Chris I am also so impressed by your honest responses. Not many "experts" are willing to say they don't know the answer to a question or that they don't have experience in a specific aspect. Of course knowing you don't know everything is the sign of an expert.
1:59 Thank you Chris for answering my question. To me the Ken McMullen question was more important to have an answer to than if Babe Ruth called his shot in the 1932 Series. Thanks again.
Card grades are arbitrary. For this reason it is not unethical to crack the 9 and sell it raw without disclosure because there’s an arbitrary chance it would get an 8 or even a 10 if resubmitted.
@@ryanthompsonthompson820 I bought two 1981 Topps Kirk Gibson RCs, both were SGC 8. I cracked them both and sent them to PSA. One came back a PSA 9 and the other came back a PSA 4. LOL
@@montrealsports29 I’m certain one can string up a bunch of his videos and not even know where one starts and another ends if it weren’t for his introductions and closing of his videos.
A comment on 1% collectors and whether they prefer to fly under the radar--I was recently staying with a friend who received a couriered card with a purchase price of $85k. I had no idea, after years of friendship, that this person even collected cards let alone had a multi-million dollar collection. The reason: safety. He collected for himself through the years, not to show off.
Some great questions being asked, and some great replies, Chris. I share the frustration from the chap who questioned the differing fees in PSA pricing, when grading a card is the same process regardless of monetary value of card. I think that as long as PSA remains the market leader in its category, and as long as PSA are considered by collects/investors/dealers as 'value-adding', that this 'shady practice' will remain. Chris: I like your black-and-white approach to deals, and your reluctance to look in the 'rear-vision mirror' and lament. You are clearly making a profit much more than you're making a loss. You are doing something right... and often. As someone who can often be a GREEDY seller, I can tell you first hand that squeezing the lemon until it bleeds doesn't always yield favourable results. Churning and burning, rinsing and repeating, is the best way (if only I can actually put this into practice more often!!!). Love the content, Chris! Keep up the great work. 👍
Being a kid in Minnesota in the 80s, Kirby Puckett was my hero! I lived near him and he always handed out the big candy bars Halloween night. 1985 topps Kirby Rookie card was the card I bought all the time all the way thru college… he got accused of groping a woman after he retired and overnight the cards dropped tremendously…. So as long as the player is alive even though his baseball career is done the cards can drop. I still love Kirby but I purchase mostly Clemente cards now.
Firestone brought up the question regarding will vintage decline over time, but I would love your thoughts on this related to 90s cards. While vintage cards encompass the all-time greats in the sport, 90s not so much.
6:19 Licensing is the biggest reason but not the whole story. 1) Leafs card designs are really bad 2) Exclusively sticker autos 3) A 1/1 is not really the only copy. All of the parallels look identical but with different serial numbers. And sometimes multiple 1/1’s of the same card is printed 4) While Leaf has deals with the players associations, they do not have deals with alumni associations.
The BUNT 'cards' are NFTs. I'm a college professor and learned about them through students, and while not my thing i understand the arguments why people people like them. The main argument is that each one has a unique digital fingerprint that can (theoretically) be traced all the way back to the creation of the card. Thus, there are no counterfeits, replicas, etc. Also, there is no risk of bait and switch or not receiving a card. Further, everyone can verify exactly what cards there are and how many so you don't end up in a situation like the late 1980s where a company says something is rare and it isn't. The other arguments are that you don't have to worry about damage, grading, storage, safety (outside of hacking which is supposedly challenging for these). And if you save certain code you can't lose them. To oversimplify in an anology, BUNT cards are to traditional cards what crypto/bitcoin is cash
I’ve purchase a couple BUNT “cards” from eBay. The first one I was trying to buy a hard copy of the player and didn’t know what BUNT was. It cost me $1 to find out. The next one I didn’t read the description very well and BUNT was at the end of the description and I missed it. $3-4 down the drain.
With Leaf just buy cheap/sell cheap. Their Halloween football cards this year actually look pretty killer. Also, a good cheaper alternative for collecting autographed cards.
