Opinions and comments re LCS

[HittinLikeCarew]

Hey,
So I recently got back into collecting since the early mid 80’s. It’s obviously is a different world, and after some expensive mistakes w ultra modern, I’ve chosen to stick w vintage.
I’ve been buying off eBay originally, and have ventured out to some card shows and local shops.
I’m really trying to support local shops but it’s really hard and am struggling w different dynamics. One is a merger of two shops, and is new and really nice, however they don’t seem interested in vintage (they say they have 100’s of thousand cards but all in storage), and seem to make their big business off being a distributor across the country which is another topic. Another has a ton of vintage in a cramped shop of 40yrs, but his pricing is not even remotely doable. He showed me a recent box he bought and wanting to show support I asked about a 1963 Mantle in ok shape (maybe a 3 if graded). He told me $2250 firm. I offered him $325, and showed him comps that over $2k isn’t even in a ballpark. No dice. Last shop I kinda like bc they have vintage boxes, to go through and usually commons are reasonable but HOF’ers he looks in some book and comes up w pricing that is always 30-40% higher than what I can get on eBay. When I bring up his opinion of condition it’s gets very tense etc.which is unfortunate.

So all that being said, am I missing anything? Am I being unreasonable? Are they sick of competing w real time pricing vs long pricing? Am I wrong to just stick w GM and some of the others that I’ve chosen to buy from on eBay?

I will say the small regional shows I’ve been to, I’ve always walked out w something.

I’m in sales, so I want to support brick and mortar but can’t do it out of guilt.

Any advice to a old newb would be helpful!

[JollyElm]

Unfortunately, that's the reality of collecting life. Your heart seems to be in the right place, wanting to support the brick and mortars, but it's a two-way street. The people you highlighted DON'T want to work with you to achieve a demonstrably reasonable outcome, so to them it's only a one-way street. I doubt anything will change.

The same thing happens at shows with the crazy pricing, so you gotta keep searching until you find that dealer who's happy to work with you. Not always easy to do, but those guys are out there.

My advice would be to make smaller, nearly insignificant vintage purchases from those shops, and see if that starts the ice breaking a bit. But the reality is, you are much more likely to find the cards you're seeking at 'normal' prices on-line if you spend the time expanding and honing your searches there.

Good luck. (BTW, we're all in that same boat.)

[raulus]

Go with what works.

There are lots of channels for buying. I’m all for supporting local dealers. At the same time, while a small premium might work, a gigantic premium is a deal breaker. Don’t forget that saving on shipping can help offset some of that premium.

If you can find appropriate prices on pieces you want from the local shop, then use them for those pieces. But if they want museum prices for pieces that you can find anywhere, then I would go for another source.

These days, eBay is often a tough place to find good stuff, although it’s not always entirely worthless. A lot of low and midgrade pieces have migrated to the various weekly or encore auctions, which seem to be another option.

And you’ve always got the BST around here, plus the various reputable dealers online or at shows. Have fun and enjoy the chase!

[HittinLikeCarew]

Great info. Thanks!! Couple of follow ups. If anyone has some favorite resources outside of eBay, PWCC, I’m all ears! I’ve kinda stuck w a couple sources like GM on eBay for the most part on anything of real interest only bc I’m not knowledgeable enough to not be scammed w trimming or whatnot ( I know nothing is perfect even guys like GregMorris. I’ve even bought from a few guys on here, which has been awesome experiences!!

[deweyinthehall]

In addition to GM, I buy a lot of vintage from The Battersbox: https://www.ebay.com/str/battersbox, and I've also used MantleRulz: https://www.ebay.com/str/mantlerulzsvintagesportscards.

I have a nice LCS where I am but they're mostly stocked with modern. Great people and great service though. When I do buy from them it's usually from their Beckett store, and then I drive 1/2 mile to pick it up.

One of the closest other LCSs is the original House of Cards which spawned the Huggins and Scott auction house. THAT was a great store to browse in.

I grew up in Connecticut - anyone here remember Bayshore Enterprises in West Haven?

[Exhibitman]

Battersbox is good, esp. if you like cards that are just a bit outside 'investment' range. I end up spending a few hours at their table at the National every time.

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

I'll pile on. The Battersbox offers consistent quality and fast shipping. You won't get many bargains there, but the pricing isn't unfair.

[raulus]

This site covers details on most of the auctions out there.

https://www.auctionreport.com/auction-schedule/

If you search around net54, you will find plenty of opinions about most of these AHs, both good and bad. I’ve even had a run-in with one myself.