Interesting what people like and why

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Phil68

Sure thing. No secrets there...
The highest price paid, to date, for ANY Banty Red item is 805.00. It was an oversized (12x18") trolley board advertising piece.


Four cards have topped the $400 mark--none have hit the 500.00 plateau.
The 4 subjects were Joe Jackson, Stan Musial, Roy Campanella and Jackie Robinson.

For consistency, Mickey Mantle leads the way with 7 cards topping the 250.00 mark...
2 of those 7 sold for a HIGHER price when they were re-sold by Rick Probstein.

WOW, good for you. I had a famous custom card guy make me my first one several years ago for $35. I thought that was crazy but I wanted a specific old card turned into a superfractor.

I am a known cheap a$$ so I learned by trial and error how to make them myself. I have tried to help a few learn how to make customs. When they learn it isn't easy or cheap to make shiny cards they give up.

[Phil68]

Thank you, Ben.
Each card takes me between 2-3 hours on average (some more--some less). Re-makes take me about an hour for an 8-card sheet-- assuming everything goes well.
Recently, I did a '56 Mantle for our set. It took almost 14 hours. So, at minimum wage, I'm lucky to break even. BUT, I can sell it 7 times over the next 3 years, so it works out. The commons that sell for 10-15 bucks are strictly for enjoyment. I lose my ass on those, Lol. In fact, I get some resistance from my family on making those. They don't get why I wouldn't just make a bunch of Babe Ruths!
I list about 3 Ruth cards per year. If you make 'em easy to get--why would anyone want 'em? I print what I print, then move on. So far, I have NEVER gone back and "made more" of a card. I'm a collector and very particular about that. Not to mention I use different printers and settings for each set. That would be a nightmare to re-do each card individually

[mrmopar]

There are plenty of collector issues that seem to have found a home being accepted and listed in guides. Perhaps some of the current art cards will as well in the future. As I said, I really like the Banty cards, but being a bit of a bargain hunter/cheapo, I only buy a few here and there. I'll settle for the commons at my price, as I do most of my collection. I think I might be up to about 15 or so.