Question for a future Q&A: Do you think dealers would pay extra for a large collection that included front & back scans for every card? I find scanning my cards therapeutic and have scanned fronts and backs of over 10,000 of my cards (mix of high, mid, and low end.) Not sure I will ever sell my collection, but I am curious about this if the time ever comes.
that's pretty much everybody. and when ppl are looking to sell, it takes a very rare individual to understand that there is work involved - that yeah, your collection of 1000 vintage HOF base cards is worth maybe $10K but one person isn't going to just give you that. It would require hours and hours of labor.. you'd have to break it up to get that $10K. I'm a new small time dealer and that's something I find kind of frustrating or very least, it's a pain to have to explain your pov on the matter w/o someone feeling they're getting lowballed. "no low ball offers!"
When suggesting different auction houses Greg Morris, REA, etc. why not suggest CIA as well? Perfect opportunity to promote your new joint venture. (btw I recently bought a couple things from the last auction and am pleased with the process so far.)
Re: The question about Bunt - that is sort of my gut reaction too, but really, is paying money for a jpeg appreciably less rational than paying $1M for a piece of cardboard or $94K for a bitcoin? Value is driven by the fact that other people want something, not necessarily its utility.
Got a question for whenever. Did you have any experiences with the company Score Board? I think they were the card company that first introduced redemption cards for sports memorabilia (later adopted by Upper Deck SP Authentic). The company, however, soon went bankrupt, which meant they weren't legally obligated to honor their redemption cards. I must have had thousands of dollars worth of redemptions with them when it happened, including some signed Nolan Ryan baseballs and multiple Willie Mays autographed bats. I was wondering if you were affected at all by this or knew anything more than what I heard. This was the early days of the internet, when information in the hobby was passed via, "the word on the street."
I am familiar with Score Board but really dont know anything beyond what you wrote. I was not impacted by them. I am sorry to hear that happened to you.
Chris what do you think about graded foil cards i understand that there's alot of ungraded foil that's out there but the graded ones are very tough to grade especially if there 9s or 10s to me the graded ones will be sought after in the future
Yeah foil cards are often condition sensitive so are very hard to get in 9 or 10s. It sometimes make the top graded ones more valuable than it seems they should be
I bought one collection in my life, and just happened on it luckily. Im not really interested in looking to buy collections, but I am curious how you obtain these. Are you actively seeking them out (Sources?) or do people reach out to you via word of mouth, RUclips fame, etc.
On the crack and raw question: you/I own the card. What we do with it is our choice. Raw cards is always a risk. Disclose nm/mt or better, sell it. I do not see a moral or ethical gray area if you do those two things.
RE: The person who asked about Topps Bunt Digital cards. Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean others aren't into it. Many people bad mouth digital cards saying they're nothing more than pics on your phone. But these are licensed and put out by Topps and controlled by them - and as with anything else, they have value because people assign value to it. There were many skeptics who said crypto was pointless and worthless because they didn't understand it. Well as Bitcoin stands at over $85k, those who believed it are profiting.
I may have mentioned this before, but you are now reading the typed words of a former MVP of the Ken McMullen baseball camp #notsohumblebrag #bleedindodgerblue
As a collector, I love qualifiers. If I describe a card to you as an SGC 1, and that includes everything from your PSA 7 MK Banks card to a true piece of trash card with absolutely no eye appeal, then that makes no sense to me. I can easily understand a PSA 7 MK, and I’d pay infinitely more for that then a PSA 1 (well, not infinitely more….don’t get excited). 😬
Agree 100%. A PSA7 (MK) explains everything clearly in that grade and qualifier. But if there was a SGC 2, without high res pics, no one would know WHY it`s a SGC 2.
I agree with what is being said here even though it's not something I've ever thought about much. With that said, though, for as good a story as is told when a card is a PSA 7 MK (using the example here,) I think the OC qualifier should be retired. I don't know enough to say it's completely arbitrary but I've seen cards that appear like 65/35 that have that qualifier. Just pull the grade down. 99% of vintage cards are OC to some degree.
