Observations from the Card Show Front Lines - UPDATED!!!
 

STUPIDLY LONG READ AND VERY BORING!! Many apologies!!

There was a show out here yesterday, which was a first in a very long time for this collector, so I headed to it quicker than a fat guy to the Golden Corral buffet table (or a skinny guy to a yoga class, if you prefer), and this is what I walked away with...

1. Backpack Mania
You know how when you see a black and white picture from an old baseball game and everyone in the stands is wearing a top hat or a bowler or whatever? Those hats have now been replaced by backpacks. Every single person walking around was strapped into a backpack, so whenever a person turned to look at a table, the space they took up was now doubled. Walking the aisles of the show was like pulling a Catherine Zeta-Jones, contorting your body into a million different, strange positions to avoid hitting the security lasers.

And you know the lone guy in the ancient ballpark photo that you spot NOT wearing a hat? That was backpack-less me.

2. Parallel Generation
As is often repeated time and time again, the show was comprised of close to, if not surpassing, 90% modern stuff. Cruising past these tables, you saw a hundred different people with cameras attached to their heads or chests, all talking about how many views their latest 'reveal' video got. And basically each conversation among these 'kids' went something like this: "Flecky-Jump-Jump739 told me he pulled a (here is where a thousand adjectives describing the colors/rarity/pseudo-scientific descriptors of a specific card went) of (here is where the name of some apparently popular player from who knows what sport went)!!!!!"

I guess this is how my parents felt like when my older sister wanted to listen to the Beatles and not that old Perry Como guy.

3. Phoning It In
Like ancient warriors and their spears and lances, everyone at the show attacked the tables with their phones leading the way. Most of the conversations you could hear were potential buyers scrolling around like mad as they told and showed the sellers exactly what past sales of the same cards went for.

The best overheard response by a seller with a 'high' price: "Sure, my friend, you can show me a great pillow on your phone...or you can actually lay down on an extremely comfy one right here, right now."

4. Old Schooling Around
On the subject of phones, there were two basic types of sellers. First, the ones who have evolved and use past sales data sites to 'justify' their pricing to any inquiring collector. These guys are the 'good' sellers who know the business well and look you straight in the eye when you ask about a price. They want to make big profits, obviously, but won't try to deceive you on their way down that road. Since their pricing was eBay-sold normal to begin with, you were already in a good neighborhood, meaning if you were able to get the price even lower, you made a nice score. Those are the guys I gravitated to and was really happy with my purchases. They were very personable and did a brisk business (or more specifically, had plenty of people looking at and buying their stuff and were always engaging in warm-hearted conversations with potential customers).

Funny thing is, as I negotiated to get cards lower than eBay sold prices, not once did a seller simply reply with, "Yeah, but that quoted price also had shipping fees and tax charged, neither of which is reflected in the final amount, so the true price was much higher." If I sold at these shows, that would be the first arrow out of my quiver. Don't tell anyone.

Which leads to the 'bad' sellers still apparently living in a forgotten time. The ones who have no prices on anything, and seemingly never make a sale. As a test, I looked up past sales for a PSA 6 1964 Topps Willie Mays a guy had for sale. Generally, they go for around $220 and up a bit (not scientifically scrutinized, just a quick look-see), so I went and asked the gentleman what his price on the card was. He replied (with a toothy salesman's grin), "Let me see," as he pulled out his phone and scrolled around. Arriving at a price in his head, his body language was what we've all seen a million times - the discomfort of a slight shrug as his lips moved as he debated with himself, and then in an act of pretend surrender, he placed the card close to me (salesmanship 101) and said, "I'm going to take a bath on this, but I'll let it go for $450." As I said thank you and started to walk away, he called out, "Wait, what were you looking to spend?" Holding up my phone (on the exact same site he was undoubtedly just looking at), I replied, "Well the last eBay sales were about $200 to $222, so I'm out. Thanks anyway."

His final words to me? "Oh, thanks. I'll keep that in mind." No, he won't.

5. Weirdness
Jose Canseco was signing autographs somewhere. A day later, and I still have no idea where he actually was. There was that thread here awhile back where guys asked their wives to quickly name any baseball players they could, and Canseco was probably DING!! DING!! DING!! the winner. Well, holy heck, while chatting with a random guy in his #33 jersey, I was told that his wife's one 'hall pass' was Jose Canseco. Not only was he completely happy with that, he said (unsolicited, mind you) it would be great if Jose banged his wife (who was two feet away), because that would say a lot about himself and his choice of a hot wife. Anyone witnessing my reaction would say, "That guy in the Bills hat just made an over-the-top dumbfounded face that no one on Earth has ever seen before!!"

What I should have said was, "Dude, be real. Any guy will basically stick his 'bat' in any woman. There's nothing more to it," but that would've broken his A's-green heart.

6. Eplasticity
Lastly, when it comes to TPGs, not only did I see an astounding number of SGC slabs ("They sell for a little less, but they're sent back to me in days, NOT years"), but a huge amount of the numbers on the holders being bought were 3s and 4s (I grabbed a PSA 3 1954 Topps #1 Ted Williams). That is quite a change for the Topps-era cards I seek. It used to be really only sixes or sevens and above (again, not scientific, just anecdotal) made an appearance. The term I came up for for the newfound 'acceptance' of lower grade cards is "Slack Jacket," meaning being inside of a plastic tomb basically hides any creases, wrinkles or other non-blatantly obvious problems. (Pseudo-psychology attempt warning) A lot of slack is given in one's head. A flat slab is not creased, so in your mind the card it holds is no longer creased. :rolleyes:

Not only were those cards flying off of the tables, it seemed the vast majority of cards on display were in that general neighborhood. It's either due to the TPGs being harsher graders these days or to the fact that people are sending in more lower grade cards than ever before. Probably a combo of those two things.

But it was fun as hell to be in that environment again!! Woo Hoo!! :D

I enjoyed your observations from the front lines, Darren! Not boring to me at all! Looking forward to more from the roving reporter!

Well I sometimes bring a back pack, but I am a large enough guy that it doesn't double my space. Maybe only 50% more!

At least it's not a rolling case on wheels that are akin to battering rams! :D

The worst are those damned Zion custom card cases all the shiny crapsters lug around. Gonna have to wear soccer shin guards at the National this summer.

I have been attending more shows lately...with the modern I have 0 knowledge if a Joe Burrow card should be $10 or $100k... when I see a middle aged dealer who spans vintage and modern I am astonished.

I have been moving more to graded vintage....I have just bought too many vintage cards then only saw the flaws at home...could have just rolled down the window and thrown the money right out.

To me graded balances it all with vintage...yes there are still some who say ' this should grade higher'- for all of THEIR cards........someone ( or a computer) should have already caught the crease only slightly noticeable on the back under the dark print. :) I hope ;(

I carry a backpack for trade (+ water & snacks), usually present option for cash and trade.... and items i share are usually what I want to move from my collection.



Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

Was this the Concord show?

I am guilty of the backpacks and phone use. Seems wise to use tools ;)

Yeah, that's the one. Had my phone in use almost the entire time, so I'm tools-wise as well. Did you see Jose Canseco?

new show
 

Yea, I see loads of those black hard case pelican suitcases that kids carry around !

Great report Darren
 

Really enjoyed the read and observations!

Funny stuff. I think the last show I attended had zero people with backpacks, and if anyone wanted to make a phone call, it had to be dialed on the payphone in the hotel lobby. Autograph signer may have been Bob Feller, but not sure.

I ended up not going, since I figured it was mostly the same vintage dealers from the Sacramento show and they haven’t had enough to significantly change their stock since the last one. Canseco was supposed to be there for 2 hours Saturday.

That was an awesome read...love the Conseco bit...haha....

We had a couple of decent shows here in the Seattle area this past year and I swear, outside some dude wanting Conseco to nail his wife, I could have wrote the same observations! The tables with no prices...I keep walking...the tables with the +20% because I am here in person...keep walking. I don't think those guys sold a single item! Anyway...I'm not a backpack guy...I bring a box I carry to put my purchases that fits in my hoodie front pocket...old school baby...


I'm too confused with the new stuff...Joe Burrow was mentioned...there is like 100 plus rookie cards for him! Where does one begin? I do fall for the local talent, I have my share of refractor this, or sparkle that for Julio Rodriguez...but outside of that...I need my batting averages to be set in stone. I know how Hank Aaron ended his career, I don't know how Bobby Witt will end his...:)

Thanks for the write up Jolly...LOVED IT!!!

Enjoyable reading, Darren, thanks for your man-on-the-street perspective. We are lucky in Chicago, I think. We've made peace with the mods. I keep my eye out for the backpackers, though, I do gotta stake out my space at the tables.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

The most recent show I went to I used my phone for the first time.

Not to look up prices, but to access my checklist/sreadheeets I have in the "cloud"

It worked pretty well, slow loading, and occasional problems leter because the synching didn't work like I thought it did and apparently many of my checklistspreadsheets are old enough they're in an older format and have to be converted.

JollyElm - great thread. If you stop collecting cards you should go into Stand Up - I'll attend! Thanks for the read.

I go to 10-12 shows a year and the amount of people bringing a suitcase full of their stuff has went up tenfold in the last two years.

Most ungraded sharp looking vintage have flaws that have kept them from a NM or better slab, and the few that are really good are already priced as if they were graded.

Personally, I prefer to buy centered cards that look like a 7 or 8 but are 4's due to a print dot or a small surface wrinkle.

Not saying you can't get lucky and find some NM-MT raw older stuff, but you are going to pay a fair price.

I have some blazers in slabs I really like, but I like the 4's that look like 8's just as much.

On a side note, Burrow mania has hit my house as my son collects Football (I am 95% baseball) . He has caused me to buy a lot of shiny #9 rookies and I just started into old football now as well.

First order of business a Bowman Paul Brown

Happy hunting!

Great read. Some thoughts:

"Sure, my friend, you can show me a great pillow on your phone...or you can actually lay down on an extremely comfy one right here, right now."

– Great response. I have the card, buy it now.

"I'm going to take a bath on this, but I'll let it go for $450." As I said thank you and started to walk away, he called out, "Wait, what were you looking to spend?" Holding up my phone (on the exact same site he was undoubtedly just looking at), I replied, "Well the last eBay sales were about $200 to $222, so I'm out. Thanks anyway."
His final words to me? "Oh, thanks. I'll keep that in mind." No, he won't.

- Truer words were never spoken. Also, the bath comment, that is a sympathy ploy.

It used to be really only sixes or sevens and above (again, not scientific, just anecdotal) made an appearance.

- Totally agree with this. These cards are now straight to the auction house.

Great Post. I've not been to a card show since 1983 but I might have a chance of getting to the national this year. Threads like this are great reading. Thanks.

Really Fun read. One thing I have noticed at shows in the past year are guys who take themselves too seriously. Self styled “experts” who think they are exceptional because they have a few dozen Benjamins in their pocket and know a few things about vintage. They usually have big mouths and make sure the people around them know they are big time. Ran into one at a show today and wanted smash him in the face.

Comes under the adage "better to let people think you are an idiot than to open your mouth and confirm it."

I met one of these smug card bros recently and it was all I could do not to bitch-slap the obnoxious off his face. I got news 'bro': I don't want to shake your hand fifteen times in a short conversation, I don't care how many Mantle cards you say you own, and you and I definitely don't know each other well enough for me to do the bro hug with you at the end. Just...go back to modern pack breaks where you belong. And all you pesky kids get off my lawn.

Honest question, I don't know what you collect, but without a backpack, what do you do with your purchases?

Keep them in hand? Put them in your pocket?

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

Fanny pack? Trench coat inner pocket?

I use a backpack or a messenger bag because I feel the exact way you do about it.

Don't get me wrong, I certainly have nothing against people using them, it wasn't some sort of criticism, but it was just surprising how many people had full-on backpacks this time around. A drastic change from yesteryear. It looked like a Tenzing Norgay convention was in town. :D

In general, I use a smaller, easily maneuverable canvas bag (with things inside of it to protect any purchases) to hold my stuff.

Every time I tried to walk down an aisle between the tables, this is what I was confronted with...

Attachment 560950

Do you have a term for that Darren? Maybe "backpack blockage" or something like that? :D

I am guilty of another card sin :(. I bring a full on backpack with a camouflage pattern because that's what I have laying around and it works well.

Now if I was smart, I would dangle it off one shoulder to force a gap between me and the person next to me trying to edge in to look at the cards I am looking at and invading my personal space like its an olympic sport.

Threads like this are why JollyElm is my favorite member of Net54.
Great stuff!!

Ha!!! You think a nice little comment like that is going to make me forget that you didn't send me a beautiful box of chocolates this Valentine's Day???? It's going to take a lot more than that, sir!!!! :D

ungraded
 

i would think the best things to buy and sell for sealers and buyers are ungraded cards..on the internet it tough to really know how the card really is but in person would solve that.

even past sales on ebay dont mean as much on raw cards so it allows more flexibility for both parties...also i would think there is more likelihood of returns on ebay on raw cards so the dealers dont have to deal with that on in person sales where the card is inspected in hand

to a lesser degree i would think lower graded cards would also be easier to sell in person...one mans 1 is another mans A etc...

how bad is that wrinkle etc...perhaps thats why you see those 3's and 4's sell more easily in person...

The whole scene seems to have changed dramatically since Covid awakened all the long sleeping "collectors". That, the increased pricing spikes on just about everything and the cost and increasing issues with mail (theft, poor packaging, rising costs, sellers refusing to combine shipping, etc) are leaving very little to be desired about collecting anywhere but in person at shops or shows, if you even have that in your general vicinity. many do not anymore.

I thought facebook might offer some additional spots to discuss cards in addition to the couple card-related sites like these I frequent, but I don't think I can take any more comp, bro, y'all, raw, slab, rainbow, my guy, tuxedo and a variety of other catch phrases that everyone seems to use and love now, none of which I will ever accept or use.

