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Beantown Basketball – The Star Company Collection

Sometimes, it isn't about where you go, but just about being there when someone approaches you. Just Collect travels to several shows over the course of the calendar year and we are usually able to set up local appointments with collectors that are interested in receiving an appraisal and a purchase offer on their collection. We are able to buy many of these collections.

On a recent trip to the Greater Boston Sports Collectors Club Show in Wilmington, MA, a collector approached our table with a knapsack and produced a few items and asked if we were interested in making him an offer. The conversation started with the collector presenting a couple of factory-sealed boxes of 1993 Topps Finest Baseball. These are not necessarily the first things one would expect to be pulled from a book bag, but it was.

The collector shared that he had more material in his car and a even more at home. The predominance of the material was basketball, including a large collection of Star Company basketball (with many Michael Jordan cards) and a plethora of 1986-1990 Fleer Basketball. Over the span of two days, the collector brought his collection and we were able to review the entirety of the collection and reach agreement on a purchase price for the collection in two different deals.

There's Nothing to Fear

Star Company basketball cards are an intriguing case study. When you ask around the hobby, there is probably more misinformation and erroneous assumptions that there is factual evidence. We're not going to proclaim ourselves to be infallible with respect to Star Company cards, but our experts have educated themselves with many of the intricacies and nuances of the set – including the reprints and the counterfeits -- and we're quite comfortable in our evaluations.  We recommend that collectors that have interest in Star Company basketball cards educate themselves on this issue, especially if they plan on purchasing some of the more pricey Star Company basketball team bags, sets and single cards.

They Bagged Those Sets

Star Company entered the marketplace with their first release during the 1983-84 NBA season. Initially, Star Company issued a set depicting the NBA All-Star in conjunction with the All-Star Game and subsequently released a full league set. In the following seasons, full league issues were released as well as other subsets (also in oversized formats) such as Slam Dunk competitions, All-Rookie, Champions and local and regional advertising sets. Unlike their predecessors (Bowman, Topps and Fleer) that released their cards in wax pack format, Star Company released their sets in team bags form – each team set (or small set) was individually bagged and heat sealed.

Star Company (1983-84 through 1985-86) filled a void between Topps (1981-82) and Fleer (1986-87) by having the only license to produce NBA cards. During this period, some of the most dynamic players in the history of the NBA entered the league and made their debuts on Star Company cards. Players like Michael Jordan, Hakeem (Akeem) Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, Dominique Wilkins, Clyde Drexler, James Worthy, Isiah Thomas, John Stockton and Patrick Ewing all have rookie cards in the Star Company product line - contrary to many people believing that the 1986 Fleer cards are the rookie cards of these Hall of Famers.

Michael Jordan

Most people first turn their interest to Star Company basketball because of Michael Jordan. Aside from Jordan's rookie card being in the 1984-85 set, he is featured on a number of other cards through the set and subsequent years and subsets. There are a lot of rumors about his rookie cards, but it is our understanding that the 1984 Star Company #101 Michael Jordan card was not part of the "reprinted" and backdated run of Star Company cards. However, there are counterfeits of the 1984 #101 Jordan, so buyers should be wary and educate themselves upon the specifics and differences of the original and the counterfeit.

The Collection

The Star Company portion of the collection that we purchased included almost every Star Company basketball card, including many of the key rookies and most of the subsets and special issues. The collector held onto his #101 Jordan from the Bulls Team Set as it was pending grading with Beckett Grading Service. We're hoping that when he receives it, that he will afford Just Collect the opportunity to purchase the card.

Schedule an Appointment to Meet Just Collect at a Show Near You

Just Collect travels to several shows on a regular basis. In the New York area, we often attend the White Plains Show at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY. If you're in the New England area, you can make an appointment to meet with one of our specialists when we're in the area for the Shriner's Show at the Aleppo Auditorium in Wilmington, MA. We also visit the Metro-DC area when we attend the CSA Show in Chantilly, VA. If you're in the South Jersey or Delaware area, you can also schedule appointments while we're in the Philadelphia area when we do The Philly Show in Valley Forge, PA.

We set up at The National Sports Collectors Convention every year and this year, it will be at the Stephens Convention Center in the Rosemont section of Chicago, IL and it has also been in Cleveland, Atlantic City and Baltimore in recent years. Additionally, we travel to the Sports Card and Memorabilia Expo in Mississauga, Ontario for those of you in the Toronto area that want to meet with us in Canada.

We would love to meet with you and schedule a private appointment to assess and value your collection while we are in your area, so please check out our show and travel schedule to see when Just Collect will be in your area!

Our Buying Philosophy

We've run into a wide range of people and collections over the past decade. Although we are known for buying vintage sports cards and especially vintage basketball cards, we are also extremely interested in buying non-sports cards, also!

Every collection and every collector is different and we treat EVERY collection with the respect and attention that we show for our own collections. We understand that many have put their heart and soul into building their collection. So when you're ready to sell, Just Collect understands the feelings that you're going through and we will work with you to help you reach a decision that is a WIN/WIN, because if you're not happy, we're not happy.

Won't They Be Worth More if I Grade Them Myself

We discuss all of the selling options with everyone that we meet with. In most cases, selling the collection on their own will put the most money on the bottom line, but it will also take an large commitment of time and energy and one that most are not ready or able to undertake. Another misconception is that grading the collection will return more money. When I hear people say, "You're just going to grade them and get ten times the money," I almost cringe. Grading a collection can be a money losing proposition, especially if you don't know what you're doing. And most times, we grade very few, if any cards, from average collections that we buy.

We value a collection based upon the condition and the value. If a card is worth $100 in a PSA 7 NM, we're going to value it at $100 whether it is ungraded or graded. You can spend hundreds or thousands of dollars grading your cards, but we're still valuing them the same and paying the same regardless of how much you've invested in grading them.

We Are Always Buying

Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 1979 as well as select modern cards. If you have a collection that you are considering selling, contact us today to discuss your collection and get our industry leading purchase offer. If you have a collection that you want appraised, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss your collection and help you understand the real cash value of your collection in the current marketplace.

Don't hesitate to check out our Google Reviews left by many of the great people that have considered selling collections to Just Collect

"Basketball in Beantown - The Star Company Collection" Video: