I actually bought big lots of 1974 and 1975 Topps commons in Ex-Mt type shape at a show this past weekend. Paid 10 cents apiece (their asking price) for them, so I've at least started those 2 sets. They were small lots, about 100 different cards each, but it's a start. Figured that's okay. But just kind of tells me how much 1970s commons are worth, haha. Already had a few big 1974 and 1975 Topps cards.
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Originally Posted by jtclockwork
If you want to set build in the 1950s-1970s I would start with the big cards first OR buy a big lot of commons from that set year in one big lot. You usually get deals buying in bulk as someone wants to move them and doesn't want the pain of doing so individually. I'm assuming you are not looking for super high grade given the prices you are listing, so buying a bunch in bulk is probably the way to go -- or at least that's how I'd do it. That should give you a "starter" set and make it easier to pick off the the others you need.
As to retaining value, I wouldn't expect the value to rise on the old commons from that era but they probably won't lose much either. You might get lucky and someone gets a late HOF induction, which will drive up the value on that one player, but for the most part, these careers are said and done and cards from this era are not super rare.
As to the market for these, it's been pretty stagnate from what I've seen. Someone said the prices went down. I think that's accurate, but from my experience it hasn't really dropped much since the Internet era. Pre-Internet days it was hard to set build. You had to "find" the card at a shop or card show. Now anyone can go on Ebay and find 20 examples of just about anything from that era. Ebay brought more buyers into the market but it also brought more easily accessible sellers. It created a price fluctuation in the market, but in my opinion that fluctuation for for low-mid grade 1950s-1970s commons already happened and is unlikely to drop much further.
That said, they can be difficult to sell too unless you go with a consignment. So, be mindful of that. Happy hunting!
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