Someone posted on one of the facebook sites today asking what a Score Bo Jackson was worth, as he had just "pulled" one from what looked like a set, the one with the B&W shoulder pad image. How is anyone paying $10 for that Score base card. On a positive note, it's nice to see people coveting a card that isn't extremely valuable, but it also appears that popularity is driving the price of this card into a range that is unreasonable, given the quantity that must be out there in the market.

Every time I come home from a show I say to nobody in particular “I’m going to invent a small backpack specifically for shows.” I usually get bumped numerous times while roving the isles.

A couple years ago I attended the Chicago National. One of my first stops, I set my backpack down and pulled out my checklist. The dealers daughter, around 10-years old told me that my backpack smells.

The Pelican cases crack me up. I’m stereo typing, but usually it is a younger collection with these cases. I’m sure I would have used one back it the day if it was available.

I was going to go to the Concord show but the rain helped me make the decision to wait for the 1 April show in Sacramento.

Trench coat of course!

https://www.net54baseball.com/pictur...ictureid=35611

Great read. I particularly liked your backpack analogy.

and thank you for reminding me of Catherine Zeta Jones, burglaring circa 1998...

It's almost like these people have been locked away for three years with no contact with other people and nothing to do but play with their cards and themselves...

That was awesome!

I work for the postal service at one of the processing plants and my favorite one of your observations was the backpack. I see 20 somethings walking around with these tiny backpacks that you be hard pressed to get a bottle of water in much less any personal belongings. Whether it's Transformers, Star Wars or the like, proportionally, they look quite odd, especially on a larger person. All I keep thinking of when I see one is Chris Farley singing, Big Guy in a little coat.

THIS IS ANOTHER STUPIDLY LONG (AND BASICALLY JUST STUPID) AND VERY BORING READ!! Many apologies!!

It is meant for entertainment purposes only and no actual conclusions should be drawn from the verbiage. Be sure to eat a hearty meal before attempting to slog through it.


There was another show out here this past weekend, and I sped into town to grab some cardboard and some laughs (not necessarily in that order), and here is what I walked away with...


1. Showsupials
The first thing I noticed, or more accurately, DIDN’T notice, were the backpacks. Whereas the last show I attended looked like it was held inside of a Dick’s Sporting Goods in Nepal, because of the overabundance of backpacks, this time there wasn’t a rucksack to be seen. It was sort of jarring, the sudden sea change in carrying equipment. Maybe it was due to the heat? Who knows. It seemed like the only thing people had to store their purchases in this time was their pockets.


2. Neighbor Blindness or Failure to Case the Joint
There were a few times where different dealers at adjoining tables had the exact same number-graded cards for sale, separated by merely a few feet, but at wildly different prices. They didn’t seem to have a clue what was going on right next to them. One guy had two separate PSA 6 1966 Topps Pete Rose #30 cards for sale at $150 each. About seven feet away at someone else’s table, the same card had a $318 (talk about a weird number) price tag on it. All three looked very similar, so they were basically the ‘same’ card. Think about it - Dealer #1 had two of the cards at less than half the price of Dealer #2’s, and neither of them had sold. That means his ‘low’ $150 price was too high, so what in high heck was going on in Mr. $318’s head??

Which somewhat leads into...

3. Taking a Satchel Paige from the Oldest Trick in the Book
At some point, the 1953 Topps Satchell (sic) Paige started becoming a card that was on everyone’s radar, and you always make a mental note when you see one. I saw two different sellers who each had a PSA 3 prominently displayed for sale. Since I visited every vintage table a hundred times, I can say without hesitation that those were the only graded threes in the room. One seller had his listed for $1,600, and the other for $900. I was at the $900 table when a guy went up to him and said (lied), “The guy over there is selling the same card for $800. If you want me to buy it from you, you’ll have to beat his price.”

The seller being no fool (and probably thinking, "Is this guy really trying to pull the old ‘beat the fake price’ scam on me?") scrolled around on his phone, and then said, “One just sold for $1,300 and the few before that went for between $900 and a grand, so my price is on point. I suggest you go buy that other guy’s card as quickly as you can.” I had to turn my head away so no spit flew out of my mouth as I guffawed. When the silly deceiver left the table, I noticed he didn’t head in the direction of the other Satchel Paige table. Funny.


4. Rapporical Question
There’s a sales tactic at shows where dealers will ask you something related to the team on the hat or shirt you’re wearing in an attempt to form a quick kinship and draw you in as a customer.

One guy pointed at me and said, “That’s an old Buffalo Bills hat, right? Yeah, I get it, I’m from Carolina.” (I have no clue what the tie-in between Western New York and North Carolina coud possibly be...except that they are both east of California...so I had no idea what he was getting at.) And he happily said he’s also a big Bills fan. (Let’s be honest, I am probably the only Buff fan within a 2,000 mile radius, so I decided to have some fun.) Half-jokingly I said, “Okay, you love Buffalo? I will buy something off of you if you can name a single Bill other than Josh Allen.” Knowing I had him, he chuckled and said, “You know...that heart attack guy or whatever from last year.” At least he made me (uncomfortably) laugh, so I bought a card off of him.

Another guy looking at my hat told me, “I wish I had bought Josh Allen rookies when I had the chance. You realize the same thing is going to happen with Brock Purdy cards, right? Now is the time to buy ‘em.” As he pointed at the group of Purdy cards in his display case, I replied, “Wow, that was quite the quick transition there from the Bills to the Niners. Smooth. I’m going to call you ‘Mr. Segue.’”

It gets better. After lunch, I put on my Mets hat instead. Passing by tables, someone semi-shouted, “Mookie Wilson, right?” (I guess he was playing some sort of name a random Met from the past game??). I said, “Dude, don’t you remember talking to me?? I was the guy in the Bills hat just an hour ago!!”


5. Language Barrier
You know when you’re clicking around on your TV and end up on some foreign channel and have no frickin’ idea what anyone is saying? Or pretend you’re stuck in a UN General Assembly meeting, but left your translation earpiece back at the hotel. That’s exactly what it felt like when I was checking out vintage cards at a table which abutted one selling the shiny modern stuff. The words, phrases, players, etc., emanating from the assembled masses was a profound mix of hi-tech sounding gibberish and gobbledygook. Lord knows what they were talking about.

But you know what’s the same in every ‘language’? The outrage over crazy pricing. No matter how many unintelligible-to-vintage-collectors adjectives and descriptors were being thrown around while describing (I assume) modern cards, when I heard, “Wait, you want $400 for this card??!! That’s crazy!!!” I didn’t need a translator to understand it.


6. Red Headed Step-Grader
I didn’t run into too many CSG holders, but when I did, their size disparity had them situated unceremoniously in the backs of the boxes of slabs, almost entirely ignored. (Warning! Not a scientific assessment...) You get the general feeling that buyers/sellers don’t yet hold the company in high esteem (meaning, of course, as moneymakers), and I didn’t notice anyone buying the slabs, especially since dealers usually had ‘PSA-worthy prices’ attached to them. That just won’t fly at this point in time.


7. Having a Coniption (Perfect) Fit
There seems to be a lot more dealers using those overly snug ‘perfect fit’ type of graded card sleeves to house their wares. For a casual lookie-loo like me, it is a nightmare. Argh!!! I want to view each card out of the sleeve to get as close to it as possible for an assessment. But you need the delicate dexterity of a neurosurgeon to free a slab from one of those guys. In at least one attempt in three, pushing my (non-sausage) finger inside one to get the card out caused it to rip along the seams!!

People say cards present really nicely inside of them, but those same f*ckers will tell you fat guys look marvelous in skinny jeans.


8. Universal Acclaim Disclaim
Everyone loves to complain. It’s in our DNA. If you’re reading this thread, you’re undoubtedly complaining about it. That’s life. But when every single person is complaining about the same thing, there’s gotta be something to it, right?

This show had an incredible amount of newly graded PSA/SGC cards available for sale. Everything obviously just came back from the TPG’s. It didn’t matter which table you stopped at or which dealer you talked to, you heard him (or her, see #10 below) bitterly complaining about the grades their vintage cards received as they showed them to potential buyers:

“In what universe is this Morgan Rookie ONLY a 5???!!!”

“I always predict my cards will get lower numbers than they deserve, so I won’t be disappointed later...but all my stuff came back EVEN LOWER than what my fake lowball predictions were!!! It ain’t right!!!”

A guy referring to one of his PSA-graded cards called it a “Tom Thievery!!”

At every table, every minute of the show there was number-unhappiness...but will people stop sending off cards to be graded? NOPE.


9. Don’t Get P.T. Barnumed
The famous showman once said (although there’s no evidence he said it), "There's a sucker born every minute," so make sure it ain’t you.

A couple of tables were filled with PSA graded cards with cert numbers starting with 7’s and numbered relatively sequentially. The dealers obviously just recently got everything back from PSA. However, their displays also had one or two major cards that did not sit inside of holders. The immediate thought was, “Wait, this guy ONLY sells graded cards, EVERYTHING he has is graded...so why weren’t these big-money cards also slabbed??”

Sure, you can choose to believe nothing's up and he just happened to get them in the days before the show, but were I a betting man, I would wager all of my money that he did, in fact, submit them with everything else to PSA, but they were rejected and he has no intention of disclosing that information to anyone.

I could be wrong, but as Sergeant Esterhaus used to say on 'Hill Street Blues,' “Let's be careful out there.”


10. Day Laborers from the Modeling Agency or Attack of the Table Hussies (no disrespect intended)
There seemed to be a serious uptick in the amount of ‘hot chicks’ (no offense) hawking cardboard to the masses at this show.

When most of us think of ladies at a card show (my apologies), it would involve a chubby, middle-aged guy sitting beside his similarly proportioned wife, both of them chowing down food from styrofoam takeout containers as their lips smack and they try to swallow before answering any questions you may have, neither of them deigning to even stand up. But at yesterday’s show, it was a Bimbo Blitzkrieg (no offense intended or implied). A whole bunch of sellers had their wives/girlfriends/other out front and center, womaning (wait, why does “manning” have two n’s, but “womaning” would only have one??) the show tables.

It certainly makes sense. Collectors are base creatures. If the right girl smiles at us, we would happily pay $200 for a PSA 3 1991 Score #270 Mickey Tettleton card if she said that was the price.

One seller told me, “My prices are firm, they aren’t changing. So, tell me, who would you rather buy a card from, me or giggling Sarah (no offense, as she was literally prone to chortling) over there?” There’s a lot of wisdom in that statement. I got the distinct impression that not only did she know nothing about cards, but she had no connection to the seller and was probably just hired for the day. This method should be outlined in Business 101 textbooks.

I don’t want to exaggerate, but he had her at one end of his table while he stood (with all of his card knowledge being squandered) alone at the other. If that table was a ship, it would’ve been listing, because of all the people crowded in front of her. One disappointed patron bemoaned his failure to impress her, by muttering, “If I was still good looking, I could’ve gotten her (no offense, females should not be looked upon as prizes to be won).” Sadly, he had something in his hand as he walked away, so she obviously used her feminine wiles (no offense, wiles are independent of gender) to coax him into buying something. Foolish man.


11. All’s Fair in Love and War and Baseball Cards
When I told a seller I was chatting with how it wasn’t fair to the other dealers to have a stone cold 10 (no offense, it is always appropriate to assign number grades to cards, but never to women) at your table to draw old, ugly guys like me to their tables, he told me, “No way!! I used to play that game by having my hot wife (no offense, all women should be respected for the entirety of their being and not solely on looks) work shows with me. Doing shows is expensive, so if Bethy in a low cut top helped me cover my nut, I was all for it.” (The odd thing is, although you hear the phrase “cover my nut” here and there on TV, I don’t think I ever heard someone say it in person before.)

Looking me over to gauge my age for a proper reference, he further added, “She was “Hot for Teacher” video girl hot. Swear!” (I don’t believe him.) I joked that it sounds like she deserved a Nobel Piece of Ass Prize (no offense intended, as honors should never be awarded based on outward appearances). Suddenly his demeanor turned a bit melancholy, and he concluded with, “But she divorced me, because she said I was so crude and swore too much.”

Assuming that “swearing” was the left coast version of “cursing,” I said, “Fuck yeah!! I fucking curse all the fucking time!!” A tear nearly came to his eye as he told me that comment made his fucking day! God, I like that guy!!


Until next time, my fellow collectors complainers!! :D

I was just at a show out here in Massachusetts and can commiserate with you about the backpacks.
Not only are they unaware of their spacial relations with blocking the aisle . . . they give you a dirty look when you bump them trying to squeeze past.
Good Times.

I have seen some backpacks but some recent shows have the booths and isles too close so little room to walk by without bumping into someone. What surprised me is the lockboxes of all sizes walking around and by people of all ages.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

...

That's pretty funny that dealers are hiring Hot ("for Teacher") women to "man" their booths for them. Between the table fees and the hiring of the hot women, that's a fair amount of money needed to recoup so they can "cover their nut."

Also, love the dealer using the term "Tom thievery" to describe how PSA was low-balling his cards when grading them. Is "Tom thievery" a distant cousin of "tom foolery"?

Thanks for the read, Jollie!

Darren, thanks for a great thread. I went to a show for the first time in a while this past weekend. Disappointing to say the least, given that about 5 of the 50 tables had vintage and only two of those vintage hockey. Had I wanted I could have bought a wide variety of shiny, sparkly cards that were likely released from the factory last week for the low price of a bazillion dollars. There will be a lot of “collectors” that will be sadly disappointed and out a good deal of cash in the short term as their “investments” in Johnny Noname aren’t worth diddly squat despite being a yellow, holographic, diamond shine, retro, acetate, die cut 1/25.

Great stuff Darren. Your storytelling skill is high end. Loved the last little vignette about the guy and his former hot wife.

btw slightly off topic, but since a thread needs a card, here's a recent ebay transaction. Note any difference between the card for sale and the one I received in the mail? I had to chuckle when I got this. I paid nothing so whatever, but seriously? There's gotta be a name for this sort of selling practice.

https://i.imgur.com/Lz7IiIq.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ITLbyth.jpg

Looks like a digital trim job.

