The paperback guide has expanded to 348 pages with over 2,200 pennants pictured.

“The first book was done in 2009. It was the the first pennant price book ever done. That one had roughly 1,200 pennants in it,” Egner told Sports Collectors Daily via e-mail.  “After it was finished collectors kept sending me pictures that were not included so I just started saving them for the second edition. I had also received permission to go back through old auction catalogs to get photos of other ones that were not included. Four years later with 1,000 more photos I thought it was time to do the second version. Even after being finished with it I still see vintage pennants coming up for sale that I have not seen before. I don't think it is something that can truly ever be complete because of this.”

Nevertheless, it’s a remarkable resource for identifying rare pennants, dating them and putting a value on them.

Team pennants are most prevalent when you see them at shows or online but there are also those that feature players, events and stadiums. A Jackie Robinson pennant?  You’ll see it in the book.  A Paul Hornung? Rare—and valued at $300-500.  Charlie Comiskey approved at least nine White Sox pennants that were produced during the Black Sox era.  All are worth well over $1,000 if they’re not falling apart.

“Aside from the addition of all the new pennants, I included many mini pennants this time that I did not in the first book,” Egner explained.  “Also there is a small section on 1916 BF2 pennants and 1936-38 BF3 mini pennants and a few Federal League ones.”

Egner says pricing pennants was the hardest part of putting the book together.  He used auction results and the input of five people who had extensive experience buying and selling them.  For the rarest pennants, he just had to offer an estimate.

Pennants may not be as popular as cards or other items, Egner says prices and interest remain strong among vintage sports collectors.

“I think the market is pretty good right now,” he stated. “There seems to be more and more people starting to collect these when they realize the beauty of them, especially the older ones. They are also being used as an inexpensive wall decoration as well.”

After looking at the printed version of the book, the only thing one wishes is that the hundreds of photos of these colorful old pennants were printed in color.  Egner says it simply was cost-prohibitive.

“With a self-publishing company the cost to have it done in color would be so expensive I think only the true diehard pennant collector would be interested. Having it in black and white allowed the cost to stay at a level that many more people might be interested in getting involved collecting.”’

Luckily, though, technology makes a color edition possible to look at on your smartphone, tablet or home computer.  For the e-book, Egner replaced every black and white picture with the color one.

“The file after converting to color was past the allowed limits of Amazon Kindle so I had to have it available on a different site,” he explained. “So far everybody that has downloaded it has been very happy with the color version.”

The printed edition is 19.99 + 4.00 shipping for a total of 23.99 and can be ordered via mike@vintagesportsshoppe.com.  The color e-book can be downloaded for $13.99 but if you are willing to share on your Facebook page, Egner has dropped the cost to $10.99.

To download the Kindle version visit:  http://payhip.com/b/2sW1

To download the ePub version, click here:   http://payhip.com/b/g9oz

Egner's website is vintagesportsshoppe.com and he sells on eBay here.

Much of that total was wrapped up in the jersey Gretzky was wearing when he scored his 500th goal and during the Stanley Cup that same year.  It generated 29 bids via Classic Auctions and sold for $356,000 including the 20% buyer’s premium.  Gretzky’s 500th goal puck brought nearly $27,000.

"It was a lot of fun," Chaulk told TSN. "I thought maybe the jersey might go higher, as did most people in the hobby.”

Shed no tears, though.  Chaulk has much more where all of this came from.  In fact, he’s been selling some of the items off privately while the auction has been going on.  He says he sold five items alone for over $100,000.

This week’s auction was only for Phase 1 of Chaulk’s mammoth collection of hockey memorabilia, not all of which is devoted to Gretzky’s career.

“I met him a bunch of times,” Chaulk says of The Great One, who he came to know after his devotion became public.  “My memories I’ll always have.”

Some collectors passed up bargains before Chaulk decided to send items to auction.  He told one media outlet he offered a Gretzky equipment bag to one collector for $2,000.  He passed and it sold for $10,000.

The 45-year-old native of Newfoundland is a construction contractor now living in Alberta.    He told CTV News early Wednesday morning the large amount of attention he’s gotten since the auction opened last month has been “an absolute blast”.

Some of the funds will pay for the college education of his three children.

A second auction of Chaulk's collection is forthcoming.

