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Sports Cards Are A Really Bad Investment!!

11/28/2012

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Sunday, November 11, 2012, Serb Hall, Milwaukee, WI -- I can honestly say that I have never viewed sports collectibles as an investment. Based on my experience in buying and selling sportscards since 1979, I cannot recommend sports cards or sports collectibles as an investment. Obviously, if I had spent tens of thousands of dollars on vintage baseball cards in 1979, I would have gotten an amazing return on my investment. However, since the late 1980s, I have observed more of a downward trend in the value of cards and collectibles than upward.

To illustrate this point, I went deep into the archives and pulled some old price guides. According to the Beckett Price Guide published in 1992, I could have purchased a 1968 Topps Nolan Ryan rookie card in Mint Condition for $1,500 in 1992.  That same Ryan card listed in the 1998 Becket for just $900, a reduction of $600 from 1992.  In the 2010 Beckett, the Ryan rookie dropped to $500. So, in about a 20-year period beginning in 1992, if I had invested $1,500 in the Ryan, I would have lost $1,000 by 2010.

Though, there is a twist in this tale. If that Ryan rookie was truly in Mint Condition, flawless, I would have actually made about a $3,000 profit on that $1,500 investment from 1992 because the advent of third-party grading in the past 15 to 20 years has caused the value of high-grade cards to sky rocket.  I stress, just high-grade cards only. Low or middle grade cards have dropped in value.  However, to have purchased a pristine Ryan rookie in 1992 and made a profit in 2010, I would have had to purchase the card perfectly centered, no wear whatsoever, razor sharp corners and edges, perfect gloss, no printing marks and the photo would have had to be perfectly focused.  The problem here is that nobody in 1992 was inspecting their cards in the same manner as grading companies today. Back in 1992, if the corners and edges were sharp and the card was crease free, I would have thought I had a mint card and not noticed the printing marks, centering or the focus of the picture or anything else that companies like PSA use in their grading scale. So, even though third party grading has caused increased values in a select few cards, it still would have been difficult to make a profit on my 1992 investment because of the strict grading guidelines.  

Unfortunately, I regularly meet people at card shows who invested great sums of money in sports cards in the 1980s and 1990s and I have to be the one to inform them that they lost their shirt.  Case in point, there was a gentleman at the Serb Hall show who seemed to have spent the last 28 years locked in 1985. He told me that his mother built sets back in the early to mid-1980s and stuffed the cards away in the hopes that they would substantially increase in value. He told me that he recently brought some of the cards to a local card shop and was offended at the prices the card shop owner offered. In particular, the man was hot because the card shop owner offered him $20 for his 1985 Fleer baseball set.  According to my old Beckett,  the 1985 Fleer baseball set valued at $180 in 1992. That same 1985 Fleer set had dropped to $100 in 1999. The set was valued at just $60 in 2010. Moreover, in order to have the $60 value, the cards have to be in high grade. I have my doubts that this gentleman's cards are in high grade.  So I think the card shop's $20 offer was very generous considering the set high books at $60 and the card shop needs some room to make a profit.  As I explained to the guy, another thing to consider is the difficulty in selling ANY cards from the 1980s here in 2012.  People just don't want them and EVERYBODY has some to sell.

I explained to the guy that Fleer manufactured those sets in the billions and the market is flooded with them. Nobody wants them. He should have taken the 20 bucks from the card shop. I offered him $10 for the set.

He started to go through my binders and looked at the cards in my display cases and was astounded at my prices.  He couldn't understand why I would sell a star card from the 1950s for under $100. He kept saying that the cards are rare and hard to find. I had to explain to him that since he crawled out of his Ronald Reagan bomb shelter, Al Gore invented the internet and some guy who collects Pez dispensers created eBay where one can find ANY and ALL of the cards from the 1950s at reasonable prices, unless they are in super high grade.  Thus, if I want to sell ANY of my cards, I have to consider that they are ALL available for reasonable prices on eBay and I have to price them accordingly for the shows. 

The guy was just astounded and I don't think he believed anything that I told him. He walked out of the show thinking I was nuts. 

Well, I think all baseball card dealers, myself included, are a little nuts. None of us are getting rich, we're in it because we love it. There is great enjoyment in this hobby when you're not making bad investments. Don't invest in sports cards! Enough said.

I had a really nice show on this warm and windy late fall day.  Jeff got things going for me today by purchasing my 1963 Topps Al Kaline, 1959 Ernie Banks and a large pile of commons from 1957 and 1963.  Jason picked up a large group of 1968, 1969 and 1970 Topps baseball commons.  I had just reloaded by 1970 Topps baseball binder before this show and a new customer pulled out all my Pilots.  Being the precurser to the Brewers, the Pilots cards are very popular in Milwaukee.