What say Darren, 'Digitrim'? or do you already have a term for this type of practice?

Fear not, I have the subject covered (as well as other bits from this thread) and it will be a part of the next round of 'Collectorisms'...coming soon to a thread near you!!! :D

--elm

There will be a lot of “collectors” that will be sadly disappointed and out a good deal of cash in the short term as their “investments” in Johnny Noname aren’t worth diddly squat despite being a yellow, holographic, diamond shine, retro, acetate, die cut 1/25.[/QUOTE]

My thoughts exactly (and even some Johnny Somebodies!)!

Can't wait.

People suck.

ANOTHER LONG AND RIDICULOUS ASSESSMENT OF A SHOW...but at least this one has a couple of photos!!

Caffeine required, massive amounts of caffeine. It's not my intention to put you to sleep, but your mattress is undoubtably gonna be calling to you.


Another semi-local show occurred yesterday, and I decided at the very last moment to make the drive to see some treasures, and here are some thoughts...



1. In Plain Sight
Not sure if it’s the way of card shows across the country now, but it seems the vast majority of the ones I’ve been to lately had the autograph guests tucked away out of public view in some sort of labyrinth, only visible to the attendees who paid the fees to have items signed and then they are led through a maze to go see (and most likely be ignored by) the player in person.

The signer here was Orlando Cepeda, and it was nice that he was right there in front of anyone who wanted to look. Here’s a zoomed in shot of him stylishly sipping a soda (actually, since this is California, it is very likely something from Jamba Juice)...

Attachment 591554

If I read the faraway sign accurately, it cost $40 to get a card autographed. Didn’t talk to his point person, but as the photo indicates, there didn’t seem to be a lot of activity there. Could be wrong.


2. Swing And A Mislead
This ‘yute’ (random ‘My Cousin Vinny’ reference) walked up to a major vintage dealer’s (large and brimming with activity) table to ask if he was interested in buying some very old cards. His curiosity peaked by the inquisitor’s steel case/safe, the dealer asked him what he had.

The reply was, “Koufax, Mantle, Mays, Aaron, William, Campy, Berra and Clemente. All of the major guys.”

Everyone ‘round the table’s ears popped up (mostly through the jealousy of, “How come this never happens to me??!!”) and the kid drew a captive audience. He remarked, “I got these from my grandfather,” and that made everyone drool. The mention of a grandfather means the 1950’s and earlier, right??!!

And now the big reveal...jimmying open his case, he pulled out a small stack of toploaders (everyone’s heads excitedly leaned it to get a closer look), and what treasures did they hold?? A bunch of lower grade 1975 Topps MVP cards!!!!!!! Technically, they do contain the players he mentioned, so he did speak the truth, but come on, man!! Argh!! A collective sigh of HUGE disappointment echoed through the venue, as this boy’s 15 minutes of fame vanished after a mere two minutes. What a let down to the collected collecting masses.

This is where it hurts me (and probably MOST of us a bit). When someone mentions their grandfather’s cards, they are talking about the stuff he actually got from the packs he opened as a boy. This guy’s granddad was collecting NOT in the 1950’s or 60’s, but in the mid-1970’s. How the heck is that grandfather age now??? I need a nap.

In retrospect, the whole thing could’ve been avoided. I’m quite sure he also threw in the names Groat, Jensen and Burroughs as he was rattling off players, so I guess we all should’ve known it was going to be a big fail.


3. Slight Uptick in Modern Dealers
The percentage of tables hawking modern cards seemingly went from last show’s 99.3% up to 99.7% now. “Vintage?? We don’t need no stinkin’ vintage!!!”


4. Dead Centering
It’s often been mentioned how Brooks Robinson has clearly been an undervalued Hall of Famer forever. For the everyday collector, the want of his cards centers around a couple of standouts, like his rookie card or the coveted and pricey 1967 high number.

Well, after his very recent passing, the number of B-Robby cards sitting in display cases has grown doubly, triply exponentially. It seemed virtually every dealer had Brooks Robinson cards occupying prominent positions in their cases, surrounded by the usual assortment of Mantles, Mays, Aarons, Ryans and Clementes. And we’re not talking about the rare stuff, just the basic 1960s-70s cards.

Sometimes effective marketing is depressing.


5. Semi-Karma
We all know those sellers who couple their stupid pricing with an inability to ever stop talking as they push you to buy their stuff. One I’ve seen at every show I’ve attended out here was drastically different this time. Whenever I was in close proximity to his table, he sat silently with a styrofoam takeout container beside him. He didn’t appear sad or forlorn (otherwise, I’d feel bad that maybe something bad happened in his life), but it seemed like he finally acknowledged (Ha! No way!) that his loud and boisterous pestering of showgoers doesn’t actually work to create sales.

We’ll see what version of him shows up at the next show. :cool:


6. My Favorite Player is Cash
Glancing at a dealer’s table which ran the gamut from vintage to a ton of modern stuff, I was witness to something that completely sums up what modern era baseball card ‘collecting’ (purposeful air quotes) seems to have become.

A young guy - late teens, early 20’s - was surveying the table when the dealer, with a big smile on his face, asked, “Hey, who’s your favorite player?” in an attempt to see if he could direct him towards some stuff and make some sales (see 'Rapporical Question' in post #37). The ‘kid’ replied something to the effect of it was Ohtani and Trout (and then going into a lengthy soliloquy) explained that due to their injuries he wasn’t sure if selling their cards now would be the right move, because if they return and continue to be great, then their cards would increase nicely in value. "Or do I assume that although all of their cards are dropping right now, I should still get out and limit my losses?" This went on for a while and there were multiple references to return-on-investment, and I swear he used the word “commoditization.” At points he was pointing out sales of cards on his iPad. On and on it went. He also mentioned Pete Alonzo in the same vein, as well as other names who I am unfamiliar with, but assume are big stars (I know nothing about today’s game).

Every word uttered was about the value of cards, the up and downs of the card market, and what his next moves should be.

When it finally ended, the dealer had a dumbfounded look on his face, so I leaned in to the ‘kid’ and explained, “He asked you who your FAVORITE PLAYER is. Who do you like to watch?” After making a sort of scoffing noise, he looked around and replied, “How am I supposed to answer that? I dunno.”

YOW-ZUH.

We all have a favorite player or players that are burned into our souls. These names are established when you’re a kid. My holy trinity is Willie Mays, Dave Kingman and Reggie jackson. No thought required. You ask me who my favorite player is and their names immediately come out of my mouth. The friends I grew up with? The same thing, almost entirely Mets and Yankees, and nobody has to think about it. “You know mine’s Doc Gooden.” “Graig Nettles for me.”

This ‘kid’s’ concept of ‘favorite’ only means who will return him the most profit on the sales of his cards. That’s it. No appreciation for the player himself, just his card prices. He couldn’t comprehend the base emotion of being a red-blooded American with an all out love for a player. He’s probably never even stepped onto a diamond in his entire (albeit short) life.

SMH.


7. Randomly Funny Moment
I finally got a tank top version of a baseball card shirt I created, so I broke it out for the show. As I approached a Net54 member’s table, his mom (who works the shows with him) smiled hugely at me and (referring to my shirt) said, “You’re a good boy to love your mother so much.” She was obviously very proud of me (stay tuned, that changes) for wearing this garment...

Attachment 591548


Having no choice, I humbly said, “Lady, you really need to look at the back of it,” and proceeded to turn around to let her see it...

Attachment 591549


When I turned back around, the guy also working the table was guffawing (it’s always nice to be appreciated), and the mom’s face was red with a bit of embarrassment, but smiling broadly as she proudly pointed at her son and said, “Well, I never threw out any of his cards, look...” (as she 'presented' everything on the table) and crossed her arms in a happy triumph.

It was obvious that she wanted to laugh at the shirt, but chose to be more reserved. We parted the bestest of friends.


8. Low-Grade Larceny?
We all hate ‘Highed Pricers’ (See what I did there? The prices are too high and they are hidden), who keep their price stickers out of sight (my ‘Collectorism’ for this is Snakebelly Pricing). It usually leads to a look of shocking disbelief on your face after you ask him about a card, and he takes it out, looks at the sticker on the underside and reveals his (larcenous) asking price.

There was a dealer who employed this method at his table, but the weirdness of it was his entire inventory was low grade cards. I don’t believe he had anything over a PSA/SGC 2. And we’re NOT talking about any ‘big money despite the grade’ 1950s Mantles and Robinsons, we're talking 1960s/70s ‘regular’ HOFers. They are basically 'valueless.'

If you’re set on way overcharging for cards in garbage shape, it may be time to find another vocation.


Until next time, my fellow collectors anti-snakebellyists!! :D

Another outstanding installment, thanks for sharing.

It's that special time of year again...the time for a show out here in the wild west!!

Warning: listening to 'Stairway to Heaven' on an endless loop will take less time than reading this nonsense.


Another day, another show to evaluate...


Attachment 601208

1. Pelicantankerous
Okay, this thread has already discussed youngsters (Youngsters? How freaking old did I get?) trying to sell their stuff to dealers at their tables, but this show had a tsunami of hawkers flooding (see what I did there?) the tables with pushes to buy their ‘valuable’ (read as “non-valuable”) cards.

You know those times when you enter a room and it has a clock that is audibly ticking away each and every second (“CLICK”...wait a second...”CLICK”...)?? Well, there are two types of people in the world, those who aren’t even aware of it, and those who want to claw out their ears to make it stop!!! (I am the latter.)

A new word needs to be invented, because simply saying it was non-stop doesn’t even come close to describing the constant “SNAP!! SNAP!!...SNAP!! SNAP!!” of the Pelican cases (one guy told me his is the 1300 model) at this show - the unceasing opening and closing everywhere across the rooms. The older guys were trying to sell things like a complete set of pretty worn out 1974 A’s Topps cards (“It doesn’t have the Reggie or Catfish.”) for $200 (what a bargain!!!), while seemingly every single kid hit the tables with a quick opening of their case followed by a lunge forward to ask, “What will you give me for this?” I never even saw anything these tykes were trying to get rich off of, because they were always rejected so quickly that my optical nerve couldn’t possibly process it in time. They usually came in teams of two, all happy and with their feet pointed outward, immediately ready to dart on to the next table to seek the fortune they so richly deserve.

For someone cruising the floor and looking for good stuff to buy, it is beyond annoying dealing with the constant SNAP clamor...but when you realize that virtually every dealer has a large sign stating in all-caps, “BUYING!!!!” it becomes just a normal and expected thing for anyone working a table. (That is a frickin’ lie!! Normal, my ass!! I used to dream of hot girls in my sleep, but now it’s nothing but the perpetual “SNAP!! SNAP!! SNAP!! SNAP!! SNAP!! SNAP!!” of cases in my dreams nightmares now.)

After asking a dealer if he ever got presented with sweet stuff from any of these hawkers, he told me, “You know how on Halloween you end up at the door of the old lady who only gives out little boxes of raisins? It’s like that, but every house in your neighborhood is that old lady.” (I actually wasn’t sure what to do with that analogy, because I love raisins.)


2. Is it Free or Flee Parking??
You would think a show at a hotel abutting an airport would have an endless supply of parking spots for attendees to use. Although the show was advertised as “FREE PARKING!!” (presumably to assuage those of us who found the $10 entry fee obnoxious), the small parking area was filled to capacity, and your only hope of grabbing a spot was by circling around and waiting for someone to actually flee the venue. Thankfully, I got dropped off and avoided this annoyance entirely, but there were a lot of people grumbling.


3. Circular Attritionary Logic
Something dawned on me as I was making my way around the tables. With fewer and fewer vintage cards being seen at shows nowadays, the prices (as always) were stupidly high, but it kind of makes sense in a twisted logic sort of way. Since vintage is doing a vanishing act, and completely ceding ground to the modern stuff, dealers kind of need to prevent people from buying their offerings, so they will still have vintage inventory left to bring to the next show...otherwise they’d have nothing to display.

Sounds stupid, sure, maybe, but I’d like to think it would be a fundamentally sound concept under New Keynesianism Economics.


4. Unwelcome Visitors
You know how you get stuck and hemmed-in behind a mother slowly pushing her stroller around a store or on a sidewalk, and she doesn’t seem to think anyone else on the planet exists except for her darling bundle of joy (please, no complaints from you guys married to these types of women, you know this is true), and your progress forward is stymied as you can’t get past her?? Well, guess what, now these ladies are going to baseball card shows.

This was a first for me, but there were a few of them following their husbands through the extremely cramped spaces between tables. The throngs just kept getting stuck behind these mothers (or should I say muthah effers?) as they cluelessly clogged up every aisle with their large contrivances as their husbands examined whatever the hell they were looking at now. Not a one had any interest in cards as they blocked everyone’s way, they were only waiting on their husbands. The frustrated looks on people’s faces as they were trying to find a way out of these constant stalemates was priceless. I’m pretty sure many are destined to find themselves in anger management classes before the week is done. I’m going on Friday.

Perhaps it’s time for promoters to install a sign next time to dissuade this activity:

Attachment 601204


5. Set Collector Dinosaurism
Sadly, the days of working on set building at shows apparently seems to be nearing an end. There was an absolute lack of set year commons boxes to root through found anywhere across the floor. Nothing. A big bummer for anyone looking for a crisp 1967 Nellie Briles to check off of his list.


6. Talk is Cheap Expensive or Rarity is in the Eye of the Beholder
It seems that the dealers with the most to say are the ones with the most expensive prices on their cards. I frickin’ love interacting with whomever (ten points for grammar there!) I can at these things, but sometimes want to scream, “Less talking and more price reductions!!!!!!”