In the past few years, Panini has shown the brilliance to go out and literally own two different days of the year, Father’s Day and Black Friday like nobody else in this hobby has ever done.  If any other manufacturer ever wants to learn what it takes to get lines outside of stores, they simply need to follow exactly what Panini does for each of these days.  Simply offer shops packs that are loaded with exclusive singles, low-numbered parallels, pylon and other relic cards that are off the charts and an autograph list that reads like a who’s who of heroes from all four sports and they will come.

It has been a blast the past few days hooking up collectors at my store with two card bonus packs that offer chances at signed cards from players like RGIII, Peyton Manning, Brooks Robinson, Geno Smith, Wade Boggs, Whitey Ford, Ryan-Nugent Hopkins, Carlton Fisk, Brett Favre, Mike Trout, Johnny Bench, Landry Jones, Adrian Peterson, Patrick Kane, Andre Dawson, Austin Rivers and enough other players to choke a herd of pack busters.

Some of them are now on eBay.

$399 for a Mike Trout autographed card?  Last year possibly.

Someone pulled close to $500.00 for this Kyrie Irving rookie year autographed jersey relic. 

I need to give Panini credit for using the way-back machine and introducing a whole new generation to some cool singles from the old Donruss and Pinnacle days.  Many of us will remember the interesting color choice of 1991 Studio MLB and the overwhelming odds involved with pulling a Team Pinnacle insert card.  While that 1991 set Is not exactly known for delivering value, seeing current players in that design looks pretty darn cool.

Last year collectors became familiar with the phrase “Cracked Ice” as a parallel and this year they were introduced to “Lava Flow” parallels.  Looking ahead to Panini BlackFriday 2013, I can only hope that the folks in Texas at least consider “Pina Colada” parallels.

On a side note, while I do not have awards to give away (let’s face it, who would want to win a “Fruity”) I think that special recognition should go out to the individual or individuals who put this promotion together.  I need to give them credit for more than doubling what I would typically do over a weekend, and allowing me to reward my customers with sweet individually numbered rookie year cards, autographed singles and some monster relic cards.

As important as the design and implementing of this program was, special props need to go out to the person who rolled out the specific involved products.  I kid you not, there are no more eagerly anticipated emails that I receive each year than the ones that announce which products will be involved with Black Friday or Father’s Day as well as how many packs I will be able to share for each box purchase.  I am literally like one of those moms in the Mervyn’s ”Open, Open, Open” commercial when it finally hits the top of my email box.

Don’t get me wrong, but I was a bit disappointed to read initially that the list was limited to 2012/13 Panini Marquee NBA, 12/13 Panini Base NBA, 12/13 Panini Elite NBA and 2012/13 Panini Limited NFL.  I mean after the success of 2012 NFL products it was a bit disappointing to not see a single NFL offering, but I can understand where those might be in tight supply these days.

The day after email came out with the involved products, Panini shared that over 25,000 of the 50,000 packs were already gone (how’s that for a 24 hour sale?) and I chose to quickly step up and commit to some of the above mentioned cases before they were all spoken for.  Later in the same week, Panini graciously announced that dealers were additionally able to purchase product directly from them.  In addition to more products being offered (2013 Pinnacle MLB and 2012 Panini Prime Signatures NFL), if you now purchased directly, you would get even more packs for the same earlier announced releases.  Even though Pinnacle MLB was not going to be in stores for a month, Panini allowed stores to involve a brand new release and more importantly, shops could now snag some 2012 NFL products for the many collectors who would surely be clamoring for it.

What did I do?  I ordered two cases of Pinnacle MLB (let’s hope that Mr. Puig is still rocking strong at that point) and went all out with 4 cases of Panini Prime Signatures NFL. There was great merriment throughout the land when I shared the Prime Signatures news with my collectors and we even planned a case break event for that release.  In case you were wondering, the best card we pulled from the break was a 1/1 Percy Harvin autograph.

Imagine my jubilation the next week when one distributor was able to offer both 2012 Panini Black NFL and 2012 Totally Certified NFL.  Heck at that point, I felt better than Joe Flacco on Super Bowl Sunday.  One call later, and a few more cases of NFL product were headed my way.

To their credit, whoever at Panini engineered this promotion helped me go from what would have been a few cases of less desirable product to well over $10,000.00 in releases just to stock my store.  If I could only upsell my collectors in this same manner, I would be enjoying lobster weekly instead of only monthly.

At this point, if Panini wants to offer similar promotions for President’s Day, Valentine’s Day, April Fool’s Day and even Groundhog Day, and collectors in my store embrace it in the same fashion,  I will be sure to once again push my credit card as far as it will stretch.

