FAT DADDY'S SPORTS
  • HOME
    • BIO
    • Reach Me
  • CARD SHOWS
    • Gonzaga >
      • Photos
    • MY SHOW! >
      • Smith & Gordon Show Photos 2014
      • 2015 Photos
      • 2016 Photos
  • STORE
    • eBay
  • PHOTOS
    • Card Show Photos >
      • 2012 Card Show Photos
      • 2013 Card Show Photos
    • Recent Pick-Ups >
      • Page 2
  • BLOG
  • LINKS
    • YouTube
  • STUFF
    • ARTICLES
    • BOOK REVIEWS
  • FAQ
  • BUYING

Unitas, Ditka, and Starr Make For a Good Day at Orland

5/26/2013

2 Comments

 
Okay, I'm in a much better mood today. Sorry for the last blog. I was just pissed off from battling a bunch of lame dealers at the Gonzaga show. Though, I am going to take a break coming up at the end of the July when I'm going to skip the last Orland show, do the National, then skip all the rest of the August shows. I'll be back at it full steam in September. I think the break will do me some good. I may have to cut back on my show schedule this fall, though. I don't think I can keep up this pace with weekly shows, along with a day job, family, and trying to manage diabetes (I'm having some health issues lately). So the show schedule is still a work in progress. I still have to figure this out. I know I can't physically keep up this pace so some shows are going to have to go into the occasional category rather than regular category. I'll keep you informed.

Today was the Orland show. I was able to reload my 1977 Topps football binder and 1955 Topps baseball binder prior to the show. I didn't take any notes today, so I don't have a list of what I sold. Do you guys like to hear about each sale? If so, I'll start taking notes again. While attendance was okay, sales were down today. I bunch of my regulars were AWOL. Though, Rick, Will, Dan, Rich, and a bunch of other guys made some nice purchases today that were much appreciated. I sold a bunch of cards out of that reloaded '55 Topps binder.  Rick picked up a bunch of '69-70 Topps basketball which I reloaded the week before last. Rich picked up a real nice 1959 Topps Johnny Unitas.

So now I'd like to rant a bit. It wouldn't be MY blog without a rant. There is a guy who bought some cards from me earlier in the month at the Schaumburg show and he was at Orland today.  He is one of those guys that when you're in his presence, you feel like you've lost large quantities of plasma (okay, I stole that line from William Burroughs). This guy will spend some money but he'll figuratively kick you in the teeth a few times before he breaks out that wallet. He's buying raw cards to get them graded and to sell them for a profit on eBay. There's a bunch of guys at every show that do this. I don't mind. If a guy buys my cards to resell, more power to him and I hope he makes a lot of money. Though, this guy... I gotta give him a name. How about "Dwight." So Dwight wants to buy my cards at about 25 percent of what I have them priced at. The thing I don't think Dwight is considering, or really cares, is that if I sell my cards at 25 percent of my list price, I lose money! I can't find cards that cheap!! How can I sell them to Dwight for less than I paid for them?!! I know I've been talking about taking a break, I guess that's one way to get a break, sell off all my cards for practically nothing. 

Here's is Dwight's biggest problem. He looks over my raw cards and gets an idea in his head of what he thinks it will grade out at. Then he looks at his SMR and sees the price for his chosen grade.  Now he needs to make a profit so he's going to offer less than the SMR price at this phantom grade.  This little show is completely asinine and here's why:

I've been getting cards graded for the past 13 years. I have NEVER been able to guess the grade my card will receive.  Grading is completely subjective.  It is well documented that the graders at PSA spend about a minute and a half on each card before they stick a grade on it. Maybe they'll see something, maybe they won't. Other guys regularly crack cards out of the PSA case and resubmit them to PSA in an attempt to get a better grade.  Often these cards receive a different grade on resubmission. Grading is not an exact science. Nobody knows what grade a card will receive unless and until the card is actually graded. It drives me crazy when someone looks at one of my raw cards and tells me it is a 4. How the hell do you know it is a 4? It's raw, it's not graded!!!! You're not the grader!! As such, you're going to pay my RAW price, not a graded price because the freakin' card is NOT graded. That card you say is a 4 could end up a 6 for all I know, so I'm not going to give you a 4 price on it. I'm going to give you the raw price based on Beckett.

The card in question today is a 1956 Topps Harmon Killebrew. By my grade, the card is in Very Good condition. It has some corner wear but not too bad. No creases and no other flaws that I can see. The Mint Beckett price for a raw '56 Killebrew is $125.  The VG raw price is $75.  I priced the card at $75. Dwight looked up the card in his SMR. He decided it was a 4. SMR doesn't list the 4 price. It has the 5 price at $40. So Dwight offers me $30. The offer is offensive to me. I'm happy to take offers on my cards but an offer for less than half of my sticker price is a big fat NO. I was willing to go down to $50. Maybe if Dwight wasn't such a jerk, I would have gone even lower but I don't need the sale that bad that I have to give my stuff away to assholes. What this really boils down to is that the card is RAW!!! You can't offer me a price based on SMR for a raw card!! I won't take it EVER.

Here's another thing about graded cards that I've learned from selling them for years. The SMR price doesn't mean shite. I don't bring graded cards out to shows because they don't sell at shows.  Though, I regularly sell them on eBay where they sell very well. What I've learned on eBay is that the cards almost never go for the SMR price. They often go for less than SMR but then certain card go for more than SMR, much more. SMR is a terrible guide.  The best guide is to check the completed listings on eBay. There you'll see what these things actually sell for.