I was having a conversation (if by conversation you mean a guy going off on a thousand different disjointed baseball card tangents one after the other without pausing a micro-second to allow you to join in), when I saw something I’ve never seen at a show before. He had a small stack of ungraded 1971 Topps Greatest Moments cards in his case. By asking to see them, I apparently gave him license to immediately regale me with countless stories about how absolutely rare they are (Yes, I frickin’ know!!) and how he had to walk the floor of The National for years just to land the priceless gems he now has on display.

If he paused for even a moment, he could’ve actually learned something from someone who has a cargo hold full of knowledge about the set (I used this a bit to my advantage later in the show. Check out The Roberto Clemente Escape Room section below), but alas, he did not. Practically screaming how rare they are, he was decidedly unhappy with my reaction to his price tags of $300 on each one (except for Sal Bando, which had a frigid $400 sticker attached to it as a nod to this being A’s country). I would’ve simply said, “Look, each and every one of the cards in your stack is a double print. Every auction on eBay is for one of these guys. You even have two each of Sam McDowell and Nate Colbert, arguably the most listed cards from the set. And ones that are graded in nice shape - 6s or 7s - go for a fraction of what your prices are...and yours all have rounded, whitened corners. They should be in your ‘bargain bin’!!!!” But what I said instead was, “Sorry, I got those already.”


7. Randomly Funny Moment
There is something odd about public bathrooms in California (not sure if it’s like this elsewhere). Whenever you’re at a venue outfitted with only one or two urinals, they seem to always be situated basically at ground level, way down there and almost on the floor itself. Not sure if this is a result of some sort of statute (perhaps to assist handi-capable people?), but my guess is it allows young children to step up and take a whiz without needing their dad to hold them up to do their business (like it was when I was growing up)?? So every time I need to see a man about a horse, I feel like some sort of towering beast looming over the city below as I (add whatever strange way of saying “piss” you’d like here). I’ve dubbed these Godzilla Toilets...and it’s just plain weird.


8. The Lou Gramm Effect
This was an extremely crowded show held in a pair of non-attached rooms...but what a difference 30 feet makes!! As you dug through stacks of cards in one, it was like you were draped in a quilt, sitting in fuzzy slippers and casually drinking a wonderful mug of cocoa that mom prepared for you, while dad happily stoked the bustling fire in the hearth. Foreigner would’ve been gently rocking the room with, “Well, I'm hot blooded...”

But, after walking down the steps and passing the reception area to visit the other half of the show, you basically arrived at The North Pole in a short sleeved shirt!! I’m pretty sure the dealers working that area used Iditarod sleds to bring in their inventory, and looking through boxes of cards was like ice fishing with Admiral Peary. I swear there were icicles hanging down from some of the ‘bargain bins’!!! Lou Gramm and company was now howling out, “You're as cold as ice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Attachment 601207


9. Dueling Collectors
While scoping out a table where ***GASP ALERT*** the guy actually had a wide range of ungraded cards at decent, completely defendable prices, I was making my way through a small stack of Card Savers containing a bunch of deliciousness he had just priced and put out. Among them was a 1961 Topps Billy Williams Rookie Card in nice shape, but a bit off center, at a cheap price. It’s important to note that the other ones in similar or worse shape at the show cost a minimum of three times as much. (I refer to this as Opportunity Accost - unexpectedly coming across a card (that you may or may not need) and knowing if you don’t buy it immediately at this price, the next person who sees it will undoubtedly jump on it.)

And wouldn’t you know it, a moment later a guy shows up and tells the seller that he’s interested in any HOF rookie cards he has at good prices, as he’s trying to fill a lot of holes today. Since the pile of cards I ‘rejected’ still contained a few relatively nice, but a bit problematic for me, rookies in it (Carlton Fisk, Rollie Fingers and Phil Niekro), I didn’t feel bad about NOT saying, "Here, take the Billy Williams." No way. That rookie card will soon be on its way to SGC in my next sub.

Understandably, the card isn’t a life changer or anything, but it’s nice to be in the right place at the right time for once.

Attachment 601206


10. Loose Lips Shoot Yourself in the Foot
It’s clear that what is discussed (card secrets, insights, tips, etc.) on Net54 and other sites gets out there into the collecting world pretty darn quickly.

The walls have eyes, so if you have insider knowledge about something that could benefit you, the stupidest thing you can do is make it public, because you’re allowing stangers to become profiteers off of your back.
(I dubbed this Unformation - The bits of insider knowledge about specific cards or sets you’ve acquired or discovered for yourself over the years that ‘only’ you know about, so you keep these hobby secrets closely guarded to avoid hampering your ability to use them to your advantage.)

Case in point: I only saw a single dealer who had any pre-war cards on display at this show, so as is all the rage these days, I casually asked him, “Do you happen to have any T206 Steve Evans cards?” (If you are unaware of the recent T206 Steve Evens (sic) phenomenon, check out the thread(s) on the main page.)

He replied, “That’s really strange. Do you know you’re the second person to ask me the exact same question? It was just a little while ago? Deja vu.”

Takeaway: if you put chum on a message board, don’t be surprised when the sharks start swimming.


In a similar fashion, as some of us were shooting the vintage breeze at a table, someone cockily said, “Here’s a bit of trivia for you, bet you don’t know who the first black player for the Red Sox was.” He waited a moment and then with a self-satisfied look on his haughty face said, “Pumpsie Green,” like he was the king of the world.
I know damn full well he only knew that tidbit due to the Pumpsie Green thread in the Net54 post-war section. Think about it. Of all the teams, why did he ask specifically about the 'Saux', and not the Cubs or Senators or Braves? Because this trivia thief poser just read it here, that's why!!


11. Viva Less Dangerous
I overheard some guys in their thirties or fourties talking about the A’s moving east (Wow, how fricking long have I been out here that the far western state of Nevada (NOT pronounced “Neh-vaah-da”) is frickin’ EAST of me??????? East????? Whoa...I need to take a nap.) to Las Vegas. When I heard one of them say, “Can you blame them?? Nobody wants to take their lives in their hands going to a game in that hell town,” I unintentionally insinuated myself into the discussion by visibly reacting to his words.

Looking at my head, he semi-snarkily noted, “Don’t see many blue Mets hats out here.” I wanted to reply, “Yeah, your fat ass in the obnoxious green and yellow A’s hat is really going to land you on the cover of GQ,” but instead replied with a trite, “Well, you guys stole the Dodgers and Giants from us before I was born, so I had no choice when I was growing up.” He chuckled and said, “No, that was my dad’s generation, but he’s gone now.” Okay, he seemed friendly enough, so I asked, “You don’t mind them bolting like the Raiders did?”

His reply cut through all of the crap that people who don’t live here say about the move - “The owners this, the owners that.” All negative stuff. (I don’t have a horse in this race, so I know nothing about said owners, and simply don’t care about rich guys in sports.) So, what did he say? In a very serious voice, he matter of factly stated, “It’s a simple choice for my wife and me. Do I want to take my son to an A’s game...or do I want to make sure he sees his tenth birthday?”

Nail on the frickin’ head moment!!!!!!!!! Quote all the stats you want, but Oakland is getting more and more dangerous by the day. Anyone riding the BART train knows the truth. Funny how that simple quality of life issue is never mentioned by the people pushing dumb narratives.


12. The Roberto Clemente Escape Room
I somehow found myself unwittingly embroiled in a Bobby Riggs vs. Billie Jean King situation, and let me tell you, there are narrow escapes, and then there are narrower-er-er-er escapes.

Our story begins with me examining a 1973 Topps Roberto Clemente card...
There was a hot girl (no offense intended, I mean hot because she was sunburned) who was working a table show with, I assume, her husband. As I was looking the card over, she sidled over (I say ‘sidled,’ but my mind says ‘seductively crossed the crowded dance floor to lock eyes with me’) and said, “Hello...are you looking for anyone in particular?” (My horny little devil mind wanted to say, “Yes, baby, YOU!”)

Here’s where I may have unintentionally made a mistake. In clearly what I thought was NOT a condescending manner, I casually reacted with, “Do you really know about all of this stuff??” (If this was a movie, everyone near me would’ve stopped what they were doing and stared at me in gaping-mouthed disbelief.) It was just a normal question to ask, but she may have thought the query was a loaded time bomb of misogyny (Or should I say Mrs-ogyny, because she's married? Thank you, I’ll be here all week.).

With a quick flash of what might have been semi-shock on her face, I couldn’t tell if she thought I was actually looking for guidance or if she pegged me as a ‘typical’ guy who implied that she had no business being here...so I prepared for the shit to hit the (Mets) fan.

She began, “I’m not sure, but I think I do. Take the card you’re holding. When it came out, Roberto Clemente had died the previous Christmas (Should I correct her by saying his flight was on New Year’s Eve?). That was terrible, and people still don’t know if it was too late for Topps to stop the printing, or if it was meant as some sort of tribute, because he was loved so much. The back shows he ended up with exactly 3,000 hits. Exactly. He only won the MVP once.” (I noticed she didn’t state the year, 1966. Ha! Silly girl.)

“Want more? (I’m sure I was involuntarily nodding my assent.) He’s one of the greatest outfielders ever, yet besides the background on his 1956 card, you won’t find another Topps card of him playing the field (I wanted to relate that virtually the same thing occurred with Brooks Robinson, but didn’t dare). There are three cards total of him in the 1972 set - a regular, World Series and an ‘in action’ one, but none of them shows him in the outfield?? Dumb. And his 1960 card has him batting, while the inset photo also has him batting. They missed a great opportunity there (which was followed by my face and arms in a silent agreement of, “Yeah, WTF??!!”)!”

“Did you know he was only on one All Star card - 1968? (Yes, I did know that bit of trivia, but said nothing. This girl was good. She was Clementally sound. Sorry, had to say it.) That’s crazy, right? So boring, too. All cheesecloth-y (weird, I’ve only ever heard it called burlap) and sideways. Imagine if they did one with the great starry background in 1958, or how about a newspaper-busting 1961 card, then we’d have something else besides his huge head shot in the set to look at.”

Next, she referred back to his 1956 card, and how...”as an alternative to the 1955 rookie card, which is beyond most people’s budgets (I wanted to tell her I was lucky to own a poor one that I had found ‘hidden’ in an old box, but this wasn’t a conversation, it was an oral lambasting), you can still pick one up at a good price and it’s getting more valuable. You should buy one soon (talk about a hard sell, she was pointing to the graded one in her case). And if you want his cheaper cards, the 1967 through 1969 are perfect for you (Wait! Is she implying I look poor??). Plenty of them to be found.”

At the end of this de facto lecture I was in a tough spot. Was she showing off her knowledge just to show off, as any guy or girl would do? Or was it something deeper along the lines of, “This guy doesn’t think I know baseball cards, because I’m a woman? End the patriarchy!!!!!” The easy smile on her face indicated there was probably nothing bitter hiding beneath the surface, and she was just a salesperson teaching a master class in ‘Always be closing’ through the use of Clemente, but I didn’t want to chance it. I desperately needed an out.

Taking a moment to buy some time (and my mind racing like someone on ‘Survivor’ trying to solve a damn puzzle), I remarked, “Wow...you really know a lot about this guy.” (Ha ha. “This guy,” like I never heard of him before.) Then something clicked in my mind and I knew I was going to be saved. Trying to hide a big, relief-filled smile, I looked back at her and excitedly explained, “Thank God you know so much! My GIRLFRIEND sent me to this show to buy cards for her and I don’t know a thing about this stuff!”

Somewhere, in the gentle breeze of the coming evening, you could hear someone declaring, “Game, set and match.”

I knew I had her beat. If she thought I was some sort of ‘a woman’s place is in the home’ guy for my somewhat confused reaction to first seeing her, she was now screwed, because she was giving me that exact same reaction back. Her brain was practically screaming, “Girlfriend?? Girls don’t know anything about baseball cards!!!!”

In the uneasy peace that followed, I said (pretending to be recalling from a distant memory), “She’s looking for something called a 1971 Greatest Moments Thurman Munson card in nice shape.” (I damn well knew there wasn’t one anywhere at the show.)

After sadly saying she couldn’t help me on that front, I sheepishly made a quick exit, but as I did (my smart-ass side refusing to be silenced), I gleefully said, “Thanks anyway, BABE!” as a goodbye. The turn of the frickin’ screw!! Take that!! Wish I had eyes in the back of my head to see her infuriated reaction as fire was undoubtedly spitting from her eyeballs at me.

Good times!!

A thin escape, but an escape nonetheless. I'm not overly religious, but on the way home I gave thankful praise by lighting a candle at St. Mary’s.




Until next time, my fellow collectors anti-Pelicanists!! :D

You and I think alike when it comes to the Invasion of the Stroller People. From my column about dealing at the 2nd day of the Pasadena show last month:

On Day 1 by the 10:00 VIP opening, the line for the show was out the door of the convention center and a full block down Green Street to Marengo and just around the corner. Sunday, it was just barely out the door of the building. The crowd mix was all wrong, too: the Stroller People arrived. There were dozens of them.

Stroller People are death. I sold six bucks worth of cards the first hour and a half during Stroller Time. My table is a picker’s space. Buyers need time to go through the boxes. Stroller People measure their time in short bursts between toddler needs and demands. If I am lucky a Stroller Dad (yeah I will be sexist because the active collectors are basically men) has five minutes to check my table. Sure as hell at the five minute mark the airhorn blows, er the child shrieks, and off he goes. And if there is a Stroller Mom behind him watching, Stroller Dad ain’t spending a dime regardless. He can’t. She let him come to the show for an hour but that’s it. He just flips through the cards perfunctorily, looking over his shoulder at his banker, er, wife, with the look of defeat in his eyes, then walks away empty-handed.

Stroller People, here is a suggestion: control your spawn. One kid, had to be about two, was like a song stuck on autoplay, except it was a high-pitched screech that would have signaled “sabertooth tiger” to early man but now is just a tantrum. If the child goes off, take it outside and let it run around. Don’t stay in the show subjecting us all to a toddler aria. We all hate opera.

