General Forum

 Sadly, there's a market for rip-offs like that, else they'd go away.

When I worked for a trading card distributor, I referred to the assortments as "Grandma-and-Grandpa Packs". They knew that their grandson collected cards but had no idea what specifically he collected- sometimes not even which sport- and so I would suggest one of the assortments to them so they could give a variety of cards or card packs to their grandson, with the hopes that at least some of them would interest him.

The assortments were a mixed bag, to be sure. I bought quite a few of the hockey assortments and seemed to find that, along with my Upper Deck or UD Top Shelf or other smei-premium or premium packs, I got a bunch of UD Victory or UD Collector's Choice. I have to say, though, that only rarely did I get an assortment that was just completely worthless; I almost always got a card or two that made me smile.

I'm sure that the 'woman' you bought the assortment from would defend it along the lines of, "Well, 1981 Topps is a 32 year old item- that's "vintage" isn't it?" Caveat emptor.

lyfestory wrote:  One other notable thing on Ebay are these lot sales, where some 'woman' is selling her exboyfriends cards...  i see many of these.... I bought one of these lots for about $100, one can only hope they are worth what you pay for...  but many of these listings tout cards as rare or vintage... 1981 Topps is hardly vintage... and 1989 topps traded cards are not rare... and a 1990 Upper Deck factory set lists for what, $15-25..?? hardly a great find...   Just have to be wary and read carefully...  People are always looking for ways to make money off the not-so-smart...

 I understand all that... im not really complaining, just saying that people need to be careful...   many of those cards i received had some sort pricing on the sleeve it came in, so someone had some idea of the worth of those cards, even though many were inflated...  i didnt spend much and i did get some decent cards... its just a crapshoot a lot of times...  ive made some better 'lot' purchases more recently, so its all good...  just enjoy the stuff you buy...

 I use it to finish off my old 60s Oakland Raiders team sets (I'm holding out for a decent priced Fred Biletnikoff 1965 Topps rookie!) and some of my newer sets (2012 Panini Momentum Materials). One thing i find funny, and I wish there was some kind of forum to vent/laugh/comment about it, is people who slab 1990 Pro Set football cards and try and sell them for $10 because it is a 9 or 10 with a population of 1 or 2! SO WHAT!! There were a bazillion of these cards made!! I'm sure you all have seen people touting their cards as 'rare' only to read it is a 1990s or newer card! it's only 'rare' because everyone threw all of them away!! At least, thats how I see it!

 Back when I was actively seeking through-the-mail autographs, eBay was one of my best sources for older (60s thru 80s) hockey cards. Condition really didn't matter to me, as I was asking the person to write on the front of the card. What did matter was getting alot of cards cheap.