A regular customer purchased some 1960s football cards. A new customer purchased some 1976-77 Topps hockey and a bunch of my quarter packs.  Another new customer purchased my 1958 Topps Warren Spahn. Jim picked up my 1962 and 1963 Topps Tim McCarver cards.  The night before the show, I put some cards together for Mike, who had emailed a want list.  Mike arrived late in the day and picked up his cards. A new customer purchased some 1961 Post baseball.  A regular customer purchased some of my 25-cent packs and some 1970 Topps baseball.

I also made a little money at this show by submitting some cards for the live auction.  Serb Hall promoter PJ has a deal for vendors that if they submit 10 items to his live auction, he will give three tables for the price of two.  I made a big $11 on the cards I submitted to the auction.  Bill Nest was telling me that he submitted some autographs to the auction and made a real nice profit.  I may have to dig out some autos for the next Serb Hall show. 

On the buying front, a regular customer had an autograph promo item from Carlos Arroyo, who played for the Bucks. I didn't really want the auto but the guy only wanted a dollar, so I bought it.  A random guy showed up at my table with a bunch of low-grade pre-war items but he wanted way too much money. I love buying cards, especially pre-war, but I need to buy them low enough where I can make a profit.  Too often, guys try to sell me stuff for more than I can sell it for.  I purchased some cards from Mike, including some 1980 Topps football, 1969 Topps football and 1970 Topps baseball.  Mike, if you're reading this, I'm still working on your 1971 Topps football list and I'll have something for you at the December 16 Gonzaga show.

All in all, a really good day at Serb Hall. We had a nice crowd and sales exceeded expectations. I probably won't make the December 30 Serb Hall show because it is on the same day as Orland. Though, if I have a lousy Orland show on December 9, I may head up to Serb for the Dec. 30 show and skip Orland.  Serb has been up as of late while Orland has been down.  I gotta go where I am making the most sales!!

Anyway, I'm extremely late with this blog. As I write this, it is November 28 and the Serb Hall show occurred on November 11. Good thing I took really good notes. I still owe you guys blogs from the November 18 Gonzaga show, the November 24 Orland show and the November 25 Bloomingdale show.  I have notes on all these shows and will be getting to these blogs shortly. Quite a few guys are mentioning my snail-like pace at getting these blogs done. Unfortunately, I'm a little short on time with the day job, prepping for shows, eBay, and making sure my family is happy and healthy. I had more than 300 hits to my website on November 24. I can't thank you guys enough for the support. I promise to have those blogs soon!! 


Next week is December 2 and I'll be set up at the Best Western Plus show in Schaumburg, Illinois. Come one, come all to the greatest show on Earth!!!!    



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Hey Orland, Slow Down, You Move Too Fast!!

11/21/2012

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Saturday, November 10, 2012, Orland Park Civic Center, Orland Park, IL -- Feelin' sort of groovy today, in a Simon and Garfunkel way. To get the optimum effect of today's blog, please click on the above video while reading. In fact:

Slow down, you move too fast, you've got to make the morning last
Just kickin' down the cobble-stones, lookin' for fun and feeling groovy

Feeling Groovy

Hello lamppost, what's cha' knowing, I've come to watch your flowers growin'
Ain't cha got no rhymes for me, do-it-do-do, feelin' groovy

Feeling Groovy

I've got no deeds to do, no promises to keep
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me
Life I love you, all is groovy


It was a slow, groovy day in Orland Park on Saturday, November 10, 2012. I had to slow down during my drive to Orland today. A lot of traffic in the morning and everyone wanted to drive slow. That's okay 'cause I'm feelin' groovy. Once I arrived at the Orland Civic Center I couldn't get the cart that enables me to load in with one trip. There was some sort of Boy Scout event happening in another room and I observed some mom-type lady grab the large cart and hide it on the side of the Boy Scout room. Thanks mom! It's okay 'cause I'm feelin' groovy.

Once I got my gear inside, Jim hit me up with some really groovy deals. Thanks Jim! I also observed an exceptional amount of vintage in the room which gave me a groovy feeling about the show. Customers started to come in the room around 8:30 a.m. and I wasn't nearly set up yet. But that's okay, 'cause I've got to make the morning last.

Not much of a customer turn out at all today. One of the slowest shows of the year. In fact, I had my lowest Orland sales of 2012 on this groovy day. It wasn't a total disaster, though, and I really appreciate the folks that stopped by my table today. You're all GROOVY!!

Joey got things going by purchasing some 1970 Topps baseball. A new groovy customer purchased my 1969 Topps Al Kaline. Terry was lookin' for fun and purchased my 1968 Topps Tom Seaver and 1967 Topps Home Run Leaders card. A new customer picked up some 1969 Topps football. Walt didn't have any rhymes for me but found plenty of 1968 Topps baseball.  A regular purchased some 1970-71 Topps hockey.