I've heard a lot of talk from people about harsher grading from PSA in recent years especially concerning vintage high end cards. Do you think there is any truth to rumors of pop control going on mainly on the high end side. For example, do you think if a newly discovered mint 52 Mantle were discovered it would have any chance at a PSA 10 or would it only get a max 9 grade no matter what to keep the rarity of the 10 maintained?
I really dont know but I would guess pop control is not really a thing. I believe that the overall standards in the industry and from PSA have gotten a lot stricter over time.
I dont have a strong opinion either way. I grew up understanding the Fleer as the RC, but a lot of people argue its the Star. Both sides are reasonable to me.
Same question about disclosing the PSA 9 with cards that come back ungraded from PSA. Had several that were slightly small. (Nice looking legit vintage cards). If you sell them raw so you need to disclose that they are small/ won’t grade
No you don't. It's a raw card and you are selling it as raw. You're not selling it as potential grade bait. If the person buying the card wants to grade the card, that's there prerogative. If they want to avoid all the above why are they buying raw? They should buy the card already graded.
Chris, How do you feel about Topps Gold Label 1998 1/1's Do you think these are a solid investment? I will be honest I kind of love them and kind of hate them and I don't know why.
I think a lot of people who complain about the grades they get from PSA are people who don't use a magnifying glass to check their cards before submitting.
If Ohtani retires right now he's going to the HOF. How many 3-time MVPs don't make it? It's a pretty small list of maybe ZERO. He's established right now as one of the greatest athletes that ever lived.
As a guy who has never graded a card, much less bought one, why wouldn't an owner crack an Ohtani PSA 9 and sell it raw. That 9 is just an opinion, rendered by some doofus chugging Red Bull.
What kind of cards would you want that $10,000 worth would require a cargo van? It sounds like a cargo van full of junk to deal with, hardly worth your time, never mind your $10,000.
Chris I am also so impressed by your honest responses. Not many "experts" are willing to say they don't know the answer to a question or that they don't have experience in a specific aspect. Of course knowing you don't know everything is the sign of an expert.
1:59 Thank you Chris for answering my question. To me the Ken McMullen question was more important to have an answer to than if Babe Ruth called his shot in the 1932 Series. Thanks again.
Chris, this is one of the best features on RUclips.
Card grades are arbitrary. For this reason it is not unethical to crack the 9 and sell it raw without disclosure because there’s an arbitrary chance it would get an 8 or even a 10 if resubmitted.
I bought a Rickey Henderson PSA 4. Looks like a 7. Even the dealer thought it looked like a 7.
@@ryanthompsonthompson820 I bought two 1981 Topps Kirk Gibson RCs, both were SGC 8. I cracked them both and sent them to PSA. One came back a PSA 9 and the other came back a PSA 4. LOL
@@MickeyMantle-g6s I wonder what's going on at PSA? Something shady for sure.
You changed your clothes twice while you were reading questions without disrupting your speaking. That was very impressive!
Im a card dealer by day, magician by night.
@@montrealsports29 I’m certain one can string up a bunch of his videos and not even know where one starts and another ends if it weren’t for his introductions and closing of his videos.
quick change investor dealer, in that order !!!!
More fit changes than a Super Bowl halftime show
Yeah he quick changes in person by request only.
Thanks for continuing to do these Q&A videos Chris, such an asset to the hobby.
Thanks for answering my question. As always... great Q & A series, great vid and great channel... in that order
Q&A with Chris are the best.
Excellent video with both great questions and well thought out opinions . Thanks for sharing with us 😊
A comment on 1% collectors and whether they prefer to fly under the radar--I was recently staying with a friend who received a couriered card with a purchase price of $85k. I had no idea, after years of friendship, that this person even collected cards let alone had a multi-million dollar collection. The reason: safety. He collected for himself through the years, not to show off.
Or…maybe he’s just terrible at showing off? 😂
Perfect example, there are lot of those type of collectors
Matthew hope you enjoyed the stay at my mansion.
@DansVintageBaseballPC Thanks Again! That Malibu air was great for my sinuses....😂🤣😅😆
People need to read or buy the book: "The Millionaire Next Door." Will answer all the questions.
2:20 great story. I had a similar deal once. Always take a buddy.
Sewall has no regrets, including rocking that turtleneck
Some great questions being asked, and some great replies, Chris.
I share the frustration from the chap who questioned the differing fees in PSA pricing, when grading a card is the same process regardless of monetary value of card. I think that as long as PSA remains the market leader in its category, and as long as PSA are considered by collects/investors/dealers as 'value-adding', that this 'shady practice' will remain.
Chris: I like your black-and-white approach to deals, and your reluctance to look in the 'rear-vision mirror' and lament. You are clearly making a profit much more than you're making a loss. You are doing something right... and often. As someone who can often be a GREEDY seller, I can tell you first hand that squeezing the lemon until it bleeds doesn't always yield favourable results. Churning and burning, rinsing and repeating, is the best way (if only I can actually put this into practice more often!!!).
Love the content, Chris! Keep up the great work. 👍
Good Q&A. Enjoyed hearing your thoughts. Thanks Chris.
Ken McMullen hit a pinch-hit HR in his final at bat.
I really enjoy Q&A time, even if I don’t have either. Thanks Chris.
Hi Chris. This was an interesting Q & A and I enjoyed watching it.
6:20 thanks for posting/answering my question! Hopefully fellow Leaf collectors learned something from it…. I did 🫡💯💰
Being a kid in Minnesota in the 80s, Kirby Puckett was my hero! I lived near him and he always handed out the big candy bars Halloween night. 1985 topps Kirby Rookie card was the card I bought all the time all the way thru college… he got accused of groping a woman after he retired and overnight the cards dropped tremendously…. So as long as the player is alive even though his baseball career is done the cards can drop. I still love Kirby but I purchase mostly Clemente cards now.
Firestone brought up the question regarding will vintage decline over time, but I would love your thoughts on this related to 90s cards. While vintage cards encompass the all-time greats in the sport, 90s not so much.
6:19 Licensing is the biggest reason but not the whole story.
1) Leafs card designs are really bad
2) Exclusively sticker autos
3) A 1/1 is not really the only copy. All of the parallels look identical but with different serial numbers. And sometimes multiple 1/1’s of the same card is printed
4) While Leaf has deals with the players associations, they do not have deals with alumni associations.
Great Video!
Great answers! Thank you
As always, great content!
The BUNT 'cards' are NFTs. I'm a college professor and learned about them through students, and while not my thing i understand the arguments why people people like them. The main argument is that each one has a unique digital fingerprint that can (theoretically) be traced all the way back to the creation of the card. Thus, there are no counterfeits, replicas, etc. Also, there is no risk of bait and switch or not receiving a card. Further, everyone can verify exactly what cards there are and how many so you don't end up in a situation like the late 1980s where a company says something is rare and it isn't.
The other arguments are that you don't have to worry about damage, grading, storage, safety (outside of hacking which is supposedly challenging for these). And if you save certain code you can't lose them.
To oversimplify in an anology, BUNT cards are to traditional cards what crypto/bitcoin is cash
With all of the cracking and resubmitting, do you think pop counts are even close to accurate for anything under a 10?
I’ve purchase a couple BUNT “cards” from eBay. The first one I was trying to buy a hard copy of the player and didn’t know what BUNT was. It cost me $1 to find out. The next one I didn’t read the description very well and BUNT was at the end of the description and I missed it. $3-4 down the drain.
With Leaf just buy cheap/sell cheap. Their Halloween football cards this year actually look pretty killer. Also, a good cheaper alternative for collecting autographed cards.
Question for a future Q&A: Do you think dealers would pay extra for a large collection that included front & back scans for every card? I find scanning my cards therapeutic and have scanned fronts and backs of over 10,000 of my cards (mix of high, mid, and low end.) Not sure I will ever sell my collection, but I am curious about this if the time ever comes.
In most cases probably not, although it might make a it a little more appealing for a dealer to buy.
@collectorinvestordealer Thanks!
3:09 I just love how some collectors believe their collections are worth far more than they think.
Most people believe their own children are more special than other children. It's the same phenomenon.
that's pretty much everybody. and when ppl are looking to sell, it takes a very rare individual to understand that there is work involved - that yeah, your collection of 1000 vintage HOF base cards is worth maybe $10K but one person isn't going to just give you that. It would require hours and hours of labor.. you'd have to break it up to get that $10K. I'm a new small time dealer and that's something I find kind of frustrating or very least, it's a pain to have to explain your pov on the matter w/o someone feeling they're getting lowballed. "no low ball offers!"
Would it be worth sending in the newer mantle cards from 1996? or not Thank you,
When suggesting different auction houses Greg Morris, REA, etc. why not suggest CIA as well? Perfect opportunity to promote your new joint venture. (btw I recently bought a couple things from the last auction and am pleased with the process so far.)
Re: The question about Bunt - that is sort of my gut reaction too, but really, is paying money for a jpeg appreciably less rational than paying $1M for a piece of cardboard or $94K for a bitcoin? Value is driven by the fact that other people want something, not necessarily its utility.
Got a question for whenever. Did you have any experiences with the company Score Board? I think they were the card company that first introduced redemption cards for sports memorabilia (later adopted by Upper Deck SP Authentic). The company, however, soon went bankrupt, which meant they weren't legally obligated to honor their redemption cards. I must have had thousands of dollars worth of redemptions with them when it happened, including some signed Nolan Ryan baseballs and multiple Willie Mays autographed bats. I was wondering if you were affected at all by this or knew anything more than what I heard. This was the early days of the internet, when information in the hobby was passed via, "the word on the street."
I am familiar with Score Board but really dont know anything beyond what you wrote. I was not impacted by them. I am sorry to hear that happened to you.
Chris what do you think about graded foil cards i understand that there's alot of ungraded foil that's out there but the graded ones are very tough to grade especially if there 9s or 10s to me the graded ones will be sought after in the future
Yeah foil cards are often condition sensitive so are very hard to get in 9 or 10s. It sometimes make the top graded ones more valuable than it seems they should be
Have you ever went to anyones house to look at a collection and once you got there, the owner wanted to get jiggy with it?
That is a regular occurance
Offer 90% of comps and the panties drop
Which Ohtani chrome does this happen to? I have never seen this before.
I bought one collection in my life, and just happened on it luckily. Im not really interested in looking to buy collections, but I am curious how you obtain these. Are you actively seeking them out (Sources?) or do people reach out to you via word of mouth, RUclips fame, etc.
The majority of collections I buy now are from word of mouth and repeat sellers.
On the crack and raw question: you/I own the card. What we do with it is our choice. Raw cards is always a risk. Disclose nm/mt or better, sell it. I do not see a moral or ethical gray area if you do those two things.
RE: The person who asked about Topps Bunt Digital cards. Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean others aren't into it. Many people bad mouth digital cards saying they're nothing more than pics on your phone. But these are licensed and put out by Topps and controlled by them - and as with anything else, they have value because people assign value to it. There were many skeptics who said crypto was pointless and worthless because they didn't understand it. Well as Bitcoin stands at over $85k, those who believed it are profiting.
comping bitcoin to digital cards is a pretty strong conflation. Does Topps limit anything, ever? (no.)
@@colinburroughs9871Actually most of the value bunt cards are limited. 1/1s can be $100s
I may have mentioned this before, but you are now reading the typed words of a former MVP of the Ken McMullen baseball camp #notsohumblebrag #bleedindodgerblue
Chris should interview Ken.
@@tommayrant2279 That'd be awesome. He's actually from Oxnard CA, which is just one town over from my hometown of Ventura CA.
Step back we got an MVP here. .
@@rudistorm3348 ahahahahaahahaha
As a collector, I love qualifiers. If I describe a card to you as an SGC 1, and that includes everything from your PSA 7 MK Banks card to a true piece of trash card with absolutely no eye appeal, then that makes no sense to me. I can easily understand a PSA 7 MK, and I’d pay infinitely more for that then a PSA 1 (well, not infinitely more….don’t get excited). 😬
Great perspective, I think that is the main reason PSA uses them (and its a good reason)
Agree 100%. A PSA7 (MK) explains everything clearly in that grade and qualifier. But if there was a SGC 2, without high res pics, no one would know WHY it`s a SGC 2.
