Flea markets, antique stores, Goodwill, etc..

[billyb]

I am an antique store vendor in a small town in Northern, Michigan. We boast having three traffic lights. In just over three years that I have been there, I have bought and sold many vintage gloves and bats. My prices for sports cards are about the lowest around. I figure, if they did not cost me much, I can pass on a savings to my buyers. On several occasions, I have sold in misc. Cards alone, over 500 dollars in one day. Not long ago, an elderly couple came in with two shoe boxes of cards and they said they believe they are worth a Thousand dollars. My wife would not let me take the money out of the bank, so I contacted a collector who comes in ofter and told him what I saw at a glance was several 50s Mantle cards, a 57 Mantle, several Mays as these cards all appeared to be from 1955 to early 1960s. He was there almost immediately after I hung up the phone and paid the money they demanded. Turned out there was nearly a complete set of 1957 cards,along with a total of 5 Mantles, a Jackie Robinson, numerous Mays, Aarons, and on and on. I have never found out what the final value may have been, but the cards were in beautiful condition. My guess, the collection was three to five times in value.
I have several collectors names on hand and what they are looking for. With the cards I have left, they bring up conversations with strangers who give their stories what they have. Some expressed interest in selling some day, some cards have turned out to be a bust, but once in a while, those shoe boxes come in. My wife now regrets her decision to not let me spend the money, but if the value is beyond my means, I call my friends who have the deeper pockets. So don,t just cruise thru those antique store, it does not hurt to drop you name and number and what you are looking for.

[cubsguy1969]

Not baseball. But I stopped at an antique shop in upstate New York once and was looking at some old track & field memorabilia. The guy at the front yelled back, "That's the 'Chariots of Fire' guy." Turned out it was British sprinter Harold Abrahams' stuff: an original photo album (with several track photos), two leather bags (one with his initials), some awards, cards, etc. Very cool. I think I paid around $600. Consigned it to an auction house in London and it sold for close to $8,500. We were kind of broke when I bought the stuff and I had to talk my wife into letting me put it on a credit card. She was glad I did. It was so cool to think that he likely took those bags with him to the 1924 Olympics.

Here's the link to the auction:

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/196...?category=list

[glynparson]

Originally Posted by billyb

I am an antique store vendor in a small town in Northern, Michigan. We boast having three traffic lights. In just over three years that I have been there, I have bought and sold many vintage gloves and bats. My prices for sports cards are about the lowest around. I figure, if they did not cost me much, I can pass on a savings to my buyers. On several occasions, I have sold in misc. Cards alone, over 500 dollars in one day. Not long ago, an elderly couple came in with two shoe boxes of cards and they said they believe they are worth a Thousand dollars. My wife would not let me take the money out of the bank, so I contacted a collector who comes in ofter and told him what I saw at a glance was several 50s Mantle cards, a 57 Mantle, several Mays as these cards all appeared to be from 1955 to early 1960s. He was there almost immediately after I hung up the phone and paid the money they demanded. Turned out there was nearly a complete set of 1957 cards,along with a total of 5 Mantles, a Jackie Robinson, numerous Mays, Aarons, and on and on. I have never found out what the final value may have been, but the cards were in beautiful condition. My guess, the collection was three to five times in value.
I have several collectors names on hand and what they are looking for. With the cards I have left, they bring up conversations with strangers who give their stories what they have. Some expressed interest in selling some day, some cards have turned out to be a bust, but once in a while, those shoe boxes come in. My wife now regrets her decision to not let me spend the money, but if the value is beyond my means, I call my friends who have the deeper pockets. So don,t just cruise thru those antique store, it does not hurt to drop you name and number and what you are looking for.

And this is why i don’t ask my wife I just do it. She won’t be mad when the profits roll in. In fact she’ll have her hand out.

[GrayGhost]

Great Thread!

Best was at a library book sale! General MacArthur numbered and signed volume and slipcase. 5.00. Got near 700 trade/cash

[jchcollins]

In NC, the antique malls and flea markets are scant compared to the northeast, but they exist. My general experience is few vintage baseball cards, and when they do appear most are horribly overpriced. Beat up 1953 Topps commons for $50 a pop. I do have one down the road from me that had some fairly priced vintage graded, but it was a very small selection. I picked up nice PSA 7's of Clemente and Willie Stargell. In another section of the same store, there is a single dusty pack of 1994 Topps that they want $15 for.

[CobbSpikedMe]

I love going to antique malls and flea markets (but haven't been to them nearly as often as before my wife and I had kids) and the only cool baseball item I found was this Pedro Ramos cigar box. It didn't fit my collection so I offered it on the BST for the asking price plus shipping and found a collector who wanted it. Then I got messages from others that were pissed that I let it go so cheap and that they would've paid much more for it. I don't know what I could have gotten for it or what it's actually worth. I just wanted to help out a collector, not make a profit.


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[bnorth]

Originally Posted by CobbSpikedMe

I love going to antique malls and flea markets (but haven't been to them nearly as often as before my wife and I had kids) and the only cool baseball item I found was this Pedro Ramos cigar box. It didn't fit my collection so I offered it on the BST for the asking price plus shipping and found a collector who wanted it. Then I got messages from others that were pissed that I let it go so cheap and that they would've paid much more for it. I don't know what I could have gotten for it or what it's actually worth. I just wanted to help out a collector, not make a profit.


.

Now that is a cool oddball item.

I have found a lot of cool oddball stuff but nothing baseball. The only sports item any good was a Dr J autographed picture.

[ValKehl]

Back in the 1990's before eBay, my wife and I would regularly set up at the monthly Civitan Flea Market at Arlington, VA, to sell stuff we picked up at yard sales, garage sales, church sales, etc. In the afternoon when things slowed down, we would take turns checking out what the other flea market dealers had for sale. One time, a dealer had a few 1950's baseball cards on his table, including a very scarce 1953-54 Briggs Meats Mickey Mantle card that he did not realize was a baseball card - his price sticker read "$50.00 As Is, Not a Card" (see card below on right). He was most happy to quickly accept my $20 offer for it. Some years later, I got it slabbed by SGC and traded it for about $2,000 in cards I needed. Subsequently, in May 2011, Mile High sold it for $1,549, and in December 2011, Goodwin sold it for $2,160.