Submitted 118 T206 PSA 8 for review

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Posted By: JimCrandell

Marty,

Not attempting the T206 graded set. I held it out as an option but then my company went bankrupt, my stock went to zero and I am happily sitting with a few 9s, 3 8.5s, 117 8s, 2 7s 1 6 and a Ty Cobb 5 that I thought would 8 when I bought it raw in 1989.

Eric,

My ratio is not dissimilar to you. I have done much better on 50s and 60s sets--I think 4 of 48 to 8.5 on 33 Goudey Sport Kings and under 10 percent on my Diamond Stars but for my 63 Fleer set I think I got 25% or more bumps including several to 9.

I like idea that it is stringent and that 8.5s--especially for older vintage will trade at a meaningful premium to 8s.

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Posted By: Scott Levy

In my experience....21 T206 cards (not all super high end) submitted to PSA for review - 2 of them received a 1/2 point bump.

Jim,
My condolences to hear about your company. It is absolutely tough economic times all around. On the bright side, it does sound like you have one heck of a collection!

Regards,
Scott

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Posted By: JimCrandell

Thanks Scott--appreciate the kind words--I am fine financially--just can't do the T206 set in 8 or better but I still am very much committed to 100 vintage-semi-vintage sets each card PSA 8 or better.



Jim

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Posted By: Trae R.

Really incredible, Jim!
http://www.psacard.com/smrweb/backissues/smr1106/crandell.chtml









---

"There ain't much to being a ballplayer, if you're a ballplayer."

-Honus Wagner

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Posted By: JimCrandell

Thanks--thats about 10 percent.

Anyone who wants to see it is welcome.

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Posted By: David Atkatz

"why for the competition on who has the best sets of course--in my world its all about the competition--"

How sad.

Most of us collect for the love of baseball and its history.

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Posted By: Marty Ogelvie

Good stuff JimC. Your wife must be a helluva lady to allow you such an obsession!! I have a cabinet full of cards that my wife cringes at when she sees it open, I can't imagine dediating a whole room to such.. congrats to your collection and your wonderful looking family!

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Posted By: Bruce Dorskind

You must be extremely proud of your world class ultra high grade collection.

It was good to hear that PSA is quite reserved when it comes to bumps.

Like you, we are strong believers that the world is all about competition.

If you take pleasure in competing with other collectors, go for it.

Interesting that some comment that they collect for pleasure and not competition
when said collectors do not even collect cards.


Best,


Bruce Dorskind
America's Toughest Want List

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Posted By: Jim VB

David,

Just a couple of quick questions, if I may...


1. Why is it "sad" that someone else chooses to collect for different reasons than you do?


2. Who made you the arbiter of such things?

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Posted By: marty q

jim-when another collector tells another "how" he should collect and why, they should be told to go off, i have a friend that collects only shiny new stuff, he has the money to collect anything he wants, he chose this, "who" the hell am i to tell him what and why he should collect???? he loves how he collects, and is proud of it, i applaud him for that, and he dont bother me at all about how i collect, matter of fact he always compliments me and wishes me luck. thats the collector friend i want !!!

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Posted By: David Atkatz

JimVB...

I find it sad that someone seems to get no (collecting) joy except by being told by others how wonderful his collection is. (Even if he has to pay those others (i.e. PSA) to tell him so.

I am not being an "arbiter," but rather simply stating a fact; i.e., I find it sad.

Although Ted Z and I have argued politics--and once even an arcane turn-of-the-20th-century baseball point, his collecting, on the other hand, brings me joy. It's wonderful to me to see someone so in love with what he collects--and not just the physical objects (and certainly not their monetary "value"), but the knowledge of those cards history. And, even more to the point, how he enjoys sharing that hard-won knowledge with anyone interested.

Or Dan Bretta, who (again) so obviously loves the subject of his collecting--not just the items themselves--and, again, is always happy to share a new-found aquisition or a bit of Nebraska baseball "trivia."

And then, of course, you've got Jim...

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Posted By: Bobby Binder

Sports is a competition and the people playing it are doing it for the love of competition. I see no problem with people collecting cards and treating it like a competition to have the best set in the world. Ty Cobb played to be the best not for the love of it.

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Posted By: David Atkatz

That's fine, Bobby.

I find it sad.

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Posted By: Joe

Jim, can you post a scan of the Cobb that is graded 5. I would like to compare my 2 Cobbs that are graded by SGC as 70, ex+.

Thanks joe

Ty Cobb, Spikes flying!

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Posted By: Jim VB

David,

You didn't say "I find it sad." You said "How sad." There is a difference.


You do seem to save your biggest digs for Bruce D., Jim C., and Jeff L., three board members who have been, relatively speaking, financially successful in life. Why is that? At some point in your life you made decisions that led you to a career that is rarely financially rewarding at a high level. We could spend days debating the relative rewards that society offers to educators v. athletes, entertainers, attorneys, or successful business people. We would settle nothing.

You have chosen your path and have been very successful at it. So have they. It's unseemly to now go back and attack those who have chosen a different path.

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Posted By: barrysloate

The Saturday afternoon fights.

I have a real problem telling other people that the way they collect is wrong (or sad). Jim C. may collect differently than I do, but I believe he truly enjoys the way he does it.

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Should it not be "we strongly believe" instead of "we are strong believers"? Even when using the royal we / tapeworm we, only the we is used, not plural nouns.

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Posted By: Jim VB

Barry,

I'm really not trying to fight. David has an incredible collection of stuff, (especially Yankees), but I hate the constant digs. Jim C and I could not be more different in the ways we collect, but I respect his right to do it the way he wants. I've never met any of the Bruces, but same goes for them. Lichtman... OK, I can't defend how he collects.


I just like it that there's a board where everyone can collect a different way and talk about it. Otherwise, we'd all be chasing the same 1977 Templeton rookie and the price would get out of hand.

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Posted By: dennis

i think jim c likes baseball too!

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Posted By: barrysloate

I know Jim VB- you are a good soul and I didn't mean to imply you started the fight. David does have a very significant Yankee collection, and I know he is an expert on early Yankee history, but...he does seem to show up only when Jim C. or Bruce posts, and that seems opportunistic to me. And a fight is always right around the corner.

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Posted By: David Atkatz

I'm sorry for my choice of phrasing, Jim.

Believe me, I wouldn't change places with any of the aforementioned three. (Or anyone else, for that matter.)

Unfortunately, I am not an adherent to the post-modern "it's all good" point-of-view.

I, personally, respect those who collect for the love of a subject (any subject, Bruce) and who enjoy learning about, and, in particular, researching that subject, rather than simply acquiring objects for--what seems to me--bragging rights only. And, in that regard, although we strongly disagree politically, I respect Jeff L.

To me, being a "collector" (as opposed to an "acquirer") takes quite a bit more than money.

(And do you really believe my feelings towards Bruce have anything at all to do with his (self-proclaimed only) "financial success"? Please, give me a bit more credit than that.)

Finally, why do you assume that I'm not well-off? (And therefore jealous of those who are.) There may exist other circumstances which have allowed me to pursue the less-than-financially rewarding career I loved, and still be able to indulge in other, more expensive pursuits. Perhaps you assume as you do because I refuse to brag about how valuable my collections are, or how many one-of-a-kind items they contain. (Just this once, I will blow my own horn. If you'd like to see some of the items in my NY Yankee collection, take a look at "The New York Yankees An Illustrated History," St. Martin's Press, NY 2002.)

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Posted By: David Atkatz

Barry... I'm far from perfect. My digs at the Bruces and Crandell appear because their constant bragging and pomposity piss me off.

A better person than I would remain silent, but I am who I am.

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Posted By: barrysloate

I understand David, but that seems to be the only time you post. I could be wrong.

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Posted By: David Atkatz

If you look to the memorabilia side, Barry, you'd see that, in this case at least, you are wrong.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Fair enough. I figured you may have posted elsewhere, but I don't read every thread.

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Posted By: Jim VB

"Finally, why do you assume that I'm not well-off? (And therefore jealous of those who are.)"


Honestly, I was trying to assume nothing either way about the state of your wealth. (Nor was I making wealth assumptions about the others.) Wealth and income are two different things. I was assuming, perhaps falsely, that those in your chosen profession earn less in income than some other professions.

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Posted By: David Atkatz

"I was assuming, perhaps falsely, that those in your chosen profession earn less in income than some other professions."

That's not an assumption. That's a fact

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Posted By: joe brennan

Jim, I'm sure you were a little disapointed in your reviews, but congrads on the 3 bumps you got. Hopefully your next sub will turn out better.
As far as Jim enjoying the hobby, he enjoys it in his own way as we all do. What is sad that everytime Jim posts it has to be turned into some kind of negativity. It would be nice to see at least one thread stay completely positive.
His collecting goals may differ, but hey isn't that what makes this a great hobby? If we all collected exactly the same, no one would win a card on e-bay without a dog fight. I for one am glad Jim collects the way he does as I don't have to bump heads with him for my PSA 5's.

Jim, Good luck on your quest of 100 sets in PSA 8.

Joe



In Rememberance of James W. Brennan Sr. 1924-1982. Dad, thanks for everything you did for me.

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Posted By: Scott Fandango

David, you already made it clear your not in favor of Jim C (the 2nd post in the thread i believe)...

do you have to continue to hijack his thread?

the man is simply proud of his collection (and he should be)

he was sharing pre-war submission results....so why the hostility?

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Posted By: Steve

From what I heard PSA has really tightened up as of late and
that could be a reason why Jim only got 3 bumps.

I'll cringe when the 100 sweet 1953 Topps I submitted last month
all come back 6 and lower.

Jim good luck on the next batch and thanks for keeping the board informed.


Steve

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Posted By: dan mckee

That is a neat display Jim. I like the wall shelves holding the cards. How cool to walk around the room and see the many cards well displayed. I can appreciate that. I am curious how they are sorted on the shelves? Are they by year or player or by grade? Anyway, as others have said here, you have every right to collect anything anyway and you seem to have your heart in it so I think that is great.

Jon Wonka - u know I love u brother but that Needham is blatantly trimmed. The bottom edge should have an angle cut matching the top edge and I think you already know that.

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Posted By: David Atkatz

"the man is simply proud of his collection (and he should be)"

Interesting, Scott.

I'm proud of my family.

I'm proud of some of the physics papers I've written.

I'm proud that, as a child, I wanted to fly, and as an adult I became a pilot.

But I'm not proud of any of the things I've simply bought.

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Posted By: 1880nonsports

and Jim to some degree I guess - I don't think we know each other (I have CRS) but after reading the exchanges between the two of you for so long now - I figured I'd respectfully suggest that you move on from the personal jabbing. Whatever may have been said before by either of you should really be past history at this point. I'm sure you're both reasonable and educated people.
Jim starts a helpful thread that people are interested in for whatever reasons. The thread then degenerates into a class and motivation thing. Most people love most members of their family. Many collectors are passionate about the niche or form that surrounds their hobbying. No-one is in favor of child abuse (well when I was teaching maybe....__) and regardless of party or religion I believe everyone wants to live a good life while making moral and ethical decisions in that effort. Sorry to a degree about making this post - shudda probably hit delete - I could just move on and ignore it all as I have been - political/social issues are important - but don't really think a baseball card board is where that should take place...
Maybe you email each other?

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Posted By: Jim VB

"...that Needham is blatantly trimmed."


You must be mistaken Dan. It's clearly in a holder!

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Posted By: Rob D.

Dorskind to Crandell to Lichtman ... it does have a certain ring to it.

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Posted By: Anthony S.

"The saddest of possible words..."

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Posted By: Peter

All you can say about submitting 118 T206 PSA 8 is Wow! Wow!

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Posted By: Rob D.

Wow! along with very impressive

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Posted By: marty q

oh geez !!! how tall is your soap box david? nobody cares about your physics paper, nobody cares about you being a pilot, barry is right on, you only post when a certain few post, yeah i kknow memorbilia side, uh hum ! this is the pre-war baseball side. "you" call people out on a public chatboard and when you get called out you start to try and justify why you do it !! give me a break cyber bully!! if your not proud of any thing you have collected over the years than why do you collect???? lol, that was to funny pal !!! just for the fun of it i guess. when people start to get "sick" of what you do maybe it's time to shut up!! i have been on here for 2 years, and i chime in on a post maybe once a week, you seem to chime in when a certain few post, and add all negative stuff as well as high jack that posters thread every time!!!! if your pissed at life david take it out on yourself, because if somebody else's collection or the way they collect bother's you are in a bad way.

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Posted By: Fred Y

Being basically a '50's collector who managed to save several baseball, football and non-sport cards & sets from my youth, I must say I am totally AMAZED by the breadth & scope of your collection!

The REASON you collect is of NO CONCERN to me, but the QUALITY & QUANTITY of what you have IS SIMPLY AWESOME TO BEHOLD!

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Posted By: Misunderestimated (Brian H)

Jim -
Did you select the cards you resubmitted based on the ones you suspected might get a bump or did you simply in all of the PSA 8s ? (I may have missed this detail from my cursory reading above). When I renewed I sent in 20 T205s that I picked out as being likely candidates for a bump (mostly PSA 6s) and I got one bumped up a 1/2 grade and one full grade. I thought the process was fair and quite a smart business play for PSA. Nonetheless, I did (and still do) have an uneasy feeling about the whole thing which I can't quite articulate.

Two other comments:
1) I find it hard to believe that they actually removed each of the cards from the holders to regrade them and then reholdered the cards whether or not they got bumped.

2) I think that the cards that are re-evaluated should receive new style labels (the number below the grade) whether or not the card is bumped for the integrity of the system. I understand why it would be bad for business to adopt this procedure and, therefore, have trouble blaming PSA for simply reusing the old labels.

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Posted By: Jason

oh wow yet another thread of old men fighting about baseball cards on the internet. Yay!

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Posted By: Michael Steele

Trae R: Thank you for posting the link to the SMR article on Mr. Crandell. I had not seen it before.

Jim: I use outstanding and awesome to describe that room. No matter what anyone thinks, your passion is quite remarkable!

Edit for spelling

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Posted By: Mike

I don't post much, but I absolutely love reading about Jim's massive collection and it is one of the reasons I visit the board several times a day. I just find it amazing that one person could own 23k PSA 8's or greater. I personally don't own any. It was very enjoyable reading the article on Jim and seeing his display. It is nice to put a face to the name. I'm actually amazed how young Jim is when you look at his collection. I would be interested to hear any "accidents" Jim has had in that room when trying to get at cards on the top rows. The room looks like a house of cards just ready to tumble down at any given moment.

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Posted By: Jason

Jim I was looking at your collection in that article and I see some fine hockey cards. You collect pre war hockey? Love to see some nice examples of those.

Regards,
Jason

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Posted By: Jim VB

Mr. Moses,

Your subtle reference to your debilitating disease (CRS) was not lost on me. I, too, suffer from the same affliction. I think there may be a cure for it, but maybe not. I'm not really sure. I know there is medication you can take, but you you must take it just once, every day, and you know how that goes.


What were we talking about?

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Posted By: joe brennan

Jim, I just read the article. Truly awesome. Congrads.

In Rememberance of James W. Brennan Sr. 1924-1982. Dad, thanks for everything you did for me.

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Posted By: Joe D.

Jim - thats a cool looking room.

looks like a person could get lost in there.

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Posted By: Al C.risafulli

David:

I'm hoping you can help me. I feel like I've been making a huge mistake.

I prefer to collect graded cards.

I collect high-grade 1938 Goudey baseball cards.

I am proud of my collection.

Can you please explain to me - without belittling me or being judgemental - exactly how I'm collecting wrong? Clearly I did not buy the right manual when I got started in this hobby, and thus I feel kind of silly for having to ask such a rudimentary question. But with all the knowledge you have, I suspect that you could probably educate me as to the right way to collect. From the tone of your posts, it seems that you clearly know.

Your help would be greatly appreciated, as I have been considering starting a few new projects, but I don't want to buy another card until I have a thorough understanding of the right way to do it.

Thanks so much,
-Al

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Posted By: martindl

Jim,
Thanks for the update. You keep those odds up and you'll start restoring faith in PSA

David,
Couple of things.
I'm not going to comment on your judgmental nature and closed mindedness because, well, it would be judgmental and closed minded of me. You're entitled to you opinion just like anyone. See, I am one of those post-modern "it's all good" types - I am a tad curious though - did a mantra like "live and let live" not exist in modern and pre-modern times?

I will say that you have Jim pegged incorrectly - I think you'll find he's very knowledgeable and has a very keen understanding of the history of not only baseball but the other sports also.