Nightmares at the National

[EldoEsq]

Originally Posted by unamuzd1

In what seems a family-friendly way, all things considered.

Speaking of 1983, I wasn't at the national that year. I did, however, attend the one in 1986. I guess I was 13 at the time, if my maths still work. I haven't been to one since, though I'm eyeing next year.

In terms of nightmares, mine's minor. The last thing I bought at the 1986 National, from a dealer near the door, was an unopened pack of 1976 Topps. I don't remember what I paid, but it wasn't too much, and I got a Brooks Robinson out of it. Which was awesome, because Robby was a favorite player (I grew up in Arkansas, so he's a hometown boy), but less awesome because it had a surface wrinkle. I just figured, these things happen sometimes.

Then a few days later I was looking at the wrapper and saw that it had a mail-in offer on it that expired in 1974.

Realizing that there were jerks who would sell a kid a re-sealed pack is probably one of the reasons I've never prioritized going back to the National.

Have you since learned that Topps used a lot of 1974 wrappers in 1976, and that pack was most likely legitimate?

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[Aquarian Sports Cards]

You just destroyed 30 years of perfectly good grudge carrying, and cutting off one's nose to spite one's face in one sentence. Kudos!

[unamuzd1]

Originally Posted by EldoEsq

Have you since learned that Topps used a lot of 1974 wrappers in 1976, and that pack was most likely legitimate?

Not unless I'm learning it right now. But given that you're framing it as a question, whether or not I've learned something is ambiguous. If that's true, then thanks. I now know something I didn't.

One of my take-aways was "Don't buy old wax", which generalized to "anything I'm not sure about". As such, while I've kept buying things that I'm comfortable I know about, and learning about things that interest me, I've not taken the time to educate myself on things that folks who specialize in the wax area may take for granted. There wasn't an easy way to learn it (if it's true) in '86, and the feeling that I'd been taken was such that I had no real motivation to go into that area of the hobby. It's a big enough hobby that there was still plenty to have fun with.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Originally Posted by unamuzd1

Not unless I'm learning it right now. But given that you're framing it as a question, whether or not I've learned something is ambiguous. If that's true, then thanks. I now know something I didn't.

One of my take-aways was "Don't buy old wax", which generalized to "anything I'm not sure about". As such, while I've kept buying things that I'm comfortable I know about, and learning about things that interest me, I've not taken the time to educate myself on things that folks who specialize in the wax area may take for granted. There wasn't an easy way to learn it (if it's true) in '86, and the feeling that I'd been taken was such that I had no real motivation to go into that area of the hobby. It's a big enough hobby that there was still plenty to have fun with.

Here is a recent discussion on the subject:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=221895

[Steve_NY]

I really hope that greater than "99% are good guys." Think of 1% of the attendees that don't fall in that statement; that would be 1% of let's say 30,000 attendees. That is 300 and it scares me. Ouch!

[unamuzd1]

Originally Posted by savedfrommyspokes

Here is a recent discussion on the subject:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=221895

Thanks!