Vintage card regrets

Steve D · #1 12-21-2018, 04:51 PM

I regret having to sell my N172 Mike Kelly, T227 Ty Cobb and 1954 Bowman Ted Williams back in 1991. I was in the Air Force, and had just been transferred to Texas, after two years in Germany. I needed money to buy a car and furnish an apartment, as I was moving out of the dormitory/barracks. Like you, it was the right thing to do, I just regret that I had to do it. These three cards were but a small part of a much larger group of cards (including every T206 HOFer card except Wagner and Plank). I've subsequently re-collected the T206s, but have never been able to re-acquire examples of the Kelly, Cobb and Williams.

On the buying side, my big regret is coming in second on a T206 Eddie Plank about 12 or so years ago. I bid $16,100, and it went for $16,200 on ebay.

Steve

hcv123 · #2 12-22-2018, 01:06 PM

So, In contemplating the question and thinking about many cards I've sold - As close as I could come to regret was a 1971 Bazooka numbered panel of Clemente - which is a legitimately tough item to find and I am not sure I will own one again. Other than that, seeing some of the prices of cards today that I sold years ago, it would have been nice to have them to sell for today's prices, but I don't much regret not having the cards and got at the time very fair prices for them - the worst - I sold a raw 1968 3D Clemente at the time PSA was becoming more known and there was much controversy whether they would last and be accepted in the hobby. It was in great condition - I would have called it near mint. I sold it for $6500. The collector I sold it to immediately sent it to PSA for grading - it came back a 9 - within a few months I watched a 9 sell at auction for about $30k!! Pain - yes, regret no.

brianp-beme · #3 12-22-2018, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve D

On the buying side, my big regret is coming in second on a T206 Eddie Plank about 12 or so years ago. I bid $16,100, and it went for $16,200 on ebay.

Steve

Just tell yourself that the person who won the card had a top bid of $25,000, so you never had a chance anyway.

Brian (self-delusional since the Eighties)

riggs336 · #4 12-22-2018, 06:06 PM

In the late 70's I sold off most of my duplicate stars via The Trader Speaks. I still remember some of the prices: 1958 Aaron $3.00; 1954 T Williams #1 $4.50; 1948 Leaf Spahn $4.50 (the check bounced on that one).
I didn't regret selling them at the time and regretting it now would have to go really low on my list of Most Wanted Life Mulligans.

Steve D · #5 12-22-2018, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

Just tell yourself that the person who won the card had a top bid of $25,000, so you never had a chance anyway.

Brian (self-delusional since the Eighties)

Oh, believe me, that's what I've been telling myself ever since the auction ended.

It helps some, but not completely.

I am very glad though, that the winning bid was a full normal increment, and not some odd small amount where it was obviously the winner's high bid.

Steve

Bram99 · #6 12-22-2018, 09:38 PM

My biggest regret is not about selling but about having spent any money that I did on the cards of the mid 80�s to the 1990�s. Also, the opportunity cost of spending that money on other than vintage cards.

JLange · #7 12-23-2018, 12:57 PM

I�ve sold items over the years for various reasons and have come to regret a few sales that were purchased as indivudal cards years earlier. The dollar figures weren�t high, and the reasons for parting with them made good sense, but as my collection has evolved I eventually found a hole or two where I used to have the card. Of course I�ve not seen them since on eBay or elsewhere which only adds to the frustration. It doesn�t matter why you parted with it, if you need it now and it�s costly or difficult to find, it hurts a little bit.

62corvette · #8 12-23-2018, 03:51 PM

In 1974 I passed on a T206 Wagner for $600. It was fair condition. I had put myself through 9 years of college, we had a baby, and my monthly pastor’s salary was $550. My wife encouraged me to borrow the money. She is very kind—only occasionally does she say “I told you so.”
I also wish I had not sold 140 1966 Topps rack packs in 1973 for $1.50 each postpaid. And then there were the duplicate 58-62 complete sets I sold around that same time for $35 each. (I doubled my money)

hcv123 · #9 12-23-2018, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 62corvette

In 1974 I passed on a T206 Wagner for $600. It was fair condition. I had put myself through 9 years of college, we had a baby, and my monthly pastor�s salary was $550. My wife encouraged me to borrow the money. She is very kind�only occasionally does she say �I told you so.�
I also wish I had not sold 140 1966 Topps rack packs in 1973 for $1.50 each postpaid. And then there were the duplicate 58-62 complete sets I sold around that same time for $35 each. (I doubled my money)

Forget my post!!

ValKehl · #10 12-23-2018, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 62corvette

In 1974 I passed on a T206 Wagner for $600. It was fair condition. I had put myself through 9 years of college, we had a baby, and my monthly pastor�s salary was $550. My wife encouraged me to borrow the money. She is very kind�only occasionally does she say �I told you so.�
I also wish I had not sold 140 1966 Topps rack packs in 1973 for $1.50 each postpaid. And then there were the duplicate 58-62 complete sets I sold around that same time for $35 each. (I doubled my money)

Wow, Mike! Just WOW! All of a sudden, my regrets are too trivial to mention.

Joshwesley · #11 12-25-2018, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 62corvette

In 1974 I passed on a T206 Wagner for $600. It was fair condition. I had put myself through 9 years of college, we had a baby, and my monthly pastor�s salary was $550. My wife encouraged me to borrow the money. She is very kind�only occasionally does she say �I told you so.�
I also wish I had not sold 140 1966 Topps rack packs in 1973 for $1.50 each postpaid. And then there were the duplicate 58-62 complete sets I sold around that same time for $35 each. (I doubled my money)

As a preachers kid, I feel your pain....I�m sure you made the right decision at the time.

That�s a tough one to look back on though lol

ls7plus · #12 12-25-2018, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bram99

My biggest regret is not about selling but about having spent any money that I did on the cards of the mid 80�s to the 1990�s. Also, the opportunity cost of spending that money on other than vintage cards.

Amen to that, Tony. In my case, primarily on new cards from when I started about 1989 until around 1993, when I began to study what had occurred in the coin hobby (which had been around in organized form for about 120 years longer than ours) and began to learn more about vintage cards.

Happy holidays.

Larry

MarcosCards · #13 12-26-2018, 04:59 PM

I haven�t done much buying or selling. I�m just a 66 year old guy who�s thankful to have his childhood baseball card collection from the early 1960s. But if I was going to part with any of my cards, I would first take high quality scans of them.

I realize this approach wouldn�t be sufficient for many collectors. But for me, having a digital image to look at from time to time would ease any possible regret I might have.

Piratedogcardshows · #14 12-26-2018, 05:26 PM

Very much so. I sold/traded a few T210/T209 early in my prewar collecting that I just didnt know where so hard to come by. Live and learn.

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