When it comes to buying cards at thrift stores, sometimes you have to throw logic out the window and buy things based on principle.
To understand what I mean all you have to do is look at this post.
Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson and John Smoltz were three of the four players elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame this year. The other was Pedro Martinez.
Biggio, Johnson and Smoltz all have rookie cards hailing from sets in 1989 so it is not uncommon to find the hiding in common boxes across the country. (Before you flip out and start thinking about Biggio, Smoltz and 1988 cards, understand that those two guys have cards on 1988, but they are considered XRC due to the fact they were released in factory update-style sets.
I digress. These cards aren’t very valuable in their raw form. But since when is it acceptable for rookie cards of hall of famers to sit around in a vulnerable state such as a plastic bag at a thift store?
When I see them on such places, and the price isn’t too bad, I almost feel it is my duty as a collector to save the cards from their demise.
During this trip I located three bags at a local thrift store, one with a 1989 Donruss Smoltz rookie showing and another with at least one 1971 Topps card peeking out from the middle of the stack. The baggie’s, as you can see, were $1.49 each. 
The Smoltz was accompanied by the Fleer rookies of Randy Johnson and Craig Biggio rookies shown in the first picture. And while we’re at it, here are the card backs for those rookies, since no one bothers to look at those anymore. 
And while the remainder of the contents of these bags won’t light the collecting world on fire, there were some fun pieces.
As it turned out there were two 1971 Topps Lou Piniella cards.
There also were some of the typical 1990s cards of more recent hall of gamers.
And a few that don’t get much pub these days.
Like this 1989 card honoring Tom Browning and his perfect game.
And former Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti, who died less than five months after taking office.
Total cost of these Treasures: $4.47
You can see more Thrift Treasures posts Here.
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