Sellers and their class.

[Archive]

Posted By: goudey guy 

This is the first time I have ever been on this website, and have seen some interesting comments regarding sportscard collecting. This is why I wanted to post a comment of my own concerning our hobby.

Alike many baseball card collectors, I have been an active card collector since I was a boy. Although my interests have changed over the years, the level of my integrity and honesty have always been at the same high level when dealing with other collectors. I also have an infinate positive attitude towards fellow collectors, no matter what material they collect or why. This brings me to the topic which somewhat disturbs me about our hobby.

As I am limited financially to my purchases, I usually try to hunt for lesser grade stars and commons. Occasionally, I will save up for a higher quality item, but the bulk of my 600+ card collection is made up of commons. However, my knowledge of card collecting in my opinion, is at an exceptional level with the material in the timeframe which I collect. For the most part, I would state that I am extremely informed and well read with the cards I deal with. I take a great interest in reading and understanding as many details as possible about these cards. My concern with our hobby is that I seem to experience a high number of sellers (both at shows and stores), that have an extremely low level of friendliness and courteousness towards me as a buyer or fellow collector. I know it's not a personal thing as I watch a high percentage of sellers do the same thing routinely to other interested collectors. Over the past couple of years, I too have become a seller. One of the first things I incorporated with selling after professionalism and honesty, is class. I see to it that every buyer of mine is treated with equal enthusiasm and respect, whether or not they want to spend $1000 or $1 on my cards. In my personal opionion, a ridiculously high percentage of sellers in the sportscard industry have very little interpersonal skills and are typically rude to the point that they disrupt the interest in our hobby. These sellers lend a bad side to our hobby as they disuade younger and/or new collectors from gaining further interest in colecting. Many of these sellers have a self belief that because they have been dealing for so long, they aren't subject to giving their customers the common respect that they are due. Although I could site many big names in the industry in this category, I won't stoop to that level. I just think that it's a pity that many major sellers don't have the vision or common sense to extend courtesy to all of their potential clients. They don't seem to understand that the most important thing to do as a seller, is add interest to the art of card collecting, and make people inspired to get more active in the hobby.

This may not be the proper place to announce my feelings, as I'm not sure how many high volume sellers will read my entry. I do know that it can't hurt though, and if my opinions better one sellers attitude, then I have accomplished a great deal.

[Archive]

Posted By: Mike Williams

Nice post!

[Archive]

Posted By: Dan Mathewson

You've certainly hit the nail on the head with some of the sellers I've encountered on this board and on eBay.

Thanks for the right-on thoughts, GG, and for the attitude you present.

It's a breath of fresh air!

[Archive]

Posted By: Kevin Cummings

If you always had a choice between spending your money with a seller who was nice or a seller who was awful, you'd have to be crazy to want to give your money to a bastard. Sellers in a comptetitive marketplace have to be concerned about their image, because they know consumers have that choice.

The baseball card market (or any market where the resource is limited), however, isn't always competitve or at least not as competitve as we'd like it to be. If there's only one dealer who has a particular item and you can't get that item anywhere else, he can be like Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi" and there's not much you can do about it other than not buy at all.

Fortunately, for us all, we usually do have multiple dealers (at least more than one) which give us more palatable options. And for the most part, at least in my own collecting experiences, there are more nice dealers out there than mean ones. Some dealers are just nicer than others.

[Archive]

Posted By: Jaime Leiderman

Welcome Aboard!

[Archive]

Posted By: Julie Vognar

something else a dealer has to sound is SANE> He has to answer your questions, not his, not brag about owning 1 1/2 Four Base Hits sets, laugh at you or his dog, etc.

Really enjoyed Goudey Guy's post.

[Archive]

Posted By: jay behrens

The big reason for seeing so many people that sell with a lack of personal or prefessional skills is that most of them are an average Joe that have tried to turn their hobby into a business and lack the basic know how to properly run a business, be it interpersonal relationships, customer service, the ability to keep proper books or other simple business matters.

In my days as a dealer I was hated by many dealers and loved by the collectors because Iw oudl price my stuff at a level that was cheaper than any other dealer, but so low that it would be profitable for them to buy from me. I wanted my stuff to go to other collectors. The fact that I wouldn't wholesale items to other dealers ticked them off. Too bad.

