Rick Probstein interviews Bill Mastro

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by Snowman

If you read his comment carefully, you'll see that he was projecting that statement onto me. He was saying that was *my* opinion of Mastro. Hence he said "gotcha" as in "got ya" rather than "got it" at the end.

To be clear, this is not my opinion of Mastro. Someone asked for the Cliff Notes so I provided them as delivered in the video, and without bias, for the two topics I thought people would be most interested in.

I don't think there's anything wrong with him trimming that sheet cut Wagner. I just think it should have been graded for what it is, as a sheet cut card. But I have a big problem with how he ran his auctions. However, I find him to be remorseful and he's paid his debt to society. I'd give him a second chance. But I understand others who wouldn't. To each their own.

You are reading WAY too much into my reply. I was being snarky about Mastro himself and nobody else.

[lumberjack]

Boy, the crack about Lew Lipset was gratuitous.

Lew Lipset wasn't there from the beginning, but he was a very big deal from the mid 1970s on. The older collectors (like Nagy, Elwood Scharf, Al Price and a lot of other people nobody remembers today) felt comfortable around him.

He was one of the early go-to guys. Lipset, as was mentioned in the interview, had a shot at the 25 grand Wagner. He was also in the running for the BB Magazine photo collection. He was all business; I don't remember him back slapping and yucking it up.

Back issues of The Old Judge, his one-man operation, can be checked out on line. He issued price lists and catalogued obscure issues. There were a couple of books of check lists in there, too.

He was probably the conscience of the collecting business.

He didn't suffer fools.
lumberjack

[bobbyw8469]

Lew Lipset is "old school". I once bought several "Near Mint" cards from him trhough his auction on his website. At BEST, they were "Very Good". When I told him the issue with his grading, I was promptly blocked. I was later told by someone else to give him a "pass" because he was a hobby legend. If a hobby legend is that bad at grading cards, I want nothing to do with him.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

Lew Lipset is "old school". I once bought several "Near Mint" cards from him trhough his auction on his website. At BEST, they were "Very Good". When I told him the issue with his grading, I was promptly blocked. I was later told by someone else to give him a "pass" because he was a hobby legend. If a hobby legend is that bad at grading cards, I want nothing to do with him.

My understanding of Lew is that his grading scale depended on which side of the table he was standing on. If he was buying, it was VG. If he was selling, it was NM.

[jbsports33]

Interesting - are we giving these guys a free pass!

I thought there was so much negative about both of these guys and PWCC

anyways - thanks for sharing, I always like to hear perspective from both sides

Happy collecting!

Thanks Jimmy Piccuito

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by Tabe

My understanding of Lew is that his grading scale depended on which side of the table he was standing on. If he was buying, it was VG. If he was selling, it was NM.

While perhaps not to that extreme, I often witness the same behavior these days.

[Jersey City Giants]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

Lew Lipset is "old school". I once bought several "Near Mint" cards from him trhough his auction on his website. At BEST, they were "Very Good". When I told him the issue with his grading, I was promptly blocked. I was later told by someone else to give him a "pass" because he was a hobby legend. If a hobby legend is that bad at grading cards, I want nothing to do with him.

I remember my father and I buying an Cobb batt off shoulder in the 80s from one of his ads that was graded "Ex". It had more than one crease in it. He overgraded his stuff for sure. We returned the card for a refund but in retrospect a card that would have graded a 2 would still have been worth way more than whatever we paid for it back then LOL.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

You are reading WAY too much into my reply. I was being snarky about Mastro himself and nobody else.

Apologies then. Now I'm the one projecting words onto you lol. I take it back.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Apologies then. Now I'm the one projecting words onto you lol. I take it back.

It's all good. I thought "Man if there's one guy in the hobby you can take a potshot at, it's Mastro." Apparently not. I'm trying like hell to become an adult before I turn 50. Do okay a decent percentage of the time.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

...trying like hell to become an adult before I turn 50...

I'm nearly 50 and haven't managed to become an adult; not even remotely close. Given the way many "adults" behave, I'm quite content with this.

[JeremyW]

Travis/Snowman- I'm guessing that you have never been shilled, to the best of your knowledge? Some have & it's not a great feeling.

[Misunderestimated]

Mastro's stories seem like they captured the inevitable moments when a fairly pure hobby started to turned into a business/hobby. That was interesting interesting to hear... I'd read an oral history if anyone ever put a reliable one together -- a sort of "Glory of Their Times"... I think the pure hobbyist are all gone now. Does any one know if an oral history exists? I've read bits and pieces over the years.
---

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Eric72

I won a Probstein auction this summer. It was an SGC graded sports card.

A week later, I asked them for tracking info. They informed me that, "due to an ebay glitch this item was double listed and we no longer have anymore in stock."

So, I won a straight auction with (apparently) no shill bidding. That's great; however, they didn't honor the high bid and wouldn't ship the card.

This same item (cert # and all) appeared in a Probstein auction a short time later, where it sold for more money.

Surely, that's frustrating. But it's definitely not the norm, and that doesn't constitute fraud. Someone simply made a mistake. They have thousands of listings ending per day. Sometimes, they double post by mistake. I've consigned hundreds of cards with Probstein. The vast majority go through with no issues.

Originally Posted by JeremyW

Travis/Snowman- I'm guessing that you have never been shilled, to the best of your knowledge? Some have & it's not a great feeling.

Yes, I've been shilled. More than once. If it's an obvious shill bidding job, I report them to eBay (who then always does nothing about it). But I know what a card is worth to me and what I'm willing to pay for it. If I would have paid the same amount for a Buy-It-Now listing anyhow, then it just doesn't bother me all that much if I got shilled in an auction. Most shill bids are just effectively hidden reserves.

Of course, we all know that countless consignors shill their auctions with companies like Probstein, et. al., but that doesn't mean that Rick himself (or anyone being paid $X/hr to list cards for him) is shilling his own auctions. It's just an absolutely ridiculous claim to make without evidence, and nobody has shown any evidence of that whatsoever (and sold prices do not constitute evidence of this claim, despite the thousands of internet trolls who seem to think otherwise). It doesn't even make sense. It would just be a completely stupid thing for him to even try to do. The risks so greatly outweigh the benefits that it would be completely asinine of him to even try.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by Snowman

...simply made a mistake. They have thousands of listings ending per day. Sometimes, they double post by mistake...

You did read the part explaining that they listed the card again a short time later, yes?

I guess they "found" it.

[here2havefun]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

It's all good. I thought "Man if there's one guy in the hobby you can take a potshot at, it's Mastro." Apparently not. I'm trying like hell to become an adult before I turn 50. Do okay a decent percentage of the time.

Yeah the backlash you got in this thread is weird. Mastro paid his debt in the eyes of the law, but that doesn't mean The Hobby (as a whole) has an obligation to welcome him back with open arms.

[Johnny630]

A long time collector from back in the 60’s said he liked Video but Doubts Even in the late 60s early 70s that a T206 Ty Cobb was a only quarter.

[CTDean]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

A long time collector from back in the 60’s said he liked Video but Doubts Even in the late 60s early 70s that a T206 Ty Cobb was a only quarter.

In 1979 I was offered 225 T205's, T206's, and T207's for $200. The lot had 5 Cobbs and other Hall of Famers. I bought them and the seller thru in 5 empty Piedmont boxes that some of the cards were stored in. No rare backs in the lot. About that same time a long time collector friend of mine "Crab" Foxwell, Cambridge, MD was selling common T206's for $1 each (less in quantity) and HOF'ers for $12 each. Cobb was more. Not saying you could get a Cobb for $.25, but cards were cheap until the first Becket came out.