Conference school::sports_memorabilia

    But the stains I get are always on the BACK of one card in each
    pack.  (Its the one touching where the wrapper is sealed.)
    
    -Russell

    
    
    	I'm not aware of any glue on waxpacks, as the name implies,
    the packs are wrapped in wax coated paper and are sealed with heat.
    This makes it easy for 'Low_of_character' dealers to carefully open
    up packs, remove star/money cards, and re-seal them.
    
    When buying older waxpacks, carefully check the back for re-sealing.
    But also take in account- packs come from the factory mis-wrapped
    and are out there in abundance too...
    
    Personally, I buy waxpacks, by the 36 count box - The challenge
    is how long can you wait before you open all packs..!!! Now that
    I'm working on the tenth 1988 Topps set, I'll put a few wax boxes
    away. When I have kids, I hope they'll collect cards too (boys or
    girls) I'll surprise them some day by disappearing in the attic
    and producing a few boxes of 'OLD' 1988 waxpacks !!!! Plus whatever
    I've accumulated !!!
    
    Next sets to work on are my DONRUSS & SPORTFLICKS, I'll have to
    outright 'buy' a set of FLEER to have a complete 1988 set, soon
    if not already, FLEER wont be printing any mor for the year.
    
        -jr

    re .5
    
    Last year TOPPS issued these same Jumbo packs down here in Texas.
     I don't know if they had national distribution.  It seems to me
    there were 90 to 100 cards for $1.69 .  
    
    Joe

    These are baseball cards only?
    
    Glenn

    Re: .4
    
    OK. No glue all over from wax packs.  BUT I get WAX (knew it was
    something or other) on the card where they seal it.  Not just 'a
    lot of them' as .2 suggested, but every single wax pack has the
    one card with a dark stain on the back.  Am I just unlucky or doesn't
    it bother anyone else?
    
    -Russell

    I stand corrected.

    It would seem that I have been extremely unlucky during the last few
    years.  I just bought a handful of wax packs and there were no
    stains on them.  I have bought packs from various locations (actually
    various states) and at various times during the last few years but
    these are the first I can recall with no stains.  Shoot, maybe I'll
    start buying more.

    Opened up three packs.  Oh no, two more Matt Nokes All Star cards!
    Maybe I can wallpaper the kids room with them. :-)
    
    -Russell

    I got Matt Nokes rookie trophy cards to burn.
    
    Ed

    to .11
    	Are you sure you are talking about wax stains and not gum stains?
    I know that some wax packs, depending on packaging have stains from
    the gum. Of course you only run into this problem with TOPPS as
    they are the only major brand that package gum in the wax packs.
    I don't know if it was the first card, or the "gum" card, but I'll
    pop open a pack tonight and check. If it's the gum stains, I don't
    have any answers, just keep hunting.
    						Scott

    re .15
    
    The last card in the pack, the one near the pack seal, is the card
    that is typically soiled.  I beleive this is a was stain from sealing
    the packs beacuse TOPPS packages the gum on the topside of their
    packs and not the bottom.
    
    Joe

    TOPPS card stock isnt exactly the greatest quality, more like the
    cardboard they make donut boxes from. What can you expect?! You
    have a 'Wax coated (on both sides)' piece of paper, ALL TOPPS wax
    packs are sealed with the card back down, the sealing process is
    done with heat, heat melts the wax and seals the pack, there "IS"
    no escape, just a part of life - and TOPPS. Now,..beware the 'nice'
    dealers who open and re-seal wax packs....They slowly open a pack, 
    pick through for starcards, if one is found, they insert a worthless
    common, and re-seal the Pack by putting a paper towel or light piece of
    paper over the fold and pressing a hot Iron to it for a few seconds...
    This isnt so common in newer packs (1988-87) but the older they
    are, the more suseptible they are to temptation.
    
    
    TOPPS could stop wax stains by placing the 'Special Offer' card
    on the back, under the seal, and eliminating the gum...
    (Whattttt!!!!  no gum!!!!!)
    
    Fleer, Donruss, Sportflicks/Score use a better grade of stock to
    print on. If held in the light, you can see its sorta' coated like
    Mondo or other tighter card stock. Actually, SF and Score are wrapped
    in printed celophane- NO WAX STAINS- hard to tamper with too...
    Donruss & Topps can be bought either way in wax or 3-part Cello
    (Rack Packs) also in cello sealed vendor packs. I saw (and bought)
    at the Leominster show this past Saturday, Fleer rack packs, what
    they did was seal three waxpacks in a cello strip. They are very
    hard for most to tamper with *AND* you can't see what cards are in
    the packs unless you open them !!! 
    
    		-John

    
    If you consider the construction of a wax pack, and how easy the
    way I described would be, how can you buy with confidence?? Whatever
    the case, I still buy older wax from dealers I dont know and hope
    (with a clear mind) that THIS one is gonna be the one!!!
    
    If you consider the time it would take
    for you to open 'X' amount of packs new or old, find a card, replace
    it and seal it...(!!!!!!)
    Perhaps with a 1983 wax box or older, someone could
    sit down with a box and carefully pick them. But with that 83 Boggs,
    Hmmmm, Lets see now. 1983 wax go for an average of $2.50 each. If you
    bought a whole box and picked them over ( oh yeah- $80.00 for a
    wax box of 83') and found a $30 Boggs, that leaves you only $50
    in the hole !!! What I mean is, its not worth my time. The Iron/paper
    method I mentioned I use to repair MY OWN cards of minor creases
    and warping.
    
    But with creases, heres my REAL repair secret.....
    Put the card on a HARD flat surface, place a single card plastic
    envelope over the card and hold it still. Then, with a large-round
    tipped object, rub the creased area in a circular motion. Most,
    if not all, of the crease goes away. I got a 66 Koufax from Scott
    that was creased and had dart holes in it. I 'surgically' moved
    the damaged paper around the holes back to original area, then put
    a lite touch of childs non-toxic past glue over eack hole. Using
    the same method to remove creases, I worked the glue into the holes
    and sealed the card. Then by wiping the front of the card with a
    paper towel it removed any stray glue residue.. Before and after
    look much much different. The front looks like a few blemishes and
    the back looks like a few wax stains or smudges. Thru close examination
    of the card, the repair is obvious. I'm not trying to fool anyone but 
    myself!!! It took me 2 hours to turn a $3 card into a $8 card. Such a 
    profit..!
    
    The re-sealing was pointed out to me by a friend when I re-started
    collecting cards and bought a few 83' wax packs.
    
    What scares me is this: Looking into a dealers 83' wax box, picking
    up a mis-wrap (poorly sealed wax pack) and putting it down, not
    knowing it has a Boggs Rookie inside !!!!!!!
    
    	-John                            

    What do you mean by a "single card plastic envelope" when you refer
    to minimizing card creases?  Do you mean the wax pack itself?  Or
    the cello pack?  Or do you mean just a regular white envelope?
    
    								phil

    
    
    	Hello Phil,
    
    	What I was refering to was the single card protector pockets
    you can buy at most card shops/ 50 to the pack for a buck.
    I used this because it happened to be on my desk at the time. Its
    clear, so you can see what area you are working on, and its strong
    so you can bear down hard and rub most of the crease away. Its not
    garanteed work work all creases out, but sure makes my older cards
    a little more presentable..
    
    					John

        Last year I found myself trying to decide how to complete the
    1985 Topps set.  My sons and I had just started collecting that
    year and so we were still missing a few.  Unfortunately, three
    cards still missing were Roger Clemens rookie card (currently ~$12),
    Eric Davis rookie card (~$18), and McGwires Olympic card (~$18).

        What to do?  How to complete this set?  Well, last year while
    I still lived in Michigan, I bit the bullet and paid $6 for the
    Clemens card (it was selling for $8 at the time but I was making
    a large purchase so he gave me a discount).  One down, two to go.

        A few months ago I gathered up all of my Tiger doubles from
    1981-1988 (about 60 cards) and took them back to Michigan during
    vacation and traded them for the Eric Davis card.  Two down.

        Today, on an impulse, I stopped at a dealer during lunch and
    asked, "How much for a 1985 cello pack?"  Five dollars.  I paid,
    went home, let the kids open it and read the cards.  Sure enough,
    my five year old says "Mark McGwire for the USA Olympic Team"!!!
    Now I have a good handful of commons left to get, but I seem to
    have all of the key cards.

        So, how do you complete a year set after they are out of print?
    Ask Tony about his final Mickey Mantle card.  Be patient, watch for
    all of the opportunities, and then get lucky.

    -Russell

    Yea Russell is right,
    	I buy sets from friends and others for a few bucks because they are
    missing cards but I make sure I already have the Money cards before I
    buy and I know who and how many are missing.
    	I always ask when I hit a shop or flea market if they have cards from
    the years I'm trying to complete (I always have a want list in my
    wallet) and commons are usually dirt cheap and I trade new cards for
    the more expensive older ones. I've also started posting want lists in
    this notefile and that has been helping too.
    	I have some very clutch early-mid eighties sets of Hockey cards
    which I haven't paid more than $25 cash (not including gas + effort).
    These sets are listed as having heavy investment potential due to the
    large number of stars' rookie cards but I like them for the work I put
    into completing the sets. The common cards have more stories behind
    them than the key cards.
    Patience is the key though. Be ready to go a card at a time for as long
    as it takes.
    							Happy Hunting,
    							   Bill