Pedro Jersey Card

[cknox0723]

So I was at the mall this weekend. As it happened, this was the weekend of the local card show - so I browsed a bit and came across what I venture is a steal.

Paid a small sum to a get a Justin Huber rookie game jersey card for my silly friend (a Mets fan) and a Pedro Martinez game-used jersey card.

Any idea what the Martinez would be worth? Is it worth trying to re-sell it?

Craig

[PrestonKaye]

go down to your local card shop and buy a Beckett Baseball book.

just check for the make and year on the back of the card then what kind of insert it is and look for Pedro. then you'll know how much it is

[SanDiegoPadres19]

If you paid more than 13 dollars for it you got ripped off, unless it is #'ed on the back, which doesn't really mean a whole lot unless it is under 50 or so. I would venture the card would be worth anywhere from 20-25 dollars, with a resell value of... 6-10 dollars depending on where you take it. Most card shops will buy a card for 20-25% of book because they will sell them at half of book, thus they are making a very small profit.

[BigBambino]

The Pedro Game Used Card isn't worth more the 35$ as i have looked into the prices for all his Cards/Memoraibila.

[cknox0723]

Thanks for the replies fellas.

I haven't been into collecting much recently - figured that paying what I did for a game-used jersey of the best pitcher of our time was a nice investment. I'm rather disheartened to see the apparent proliferation of numbered cards and game-used cards - have they become as common as basic cards nowadays? When I stopped collecting a few years ago, they were very rare - a huge find if you could come across one. Just judging from the 10 minutes I spent at the local card show, there were all sorts of game used cards and serially numbered cards, and all were selling for pretty low amounts, even though there were some stars in there (Pedro, Greg Maddux, etc.).

What do y'all who collect regularly think? Where's the industry headed?

Craig

[SanDiegoPadres19]

Well i don't think it is headed in one exact direction. Over the past few years, new cards that look vintage have hit it big, jersey cards have been played out, along with serial #'ed cards, autographed cards have been thrown in like they are worthless, and most are. Graded cards have also hit it real big in the past five years, and i think that will be steady for the time being.

There are just too many people trying to make the little money that is out there. Every year there is one set that makes a huge splash, so i guess just keep an ear to the scene and find out what is best.

I personally stopped collecting because the price was getting higher and higher and the product was getting worse and worse. I turned my focus and mony to attaining autographs. I can't buy them from other people for trust reasons, so i scan the internet and travel around SoCal to get free autographs. I spend less money actually and it is much nicer to display. Also autographs have a much nicer resell value then a piece of cardboard, since their price changes day by day thanks to ONE magazine. Autograph values are set and have been and can only go up really.

I noticed you lived in NJ. NJ is the best state to collect autographs. There is an autograph show at least once a week there. Most you have to pay for because they are big names, like Hall of Famers.

For more info on whos signing and where. Visit www.signingshotline.com

[PrestonKaye]

jerseys used to be very rare and be a huge deal if you pulled one.
now the odds are 1:7 packs and for 15 bucks you can even automatically get one.

[LivnLegend]

Originally posted by SanDiegoPadres19
Most card shops will buy a card for 20-25% of book because they will sell them at half of book, thus they are making a very small profit.

Is that the way things are run these days? I'm not much into the hobby but it seems most cards are advertised as selling well below book which begs the question as to why "book" does not reflect the true market value for the card.

[SanDiegoPadres19]

The book exists mearly for the higher end cards. For the longest time the book fought eBay, it was 4-letter word in the negative sense, but then they realized it was the real deal and everything on there pretty much reflects what is happening on eBay. Hell they have an entire sold on eBay section for god sakes.

One reason shops will buy it at 20-25% is because they have set up a 40% or 60% off of book prices for all their cards and that is what their customers have come to expect. The only cards they won't sell at half of book are local guys, because those will always sell well. It is simply a tool to lower prices so that they bet the competitor.

If you haven't bought one lately[past few years] you will be amazed. If a set, for example like the 1988 Score set isn't moving, which it hasnt since 1989, they will take it out of the book. You can flip through 1960-1996 in 2 pages, 1996-2002 in 2 pages but 2003-2004 take up 10 pages, it is really sad. They have taken a lot of sets out and put them all into a large book that they sell once every 3 months for $9.99. Beckett sucks but what can you do.

[cknox0723]

Originally posted by SanDiegoPadres19
I noticed you lived in NJ. NJ is the best state to collect autographs. There is an autograph show at least once a week there. Most you have to pay for because they are big names, like Hall of Famers.

...

If you haven't bought one lately[past few years] you will be amazed. If a set, for example like the 1988 Score set isn't moving, which it hasnt since 1989, they will take it out of the book. You can flip through 1960-1996 in 2 pages, 1996-2002 in 2 pages but 2003-2004 take up 10 pages, it is really sad. They have taken a lot of sets out and put them all into a large book that they sell once every 3 months for $9.99. Beckett sucks but what can you do.

