Whatever happened to your card dealer of the past?

[saltire]

When I re-entered the hobby in the early 1990s, I had to use mail order and pre-ebay auctions to boost my collection since I live overseas.

I remember picking up a lot of great stuff from Solomon Cramer, who ran terrific regular auctions. I think my best pickup from Solomon was a lot of about 35 autographed Tigers cards from 50s-early 70s for only about $20. The lot included several of the 1968 team (though not necessarily on a 1968 card) - Kaline, Horton, Lolich, Freehan, Brown, Hiller, Wert, Stanley, Tracewski, Dobson, Wilson, Lasher, Patterson, McAuliffe, Matchick, Price and best of all Joe Sparma and Mayo Smith.

Solomon seems to have dropped out of the hobby shortly after ebay established themselves.

[novakjr]

Oh, I completely forgot one. There is a third still in business in my area. He was always a sporting goods/card shop, and pretty much stays open because the local schools use him for letterman's jackets. His current card inventory pretty much consists of trying to sell his leftover early 90's wax at original value. Boxes upon boxes of '92 Donruss for $35/box...

Also forgot about a newer one that opened up in the past 10 years in Willoughby. It's a pretty solid shop, mostly newer stuff, but occasionally can find a deal on some vintage, and he's pretty good for 60's and 70's singles for set building... I think he's the lone solely sports-card shop in the area..

[Brianruns10]

What happened to the dealers of the past?

They got eaten up by the ones working now. Seriously, some of the guys I see making the rounds at these shows see look as if they're barely mobile...

[Rich Klein]

I talk to him on occasion through AOL Chat. He is now running his family buisness,

Regards
Rich

[saltire]

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

I talk to him on occasion through AOL Chat. He is now running his family buisness,

Regards
Rich

Thanks for the update, Rich. If you don't mind, perhaps next time you talk to him you could ask if he recalls dealing with a guy in Scotland, and if so tell him hi from Glenn!

[Exhibitman]

Out of business or dead, I guess...

[gnpaden]

My LCS which has been around for 22 years is closing his doors October 1st. I've been going here since I was a little kid and it's kind of sad. Local shops are hard to find and now even harder, but these guys just can't hang like they used to. Not sure what I'm going to do with my spare time/disposable income now.

[Volod]

Originally Posted by Brianruns10

What happened to the dealers of the past?

They got eaten up by the ones working now. Seriously, some of the guys I see making the rounds at these shows see look as if they're barely mobile...

Which ones - the buyers or the dealers?

[zljones]

HI Stamps and Coins for me out of Clarendon Hills, Illinois when I used to live in Hinsdale. They are long gone and the building is torn down and replaced. My last memory was going down there with $35 in 1991 at the age of 10 trying to score a Hank Aaron card. These guys talked me into buying a 62 Topps Sphann instead since I did not have enough for Aaron. I did not know who Warren Sphann was back then, so when I told my mom I spent all my money on a guy I knew nothing about because the shop owners talked me into it, my mom was furious and went down there demanding they return my money. These guys were in their mid to late 20s back then and they refused to refund. I never went back.
When I moved to Romeoville in my teen years, I remember Gold Glove. they were a great business, very honest, ok prices, nice guys til they went belly up in the late 90s-early 2000s I think.

[theseeker]

I first discovered there was such a thing as a full-time card dealer by noticing a tiny ad in the back of a Street and Smith's Baseball annual. The ad was placed by none other than Kit Young out of San Diego, CA. It opened up a whole new world as before then I, along witrh all my friends, only knew of grocery and variety/candy stores as suppliers.
Is Kit Young still around? I know the shop still is doing business but, like Larry Fritsch Cards, it's a shell of it's former self. Also wonder about the Card Collectors Company. I know it went under not long after new ownership but, what about the original owners? I know Joseph Pasternack is selling whats left of the old CCC Reprint sets on Ebay. He had his own internet site, Champions of Sports, but no longer maitains it.
And that brings me to one more question.....While we all know what happened to whats left of the old dealers-- they reduced overhead by selling on the internet. But why are most of them now choosing Ebay as there main source of sales rather than their own website?
One of the last holdouts was Dean's Cards. For the first time he has a ton of listings on Ebay. Going out of business? Not that I'd miss him, just curious.

[Jerry G]

I remember receiving his mimeographed auction sheets in the early 1970's. There were no pictures and scans were unheard of. I mailed in lots of bids, but only had two wins. The wins were my first two 1933 Goudey Babe Ruths. I stretched my budget and got 'em for 25 bucks each.

At some point the auctions quit coming and I never heard of him again.

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by saltire

When I re-entered the hobby in the early 1990s, I had to use mail order and pre-ebay auctions to boost my collection since I live overseas.

I remember picking up a lot of great stuff from Solomon Cramer, who ran terrific regular auctions. I think my best pickup from Solomon was a lot of about 35 autographed Tigers cards from 50s-early 70s for only about $20. The lot included several of the 1968 team (though not necessarily on a 1968 card) - Kaline, Horton, Lolich, Freehan, Brown, Hiller, Wert, Stanley, Tracewski, Dobson, Wilson, Lasher, Patterson, McAuliffe, Matchick, Price and best of all Joe Sparma and Mayo Smith.