Mike Fruitman owns Mike's Stadium Sportscards in Aurora, Colo.  You can read his column here every week (or close to it), focusing on what products are selling best in hobby shops. See his eBay listings here.  Enjoy new arrivals and big hits from Mike’s on Twitter.  Mike’s is always looking for more friends on Facebook  and you can email him at  cardmn5150@aol.com.

Once the first licensed products on the market every year, the new edition was moved back in the schedule after Panini decided to revamp Score and push it out as the first
major post-draft issue.

2013 Prestige football will have 24 packs and 8 cards per pack.  Each pack will have at least one rookie card.  There are four autograph or memorabilia cards per box (at least two autos).  Many of the autographs were obtained during the 2013 NFL Rookie Premiere.  There’s already a candidate for worst autograph courtesy of Geovanni Bernard (see left), who was apparently overwhelmed by the quantity of cards he had to sign during the Premiere.

Inserts include Prestigious Picks and NFL Draft Picks, die-cut acetate cards labeled Stars of the NFL, NFL Shield, Fantasy Team and Inside the Numbers.  Back for another go-round are the Extra Points parallels return and the NFL Draft Materials insert that includes the actual jerseys and hats that were handed to the top picks on stage in New York.

There will be short-printed rookie card variations, 1/1 printing plates and Leon Sandcastle’s fictitious career continues with signed cards inside 2013 Prestige Football.  Other highlights include:

- 1st Impressions Signatures:   Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson, Doug Martin, etc. are featured in a look back at their rookie year.

- Micro-Etched Inserts: Micro-Etched inserts; NFL Draft Picks & Prestigious Picks featuring the top 2013 Rookies.

You can check out pre-sale boxes here.

The cap is owned by the descendants of a young pastry chef for a noted Santa Barbara, California hotel when Ruth and his group of traveling major leaguers visited during the off-season of 1927 or ‘28.  Ruth had given the cap to the woman while on a west coast swing.  Ruth and Lou Gehrig were the stars of the tour during the series of games between the ‘Bustin Babes’ and the ‘Larrupin’ Lous’.

Last offered in 2008, it will be among 100 higher end items in the auction, scheduled to take place August 1 at the Muvico Theatre during the week of the National Sports Collectors Convention.

The one of a kind white cap features a black visor with “BB” on the front and Ruth’s name stitched in the leather headband.  It’s one of few surviving artifacts from Ruth’s winter barnstorming excursions.

Other items in the auction include a1915 and 1921 World Series press pins, game worn jerseys from Stan Musial, Roger Maris and Jim Bunning and a jersey attributed to the tragic career of Chicago Bears’ running back Brian Piccolo.

It shouldn’t have to be and it’s nothing new, really.  The remarkable part is that it’s just as much of an issue now—maybe more so—than it was a few years ago.

There are some complex issues, of course.  Topps, for example, can’t physically force Willie Mays to sign the 25 autographs he may have agreed to do.  They can’t follow 50 different players around and force them to sit down and finish the box of 500 the player owes them.  The card companies can’t meet the release dates if they wait for every autograph to arrive when there are more than two dozen products to produce to keep the leagues and collectors happy.

So they go on faith that the signer will come through eventually.  Many times they do.  Sometimes they don’t.  A persuasive agent can help.  Not all agents give a hoot.  Often it’s the big name athletes who can’t be bothered.  Sometimes it’s an average player but either way the collector is left with an empty mailbox.

However, it seems like there’s too much ‘hoping’, too many promises that are being broken and too many unfair substitutions being made.  Some collectors say they're placed on hold for an hour or more when trying to resolve an issue.  Despite admissions of guilt at industry gatherings, it doesn’t seem to get any better. Maybe the problem is being addressed.  They all claim to be constantly working at it but enough time has passed that a solution that’s more palatable should have been uncovered long ago.

“Redemptions suck,” said Adam Martin of Dave & Adam’s Card World awhile ago.  Collectors would agree with that straightforward assessment.

Since sports card boxes have become glorified scratch-off lottery tickets in many cases, it seems like a fair comparison.  How would this play out in that business?   A customer buys a $2 scratcher at a gas station.  He scratches off three of the same symbols, which according to the lottery advertising campaign, means he’s won $250.  He goes back to the store to turn in his ticket in exchange for the cash and the conversation goes like this:

Customer:  “Yes, I have a winning ticket.  Can I have my $250?”

