Sports Illustrated Blog #127 on our way to #200 – Amazing What A Little Competition Will Do!

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.   Recently I returned one of my graded mags to CGC with a broken case.  What I received in return made me smile.  It’s amazing what a little competition can do.   First, the box was a single case box as opposed to a one size fits all (a box that was used to ship 1-8 cases).  Then, inside the box was a one-piece bubble wrap designed specifically to house one case.  It had an opening that could be used to easily insert or remove one case.  This piece could then be inserted back into the box for a perfect fit for reshipment.   For as long as we all have been living with inconsistent quality shipping performance from CGC, this new shipping policy is a welcome new feature.   Staying with CGC’s new shipping policies, there is a bit of unfavorable news as well.  Ever since I have been submitting mags for grading, I have used the returned CGC shipping boxes to inventory my encapsulations.  They nicely store about 20 encapsulations and fit uniformly on store bought shelving.    Over the years, I had figured out what size box I would receive in return depending on the number of mags sent to CGC for grading.  Typically, a submission of 12-20 mags would return a box perfect for storing 20 encapsulations – with all six sides cushioned.   CGC has made a change in that process.  For a submission of 20 graded mags, they are now using a reinforced bubble wrap configuration which houses 5 mag encapsulations, and packing four of these to a shipping box.  The protection along with the new cases is far superior to any shipping practice used previously however, these new boxes are not sized right for re-using to store inventory.   Collectors re-using CGC boxes should be aware of this change and plan to use other materials for storing their graded stuff in the future.   Hope this info has been helpful.  Feel free to send any packaging questions my way.   Many thanks for your patronage.  Come grow with us.   I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of SI, SPORT, and BASEBALL magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting. Great collecting to you in our second century of blogs and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/SPORT/BASEBALL magazines. For a complete review of previous blogs, please visit   www.sportsillustrated98.com

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.   Probably the biggest factor keeping a lid on our hobby’s growth has been the lack of competition – both on the grading side AND on the buying side.  But make no mistake, grading competition is long overdue.  Great news. PSA is “all in” on magazine grading.   Let’s take a look at how CGC, the only current grading service available, has evolved over the past 8 years.  The first seven years of my eight years blogging, terms and conditions at CGC were completely arbitrary.  Customer service answers to questions were scripted and uninformative.  Customer service was arrogant and detached.  And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, lead times jumped from 6 weeks to 18 months virtually overnight.    The message CGC was sending was that they were the only game in town so don’t rock the boat or you’ll find yourself on the outside looking in.   Then about one year ago, something strange happened.  Almost overnight, lead times dropped from 18 months to 60 days.  Customer service began answering questions and being more responsive to customer needs, like actually answering emails and following up when promised.    How many of you think the CGC change was a coincidence?   I believe that CGC uncovered that competition was coming and finally started paying attention.  If you’ve followed my blogs, and CGC gets a copy, you know how critical I have been of their “failure to communicate”.    Four years ago, I was approached by PSA senior management, inquiring if there was interest on my part to assist in their initial efforts to bring a magazine grading service on line.  Of course, I provided materials and advice where requested and hope my offerings were helpful.  After a long wait, competition appears to be happening.   What will a new grading service actually mean to our hobby?   I believe two quality, respected grading services, will bring fairness and stability to our market.  But there are also serious questions yet to be answered.  1. Until recently, CGC’s magazine grading offered nothing higher than 9.8.  How will collectors respond if PSA opens up the grading to 10.0? 2. Will PSA’s presence pressure CGC to open up its top grades.  After 10 years, and over 30,000 CGC universal grades with no grade above 9.8, CGC has now graded two mags, 9.9.  That suggests a change in attitude, not a change in submission quality.  How will the CGC loyal faithful accept this change in grading standards? 3. How will the market gauge a 10.0 from one and a 9.8 from the other?  Which is better, a 9.8 Michael Jordan from CGC or a 10.0 Michael Jordan from PSA? 4. How will the market accept the new PSA encapsulation?  5. Will CGC maintain its creditability in the hobby as the gold standard? 6. How will prices, deliveries, and customer service respond to the competition?   In collectibles, this stuff is important.   Not to say any of this is bad, but there’s a question as to how/where the dust will settle.  Sellers and collectors are not going to like it when buyers start to haggle which is more valuable – a PSA or a CGC grade.    I predict there will be some unhappy collectors, no matter the result but this stuff sure is interesting and a sure sign that our hobby is healthy and growing.    Long term, this is great news.   Many thanks for your patronage.  Come grow with us.   I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of SI, SPORT, and BASEBALL magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting. Great collecting to you in our second century of blogs and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/SPORT/BASEBALL magazines. For a complete review of previous blogs, please visit   www.sportsillustrated98.com

