This is a preview video of packs from this era that I plan on opening more of on the channel soon. Let me know your thoughts about vintage baseball card wax pack integrity in the comments below! music: www.bensound.com
Not sure if anyone would search a 1988 wax pack because there aren’t any cards with significant value except a Don Mattingly World of Baseball Card but that card is really hard to find and didn’t have a large print run. But I get your point and you had some good observations that people can look for. Another way you can add to the evidence is if the collation doesn’t work. Collation refers to the sheet numbers on the cards before and after the “break” in the pack. Cards from sheets A,B, and C will always be found together in a wax pack, and cards from sheets D,E, and F will always be found together. The break in the pack that separates these two groups may be the gum, it may be the entry card, or it may be when the cards are turned 90 degrees suddenly about half way through the pack. The sheet number is on the back side of the card. So for example, you open a wax pack, and it starts with a card from sheet B and the next card is from sheet E, it’s not a legit pack and it’s been searched. When people search packs and reseal them, they rarely think of these packing rules that Topps used to have. Hopefully, that all makes sense.
When I was a kid (I'm 50 now) I sometimes would make re-sealed packs. Then I would open them again later when I had no packs/money to open, haha. I got rocked every time though. 😮💨 The packs were much tougher to open the second time as I resealed using a heated butter knife, which was difficult to control the temperature and usually was too hot, so the wrapper tore and was tough to open.
I’ve heard it’s the opposite. If it’s easy to open then it’s probably legit, if it’s hard it’s probably been opened. When people reglue the pack it’s more than factory. If it was hard to open they wouldn’t be able to reseal because the paper would be tore up.
If an eBay seller has loads of boxes for sale that’s a high chance of resealing to me. I usually look for regular folks selling an old box that they bought and put away for 30 years.
Another thing I noticed about your 1988 pack is it did not have the “spring fever baseball” contest card inside for 4 tix to 1989 spring training camp. The 85 pack was legit.
I always thought the easier opening packs could be an indication that the pack is untapered because the adhesive to seal the pack by the manufacturer is older and loses strength over time. If the back of the pack does not have a symmetrical seal as the 1988 pack in this video, I don't think it necessarily means the pack has been searched because it could be a manufacturer flaw. To me, the corners of the pack need to be square as both the 1988 and 1985 packs in this video seemed to be. If they do not look square and look flat or have another shape I would question the pack. As far as the roller marks lining up on the back of the pack, I can never really detect roller marks on every wax pack so that clue sometimes becomes useless. I would like someone to do a before and after video which demonstrates what happens when you carefully open and then reseal a pack, preferably by a brave willing individual who has been successful at pulling this trick off. Maybe demonstrate multiple attempts of resealing and then carefully compare and contrast resealed examples from factory sealed wax packs.
Jay Bob & Sons always enjoy watching your stuff. I haven’t decided. My brother already ate the gum from one. I will probably just hold onto them and sell them if they ever become valuable
I think the number of re-sealed 1988 Topps is about 0. There never was a card that was worth searching for. Why pull out Tom Glavine when you can't sell that card for even 2 bucks raw? It's not like at $100 86 Donruss Canseco or a $40 84 Topps Mattingly. Also, that Mike Moore was never more than 10 cents. If the 1985 Topps was searched, it woudl have been searched for high dollar stuff that were valuable back when resealing was a thing, like 1988 and before, like Dwight Gooden RC, Mark McGwire USA...maybe Clemens, Puckett, Eric and Alvin Davis, etc. No one back then was resealing for 1985 Pete Rose, Cal Ripken, Tony Gwynn, Mike Schmidt, Nolan Ryan, Yaz, etc. because those cards were worth very little and to hide your resealing, you leave those 50 cent cards (remember in the late 80s, those guys may be stars but not HOFers yet) so that the seller could say, see you got good cards, it was just bad luck you didn't get that one card.
I've seen several videos of BBCE certified wax packs that seemed very suspicious. I would say that sometimes even experts miss stuff. Also how skilled the authenticator is to begin with.
I just got some 1981 Topps football packs in the mail that I bought on Ebay. I am no expert, in fact pretty inexperienced at this old wax. They were listed as being in great shape, but i get the impression they have been handled more than once. Also part of the main seam is not stuck down, some of the folds look not all that great. Last there are no roller marks visible. On a couple of them there is a mark from something that does not line up across the seam. They were not cheap, I don't want to open if even a chance they were resealed. Wonder if someone can check out a video I made of them and give an opinion?
It's always possible, but from ma y of the comments on there those old packs just are sometimes loose and seals unfold. So hard to know for sure I guess.
Nobody would search a useless year or card Maker. As in late 1980s. I'm not as sure about baseball but in hockey from 1989 on they would Not be searched. 1985 baseball would be a definite possibility., but having been in this biz for over 40 years and having worked at 0 -Pee -Chee from 1975 to 1980 - it's rare to see a seriously nice year i.e. 1979 OPC hockey that has NOT been searched. Especially if purchased from eBay. I hate to generalize , but in my experience you must be VARY wary of unopened packs - period...!
It's hilarious how people would reseal 80s baseball packs back in the day thinking they were pulling big money cards when it ended up being mostly duds or at best a card that's worth a few dollars. Very rarely would you end up with a PSA 10 graded card from that time period, which is the only real valuable type of card. Sorry you got a resealed pack.
Great video CAN YOU HELP?? I pulled a 1/1 pannine contenders zion williamson printing plate autograph on conteders series finals ticket non online the card eq is 6-8k what would plate go for?
hey! congrats on the pull! That is sick! Printing plates are hard to judge value since they are usually 1/1. Really have no idea, cards are worth what ever someone wants to pay for it. I would say a Zion Printing plate would be 🔥!
I have a one 1987 and two 1988 Topps Wax Boxes that I purchased in those years that I haven't opened. I know these weren't searched as I purchased sealed cases at that time. I am curious though to know how they are sealed after watching your video. I will take a peak at some of the backs and offer you feedback in the coming days. Thoughtful video.
That is awesome! Well done for resisting the temptation to open them all of these years. Please do let me know what happens if you do decide to open them. Thanks so much for watching!
This is really horrible advice as the 85 pack was searched and the 88 pack is legit but you're saying the opposite. - Nobody would bother with 88 topps reseal job, even two years on you can get a box of 88 for like $25 - The wax SHOULD come apart fairly easily, if it tears like with the 85 it is because the adhesive used to reseal is stronger than the manufacturer's seal. - Resealers are getting smarter and would damn sure include a gum-stained card in the right spot (not hard to get gum-stained cards when you're resealing...) - Including something like the Pete Rose is exactly what resealers do to assuage suspicion. The real advice should be to buy boxes of BBCE certified product if you're dealing with older product. If someone is selling a loose pack online for more than like $20, you should assume it has been searched (it probably has).
