So I walked into a card store today, and was puzzled by...

[pokerplyr80]

Maybe this guy doesn't go online much, or at the least he doesn't search ebay for vintage listings or visit online auction sites. And the people who walk into his shop are more interest in modern cards.

The last local shop I walked into (in OC) the owner seemed pretty knowledgable but said he sells anything higher end online, not in the shop. He gave me a card with his ebay ID on it.

[Casey2296]

Welcome to an underfunded small business. He just gave you that line to save face. I would imagine it takes a huge capital investment to play card dealer nowadays.

Best thing to do? Next time you're in there buy something from him. Don't try to negotiate, and tell him you've been looking for that card for years.

You'll both feel better.

[ronniehatesjazz]

I think this isn't as uncommon as we'd like to believe. When I lived in Dallas a few years back there were maybe 7-8 shops in the metroplex and pretty much all of them catered to the newer stuff... more volume and the prices are sadly not that much different than vintage. The oldest cards I could come across were 50's-60's and they were always low end mantles, mays, etc. Occasionally, I'd come across a few decent prewar cards but it was rare outside of the monthly show that was humorously at the "Southfork" Hotel... Great shows nonetheless and always some nice vintage items.

I think when it comes to the older stuff it's usually best to deal with other collectors at shows or online. TBH, outside of my interest in vintage, if I owned a shop I would be doing the same thing. So much easier to move cases of prizm and zion rainbows lol than sitting on a 55 clemente for months until a collector of means and knowledge walks in and pays you a fair price. That being said, I live in Cincinnati now and there is an amazing shop that caters to all but it's a rarity.

[cardsagain74]

The local longtime shop where I recently lived (big city) catered plenty to modern, but he also told me "I can never keep hall-of-famers in the case".

And that was just before the covid boom, no less

[Rich Klein]

[QUOTE=ronniehatesjazz;2037870]I think this isn't as uncommon as we'd like to believe. When I lived in Dallas a few years back there were maybe 7-8 shops in the metroplex and pretty much all of them catered to the newer stuff... more volume and the prices are sadly not that much different than vintage. The oldest cards I could come across were 50's-60's and they were always low end mantles, mays, etc. Occasionally, I'd come across a few decent prewar cards but it was rare outside of the monthly show that was humorously at the "Southfork" Hotel... Great shows nonetheless and always some nice vintage items.

Hey that was MY show at the "Southfork" Hotel. Glad you enjoyed coming to them

Rich

[GasHouseGang]

A local shop here is sort of the same way. They also sell comics to help make ends meet. I've talked to the owner several times. He's a nice older gentleman that used to deal in much more vintage. Now he has one small case with some 50's and 60's. He said they just don't have people wanting to buy the older cards. I think I'm the only one I've seen looking at the cards in the vintage case. Everyone that comes in wants the latest boxes of the hot cards, the newest comic, or one of the rainbow refractors of the newest rookie.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Casey2296

Welcome to an underfunded small business. He just gave you that line to save face. I would imagine it takes a huge capital investment to play card dealer nowadays.

Best thing to do? Next time you're in there buy something from him. Don't try to negotiate, and tell him you've been looking for that card for years.

You'll both feel better.

Or he sized the OP up as an older guy who would potentially offload some vintage cheap if he was told that stuff wasn't worth anything.

There used to be a lot of guys who would run stuff down to try buying it cheap.
"I can buy a bunch of those for X =50% less than priced"
"Those aren't worth anything, I have hundreds I can't sell for half that"

Ok then, go buy those cheaper ones and I'll buy them for double what you paid. Or- Ok then, bring them to me, I'll buy them.

Funny, the supply of the identical item for very little suddenly doesn't exist.

[egri]

Originally Posted by steve B

Or he sized the OP up as an older guy who would potentially offload some vintage cheap if he was told that stuff wasn't worth anything.

There used to be a lot of guys who would run stuff down to try buying it cheap.
"I can buy a bunch of those for X =50% less than priced"
"Those aren't worth anything, I have hundreds I can't sell for half that"

Ok then, go buy those cheaper ones and I'll buy them for double what you paid. Or- Ok then, bring them to me, I'll buy them.

Funny, the supply of the identical item for very little suddenly doesn't exist.

I remember reading a few years ago about one of the experts from Antiques Roadshow got in trouble for doing something similar with Civil War relics. He would give his lowball valuation, then his partner would come up afterwards and make a higher (but still below market) offer. I forget how they were caught, or what the fallout was, though.

[oldeboo]

The whole industry is hot, but I think the modern stuff is very very hot. You look at prices of cards made in the last 2 or 3 years and they are nuts. It's not uncommon to see rookies of recent players selling easily in excess of 10K. There is just more demand for modern players that people can relate to and watch play currently. The margins are probably much larger with the new stuff as well from a business perspective, heck of a lot more risk as well. You look at eBay listings and a generic search I did shows 6.3 million modern cards, 1.3 million post-war, and 45k pre-war. Sure, some of that modern includes junk wax and these numbers are a representation of availability, but they say something. I don't think it's a stretch to say that there is more money in the ultra modern stuff whether we like it or not. Vintage cards are a bit of a niche and not mainstream in my opinion. With that said, I have no interest in the modern stuff like many here.