'51' Bowman Whitey Ford RC... should I bid?

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abncal

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Came across an online private auction and found a 51 Bowman Whitey Ford. Card is Beckett graded at 2.5. The starting bid is $30. I'm not big on collecting older cards and not interested in graded ones. My question is should I take a shot at this in the attempt to flip it for $ or PC cards? Is $30 a good low start for this card at the grade and how high would you go if you were bidding? Thanks for the input...
 
The guide is a little misleading in that a $2500 slot for the card #1 if for a NM card when often these cards were stacked and often banded first and took a lot of damage in relation to other cards in the set. Discounting for the #1, you probably would have a similar card in NM be worth around $500, with a G-VG (2.5 grade) being about 15% for overall value. $30 for a $75 value for a vintage iconic rookie is still pretty good.
 
Well the bv on that card graded as a 2.5 is around $500 dollars. How much you spend is up to you. I hope this helps.
 
I guess it depends on how the card actually looks. I have a few graded cards in the low scale and depending on the company, they grades vary greatly. I have some really nice 1's and some dogs that are 5s!

I didn't check on the Ford number, but assuming James is correct that this is card #1, I would say the same thing. The 1952 Topps Andy Pafko is a perfect example. There is not a chance in hades that the Pafko is much better than a semi-star at best, in that set. His card in any grade other than something extremely nice and high end should rival those of other similar players in similar condition, but since he is card #1 in that historic and oversized set, he is often overpriced severely for low grade copies. His extremely high card value in this set is strictly based on being in top shape, not because he was Andy Pafko, semi-decent Dodger for a blur!
 
Well the bv on that card graded as a 2.5 is around $500 dollars. How much you spend is up to you. I hope this helps.

I'm not sure where you are getting that number. Considering the Whitey Ford & Willie Mays RCs have the same BV in NM and Mays is in the shorter printed high series, I'd say the premium for being card #1 (and needing to be top condition) is high. 2.5 is much lower than even a 4 (VG-EX), consider also the other rookies you could get in that set at NM (7): Monte Irvin $125, Nellie Fox $250, even Joe Garagiola & Carl Erskine are $100 and you can have all of them in top condition for that price.
 
I got the price off the Beckett site. I just checked the PSA SMR June 09 issue and it lists the EX price of the Ford as $500 which would put the 2.5 price around $75. What a difference in price. I guess it goes to say these are just GUIDES not actual prices. Mrmopar is correct buy the card not the grade. The grades are subjective and do vary hence crack and regrades.
 
Being a Whitey Ford collector, I would jump on it at $30. Like someone said above, bid on the card and not the grade. Great rookie card of one of the all time great post season pitchers, and a Yankee to boot! I would gladly take it at $30 if you decide to pass on it.
 
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