It was beyond ridiculous here.
Being only a one day show seemed to bring all of us collectors out of the woodwork, so it was jam packed (with a marked return of an overwhelming number of backpack people) everywhere, and you couldn't find a sliver of daylight to swivel through to get to the next table...yet here they were, further (and decisively) clogging everything up without a care in the world. Some had one hand on the stroller and the other one holding onto the hand of an ambulatory infant trying to escape their grasp as they bounced off the legs of people. Not a once did I hear a single, "Sorry," "Excuse me," or "Whoops! My apologies."

But the hubbies are the ones to blame.
These ladies didn't have a single interest in anything there and seemed to function as receptacles for whatever things their husbands bought and handed over to them in the chaos. A simple, "Darling, there's no need for you and the kiddies to come, I'll be fine on my own," would've went a long way...unless, of course, wifey responded, "On your own??? Alone??? You mean like how you went to the gym by yourself and couldn't stop hitting on Sarah, the hot physical therapist??? Is THAT what you mean by alone????!!!! I know damn well that if some lovely young thing starts showing you Roberto Clemente cards, you're going to leave me for her!!!! Just like my second husband did!!!!!!! I'm not letting you out of my sight, MISTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

My most recent experience just this past Friday (in a nice bulleted format):

1 - I am not ageist as I have two kids 27 and 31, but if I see another 20 something dealer thinking they are the king of the sports card world I will vomit uncontrollably.
2 - 12 year old kids walking around with their hard plastic PSA slab filled cases tells me the hobby I have loved is going to hell.
3 - I will never be able to collect new cards. As I age, the gold inserts look like the yellow inserts, the red like pink, and the fireworks ones like the shooting stars. Give me a 1971 Reggie Jackson because there's only one of them unless you count the variety of chipping on the black edges.
4 - It's impossible to buy cards at most shows because of the reason above (I avoid new cards) and the "I would need a second mortgage" to purchase most of anything I see on the tables.
5 - Always fun to get yelled at by a dealer because I purchased cards from another customer at the show. Short story, a gentleman approached a dealer to sell some assorted early 70s baseball cards he was carrying in a plain cardboard box (important to note not a hard plastic case nor even an 800 count box). The dealer said he was holding cash for the time being due to the holidays - all very understandable. As the gentleman was leaving the table I asked if it would be possible for me to buy the cards, he said fine and we agreed on a price. The dealer that he originally approached was perfectly fine with the transaction. I move down a couple tables and a "shark" dealer seeing me carrying a plain cardboard box (which meant to him I was hard up on cash and needed to sell the cards to him) asked if I was selling. I explained that I just purchased the cards from another customer and was happy with my purchase and was not selling. He then loudly berated me for purchasing cards at the show as the dealers "paid a ton of money" to set up there and they should be the ones getting to buy cards from customers not another commoner. I tried to explain that I did not interfere with the the deal that the customer attempted to make with the first dealer but seized the opportunity when he passed on it. He contined to scold me until I finally had enough. I pulled the '73 Ryan out of the box and said something like "nice card isn't it" (one of many in the plain cardboard box). This just infuriated him more and he decided to try to beat me down further. I finally said, "I'm sorry you feel that way (I really wasn't) and then proceeded to tell him that the 1972-73 Marcel Dionne card he was proudly displaying as a rookie card, in fact, was a second year card. He, of course, doubted me as I snarkly told him that the rookie card was in the 1971-72 set (demeaningly mentioning that it was the set with the ovals and that Marcel was displayed in a head and shoulders shot not the full body shot he presented as the rookie card). His response was, "no you're wrong and I'll prove it by asking Siri while your standing here". Needless to say, that was my game, set, match discussion with this lunkhead of a dealer as he slunk back in his chair fully disappointed that I was correct.
6 - Sadly I only purchased one card from a dealer at the show. A nicely centered Fred McGriff 1986 Donruss for $2. Oh, a few of the dealers with the new shiny stuff had some in their cases but after my episode above, I did not have the heart to tell them that those 1987 versions of the Fred McGriff "rookie" is not that at all. Besides, if I counted, I would say that less than 5% of the cards at the show were vintage. And I'll even stretch vintage to the early 80s (even though I don't count them that way).
7 - Conclusion - the hobby is shifting to a place where a lot of people will be "hurt" financially with the explosion of new product and parallels, numbered cards, "rare" cosmic/flashers/rainbow 1 of 1 specials. I'd rather have a 1972-73 Bobby Orr than a 1 of 1 of some guy that likely will either be in jail or working in Walmart in 5 years.
PS - Is it just me or are those Panini/Donruss unlicensed baseball cards the worst things ever?

End rant...thanks

My most recent card show learning experience occurred this past weekend. Do not start at the table's of the vintage card sellers. This show I started at the tables of the shiny stuff sellers. Most all of these guys had some small amount of vintage....about half of them were blowing out their vintage stuff at a quarter to 50 cents on the dollar as vintage is not their specialty and they didn't want to spend additional time pricing it. I went through these boxes during the latter part of setup...snapped up all of the deals I could before most others had time to get through the boxes.

By the time I finished with the modern sellers who blow out their vintage stuff and made it to the actual vintage sellers, the vintage guys' prices seemed really inflated. But it wouldn't have mattered anyway, as by the time I reached the vintage guys, I was out of money.

Preach!

Observations from the Card Show Front Lines - UPDATED!!!
 

On a slow, pre-Christmas Tuesday at work in between meetings, I must say that I have found these tales and their additions and updates endlessly entertaining.

I went to my first real show in 20 years earlier this summer. I can relate to a lot of what was shared here. It’s incredible how some things don’t change - it never takes long to figure out who the dealers are that are interested in moving cards - they will look you in the eye and engage you in conversation - vs. those who have a museum containing endless Allstate display cases full of imposing looking slabs with no price tags. These remind me of the “seated dealers” I remembered as a kid at shows back in the 1980’s and early 90’s - where if you happened to be lucky enough to attract the attention of a seated dealer (who was invariably eating, smoking, or busy reading the paper or watching a portable tv…) they would amble over with an annoyed look and squint at whatever you were interested in in their case - and without fail quote you a price that was roughly 700% of the spending money you had brought that day. “What did you say, ‘high Beckett’? Kid do you know how RARE this card is…?”

I must admit it was less pronounced at the one show I went to this year, but there were still a few of those characters there. The cigars and newspapers have been replaced by smart phones, but that age-old disdain is still there, and it’s not hard to spot.

Ah, memories.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Card Show? Are you kidding me?
 

I was wondering, while I was reading this, if I am an anomaly, a statistical brain fart, or just a figment of my own imagination. My last card show was in 1987. Or so.

In order to finish my ex’s job of throwing me out of the house… err, divorcing me, I sold my childhood collection to a card shop in Temple City, CA and cashed my attorney out of my life. A true two for one. I managed to keep one card worth anything - a T206 Jack Bastian - with a Piedmont back. Nice shape too. Graded by SGC about 25 years later a 4.5.

When my present spouse and I bailed on SoCal to the Eastern Sierras, I got the bug and started collecting again -using post-1988 technology, the Internet, Ebay, Auction House and Net54. Quick and somewhat painless purchases, for the most part. Did y’all know there were guys selling trimmed cards on Ebay? On (Gasp!) Net54? Everywhere? Guys were altering cards, and sold one for a huge amount, founding PSA (allegedly)? Jim Rome sez if you aren’t cheating, then you aren’t trying. I’m glad Jim Everett shook his world back in the day. In the meantime, not a card show in site where California meets the Great Basin.

Sure sounds like the card world today is full of shady car dealers selling to uneducated buyers - kids who have seen the BOOM cycle and are more than likely the KABOOM cycle. Card Breakers are moving from card types to different sports and back in their attempt to capture dollar opportunity. Financial hacks are speculating on card values, buying and selling in a churning feeding frenzy. I’d rather shoot craps. Seriously.

The piranha are loose in the carnival. Soccer moms are accompanying their brood spending their allowance on cards. They are worth money! And Fanatics is raking in the cash, selling boxes of cards for $400 to 500 bucks and more. For who? For what? Anybody think that this is the true junk card era for modern cards?

A new web site is out there to try and make sense of all this. Whatsmycardworth.com. Has value information for every sports card in the history of personkind. And so the idea of walking in aisles with thousands of individuals looking to buy the same six or so quarterback one of ones, the under-graded Local Koufax or Ted Williams card that should be a seven, at least a six…sound familiar? And who owns all the Crackerjack, Old Judge, T206, and who were all these guys? Never heard of ‘em, and besides the cards look boring and for old people and I can get a mini or three in my box of Gypsy Queen….don’t they know people follow basketball and that’s where all the cool cards and money is…not baseball. Just ask the guy on ESPN!!!


My back and knees hurt. Driving 200 miles to a card show sounds like fun, but this ain’t 1980. Not sure I could handle one these days. Or that I would spend the money when The Net makes buying a bit simpler…for us old people…just my opinion.


But one of these days, maybe the National…just to see the fantastic history of the game in one place, the people, the places where the game was and is played… so many reasons to attend besides buying and selling…a celebration of the game, barkers and hustlers be damned.

I love baseball. Always have, always will.

Just out of curiosity, was the card store that you sold your childhood collection to located in Temple City called Kenrich? Bill Colby was the owner.

Phil aka Tere1071

Bill Colby used to own half of Las Tunas correct? There was another card store in Temple city on Las Tunas closer to Rosemead Blvd. I think it just said Baseball Cards. Wow, I’m old , those stores have been gone decades.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It’s sad to think about, but I could go back to my hometown and the surrounding communities now and point out buildings, “this used to be a card shop, that store in the mall used to be a card shop…” All of course gone now.

The good thing is in my current city there are more card / hobby shops now than there were when I first moved here almost 25 years ago now. It always seemed to me that the hobby crashed pretty hard in the late 1990’s. Of course I had moved on to college, and wasn’t really paying attention. The internet and eBay had changed things dramatically by the time I got back involved, but even now it’s nice to have the option to go to shops and shows when you feel the need.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I've seen more Card shops popping up lately around my neighborhood and the surrounding ones. However they're much different then they used to be. All geared towards modern/shiny things. Very few "vintage cards" almost always from the 60's or the 70's. Nothing from before then.

Not to put on the Nostalgia Glasses, but in my opinion there's very few stores that capture the old school Hobby Shop feel. If I've said it once, I said it 1000 times, there was a shop up in Cooperstown called Baseball Nostalgia that did it perfectly. Of course it was a relic, from the 1970's but it stood strong for a long time before finally closing maybe two years ago. Fair prices, honest hard working people in the store. Memorabilia and cards, covered the floor to the ceiling.

Attachment 613067

There was another show in town, and although I only bought four measly cards, I hung in there endlessly looking for topics to cover, and I now present the results of my observations and interactions.
Since this is just waaaaaaay too long, if you decide to quickly pull the ripcord to save yourself, I swear I won’t take it personally!!!


1. Today’s Show Sponsor: Emily Post
Here is something I never thought I would say. In this maelstrom of a jam-packed show, I cannot believe how very (I mean over-the-top) polite the attendees were. We all know that walking the floor of one of these things is tantamount to being a fleshy pinball, with your person being bounced around non-stop. But at this show, it didn’t matter how softly someone bumped into me, or even if they caught themselves FROM bumping into me, the whole day was an endless refrain of “Sorry!” or “Whoops! My fault.” or “Excuse me!” or “My apologies!” A British sounding guy even made room to allow me to pass, and with a sweeping flourish of a hand gesture said, “By your leave.”

I have absolutely no explanation for any of this.


2. Rapporical Question Redux (refer to post #37 in this thread)
A guy saw my Mets hat bobbing in the crowd and yelled out, “A Mets fan, hey!!” Assuming he called out to me because my orange and blue is a rare sight out here, so he must be a fellow fan, I decided to give his table a look-see. Asking me the obligatory question of who my all time favorite Met is, I said, “Dave Kingman, DUH!” His face immediately froze into a ‘How the heck could I possibly know that?’ gaze. And then he broke my heart by talking about ‘Kong’ on the frickin’ Cubs, not the Mets!! The Cubs!! That got me grumbling, but even worse was when he suddenly called out, “A Cardinals fan, hey!!,” followed by a moment later, “A Bears fan, hey!!,” so it didn’t matter what insignia you were wearing, you were only a target. What a bummer...I thought I was special.


3. Failed Punnery
Along the same lines, someone else seeing my ‘Steal Your Face’ shirt tried to draw me in by happily saying, “You going to any of the Dead shows coming up? I can’t wait!!” Not having the heart to squash his enthusiasm by saying my live Dead Head days ended when Jerry died in ‘95, I instead brought it ‘round to baseball cards by saying, “No, but I am looking for Haight-SLASHbury...(long silence and a vacant stare)...you know, pricewise...SLASH-bury...slashed prices...get it??”

Wow, that didn’t get even a ripple (see what I did there?) of a laugh. I guess some comedians are just not appreciated in their own time.


4. Loftier Slab Delusion (LSD)
Since we’re on the topic of hallucinogenic narcotics, as I kept on truckin’ (see what I did there?) along, I saw a guy with his nose in the books (which these days means continually staring at images and data on an iPad while tapping away at the keyboard) who kept excitedly saying things to his buddy like, “This one definitely should be a 7...and that one’s a minimum of a 6,” as he pointed to cards the dealer had removed from his display case for him.

Since the cards he was talking about had lower numbers on the slabs than the numbers he was saying, his intent was clearly to buy the cards, break them out and resubmit them to get bigger numbers and rake in the dough.

Talk about a doomed experiment in lunacy. There were two basic things he wasn’t even considering at all:
1) The prices on the cards he was targeting were marked up by the dealer as if the numbers on the slabs were (at a minimum) three digits higher. That’s why no one bought them yet!! You can’t pay ridiculously high prices for cards, crack them out to resubmit for higher numbers, and be able to make a profit. You’re into the cards for way too much money and it’ll cost even more to have them graded. Do the math!!!!
2) There is no way in heck you can be sure to get a higher grade (let alone the same grade) on a resubmission!!!!!

Let me foreshadow what will appear later in this post, every single one of us collectors is mentally deranged.


5. Glut Reaction or The 49ers and the Gold Crush

Attachment 613036

I hate the San Francisco 49ers.

In the wake of the Super Bowl loss, I approached this huge set-up of 49ers merch (enough surplus to clothe an army) and said, “My teams are in New York, so not looking to buy anything, but wanted to ask you how your sales are going. You really got a ton of stuff.”

Busying himself with neatening the piles, he offered, “The Niners were unstoppable. I really thought we were going to take it this year...but that (Super Bowl) Sunday ruined my life. I can’t believe they blew it in overtime!! I really loaded up on shirts, hats and jackets for shows, especially the huge one next month at The Cow Palace, and I was going to make a killing, but it’ll be a stretch just to break even now.”

I asked, “So, are you stuck with everything?”

“Yes and no. Learned my lesson after those damn Chiefs beat us the first time, so I only bought a few ‘Super Bowl Winner’ things, so that was smart, and just a bunch of these ‘NFC Champs’ pieces,” as he showed me a hat, “which will definitely sell. But the big problem is a victory would’ve really allowed me to increase my prices (he suddenly caught himself)...I mean, not just me, every seller of the red and gold would’ve done the same thing......to ride the gravy train, you know??”

I felt a little bad for the capitalist in him, but my brain was yelling, “Think you got it bad??? Try being a Bills fan like me!!!” Instead, I offered a less emotional, “It’s natural to underestimate the malaise that follows a loss, because even though they had a great season, that failure rips your heart out and you want nothing to do with the team you love. It takes a while for that love to find its way back home. (Wow! I’m sure there must’ve been a smug look on my face as I thought of what a great philosopher/poet I had become!) It happens every single year with me and the Buffalo Bills!!!”

Apparently, things could get even worse for him. With exasperation, he also threw in, “And if any of these guys end up on other teams (he had a wide variety of shirts with player names and numbers on them), their shelf-life has already ended and into the furnace they go!!”

He bid me adieu with a bit of a sad gleam in his eye, “Guess I’m gonna have to tell my wife it’s going to be at least another year before we can buy our winery up in Napa.”

Trying to grab an exiting laugh, I said, “Well, better luck next ‘over’ time!!”

I hate the San Francisco 49ers.


6. Who Knew Cardboard Ripened Like a Piece of Fruit?
Curious that a seller’s discount bin prices had been edited out and elevated (he artfully and seamlessly turned his “4 For $20!!!” signs into “3 For Only $20!!!” signs), I asked him why he did that. He replied “Spring traniing is in full swing (man, he missed a golden opportunity to add “pun intended”), so the excitement is in the air. Gotta make the bucks while the cards are in season.”


7. A Joke of a Woke Bloke (Literally, a BLOKE!)
It’s with regret that I have to report that the bullshit has reached our cardboard shores and is invading the hobby we love.

It started simply enough. Walking up to a table, I smiled and said to the old guy (it’s depressing that even though my immediate thought was “old,” he’s probably only a year or two older than I am...ugh!!)), “I’m cheap. Please tell me you have some piles of seriously discounted vintage I can look through?” He chuckled and said (as he pointed), “Ha!! Honesty goes a long way with me. Don’t have much, but check that box over there when he’s done with it. I’ll give you a deal.” That was it. The most simple and straightforward reply ever, right?

Wrong!! Apparently, it was a trigger to unleash outrage, because the college-aged manboy twerp of an a-hole he had pointed to stopped looking through the cards and practically screamed at him, “My pronouns are “THEY”!!!!!!!”

In the stunned silence that followed, my brain told me I had a couple of options to have the dealer’s back. Do I take the grammatical route and state that “they” is only a single pronoun, so why in f*ck did he use the plural term “my pronouns are”??? But instead, I started loudly calling back to the dealer (who didn’t deserve this woke BS) as many words denoting “male” as I could quickly think of in rapid-fire succession, “Do you mean the bin in front of HIM?? HE still has a long way to go with it. This fine SIR still has a ton of cards to go through. Should I ask HIM if HE’S done yet??” Turning to this twerpy a-hole of a f*ck, I said, “My MAN, are you almost done??”

It was so obvious that this twerp-ass version of a ‘Karen’ spends his days looking for any chance he can get to spew this insanity, because the “they” bullet was sitting in the chamber waiting to be fired.

He and his friend stormed off all butt hurt from being called out on their bullshit. As is often the case, you later think of things you should’ve said. Were it to happen again (sadly, it will), next time I’m going to call out, “That’s right, go home to mommy!!! Remember, SHE’s the one who DOESN’T have a f*cking PENIS!!!”

The dealer bemoaned that he can’t believe what’s happened to the world and, “I try to stay away from the mentally ill.” Going for a laugh to ease the tension, I offered the trite, “You do realize that every single collector, myself included, is mentally ill, right?? No normal person would enjoy this crap.”

It only elicited a sad, half-hearted chuckle, but I tried. It’s the thought that counts.


8. Airport Conveyances and the Common Man or Fly Walk the Friendly Skies Aisles.
Being held at an airport hotel again, this show made me realize how great it’d be if they would deploy some of the fine airline industry technology to improve the lives of showgoers. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if moving walkways or ‘people-movers’ were installed down the middle of the rows/aisles across the entire show floor?? Imagine if you will, all the aimlessly-wandering, lookie-loo, aisle-clogging impediments being automatically pushed forward and out of your way so as not to continually and cluelessly block the paths and keep you from getting to where you wanted to go?

It’s only a dream, but ‘tis a really lovely dream.


9. Interesting Eavesdrop (But I wasn’t frickin’ eavesdropping!!)
There’s a dealer who’s set up at every conceivable show out here, with his main draw being the various large bins of stars proclaiming “50% OFF Marked Prices!!!!” (what I derisively call ‘Bogus Halfsies,’ because cutting the godawfully high prices in half does nothing). A friend of his was borrowing his ear to seek input on his attempt to start a new grading company. (They both made quite a few indirect references to his family’s money and whatnot, so the guy seems to have a few bucks to throw around.)

His idea is to assemble a bunch of serious hobbyists (cardboarderati?) to use as official graders of vintage cards. It was strange, because as he was talking about financial specifics, he kept hushing his voice and looking around to make sure no one was listening...but I was right in front of him, literally the depth of the tabletop away. Am I invisible??? Was I “Griffin” in H. G. Wells’ fantastical tale?? Felt like waving my arms around and saying, “Helloooooooooo!!!!! Can you NOT see me???????” The whole thing was just plain weird.

He wants to beta test his idea by removing cards from their slabs and having trusted hobbyists (like the dealer he was conversing with) grade each one and submit their findings, along with notes explaining why/how they arrived at the numbers they did. It would allow him to compare everyone’s findings, and see how in line the grades were with what the TPGs originally deemed the cards to be.

He kept trying to turn it into a Lincolnian (is that a word?) pursuit by repeating a few times how it would be "of the collectors, by the collectors and for the collectors."

My immediate thought was, “Wouldn’t ‘Honest Abe’ see this type of cronyism grading as ‘dishonest,’ since unwarranted higher grades would likely result in order to make the self-interested owners’ cards worth more??” But, alas, they didn’t ask for my input due to the cloak of invisibility I was apparently draped in. Too bad.


10. The Card's in the Cradle and the Silver Spoon
Collectors on net54 are always discussing the ‘health’ of the hobby and how they love seeing the younger generation taking the reigns and driving it forward. Honestly, that stuff means nothing to me, but I still had quite a strange realization. As I overheard a young boy negotiating at a modern cards table behind me (you couldn’t help BUT overhear, because his very high and squeaky voice pierced the air), he ended his part of the negotiation with (his serious and businesslike tone unmistakeable), “Okay, what’s the absolute lowest you can go on this card for me?”

WHOA!! I realized this kid sounded EXACTLY like a younger version of me!! Like a younger version of us all!!

A tear practically came to my eye, and all I could hear in my head was Harry Chapin’s rueful lamentation:
“And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me”


11. But Wanna Feel Even Older??
Another kid trying to sell stuff to a dealer said, “I got some really old cards for you to look at.”

He replied, “What do you have?”

“Some early Mike Trouts.”

Allow that to sink in, won’t you? EARLY Mike Trouts. A quick look at Wikipedia shows Mr. Trout started in the MLB in 2011, barely over a decade ago...and he was only born in 1991!!!! That was just a blink of an eye ago, but this guy acted as if his career had begun in the 19th century.

Early Mike Trout cards are considered REALLY OLD by younger people???????

Might be time for me to double up on my Geritol tonight.


12. Mom Told Me Decimal Points Were Supposed to be Our Friends

Attachment 613037

All card show prices are mystifying, but some card show prices are more mystifyingly mystifying than others.

Someone had a 1961 Topps #579 Willie Mays All-Star PSA 7 OC which was on display as the centerpiece (offcenterpiece?) of his showcase and it was listed for an astounding $4000.00. Yes, three zeros separated the four from the faraway decimal point. It had the obligatory “High Number!!!!” on it in an attempt (I guess) to explain his ‘perfectly reasonable’ price.

Since there was no comma present, I thought it was maybe possible that he unknowingly added an extra zero when he was clicking away on his price gun?? However, that theory quckly fell by the wayside, since even a $400.00 price on such a card is super bonkers.

Tell me, how would you even ask the seller if he had any wiggle room on such a price? You would need something along the lines of the ***LOCAL REFERENCE ALERT*** 1906 San Francisco earthquake’s (estimated) 7.9 magnitude to even begin to make such a ridiculously towering price wiggle.


13. Time Lapse Showtography
And speaking of pricing, every single one of us knows how ridiculously high the prices are at shows, and we bitch and moan about it religiously. It’s our God-given right as collectors.

Since the vast majority of the dealers out here (everywhere?) have the exact same cards with the exact same stupid prices at every single show, maybe it’s time for an experiment. To prove nothing changes, maybe we should start taking pictures of their displays at each outing and see what percentage (gotta be close to 100%) of the same cards still remain in their cases at the next show and the show after, and so on. It would be like taking a picture of New York City from 100 years ago and comparing it to one taken today, and NOTHING has changed (except for it being in color, not black and white)!!!!!


14. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to delete it.
While a couple of friends were discussing a 1968 Roger Maris one of them was thinking of buying, it became obvious the other guy (in his mid-thirties if he was a day) had absolutely no idea who Maris was. His blank stare seemed to indicate he may not have ever heard the name before. Outfitted in a weathered Giants hat and holding vintage cards, it would appear to anyone that he ‘knew’ baseball, but his friend kept trying to get a reaction out of him by saying things like, “On the Yanks with Mickey Mantle??,” “Two MVPs??,” “You know, the home run guy?? Sixty one??,” to try to jog his memory. But the response was, “I thought that was that Aaron guy??” Yes, he said “that Aaron guy.” So he probably knows nothing about ‘Hammerin’ Hank’ either.

I honestly don’t ever recall being around a grown baseball fan who had no clue who Roger Maris was.


15. The (Send Away) Good, The (Send Away) Bad and The (Send Away) Ugly
And finally, amid the tidal wave of table-hoppers trying to sell their cards to dealers, you got used to the polite, and not so polite, ways dealers would rebuff these merchants. One guy showed three distinctly different ways of ‘ridding’ his table of sales reps...

1) Someone brought over a box of vintage stuff and said he got an offer of $3,100 for the lot and asked if he would be willing to offer more. The dealer started going through the cards while punching up numbers on his calculator to arrive at what he felt he could reasonably sell the lot for. He concluded the slabbed cards didn’t have enough rock solid value and the ungraded stuff was in rough shape, so it wouldn’t be worth the fees to get them graded, and he’d have to sell them as is. “I wouldn’t be able to sell everything for the amount they offered you, so the deal they gave you is good.” He followed up with, “You don’t know me, so go over to that guy (pointing to the ubiquitous dealer I mentioned in the ‘I Wasn't Eavesdropping’ section) for a second opinion. He’s always buying. Ask him if he wants to beat the offer. I can guarantee he won’t, so you’ll see I’m being straight with you.”

Quite the professionalism on display.

2) Another intrepid young salesman interrupted (rude!) to ask if he’d be interested in his modern cards. This time the dealer said, “You know, that stuff just isn’t right for me, but it’s right down my buddy Joe’s alley, so you should ask him.” Rising to scan the floor, he pointed toward a heavily trafficked corner of the venue and softly ushered the kid away with, “Yeah, I think he’s over there. Definitely go see him. Good luck!”

I inquired, “Does your friend really have a table over there?” His reply made me (literally) LOL. “I don’t think I actually know anyone named Joe, but it’s one of the most popular names ever. Somebody over there at one of those tables must be named Joe, right??”

Ha!! I guess there are only so many times you can politely shoo away people before deciding it’s time to expedite the process. Sometimes I lay awake at night laughing, thinking about that guy on an endless quest to find a table manned by a mythical seller with “Joseph” on his birth certificate.

3) Lastly, I have no idea what preceded it, but some guy bolted from his table all upset and pushing through the crowd as he tightly grasped his small case of cards with both hands, and loudly howled, “I refuse to be held hostage!!!!!!”

Yowza!! No one had any clue what elicited such a reaction, and it was a very uncomfortable aftermath. The good news is a bunch of us got a good laugh out of it, which is nice!!

So, to end my day at the show, I leaned in and said, “For a laugh, you should prominently tie a yellow ribbon around something in your booth!”




Until next time, my fellow collectors!! If you see Joe, give him my best. :D

Your show reports and my show reports on my Substack should go bowling together. Nice work.

Originally, I was going to entitle this excerpt
“Same Sh*t, Different Show,”
because that's exactly what it seemed to be...but in the end it turned into a far cry from the usual card show experience!!!!

So, (Spoiler alert) throw your keys into the bowl and come on in, won't you?


Attachment 619177


This here is a long read, indeed, because instead of being observations, this one is made up almost entirely of interactions with sellers, as I was attempting to see what I could learn about their mindset. So your patience is appreciated...and maybe a giggle or two will result??


Here’s what I (Foreshadow alert: hazily) walked away with...



1. With Price Guns Ablazing
I decided to face ‘Snakebelly Pricers’ (dealers who refuse to put price tags in plain sight on slabs and holders, but instead ‘hide’ them on the undersides) head on to specifically ask about their use of this tactic. Thankfully, there weren’t too many of them, but in the end, a pair of most enlightening conversations stood out:

a) Snakebelly Viper
This venomous man began (with a deliberate pronunciation of each and every syllable),
“My friend, if you are needing to see the prices on my inventory, then you are undoubtedly at the wrong table.”

Gee, tell me how you really feel, kind sir. Nothing there to take personally, no. Fighting the urge to laugh and say, “Man, you’re a dick!!,” I put on a fake smile and listened as he continued,

“With me, it’s a prestige thing. I keep my display case in order with all cards oriented entirely in right angles, with equal spacing between the pieces (See that? His pedantic use of the museum-esque “pieces” to describe frickin' 1973 Topps Rollie Fingers and Carlton Fisk cards??). Very meticulous and clean for discerning collectors (Here’s where I thought, “Discerning?? Well, I’m out. My stuff’s crammed in piles of toploaders inside a dusty Safeway bag in the closet.”), it’s all about the presentation. My customers are in the upper income categories, and I refuse to have it any other way. They know they are buying quality cards from me and the vagaries of pricing mean nothing.”

(I got the feeling that following the show, this pretentious gentleman would arrive at his country club precisely at 6 PM on the button to sip sherry with his haughty cohorts while debating if he should tip the waiter a ‘generous’ 5% or stick with his usual 4%.)

To say I thought, “WOW!!!” is an understatement, so I decided to try to have a little fun. “What about collectors who have money to spend, but want to get a decent “BARGAIN” (I knowingly stressed the heck out of that word for effect)??”

His eyes flew open wide and he practically gasped, as if to say, “A good price?? What cheeky effrontery is this????!!!” His cold stare (stay tuned: not the last time I was to be stared at this day) informed me he didn’t want to play any more, so I politely took my leave.

As I moved on, I DID notice there were no empty gaps left between his perfectly aligned cards, so I doubt he actually sold anything yet. Pity.


Although the rank smugness of this guy made me want to stop interacting with people, I ventured forth anyway...


b) Snakebelly Cobra
The other dealer was very open about his pricing strategy, and told me that practically the entire time he’s behind the table at a show, he is defending his prices against the ‘phone army,’ so he never wants to lose a tactical advantage. Like a cobra rising to display an impressive hood, I saw it more or less as a defense mechanism to ward off problematic visitors.

“When I had my prices showing, no one ever came up asking about a card without knowing exactly how much the last 5 or 10 sold for on eBay, so they were loaded and ready to start arguing about what’s on my sticker. It makes me angry, because how many times can I explain the costs involved in setting up at a show - table fees, insurance, food and travel, my time, etc.?? I guess you have to pay a little more for the show experience and for the actual touch and feel of the cards, since it’s live and in person, and not eBay on a computer.

“Now, with my prices NOT showing, just the act of asking me what my price is starts a conversation and opens a door for a possible sale. And usually when I say, ‘If you’re interested, I’ll DEFINITELY work with you on the price,’ they realize there’s a lot of room for 'the give and take dance.' My prices are obviously just ‘wish prices.’ I’d be thrilled to death if someone actually said, ‘Sure, sounds good,’ but they’re purposely high so I can be ‘talked’ - (laughing) I don’t ever actually let myself be talked into anything - down a bit on the price. It’s built in, and I think everyone knows that, right?”

I said, “How do you combat someone who says he can pull out his phone and get one cheaper on eBay right now. Besides the ‘you don’t have to wait to get it, you can walk home with it right now’ angle, how do you get over that hurdle?”

“If it’s worth it to me enough, I’ll try to get closer to the eBay price and see if they bite, but generally there’s nothing I can do and I’m dead in the water.”

Then he admitted, “My wife tells me I need to lower my prices, because you can’t take it with you...but she snickers when she says that, so I have a feeling she can’t wait to take IT - my collection - with HER to a pawn shop and use the money to run away to Hawaii with her boyfriend.”

Whoa...that was quite the unexpected end to our convo...and it was followed by a very long and uncomfortable silence...so, I humbly thanked him and wished him well with (more about his wife than anything else), “Ummm...good luck to you!”

A rueful quote I always remember from the movie “Singles” comes to mind, “Love disappears, baby!!”


2. The 49ers and the Gold Crush Redux
I hate the San Francisco 49ers.

There was a middle-aged (Damn, if I actually called her that, she woulda whooped me good!!) woman and her husband at a booth selling all sorts of SF 49ers and Giants gear, so I approached her to talk about the experience I had at the previous show (see “5. Glut Reaction or The 49ers and the Gold Crush” in Post #64). Unlike the monstrosity at the referenced show, this was a single table set-up, so her eyes clearly weren’t on some huge, pie-in-the-sky prize.

As always in these situations, I immediately stated how my heart (pathetically) lies with my New York teams, so I wasn’t a customer, but wanted to ask how sales were going.

“Not too bad, actually, and it’s still early, so who knows what the day will bring. Sometimes, it gets exciting!!!!,” she said with an electrifying grin on her face. (If anyone is looking for a marketing rep, this lady is your golden goose!!) “We sell the usual things, but the somewhat odd stuff is what makes or breaks the day for us. I sell a shirt here, a cap (Editor’s note: I’ve never been a fan of saying “cap,” and always prefer “hat”) there, but the sales of these ‘unique’ (you could hear the air quotes in her voice) things, especially the kid-oriented stuff, is what makes a show a winner or loser for us.”

I chimed in with, “So, you’re ‘knick-knacking’? Have you sold more of that stuff lately, because I see a lot more children at these things these days.”

She smiled, “Knick-knacking? Ooh, I like that! Yes, definitely. I have two boys and a girl, so I know the drill. When kids come to my table, they begin ‘Please, Momming’ their mommas to death to buy them some goodies, so I stay silent and don’t interrupt...and just let the battle rage (giggling as she said it). As a fellow mom, I know I should jump in and help her out by silencing the kids with the old ‘the grown-ups need to talk now’ thing, so their efforts would be stopped cold...but the business owner in me...????”

I said, “Needs to let her kids rip her to shreds until she’s too weak to fight back, and she’ll buy something from you to shut the little brats up??,” which led to her pointing an oddly larger than expected finger at me as she said, “Bingo!”

“Coming from a huge family, I know the drill too," I offered. "My brothers and sisters and I were like Navy SEALs when it came to conducting special operations against my mom.”

After relating to her the story of the guy from the last show (referenced above), she mockingly said, “Oh, he was SAD, was he??!! Poor baby. Bet you he didn’t tell you how large his sales were LEADING UP to the Super Bowl, did he? A funny omission that. He definitely raked in a lot of money during the playoffs. We’re small and still made a killing. This town was going nuts for anything with a Niners logo on it!!”

I said, “And how are 49ers sales now?”

Flashing the universal hand sign of a “big, fat zero,” she told me, “Nobody has gotten over it (the Super Bowl loss) yet, so it’s all Giants stuff now and we’re doing pretty good with it...plus a little bit of the A’s and Yankees things, like these rings.”

"Wait," I said, “it’s only San Francisco/Oakland teams, but you sell Yankees gear, too??”

She stated matter of factly, “The Yankees are universal, darling. But you know what the worst part of all of it is?? It’s not that we lost the Super Bowl, but we lost it to Taylor Swift!! It got to the point where the only thing anyone was interested in was who could name the idiots sitting with her in her dumb luxury box! That just added too much insult to the injury!!!”

I hate the San Francisco 49ers. (But rather enjoy personable ladies who sell their merch.)


3. Miscalibrated Outrage Machine or “You’re Nuts!!!...Wait, You Mean It’s ME Who’s Nuts???”
This is the San Francisco Bay Area (For the holy love of crap, can they just STOP completely overusing the word “Bay” in everything!! The country has a million recessed, coastal bodies of water which are directly connected to larger main bodies of water, so why do they insist the bay out here is the only one that effin’ counts???!!! GRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!), so Willie Mays is as popular in these parts as that Loch-dwelling cryptid is in Scotland. He stands alone, and thus his card prices are always draped in greatly inflated price stickers. It’s like how your wife foolishly pretends she thinks of you as a stone-cold, manly-man, stud of a 10...when every other girl on the planet immediately dismisses you as a hard 3 at best (no offense, all men should be respected for the entirety of their being and not solely on looks).

The point is, the ridiculous overpricing of Mays cards is a religion out here, so if you don’t feel like putting a hiked-up ‘Say Hey’ offering into the collection basket, you gotta move past the cases and find comfort in the bargain bins instead. However, when an example of overextremificational (new word) pricing catches your eye - a price tag seemingly issued by an absolute psychopath of a lunatic - you do what any normal person would do. You quickly grab your camera and snap a picture of it in order to reap the laughs from your fellow collectors in a thread entitled, “Observations from the Card Show Front Lines,” so I did just that...and laugh, I did!!!

Twenty three hundred bones for a 1962 Mays in ‘merely’ a 7????? That is hilarious lunacy!!!! What is this dealer thinking????


Attachment 619176


To really open the guffaw gates and let the laughter flow, I decided I should post prices from recent sales to use as a comparison and emphasize how crazily out of touch this guy’s idiotic $2,300 price was. (Editor’s note: here’s where our story takes a dark turn.)

Visiting PSA’s ‘Auction Prices Realized’ site (yes, these aren’t CSG slabs and prices, but the point is the same), I clicked on the listing of 7s from past auctions and fully intended on seeing sold prices ranging from $200 to maybe $350, but...
(with apologies to Clement Moore), “When what to my wondering eyes did appear, but a bunch of sales with prices shockingly dear!!!!”

With the most recent sale being from over a year ago, the last five PSA 7s have sold for an astounding:
$2,325
$3,049
$1,875
$2,172
and $2,520!!!

Holy mother of crap!!!! This meant that the absolute psychopath of a lunatic’s asking price was in line with ‘normal’ show pricing. What???? The realization is a hard one, but perhaps ’tis I that is the lunatic.

I have no idea what sets the value of that Mays apart from his other cards from the 60’s (centering?), but there is a starkly different spike in pricing for that particular card.

Lesson learned. Sometimes it’s wrong to try to use humor as a weapon.


4. My Brush with Great(deals of money)ness
I kept asking dealers, “What’s the coolest thing that’s happened to you at a show?,” but it became pretty obvious early on that I was just hearing talking points about the joy they felt by making collectors’ dreams come true. Barf!!

However, one guy was different...

This smiling, delightful man said, “Well, it wasn’t at a show, but if you want to know about my coolest experience ever...you have Google, right? Type in ‘Dale Ball and Babe Ruth,’” as the smile lighting up his face grew even larger.

(Honesty alert: being weary from the day and not wanting my ungainly fingers messing up the past sales data site I was relying on, I only made a pretense of typing in the search bar, so I really do owe him an apology.)

Waiting a moment, I said, “Oh there it is...Babe Ruth. That’s huge!!” Basically, I said nothing. The “That’s huge!!” utterance was nothing but the laying down of a verbal welcome mat to invite him in to tell his story.

Jumping in, he regaled me with his experience of landing a multi-million dollar 1921 Shotwell Babe Ruth card, and what an incredible find it was as he found himself all over the news. “I got my ‘15 minutes’ (of fame).” The guy working the table with him was happily nodding along as he told the story, and the comic book vending lady at the next booth was also proudly smiling. They clearly really like him. Bitterly thinking to myself, “Million dollar cards never fall into my lap...heck, $25 cards never fall into my lap,” I wasn’t paying nearly enough attention to get a full grasp of how the story ended. But upon arriving home later, I actually DID search out “Dale Ball and Babe Ruth” and found a bunch of stories about his find.

Here (hopefully) are a couple of links:
https://abc7news.com/babe-ruth-baseb...-rare/5223767/
https://abc30.com/babe-ruth-baseball...-ball/5300382/

Doing a search of Net54 to actually find specific info can be quite the drag, but I was able to locate an old thread asking about his company, Big Baller Auctions, and another one where I was very surprised to find some people weren’t taking too kindly to him...or were they referring to an idiot ‘journalist’ (air quotes) in one of the stories? Not really sure, but here’s that link, too:
https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=265493

Since his tale was all about him and a multi-million dollar card, I said, “How about striking a pose with the cheapest card you have available instead,” so a two buck 1968 Jimmie Hall it was, and snap away I did...


Attachment 619175


I didn’t spend that much time at his table, but found him to be a real nice guy who was constantly talking about how happy he was with all the free giveaways he gives to children who visit his booth or store (the other two people were nodding along again with respect). And with a smile on his face, he basically allowed me to name my price for his 1973 Topps ‘Goose’ Gossage rookie card I had asked about. I unashamedly lowballed him, and the deal was struck without hesitation. He was kind as heck and did me a solid, so he's great to me.


And to (ummm...sort of) keep the good vibes coming...


5. Sometimes, the Good Guy Wins...or Maybe He’s Just Inviting You to a ‘Key Party’?? Not Really Sure.
I spotted an affable-enough looking dealer who I'd never seen before, so asking him, “I know this is a job, so leave that aspect out...for you, what’s the best part of doing a show?” he happily replied, “Meeting you!! If you buy some cards, my wife and I will buy you and your girl a beer tonight!,” as his wife smiled at me.

(In my head, I had the same inescapable fear that every one of us vintage collectors has from time to time, “A beer with me and MY GIRL? Is this dealer trying to turn me into a swinger??”)

Trying to shake off those thoughts, I responded, “Don’t try using your personality on me to get me to buy stuff, Buck-o!!!”

He added, “The best thing to happen at a show is here, today. Right now. I’m just filling in at the last minute for a friend of mine who had a health scare, so I didn’t have any time to plan or arrange anything. Just grabbed a bunch of stuff and filled up his case...and here we are.”

“Oh, I hope he’s okay. How’d you do?”

A beaming reply, “I basically sold everything!! We smashed it!! That’s why the case is so empty, nothing but the black felt to see. I don’t have a clue why it happened, but the latter-day (modern?) cards flew off the shelves right from the start and people have been picking at the bones ever since. What a day!!” (And his wife’s smile now grew from ear to ear.)

Looking at my want list, I saw that I needed a couple of 1954 Bowman commons in sick shape that remained atop his otherwise empty case. Making him an offer, and being out of cash, I asked if PayPal was cool. He said, “We can’t take anything other than cash and thank God, my wife’s Venmo. I just assumed I wouldn’t sell a goddamn thing today!! (his wife nodding vigorously), so we weren’t ready at all. No credit cards or anything else. We thought we’d just sit here for a few hours and go home none the richer, but we cashed in!!,” as his infectious jubilation lit up the place!!

I said, “Okay, I gotta call my girlfriend to pick me up in a bit, so I can ask her to bring me some cash. Can you hold those two cards for me??” Both he and his wife nodded knowingly at the mention of my girlfriend...and he said, “Sure thing. Can’t wait to meet her,” and the fear returned again...”Can’t wait to meet her?? Why is he bringing her up again?? Whuh?? I just wanted to buy some cards...not be lured into some afternoon delight kind of girl-swapping!!” But then again, who am I to avoid new experiences...


6. Invasion of the ‘Tiger Mom’
(Yes, ‘Tiger Mom’ is a stereotype, just like a stereotypical ‘Jewish mother’ is, but the term itself was coined by an Asian professor, Amy Chua. So do with that what you like.)

Sometimes a look from a woman is the best thing ever, while other times it is the exact opposite...

I first came across the fivesome in the lobby - a group of happy children all smiling and bursting with enthusiasm as they waited for mom to pay the lady, so they can get their wristbands and go into the show. (Spoiler alert: their mood changes.)

My entrance fee paid and looking to get my bearings, I began by taking a recon lap around the floor and through all of the modern tables to determine where the vintage guys were hiding out. In doing so, I ran into the group from the ticket table again - an ultra-intense lady holding court with her four children.

Picture if you will, a clock face, with the ‘Dragon Lady’ (not going to apologize for that description, because I swear she was breathing fire as she scared the hell out of me!!) situated at 12 O’Clock and her four kids completing the circle in front of her, spaced evenly out and intently focused on her as she roared (get it, ‘Tiger’ mom??) out instructions. I slid past them and it was no big deal.

However, time and again afterwards, everyone just kept getting blocked by this quintet as they kept clogging up the short, two-table length lanes nestled between the aisles (for my New York brethren, they were set up on the shorter section of street which horizontally connects one long avenue to another) and refusing to move, like this woman had reserved these sections as staging areas for her group alone.

Froms the bits and pieces of conversations I kept picking up each time I encountered them, it was quite clear that she wasn’t some doting parent taking her joyful brood to a card show, she was more like an economics professor conducting a Money Management 101 lecture as she and her ‘students’ walked the halls of the university. She was pushing her enrollees, whoops, I mean children, to attain lofty levels of achievement and success in the high reward activity of negotiating for (what I assume were) Pokémon cards, or the like.

One exchange went like this:

To her son, “Hey!! Stop!! What did I tell you??!!...WELL??”
Obeying her command, he came to a halt and muttered something I couldn’t hear.
“Tell me what your mistake was!”
Again something was mumbled.
“You NEVER say YES right away!! What is wrong with you??!!”

This lady was no taller than the ottoman in front of your TV, but obviously wielded the power of a hundred (random history reference) Ottoman tribal chieftains, and It’s fair to say she didn’t give a flying ‘F’ who heard her, as it was impossible NOT to hear her reprimanding her progeny. Self-doubt is not an issue with this woman, and her children were now slumped over and wearing the beaten down faces of the truly unhappy, a far cry from how their outing began an hour or two ago.

At the very same time she was chastizing her son, she turned to the dealer and told him exactly how much he was going to sell the card for.
Holding out a crisp Hamilton, she stated, “He’s giving you $10 for it. That’s it!!” It was not a question, it was a foregone conclusion. As if in a hypnotic trance, the seller slowly and involuntarily held out the card and took the tenner from her hand.

I was able to snap a quick photo of her during the transaction...


Attachment 619174


A bit later, after we all were forced to stop for the umpteenth time, because they were again blocking everyone from getting through, I shot her what could only be described as a loud (can a look be loud??) and obligatory “WTF, lady, can you make room for other people??!!” glare of disdain.

BIG MISTAKE...HUGE!!!!

Immediately locking on to my pupils with her fiery eyes, her enraged stare-back pierced my soul. Her eyes chilled me to the bone and shattered my spirit into a million pieces of broken glass. I hyperbolize not (well, okay, maybe a little). But, not one to back down from a staring contest (and always ready to fight for the rights of showgoers to have easy access to the tables they want to visit) (gee, you got a bit of a hero-complex, don’tcha??), I steeled my nerves, locked my eyes onto hers and refused to look away...and stare back I did...but...

POOF!!

...the next thing I knew, I was slowly and groggily coming out of an intense, stuporous fugue, shaking my head and trying to wake up from the mesmerization and get my bearings back. And as I looked around, I saw the room was dark and empty, with the only other presence being a man sweeping the floor. Many hours had passed since the show had ended, and I was still standing where I was when this momentous contest of wills had begun, having no clue where the time went or what had transpired. Clearly, that wasn't a staring contest with a mom, it was a staring contest with an evil, supernatural entity!!!

Looking down on the floor, I was frightened to discover a ring of five separate and detached wristbands encircling me...




Until next time, my fellow fire mouth breathing collectors!! :D

show
 

Man, that is some funny stuff!

Great read! Thank You!

62T Mays sells for a premium because of that woody border. Lots of chipping and damage. Similar to 55B or 71T. A little damage goes a long way, so higher grades are rare and valuable.

That and everything Mays in high-ish grades is crazy expensive these days.

Always a good read, jolly. If cards like the 62 Willie Mays could talk they would tell you not to put them in a CSG holder. Ugh.

Guys that hide their prices drive me crazy, although if I see a card I am after I will always ask to look at it price unknown. It is annoying when you ask to see a card and flip it around to discover that the price is 50% above market, as is unfortunately the case with a lot of front price tags as well. I would like to hear a good reason for putting the tag on the back. Perhaps it gives the seller a strategic advantage? This probably isn't fair but any time I see a case of cards without prices I tend to assume the dealer is a dickhead. Call me judgmental I guess. They can't all be bad guys.

That all said, I would suspect price-hiders tend to be more expensive overall than the guys who put the tag the tag in front.

If the complaints around here are to be believed, then people who sell on eBay don't escape condemnation for asking museum prices, and yet displaying the price right up front where everyone can see it.

Certainly there's gotta be other factors involved with the '62 Mays other than the splintering (see what I did there?) of the wood border, right??

I just had my 1962 Topps #10 Roberto Clemente come back as an SGC 7. An absolutely gorgeous card, yet the prices of his 'sevens' are a mere fraction of what the Mayses (is that the correct way to pluralize Willie?) go for. It's obviously not a perfect comparison, but those two guys sort of occupy the same echelon of 'greatness,' so I imagine their cards should be more similar in value.

Doing a quick (non-scientific) look at the sold prices of their 1961, 1963 and 1964 Topps cards shows a much stronger parallel of value between their PSA 7 cards.

We need Miss Marple to get off of her lazy butt and start working on this mystery... :D

Looks like a couple of other factors are cited on other threads for why high grade 62T Mays sells for a premium:

1) The dark background in the photo results in a lot of snow, so higher grade cards are more difficult to find.

2) There is often a smudge found by Willie's name or on the thick black line on the bottom edge. These common print defects also mean that it's harder to find a really nice copy.

I guess add those to the woody borders, and you've got your answer. There's just not that many 8s and 9s out there. And these days, everyone who wants but can't afford 8s and 9s are dropping down and bidding up the prices for 6s and 7s.

Observations from the Card Show Front Lines - UPDATED!!!
 

Some quick observations from my local show, which I went to yesterday afternoon, and then again today well after noon, closer to "pack-up and closing" time. Apologies in advance for not having the Jolly font / attribute / sentence structure wisdom. (Let alone his wit)!

For the record, this was the Winston-Salem, NC Fairgrounds "Toy, Hobby, Sports Card, Hot Wheels, & Comic Book Mega Show!" 350+ VENDOR TABLES. (I can assure you by the time I showed up at roughly 2 pm today, there were nowhere near 300 vendors still in the building).

Advertising / Marketing: Eeeh. Until about 12 noon yesterday, I didn't even realize this show was happening - about 15 minutes away from my house. Why it didn't somehow show up in my Facebook feed weeks earlier makes no sense to me. I happened to search "Winston-Salem Card Show" on Google to learn that this one (it's put on twice a year) was starting in about an hour.

Setup: Pretty nice, actually. The space used is the old WS Fairgrounds Education Building, which is air conditioned and though not new - I would guess is at least as big as the space used for the Strongsville show - videos from which kept me busy all last week.

Dealers and Available Vintage: Eeeh. At least a full half / 50% of the floor space was taken up by those hawking toys, comic books, or very shiny sports and / or Pokemon cards. There were at least a decent # of vintage dealers there yesterday; unfortunately I quickly learned that most were playing the "museum curation" game based on their prices. Raw 60's Mantle base cards (there were plenty of them) with $400 and up price tags when I can see the creases that break the surface before I ask to see the card? Yeah, no thanks. I did however find the few, in this case 3 different dealers for the whole show - who had their vintage priced reasonably, and I was able to make deals with them.

Story: So, the guy with the overpriced Mantles - he did have a huge setup and multiple tables that were mostly vintage stars, so I spent a good deal of time at his table yesterday just looking and checking prices to see if there was anything worth even asking to see up close. Short answer - no there wasn't.

So, I'm standing there when the guy says to another customer / showgoer - loudly and obviously for my benefit....something, something, "Yeah, like customers on your side of the glass who just stand in front of my cases all day pricing cards on their phones so they can attempt to squeeze me..." I'm not quoting here, but that was the jist. I slowly turned, walked away - and did not speak with that gentleman again. Funny enough that guy was not back for day 2, either that or he had already left by the time I got there today - admittedly late. My guess is that he pulled out, the laborious effort of curating his museum showcases not netting many sales, and frustrating him.

In all honesty - am I in the wrong here? Do the rest of you not whip out your phone to look at VCP during shows? No sir sorry, I'm not paying $500 for a '63 Mantle raw in G condition. That's not a deal. You mean to tell me Mr. Dealer when you buy vintage, cards or collections - you just pay sticker for whatever the consignor or seller wants, or do you do a modicum of research on pricing and what you "can" pay that is reasonable?

Sorry, but I am not letting the conveniences of the 21st century go by the wayside in terms of whatever this guy thinks is polite / impolite / indifferent, or whatever. The days of sometimes walking around with the rolled-up Beckett under your arm are long gone, but usually with the online tools I have it doesn't take me long at all - maybe 5 minutes and 2-3 lookups - to know whether your stuff is basically reasonably priced with some room to move, or whether or not you are one of the aforementioned museum curators. I didn't ask to see cards and then holdup the show and the dealer's attention / other customers to price them. Mostly I just stood off to the side for a few minutes, not bothering anyone - looking stuff up.

Anywho, despite what might feel like a negative review, I did find the good guys and made some deals. Feel free to checkout my pickups over in the postwar April pickups thread - thanks.

I know what you wrote is not a verbatim quote of what the dealer said, but the moment he bitterly remarked how you're looking at your phone to try to "squeeze" him, tells you all you need to know.

If the last ten sales of a card went for $100, and his price is $200, then the last thing in the world you're trying to do is strong-arm him by asking if he'll take a price that's a little closer to a single Benjamin for it...to be in line with what everyone else is selling that card for.

He's the one doing the effin' squeezing with his ridiculous price. To go with the snake theme of my show post, let's call him a Boa ConPRICKtor.

Observations from the Card Show Front Lines - UPDATED!!!
 

I don't know that he actually said "squeeze" but that was sure the point. I was not appreciating his great time and effort in already (over-) pricing all of his inventory for me before I got there. Yep, sorry.

With yet another 40%+ high guy, I got the old "I have more in the card than that, sorry" - before I offered a tight, wan smile, thanked him, and walked away. In this case it was a '56 Aaron White Back in a PSA 3, which would have been an improvement over my PSA 2 that I have not had for that long. The cards were comparable, sure, but his had better color. Long story short, his "best price" after coming down 50 bucks from sticker was still roughly on the order of $140 more than recent VCP comps.

(As an aside - yes "VCP average" is just a tool, a starting point, and not something set in stone. I would generally agree that if you aren't willing to ever pay more than the "average" price then you will likely wind up with a lot of "average" looking slabs in terms of centering, color, other intangibles. But I digress...)

No, you are not wrong. I am fortunate enough to have local shows every other month and there are two or three regular vintage dealers, all of whom price reasonably. On the occasions when a mobile museum rolls into town, I do the same as you do. Once I figure out that their prices are out of line with the market, I'll generally just move on. The only thing those guys price reasonably is there shitty attitude. They can keep that, as well. I'm there to enjoy myself.

I hereby move that Darren aka Jolly Elm be appointed the resident Poet
Laureate of the Net 54 Board. May I have a second?

+1

Ummm...like when I woke out of the haze from the cursed 'Dragon Lady/Tiger Mom' hybrid at the show...how did this thread suddenly get here?? It's been in the post-war from the beginning.