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1933 Goudey Baseball Collection

What happens when Just Collect performs an evaluation based upon images and the collection is not as expected them to be when we receive them? Well, it doesn't happen very often, but when it does, like with a collection of more than 200 1933 and 1934 Goudey cards, we address it immediately and discuss all of the options, including promptly returning the collection or performing a new evaluation. We're not about to play a game of bait-and-switch with any of our potential sellers. Everything is open, honest and straightforward.

Just Collect appreciates the trust and faith that collectors place in us when shipping their collections to our office. If we cannot reach agreement, we will promptly return cards and collections safely package, fully insured and at our expense! Our experienced specialists and ability to provide preliminary values helps ensure that such impasses are extremely rare occurrences.

In the case of the Goudey collection presented here, we provided a preliminary appraisal based upon a series of quality scans the owner provided. Based upon the preliminary evaluation and general estimates, the owner opted to forward the cards to our Somerset, NJ office via our FREE and Insured FedEx shipping program. Upon receipt, however, it was discovered that a very large portion of the collection has writing on the reverse. Much of this writing was in pencil and typically was some sort of 8 digit coding in a XXX-XXX-XX type format -- you can see some of these "codes" in the video below. Most were written firmly with a very sharp pencil, embedding deeply into the soft card stock. A few of the cards also had writing on the front in blue ink.

Upon this discovery, we immediately contacted the owner of the collection and presented him with the option of returning the collection or having an evaluation performed based upon the writing. He said that he had been aware of the writing and after learning of the significant impact on the condition, asked for us to perform the new evaluation and provide him with the appraisal and purchase offer.

The Reevaluation Process
Our vintage card specialist went through the collection and line-itemed each card and assigned the condition, including those that had the pencil or ink marks, and researched the value of each and every card. After completing the evaluation and preparing the appraisal, we presented the owner with the details and with our purchase offer.

He asked for a few days over the weekend to review the data and work through the information that we provided him. After the weekend, he contacted us and we were able to reach agreement on a purchase price for the collection that was agreeable for both parties.

The Collection
Collected originally by the gentleman's father in the 1930's, the collection was stored for decades in a shoebox until the gentleman's mother gave them to him. He related to Just Collect that his children had little interest in the collection and that he really didn't have anyone to leave them to, so he figured it best to sell them.

This is a thought process that we've been hearing more and more lately. Parents and grandparents have regularly mentioned that their children or grandchildren have little or no interest in the collections. Maybe it is just the younger generation that is more involved in computer gaming than collecting? Regardless, we're happy that these folks contact us and we're happy to offer them a great price for their collection and offer them back into the hobby for collectors to enjoy.

The Ironman – Lou Gehrig
The collection included nearly 50 Hall of Fame players, including both Lou Gehrig cards (#92 and #160) that are in the set (see images below).

1933 Goudey #92 and #160 Lou Gehrig cards

No Babe Ruth Cards, But Plenty of Hall of Famers
While the collection of 1933 Goudey cards included both Lou Gehrig cards, it was absent any of the four Babe Ruth cards. But that didn't really upset us as the balance of the collection was loaded with Hall of Famers. Players like Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx, Rogers Hornsby, Tris Speaker, Bill Dickey, Mickey Cochrane, Lefty O'Doul, Bill Terry, Al Simmons, Carl Hubble and so many others were sprinkled throughout the collection.

1933 Goudey #29 Jimmie Foxx and #89 Tris Speaker cards

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

"Dad's 1933 Goudey Shoebox Collection" Video: