Today the search is for Mickey Mantle. I have attempted to filter out reprints but of course all sorts of reprints show up. There are 69 cards. I am going to see if I specify the year 1954 whether more reprints are filtered out. Yes, that brought it down to 27 cards but I still see some reprints. Ugh!
I love the guys who sell "novelty" cards. It seems like a novelty card is just a reprint made to look real. I am not a fan. Anyway, only one of the 27 cards posted today is not fake or overpriced. The card is a PSA 2.5 auction. It had one bid for $15 and ends in six days. I am going to throw down $200. I'm high bidder at $15.50. Based on my observation over the past month or so, this card will probably end up going for $400-plus. The card is way off-center and probably creased. I'm not going above $200. I'll wait for another one.
I think I will try Willie Mays. Initially 92 cards pop up but I need to filter out the reprints. That brings it down to 64 but I still see reprints. I have now specified the year 1954. Forty-eight cards. I am tempted to bid on one for $150. It is way off center but seller says no creases. There is a lot of surface wear, however, and I will pass.
Okay, like Mantle, prices for the Mays are all over the board. There are a bunch of them at $150 with dings, some scuffing but no creases. The problem with these cards is that they are all horribly off-center, so I am going to hold off.
June 8, 2020
Well, that Mantle PSA 2.5 where I bid $200, ended at $500. I have been checking eBay, here and there, for the cards I need. No luck. I also took Chris's advice and checked Sportslots. I was impressed with the way Sportslots had all the cards from 1954 Bowman organized and found it easy to navigate. Unfortunately, I did not have any luck with the cards I need.
I also checked some major auctions. I believe it was Huggins and Scott that had a low grade 1953 Bowman Mantle and a low grade 1954 Bowman Mantle in one lot. When I factored in the buyer's premium, shipping and sales tax, the price was too high. Another auction house had a complete set that was only at $800 with a few hours to go. I thought about it but I just want four cards, not the whole set. Though, I'm starting to think that it may be cheaper to buy a complete set then to purchase the final four cards I need as singles.
Today, I will give eBay another try. I need Mantle, Berra, Mays and Hodges. I'll check Mantle first. After applying six filters, I got it down to 31 cards but there clearly are some reprints in there. Prices are all over the board. A seller from Milwaukee has an auction for an SGC 3.5. Current price is $425. Probstein sold one at auction for $461 in March. I'll throw down $430... and just like that I am high bidder. I'm going to sit at $430 and not go any higher.
I see a nice-looking raw Mays for auction, currently at $51 with a day to go. Unfortunately, the seller does not state whether the card is creased, he says to check the scan which is so lame! The back has some lines that may be creases so I'm going to hold off. All the others are over-priced. I would like to be around $150 for this card... not $800.
Greg Morris has one ending in six days. I'm not going to bother to bid on that one. The others up right now are either too low of a grade or priced too high. I would like to be around $100 for a Berra. Greg Morris also has a couple of Hodges up but he does not state whether they are creased or not. The statement of "Look at the Scan" does not cut it for me. How hard is it to state "crease" or "no crease"?
That's all for today. Let's see if I win that Mantle!
June 12, 2020
Holy Smokes! That SGC 3.5 Mantle from the other day where I bid $430 and figured it would sell between $450 and $500, actually sold for $988! There is a PSA 3.5 currently up with high bid around $500 with two days to go. I'm feeling a little bit too defeated to even place a bid.
I think I will focus on the other cards I need. I checked Sirius Sports Auctions yesterday. He had a few '54 Bowmans up but none that I need. I saw on eBay that he has a raw Hodges in a BIN at $29.25. The card looks nice, just some centering issues and a wax stain. I would like to buy it but Sirus does one of those charts explaining his grades and states that this card is VG-EX which may have a slight crease.
I see a seller has the same freakin' Hodges card up twice at two different prices. Gotta love eBay. Greg Morris has one up for auction at $4.25 with two days to go. The only description for the card states: The card in the scan is the card you will receive. As I have said previously, I hate this statement. I can't tell from the scan if the card has flaws. It looks like it may but I really can't tell. I just can't bid on these cards.
I decided to go back and place $460 on that Mantle. I'm high bidder! Woot!
Next up, Yogi Berra. I'm not even going to look at the Greg Morris listings. So does SMR price mean anything? The graded Yogis are well-above SMR. All the raw cards are creased and sellers are looking for 50 bucks for a creased Yogi. Not!
Lastly, Willie Mays. Again, everything is way over-priced. Lastly, I'm left wondering what that Mantle will end up at.
June 16, 2020
Oh my! Finding the last four cards I need at a decent price and in decent condition may be impossible!
That PSA 3.5 Mantle, the one where I placed a bid of $460, ended at $685, not nearly as high as the SGC 3.5 that went for $988 the previous week. Okay, today, I see a batshite ugly Mantle for $63 with eight hours to go. I'm going to throw down $75. Immediately outbid at $76. This card is sooo phugly that I can't bid any higher. Oh, I see that I am not the only one following Mantle prices. It seems like all the sellers upped their prices. Pass.
I just checked the Willie Mays cards up on eBay and I don't like anything I see there. I see a Berra that does not look too bad for $100. Seller says no crease but there seems to be quite a bit of surface wear. Pass. No other Berra's are worthy of a bid or BIN.
