Cards I want back :(

[mintacular]

I generally don't sell a lot of cards that are for the PC as when I buy them there's a reason so they stay over there. However, a couple years ago I went though a modest "slim down" phase and sold a few cards that I didn't deem essential. Of course, none of the prices have gone down since then so to get them back is even more grating. It wasn't like I was necessarily in a financial pinch at the time either.....

A few examples:

'58 YL Clemente SGC 7, '59 SGC 60 EX 5 Gibson RC, '68 Mantle SGC 7?, OPC Deckle Edge Clemente (raw), 68 N. Ryan SGC 60 EX 5. A really nice psa 5 Maz RC. Also, T206 lot of low grade/high eye appeal.

I guess for a new collector coming in I would just say that it's ok to move something if your taste's change, if an important bill comes along, etc. but just be careful that those cards will likely put a "hook" in you and down the road may be harder (and maybe more expensive), SO THINK HARD before you pull the trigger on selling them.

[1954 topps]

I’d probably say the worst are those that I sold as psa 8’s that we’re off center a bit or had a soft corner, thinking I’ll find a nicer 8 for my set eventually and then find the exact same card in a psa 9 holder a few months later. Yeah...it’s happened more than once...face palm

[jgannon]

Well, I have more than a few stories. But a couple in particular. One time when I needed some money, I sold my 1968 Topps set. I had the complete set, which I bought for $18 from the back of a Baseball Digest in the early 1970's! Well, I sold it for $3000 about 12 years ago. But, when I shipped it, I forgot that I had the complete game set in the back!! Lol. I wouldn't have minded keeping that set. Oh well...

At the same time, I had some cards graded, and I had a pristine 1959 Topps Mickey Mantle. I graded that along with some Hassan Triple folders and put them up for sale on ebay. Again, I needed the money, and I got some great money on the Triple Folders.

But - PSA wanted their cards in specific top loaders, and sure enough, when I was putting the Mantle in, I slightly damaged one of the lower corners. It must have taken the card down from at least an 8 or a 9 (in my opinion) down to a 6. When I sold it, I only got a little over $300. I just should have kept it. I will get that card back some day. It wasn't worth getting only the $300 for it.

Lastly, I would also like to get a 1968 Mickey Mantle again. I had it of course, with the '68 complete set. But I also had one that my friend gave to me back in 1968. I had started collecting after the 3rd series came out, and the card wasn't available any more in the stores. My friend gave it to me right before our swim team practice began. As a young lad of 9, I innocently put the card in my gym bag, which I also put my wet towel and suit in. Needless to say, the card became so frayed from the wet gear!

So, one day, I will get that card back too...

[cannonballsun]

Awhile back, I sold a Julius Erving RC, along with the complete set because I needed a few bucks. I didn't pay a whole lot for the RC or the set. I figured it would be easy to replace at a later date. I know the RC has more than doubled in price since then.

[Exhibitman]

Where do I start? My first show was in 1976, so there's a ton I want back. Some 'highlights':

Two 1954 Aaron RCs, one a PSA 7 with good provenance.
1949 Bowman Jackie Robinson and Duke Snider
1952 and 1953 Topps Willie Mays
PC796 Eddie Plank

Of course what I want back pales against what I wish I'd bought when I could afford them: Ruth RC, Gehrig RC, all the Goudey Ruth and Gehrig cards, 1949 Play Ball Williams, Zeenuts Joe DiMaggio, Wilt Chamberlain RC, a stack of 1986 Fleer Jordans and Star Jordans and 1993 SP Jeters, 1952 Topps Mantle, 1951 Bowman Mantle, 1949 Leaf Jackie Robinson, 1949 Bowman Paige, T206 Cobb green portrait, and so many others...It is fair to say that if I'd bought those cards when I had major disposable income in my twenties in the nicest condition I could afford at the time I would be able to sell them and retire today. But I had a heckuva time with my collection anyway. Like Satch used to say, don't look back, something might be gaining...

[jchcollins]

I started collecting as a kid in 1986; got into the older stuff maybe a few years later. Most acquisitions largely on a generously parent-funded budget back then were pretty modest by today’s standards, but I still had some sweet cards. I didn’t know too many other 12 year-olds in 1989 for example that had a ‘56 Mantle & Williams, a ‘58 Aaron, etc., etc. Like Adam mentioned, there’s a ton more that I wish I would have been able to get at those prices now than actual regretting of anything I had and then got rid of. But there are a few: A ‘55 Clemente RC in probably the early 90’s, when an EX one was worth like $300... A show in my 20’s where I bought an E92 Dockman Cy Young that later wound up in a PSA 5 slab...A ‘52 Topps Jackie Robinson #312 along about the same time which had a light vertical bend, but was otherwise VG-EX and perfectly centered...yep, at various points I let each of those slip away. As contrary to my desires at the time it sounds to say, I guess I honestly never believed that some of those cards would go up so exponentially in value in just a few decades.

There have been a ton of other postwar stars, rookies, and Hall of Famers along the way that I have got rid of at some point, and then re-acquired. But the ones mentioned above are the ones I remember. For the longest time, a ‘48 Leaf Ted Williams was among those. Although in lower grade than the one I had, I finally managed to re-acquire one of those last summer.


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