1915 Boston Red Sox Postcard vs 1905 W601 Detroit Tigers

[oldjudge]

Phil--the market is what the market is. We are all priced out of some cards we might like. Appreciate what you can buy and stop whining about what you can't. The constitution guarantees a lot of things, but baseball cards is not one of them.

[Bicem]

simple short answer that others have already mentioned...

1905 w601 is a premium vs 1915 Red Sox PC is a postcard (which is much closer to a traditional baseball card and thus more in demand)

A better comparison for the w601 might be this 1915 Red Sox Premium which I bought on ebay for $300 years ago

[bcbgcbrcb]

Disagree. W601 is from a catalogued set with a print run of 10 years like the W600 Wagner that also sold for a ridiculous price. Both were forms of advertising for their maker, Sporting Life. Both of those ‘15 Red Sox team items are not catalogued, not part of any set and not advertising vehicles. The lack of all three of those things should have a negative effect on value, but apparently it does not.

Would love to see some support from others who cannot afford to play in this space as currently construed. Or is everyone else loaded and it’s just me that can’t afford any of this? Then I should just go back and find another hobby if this one doesn’t work for me any longer and when everyone else is fine with things being the way they are.

[Bicem]

Honestly you'll just drive yourself crazy trying to make logical sense of prices in an illogical hobby.

I actually think the Red Sox postcard is overvalued too, it's essentially a small type 3 photo on postcard stock instead of photo paper. That said, I still think it only continues to rise in value as collectors love early Ruth. If you don't already own one and can't spend 6 figures on one, then you'll never own one.

[oldjudge]

Originally Posted by bcbgcbrcb

Disagree. W601 is from a catalogued set with a print run of 10 years like the W600 Wagner that also sold for a ridiculous price. Both were forms of advertising for their maker, Sporting Life. Both of those ‘15 Red Sox team items are not catalogued, not part of any set and not advertising vehicles. The lack of all three of those things should have a negative effect on value, but apparentlye it does not.

Would love to see some support from others who cannot afford to play in this space as currently construed. Or is everyone else loaded and it’s just me that can’t afford any of this? Then I should just go back and find another hobby if this one doesn’t work for me any longer and when everyone else is fine with things being the way they are.

Phil—Again, the market is the market. If you are not “fine” with the way things are how do you propose that things be changed? If you find that being priced out of some cards is overly frustrating for you perhaps you should find another niche in the hobby where prices are lower. I collect WNBA cards and you can easily operate in that space on a limited budget. How about non-sports? The joy is in the chase; sometimes I think it is almost immaterial what you are chasing.

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by bcbgcbrcb

Would love to see some support from others who cannot afford to play in this space as currently construed. Or is everyone else loaded and it’s just me that can’t afford any of this? Then I should just go back and find another hobby if this one doesn’t work for me any longer and when everyone else is fine with things being the way they are.

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I can't afford to play in this space, I love the Ruth postcard but will never own one and am 100% okay with that, would probably be uncomfortable owning a card worth $200K. I'm completely happy with my 21 Exhibits Ruth that I "overpaid" for 5 years ago.

I'm a working class collector who is very fortunate to have some resources to participate in this great hobby of ours. I'm grateful to have bought what I've bought and sold what I've sold. For me, to participate in this hobby at a level that is satisfying takes sacrifice. I recently completed a 7 card E94 color run that took me 5 years to finish, during that process I sold a vintage motorcycle that I loved in order to finance part of the project. Was happy to do it to reach my goal.
I have a back run that I'm working on that I may never finish due to scarcity of cards, so it sits there at 10/15, the fun part is is the anticipation that one of the cards I need will pop up when its ready to become part of my run, until then I'll just save my pennies until it does.

For me the trick is to choose card collecting goals that are challenging, within my budget range (which I always blow), that satisfies my collecting bug, and are attainable at the some point in time. The goal has to be fun and has to impress me, nobody else. I also set a dozen goals since some will sit for a very long time.

I have cards that have passed me by and become too expensive that I would really love to acquire but the money is not in my budget, I just let that stuff go and remind myself how lucky I am to have what I have. I keep my goals very specific to avoid spending money on cards that I "kinda" like, only to regret it later when the card I really want pops up at the AH. I keep my collection to 500 cards or less and that helps with acquiring too much "clutter".

Long story short, I'm just grateful to have the cards I currently posses, the possibility to add a few more, and the friendships I've made along the way. If it stops being fun/rewarding I'll be the first to pack it all up and ship them off to the AH, keeping a few for good memories.
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[aelefson]

There are plenty of decent memorabilia options that are still affordable. I have snapshots of Ruth, a scorecard with him on the cover (33 all star game), a couple of store model bats, and other oddball items. All of those were significantly cheaper than his cards from the same era.