As for Hodges, I see one on first glance that looks good. Second glance shows writing on the back. There are no other Hodges worthy of a bid or BIN. The search continues....
June 26, 2020
The phugly Mantle sold for $174.50. I can't drop that much money on such a phugly card in good conscience.
"Phugly" seems to be the theme lately. Probstein currently has two extremely phugly Mantles up for auction. I am going to guess they will end between $175 and $250. Again, I can't pay that much for a phugly card in good conscience.
I see a Mantle that looks okay in the scan but there are a lot of red flags. First off, the card is scanned while in a toploader, so it may have creases but it is hard to tell for sure when the card is covered in a toploader. The toploader itself is scratched up. Secondly, the seller has about 380 feedback. I am not a fan of low feedback. Lastly, seller states he knows nothing about cards and purchased a storage locker where he found the card. I've seen this statement before and find it troubling. I am going to pass.
Greg Morris has one up for auction with seven days to go. He states the card is low grade and it is already up to $240. Pass. Now I see a whole bunch of phugly Mantles all priced way too high. Sheesh! The nicer Mantles are priced through the roof.
Let's see what's out there for Willie Mays. May not, all priced too high. Berra? Oh, I see Kit Young has one up. I haven't bought anything from Kit Young in a long time. Kit Young is one of the few dealers that has been around since I first started collecting vintage cards in the 1970's. Unfortunately, he is one of those eBay dealers that has the grading chart. The Berra is listed VG-EX which according to the chart may have a slight crease. Pass. All the others I see are overpriced or at least priced higher than I am willing to pay.
Now for Hodges. Man, all priced too high. Another day of no bids. I am just not going to overpay for these cards.
July 6, 2020
The Pandemic Set Build is now going into July. I did not think it would take so long when I began this thing some four months ago. I am down to just four cards: Mantle, Berra, Mays, and Hodges. I have watched the Mantle prices jump these past four months. Originally, I wanted to pay around $400 for a card with no creases but some corner and edge wear. These cards appear to be going between $600 and $1,000.
The first Mantle I see is clearly fake but being auctioned as an original. The wear is obviously face and the back has that red-yellow tint that I see on all the fakes. The card is at $170 with three days in the auction to go. Somebody is going to get burned.
Creased up Mantles are going between $300 and $500. I can't pay that for a creased card. The Battersbox has one that looks VG for $587 BIN. They rate it VGEX. I can't tell from the scan if it is creased and they don't mention it in the description. They do the lame chart. So according to their chart, a VGEX description could have a slight crease. Pass. Would have bought it if they said "No Crease" in the description. Why is that so hard to say? Just say "crease" or "no crease." Come on vintage card sellers, stop being so lame!
An outfit out of Dayton, OH, has one up for auction for $600, no bids, three days to go. The condition is exactly what I am looking for. It has some corner wear and is slightly off-center. They even say "no creases." However, the price is about $200 more than I would like to pay. Though, the reality of the situation appears to be that $600 is now the going rate for this card in this condition. I am going to suck it up and throw down $600. Oooh, that kind of hurt.
Next up Mays. Like the Mantle, I'm looking for a card with no creases. I'm okay with corner, edge wear and centering issues. The seller from Dayton has one creased for $160. I'd like to be at $150 with no creases. No luck today. I may have to adjust my numbers for the Mays as well.
Let's see about Berra. I'd like to be between $50 and $100 on the Berra for one with no creases and corner/edge wear and possibly centering issues. No luck today. All the cards under $100 are creased. Again, I may have to suck it up and go up to $150.
Hodges? COMC has one for just 18 bucks BIN but they don't say whether it is creased or not and I can't tell from the scan. It almost looks like someone drew in the card number in pen on the back. Pass.
May favorite seller Dean's has one with two pieces of tape on the front for $22. Seems like all the other BINs have been there for a while. I'd like to be between $25 and $50 for a no-crease card. None up today.
The only thing to do now is to wait three days and see if I won that Mantle for $600.
September 1, 2020
Sorry I have not blogged for awhile. Work has been crazy busy. Also, without shows, I sort of lost my motivation. I am back now. Spark has been relit. I have been searching eBay for the cards I need but have not had any luck. I lose every card. I have even placed some bids with private auction houses and lost those as well.
I am encouraged that my friend Andy found a '54 Bowman Mantle for his set on eBay. Let's give it a try today:
Right off the bat I see a fake listed as an original.
All the other Mantles I see today are overpriced. Ugh! As for Mays, all the ones I see are either terribly miscut or overpriced. Ugh, again. I found a Berra PSA 4 at $54 with a day to go. I threw down $60 and am high bidder. I won't get my hopes up, though. Maybe I was too quick to bid on that card because I just found a PSA 4 for $80 BIN (plus $5 sales tax) from a seller I think I know. I purchased the PSA 4 from I think, Big Tim, who reads this blog. Tim! I also need a Mantle and a Mays. What do you have?
The purchase was made easier when viewing endless PSA 2s listed at $80. Tim is reasonable. Thanks Tim!
Well, down to just two cards!!! Will I ever get the Mantle and the Mays?
Anyway, it is good to be back. Still no shows to speak of. Today is September 1 and I have not set up at a show since March. I wish that Covid vaccine would be out already!! Anyway, I'll try to blog again soon.