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.   The landscape for finding vintage, gradable newsstand SI’s has changed considerably over the past year.  No longer can a cursory glance across the eBay gamut of auction pages uncover the diamonds in the rough that have so popularized the graded magazine hobby for nearly eight years.    Newsstand copies of popular athletes pre-1980 have become tougher and tougher to find as the hobby has organized.  A dedicated buyer can search the auction platforms daily for months and not find a single newsstand gradable vintage SI.  Infrequently, a new player (seller) will enter the market with a couple nice mags but once they’re sold, that’s it, they’re gone.  And the very speculative part of this, the part that ends up costing you dollars, is the inability of buyers, myself included, to accurately pre-determine the eventual grade from an internet picture.   So, what happens?  Overly optimistic buyers (which is all of us) pay for an estimated 9.0+, which eventually grades out at 7.0 or even lower.  It doesn’t take much to drop a grade below 7.0 as those who submit mags will attest.  But the difference in sales value ranges from very profitable to unsellable. Given the current scarcity of vintage, newsstand SI’s, creating a nearly impossible situation for SI gold seekers, what options remain viable for hobbyists still looking to stay in the game.   I’ve been high on alternative (from SI’s) sports mags since the advent of graded magazines.  SI is the king, no doubt the #1, but not in every athlete/issue.  Because SPORT, BASEBALL, TIME magazines, and more, hit the newsstand before SI’s inaugural issue in 1954, many alt-pubs have issues more popular than their SI counterparts.  Jackie Robinson, Stan Musial, Joe DiMaggio, Henry Aaron, Roger Maris, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, to name just a few.  For example, Mantle has several major pub, quality, early covers appearing before his first SI cover.   My advice is to take advantage of the more obscure alt-pubs while the window is still cracked open.  There are still nice values available until prices catch up to SI.   Even though it’s getting tougher to find that diamond in the rough, it’s still a fun game as you never know what that next search will bring.  Good luck.   Many thanks for your patronage.   Come grow with us.   I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of SI, SPORT, and BASEBALL magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting. Great collecting to you in our second century of blogs and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/SPORT/BASEBALL magazines. For a complete review of previous blogs, please visit   www.sportsillustrated98.com

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.   Welcome to our latest edition of the most informative SI blog out there.   Continuing with our GOAT theme – Michael Jordan and his CGC 9.8’s.    Michael has two SI covers appearing on the list of SI Top Ten all time covers.  I know the SI top ten is subjective and still open for debate however, there is no debate that two Jordan’s make the list.  Everyone knows about the first three Jordan covers, so let’s focus this blog on the other 47.   My grouping of the next Jordan’s are his covers 1986 thru 1991 – 16 in all.  As of this writing, there are 6 – 9.8’s (not including the SOY) in this group – no cover with more than one.  If you have a 9.6, that’s really good but plan on more 9.8’s in the future.  There is nothing specifically difficult about these covers so I anticipate more 9.8’s as more mags are submitted for grading.   Something to consider here is the CGC grading process.  Over the past 10 years, the grading process has evolved in its technology, equipment, knowledge, and parameters all adding to tougher grades.  I can tell you first hand that a 9.8 today is an unblemished magazine – no exceptions.   I disagree with CGC that the grading process starts at 9.8, not 10.  A perfect magazine is a 9.8 and there has never been a higher graded magazine (out of 5-10,000).  Any defect, not matter how minute, drops the grade from 9.8.  To prove my point, there is never a grader note on a 9.8.  Why even have the higher grades 9.9 and 10?  Doesn’t make sense to me.    Thru the years, I think CGC has been tightening their parameters as they standardize each grade level.    Although every grade has a bit of subjectivity, their definition of any specific grade has become more repeatable.   In this area, CGC has dramatically improved since its early days of “magazine” grading.  As a result, many of the vintage highest grades were submitted pre-2018.   The next group of Jordan covers would include everything post 1991 – 31 mags altogether.  Jordan has been very collectible since the early 90’s and many SI collectors have saved and protected their Jordan purchases religiously so again, I anticipate a growing total of 9.8’s as more later Jordan’s are submitted.    Even given the potential increasing Jordan 9.8 population, do not underestimate the future popularity of ANY Jordan CGC 9.8.    Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.   Many thanks for your patronage.   Come grow with us.   I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of SI, SPORT, and BASEBALL magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting. Great collecting to you in our second century of blogs and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/SPORT/BASEBALL magazines. For a complete review of previous blogs, please visit   www.sportsillustrated98.com