With no deeds to do, a regular customer purchased some 1971 Topps baseball high numbers.  Dan found some 1970-71 Topps hockey, some 1969 Topps baseball and some 1970 Topps baseball. 

Pardon the interruption, but I need to pause this blog for a moment because I just noticed the word "dappled" in the Feeling Groovy lyrics. What the hell does "dappled" mean? I've never heard or used that word before.

According to Webster's, "dappled" means: marked with small spots or patches contrasting with the background. Okay, that really doesn't make any sense. So essentially Simon and Garfunkel are saying they are marked with small spots contrasting with the background and drowsy and ready to sleep.  How does one become marked with small spots contrasting with the background? Is this technically possible? Most importantly, is it even groovy?

Back to the blog... for the second week in a row I got to see long-time customer Chuck from the groovy Northwest Side of Chicago. Today Chuck picked up my 1963 Topps Ray Nitchke rookie that he had been eyeing for some time. Then Chris and I made a trade where I gave him my 1965 Philadelphia Fran Tarkenton and a 1957 Topps George Blanda for stack of 1968 Topps baseball, 1970 Topps baseball and 1970's-era Kelloggs cards, do-it-do-do.

Bill picked up my 1963 Topps Hank Aaron. A new customer purchased some 1970-71 Topps hockey.  A regular customer purchased a 1948 Bowman Snuffy Stirnweiss and 1951 Bowman Johnny Pesky. Then Chuck T. pulled out some 1969 Topps baseball as part of a cash and trade deal for a large amount of cards, including some 1960s football, 1970s basketball and 1977 Topps baseball. Joel is working on vintage White Sox team sets and purchased a 1954 Topps Sherman Lollar and a 1955 Bowman George Kell. Harry purchased a 1973 Topps Roberto Clemente and some 1963 Topps baseball commons. My Mets guy, formerly the Expos guy, rounded out my day with some 1978 Mets.

Obviously, I didn't do too badly but I usually do much better at this show. But that's okay, 'cause I'm feeling groovy. The Orland show was the first of a double bill weekend. Serb Hall on Sunday was the other show. Serb blog is in the hopper and I should get that one done shortly.

I actually ended up buying more cards than I sold today. That's the trouble when things are slow, I end up buying and buying... GROOVY!!!

Pictured below are today's buys.
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Beanies, Uncle Morty and a Fritz

11/12/2012

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Picture
Sunday, November 4, 2012, Best Western Plus, Schaumburg, IL -- Another in a series of late blogs. I'm slowly catching up.  Well, the Schaumburg show was really nice on this sunny late fall day.  We were in the bigger room which was a surprise. I only brought two display cases thinking we'd be in the smaller room and I wouldn't have as much space. Without the display cases, I just laid the cards out on the table, which is always a worry because theft does occur on occasion. Luckily, we had only honest customers and dealers today.

Last month, I observed that the hotel was serving its breakfast buffet in one of the meeting rooms while they rehabbed their restaurant.  After set up, I made a bee line for the buffet. It was the same stuff they had in the restaurant, only difference was the bacon and sausages were overcooked. The buffet costs $11 and I wasn't too happy. As a diabetic, I'm limited to what I can eat. I can't eat potatoes and bread, so I try and fill up on bacon and sausage which just wasn't good today. I ate a sweet roll, which I shouldn't have done. Though, I did work the sugar off after the show raking leaves in my yard. I'm skipping the buffet next time.

We had a nice crowd early on and sales were brisk. Don, also known as Beanie, got things going early with a purchase of a few 1959 Topps baseball commons.  Don got his Beanie nickname because he sells Beanie Babies along with sports cards and memorabilia. Don was set up next to me today and I caught an indepth conversation he had with some customers about Beanie Babies.  They were talking about the good old days when certain Beanie Babies would sell for several hundred dollars.  Those same Beanies go for just $5 today.

Back at my table, Fritz picked up some big hitters from the 1961 Topps set including a Koufax, Mantle All Star, Maris All Star, Brooks Robinson All Star and Whitey Ford All Star. A regular picked up some 1967 Topps baseball.  A new customer picked up my 1959 Topps Art Ditmar. Uncle Morty made an appearance today. I haven't seen old Mort in months. I like Mort but he can be difficult and trying at times. Today, he found a 1957 Topps common that I had priced at $7. He took the card over to a window and gave it some severe scrutiny.  He found on indentation on the surface where someone had probably absent mindedly placed a piece of paper over the card and wrote something.  Mort found slight evidence of the letters R and C indented on the surface of the card. Pretty amazing for a guy around 80 years old to be able to see that. I never noticed it and would need a magnifying glass to find it. I dropped the price to $3 and Mort was happy.

