[mjmj1966]

I started my card collecting in 1978 with football. Only really collected for 3 years before I joined the USAF and was shipped to Japan for a majority of the 80s. With so much to do over there I really didn't think too much about sportscards. Since I'm a set builder and missed most of that decade I decided recently to buy 1 Topps box starting from 1983 to 1990. I've busted most of it and was wondering if off-centered, bent corners, print spots, and fuzzy photos were common to those years? I'm pretty picky about the sets I build and was just curious if I'm expecting too much. I get the gum and wax stains but is it impossible to build a nm-mt set or should I just expect this and settle for a exmt-nm set? I love busting packs and don't want to buy the factory sets but if those cards will be in better condition other than the wax/gum stains I may just go that route. Thanks for any help.

Mike

[nyyankeesfan28]

That's common from that era. It is called the "Overproduction Era", everyone thought cards would make them rich if they stored them away for 20 years, so the companies ran off many, many more, which violated the principle of supply and demand. Thus, the cards have no value and since they were being run off so fast and in such great quantity, there was no Quality Control or collation. You can expect defects in boxes from that time.

[mjmj1966]

That's common from that era. It is called the "Overproduction Era", everyone thought cards would make them rich if they stored them away for 20 years, so the companies ran off many, many more, which violated the principle of supply and demand. Thus, the cards have no value and since they were being run off so fast and in such great quantity, there was no Quality Control or collation. You can expect defects in boxes from that time.

Thanks for insight. Its just ashame because there are some great players in that decade.

[nyyankeesfan28]

There were some great players in that time frame. I don't think the factory sets will be much better. They were overproduced, too.

[mjmj1966]

There were some great players in that time frame. I don't think the factory sets will be much better. They were overproduced, too.

Guess I'll go with what I got then. I should have just left them alone.

[nyyankeesfan28]

What do you mean by "I should have just left them alone"? If you like opening the packs, then stick with that, because the factory sets won't be a whole lot better, maybe one grade. But if you want one grade better then go with the factory sets.

[dpatera]

Off center and sometimes fuzzy will be pretty common. I don't know about bent corners, though. I think that speaks to a bad box, more than anything. I went back a few years ago to remake older sets. Making most of the 80s sets was pretty fun as you can get a box of cards from most of those years for a lot cheaper than you'll get a modern box. You can open, sort, and then pick the best version of a card you get for your set.

It will definitely take some work to find near perfect copies of every card in a set from then, but I don't think there's any reason you should have to settle for less than sharp corners. There are so many cards and they're so cheap, that it's definitely doable.

[cweiland]

That's common from that era. It is called the "Overproduction Era", everyone thought cards would make them rich if they stored them away for 20 years, so the companies ran off many, many more, which violated the principle of supply and demand. Thus, the cards have no value and since they were being run off so fast and in such great quantity, there was no Quality Control or collation. You can expect defects in boxes from that time.

The over production era ruined the hobby for many of us set builders.

[dpatera]

The over production era ruined the hobby for many of us set builders.

See, I'd blame the dawn of the SPs for that. I can realistically build a set of any cards in the 80s with probably 3 or 4 boxes. How many boxes of Heritage or A&G would a collector need to buy to come anywhere close to building a set of those from packs?