Solomon seems to have dropped out of the hobby shortly after ebay established themselves.

I talk to Solomon every once in a rare while (he even reads these board on occasion) and he is happily married (I forgot if any kids yet) and running his rental car business. I'll tell him you said hello

[KCRfan1]

My favorite was Jim Roy, of V&J Baseball Cards. The V and J were the first letters of his daughters first names. Jim was a barber, and ran a barber shop in Riverside MO. He had a small glass case with some cards in it that would sell from time to time. Slowly he transitioned more to cards and less on cutting hair, eventually moving to a busy corner in North Kansas City, Antioch and 72nd Street. He always had the basics, but Jim would come up with some of the coolest stuff around. I remember his display of a complete set of Transogram figures that he had spread out over a glass shelf in one of the cases. I heard he eventually sold his collection, but not sure what happened to him otherwise. I hope he is doing well.

[runbrett]

During the 1970s I had three great avenues for purchasing old cards in Chicago and through the mail.
1. A flea market at the drive-in near 74th and California. There was a guy who must have been at least 80 years old. He always had old cards including 1961 Topps in homemade cello packs. Almost every pack had Billy Williams or Wille Mays on top. He was there every week for years.

2. The famous Sports Collectors Store on Archer Avenue - also near California Ave. I remember when one of us asked for a 1963 Fleer Clemente, which we all ended up buying. They pulled out a box with at least 200 of them. Most of the guys involved in that store were seen regularly at shows throughout the years. They had everything and lots of it. I'd spend all of my money and walk/run home - seven miles.

3. Someone in the neighborhood got an address for a guy who used his typewriter to create a list of cards for sale. We regularly bought from Russell D. Walters from Michigan. I don't know why he used his middle initial. Getting those cards in the mail made for a great week. I have always wondered what happened to him.

[glynparson]

of my early collection came from a gentleman named Vince at Renninger's antique market in Adamstown PA. Vince unfortunately passed away when i was 16 or 17 years old. I still miss him even though that was 25+ years ago. One hell of a nice guy, great prices, and tremendous knowledge. His wife sold dolls she retired about 4-5 years ago not sure if she has passed on as well. Truly lovely people and i thank him for helping develop my passion for cards. PS I am friends with Solomon Cramer on Facebook he is currently in Europe on a hell of a nice trip.

[RTK]

I never really bought too many cards from shops when shops began to emerge but I did go to three stores; one had a decent selection of cards though not enough to fill the huge former furniture store it was housed in. Later, I found out it was a front for dealing drugs. Another shop is still open however it has turned to selling kids gaming cards more than baseball. The last shop is still open and thriving. The son has taken over from the father who passed away. They had a couple tables at the national show in Rosemont.

[K-Nole]

As a child, i ordered from "San Diego Sports Collectibles"

Anybody know anything about where they are now?

[sox1903wschamp]

Originally Posted by KCRfan1

My favorite was Jim Roy, of V&J Baseball Cards. The V and J were the first letters of his daughters first names. Jim was a barber, and ran a barber shop in Riverside MO. He had a small glass case with some cards in it that would sell from time to time. Slowly he transitioned more to cards and less on cutting hair, eventually moving to a busy corner in North Kansas City, Antioch and 72nd Street. He always had the basics, but Jim would come up with some of the coolest stuff around. I remember his display of a complete set of Transogram figures that he had spread out over a glass shelf in one of the cases. I heard he eventually sold his collection, but not sure what happened to him otherwise. I hope he is doing well.

Can't believe someone remember's Jim Roy on this board. That's great. I would head to the Riverside barbershop to buy and sell with Jim. His wife was always around in the business. They really grew fast and moved up to 72nd and North Oak and ditched the haircuts. I know you said Antioch but pretty sure it was North Oak but Antioch is close. They had a location and moved a few doors down when they outgrew that. He was definitely a product of the card explosion of the 80's into the early 90's.

[KCRfan1]

Originally Posted by sox1903wschamp

Can't believe someone remember's Jim Roy on this board. That's great. I would head to the Riverside barbershop to buy and sell with Jim. His wife was always around in the business. They really grew fast and moved up to 72nd and North Oak and ditched the haircuts. I know you said Antioch but pretty sure it was North Oak but Antioch is close. They had a location and moved a few doors down when they outgrew that. He was definitely a product of the card explosion of the 80's into the early 90's.

You are absolutely correct, N Oak and 72nd. From a business perspective, Jim was certainly in the right place at the right time.

[PowderedH2O]

A great store that I used to go to was "Lake Worth World of Baseball Cards" in Lake Worth, Florida. The owner was a guy named Scott Winslow (if I remember correctly) and he was a nice guy who was great to deal with. I first went there in 1984 and I remember buying a 1958 Topps Willie Mays for $15. I bought probably $10k from him, and sold probably $10k to him over a three year span or so. He would have a television on watching baseball, so you could watch the game while you were perusing the inventory. I joined the Air Force in 1988, and when I came back to South Florida in 1995, the store was gone. Too bad, because it was a great place to hang out, talk baseball, and buy cards. He was a fairly young guy (30?) in 1984, so he might still be around dealing baseball cards somewhere...