Clerk:  “No, I’m sorry.  We have to wait until the government prints more hundred dollar bills.”

Customer: “Well…how long will that be?”

Clerk:  “I don’t know.  It might be a month.  Maybe two.  Could be longer.  But what I can give you right now is this really nice, crisp $50 bill.”

How long would it take for protests to start forming outside the lottery office and TV news crews to show up?

It’s pretty clear some companies have lost customers over the whole redemption issue.  Shop owners who sell the packs aren’t happy either.  It reflects poorly on them, especially when the ‘winner’ is a new collector or an inexperienced one who doesn’t know how long this nonsense has been going on and can’t believe the card company doesn’t behave like an actual business that takes customer service seriously.

As Rich Klein wrote less than 24 hours ago, if you’re not making customer service your top priority right now, you’re screwed.   There are too many forums.  Too many websites.  Too many bloggers.  You Tube.  Facebook.  Twitter.  There’s nowhere to hide anymore…and too many customers to lose in a very short time frame who won’t come back.  They don’t want excuses.  They want their stuff.

So how do you fix it?  First of all, redemption cards should have a definitive and respected drop dead date.  Either you deliver the card in six months or you turn over an item that’s unquestionably worth more and you do it quickly and with a smile.  Make those records public.  It seems like collectors simply demand autographs so I don’t know that simply putting fewer signatures in packs would work.

How about if the unfulfilled redemption is exchanged for an autographed picture?  Can’t get the Hall of Famer to sign his card?  That means the collector gets an autographed photo of a Hall of Famer—that one or someone else.  Those photos are everywhere.  They’re often cheap in bulk, at least for living players or borderline guys.  Yes, it’s going to cost more money, but the expenditure will be worth it in public relations.   The redemption was for an everyday player?  You get a signed photo of an active or retired major leaguer.

Card companies know how to do ‘buy backs’.  Maybe it’s time to have some nice vintage cards in reserve.  I’m sure there are a dozen or more dealers who would be glad to offer companies a nice discount on, say, $50,000 worth of Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, Nolan Ryan, Jim Brown, Roger Staubach or other stars.  I have a hard time believing too many collectors would be upset with that trade.  Heck, it might increase business.

Maybe more redemption cards featuring vintage programs and scorecards, original photographs or game used balls.  Create various levels of memorabilia and I can’t picture the average cost being any more than what they’re paying for autographs now.  I doubt collectors would mind paying the postage on larger items.

Surely, the margins can’t be that tight and if the player whose autographs you didn’t get never comes through, I should hope the card company isn’t out what they agreed to pay him.  Contracts are contracts, after all, aren’t they?

Maybe it’s time to ‘out’ the players who take more than a year to sign.  So that player gets mad and won’t sign anymore.  So what.  Who needs him?  If he doesn’t need easy money and doesn’t care about his fans, I sure don’t.

Companies that develop a track record for fewest redemption cards—or better yet, none—are going to get a huge leg up here if this continues.   I see them advertise that fact and I have to be honest.  If I were someone who bought dozens of boxes per year, it would be a factor in my buying decisions.

Can you sell the redemption and not worry about it?  I suppose.  But if you’re a true collector, don’t you want the autograph?

Collectors, though, sort of created this monster when they began demanding autographed cards.  The hobby jumped the shark years ago.  Somehow, many products have no “value” if they don’t have autographs in them.  Maybe Panini had the right idea with National Treasures Baseball.  The relic cards of long ago Hall of Famers were a smash hit and as much as I hate seeing history cut up, there should be a way to avoid that and still produce some sought after exclusive relics.

Maybe none of the above has any merit whatsoever but to someone on the outside, what happens in the hobby has to seem completely outrageous.  Too much bait and switch or bait and wait is a recipe for long-term corporate disaster.

Topps has released product information for hobby-exclusive 2013 Bowman Sterling football, a high end release scheduled to land safely on store shelves in the middle of the upcoming season.

For buyers looking for a brand with NFL rookies, 2013 Bowman Sterling has several in its arsenal. Its 32-point chrome base set features 80 rookie cards and 20 veterans for a total of 100 base cards. Every base card in this set has six different parallels.

Every hobby box of 2013 Bowman Sterling will house six packs. Each pack will contain five cards. All packs will provide three base cards, one Auto Rookie or Veteran card, and one Jumbo Rookie or Veteran Relic card. Robert Griffin III, DeAndre Hopkins, Eddie Lacy, Geno Smith, Manti Te’o and Montee Ball are just a few autos available in this product.

