Tag Archives: lots

1975 TOPPS BASEBALL CARDS LOTS

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The 1975 Topps baseball card set ushered in a new era for the popular trading card company. This was the first Topps set to feature player photos on a colored illustrated background rather than team logo or action shot backgrounds. The cards featured borders in different colors depending on the player’s position. The change in design style marked a shift for Topps towards colorful illustrated cards that would remain a standard for the next decade.

The 1975 set contains 792 total cards including 99 rookie cards and several stars of the era. Notable rookies included Dave Winfield, Joe Charboneau, Dale Murphy, and Kevin Mitchell. Star players included Hank Aaron in his final season hitting home runs, Reggie Jackson having an MVP season with the A’s, and Nolan Ryan racking up his 3000th career strikeout. The 1975 Topps set remains a popular and valuable one for collectors due to the rookie cards, stars of the era, and the introduction of the new colorful bordered design.

When purchasing 1975 Topps baseball card lots, there are several factors collectors look for that can impact the quality and value of the cards in the lot. One of the most important things to evaluate is the condition and centering of the cards. Topps card quality control in the 1970s could be spotty at times leading to off-center printing. Cards that are perfectly centered will demand a premium. Condition also plays a large role, with near mint cards bringing the highest prices compared to those that are worn or have flaws.

Completeness of the set is another consideration when buying in lots. Run-of-the-mill common cards from the 1975 Topps set in worn condition might have relatively little value individually. A lot that features 90% or more of the 792 total cards would be much more attractive to collectors trying to finish or start a set despite some cards having flaws. Checking for valuable stars and rookies is also vital. Lots containing a standout rookie like Dave Winfield in decent shape could add significant potential value.

When it comes to lot sizes of 1975 Topps cards, the most common configurations encountered will range between random assortments of 50-200 cards up to larger lots approaching half or more of a complete set. Small 50-100 card lots often consist of common players jumbled together with no organization and mixed condition. These can be inexpensive but offer little in terms of valuable cards. Larger 200+ card lots that may be nearly complete less a few high-dollar stars are more useful for set building.

Storage and organization of the cards is another factor to evaluate in 1975 Topps card lots. Cards that have clearly been well cared for in semi-rigid holders or a binder arrangement will show better long-term preservation versus loose piles. The more a lot has been protected from damage over decades of storage, the better the chances are of finding cards in sharper condition. Other signs of a quality large lot would include organization by team, number, or alphabetically for easier set completion.

When considering popular auction and marketplace sites for buying 1975 Topps baseball card lots, there are trusted sellers that have garnered strong reputations for accurately describing the contents and condition of their offerings. Checking a seller’s feedback, return policy, and specializing in vintage cards can provide buyers more confidence. Price ranges will vary widely based on size of lot and included star/rookie content from under $50 for small random lots to hundreds or more for organized larger percentage-complete collections.

The 1975 Topps baseball card set remains a highly collectible vintage release due to rookie stars, player photos on colored borders, and the transition to a new design era. When purchasing in larger lots, collectors should evaluate criteria like condition, centering, completeness, organization, included stars, and seller reputation to maximize value and quality for their collectible cards from this important vintage Topps set. Meeting the preferences of today’s active collector market makes quality 1975 Topps card lots a sound vintage investment and fun way to build a classic baseball collection.

BIG LOTS BASEBALL CARDS

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Big Lots is a chain of discount retail stores known for offering name brand products at low prices. While they sell a wide variety of merchandise, their trading card selection has long been a draw for collectors. Baseball cards in particular have been a staple at Big Lots for decades.

The history of Big Lots carrying trading cards dates back to the late 1980s. As the baseball card craze was in full swing, retailers of all kinds looked to capitalize by stocking packs and boxes in their stores. Big Lots saw an opportunity to undercut competitors on price while giving customers a chance to build their collections. Their discounter model was a perfect fit for the trading card market.

In those early years, the selection at Big Lots focused heavily on recent and opening day series from Topps and Fleer. Stores received regular shipments of 1989, 1990, and 1991 cardboard that fans could pick through. Prices were around half of what a card shop might charge. For kids with limited budgets, Big Lots was an affordable way to get their card fix.

As the 1990s progressed, the trading card market began to cool. Fewer kids were getting into the hobby as alternatives like video games grew in popularity. Manufacturers overproduced to try and maintain sales numbers. This led to a glut of surplus stock that ended up in the discount bins of stores like Big Lots. Their shelves became loaded with 1990s commons from every brand.

By the late 90s, Big Lots found themselves as one of the last places still actively carrying cards. Many retailers had gotten out of the business altogether. For collectors of this era, Big Lots became a destination to find unopened wax from the early and mid-1990s still sitting on pegs years later. Boxes of 1993 Fleer, 1994 Leaf, and 1995 Upper Deck could be had for mere dollars.

Into the 2000s, Big Lots maintained their baseball card selection but scaled it back significantly. Space was at more of a premium in their stores. Instead of full aisles dedicated to cards, they might have a single endcap display or peg rack. The selection shifted from mostly new product to remnants of the late 90s/early 2000s in penny sleeves and dollar boxes.

While the selection changed, the value proposition remained the same. Savvy collectors knew to always check the Big Lots closest to them as you never knew what gems from the past might turn up. An unsearched box from 1997 Pinnacle Series 2 baseball could be discovered for a song. With patience and some luck, there were deals to be found among the dusty remnants.

In more recent years, Big Lots has had to adjust their trading card offerings again due to shifts in the industry. The sports card market underwent a resurgence around 2010 that made vintage wax and singles highly collectible. With increased scrutiny from resellers, Big Lots boxes and dollar bins received less overlooked treasure troves from the past.

At the same time, the proliferation of online sales made it harder for Big Lots to compete on new release pricing. Today their baseball card selection is much more curated, focusing on licensed memorabilia and curio items rather than current wax packs. Their discounted older stock and clearance merchandise still provides opportunity.

For those hunting deals rather than chasing hits, Big Lots endcaps are worth a look. Penney sleeves from the 2000s can be had for well under book value. Complete factory sets from the late 90s sell for mere dollars above cost. With the right find, you could walk out with a valuable forgotten gem from the past. The discount chain may be past its heyday for cards, but bargains remain for savvy collectors willing to dig.

After decades as a destination for affordable baseball cards, Big Lots continues serving budget-minded hobbyists today. While the selection has changed over the years, their discounter prices have made them a mainstay for those seeking older cardboard on the cheap. One never knows what the next great find might be lurking on their shelves.

SPORTS LOTS BASEBALL CARDS

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The market for sports cards lot sales has grown exponentially over the past few decades, driven by nostalgia and the investment value of rare cards from the past. While individual vintage and modern cards still sell quite well at auction, sports card lots have become another popular way for collectors, investors, and casual fans to acquire cards from their favorite teams and eras in bulk. Lots tend to provide good value since you’re getting multiples of the same card or various cards together at a lower average cost than buying individually.

Baseball cards in particular dominate the sports card lot market given the rich history and cultural impact of the sport. Since the first baseball cards were produced in the late 1800s by tobacco companies as promotional items, the hobby exploded in the postwar 1940s-60s era when sets from Topps in particular introduced modern card design and photography. Icons like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron established themselves not just on the field but in the minds of kids through those colorful cardboard rectangles that sparked imaginations.

As the 1960s went on, production ramped up massively and distribution widened. More kids than ever collected and traded, but the sheer volume also meant common cards were plentiful. Still, collectors could chase elusive stars, complete sets, or find an error or variation that set their cards apart. The golden age of baseball cards reached its peak in the late ’60s/early ’70s before the industry consolidated and production slowed. By then a generation was hooked, and searches for that “one last card” to finish a set or find a favorite player kept the hobby alive as fans aged.

