Sunday, January 27, 2013, Orland Park Civic Center, Orland Park, IL -- What a wild and crazy winter we are having! Winter here along the shores of Lake Michigan used to be something a person could hang their hat on. You knew that it was going to be cold, you knew there was going to be snow, you knew there was going to be ice, you knew some days you just couldn't get anywhere. Well that's all up in the air now. As I write this blog on January 29, it was nearly 70 degrees out today!! Yes, nearly 70 degrees in Downtown Chicago in January!!
Also, what is with these ice storms? When I was growing up, we never had ice storms. Hell, I didn't even know what one was until I saw the movie "Ice Storm." We have had two ice storms this winter. On the morning of the first one, my car was caked in ice and I couldn't get the door open. The wife had to drive me to the train in her car so I could get to work. Saturday night as I was reloading my 1975 Topps binder, the wife, who I love very much but can be overdramatic all too often, started to flip out after hearing a weather report of an ice storm set to come through at 6 a.m. Sunday morning, the morning of the Orland show. The wife said I shouldn't go to the show. Well, if there is one thing I know about weather, these so-called meteorologists can't predict the weather any better than I can -- at least I freely admit that I can't predict the weather. What's their excuse?
I gauge the severity of the weather on how slippery the roads are. If I can drive without feeling I'm going slide off the road and slam into a tree, the weather is not severe. I never plan my day on what the numbnut so-called weather forecasters predict. When I heard the weather report, my first thought was that it would keep some customers away from the show and I was kind of pissed off. The weathermen and women should not go scaring people.
I woke up Sunday morning at 6 a.m. and, lo and behold, no ice storm. It was a little warmer out and loading up the car wasn't so bad. My drive down to Orland was uneventful. The sky was cloudy but it did not look like a nasty storm was imminent. As I was loading in, my pal Jim hit me up and I bought some cards. It seemed to take me a long time to set up today. I also bought some cards from Chuck while I was setting up. I think the weather report scared away a few dealers because there were more empty tables in the room than usual.
It did not seem like customers were worried about this so-called ice storm. We had a nice crowd today. Joey got things going today by purchasing some 1974 Topps baseball checklists. The '74 checklists don't book higher than $3 but those suckers are tough to come by, especially in nice shape and clean. A regular customer pulled some 1971 Topps baseball. A new customer purchased a 1972 Topps Dave Kingman and some 1974 Topps baseball.
Then I got real busy. My tables were crowded and I was helping customers one after another. Unfortunately, it seemed like everybody was paying at once so I didn't get to write down each sale. So I'll list the few items I was able to write down. A regular customer purchased some 1970's basketball and some 1976 Topps baseball. A new customer purchased a 1975 Topps minis Jim Rice rookie.
Gil picked up some 1974 Topps baseball. Dave purchased some cards from the 1960s and 1970s. Larry and I did a cash and trade deal where he picked up a 1952 Bowman Ralph Kiner, a 1961 Topps Ernie Banks and a 1940 Play Ball Bing Miller, while I got some cash and a 1970 Topps Roberto Clemente. I'm slowly building a complete set of 1970 Topps and needed the Clemente for the set.
A new customer purchased some 1975 Topps baseball. Another new customer also went through my 1975 binder and pulled some cards. The dealer across the way purchased some 1972 Topps baseball. Rick made my day by purchasing my 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle. Thanks Rick! I also learned something today, Rick returned a 1953 Topps Gus Bell. Apparently, someone had colored in the black box on the bottom of the card where Bell's name is listed. If you look at the card from the side, you can see residue from the marker. I checked the other '53s in my case and none were colored. I'm going to check all my '53s from now on. I don't even remember where I purchased the Gus Bell. I am disappointed that someone colored it, to say the least.
On the bright side, I had a lot of new customers today. A new customer purchased some 1971 Topps baseball. A new customer purchased some 1959 Topps White Sox. Chris picked up a nice pile of 1963 Topps baseball. A new customer purchased some 1959 Topps. Another new customer purchased some 1969 Topps baseball. I bought an autographed Duke Snider card early in the show and sold it at the end to one of my autograph hounds. Dennis purchased some 1960s and 1970s Packers. Will rounded out my day with some 1957s. Like I said, there were a lot more sales but I just couldn't write them down today.
This is the third in a string of nice Orland shows. I hope this string continues! On the buying front, I picked up a large pile of 1957, 58 and '59 Topps baseball. I got some 1970s hockey. Some 1960's Post. I picked up a 1934-36 Diamond Star Earle Averill. I also picked up some 1970s high numbers. Some 1960 Topps and some 1963 Topps. Quite a few guys brought stuff to my table either to sell or to get an appraisal. One guy had a beautiful 1953 Bowman Color Mickey Mantle. He also had a 1954 Bowman Mantle. He was trying to get some ideas on the value. He said he met a woman at a Kokomo, Indiana, card show who he was helping out with the cards.
One of my regulars brought in a couple of shoe boxes of really clean and nice baseball cards from 1968 through 1972. I didn't have any more money at this point. His asking price was also a tad bit too high for me. Good stuff and a good guy who I've dealt with in the past. A modern card dealer was kind enough to bring a guy over who was looking to get an appraisal on some 1950s and 1960s baseball cards. He had nice players like Mantle, Mays and Aaron but they were beat. He had a 1960 Topps Mickey Mantle that had a tear on the top edge going down about a quarter of an inch along with some battered corners. I couldn't offer more than $50 for that beater. I don't think the guy liked my prices but as I've said many times before, I can't purchase cards for more than I can sell them for. When cards are battered, beaten creased and torn, their value is just a speck of the high book price. People generally don't want those cards and if they do, they are not willing to pay much money for them. So, I just can't spend a whole lot for them.
I kept looking out the windows all day long to see if this ice storm was coming. Around 11 a.m. or so there was chatter that this so-called ice storm was coming at noon. Well, noon hit and no ice storm.
On to a completely different topic -- I know I recently talked in another blog on how I can't seem to remember peoples names. I don't think I called anybody by their wrong name today. I also realized at this show that I can't seem to remember customer requests. A slew of customers asked all day long if I remembered to bring them this or that. Well, I didn't remember to bring any of this stuff! I don't even recall anyone asking for these cards. So I made sure to write these requests down in my little notebook. I'm also going to list them here in the hopes I remember to bring the cards to the February 9 Orland show. Here it is: I need to bring a 1955 Topps Sandy Koufax for Larry, Hall of Fame postcards for Steve, fill Dennis's want lists of Braves, and fill Chuck's list of 1973s. Sorry for the memory lapse guys, I'm really going to try and get this stuff together!!
I was out the door around 2 p.m. There was a little drizzle but no ice storm. Chuck and I went to the sub sandwich shop on LaGrange Road. I've been meaning to go to this place forever. I'm glad we went because they make a good hot dog. Their chili was okay. Chuck had a beef that looked pretty good. I'm thinking, I may have to make this a regular stop on the way home.
Speaking of the way home, the ice storm finally hit. It wasn't too bad. I saw only one accident and my car didn't really slide much. My problem came when I got home and had trouble getting the car up this hill I have for a driveway. My driveway was also a sheet of ice. Unloading the car was really difficult. I needed skates.
Well, who knows what the weather will be like tomorrow or next Sunday when I'm heading to the Best Western Plus show in Schaumburg. I started reloading my 1975-76 Topps basketball binder. I'm hoping to start my 1975 Topps Minis binder but I don't think I'll get that one done by Sunday. We had a really nice crowd today in Orland and I'd like to see the same for Schaumburg. So come on out on Sunday and check out all the new cards I'll have on display. Pictured above and below are my pick ups from today's Orland show.
Also, what is with these ice storms? When I was growing up, we never had ice storms. Hell, I didn't even know what one was until I saw the movie "Ice Storm." We have had two ice storms this winter. On the morning of the first one, my car was caked in ice and I couldn't get the door open. The wife had to drive me to the train in her car so I could get to work. Saturday night as I was reloading my 1975 Topps binder, the wife, who I love very much but can be overdramatic all too often, started to flip out after hearing a weather report of an ice storm set to come through at 6 a.m. Sunday morning, the morning of the Orland show. The wife said I shouldn't go to the show. Well, if there is one thing I know about weather, these so-called meteorologists can't predict the weather any better than I can -- at least I freely admit that I can't predict the weather. What's their excuse?
I gauge the severity of the weather on how slippery the roads are. If I can drive without feeling I'm going slide off the road and slam into a tree, the weather is not severe. I never plan my day on what the numbnut so-called weather forecasters predict. When I heard the weather report, my first thought was that it would keep some customers away from the show and I was kind of pissed off. The weathermen and women should not go scaring people.
I woke up Sunday morning at 6 a.m. and, lo and behold, no ice storm. It was a little warmer out and loading up the car wasn't so bad. My drive down to Orland was uneventful. The sky was cloudy but it did not look like a nasty storm was imminent. As I was loading in, my pal Jim hit me up and I bought some cards. It seemed to take me a long time to set up today. I also bought some cards from Chuck while I was setting up. I think the weather report scared away a few dealers because there were more empty tables in the room than usual.
It did not seem like customers were worried about this so-called ice storm. We had a nice crowd today. Joey got things going today by purchasing some 1974 Topps baseball checklists. The '74 checklists don't book higher than $3 but those suckers are tough to come by, especially in nice shape and clean. A regular customer pulled some 1971 Topps baseball. A new customer purchased a 1972 Topps Dave Kingman and some 1974 Topps baseball.
Then I got real busy. My tables were crowded and I was helping customers one after another. Unfortunately, it seemed like everybody was paying at once so I didn't get to write down each sale. So I'll list the few items I was able to write down. A regular customer purchased some 1970's basketball and some 1976 Topps baseball. A new customer purchased a 1975 Topps minis Jim Rice rookie.
Gil picked up some 1974 Topps baseball. Dave purchased some cards from the 1960s and 1970s. Larry and I did a cash and trade deal where he picked up a 1952 Bowman Ralph Kiner, a 1961 Topps Ernie Banks and a 1940 Play Ball Bing Miller, while I got some cash and a 1970 Topps Roberto Clemente. I'm slowly building a complete set of 1970 Topps and needed the Clemente for the set.
A new customer purchased some 1975 Topps baseball. Another new customer also went through my 1975 binder and pulled some cards. The dealer across the way purchased some 1972 Topps baseball. Rick made my day by purchasing my 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle. Thanks Rick! I also learned something today, Rick returned a 1953 Topps Gus Bell. Apparently, someone had colored in the black box on the bottom of the card where Bell's name is listed. If you look at the card from the side, you can see residue from the marker. I checked the other '53s in my case and none were colored. I'm going to check all my '53s from now on. I don't even remember where I purchased the Gus Bell. I am disappointed that someone colored it, to say the least.
On the bright side, I had a lot of new customers today. A new customer purchased some 1971 Topps baseball. A new customer purchased some 1959 Topps White Sox. Chris picked up a nice pile of 1963 Topps baseball. A new customer purchased some 1959 Topps. Another new customer purchased some 1969 Topps baseball. I bought an autographed Duke Snider card early in the show and sold it at the end to one of my autograph hounds. Dennis purchased some 1960s and 1970s Packers. Will rounded out my day with some 1957s. Like I said, there were a lot more sales but I just couldn't write them down today.
This is the third in a string of nice Orland shows. I hope this string continues! On the buying front, I picked up a large pile of 1957, 58 and '59 Topps baseball. I got some 1970s hockey. Some 1960's Post. I picked up a 1934-36 Diamond Star Earle Averill. I also picked up some 1970s high numbers. Some 1960 Topps and some 1963 Topps. Quite a few guys brought stuff to my table either to sell or to get an appraisal. One guy had a beautiful 1953 Bowman Color Mickey Mantle. He also had a 1954 Bowman Mantle. He was trying to get some ideas on the value. He said he met a woman at a Kokomo, Indiana, card show who he was helping out with the cards.
One of my regulars brought in a couple of shoe boxes of really clean and nice baseball cards from 1968 through 1972. I didn't have any more money at this point. His asking price was also a tad bit too high for me. Good stuff and a good guy who I've dealt with in the past. A modern card dealer was kind enough to bring a guy over who was looking to get an appraisal on some 1950s and 1960s baseball cards. He had nice players like Mantle, Mays and Aaron but they were beat. He had a 1960 Topps Mickey Mantle that had a tear on the top edge going down about a quarter of an inch along with some battered corners. I couldn't offer more than $50 for that beater. I don't think the guy liked my prices but as I've said many times before, I can't purchase cards for more than I can sell them for. When cards are battered, beaten creased and torn, their value is just a speck of the high book price. People generally don't want those cards and if they do, they are not willing to pay much money for them. So, I just can't spend a whole lot for them.
I kept looking out the windows all day long to see if this ice storm was coming. Around 11 a.m. or so there was chatter that this so-called ice storm was coming at noon. Well, noon hit and no ice storm.
On to a completely different topic -- I know I recently talked in another blog on how I can't seem to remember peoples names. I don't think I called anybody by their wrong name today. I also realized at this show that I can't seem to remember customer requests. A slew of customers asked all day long if I remembered to bring them this or that. Well, I didn't remember to bring any of this stuff! I don't even recall anyone asking for these cards. So I made sure to write these requests down in my little notebook. I'm also going to list them here in the hopes I remember to bring the cards to the February 9 Orland show. Here it is: I need to bring a 1955 Topps Sandy Koufax for Larry, Hall of Fame postcards for Steve, fill Dennis's want lists of Braves, and fill Chuck's list of 1973s. Sorry for the memory lapse guys, I'm really going to try and get this stuff together!!
I was out the door around 2 p.m. There was a little drizzle but no ice storm. Chuck and I went to the sub sandwich shop on LaGrange Road. I've been meaning to go to this place forever. I'm glad we went because they make a good hot dog. Their chili was okay. Chuck had a beef that looked pretty good. I'm thinking, I may have to make this a regular stop on the way home.
Speaking of the way home, the ice storm finally hit. It wasn't too bad. I saw only one accident and my car didn't really slide much. My problem came when I got home and had trouble getting the car up this hill I have for a driveway. My driveway was also a sheet of ice. Unloading the car was really difficult. I needed skates.
Well, who knows what the weather will be like tomorrow or next Sunday when I'm heading to the Best Western Plus show in Schaumburg. I started reloading my 1975-76 Topps basketball binder. I'm hoping to start my 1975 Topps Minis binder but I don't think I'll get that one done by Sunday. We had a really nice crowd today in Orland and I'd like to see the same for Schaumburg. So come on out on Sunday and check out all the new cards I'll have on display. Pictured above and below are my pick ups from today's Orland show.
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