Buyers of hobby boxes will receive:

• 4 Rookie or Veteran Autograph cards
• 1 Rookie Autograph Relic Card
• 1 Rookie Autograph Patch Card
• 5 Rookie or Veteran Jumbo Relic Cards
• 1 Rookie or Veteran Jumbo Patch Card
• 1 Sterling Jumbo Rookie Patch Box Topper

Every eight-box case will include 1 Prism Refractor Dual Autographed Dual Relic Card.

The regular autograph checklist will include 80 rookie and veteran players. Auto Refractor parallels include Blue (#’d to 99), Black (#’d to 50), Gold (#’d to 25), Prism (#’d to 15). There are also SuperFractor Autographs and Printing Plate Autographs. Both are #’d 1/1.

Sterling’s Autographed Rookie Relic cards include up to 40 players, and are sequentially numbered similarly to the Auto Refractor parallels (with two exceptions). Unlike Sterling’s Auto Refractors, Rookie Relic Cards do not have black parallels. And Gold parallels are #’d to 50, not 25.

This year’s Sterling product also features Multi-Autograph and Autographed Relic Cards. These include:

• Dual Auto Cards:  Up to 10 cards each with 2 autos from different rookie combos (# to 25)
• Triple Auto Cards:  Up to 5 cards each with 2 autos and 2 patches from different rookie combos (#’d to 10)
• Triple Auto Patch Relic Cards:  Up to 5 cards each with 3 autos and 3 patches from different rookie combos (#’d to 5)
• Quad Auto Cards:  Up to 5 book cards each featuring 4 autos from different rookie combos (#’d to 10)
• Quad Auto Patch Relic Cards:  Up to 5 book cards each featuring 6 autos from different rookie combos (#’d to 5)
• Six Auto Cards:  Up to 5 book cards each with 6 autos from different rookie combos (#’d to 10)

• Six Auto Patch Relic Cards:  Up to 5 book cards each with 6 autos and 6 patches from different
  rookie combos (#’d to 5)Also included in Sterling’s stockpile this year are Jumbo Relic Cards (1 relic card per pack; 1 relic patch card per hobby box). Jumbos include up to 40 sequentially #’d rookie relics) and up to 15 sequentially #’d veteran relic cards.

Last, Bowman Sterling will include 1 Box Topper in every hobby box. Box Toppers include Jumbo Rookie Patch Cards and Multiple Rookie Autograph Patch Box Loaders. Each Jumbo Rookie Patch Card features a top NFL rookie with a jumbo-sized patch. Every card has six sequentially #’d parallels. Multiple Rookie Auto Patch Box Loaders have 4 rookies per card, each with an autograph and patch on chrome refractor technology. These cards are sequentially #’d to 10.

2013 Bowman Sterling Football is scheduled to arrive on store shelves in late October.

2013 Bowman Sterling Checklist

I'm among the great group of people who like to celebrate my birthday for as long as possible. One group that enables me to do so is the Birthday Group on the Freedom Card Board message board. A nice young man out of France has run this group since I was at Beckett.   The Birthday Group works like this -- you have to be a member of the board for at least a year and be verified. Once that is done, the club sends out a list of the people you will be sending your gifts to. Each member is to receive three gifts (or in my case two years ago everyone kicked in for the 1982 Donruss box) and the gifts are then opened and the highlights scanned and posted on each month's thread.

Thus for the last few years I have been both receiving and mailing out gifts.  This is my birthday month and it’s off to a fine start with two packages now received. The first package had three regular Bowman packs and a  jumbo pack and out of those four packs I was able to pull a Taijuan Walker autographed card. The second package arrived Monday and this was a full box of 1996 Bowman baseball.  The guy on the front is one-time Mets prospect Paul Wilson (remember when the Mets' cup was supposedly running over with future star pitchers?).

As I was opening this box, I realized that this box was, as it turned out, issued right on what would be the cusp of major changes for the hobby. This is the last of the Bowman sets which were not issued in Chrome fashion. In fact, I still remember when we had to pick up a couple of packs of 1997 Bowman Chrome, my Beckett colleague Grant Sandground and I were wondering what value would come from these packs which had all of four cards for $3. That is correct.  Even in 1997 the Bowman Chrome packs were expensive.

