Sunday, February 21, 2021, Pop-Up Shop, Palatine, IL
Another successful Pop-Up Shop is in the books. Like my card show in Milwaukee, a lot of planning and set-up time goes into the Pop-Up Shop. Prior to, I priced hundreds of cards for my display cases and loaded up my 1973 Topps Football and my 1968 Topps baseball binders.
If you have been to the Pop-Up Shop, the back room, where I keep all of the binders, is usually where I appear via Zoom in court most every day. I sat in that room Wednesday morning, prior to the Pop-Up Shop, and appeared via Zoom on a court case at the Skokie, Illinois, courthouse. I had hoped to start converting the room into binder mania after court but my case was complex and required another day, so the judge set it for Friday. As a result, I could not get a head start on binder mania.
All I could really do to prep during the week was clean and vacuum. Saturday became set up day. I also had two appointments to purchase some cards on Saturday. I ended up buying a few thousand cards, mostly commons, but good stuff from 1952 through 1976. I really appreciate when folks come to my office to sell me cards.
Set up for the Pop-Up Shop began around 2 or 3 p.m. It took about five hours.
Man, this thing is awesome! I was up early Sunday in anticipation of the day's event. I made it to my office around 7:30 a.m. I worked on making a sign for the parking lot. My office can be difficult to find because the building is set off from the road and my space in the building is in the back, along Dundee Road.
Scott was the first to arrive around 8:15 a.m. Scott is working on vintage baseball and football sets. As usual, he found quite a few cards at the Pop-Up Shop. Happy Birthday Scott and thank you for your purchases! Next in was Craig and Noreen who are working on vintage sets from all four major sports. They found a huge pile of cards at the Pop-Up Shop. Thank you!
Scott, Craig and Noreen all live in Illinois and regularly come up to Wisconsin for my card show in Oak Creek. I am so appreciative of the support. Of course, they also follow the blog. Thanks guys!
Next in was Don, who telephoned the night before to ask if he could arrive early. I do not mind early arrivals but I was glad he called because I might not have gotten there myself until 8:30 a.m. Big Tim was another early arrival. Tim purchased a large pile of cards. Thanks Tim!
Once the clock stuck 9 a.m., the place filled up. There was Bill, who has attended all three Pop-Up Shops. Bill found a pile of cards, including some non-sports. It was nice to see long-time customer Andy, who I have not seen in a while. Andy says he has been busy with his grandkids. Years ago I sold him a 1933 Goudey Lou Gehrig which he still has. Andy bought a ton of stuff including my 1955 Topps Jackie Robinson and 1933 Goudey Tris Speaker.
Mike was another early arrival. I met Mike last month at the Pop-Up Shop and was glad to see him again. This time around he brought a buddy. Mike purchased a TON of stuff from piles of 1959 and 1962 Topps baseball commons to all sorts of stars, including some graded Pre-War. Thanks Mike!
I think I had just the right amount of folks at the Pop-Up Shop. I am afraid to purchase any advertising because I don't want too many people. I appreciate everyone who came, like Phil, who was at the first one and this one. Phil purchased a 1965 Topps Mickey Mantle and a 1965 Topps Embossed Mickey Mantle. Thanks Phil!
Milan, who I know from the Orland show, had emailed me earlier in the week. His buddy told him about the Pop-Up Shop. Milan's buddy has been to all three. On this day he purchased a bunch of Willie Mays cards. Milan found a bunch of stuff for his vintage sets. Thanks guys!
George and Christy made the drive from Wisconsin and purchased some 1962 Topps. Thank you! Also coming down from Wisconsin was J.R. who purchased a pile of stuff. Thanks J.R.! A bunch of other regulars purchased cards for their sets. Some new customers found some vintage cards for their sets. Paul F. made his first appearance at the Pop-Up Shop and brought me some much-needed brand new Top Loaders. Thanks Paul!
Angel has now become a regular customer of the Pop-Up Shop. This month he purchased a large pile of 1960 Topps baseball. Thanks Angel! Mark appeared at the Pop-Up Shop for the first time. He purchased a nice pile of cards and entertained my brother John and I with some childhood collecting stories. The one I enjoyed the most was about the summer of 1969 when Cubs mania had swept over the Chicago area. Mark and his friends were big card collectors and purchased as many packs as they could. He said whenever they received a Cubs card they were overjoyed.
However, one Cub proved difficult to pull that summer -- Ernie Banks. He was a low number card that year, so you could only get him in the spring when the first series hit the stores. Mark said he did not know then that the cards were issued in different series and kept buying cards all summer in an attempt to snag a Banks.
