What's the best item you've ever pulled from a dealer's bargain box?

philliesfan · #1 12-14-2024, 09:24 PM

In the early 1980's I was looking at binders with T206's for $1.00 to $3.00 each. I pulled one and the dealer said $1.00 because it was written on. It was an autographed Rube Marquard. Sent to PSA and it is authentic.
Bob

rhettyeakley · #2 12-14-2024, 09:30 PM

At the National a few years back in Chicago I was going through a �bargain box� of a dealer that was seemingly only into grading and was finding a bunch of good items that weren�t going to grade high but were still quality just not PSA 5+

Most items were 1950 to present so I was not expecting to find a skinned N28 King Kelly for�$1

It wasn�t the banner/album card either as it had the blue �Allen & Ginter� ad on front.

Probably the best $1 bin card I have ever found.

G1911 · #3 12-14-2024, 10:31 PM

A 1952 Topps grey back for $1 or $2 circa 2002. Got it from a big dealer I bought a lot from as a kid, just picking through low grade commons I didn't have. I did not realize for several years until I put my master set checklist together that it was a special card.

I got a 1964 Philadelphia Jim Brown for $1 a few years ago from a baseball dealer. It was in his random dollar box of vintage. I pulled it out and told him it looked like he had a card in the wrong box, and he looked at me like I was an idiot and said no, he did it right. So I just bought it for $1. Apparently he did not know literally any of the football stars.

This year I got a 1954 Johnston Cookies Bob Thompson (the SP card) in EX-MTy range for $5 in a bargain bin at my local show. Found a bargain for a lower grade one on eBay later, so I will put the nice one in my trade bait box. Seller also had a 1961 Bazooka Jim Perry for $1, which isn't a very valuable card or anything but it was really cool to pickup for a buck.

I have gotten better bargains, but not from a dealer at a show. On eBay circa 2005, I found a horrifically listed lot in the wrong category with none of the words one might look for, with a T206 3 Finger Brown, a T205 Old Mill SL miscut, and 3 T220 silver borders. Won it for less than $10 shipped when nobody else bid, and still have all the cards. I won a bunch of uncut panels of T220 proof cards for under $100 each, listed wrongly as reprints. I got the panel with 8 Mike Donovan proofs for $90 - that card has only 5 extant production copies known and the last two went for in between $2K and $5K. I messaged the seller to discuss the sheets, and he replied with "just bid", so I did. Probably never going to beat that. Just picked up a T219 Red Cross Jeffries for $30, that was nice. Worth about ~$300.

BillyCoxDodgers3B · #4 12-15-2024, 04:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philliesfan

In the early 1980's I was looking at binders with T206's for $1.00 to $3.00 each. I pulled one and the dealer said $1.00 because it was written on. It was an autographed Rube Marquard. Sent to PSA and it is authentic.
Bob

I had a similar experience with a big seller on eBay. They had a Kaline RC up for auction, categorized as "Poor/Marked". While the card wasn't winning any condition contests, it was "marked" with a career-era autograph. What's really interesting is that it's particularly rare to find that card signed with anything but a latter-day signature. It was up for auction, so it should have rightly caught a lot of people's eyes since the seller has a large audience. I won it for under $150.

jchcollins · #5 12-15-2024, 02:08 PM

A 1963 Topps Bombers Best, (Tresh, Mantle, Richardson) in about VGEX-ish shape in the $3 box at the LCS. When I got it home, I noticed it was autographed by Bobby Richardson.

My LCS has a lot of mostly lower end vintage, but they don't know a ton about it. (It's a typical shiny stuff / breaker store these days).

Sometimes I get lucky.

Exhibitman · #6 12-15-2024, 02:15 PM

At a nonsports table, I came across a packet of postcard sized cards that looked like Mick Jagger by Warhol. The backs were unmarked except for a number. Since the whole packet was $3, I picked it up with a pile of other stuff. Turned out it was a 10-card edition made by Warhol's gallerist to promote the Jagger series of prints and it is worth about $150. Signed cards go for many times that, and for a minute I freaked until I realized I had the unsigned version. Still, a heck of a three bucks.

jchcollins · #7 12-15-2024, 02:24 PM

This one is so old that I had nearly forgotten about it:

Early days of eBay, which for me would have been probably 2000 or '01. Maybe even before I got married.

I ran across a lower grade '59 Mantle #10 that looked strange to me, so I zoomed in on the pics. It was a Venny, listed as a regular. It was there for all to see in the pics, but I guess I was the only one who picked up on it.

Bought it for like $40, which is what the regular Topps card in G-ish condition went for then - and a few months later sold it for more than $500. I would hate to see what that card would go for now, but at the time I was very glad to take the profit.

egri · #8 12-15-2024, 02:50 PM

A while ago, a seller on eBay listed four signed 1953 Topps cards, including one of the tougher ones that I needed for my project, Fred Hutchinson. The photo in the listing was terrible; I could barely see the signatures, much less assess their authenticty, but at the listing price I was willing to take the risk. They arrived a week or so later, and I unpacked four beautiful, career-contemporary signatures, including a Hutchinson that myself and several other board members agreed is good.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Pulled	HasselhoffsCheeseburger	1980 & Newer Sports Cards B/S/T	0	01-08-2020 02:48 PM
HUGE Dealer Autograph/Ephemera Lot - CHEAP - 120+ Item - $$$$$SOLD$$$$$	ATP	Autographs & Game Used B/S/T	2	04-22-2019 05:38 PM
Pulled this out of a bargain box.	1963Topps Set	Postwar Baseball Cards Forum (Pre-1980)	22	05-29-2018 07:31 PM
Unusual Frank Crosetti item.....no doubt this item is rare	whitehse	Live Auctions - Only 2-3 open, per member, at once.	0	10-31-2016 08:35 PM
What is your favorite one-of-a-kind item, a never sell item?	Archive	Net54baseball Vintage (WWII & Older) Baseball Cards & New Member Introductions	38	09-12-2004 12:03 AM