The National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland, OH | Just Collect Blog

Lots of things are worth a million bucks -- homes, yachts and even exotic cars. But what about baseball cards and sports memorabilia? What could possibly be worth a million bucks? Well, we've made a list of a few items that are worth a $1,000,000.00 to us, and we're willing to put our money on the table to buy them. That's right, show up to our booth at The National with any of the items listed below and you can become a millionaire. So, start digging through your old collections, raid your grandfathers' attic, and ask your mom if she really did throw out those cards when you went away to college!

• 1915 Cracker Jack Complete Set, mint condition: It's extremely tough to find singles in high-grade, let alone put together a complete set. And unlike it's predecessor in 1914, you could mail away to get a complete factory set, so they are "easier" to find in high grade. Ironically, just a decade ago at the National in Cleveland, a complete Factory Set of 1915 Cracker Jack Baseball Cards was brought to and sold and ended up in the hands of one of the hobby's most prominent collectors. The set consists of 176 different cards, but there have been less than 300 mint examples slabbed by PSA. The hardest part of building a top condition set will be finding the "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and Ty Cobb cards in high grade.

• E-90-1 American Caramel "Shoeless" Joe Jackson Rookie Card, mint condition: Speaking of "Shoeless" Joe, his rookie card is extremely valuable in any grade - and not many people have seen one, let alone own one. Out of the 70 examples that PSA has graded, only two examples have been graded higher than EX/MT. A Jackson rookie in mint condition is rare - virtually non-existent - but coveted by all. Which is why we are willing to pay a million dollars for one.

• 1952 Topps Baseball Set, mint to gem mint condition: It was the first full-sized baseball set produced by Topps, and included dozens of baseball's immortals, including Jackie Robinson, Yogi Berra, and Duke Snider, while it also consisted of the sought after Topps rookie cards of Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays. Being that only 1% of all 1952 Topps cards encapsulated by PSA have been graded Mint or better, it doesn't seem feasible that one could but together a high-grade set. And good luck finding a Mantle in mint condition or better, as there are less than 10 currently in existence graded PSA 9 or PSA 10. Regardless, we are still in search of this "Holy Grail" of sets, and would love to be the proud owners.

  Don't have any mint condition cards from the early 1900's? Not a problem. We want to see what you DO have. Stop by and visit Just Collect at booth 521 and 620 and show us your vintage sports cards. We can give you a free appraisal of your collection. And if you are looking to sell, we will give you a cash offer on the spot! Whether you have complete or partial sets, graded or ungraded singles, we are buying vintage cards from 1879-1979!  Click here to see a partial list of some of the baseball sets we are buying and the prices we are paying!  

Pack Openings at the Just Collect Booth

As you may have heard, we are known throughout the hobby as the "vintage pack opening" guys. Every week, we open original packs of vintage baseball, football, basketball and hockey cards in search of stars and Hall of Famers.  We video these momentous events and bring that excitement to collectors everywhere via our YouTube channel and our blog.   Next week, Just Collect will be at The National in Cleveland, OH, and we'll be doing "live" pack openings at our booth (#521 and 620). Last year, we had tremendous success with our vintage pack rip of a 1955 Bowman Football Pack - so we will continue the trend! But this year, we're going to kick it up a notch. We are actually going to be doing three pack openings, one each day,Thursday, Friday and Saturday with the times to be determined. Here is the daily schedule of the packs that we are going to open:  

• Thursday: 1972 Topps Football Wax Pack (1st Series)
• Friday: 1968 Topps Baseball Cello Pack (PSA graded - 4th Series)
• Saturday: 1958 Topps Football Cello Pack (PSA graded)

We will be located at booth 521 and 620, so stop by anytime, and especially during our pack openings!  

When is the best time to come to The National?

The National Sports Collection Convention opens to dealers on Tuesday, and opens to collectors on Wednesday during a special "Preview" at 4:00 PM and runs daily through Sunday. Whether you are a dealer or collector, I think the best to day to get in to town is Monday. I have purchased cards on the Monday before The National just by running into fellow dealers in the hotel! As for collectors, this gives you time to settle in, unpack your things, and also check out the city for a day or two, before you dive in to the madness. You will also beat the majority of the traffic in, so you won't have that added stress. I think the best day to buy (for dealers) is Tuesday, because the material is fresh, and hasn't been culled through by the public. Wednesday is also good for buying, as a lot of dealers don't arrive until then, so as they are setting up, you can look through their fresh material as well, and most likely strike a good deal.   As a collector, if you have the patience, you can usually get better deals late Saturday into early Sunday, as dealer's are looking to pack up and travel home, so they are more inclined to bargain with you for a late sale. But remember, if you wait this long, you can expect the selection to be thinner, being that the public would have already had three or four days to look through the collections and dealers may have opted for other reasonable offers.   Another helpful tip: The convention center is always bigger than you think, and you are going to want to see every table - which means a lot of walking. So, I always buy a new pair of sneakers every year for the National and break them in before the show - and I recommend that you do the same!   Words of advice: Don't rush into anything, only spend what you can afford, and buy the best material possible. There is nothing worse then spending all your money in the first hour, when you haven't even seen the other hundreds of booths! So be patient, check out a bunch of dealers, then make your purchases - and negotiate. Buy what you want and in the condition and for the price that you are comfortable paying.  Don't just pony up and buy something because you "think" you have to have it. If you focus on buying the best that you can afford, your collection will be easier to manage, and you will most likely get a better return on your investment.   We look forward to seeing you at The National!  Please stop by and say hello and mention that you've read about us on our blog.