Over subsequent decades, as the original collectors reached adulthood and nostalgia set in, the collectibles market boomed. Interest swelled again in the late 1980s and 90s with the sports memorabilia craze and inflation of star player valuations. Icons of the 50s and 60s like Mantle, Mays, Aaron, and more became truly iconic in the collector world as well with individual vintage cards reaching five and six figures at auction. The desire to revisit childhood and find those old cards helped drive up prices across the board.

It was in this environment that the baseball card lot market took off. Sellers realized there was value not just in individual premium pieces, but in the ability to give collectors and investors cost-effective access to entire subsets of the hobby. Sports card shops, former collectors cashing in collections, and dedicated resellers started breaking down larger collections into focused lots for resale. They grouped cards by brand (Topps, etc.), year or set, player, or team to allow targeted collecting.

While the earliest lots were basic groupings in boxes or piles, dedicated hobby shops and online platforms soon standardized the market with precise packing and grading practices. Cards would be carefully arranged in protective sleeves, toploaders or binder pages and sealed in boxes. Lots were given intuitive names highlighting key contents and included estimates of total included cards. Seller feedback and established brands provided confidence in quality control and condition standards. Payment was usually expected up front with detailed preset listings allowing for large product listings.

Some of the most popular baseball card lot categories even today include:

Team Lots – Groupings focused on a single franchise, often spanning multiple decades. Lots for iconic clubs like the Yankees or Dodgers are especially coveted by collectors.

Player Lots – Featuring all cards of a legendary star like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, or current greats. Often sorted by issuing company, year or set for completeness.

Decade/Era Lots – Large lots encapsulating major sets and stars from a single time period, like the 1950s or 1970s, allowing fans to fill out their memories.

Common/Uncommon Lots – Bulks of more attainable vintage cards ideal for setbuilding or finding hidden gems. Less valuable individual cards but still historically authentic pieces.

Modern Lot Bundles – Groupings of sets from the past few decades including stars, rookies and parallels for collectors chasing current players.

Variation/Error Lots – Sharply focused bundles seeking miscuts, colour variations or other anomalies from specific sets and years.

As the collectibles boom has persisted into the 2000s, these large baseball card lots have remained widely available at steady prices reflective of the individual cards within. Major auction houses also began regularly listing graded team/player lots fetching five figures or more. This institutionalized the market at high end. At the same time, small individual sellers and online shops keep specialty lots affordable and appealing even to new/younger collectors. The combination of availability and nostalgia continues driving lot sales near daily.

Lots provide valuable access to the rich history of baseball cards for casual fans and ambitious investors alike. Whether acquiring teams like childhood memories, filling out binders, or betting on future price spikes of enclosed stars – these wholesale bundles remain a gateway to complete the collecting puzzle one cardboard slice at a time. And as more boomers liquidate sizable estates, there’s sure to be no shortage of new lots entering the market to stoke passions of collectors always seeking that missing piece of baseball’s timeless cardboard culture.

LOTS OF GOOD BASEBALL CARDS

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Baseball cards have brought joy to collectors for generations. From the earliest tobacco cards of the late 1800s to modern inserts and parallels, there has always been a strong market for the sport’s top talents immortalized in paper form. While every card has a story to tell, some stand out as particularly valuable or desirable for collectors. Here is an in-depth look at lots of good baseball cards from over the decades that any collector would be thrilled to find in their collection.

One of the most iconic and sought-after baseball cards of all time is the 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner. The legendary shortstop of the early 1900s was already a superstar by the time the American Tobacco Company featured him in their series. However, Wagner demanded his inclusion be pulled, likely due to his disdain for tobacco. As a result, only around 60 of the famed cards are known to still exist today in various conditions. In mint condition, a T206 Wagner regularly fetches well into the millions of dollars at auction. Even heavily played examples still sell for six figures. No serious baseball card collection is complete without owning a piece of this seminal issue.