The best thing to do is let you money do the talking and spend it with the good dealers. In the long run, it pays off to be a good regular customer.

[Archive]

Posted By: Eric

I just checked back to see if anyone had responded, and see that many others feel the same way as I do. I wanted to thank all of you who responded, I truly feel that there's nothing like showing other people how classy you can be. Everyone wins when you show respect. I have decided to sign up permanently on this site, and join my fellow collectors. I collect 1290-1933 baseball cards mostly, working on a couple of sets, and enjoy rare cards. Anyone who would like to email me about anything, you can get me at: eric71ande@yahoo.com My Ebay ID is "goudeyhunter" Thanks again guys for making me feel welcome, and supporting a positive collecting atmosphere!!

[Archive]

Posted By: Dan Mathewson

god only knows it makes everyone vomit when the tired old sellers come on here, hiding behind their computers, yet bragging about their wealth, their cars, their estate, their income, ad nauseum... And then, even go so far as to run other people down for not being as rich, etc, as they are!! I can't figure out what that insecurity crap is all about, but it sure gets old...

Julie!! I can only put these smily faces in now!

<whine>

[Archive]

Posted By: Marc S.

I will purchase any extra baseball cards you have from 1290. I may have to re-read some of my history books this weekend!

[Archive]

Posted By: Julie Vognar

Elliot didn't answer my post, and erased my attempts to use Smileys in the general domain (unsuccessful), plus I got chewed out by a board member for bringing up such a trivial topic. So I chewed back.

I know Elliot's around, bnecause he's answering other, more important posts (like: Where's the National going to be next year? Answer: Atlantic City; Anneheim in '04. I thought next year was Anneheim.)

[Archive]

Posted By: Elliot

Hi Julie, yes I am around, but no I haven't been ignoring your post. I've been spending way too much time on this forum, to the detriment of other things in my life, so, no I haven't worked out a solution to the smiley problem. Clearly the host of the smiley page has pulled the page down, and another one needs to be found. I did not see this as a pressing problem. Perhaps, I should have been like eBay and posted a canned response, while not doing anything for quite a while. Anyway, I will get to the smiley problem soon. Again, no, I did not find the other question more important, but I did know the answer, without having to do any research, so I posted the answer----the National next year will be in Atlantic City, and then back to Anaheim in 2004.

regards

Elliot

[Archive]

Posted By: warshawlaw

like their fine rides, their ultimate sex and their big muscles, it is because the most important muscle of all is a little, anemic, barely functional, twisted thing . . . or maybe they just have small dingdongs.

Which reminds me of an incident at the last show I went to. Here in LA, we have a pretty good card show monthly in Van Nuys. Last time around, the producers of a new "fake reality tv" show involving Jerry Seinfeld took a table at the show to promote sales of Mickey Mantle's toenail clippings. The idea was sort of a cross between candid camera and a tv news magazine, to see how real people reacted to ludicrous situations. Anyhow, there is this obnoxious guy who comes to the show every month, you are very familiar with the type by now, always bragging about his Mercedes cars, his great collection (this turkey even claims to have paid $600,000 for the ruby slippers from Wizard of Oz), his big income, and his 'ho's, and reacting like Saddam Hussein on PCP whenever challenged. Nevermind that in reality he dresses like a sterno bum, drives a junker, and never spends more than a few dollars. This guy totally got into it with these tv folks (he thought the table was legit) and went through his whole insane rant with them about his cars, all the strippers he ___s, and his collection of memorabilia. Afterwards, they clued him in and asked him to sign a release to use his interview. He refused and had a fit, because he realized just how stupid he sounded talking about his pair of Mercedes, all of the women he picks up at the Spearmint Rhino Gentlemen's Club, his studly job and his unparalleled memorabilia collection. They even offered him good bucks (they went as high as $500) but he would not sign the release. I can't wait to see the show this fall on NBC (and no, I have no affiliation with it, I just thought it was funny as heck).

Just goes to show you what a nice dose of exposure to reality can do to these types. Besides, anyone stupid enough to brag about his great stuff in public with total strangers is just asking for a home invasion robbery. Really wealthy people try to keep a low profile.