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Sunday, June 25, 2023

The Ups and Downs of Kellogg's Factory Sets - I Was So Close

If I get a factory set that is sealed I keep it that way.  If I get one that is opened, it is really just a set in the original wrapper and/or box.  I keep the original packaging, but there really is now way to call it a factory set.

I am trying to collect a factory set from each year.  I don't expect to be able to get any of them before 1976 since (a) I rarely see them and (b) the price would be well beyond what I'd be able to afford.  

A few weeks ago I picked up two sets that were being sold as opened sets.  I don't know if I've ever seen a 1975 Kellogg's set in the original wrapper, so I picked it up since the price led to little risk on my part.   A 1975 set in the original wrapper - no shipping box was included.  

Sure, I was hoping for a nice Nolan Ryan and Pete Rose, but I was more interested in getting nice cards of Johnny Bench and Jon Matlack since I cannot find them in nice condition.

The wrapper looked okay,  I am finally seeing a 1975 set in the wrapper.  



The cards were fairly flat by Kellogg's standards.  One two of the cards were connected enough to keep them that way.



Corners and backs were good.  The cards were the corrected versions, but the Catfish Hunter seemed to be the wrong version.



Ryan and Rose were fully cracked.  EVERY card was fully cracked, some of them with a good portion of the coating coming off.  If this were a cheaper set, it might be worth trying to just peal the coating off of each card - they'd probably look better that way.    


One positive - I at least got to see this set for the first time ever.  Just like the one-card packs, I never see this set available online.

The second set got me different results - a 1978 set.  I already have a  sealed set so checking out this one was a bit more fun and less disappointing.  Here is the wrapper.  



Most of the cards were connected, at least lightly.  This panel was fairly secure, so I kept it together but the Dent card is the only cracked one.  A few other pairs were connected enough to keep them as well.  The ones connected lightly I got to separate, which was something I never did as a kid since we never had the money to send away for the set.



The cards were fairly flat too.


Amazingly, none of the 13 cracked cards were Hall of Famers.  There are three pairs below that are connected and two of the cards are not cracked.


I will need to keep looking for sealed factory sets from 1970 - 1975.  That should keep me busy for another 20 years.

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2 comments:

  1. FujiJune 26, 2023 at 9:16 PM

    The handful of factory sets I've purchased were opened... and didn't have a year on it. Is that the case for all factory sets? If so, is there a way to tell what year the set is without opening it?

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  2. RunForeKelloggsJune 27, 2023 at 4:37 AM

    I've been trying to track the boxes and check for differences. I've only really seen the shipping boxes from 1978 - 1983. Kellogg's used a different box size for 1981 since the cards were standard size. They also used another different size for 1982 - 1983. Some boxes seemed to be used in overlapping years so it can be difficult to tell if a box is 1978 - 1980. Here is what I posted a few years ago.


    https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1358078179899121483/1074437855871120992

    https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1358078179899121483/4927395713521164432

    ReplyDelete

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