i don't know what the deal is with the gretzky card. it just looks like a normal card to me. the writing on the back is frech but other than that it looks pretty normal to me. but its price for a mint condition card is everywhere from $20 - $190.

it's just a normal 1990-91 upper deck card other than the french writing. i'm trying to figure out of some are error cards or what.
- kicksave856

yeah in some cases there are cards with specific defects that are more sought after, since they automatically tend to be rarer than the regular batch ones.

upper deck in french, is it from McDonalds..?

for example I have this giant-sized Patrick Roy card, it isn't worth all that much but I still frickin' love it.

it was definitely picked through. i know i had barry sanders rookie cards and none of the football cards were there except one sleeve from an album and the best rookie card in there was derrick thomas and he's dead and the card was ever so slightly bent anyway.
- kicksave856

meaning, someone looked through your cards and stole some of them..?

meaning, someone looked through your cards and stole some of them..?
- Pat1993

yes. but i'm lucky i got any of them back. just when i was getting tired of looking through all the cards (there were thousands, and some were full sets in boxes and stuff like that) i found a tin full of poopty pro set 1990 cards but all of these good cards in the plastic sleeves were hidden in there.

it was fun seeing the cards you put in plastic when you were a kid, hoping they'd turn out. owen nolan, peter nedved, hell there was a tim cheveldae rookie card in a plastic sleeve

yes. but i'm lucky i got any of them back. just when i was getting tired of looking through all the cards (there were thousands, and some were full sets in boxes and stuff like that) i found a tin full of poopty pro set 1990 cards but all of these good cards in the plastic sleeves were hidden in there.

it was fun seeing the cards you put in plastic when you were a kid, hoping they'd turn out. owen nolan, peter nedved, hell there was a tim cheveldae rookie card in a plastic sleeve
- kicksave856

but who could've went through them, you didn't lose the cards in the fire but they were accessible to any random stranger..?

yeah in some cases there are cards with specific defects that are more sought after, since they automatically tend to be rarer than the regular batch ones.

upper deck in french, is it from McDonalds..?

for example I have this giant-sized Patrick Roy card, it isn't worth all that much but I still frickin' love it.



- Pat1993

no. just a plain old card. here it is for $20:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/134227706787

here it is for $180
https://www.ebay.com/itm/155879779633



oh, and here's a perfect one for $240!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/275178184080

but who could've went through them, you didn't lose the cards in the fire but they were accessible to any random stranger..?
- Pat1993

whoever saved it all must have gone through it. one of the workers. someone saved them and set them aside and then put them in the wrong condo's closet when the rebuilding was done. or, they just meant to store them in that condo until mine was rebuilt (the back 4 units stayed but were gutted and remodeled, our front 4 units were completely torn down and rebuilt from the slab up) and then forgot and left them there.

no. just a plain old card. here it is for $20:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/134227706787

here it is for $180
https://www.ebay.com/itm/155879779633



oh, and here's a perfect one for $240!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/275178184080
- kicksave856

yeah pricings can be all over the place, I guess if the card is in good enough condition then it might be worth having it officially graded, which then makes collectors less reluctant to dish out a few more bucks.

whoever saved it all must have gone through it. one of the workers. someone saved them and set them aside and then put them in the wrong condo's closet when the rebuilding was done. or, they just meant to store them in that condo until mine was rebuilt (the back 4 units stayed but were gutted and remodeled, our front 4 units were completely torn down and rebuilt from the slab up) and then forgot and left them there.
- kicksave856

(frank)ing firemen, pretending to be all courageous and helpful while they're actually just a bunch of conniving hypocrites.

yeah pricings can be all over the place, I guess if the card is in good enough condition then it might be worth having it officially graded, which then makes collectors less reluctant to dish out a few more bucks.
- Pat1993

it's been in plastic all this time. hopefully it's in okay condition. i don't know much about how they grade them but i know it's more than "it looks pretty perfect to me", because as far as i can tell most of these look pretty perfect to me.

i also have another, lower level of rookie cards. a bunch of different modanos, a mats sundin, bunch of curtis josephs, roenick, some of the russians who did weird things with the rules (makarov and fetisov).

(frank)ing firemen, pretending to be all courageous and helpful while they're actually just a bunch of conniving hypocrites.
- Pat1993

it was probably whoever was hired to tear everything down and dispose of everything.

i probably would have gone through them too!

it was probably whoever was hired to tear everything down and dispose of everything.

i probably would have gone through them too!
- kicksave856

oh well in that case I guess karma is your double-edged friend...

it's been in plastic all this time. hopefully it's in okay condition. i don't know much about how they grade them but i know it's more than "it looks pretty perfect to me", because as far as i can tell most of these look pretty perfect to me.

i also have another, lower level of rookie cards. a bunch of different modanos, a mats sundin, bunch of curtis josephs, roenick, some of the russians who did weird things with the rules (makarov and fetisov).
- kicksave856

The four conditions used for grading are the quality of the surface, sharpness of corners, crispness and sharpness of edges and how well the image on the card itself is centered, front and back. Not every card is a candidate for grading. Newer cards have higher standards for grading.


makes sense, then you just gotta make sure the company you're paying to have your cards graded has a solid reputation, there's a lot of scamming going around for sure.

reminds me of a Red Letter Media video where they debunked the very fake VHS tapes collectors market, they even had one of their movie tapes graded while it essentially wasn't worth anything.

oh well in that case I guess karma is your double-edged friend...
- Pat1993

wouldn't you?