Only one of his friends was able to pull a Banks card. As a result, that friend took on legendary status that summer. All of their other friends wanted to see the Banks card often because no one else could get one. So the owner of the Banks card carried the card in his front pocket all summer long to show it off. Needless to say, the card suffered greatly from being crammed into a kid's front pocket all summer.
A few years later, Mark continued to collect cards while his friends moved on to other things. So Mark approached his buddy and asked if he still had the Banks. He did. The buddy offered to trade it to Mark for a Mike Schmidt. The trade was made and Mark became the owner of the legendary 1969 Ernie Banks card.
Eventually, Mark was able to get a 1969 Banks in better condition and sold it to another buddy from the summer of '69. As time went on, the beat-up and worn out Banks was owned by the whole group from 1969. Years later, one of the owner's of the card brought it to Ernie Banks at an event to have him sign it. Well, Ernie looked at the tattered and worn card and asked if he should really sign such a card. The owner told him how important it was that he sign that very card. Ernie signed the card.
Well into adulthood, the owner of the card gave it to Mark, who was the last of the group to collect cards and told him he should be the keeper of the card. Today, Mark has the tattered and worn and signed Ernie Banks card. Not much value to that card in today's market with the condition issues. However, the value of the great childhood memories amongst this aging group of guys is priceless.
Thanks for the stories Mark! All in all just a tremendous day. My only complaint is that I only purchased one card, a PSA vintage hockey card. I would really like more folks to bring cards in to sell to me! I am always buying vintage cards!!
Next up is my show at the Salvation Army Community Center, 8853 S. Howell, in Oak Creek, WI, on March 6, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. As usual, dealer tables are sold out. I am expecting another large crowd. Concession stand should be open again. Get to the concession stand early because they sold out of food last month.
The Salvation Army is holding a food drive during the show and are asking for donations of non-perishable items. They will also have some kettles out for donations. Please donate to the Salvation Army as they are our partner in the card show and do many wonderful things for the community.
Next Pop-Up Shop is Sunday March 14, 2021, at the Law Office of Anthony B. Gordon, 201 E. Dundee Road, Suite 2, Palatine, IL. A big thank you to everyone who came out to the last Pop-Up Shop. Hope to see you again soon!
Another successful Pop-Up Shop is in the books. Like my card show in Milwaukee, a lot of planning and set-up time goes into the Pop-Up Shop. Prior to, I priced hundreds of cards for my display cases and loaded up my 1973 Topps Football and my 1968 Topps baseball binders.
If you have been to the Pop-Up Shop, the back room, where I keep all of the binders, is usually where I appear via Zoom in court most every day. I sat in that room Wednesday morning, prior to the Pop-Up Shop, and appeared via Zoom on a court case at the Skokie, Illinois, courthouse. I had hoped to start converting the room into binder mania after court but my case was complex and required another day, so the judge set it for Friday. As a result, I could not get a head start on binder mania.
All I could really do to prep during the week was clean and vacuum. Saturday became set up day. I also had two appointments to purchase some cards on Saturday. I ended up buying a few thousand cards, mostly commons, but good stuff from 1952 through 1976. I really appreciate when folks come to my office to sell me cards.
Set up for the Pop-Up Shop began around 2 or 3 p.m. It took about five hours.
Man, this thing is awesome! I was up early Sunday in anticipation of the day's event. I made it to my office around 7:30 a.m. I worked on making a sign for the parking lot. My office can be difficult to find because the building is set off from the road and my space in the building is in the back, along Dundee Road.
Scott was the first to arrive around 8:15 a.m. Scott is working on vintage baseball and football sets. As usual, he found quite a few cards at the Pop-Up Shop. Happy Birthday Scott and thank you for your purchases! Next in was Craig and Noreen who are working on vintage sets from all four major sports. They found a huge pile of cards at the Pop-Up Shop. Thank you!
Scott, Craig and Noreen all live in Illinois and regularly come up to Wisconsin for my card show in Oak Creek. I am so appreciative of the support. Of course, they also follow the blog. Thanks guys!
Next in was Don, who telephoned the night before to ask if he could arrive early. I do not mind early arrivals but I was glad he called because I might not have gotten there myself until 8:30 a.m. Big Tim was another early arrival. Tim purchased a large pile of cards. Thanks Tim!