In addition, that rookie class turned out to be… well a bit on the boring side with several long-term major leaguers but probably no rookie who would even garner a Hall of Fame vote. And remember, the autograph cards were just starting to become more popular: 1996 was the year for the Leaf Signature Series (one autograph per pack) and relic cards would not even make their debut until 1997. So, just as some baseball historians would say that "1960, 1968, 1993 etc. was the last ‘pure’ baseball season, I can say some baseball card historians may say that 1996 was the last pure baseball card year.

On top of that, Topps put in these guarantees into their product that if the set was not worth $100 by 1999 they would send you that amount. Well, the 1996 Bowman set probably never saw $100 on any day and I just wonder how many of those guarantees Topps did honor. As for the current value of the box and the set, Steve Hart long-time hobby dealer and specialist in unopened boxes, has the foil boxes for $30 and complete sets for $25. The box contained 24 packs with 11 cards per pack. Each pack has either a parallel :foil" version or an insert card. The best hits in this box turned out to be the Bowman's Best Atomic Refractor Inserts.

So how did we do from our 17-year-old box?

Base Cards: We got 233 of them, however there was a ton of dupes and even some triplicates as I saw three Ryan Dempster Rookies. I'd say maybe 125 different cards

Foil Parallels: 18 of them -- actually got 2 duplicates

Minor League Player of the Year; Karim Garcia, Wes Helms and Jamey Wright (told you it was slim pickings)

Bowman's Best Previews Brooks Kieschnick, Calvin Reese, Ruben Rivera, Larry Walker

Bowman's Best Previews Refractor: Billy Wagner

Bowman's Best Previews Atomic Refractor: Billy Wagner (Yes that is correct, same player in both refractor and atomic refractor version)

And that is all she wrote.

To be honest, for a $30 investment this is not really a bad idea as the cards are reasonably nice.  If you pull the right player in Atomic refractor form you might pay for the whole box and the average cost of a card is only 10-15 cents. And for the memories and, in retrospect, the importance of this (and many other 1996 boxes) one can see how the hobby was about to undergo some seismic changes. When Grant said he thought 75 cents per card for a pack was expensive, well he would be about 10 years away from things like Upper Deck The Cup and Panini National Treasures which would be maybe $100 per card in a pack. In 1996, that future was still a long way ahead of us.

Rich Klein can be reached at Sabrgeek@aol.com

Few players have been as quick as Tony Parker, or won as high a percentage of games, or been able to score inside so well considering his height, or been able to dominate the NBA after learning his basketball skills overseas.   Parker's excellence has once again played a huge role in putting the Spurs within a game of another NBA title.  Collectors haven't always been quick to go after Tony Parker's basketball cards.  He didn't have the hype that college, and at the time high school, players had when drafted.  Not many fans had heard of Centre Federal and Paris Racing, the teams Parker played for in France.  He just sort of plopped down and started his NBA career 11 seasons ago.

The Spurs always know more about international scouting than most of the other NBA teams, and they added Parker with the 28th overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft.  That was the year Kwame Brown went with the top pick.  Pau Gasol was the first international player picked in that draft, and point guards Jamaal Tinsley and Raul Lopez were taken before Parker was.

With plenty of busts going in that draft, the rookies don't have the appeal to collectors that others do.  Parker's rookie cards often have the highest price among his draft class, due to not only his and his team's success but also because he has played with the same team his entire career.  Gasol Andrei Kirilenko, Tyson Chandler and Shane Battier have rookie cards in the same sets that Parker does but none are with the teams that they first played for.  Spurs fans will always want Parker rookie cards, but Lakers fans may not want a card of Gasol from his original NBA team.  Of course, the overriding factor is long-term success.

Tony Parker rookie cards remain very affordable for the most part.   Not only was Parker overlooked during his rookie season by many collectors.  The Fleer Ultra set didn't have his rookie card but this was addressed by inserting Parker's Ultra rookie card in packs of Fleer Focus.

How long has he been around?  Long enough to where autograph cards in packs were still a bit of a rarity.  He has very few signed rookie cards so it's the single, non-signed cards of tougher and more popular brands that draw rookie card collectors.  Most are still pretty reasonable.

Parker's 2001-02 Topps Chrome #155 Refractor has sold recently on eBay for $40 and $60.  His 2001-02 Topps Chrome Black Refractor, numbered to 50, sold for $265.

