[Christiem]

I've got a question:
The 2013 set with the Babe Ruth silk card ... Has anyone opened theirs! Were the 5 card rookie exclusives any good? Is there a list of who you'd get in the factory box?
Thanks

I got the 2013 factory set with a Trout silk card and couldn't stop myself from opening. The Trout ended up being numbered /1000, but I can't find it on Beckett or the bay. The 5 rookie bonuses are variation cards of Ryu, Machado, Miller, Fernandez and Profar. They are on Beckett, but with no pricing yet.

[scollignon]

By opening it, the base set is virtually worthless...who would want to purchase the complete unsealed set of a base Topps product? Maybe you piece it out, but after selling/trading away the 5 good cards, you're left with 650+ pieces of cardboard. So as an investment, I would say it's bad to open.

But if you are into buying packs for the thrill of the chase, and the occasional big hit, then open that set up...it is basically a $58 box with 5 parallel hits. I bought a pack of Triple Threads this week and probably did worse than you will on that box (and for more $$).

[jtysver1]

I don't think base sets have enough value to keep sealed. At most they go between 50-100 all the way back to 1980 or so and rarely go up in value. If there are valuable cards in the set, you generally can sell or trade those if you want and get your value back from the set. But if that's what you want, collect those separately. If you are buying the set to have a complete set, then it doesn't matter whether you open it or not. Its not like people are going to be beating down your door to buy sealed sets off of you.

If you are a dealer and plan on buying 15-20 sealed sets to re-sell, then by all means keep them sealed. But if you are the collector, open them. If you bought the set to hand off to someone else or trade or sell, then don't open it. It all depends on why you collect what you collect.

[paulkellyjr]

I don't think base sets have enough value to keep sealed. At most they go between 50-100 all the way back to 1980 or so and rarely go up in value. If there are valuable cards in the set, you generally can sell or trade those if you want and get your value back from the set. But if that's what you want, collect those separately. If you are buying the set to have a complete set, then it doesn't matter whether you open it or not. Its not like people are going to be beating down your door to buy sealed sets off of you.

If you are a dealer and plan on buying 15-20 sealed sets to re-sell, then by all means keep them sealed. But if you are the collector, open them. If you bought the set to hand off to someone else or trade or sell, then don't open it. It all depends on why you collect what you collect.

I collect the sets to have them (1976 to present now). Thank you for your very helpful reply.