I thought 33 Goudey Ruth cards were overpriced 20 years ago when they were 500 or so for a decent one (don't get me started on what they go for now). I have had much greater pleasure collecting memorabilia compared to cards.

If you are looking to make money in memorabilia, it is usually more about buying it at a good price than buying it at retail and hoping it increases in the future. Memorabilia also has a bit of a learning curve, especially if you are buying in non traditional venues (I have built most of my collection through shopping at antique stores and shows).

Regarding the original topic, I agree with most of the other posters about Ruth's popularity. To me, both pieces being discussed would be great to own but I am fine with my Cobb snapshot with teammates in street clothes from the Marty McIntyre album that I paid 80.00 for. For Ruth, I am happy to own the 1915 Spalding guide that has his picture with Baltimore (showing the 1914 team) that I paid 40.00 for.

Alan

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by bcbgcbrcb

Would love to see some support from others who cannot afford to play in this space as currently construed. Or is everyone else loaded and it’s just me that can’t afford any of this? Then I should just go back and find another hobby if this one doesn’t work for me any longer and when everyone else is fine with things being the way they are.

Phil, I have always considered myself as playing in a cheaper space than where you play, based on some of the amazing items I've seen of yours over the years.

Most of the stuff I have of any "real" value was / is accidental due to my pack rat nature and eclectic tastes.

This hobby is way big enough for any budget, both small and large, always has been and always will be.

Certainly the current "opinions rule" slab mentality complicates things, but so did the " chase card" craze perfected by Upper Deck in the late 1980s.

How / why do you think I jumped so deep into Baseball Magazine posters? Because they were stupid cheap when compared to most items of similar age.

Too bad I didn't jump into t206 cards when the Wagner was under $1k, but oh well, dumb me for thinking the 57 Topps set is more attractive.

[puckpaul]

Originally Posted by bcbgcbrcb

Disagree. W601 is from a catalogued set with a print run of 10 years like the W600 Wagner that also sold for a ridiculous price. Both were forms of advertising for their maker, Sporting Life. Both of those ‘15 Red Sox team items are not catalogued, not part of any set and not advertising vehicles. The lack of all three of those things should have a negative effect on value, but apparently it does not.

Would love to see some support from others who cannot afford to play in this space as currently construed. Or is everyone else loaded and it’s just me that can’t afford any of this? Then I should just go back and find another hobby if this one doesn’t work for me any longer and when everyone else is fine with things being the way they are.

I support what you are saying, Phil, but the market is what it is. I feel fortunate to have bought some cards before the explosion and am reluctant to chase current pricing even if i could. I agree that the 1905 Cobb is undervalued and a rookie card much like the 1915 Ruth. I dont see a team postcard as more “card-like” than a premium, a view i have stated many times on this board. That does seem to be how the market is currently pricing some things, but it’s not consistent and can change. I wouldnt say it’s likely but it could.

In the meantime, take advantage of it and stop worrying about the Ruth 1915 price and buy more Cobbs when they come up for sale. Someday if they move a bunch you could sell them and buy the Ruth.

I bought a W601 tigers in Heritage last year, thought it was cheap. Would buy more of these kinds of items when they come up. I like these premiums. There is also a LOT less risk in these items at these prices.

Actually, the biggest difference in value is not this arbitrary “what is a card stuff”, which i dont buy and is negated by your points about photos ( I don’t get the big premiums for these myself, not a buyer) being very expensive and not cards at all. The biggest difference is simply does PSA grade them.if PSA graded the W601 (or the M101-1 or NCP “cards”), then they would soar in value in my opinion. Which is the way it works today. That can change too. See what it did for the M101-2’s, which were never that pricey until PSA started grading them. I bought this M101-2 Wagner for not much of a fuss about 15 years ago (the picture doesnt do it justice, it’s in great condition).

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by Bicem

... A better comparison for the w601 might be this 1915 Red Sox Premium which I bought on ebay for $300 years ago

Or this m113 poster

[calvindog]

Phil, well-said. There’s always someone richer, better-looking or with a better card collection than all of us.

[oldjudge]

Originally Posted by calvindog

Phil, well-said. There’s always someone richer, better-looking or with a better card collection than all of us.

Richer, absolutely. Better card collection, no question. Better looking? I beg to differ. 🤣

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Richer, absolutely. Better card collection, no question. Better looking? I beg to differ. 🤣

You'll get better looking in my eyes if you sell me that Everybody's Cobb. )))