The Spurs won their first NBA championship with a point guard with limited shooting range, Avery Johnson, and Parker started his career as someone who could be left open on the outside.  What Parker didn't have early in his career that the Spurs needed at point guard was the veteran play that someone like Johnson possessed.  Card collectors sometimes didn't see Parker on the floor at the end of games as the Spurs would use a type of "closer" to replace him, a veteran point guard to bring calm in the halfcourt game like Antonio Daniels.

Parker played in his first NBA All-Star game in 2006, he had four assists and five  turnovers but playing in the game signified his arrival in the upper echelon of NBA guards.  Another turning point in his career was averaging over 20 points per game in the 2005-06 playoffs.

Parker would not only improve many parts of his game but the Spurs would change their roster in a way that allowed Parker to do what he does best, penetrate into the paint and pass for the assist or score.  When Parker arrived in San Antonio they had Tim Duncan and "The Admiral" David Robinson and they built the team around them.  The Spurs dominated inside and the offense was pass the ball into the post, and if defenses collapsed, then send it back out for the open jumper.  The Spurs would use outside shooters at power forward, like Robert Horry and Matt Bonner, after Robinson retired and that created more space and driving lanes for Parker to exploit.

Something that raised Parker’s profile was his marriage to Eva Longoria, star of the television show  Desperate Housewives.  Parker went from being an NBA player to a Hollywood celebrity, and when the basketball season was over he was still headline news as he attended the awards shows and other events.

Parker has some worldwide appeal, which could help raise his collector profile, especially with another title.  Maybe he will finish his career playing against Team USA for the gold medal at an Olympic Games or FIBA World Championship.

Another event that could have collectors looking for Parker's cards is if he can win an MVP award.  Before an injury caused him to miss games in the middle of the 2012-13 season, Parker was being talked about as a contender for the award, behind LeBron James but possibly ahead of Kevin Durant.  Parker's most expensive card from recent sales is one that he shares with James, an autographed card from Exquisite that went for Best Offer Accepted, possibly around $1,000.

When Parker signs, it's usually just his last name and jersey number.

Parker seems like a lock to wind up in the Basketball Hall of Fame.  Two recently inducted guards who had similar careers to Parker are Joe Dumars and Dennis Johnson.  Like Parker, they have multiple championships and a Finals MVP award.  Parker has passed Dumars for career assists and will pass Johnson next season.  Parker’s scoring average for his career is also higher than Joe D and DJ.

Currently there are two types of Parker cards that collectors are spending a lot on, cards that feature him along with Duncan and/or Ginobili with autographs or memorabilia, and the 2012-13 Panini Preferred Silhouettes Prime Patch cards.  Limited to 25 cards, the Silhouettes have a distinctive piece of memorabilia, like a multi-colored piece of the team name from the jersey, with Parker's autograph on the card as well.  One recently sold on eBay for $383.88.  An Upper Deck Premier Triple Patch, numbered to 5, sold for $209.70 with patches of memorabilia from Parker,  Duncan and  Ginobili.

He won NBA titles in 2003, 2005 and 2007, and was the NBA Finals MVP in 2007.  He has appeared in five NBA All-Star games.  His teams have never missed the playoffs.  Whether Parker's basketball cards will eventually reflect everything he brings to the court could turn this week as the Spurs try to lock down another title.

Best Match Items Ending First Newly-Listed Items First Price + Shipping: Lowest First Price + Shipping: Highest First

2001 2002 TONY PARKER TOPPS CHROME RC SPURS MVP NBA FINALS SP HOT $1.99 Time Remaining: 20h 52m Buy It Now for only: $9.95

2001 2002 TONY PARKER FLEER AUTHENTIX RARE RC ROOKIE TICKET ED 1250 SP SPURS $4.95 Time Remaining: 20h 52m Buy It Now for only: $14.95

2001 02 Upper Deck STAR ROOKIE Tony Parker 185 $11.50 Time Remaining: 2d 14h 24m Buy It Now for only: $11.50

2001 Topps Chrome 155 Tony Parker RC Rookie Spurs Refractor $1.25 (2 Bids) Time Remaining: 3d 21h 24m

Tony Parker 2001 02 Topps Xpectations 127 Rookie San Antonio Spurs Mint Rookie $5.40 Time Remaining: 18d 18h 1m Buy It Now for only: $5.40

1981 Topps PITTSBURGH PIRATES Team Set PARKER STARGELL Rookie TONY PENA + MINT $6.99 Time Remaining: 25d 12h 5m Buy It Now for only: $6.99

In today’s world, really exceptional customer service is the way to go to ensure long-term customer satisfaction. In fact, when I began training for my current job, it was noted to us at least twice that many of us (including me) were selected because we have really good phone skills and that we have the ability to communicate complex ideas.