picture it. you have a hard, physical job, probably young and not well paid, you're a sports fan, and you come across these cards that have been left behind and forgotten (i forgot they were even in that closet and didn't ask anyone to look for them or anything like that). wouldn't you at least want to look through and see what was there? and then, since they were abandoned, you just end up taking some that you like or think will be worth something someday. i don't even blame them. i should have remembered i had them and asked for the people to see if they could find them.

i never imagined anything was going to be salvageable even if i did remember them. you shoulda seen this place afterward. just all collapsed and dripping and 3 inches of water and rising on the ground.

wouldn't you?

picture it. you have a hard, physical job, probably young and not well paid, you're a sports fan, and you come across these cards that have been left behind and forgotten (i forgot they were even in that closet and didn't ask anyone to look for them or anything like that). wouldn't you at least want to look through and see what was there? and then, since they were abandoned, you just end up taking some that you like or think will be worth something someday. i don't even blame them. i should have remembered i had them and asked for the people to see if they could find them.

i never imagined anything was going to be salvageable even if i did remember them. you shoulda seen this place afterward. just all collapsed and dripping and 3 inches of water and rising on the ground.
- kicksave856

I don't think I'd be going for it while knowing it's someone else's property, especially under the circumstances where they already went through some very horrible poop like losing a bunch of personal belongings or even their home... but hey, perhaps after a few years on the job and having seen everything I'd start to get more comfortable with the idea, I dunno loll.

The four conditions used for grading are the quality of the surface, sharpness of corners, crispness and sharpness of edges and how well the image on the card itself is centered, front and back. Not every card is a candidate for grading. Newer cards have higher standards for grading.


makes sense, then you just gotta make sure the company you're paying to have your cards graded has a solid reputation, there's a lot of scamming going around for sure.

reminds me of a Red Letter Media video where they debunked the very fake VHS tapes collectors market, they even had one of their movie tapes graded while it essentially wasn't worth anything.
- Pat1993

i did know to look for centering. i remember that from reading that guide they used to sell at the card stores. but that's pretty much all i knew for sure. if i ever move them from one sleeve to another i do it very carefully so the corners don't split or bend. i try not to even move them once they're in a sleeve.

i even wore rubber gloves going through all of these because there was soot and dust in the box too so i wanted to keep them clean once i got them out. some were already ruined and filthy but most of them were actually fine somehow. that closet ended up sealed shut by all the water and probably the weight of the building on the walls by then. nobody could get into it and probably didn't want to be yanking too hard on anything in the shaky structure that was left anyway. maybe it stayed a little dryer in there somehow.

I don't think I'd be going for it while knowing it's someone else's property, especially under the circumstances where they already went through some very horrible poop like losing a bunch of personal belongings or even their home... but hey, perhaps after a few years on the job and having seen everything I'd start to get more comfortable with the idea, I dunno loll.
- Pat1993

i think by the time they get to their part of the job we've already signed something that says we're leaving everything behind and they can go ahead and start tearing it down. i'm sure somewhere along the line we had to sign something stating that before they could get to work.

i think by the time they get to their part of the job we've already signed something that says we're leaving everything behind and they can go ahead and start tearing it down. i'm sure somewhere along the line we had to sign something stating that before they could get to work.
- kicksave856

sure but I find it's still being deceitful, if anything is actually salvaged it should automatically go back to the owner imho.

sure but I find it's still being deceitful, if anything is actually salvaged it should automatically go back to the owner imho.
- Pat1993

i guess. i'm just thankful for what i got. life's usually not even this fair.

this feels kind of like losing your wallet and someone finds it and mails it back to you because they know you need the drivers license and credit cards but they take the $35 in cash. you're kind of like, "i think i'm mad, but how mad can i be when they did send me back my important stuff?"

i guess. i'm just thankful for what i got. life's usually not even this fair.

this feels kind of like losing your wallet and someone finds it and mails it back to you because they know you need the drivers license and credit cards but they take the $35 in cash. you're kind of like, "i think i'm mad, but how mad can i be when they did send me back my important stuff?"
- kicksave856

meh, things can always be worse, I get what you're saying, but even in the scenario you're describing I find the person mailing your wallet back but taking money in it without asking is kind of being a d!ck, as though they can't make a 100% fully nice gesture that doesn't involve any shenanigans or thievery.

meh, things can always be worse, I get what you're saying, but even in the scenario you're describing I find the person mailing your wallet back but taking money in it without asking is kind of being a d!ck, as though they can't make a 100% fully nice gesture that doesn't involve any shenanigans or thievery.
- Pat1993

the important thing is that i've learned to store my valuables in the closet near the kitchen.

the important thing is that i've learned to store my valuables in the closet near the kitchen.
- kicksave856

because they have better chances of surviving a fire in there...?

because they have better chances of surviving a fire in there...?
- Pat1993

lol yes. it's apparently impenetrable to disasters. i might even just hop in there myself if this ever happens again.

lol yes. it's apparently impenetrable to disasters. i might even just hop in there myself if this ever happens again.
- kicksave856

dude, you've been through this poop once, hopefully you won't go through the same experience ever again loll

dude, you've been through this poop once, hopefully you won't go through the same experience ever again loll
- Pat1993

true. i'm kind of counting on a "lightning doesn't strike the same place twice" kind of thing.

true. i'm kind of counting on a "lightning doesn't strike the same place twice" kind of thing.
- kicksave856

yeah. and then you have poop like this:


Park ranger Roy Sullivan was struck by lightning seven times throughout his life and survived each time. Sullivan is recognized by Guinness world records as the person struck by lightning more recorded times than anybody else.


I mean wtf