I agree with what is being said here even though it's not something I've ever thought about much. With that said, though, for as good a story as is told when a card is a PSA 7 MK (using the example here,) I think the OC qualifier should be retired. I don't know enough to say it's completely arbitrary but I've seen cards that appear like 65/35 that have that qualifier. Just pull the grade down. 99% of vintage cards are OC to some degree.
I've heard a lot of talk from people about harsher grading from PSA in recent years especially concerning vintage high end cards. Do you think there is any truth to rumors of pop control going on mainly on the high end side. For example, do you think if a newly discovered mint 52 Mantle were discovered it would have any chance at a PSA 10 or would it only get a max 9 grade no matter what to keep the rarity of the 10 maintained?
I really dont know but I would guess pop control is not really a thing. I believe that the overall standards in the industry and from PSA have gotten a lot stricter over time.
Graders who can grade fast and accurate probably get put on the express service orders and paid more.
Great point
Cracked a 83 topps Boggs that got a 4. (Not clue why ). And resubmitted and got an 8. Anyone else had a crazy jump like that ?
The thousands of people on RUclips who made videos of it, for starters.
I have a PSA 4 Rickey Henderson. It looks at least a PSA 7.
You could send it back and PSA probably give you a 10
Chris whats your opinion on the 1984 Star, which was licensed by the NBA on being Jordans roockie card. I have mine and i say it is
I dont have a strong opinion either way. I grew up understanding the Fleer as the RC, but a lot of people argue its the Star. Both sides are reasonable to me.
Comment about cards going down as people die out has some real world parallels with cars made before the 60s starting to go down
one generations grail is another's obscurity
Same question about disclosing the PSA 9 with cards that come back ungraded from PSA. Had several that were slightly small. (Nice looking legit vintage cards). If you sell them raw so you need to disclose that they are small/ won’t grade
No you don't. It's a raw card and you are selling it as raw. You're not selling it as potential grade bait. If the person buying the card wants to grade the card, that's there prerogative. If they want to avoid all the above why are they buying raw? They should buy the card already graded.
Chris, How do you feel about Topps Gold Label 1998 1/1's
Do you think these are a solid investment? I will be honest I kind of love them and kind of hate them and I don't know why.
I would love to own one!
I think a lot of people who complain about the grades they get from PSA are people who don't use a magnifying glass to check their cards before submitting.
It's hilarious you just assumed that out of your A$$
If you have to ask if it immoral than you already know the answer.
If Ohtani retires right now he's going to the HOF. How many 3-time MVPs don't make it? It's a pretty small list of maybe ZERO. He's established right now as one of the greatest athletes that ever lived.
I thought you needed 10 years in MLB to even be eligible.
If he retired today, Ohtani would not be eligible for the HOF, but its a good point otherwise.
lol at the guy with the 'under grading' comment.... come on bro
Where do you live? I have a collection that I want to sell and it is worth something. Please reply when you get a chance
I am in Maryland. Feel free to email me at sewallsportscards@gmail.com
The thought process in our hobby on a 9 is greatly flawed. Truly makes zero sense
Ha ha - the idea that historic players lose value. Baseball is ALL about history.
As a guy who has never graded a card, much less bought one, why wouldn't an owner crack an Ohtani PSA 9 and sell it raw. That 9 is just an opinion, rendered by some doofus chugging Red Bull.
What kind of cards would you want that $10,000 worth would require a cargo van? It sounds like a cargo van full of junk to deal with, hardly worth your time, never mind your $10,000.
Fair point, like I said I dont really remember the details
Well, his card is likely up after the World Series win with the Dodgers, but those 2 elbow sugries definitely shortened his career.
I certainly was impressed with his 1-14 with 2 CS and a broken shoulder. Only 18 WS homers behind Mantle… and no, “Post Season” homers don’t count
1st
We have a winner!
I tried to email you but it returned invalid, could you provide me another way to contact you ?
Perhaps you typed it in incorrectly: sewallsportscards@gmail.com
You can also visit my website at collectorinvestordealer.com