Building the '75 set. I'd love some advice, please

[the 'stache]

Hey gang,

Some of you known I started building the 1975 Topps set from a few of the cards I shared in our monthly pick up threads. Well, after a short break, I'm back to working on it exclusively for the next couple of months, and I'd like to put a nice dent into it. I'm holding off on making any major purchases until after the start of the new year. I'm very close to my savings goal, and the sooner I hit it, and a little cushion above it, the sooner I can really go nuts buying cards. And I am going to go nuts.

What I would love is some input from our set builders. The last time I hand collated a set was back in the 80s. Then, I wasn't nearly the perfectionist I am now. By the time I am done, all 660 cards, without exception, will either be PSA 8 or higher, or the ungraded equivalent. And I am very picky when it comes to eye appeal. I want cards with outstanding centering. I am a little more forgiving on top to bottom centering, though it should still be quite at least 60/40. The left to right centering needs to be exceptional. I'm talking approximately 55/45 or better. The cards all need to have clean edges, sharp corners, and clean surfaces. No gum stains (including the back), no obvious soiling from handling, no nothing. And no print flaws that jump out. If there are really small ones, that's ok. Some print flaws are real eye sores.

Here's my Robin Yount "place holder".



It's a really nice card, and I think most set builders would take this, and not look back. The left to right centering is ideal. It's a bit off top to bottom, but it's not an eyesore. The edges, while not as bad as the black borders on the '71 set, show flaws quite easily against a black background. This card has outstanding edges. It fails me in two spots. There's an imperfection in the upper right hand corner. It looks like somebody took the world's smallest pin, and just dinged the surface right below the corner. And then there's a print flaw in the "S" of Brewers. So, I will upgrade this card. I might go nuts and get a 9 since I'm a Robin Yount Super Freak, but an 8.5 would be acceptable, too.

So, how do you set builders keep costs down? I can start a thread on the BST, and will. I check it every day, too, and I'm not seeing a whole lot for this set. That's ok. I'm in no rush. This is going to be fun, so if it takes me 2 years, no problem. I like COMC.com, which is excellent when I need a Bowman Chrome prospect auto. But those cards are much more durable, and when I look at scans on their site, the top loader/penny sleeve combo really impedes my getting a good look at the corners.

Are there any other sites besides Ebay and this one I should be looking at?

Also, what is the best site for graded 70s cards? I've purchased some really nice cards from 4 Sharp Corners. Other suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thank you, everybody.

[K-Nole]

Mickey's Clubhouse

&

Sportlots.com

[the 'stache]

Awesome, Knole. Thank you. I will check those both out.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Bill, it sounds like you are building the ultimate high end 75 set. It appears that you have set some strong expectations of what type of cards you want in your set...which is good.

Having built both a high end raw 75 set, followed by a PSA 8+ set ( http://www.psacard.com/PSASETREGISTR...et.aspx?s=3545 ), I could recommend the approaches I took.

With the raw set, I looked for a raw lot/starter set of commons in high end shape. Ten+ years ago this was an easier find than today. This got me most of the way, minus stars and some of the other key cards. I picked up some raw stars at shows, but found the graded cards of stars were plentiful and eventually completed the raw set with some PSA stars (8+). However, a third of the set was in EX-MT to NM shape or off-centered, and like you, I wanted a NM-MT set that was centered. I found it cheaper at this point to buy several other high end 75 sets, go through the each of the newly purchased sets and upgrade my set. This upgrading was actually the funnest part of building this (or any) set. Eventually I was satisfied with my mainly raw set. The extra raw sets I then sold off one by one, and in most cases at least covered my costs.

The PSA stars I had picked up for my mainly raw set were nice and gave me a decent start on a full PSA set, so I decided to start the PSA set. I picked up a starter lot off of the CU BST, worked a few additional trades, and suddenly I was half complete. 4SC and other ebay sellers helped me complete it. I sold off my raw commons to cover a small portion of the cost of the PSA set, but a decent portion of the cost had long since been covered as I had many of the stars already in PSA form from my raw set.

My recommendation if you chose to build a raw set would be to either buy multiple raw sets, pick out the upgrades for your set, then resell the sets (maybe through an ebay consignor), OR buy the raw cards in person (shops/shows). Trying to buy high end single commons, such as the one's you are seeking for your set, online can be a very frustrating venture.

Obviously more costly and time consuming than a raw set, the 75 PSA set is one of the easier PSA sets to build.

[the 'stache]

What a great post, Saved, Thank you! Oh, how I wish you had pictures of your cards uploaded with your PSA registry set.

I thought, too, about maybe buying a couple of those vending boxes from Steve Hart, but I don't see any, and I'm sure they would be pretty expensive. But I can get a set EX/MT for $300. I might pick one of those up at the end of the month. In the mean time, I've found a few sellers online selling near mint commons for 99 cents each, with combined shipping. Sportslots has some nice cards, too.

I think I'll probably end up with around 25+ graded:

Robin Yount
George Brett
Keith Hernandez
Gary Carter
Jim Rice
Fred Lynn
Hank Aaron
Pete Rose
Nolan Ryan
Brooks Robinson
Johnny Bench
Bob Gibson
Lou Brock
Frank Robinson
Joe Morgan
Rod Carew
Harmon Killebrew
Thurman Munson
Steve Carlton
Tom Seaver
Reggie Jackson
Carlton Fisk
Joe Morgan
Mike Schmidt
Carl Yastrzemski
Dave Winfield
Mark Belanger
Jim Palmer

Maybe a few others. A few of these I have ungraded in exceptional condition. I'll get those graded.

This Bob Gibson, for example is gorgeous.



Thank you again! I <3 Net54. Such great people here

[Shoebox]

Bill,

You showed me that Gibson in an earlier conversation and it is a gem. In the enormously unlikely event it ever gets bumped from the set I am declaring that I want first shot at getting it from you. Good luck.with the set building.

I personally don't do much set building, but respect and admire the focus and commitment the endeavor tends to require.