Once the clock stuck 9 a.m., the place filled up. There was Bill, who has attended all three Pop-Up Shops. Bill found a pile of cards, including some non-sports. It was nice to see long-time customer Andy, who I have not seen in a while. Andy says he has been busy with his grandkids. Years ago I sold him a 1933 Goudey Lou Gehrig which he still has. Andy bought a ton of stuff including my 1955 Topps Jackie Robinson and 1933 Goudey Tris Speaker.
Mike was another early arrival. I met Mike last month at the Pop-Up Shop and was glad to see him again. This time around he brought a buddy. Mike purchased a TON of stuff from piles of 1959 and 1962 Topps baseball commons to all sorts of stars, including some graded Pre-War. Thanks Mike!
I think I had just the right amount of folks at the Pop-Up Shop. I am afraid to purchase any advertising because I don't want too many people. I appreciate everyone who came, like Phil, who was at the first one and this one. Phil purchased a 1965 Topps Mickey Mantle and a 1965 Topps Embossed Mickey Mantle. Thanks Phil!
Milan, who I know from the Orland show, had emailed me earlier in the week. His buddy told him about the Pop-Up Shop. Milan's buddy has been to all three. On this day he purchased a bunch of Willie Mays cards. Milan found a bunch of stuff for his vintage sets. Thanks guys!
George and Christy made the drive from Wisconsin and purchased some 1962 Topps. Thank you! Also coming down from Wisconsin was J.R. who purchased a pile of stuff. Thanks J.R.! A bunch of other regulars purchased cards for their sets. Some new customers found some vintage cards for their sets. Paul F. made his first appearance at the Pop-Up Shop and brought me some much-needed brand new Top Loaders. Thanks Paul!
Angel has now become a regular customer of the Pop-Up Shop. This month he purchased a large pile of 1960 Topps baseball. Thanks Angel! Mark appeared at the Pop-Up Shop for the first time. He purchased a nice pile of cards and entertained my brother John and I with some childhood collecting stories. The one I enjoyed the most was about the summer of 1969 when Cubs mania had swept over the Chicago area. Mark and his friends were big card collectors and purchased as many packs as they could. He said whenever they received a Cubs card they were overjoyed.
However, one Cub proved difficult to pull that summer -- Ernie Banks. He was a low number card that year, so you could only get him in the spring when the first series hit the stores. Mark said he did not know then that the cards were issued in different series and kept buying cards all summer in an attempt to snag a Banks.
Only one of his friends was able to pull a Banks card. As a result, that friend took on legendary status that summer. All of their other friends wanted to see the Banks card often because no one else could get one. So the owner of the Banks card carried the card in his front pocket all summer long to show it off. Needless to say, the card suffered greatly from being crammed into a kid's front pocket all summer.
A few years later, Mark continued to collect cards while his friends moved on to other things. So Mark approached his buddy and asked if he still had the Banks. He did. The buddy offered to trade it to Mark for a Mike Schmidt. The trade was made and Mark became the owner of the legendary 1969 Ernie Banks card.
Eventually, Mark was able to get a 1969 Banks in better condition and sold it to another buddy from the summer of '69. As time went on, the beat-up and worn out Banks was owned by the whole group from 1969. Years later, one of the owner's of the card brought it to Ernie Banks at an event to have him sign it. Well, Ernie looked at the tattered and worn card and asked if he should really sign such a card. The owner told him how important it was that he sign that very card. Ernie signed the card.
Well into adulthood, the owner of the card gave it to Mark, who was the last of the group to collect cards and told him he should be the keeper of the card. Today, Mark has the tattered and worn and signed Ernie Banks card. Not much value to that card in today's market with the condition issues. However, the value of the great childhood memories amongst this aging group of guys is priceless.
Thanks for the stories Mark! All in all just a tremendous day. My only complaint is that I only purchased one card, a PSA vintage hockey card. I would really like more folks to bring cards in to sell to me! I am always buying vintage cards!!
Next up is my show at the Salvation Army Community Center, 8853 S. Howell, in Oak Creek, WI, on March 6, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. As usual, dealer tables are sold out. I am expecting another large crowd. Concession stand should be open again. Get to the concession stand early because they sold out of food last month.
The Salvation Army is holding a food drive during the show and are asking for donations of non-perishable items. They will also have some kettles out for donations. Please donate to the Salvation Army as they are our partner in the card show and do many wonderful things for the community.
Next Pop-Up Shop is Sunday March 14, 2021, at the Law Office of Anthony B. Gordon, 201 E. Dundee Road, Suite 2, Palatine, IL. A big thank you to everyone who came out to the last Pop-Up Shop. Hope to see you again soon!
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