Everyone gave very good answers to this. I can tell you I bought a few boxes of "Draft" several years ago (bargained down the price. They were not as expensive as now because there were so many left and Trout wasn't the hero he is today) and I came up with a great Trout. I got lucky. With that said, look at both PSA and Beckett for the number of cards submitted. I have not done this. This will give you a good idea of what might be left. Also, look in the on-line classifieds in your area. Like "Next Door" and the dozen other neighborhood online selling or garage sale notifications. Or other sites that promote sales of what people might consider worth selling but don't fully know what they have. I have even found "Craig's List" useful. I have found numerous great rookie and pre-rookies of future stars that graded 9.5 and 10. Usually look for a sports cards listing. Most will turnout to be worth next to nothing, but if you make it a hobby you do twice a month like I have, you will find some real gems. These come sometimes from widows cleaning out the house after the husband passed and she just wants to get rid of his things. Most know from their husbands that some of the cards have value but even many of the husbands didn't know what value they truly had in many cases. I've even had moms selling her kids stuff and once came across a great trove of rare rookies in one buy. But most of the time these sales from a kids collection are not in mint shape. You just have to plug away.
Like anything in life. If you want to find that Golden Ring you have to do a lot of digging. eBay will never be helpful for this as nobody is going to let a real Gem Card get away. Stick to outside of the collecting circles. As I said look locally and as some of my friends have done, advertise and be willing to travel a little bit to see collections from people who are not rabid collectors. Stay away from them. Go to those who list baseball cards as one of the things they have up for sale.
I wish you a lot of luck. Let us know how you do!
Like anything in life. If you want to find that Golden Ring you have to do a lot of digging. eBay will never be helpful for this as nobody is going to let a real Gem Card get away. Stick to outside of the collecting circles. As I said look locally and as some of my friends have done, advertise and be willing to travel a little bit to see collections from people who are not rabid collectors. Stay away from them. Go to those who list baseball cards as one of the things they have up for sale.
I wish you a lot of luck. Let us know how you do!