Mormad said:
I know a guy that, through his connections as CEO of a major brand that supplied all MLB gear and therefore access to locker rooms and dugouts, started collecting signed jerseys, balls, bases, shoes, hats, bats, etc. Expanded into NFL and NBA. Has original rookie baseball cards worth more than 100k EACH. Has the largest collection of signed jerseys in the world, and his signed baseball collection is not the largest in the world but the most impressive. He insured the room in his house where all this is displayed for $2 million. Crazy.
He and his son were in the locker room wth LeBron and he asked LeBron for an autograph. They had no paper so LeBron removed a shoe and signed it. There's just cool stuff like that in the room. Cleats from Joe Montana and Tom Brady, a football signed by Jim brown.
And all are original, signed in person memories. None of this stuff was bought. Again, crazy. I was shocked.
BP Cox said:Yeah this was one of the deeper dives I took on submissions. I recommend looking into Kurts Card Care and reading up on cleaning tips, the tools he uses, etc. I purchased about everything he recommended and have used these on a few submissions. He has links to all of the items he recommends so you can purchase directly on Amazon.wolf howl said:
Good feedback BP. I know PSA was the most respected for a long time it seems but others have gained some traction which is probably good for the hobby as well to have some competition in the space.
What do you do to inspect the cards before sending them in? Any special lights or equipment you use or just the ole eye balls and experience?
You can do some damage to the cards when trying to clean them so do like he says and use base cards to practice on before you clean anything valuable. I tried to clean a card up fresh in from a redemption, a /5 Justin Fields Prizim Draft Picks card. Should have just sent it in but thought I could make it "perfect". Tried to the use the cleaning kit and actually put a few light scratches on it. Dropped it to an 8 from PSA. I almost threw up when I saw the grade.
If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, look for breakers who offer submission services. Be sure to look through their posts (usually on Facebook) and see how many submissions they do and how many come back at 9 or 10. You can then reach out to them to discuss further.
But back to the equipment I've purchased, I have:
- Humidor
- Black light
- Cheap digital microscope with LCD screen (Amazon, maybe $60)
- Kurts Card Care Kit
- Microfiber towels
