• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Get Sports Collectors Daily via EMail
    • Advertise with SC Daily
    • Write for Sports Collectors Daily
    • Write About Your Sports Collection
    • Where Can I Sell My Baseball Cards?
  • Hot on eBay
    • Most Watched Graded Rookies
    • Most Watched PSA 10 Cards
    • Most Watched BGS, BVG Cards
    • Most Watched SGC Cards
    • Most Watched Baseball Cards
      • Most Watched 2023 Baseball Cards
      • Most Watched 2022 Baseball Rookie Cards
      • Bowman Chrome Cards
      • Wander Franco Cards
      • Mike Trout Cards
      • Fernando Tatis Jr. Cards
      • Babe Ruth Cards
      • Hank Aaron Cards
      • Jackie Robinson Cards:
      • Mickey Mantle Cards
      • Willie Mays Cards
      • Vintage Baseball Card Sets
      • T206 Cards
    • Most Watched Basketball
      • Top 100 Most Watched Basketball Rookie Cards
      • 100 Hottest 2022-23 NBA Rookie Cards
      • 100 Hottest 2021-22 NBA Rookie Cards
      • 100 Hottest 2020-21 NBA Rookie Cards
      • 100 Hottest 2019-20 NBA Rookie Cards
        • Zion Williamson Rookie Cards
        • Ja Morant Rookie Cards
      • Michael Jordan Cards
      • Kobe Bryant Cards
      • LeBron James Rookie Cards
      • Nikola Jokic Rookie Cards
      • Giannis Antetokounmpo Rookie Cards
      • Luka Doncic Rookie Cards
      • Prizm Basketball Cards
      • Panini National Treasures
    • Most Watched Football Cards
      • Most Watched NFL Rookie Cards
      • 2022 NFL Rookie Cards
        • Brock Purdy Rookie Cards
      • 2021 NFL Rookie Cards
      • 2020 NFL Rookie Cards
        • Joe Burrow Rookie Cards
        • Justin Herbert Rookie Cards
        • Jalen Hurts Rookie Cards
      • Josh Allen Rookie Cards
      • Patrick Mahomes Rookie Cards
      • Tom Brady Cards
    • Most Watched Hockey Cards
      • Top 100 Most Watched Hockey Rookie Cards
      • Most Watched 2021-22 NHL Rookie Cards
      • Most Watched 2020-21 Rookie Cards
      • Most Watched 2019-20 Rookie Cards
      • Connor McDavid Cards
      • Wayne Gretzky Cards
      • Bobby Orr Cards
    • Most Watched Soccer Cards
    • Most Watched UFC Cards
    • Most Watched Golf Cards
    • Most Watched 1 of 1 Cards
    • Most Watched Racing Cards
    • Top Sports Card Dealers on eBay
    • Most Watched Memorabilia
      • Vintage Sports Memorabilia
    • Vintage Sports Tickets, Stubs
    • Most Watched Autographs
  • Ending Soon on Ebay
    • Baseball Cards
    • Basketball Cards
    • Football Cards
    • Hockey Cards
    • Soccer Cards
    • Golf Cards
    • UFC Cards
  • Top - Ad

Sports Collectors Daily

Sports Collectors Daily

Sports collecting news - Sports cards and sports memorabilia industry news.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network. 

  • Sports Memorabilia News
  • Sports Card News
    • Modern Sports Card News
      • New Sports Card Release Calendar
      • Shop Talk
    • Vintage Sports Card News
      • Affordable Vintage Cards, Collectibles
      • Old Baseball Card Sets
      • Old Basketball Card Sets
      • Old Football Card Sets
      • Old Hockey Card Sets
      • Vintage Pack Facts
  • Business/Industry News
    • Sports Memorabilia Business News
    • Sports Memorabilia Industry News
  • Around The Hobby
    • Editor’s Blog
    • David Cycleback’s Identification and Authentication Advice
  • Popular Stories
  • Sell Your Cards
You are here: Home / Rich Klein's Ramblings / Ramblings: Mistakes, I’ve Made a Few

Ramblings: Mistakes, I’ve Made a Few

June 19, 2015 By Rich Klein

I recently saw a great thread on one of the hobby message boards which was titled: “What was your worst hobby mistake?”   With Rich Ramblings 2014very few exceptions, we all can admit to errors we made, from selling Mike Trout cards too soon (I thought I did great with my 2011 Updates at $20 each) to not selling fast enough.  On that one, just ask anyone who dealt cards circa 1990 and ask them if they still have any of the 1986 Donruss Jose Canseco cards which were then selling for more than $100. Yes, there was actually a time when 1986 Donruss Canseco cards were $100 and a 1985 Topps Mark McGwire was even more than that.

In that specific thread, most of the comments seemed to revolve about Paul Goldschmidt who is making a name for himself as the best National League hitter.  A resurgent Bryce Harper seems to be only one step behind Goldy at this point. But perhaps Harper may end up being the exception to the rule about a player having a second hobby run.

In 2012, when he came up to the majors there was a nice run on Harper prospect cards but after a couple of mediocre seasons plagued by injury, the bloom was a bit off the rose and he was being relegated to a second hobby tier.

Obviously, this year Harper is coming back with a vengeance and I wonder how many dealers and collectors who sold him during the dip are now saying “if I had only held on to his cards instead of selling just to move them.”  And just remember he’s still only 22 years old, an age when most rookies have not even made their major league debut.  Some are no doubt pulling the trigger now and selling when there is demand, rather than waiting.  That, too, could be a mistake unless you’ve made a sizeable profit and are happy either way.

Another case I remember and now wish I’d had the foresight to act on came in the early 1980s.  After the explosion in 1979 and ‘80 when the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle went from $680 at the beginning of 1979 to selling for more than $3,000 each at a Willow Grove auction in March of 1980, collectors who had bought that card for a few dollars a few years earlier figured it was a good time to cash in. Believe it or not, so many of those cards flooded the market that I remember going to the same event in September, 1982 and watching the auctioneer struggle to get $500 for one.

Yep, the 1952 Mantle was so available that a few hundred dollars would get you one and $1000 should have gotten you two nice copies. Today, that $1000 won’t even get you the rattiest Mantle on the planet.

When my friends Frank and Vivian Barning were in their early Baseball Hobby News days they had a great article late in 1979 about the baseball card pricing boom.  It included a comment by leading dealer Don Lepore who said something to the effect of: “There is no such thing as a baseball card expert because otherwise none of us would have ever sold any of these cards at those old prices.”

And in the 1970s, many of us actually treated stars and superstars no differently than commons because that delineation had not yet truly occurred.  The object was set building, not investing or buying only well-known players. Today, of course, we have more detailed breakdowns of price points based on the player.

I’ve told about some of my favorite mistakes in the business over the years but we’ve all made mistakes in purchasing or trading for cards. Heck, last weekend one of my former Beckett colleagues and friends gave me a bunch of cards for trade. The only problem was, he valued the card using the wrong Greats of the Game autograph set and a couple of the cards he noted as short prints were, well, not.  When I pointed that out to him, he owned up immediately and realized what had occurred.  Fortunately, he had some other cards he had put aside for me to finish our trade or start another trade and those cards will do just fine on that regard.  We just have to remember we are all human and we all make mistakes.

And if you want my guess as to what the biggest mistake of 2015 will be, my best guess is one of the players not named Kris Bryant or Joey Gallo will soon break out. I think we may all kick ourselves for not buying more Addison Russell cards. That’s my guess as to the next long term breakout 2015 rookie star. Who is yours?

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • Facebook Messenger

Related Stories:

2009 Bowman Chrome Mike Trout Autographs Have Been a Big Winner Heritage Winter Platinum Tally: $12,985,912 Jesse Owens Gold Medal Brings $615,000 at Goldin Auctions Two-Part Auction Wraps with Modern Card Records, Robinson Bat Notes: Suspect Arrested in Mantle Card Theft; Canseco Hits Homers, Signs; World’s Oldest Golf Card Sells Goldin Auctions Summer Sale Nets $4 Million The 10 Most Important Baseball Cards of the Modern Era

Filed Under: Rich Klein's Ramblings Tagged With: 1952 topps mickey mantle, Addison Russell, jose canseco, Mark McGwire, mike trout, Willow Grove show

Primary Sidebar

Our articles may contain affiliate links. When you click on links to merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network. 

  • Football
  • Basketball
  • Baseball
  • Hockey

High End Cards and Memorabilia

  • BBCE Authenticated Boxes, Packs opens in a new window
  • Graded pre-War Card Auctions
  • Graded Rookie Cards opens in a new window
  • Authenticated Photos opens in a new window
  • Graded Tickets & Stubs opens in a new window

Bargain Corner

  • Michael Jordan cards $5 and less opens in a new window
  • Kobe Bryant cards $5 and less opens in a new window
  • Mickey Mantle Cards Under $150 opens in a new window
  • Graded T206 Cards Under $150 opens in a new window
  • Pre-War Cards Under $100 opens in a new window
  • Pre-1980 Graded Baseball Cards $10 and Less opens in a new window
  • Pre-1980 Graded Football Cards $10 and Less opens in a new window
  • Vintage Graded Basketball Cards $25 and less opens in a new window
  • Vintage Graded Hockey Cards $10 and Less opens in a new window
  • Complete Sets $20 and Less opens in a new window
  • Baseball Hall of Famers for $5 or Less opens in a new window
  • Football Hall of Famers for $5 or Less opens in a new window
  • Hobby Boxes Under $30 opens in a new window
  • Pre-1986 Rookie Cards Under $1 opens in a new window

RSS Auction Report

  • Hindman Sports Memorabilia & Cards Auction Ends June 26, 2023
  • Sterling Sports Auctions of Vintage Cards & More Auction – Ending June 22, 2023
  • PWCC Marketplace June Premier Auction Ends June 22, 2023

Footer

Categories

  • Around the Hobby
  • Business/Industry News
    • Sports Memorabilia Business News
    • Sports Memorabilia Industry News
  • David Cycleback's Identification and Authentication Advice
  • Editor's Blog
  • Featured Articles
  • Hobby Shop Talk
  • National Sports Collectors Convention
  • Popular Stories
  • Rich Klein's Ramblings
  • Sports Card News
    • Modern Sports Card News
      • New Sports Card Release Calendar
    • Vintage Sports Card News
      • Old Baseball Card Sets
      • Old Basketball Card Sets
      • Old Football Card Sets
      • Old Hockey Card Sets
      • Vintage Pack Facts
  • Sports Memorabilia News
  • Uncategorized

Sponsor Links

  • Sports Card Forumopens in a new window
  • Buying Vintage Sports Cardsopens in a new window
  • Game Used Jerseysopens in a new window
  • Championship Rings For Saleopens in a new window
  • Vintage Basketball Cardsopens in a new window
  • NBA Signed Itemsopens in a new window
  • Autographed Baseballsopens in a new window
  • NASCAR Autographsopens in a new window
  • Vintage Graded Baseball Cardsopens in a new window
  • Player Picturesopens in a new window
  • Vintage Football Cardsopens in a new window
  • Sports Collectors Storeopens in a new window

Pages

Ending on eBay Soon
  • Baseball Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Basketball Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Football Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Hockey Card Auctions Ending Soon on eBay
  • Vintage Sports Memorabilia on eBay Ending Soon
Top 100 on Ebay
  • Top 100 Most Watched Baseball Rookie Cards on eBay
  • Top 100 Most Watched Basketball Rookie Cards for Sale on eBay
  • Top 100 Most Watched Hockey Rookie Card Auctions
  • Top Authenticated Vintage Unopened Sports Card Boxes, Packs on eBay
Most Watched on eBay
  • 100 Most Watched Graded Rookie Cards for Sale on eBay
  • 100 Most Watched Tom Brady Card Auctions on eBay
  • 50 Hottest Hobby Boxes at Auction on eBay
  • 50 Most Watched Golf Trading Cards on eBay
  • 50 Most Watched Wrestling Trading Cards on eBay
  • 75 Most Watched Bowman Chrome Cards
  • Most Popular Bobbleheads on eBay
  • Most Watched 1/1 Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Basketball Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Complete Baseball Card Sets at Auction on eBay
  • Most Watched Football Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Football Rookie Card Auctions
  • Most Watched Goudey Baseball Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Hockey Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Racing Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Soccer Cards for Sale on eBay
  • Most Watched Sports Autographs on eBay
  • Most Watched Sports Jerseys on eBay
  • Most Watched Unopened Sports Card Boxes, Packs on eBay
  • Most Watched Vintage Sports Memorabilia on eBay
  • Hottest Panini National Treasures Cards on eBay
  • Hottest PSA 10 Cards for Sale on eBay
  • What’s Hot on eBay
Sports Memorabilia
  • Sports Card Bargain Bin
  • Sports Memorabilia Auctions Ending Soon on eBay
About Sports Collectors Daily
  • Advertise with SC Daily
  • Contact Us
  • Get Sports Collectors Daily via EMail
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
Sell Your Cards
  • What’s It Worth
  • Where Can I Sell My Baseball Cards?

Copyright © 2023 SportsCollectorsDaily.com | Web Design by Wickam Groupopens in a new window