Dick Towle - interview in baseball card news?

Dallas88

I just found this on the net....Dick Towle discussing how he "restores" cards and removes stains.

I had no idea that this could be done.....just floored me!

He has "over 30 dealers" that send him cards?.......huh?

Here is the address:

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:Sioj2RFnJB8J:www.baseball-cards.com/news/1223.html+"Gone+with+the+Stain"&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Scroll down about halfways in to the website and look for "Look, Mom...No Stains!"

Dal

CON40

Stinky Linky

Dallas88

Thanks CON

That is the definition of a stinky linky (my opinion only)

Dal

coachh

All I can say is WOW!

BugOnTheRug

Below is the article:


Look, Mom...No Stains!

Most similar companies are gone with the wind, but Gone With The Stain is celebrating its five-year anniversary by continuing to remove stains from trading cards. And with the boom in card grading, Dick Towle’s Pittsford, N.Y.-based business is heavily involved in pre-grading preparation.

Towle said he has more than 30 dealers who send him cards at least occasionally.

"I was the busiest this spring than ever. It has tailed off to about 50 cards a month, but will pick up once show season begins," Towle said. "I recently (cleaned) a complete 1915 Crackerjack set that was glued into the album. It was sold for $65,000, they graded the cards post-stain and netted more than $108,000 after selling."

He is often asked to break cards out of holders, remove stains and return them, and the owner will have them re-submitted.

"I’ve probably busted out 700-800 cards over the last two years, maybe 1,000 over the past five years," he said.

Towle’s formula can remove stains caused by gum, caramel, tobacco and some inks, along with tape and some glues.

"I’ve had stains of chocolate, coffee, I’ve had stains that I don’t know what they are, but our solvent can tackle these stains," Towle said.

The most controversial service that Towle provides is removal of creases, which many hobbyists believe equates to doctoring.

"I agitate the paper, raising the paper," Towle said. "The paper raises up and sits back down. Those fine little micro-wrinkles shouldn’t be there, because they mean there wasn’t a complete bonding from the front to the back of a card."

Krause Publications’ stance is that Towle’s process of removing tape and stains is acceptible, but removing creases is not. "Creases are part of the printing process, or are a sign of wear," said senior price guide analyst Bob Lemke.

Towle’s pricing structure starts at $8-$10 for common cards with simple stains, but the most typical rate is $30/card. Water stains are difficult to remove and cost $75.

Towle’s point in attempting to publicize his fifth anniversary is that he wants collectors to be aware that dealers are making big bucks by buying stained cards, getting them cleaned and resubmitting them for grading. He’s not worried about dealers complaining that he’s trying to cut them out of the picture.

"What are they going to do? Not send the cards to me?" he said. "They’re not going to cut their own throats."


WOW...........

I find these sentences interesting:


<< <i>Towle said he has more than 30 dealers who send him cards at least occasionally. >>




<< <i>It has tailed off to about 50 cards a month, but will pick up once show season begins >>




<< <i>He is often asked to break cards out of holders, remove stains and return them, and the owner will have them re-submitted >>




<< <i>"What are they going to do? Not send the cards to me?" he said. "They’re not going to cut their own throats." >>



Next questions:
1. Who are the 30+ dealers?
2. "Will pick up once the show season begins" Which dealers at shows?
3. Why doesn't the dealers, etc. crack them out? Why Towle?
4. This is a .......WOW!.........statement!

BOTR

WinPitcher

Card doctors are nothing new, they have been around since the beginning.

BugOnTheRug

<< <i>Card doctors are nothing new, they have been around since the beginning. >>


That's good news!

Boy, I'm glad that's now resolved as I was starting to worry. Shame on me for thinking otherwise.

BOTR