot of trouble with gum punching holes in the edges of the packs.  I was hoping they would improve the holder to the point where that wouldn't be an issue anymore, but I guess they just gave up on trying to fix the problem.