Collection of thoughts from the National. Amazing story. Perspective from a non baseball guy.
sushihotwings
Posts: 452 ✭✭✭
I arrived at the National Thursday night and stayed across the street at the DoubleTree. It was my second National trip and it was an amazing adventure with many stories, thoughts, and acquisitions. I stayed until Sunday afternoon.
-Attendance was strong. The room was enormous and packed with dealers. Even though there was a huge amount of people there, you had room to maneuver and see items without too much difficulty. Every dealer I asked was happy with the business they had. It takes at least two solid days to really see the whole show. I spent 2.5 days and felt like I saw pretty much everything I wanted comfortably.
-Prices on singles were a bit high. Most dealers priced items about approximately 20% above recent Ebay sales and then would knock off 10-15% on negotiation. They didn't want to hear anything about recent Ebay prices and would basically shut down or get irritated if you pushed it. Boxes of unopened were priced a bit more reasonably and I got some deals for sure which I will share some pictures of later.
-Selection. As mentioned by some, pretty much anything you could ever imagine was there if you looked hard enough. People have already posted pictures of 1952 PSA 9 Mantle and PSA 10 Mantle that Evan Mathis had. He also had next to the Mantle one of only three BGS 9.5 Michael Jordan Star #101 rookies in existence. Evan is super nice guy and fun to talk with. Funny I had no idea he was a NFL player for nearly a decade until the next day. He told me he actually pulled that Jordan #101 from an unopened bag himself and self submitted getting the 9.5 grade. This is $150,000 card, maybe more, for those not familiar with the pricing. It is a lot tougher to get Gem Mint than the 1986 Fleer. By the way, 1986 Fleer PSA 10 Jordans were everywhere and pricing seemed pretty firm above recent Ebay sales. Seems many are not coming to grip with lower prices on it.
-On Saturday morning I walked into the show and the first thing I saw was an older gentleman, probably 80, with his daughter pinned into a corner by a man rummaging through the older gentleman's shoebox. I paused and watched with amazement as he pulled out, not one, not two, not three, but FOUR 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth cards from that shoebox stuffed with 1933 Goudey cards. None of the cards had sleeves or protection of any kind. The other guy looked at me nervously as he frantically tried to work out a deal with the $2000 in cash he had on hand. Lol. I introduced myself to Jim, the gentleman with the box, and took a look for myself. He said he got the cards from I believe his recently deceased brother and was looking to sell them. I had the cash, but unfortunately not the knowledge to do a proper deal. Authenticating and pricing a box of well loved 1933 Goudey was not in my wheelhouse so I offered to introduce Jim to Steve at BBCE and he accepted. I walked Jim over to Steve's both and told Steve that this older gentleman had some cards for sale that he had to see. Steve took a look and had the deal done in less than an hour. I don't know the amount of money that changed hands, a lot obviously, but I knew that Steve would give Jim a fair a deal. Times like these make me wish I was an expert on all things cards which is difficult. If he had a box of older football or basketball cards I would have done the deal myself as I had the cash and was prepared for a large transaction. Steve Hart thanked me and was appreciative of course. Looking back, I probably should have been more aggressive but sometimes it is better to "know what you know and know what you don't know". Sigh.
-It was really fun putting faces and names together with many on this board. It was a real pleasure.
I will share more later with pictures when I get a chance.
Comments
Great report ty for sharing!
Steve needs to comp you something nice as a finders fee!
Kiss me twice.....let's party.
.
Wow. Great story and way to go!!! Handled the situation with the highest of ethics. Very good to read stories like this.
Steve did say he owes me a favor now, so I will definitely take him up on that at some point with a hard to find box or something. The experience participating in the deal was fun. Good with me.
You found a great dealer to take that gentleman to. Steve, Reed, Rick and the rest of the crew are always a pleasure to deal with and fair with their offers. That guy is lucky you got to him instead of someone else looking to take advantage of the situation.