A quick look on the eBay completed listings shows that a '56 Killebrew PSA 5 sold recently for $40, $41, $50 and $51. Completed listings for a 6 are $63, $89 and $76. So, the proof is in the pudding. You never know what a graded card will sell for and you can't rely on SMR.  Though, the bigger issue at hand is that you don't know what a card will grade out at.  You have to send it in. Guys like Dwight can't place a grade on a raw card and offer a dealer an SMR price based on what they think the card will grade out at. I know Dwight isn't alone. A bunch of guys do this but they have to realize that all they're doing is pissing off dealers. You guys need to buy the card and get it graded -- only then will you know what the grade is!!

So Dwight was the only blip on a pleasant day.  Chuck went out and picked me up some hot dogs around noon. Thanks Chuck! With this diabetes, I gotta eat all the time or my blood sugar gets too low. I brought some snacks today but it wasn't enough. I gotta start carry more food with me. I'm still learning how to manage this thing.

Now for my buys today. I picked up a small group of '75 minis.  I also bought some low grade early '50s Bowman baseball. I'm working on a '75 Topps set and picked up the Brett rookie today. I think I'm just four cards away now. I picked up a low grade '69 Topps Rollie Fingers rookie.  Then I made the buy of the day, month, maybe year. I picked up a box of 1961 Fleer football and 1962 Topps football. I love the '61 Fleer football. Those cards are soooo tough!! I'm always looking for those cards. I recently picked up some low grade ones on eBay.  Though, I'm regularly out bid on the '61 Fleer.  This group today is in EX! I'm so pumped!! Then the '62 Topps football. Another set I love.  The '62 Topps aren't quite as difficult to obtain as the '61 Fleers but they're not common.  The group I picked up today is absolutely tremendous. It's loaded! I got a Johnny Unitas, a Mike Ditka rookie and a Bart Starr. If I only had the Jim Brown it would have been a perfect day.  Though, I can't complain.  The '62 stars are heading to eBay. So watch my eBay auctions this week for those puppies.

Overall, a good day, largely because of my buys. Sales were down but that's the way it goes sometimes. Next week is Schaumburg. I'm going to work on some 1973-74 Topps hockey this week. I'm not sure if I'll get anything else done. I'd like to start working on some 1955 Bowman baseball. I'm hoping to see a nice crowd at Schaumburg, except for Dwight. Hopefully Dwight stays home.

 
2 Comments

It May Be Time For A Little Rest And Relaxation!

5/20/2013

6 Comments

 
I think I'm going to give in to reality. I just don't have time to write a weekly blog. So from this point forth, the blog will be an occasional thing.

A quick update, my shows have been going very well. I have been buying and selling a tremendous amount of cards. Though, I have to admit that yesterday's Gonzaga show (May 19, 2013) was disappointing. Attendance was down from last month and so were my sales.  Though, I can live with the end result on the sales aspect.  My big problem yesterday, which has been brewing for months, is that the dealers set up behind me are crowding all my space. It has gotten so bad that I can't walk behind my tables. I think at the very least I should be alotted room to walk behind my tables.  I've got four tables to cover at this show and when I'm busy, covering all this ground is hard enough but now I've got to fight through the extra card tables, boxes and debri that these neighboring dealers put in my way. I had a little meltdown yesterday.

When I arrived at the hall, the four dealers setting up behind me took up just about all the space behind my tables -- I couldn't even get behind my tables to set up! The worst offender was a family of three that had one table. They set up their card table so I had about half a foot of space behind my table. I could not walk through the space. I asked them to remove the card table. The boy, I'd say about 18 years old, said he would move the card table but as I struggled to set up around them, he did not move the table. Then the mom stood up against my table, blocking my access. I tried to inform them that they were inhibiting my ability to set up. They looked at me like deer in the headlights and did nothing. Maybe they did not understand my Chicago accent. So I asked the father to remove the offending table, while the mother continued to block my center table.  The father said he would move the table. I continued to struggle to set up and the father did not remove the offending card table.  Then I had to deal with Jeff P., who had a card table behind his table, about a foot away from where I like to stack up my bins and use them for extra table space.  Then a third pair of dealers put a card table behind their table and were standing behind it blocking a third table of mine! 

I lost it. Started spewing. I eventually complained to Mike and Keith, the promoters. They moved that numbskull family to another table on the other side of the room. I feel sorry for the dealers around them. In the middle of the show, it looked like they were having a picnic behind their table. They took up all the space, hindering the dealers around them.  I dealt with Jeff and the other guys. They weren't too bad.Though if the show was busy, like it normally is, I would of had a big problem. Ultimately, my biggest problem were the two guys who took over the family's table. They bought a box of binders early on and spread everything out on the floor behind their table, blocking my middle tables. It just really sucked managing my tables yesterday. From load in until the end of the show, I battled eight other dealers just to be able to walk behind my tables.

For years, Gonzaga has been my favorite show. Now, it's at the bottom of the list. It's such a struggle, from battling incroaching dealers to battling the auction crowd, who block my tables from paying customers, I'm really frustrated with this show. 

Though, I have to admit that battling neighboring dealers is nothing new, It's commonplace at every show.  I am actually more surprised when neighboring dealers are courteous than when they exhibit poor behavior. It comes with the territory. In general, courtesy is a four-letter word to card dealers. They would rather try to encroach on their neighbor's space then spend a few bucks to purchase an extra table. So those dealers, like myself, who purchase extra tables, always have to battle the lunkheads.

I've been contemplating taking a little sabatical from shows. Summer is usually a good time for me at the shows but the fall is always lousy. So please come see me this summer because I may go on a little hiatus this fall. I need to reboot!!!  

 
6 Comments

    Tony Gordon

    Vintage Sports Cards Addict

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.