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Where Do They All Come From

Sometimes, when we post about finds ort collections that we purchase, we get emails from readers wondering how someone could still have a certain card or how could they have saved it for so long.  Sometimes, we get asked why did someone save so many cards of one player or one year or one sport.

The one thing that we've learned is that collectors collect what collectors want to collect.  There isn't always a rhyme or a reason other than they really find a love or a passion for a player, an issue or a sport and they work on it for quite some time.  

Accumulations

With the wide reach of the Internet, it is no longer impossible to accumulate some very large counts of certain players or even specific cards.  Recently, a collector made the hobby news because of his obsession with the 1986 Topps Traded Barry Bonds card.  He's scoured the Internet, online sales sites and national dealers to accumulate his hoard.

Just Collect recently purchased a collection that was assembled in advance of the Internet and online sales sites and this collection consisted of literally thousands of 1980's basketball cards.  The collection comes from the son of a card shop owner and is the result of opening boxes and boxes of Fleer Basketball cards. 

We previously shared the Star Company portion of the collection with you in anearlier blog and this blog will focus on the thousands upopn thousands of 1986-1990 Fleer Basketball cards that were included in the collection in addition to more than 100 Michael Jordan cards.

Jordan, Jordan, Jordan

The collection contained a couple of 1986 Fleer #57 Michael Jordan rookie cards as well as several of the 1986 Fleer #8 stickers.  What was even more astounding was that there were quantities of all of the other Jordan cards.  There were more than 20 of the 1987 Fleer #59 Jordans, another 27 of the 1987 Fleer #2 stickers and stacks of 1988, 1989 and 1990 base cards, All-Star cards and stickers!  Well over 100 base Jordans and nearly 100 more of the sticker cards.

We can only imagine how many packs the collector opened in amassing this enormous collection.  And how many sticks of gum did he chew?  Personally, I've always felt that the Fleer Double Bubble was a much better gum than the Topps Bazooka that each company used in their packs.

Hall of Famer Rookies Galore!

While most are familiar with the quantity and quality of the Hall of Fame rookie cards in the 1986 Fleer Basketball Set (and they're all present and accounted for in this collection), there are many others that are not to be overlooked in the subsequent years.  While 1987 does not offer a Hall of Fame rookie card, it boasts a number of rookie cards of many key players from the era including Terry Porter, Brad Daugherty, Jerome Kersey, Detlef Schrempf, Chuck Pearson, Dale Ellis and Johnny Dawkins.  The 1988 Fleer Basketball Set does offer several significant Hall of Fame rookie cards of Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, Reggie Miller and Dennis Rodman.

Without delving into them too much, there were plenty of 1989 and 1990 Fleer cards as well.  While there are some Hall of Fame rookie cards in these issues along with most of the Hall of Famers that are present in the earlier issues, the value isn't as significant as the earlier Fleer issues.

While Just Collect is known primarily for being one of the country's largest buyers of vintage cards, we are always interested in purchasing collections of Fleer basketball cards from 1986 to 1988 as well as select items from 1983 to 1985 Star Company basketball.

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.

"Fabulous Fleer Find: Thousands of Fleer Basketball Cards" Video: