Childhood or adulthood rip off stories

[steve B]

Originally Posted by 7nohitter

Zach,

I can totally relate to your story...As a 13 yr old in 1990 I was excited to go to the local card shop with my $50 or so, thinking that i had a ton of money. Will never forget how 'little' I felt when the rube behind the counter was bothered that I asked to see a '70 Nolan Ryan, nor have I forgotten the tone in his voice when I asked how much it was and he snickered, "more than you probably have." What an ass. As I got older I was happy that his store closed....

I saw one of those guys get taken by a kid who was about 8 at the flea market. He asked about a card and got the same response, "probably more than you have" The kid replied that he'd bet that he had more than the dealer, the card to him if he had more, the contents of his pocket to the dealer if he had less. ----The Kid had about $1500 on him! And a dad who was about 10 feet away, probably a setup, but nobody liked that dealer.

The same dealer would always try to push the latest "hot" set at me, iron ons, minis, big cards....My usual response was that I already had them. So one time I mention that I'm thinking of selling some stuff the next week. He has me come around the back of the van, and hands me two boxes of cards and says "don't come to sell next week, those are on the house" Whenever I was wanting cards and had no money I'd tell him I was going to setup and always got something free.

Steve B

[Buythatcard]

We've all been ripped off one time or another. I was ripped off by my best friend's father.

I started collecting cards in the mid 50's when I was a young kid and stopped around the late 70's. I only collected Topps and had several thousand cards. I was a big Yankee fan back then until the Met's came along. I collected everything that had Maris or Mantle on it. I also had every Yankee yearbook from the late 50's to late 60's. In addition I had every Met Yearbook from their first until the early 70's. So, I amassed a huge collection.

Then one day in the late 70's my best friend told me that her father buys sports cards and memorabilia. Since I was a teenager and needed money badly, I said "Great". Her dad came to my apartment and took everything I owned and told me that it was only worth $500. I took the money thinking that I got a great deal.

It wasn't until I was shopping at a mall several months down the road where there was a card show going on at the same time that I knew the scumbag ripped me off. He was selling my yearbooks for $50 to $100 a shot. I don't have to tell you the value of those Mantle cards.

Here I was trusting a friends Dad and he took me for a ride. It's over 35 years ago but I still get pissed off.

[judsonhamlin]

When I was 12 (1980) or so, I got jobbed by a flea market guy who convinced me that the 1951 and 1952 Bowmans that some kid had cut down to the size of the '50's were worth money. I think it was only about 20.00 for three of them, but still...
2/3 of a Ford rookie, anyone?