Thanks for all of the info SDP (and PK). I feel like an old fogey, but that's really terrible to hear what Beckett has done. I used to love flipping through and looking at some of the older sets, just wondering how I'd find them.

Does anyone really collect sets much anymore or is it all about the rare cards or the graded cards? Does Topps still make their Traded set for baseball - containing rookies and any other players left out of their original set? I may try to cobble that set together piecemeal - I've done so in the past and had a blast with it.

Enjoying waxing a bit nostalgic here. Reminds me how much I enjoyed the hobby.

Craig

[SanDiegoPadres19]

Building sets is still very alive. However the companies have taken it one step further with making the same card many times, but with different backgrounds, borders, etc etc, you name it. Building sets has gotten harder and harder, but people love it. As for the traded set, they released one in 2003 and it is a 275 card set, not really the 90-100 card set they used to come up with. 2003 Topps is interesting. All their sets take up 4 pages in the latest beckett.

[PrestonKaye]

SanDiegoPadres19:

yea cardshops can really rip you off!!!
They buy a card from you for dirt cheap and they dont even give you cash back. They give you a credit to the store which gives the store a even bigger profit!!!!

good thing my best friends dad owns a store and I get everything 40 percent off

[BigBambino]

I never Buy Cards from a Card Shop. They set the prive 30-40% higher then Book Value. I've looked the cards up on my different occaision while i was in a this Card Shop next to my House. Its a rip off. At least this one is. best Bet is to just go to a Sporting Cards Flea Martket, where a bunch of guys around the state come and show off there cards, and try to sell some. Thats what i do. I get some really good deals that way

[PrestonKaye]

if you wanna buy a card theres no better than EBAY

[SanDiegoPadres19]

Originally posted by PrestonKaye
if you wanna buy a card theres no better than EBAY

I totally disagree. Ebay is the worst option EVER! Cards may seem cheap, but it is a bad bad idea. Yes i have bought from Ebay, so has many other people I know, but it just isn't worth it. Also, why support some joe blow who runs a store out of his house. Most importantly you should support your local shop so that more money gets pumped into your economy.

Originally posted by PrestonKaye
SanDiegoPadres19:

yea cardshops can really rip you off!!!
They buy a card from you for dirt cheap and they dont even give you cash back. They give you a credit to the store which gives the store a even bigger profit!!!!

good thing my best friends dad owns a store and I get everything 40 percent off

Again I totally disagree. I used to work at a card shop, and we would never overcharge on cards. You have to remember these guys are paying money for the cards themselves, paying for rent, paying for a ton of overcost just to sit there in their shop. As for the credit, it makes sense. That way you spend the money in the store and not somewhere else. My best advice is to go to the shop and buy some stuff, hang around and bull**** with the owner and workers[assuming it is a small store] and just BS. Keep buying and after a few purchases, and assuming they remember you, jokinly mention, hey do i get a good deal on this one, and i bet they will knock off a few bucks here and there.

[PrestonKaye]

Do you live on Cape Cod where we strive on tourists?
Everything is overpriced incredibly.

and I am fine with giving a guy who i have no idea is money if I am getting a card that I want and is at a cheap price.

[BigBambino]

Originally posted by PrestonKaye
if you wanna buy a card theres no better than EBAY

I wouldn't Buy a Card from EBAY ever. Talk about Rip Offs, My cousin bought what was suppose to be a 90 Topps Ricky Henderson, But got a 96 Fleer Rickey henderson. Pric Difference was $16

[PrestonKaye]

It has worked perfect every sinlge time I have used it and I have purchased about 50 different items from ebay.
it tells you under the guys username how many stars he has which means he does good/bad buissness

[BigBambino]

Yeah i know, For now on, its no more newbie seller for us.

[Highlander]

As long as you are careful about who you buy from, eBay can be the best place to get good deals on cards. I have bought and sold hundreds of cards on eBay and really never had a problem.

On the buyer's end, most of what you will want will be selling at a huge discount compared to buying at a card shop, etc. The exceptions to this are mostly obvious.....vintage cards (mid-1960's and back), the hot graded cards of the time, anything with the name Mantle on it, and certain high-end autograph/piece of the game cards. Even with many of those, you will still get them cheaper than anywhere else.

As a seller, you have to pick your moments. If you are just looking to get rid of stuff, and don't mind taking a big hit, you should do alright. If you are looking to make a little profit, you have to be pretty picky about what you try to sell at what time, and do some research.

An example of this is with a card I sold a few years ago. It was a numbered Ricky Ledee rookie card......worthless, right? Not so.... The first time he came up with the Yanks, he got off to a hot start in his first 3 or 4 games. So, I put the card on eBay figuring I would see what interest he had generated. The card sold for over $20!!! A month or 2 later, his cards could hardly be found on eBay at all, and the best of those that were there were closer to 20 cents than $20.