Larry picked up some 1981 Topps football.  A regular picked up some 1967 Topps baseball. Chuck picked up some 1969 Topps baseball commons, some 1964 Topps coins, and some 1962 Post -- an "eclectic mix," Chuck said. Randy purchased a nice pile of 1959 Topps commons. Willie picked up my 1954 Red Heart Minnie Minoso, an Orlando Cepeda rookie and some 1961 Post. A regular rounded out my day with some 1967 Philadelphia football.

On the buying front, I turned down a mix of 1950s and '60s cards from Junior. I just didn't see the resale value in the cards and passed. I did pick up a nice grouping of 1953 Bowman Color from a dealer.

With the Bears-Titans game at noon, the crowd thinned out pretty quick and I packed up and vacated earlier than usual. I was able to get home and catch the end of the game and put some time in the yard dealing with the leaves. As I write this, I'm watching the Bears-Texans game after attending the Serb Hall show today and the Orland show yesterday. Those blogs are in the hopper and hopefully I'll post those soon. Next week, November 18, is Gonzaga.  This should be an interesting show because the Sun-Times Show is in Rosemont this weekend and quite a few dealers and customers will be there. Also, the Packers are playing at noon so it will be an early crowd and an early day. I had a really nice show on November 4 in Schaumburg and am looking for another good show at Gonzaga.

Photos today are of Beanie Don's display. Thanks Don for letting me take the photos and post them.
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Groggy Kids and Mega-amounts of Vintage Sports Cards

11/9/2012

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Picture
Sunday, October 28, 2012, Orland Park, IL -- Okay, so I'm now two weeks behind on my blog. I've just got too much going on right now to keep up. Hopefully, I can right the ship soon.

A couple of things about the Orland show. If you are a vintage sports card collector and live within a two-hour drive of Orland Park, Illinois, you MUST attend this show. There is a tremendous amount of vintage cards in the room each and every show. There is also a wide range of pricing so you can find something within your budget. Attendance on this day, however, was very light for a Sunday Orland show. Though, I can't read much into the light attendance because, as I've stated before, card show attendance always dips during football season.

The wife was still in Arizona, so I brought two very groggy children with me to the show. We had spent the night before at a Halloween party then went on a Halloween walk through the Forest Preserve near our house. The kids were not happy when I got them into the van around 7 a.m. Quite a few customers at the show commented on how miserable they looked. Normally when I bring them to a show I bring stuff for them to do but between the Halloween festivities and pricing cards for the show, I didn't have any time to get anything together for them. Though, I did take them to Toys R Us after the show and that put them in much better spirits.

Sales were fairly light for this show. If it wasn't for Tony Schaefer (the other Tony) of Monster Cards, I would have had a disappointing show. Thanks Tony! Tony purchased a large pile of cards, I can't remember everything he picked up. I think there was a '55 Bowman Aaron and a '55 Topps Berra in there. A regular purchased some 1979-80 Topps hockey. An autograph hound pulled some 1965 Topps baseball. Dave traded in the '53 Bowman Stan Musial he purchased at the last Orland show for another one that I had in a little better condition and for some extra cash.

Chris sent me a list of 1967 Philadelphia football prior to the show and I almost completed his whole list.  He also picked up some 1979-80 Topps hockey at the show.  A new customer purchased some 1962 Topps baseball.  Gil purchased some 1964 Topps basseball. A regular purchased my 1958 Topps Pee Wee Reese and my 1958 Topps Sandy Koufax.  A new customer purchased my 1983 Topps Denis Sevard rookie (I think it was 1983).

Another new customer purchased my 1962 Topps Gini Marchetti.  Another autograph hound purchased my 1970-71 Topps Gil Perault rookie.  Joel picked up my 1956 Topps George Kell.  Will picked up a nice grouping of 1957s and 1961s.  Dennis picked up some 1962 Topps baseball.  Rick rounded out my day with a nice pile of 1969 Topps baseball. 

On the buying front, I picked up some 1960's era Bazooka baseball cards along with a nice pile of 1969 Topps football. There didn't seem like there were a whole lot of people walking around with cards. Two younger guys had some stuff, like a 1979 Topps Ozzie Smith rookie but they wanted book. They'll learn eventually that if they want to sell their cards, don't offer them to dealers at book price.

Last weekend I was at the Best Western Plus in Schaumburg for a show.  That blog is on its way. This weekend is a double bill with Orland on Saturday and Serb Hall on Sunday. I'm feverishly trying to finish my 1970 Topps baseball binder by Saturday. I don't know if I'll have time for much else. Several guys game me lists, so I'm going to try and go through those as well. I'm hoping to have time to price some new star cards for my display cases.

Thanks everybody for your continued support. I currently have a terrific inventory. I've been a buying feind since the spring. Hopefully, I can get more cards priced and out over these next few months. See you soon!!


10 year-old Tabitha Gordon took the photos this week.
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    Tony Gordon

    Vintage Sports Cards Addict

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