It was great meeting you and I look forward to hopefully meeting up with you in Cleveland next year!
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
Collecting:
Any unopened Baseball cello and rack packs and boxes from the 1970's and early 1980s.
Great story! They tweeted a picture of them too. Cool that a CU member was involved.
Kevin
A close up.
Kevin
Terrific story! Bet that guy with the 2K wasn't happy, LOL..
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Rumor has it that the guy with the 2k was the Crisser.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
Collecting:
Any unopened Baseball cello and rack packs and boxes from the 1970's and early 1980s.
That is the bunch alright!
Mike. It was great meeting you also! I plan to be in Cleveland.
The old fellow and his daughter I hope, were happy with the offer and may or may not realize how lucky they were to have you guide them to a trusted dealer like Steve. Probably they were after the shark with 2K's attempt. I hope that Steve can repay you the favor with a good deal on something in the future, but in the meanwhile, well done on doing right by the old guy with some pretty darned nice '33 Goudeys.
All the Ruths are sweet, but look at the color on that '33 Gehrig! Nice cards.
The gentleman, Jim, was very happy. I was able to speak with him after he got paid and he was all smiles.
What was he paid for on the lot?
Glad to hear it, and I hope you are too (all smiles) as I think you deserve to be!
You walked into a middle of a deal and suggested to the old man to not make the deal he was in the process of making? Do I have the right?
They call me "Pack the Ripper"
Time to share some of my pickups from the show. I stopped collecting in 1990 and re engaged in the hobby in 2005. Since I basically missed the whole decade of the 1990s I decided to relive the decade with basketball box rips of various years and brands chasing inserts and Jordans. Here is what I picked up at the show. Boxes range from low to mid to high end boxes.
What did the shark say when you jumped in and directed the seller to Steve? I could see that not going well. Although if he was really low balling them he probably stood silently vs. risking exposure as a thief.
Appreciate today-
Bill
No. He was not going to sell for $2000. That was clear as I observed for a few minutes before introducing myself. It didnt stop him from trying of course. The guy I think really only had $2000 on him and the potential deal was quickly falling apart. If they had agreed to a price or seemed to be very close I would have moved along.
Let me guess, you'd have no problem seeing the old guy get hosed for $2K, then would have popped in and bought it off Mr. 2K for 2,500. Wot a deal! Do I have the right? (ironic misspelling BTW.)
preventing an old man from getting robbed? one of those ruth's alone is worth $2k. and that gehrig?
so yea. he had the right. every right.
good call, dave!
I fear your 1993-94 Skybox cards may have turned into bricks but those are some great sets you've got there. I wish my storage unit was more organized so I could find my boxes to properly document them. Im only one card away from completing 1993-94 Stadium Club but it's a series 1 card I think, so I can't even see if you would trade it to me, lol.
He quietly slipped into the shadows without a peep.
Thanks for sharing your story. Hope you pull a lot of nice cards from your RIP.
What a kind and thoughtful move on your part to help the gentleman get a good price for that lot. What a shame it would have been if someone snagged them for a few thousand. GOOD KARMA is going to come your way.
Steve should have offered to give you a finder's fee of 10% of what he paid.
Doug
Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
I met Sushi(Dave) at the National and enjoyed talking cards with him, and would say I would go with whatever version of his story and support it. Great person and it should be looked at negatively what he did - deal was not happening and he helped the person out and helped them max out their deal with BBCE. Amazing people will still rip people off for a buck.
KC
There will always be people who will try to, sometimes they succeed (and unbelievably, there are those that love to defend their actions.) Thanks to Sushi for helping that not be the case in this instance.
no, sounds like he walked into the middle of a robbery...without the gun apparent.....kidding...but i see what ur doing there
Kudos to the OP for helping an elderly man from getting swindled. On the BBCE FB page, Reed had mentioned that they paid well over 10K for the cards. I'd hate to hear some shark took the cards for a paltry 2K.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.