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.   Welcome to our latest edition of the most informative SI blog out there.   Tom Brady – TB12 – The Goat.  Most of us have at least a minimum stake in the considerable Brady following. So how will the memorabilia market adjust to the new TB12?  Will the goat continue his popularity with NFL/sports card/magazine fans or will a new career in broadcasting be less “Goatish” and dampen the enthusiasm generated/accumulated over a 20-year playing career?      In my opinion, any collector/investor not investing in the Brady paper collectibles market is missing a rare opportunity to capitalize on an undervalued, underappreciated, opportunity.   This guy is at the top of the record books in every category anyone cares about.  Sometimes all-time greats don’t have the charisma to attract and keep attracting attention but I think Brady will continue to succeed at anything in his focus and collectors are going to want this guy.  SI makes it possible to collect a chronology of his career – at least 20 issues.    The downside is the era in which his memorabilia was printed.  His stuff is relatively new (post 2000) which is somewhat of a negative but also offers plenty of opportunity for even the newest of collectors to have a bit of fun with it.        I don’t think the Brady magazine market is anywhere near it’s peak and my recommendation is a buy (the highest grades).  Let’s check back in a year to see how things have played out.    Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.   Many thanks for your patronage.   Come grow with us.   I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of SI, SPORT, and BASEBALL magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting. Great collecting to you in our second century of blogs and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/SPORT/BASEBALL magazines.

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.   Sports Illustrated sub-sets are really cool and represent an opportunity to have something your friends don’t have.  For example – all the Jordan’s, or all the SOY’s, or all the 500-home run hitter covers, but one of the most interesting and often overlooked is the SI 1954 first year subset.  The content is a mix of nostalgia, some of the most popular issues still today, and a high series which makes collecting a full set just a little more challenging.    Issue # 1 – as it is the premier issue, most collectors want a high-grade copy.  The unique situation here is that SI saved a bunch (nobody knows how many – my guess is between 1-1000) for aftermarket sale which suppresses value a bit but leaves plenty of opportunity for hard core SI collectors to own the coup-de-gras – first issue CGC 9.8.    Issue #2 features two collector must haves – 27 printed Yankee baseball cards AND an exclusive Mantle card which does not appear in any other major card series. The top grade is 9.4 which leaves room for an eagle-eye collector.       Issue #3 features the actual first swimsuit which is later popularized in 1964 with the start of the sequential series featuring Babette March.   Get your Jones beach baby.  Another SI well-kept secret.   Commons include issues 4-14.  Interesting content for the all-round sports guy.   Issue #15 is the first high series issue – a great head shot, FC, of HOF Y A Tittle.  Top pop is 8.5 which will tell you the difficulty in finding a 9.0 or higher.  The high series issues 15 – 20 are tough in newsstand high grade.  I’d say the population is about 5-1 against the first 14 issues.   The 1954 set is a diamond in the rough.  Get the highest grade issues you can.  You wont be sorry. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.   Many thanks for your patronage.   Come grow with us.   I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of SI, SPORT, and BASEBALL magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting. Great collecting to you in our second century of blogs and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/SPORT/BASEBALL magazines. For a complete review of previous blogs, please visit   www.sportsillustrated98.com

Sports Illustrated Blog #119 on our way to #200 – Ungraded SI’S Can Be Risky But Also Big Value

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.   Minor shift in the value of top ungraded SI’s.  A few Ebay sellers, rather than grading their high grade, vintage SI’s, are eliminating the grading risk by auctioning raw.  Why is this important? – it’s another opportunity for collectors to add real value to their collections without having to pay the value add of graded magazines.   Be careful however as it is extremely difficult to accurately evaluate a raw mag from a picture.  It doesn’t take much to drop your grade below 8.0 at which point the anticipated value may be below your standard. Also, CGC continues to evolve toward tougher grading standards which further reduces the 9.8 opportunity.   The best practice is to view the raw mag in person, if possible.   Vintage, ungraded, near mint condition mags can be turned into high value graded mags and the risk can be reduced with the proper precautions.    Whoever takes on the risk, pays less but until your mag has a grade, it is just another mag with potential.   Also note, newer ungraded mags (1990 and newer – which include the many later Jordan’s), are just commons if they grade less than CGC 9.8.    Welcome to the cost of age/volume.   Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.   Many thanks for your patronage.   Come grow with us.   I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of SI, SPORT, and BASEBALL magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting. Great collecting to you in our second century of blogs and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/SPORT/BASEBALL magazines. For a complete review of previous blogs, please visit   www.sportsillustrated98.com

Sports Illustrated Blog #117 on our way to #200 – SportsIllustrated9.8

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.   I am SportsIllustrated9.8 (not to be confused with other eBay sites with similar names that came after me).  Eight years into guiding, updating, and advising my readers as to the fun and rewards derived from collecting newsstand SI’s, it’s time to publish the why behind company and what makes the discussions, opinions, decisions, etc., worth serious consideration.   Within every hobby, there are collectors and there are sellers.  I’m am not a collector – I am a buyer and a seller.  Every magazine I own is for sale which separates me from the vast majority of SI hobbyists.  My 116 blogs on the subject document a chronology of our developing hobby.   Many of the most highly appraised graded SI mags (and other vintage sports magazines) appearing on the CGC census have passed thru our business.  The largest hobby collectors have been seriously enriched by following my advice and buying my inventory.   Until recently, I have not individually advertised the majority of my mag inventory choosing instead to limit my postings to just the most current or popular items.  If you follow me on eBay, you will see a large number of new listings, many hitting sales publication for the first time.    For those interested, below is a quick peek as to what defines SportsIllustrated9.8 and why we make a great partner.   1. SportsIllustrated9.8 owns the largest graded sport mag inventory in the world. 2. I have purchased over 2500 graded sports mags from CGC having sold over 1000 to collectors and investors, leaving 1500 mags available for immediate sale. I am consistently adding to that inventory because I believe in what I write. 3. The largest, most successful, most highly valued graded sports mag collections in the world were initiated by or built up as a result of their business with our company.  I’d like to thank these folks for their continued support and trust. 4. For those of you interested in further enriching your collections, there are many top graded issues still available.  My graded inventory currently includes 100 CGC9.8’s (even after having sold 50-100 previously) and over 700 issues graded 9.0 or above.  5. SportsIllustrated9.8 now owns 12 different Jordan and 11 different James CGC 9.8’s which I’m assuming is tops or among the top compared to all other single collectors.  I am currently buying SI Jordan/James CGC 9.8’s at fair market for those interested in selling.  Write me at [email protected] and we can discuss. 6. SportsIllustrated9.8 has long been a trusted leader across the graded magazine community, registering over 3500 positive feedbacks without a single negative as well as attaining/maintaining the status of “Top Rated Seller” on eBay. 7. SportsIllustrated9.8 has the highest graded registry for vintage newsstand collections of Pete Rose, Jack Nicklaus, Stan Musial, Swimsuits, and 1954 complete. In addition, Mantle, Clay/Ali, Gretzky, Mays, Marciano, Jordan, James, Jabbar, DiMaggio, Chamberlain and Brady are each a major emphasis and all available for sale. 8. In addition to graded sports mags, we believe we have one of, if not, the largest raw collection of vintage, newsstand SI’s, SPORT, Ring, BASEBALL and misc. sports magazines.  If you need to fill in or add to your collection, SportsIllustrated9.8 is a great place to start.   If you want to develop a relationship with a seller of graded or raw, newsstand, sports magazines or just want to build on what you have, we believe a company like SportsIllustrated9.8 is the kind of partner you can best trust to deliver to your highest expectations.   Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.   Many thanks for your patronage.   Come grow with us.   I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of SI, SPORT, and BASEBALL magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting. Great collecting to you in our second century of blogs and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/SPORT/BASEBALL magazines.

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.
 
We’ve all heard about our hobby’s recent record sales, but let’s take a look at just who’s doing the buying.

1.  Category 1 – Graded magazines sold above $10,000 are purchased by the whales.  These are the folks that can buy and don’t need to sell.  They are speculators.  In my experience, whales are predictably consistent in their purchases – something new, generally the highest grade, and low POP.  When a mag checks each of these boxes, the whales take over the bidding.  This is a good thing because whales are the leading indicator of the hobby’s “perception” which drives prices either up or down.  Whales are generally not interested in raw mags, second highest grades, or second tier athletes.  Whales buy and hold.  If the market goes up, they want to own the best available and sellers find themselves at a distinct advantage – negotiations are rare.

• Category 2 – Graded magazines sold between $1,000 – $9,999 are purchased by astute collectors that know today’s value and perceive tomorrow’s value will be higher.  They would like to buy at a discount so be prepared to negotiate.  In an upward, captivated market, this is the arena that attracts the most new, speculative buyers.  These are mags that have one or two minor flaws that keep them out of the “most” desirable class.  Interested stakeholders buy and sell instead of buy and hold.  This group eats tomorrow on what they sell today.  Given this tendency, negotiations are a necessary part of the deal.

• Category 3 – Raw mags and lower graded – this is where the fun begins.  This category is open to everyone but be careful, it’s also the most risky.  Raw magazines have hidden flaws that can’t be detected ahead of grading which leaves you in no-man’s land with regard to returning your purchase, if necessary.  Inversely, this is where the diamonds in the rough are found.  It’s like panning for gold – the next shovel may strike gold.

Summary – Whales only buy the perceived best.  If you have it, don’t negotiate.  Astute collectors know the values and are looking for deals.  Negotiate.  Hobby new comers are looking to join the astute collectors group as they attempt to understand the hobby.  When you enter the room, be the most knowledgeable.  Be careful.

Hope this helps in understanding the interests and motivations of the different buying groups.

We’re going and we’re growing.  Come grow with us.

I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of SI, SPORT, and BASEBALL magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting.

Great collecting to you in our second century of blogs and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/SPORT/BASEBALL magazines.

For a complete review of previous blogs, please visit

www.sportsillustrated98.com

Sports Illustrated Blog #112 on our way to #200 – First 6-Figure Sale.  Hobby Moves Another Step Forward.

Welcome to my Sports Illustrated/TIME magazine blog – Your collector’s guide to the latest hobby updates and insight into what’s trending now.   The news is all over the internet, X, Instagram, Facebook,…a graded 84 SI Jordan, CGC 9.8, closed this week at $126,000, the highest public auction sale to date.  Although the entire hobby is ecstatic over these results (there were others of note), there is more to this event than just the auction price.    Yes, the auction price advances graded mag prices to a higher plateau but let’s take a deeper look at what this means.  For years, collectors have been clamoring for someone to public auction one of their monster issues but the problem has been – collectors rarely sell.  The CGC 9.8, SI, 84 Jordan represents the first top tier issue with a top tier athlete and grade to hit public auction for 6+ years or since our hobby’s humble beginnings.  This auction also was the litmus test for just how far graded mags have come since blog #1, 6+ years ago.   The biggest question mark keeping a lid over the graded mag hobby all these years has been the lack of or perceived lack of comparables.   Card guys don’t know what to make of a buy or sell without today’s comparable prices.  Now we have a foundation.  Every single future sale can be traced back to this Jordan auction.   No more speculation.  No more buyer/seller “pie in the sky” valuations.    This Jordan can now be the source for determining the fairness of all future transactions.   My estimate for the auction was $145,000, so I was a bit high but there’s room for more.  In my opinion, we should consider the 84 Jordan CGC 9.8, although a monster, not the monster of all monsters.  There is still more room for higher prices in today’s market.  In my opinion, believe or don’t, the following list of monster issues/grades ranked from 1-13 will determine the ultimate future valuation pecking order – top to bottom.   1. 56 Mantle CGC 9.8 2. 63 Clay CGC 9.8 3. 83 Jordan CGC 9.8 4. 84 Jordan CGC 9.8 (A Star is Born) 5. 81 Gretzky CGC 9.8 6. 77 Bird CGC 9.8 7. These would be ranked in the top thirteen but there is no issue graded high enough yet (must be CGC 9.8 or higher) – 59 Unitas, 60 Brown 65 Namath, 68 Rose, 67 Clemente, 60 Nicklaus, 51 BASEBALL Mantle.   There you have it.  Everything we all wanted in comparables.  BTW, I’m quite certain that this Jordan and many other high grades were acquired by means available to us all so keep the faith.    I sincerely hope you have or will acquire one of these monsters.  Best of luck.   I hope you are enjoying the reads on the history of SI, SPORT, and BASEBALL magazines as well as an insight into relevant magazine collecting. Great collecting to you in our second century of blogs and best fortunes with Sports Illustrated/SPORT/BASEBALL magazines. For a complete review of previous blogs, please visit   www.sportsillustrated98.com