Another extremely valuable early tobacco card is the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle. As one of the first “modern” designs that resembled post-WWII cardboard, the ‘52 Topps set became a must-have for collectors at the time and has remained hugely popular ever since. Mantle was already a budding superstar when featured prominently as the #307 card in the set. High grade versions rarely change hands but still command huge sums, like the PSA 10 example that sold for over $2.88 million in 2021. Even well-worn copies retain significant value due to the card’s iconic status in the hobby.

Jumping ahead several decades, most experienced collectors consider the 1988 Topps Traded Nolan Ryan no-hitter card #T-88 perfectly encapsulates the late 80s/early 90s baseball card boom. It captured The Express mowing down batters for the Houston Astros just months after being traded from the Mets in 1987, a dominant performance even in his 40s. Topps rushed the “Traded” set insertion to show this milestone, emphasizing the red-hot player collection trend at the time. Pristine grades demand 5 figures, though most examples hold value due to the nostalgia of opening packs during the peak card-collecting era.

The ’90s produced many desirable modern vintage issues as the industry reached new heights. Most notable are perhaps the seminal 1991 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. and the classic 1992 Leaf Mike Piazza rookie cards. Griffey was already a megastar for the Mariners but his Upper Deck debut became the definition of the modern baseball card craze. PSA 10’s reach the stratosphere at auction but even well-graded common versions command thousands due to sheer popularity. As for Piazza, his oft-parodied yet classic Leaf pose introduced him as the future Mets and Dodgers star catcher. High-end PSA/BGS grades bring huge money for the iconic card.

The 1990s also heralded inserts and parallels unknown in previous decades. Among the most revered are 1997 Fleer Metal Universe Refractors, 1998 Finest Refractors, and 1999 Stadium Club Chrome Refractors like the Chipper Jones. Printed on revolutionary foils with pristine surfaces, these rare pullable inserts sparked fierce pack searching. Top examples are true trophy pieces for any collection, often five-figure cards unto themselves. 1999 Excel #78 Chipper Jones and #38 Pedro Martinez also pioneered the “extended” size rookie concept that persists today and are iconic 1990s rookies.

Into the 2000s, premium baseball cards remained exciting hot commodities as the MLB player pool grew more international in scope. For example, the 2001 Bowman Chrome Ichiro Suzuki was printed as an ultra-short print variation refractor and established this future Hall of Famer as an early Pacific trading card sensation. Pristine copies command north of $10,000. Top prospects like the 2003 Bowman Chrome Justin Verlander also set the stage. Some consider the coveted 2003 Topps Chrome Refractors like the #87 Albert Pujols to be the high point of the decade in terms of design, rarity, and popularity.

Today’s modern game supplies a steady stream of new fan favorites and prospects to potentially join the ranks of cherished collectibles. Among these, the 2009 Bowman Draft Chrome Mike Trout claims the top spot due to his eventual ascension as perhaps the best all-around player of his generation. Copies carrying a PSA/BGS 10 grade auction well into six figures. Similarly, the 2012 Bowman Chrome Christian Yelich and 2013 Bowman Chrome Freddie Freeman heralded future MVPs as prized bowling prospects. At the MLB level, cards like the 2012 Topps Chrome Mike Trout and 2015 Topps Update Bryce Harper have long been icons of the current generation.

With so many great baseball card designs, exciting rookie cards, and hall of famers featured over decades, any collector benefits from keeping an eye out for these premium issues to form the backbone of an elite collection. Whether a vintage tobacco gem, ‘90s insert, star prospect, or modern star roster, certain cards prove their staying power by capturing a seminal moment and player that inspire memories and demand top dollar from enthusiasts decades later. With new additions to the pantheon still being made each season, it remains part of the hobby’s constant thrill to uncover such prestigious cards that could become future reference standards.