I wrote last week about a local restaurant that fell short of expectations and then abruptly closed.  I was actually across the street from that location yesterday and can tell you there was a big sign on the door confirming it. If you remember, my biggest issues were that we had to wait what seemed to be at least 40 minutes for our check and during the two hours we were there, no manager ever walked the floor to check on how everyone was doing.  They left us with a token freebie or two and a mild apology.

To get the response we should have gotten in the first place it actually took eight posts on Facebook as well as a series of emails back and forth to the owner whose email was provided to me by the person who monitors Hoffbrau Steaks’ Facebook page.  This was the first response: "I did get your email, and have not had a chance to respond. All I can do is apologize. We are very sad to have had to close that location. We gave it all we had, but just did not do enough volume to keep it going and I am sorry about your negative experience of Saturday night. We wish you well.”

Now do note, there is a location within driving or train distance from my house and a really savvy customer-service oriented owner would have said something like “How about if you ever venture downtown, stop in and have a meal on us?”   It took an email back from me to remind her of that.  If I never showed up, they weren’t out anything.

This was the response to my email about explaining that:

“Rich, Normally I would have offered you a complimentary dinner to make up for your negative experience, but since you had indicated you ‘now had a useless appetizer / dessert gift card’, I was under the impression you wouldn't be willing to travel to our Dallas West End location.  Our mission at Hoffbrau Steaks is that everyone has Steaks 'n Smiles, which would include you. If you would like to give us a try again, I would happily send you a voucher for a dinner for 2 on us, which could certainly be redeemed at the Dallas West End location.  Please send me your mailing address and I'll drop it in the mail.”

If and when the vouchers arrive, we will consider the matter closed and we may even take them up on the offer. However, this whole experience is a good reminder to always do your best to make sure everyone is satisfied as you never know who will post on Facebook, write a review or post on a blog.  Just remember, this is 2013 and the world has changed from even just 15 or 20 years ago.

Putting your best foot forward right out of the gate is vital and that’s a great lesson for card shop owners and show promoters.  Plenty of businesses are responsive to customers and if you don’t work hard to earn business, those people will take it from you.

Fortunately, I do have a few really good customer stories to tell in comparison.

First, one thing I strive for now that I'm back doing a show each month is to work with my regular customers. I really like helping my regulars get the cards they need at a fair price. Here is an example of helping a collector that I did recently.

One of my regulars is a real nice man who owns several Jersey Mike's in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and is an avid Reds collector. A few months ago, I sold him a 1968 Topps Lee May (which is a brutally tough card) at full book although the card was ex at best. We agreed that was a fair transaction and he still spends and visits me every show.

This month when he came by, I told him I had a better 1968 Topps Lee May for him. We finally found the card, he agreed with me and I told him to return the other card the next time he saw me. I had gotten the Lee May in a "grab-box" in a Sterling Sports Auction lot (I should mention that Lee Behrens is the fastest shipper I know. My check cleared on a Tuesday and the package was at my door on Thursday). Anyway, yes at some point I could have sold the better condition card but should not my steady customer get the better copy?

The Texas Rangers AA team, the Frisco Rough Riders is based nearby.  In April, they were supposed to play the AAA Round Rock team in an exhibition. The day was a bit dreary but  I headed to Frisco to go to the game.  I didn’t realize it but since the weather was not guaranteed, the Rangers had canceled the game.  Thus I showed up to an empty ballpark. A nice young man named Mr. Silver saw me walking around and understood my frustration.  We chatted and he made note of what had happened.

A few weeks later I spoke to a very nice Frisco team rep named Ross Lansford.  He had the complete information in his notes, and asked me to mail back my tickets for the game and within a day I had the new tickets emailed to me. In addition, although we love our seats which are on the aisle and 17 rows up, they were nice enough to move our seats to 3rd row aisle.  We could almost hear the conversation on the field and got the extra bonus of seeing long-time Texas Ranger Ian Kinsler in a rehab assignment. Just a nice gesture by my ticket rep and I will also say that the Rough Riders pride themselves and rightly so on great customer service.

The final case of really good customer service came from my visit to Nick's Sports Cards this weekend. Nick and Debbie Redwine have been in the same location for 24 years. I walked in over the weekend because I had some gift cards I wanted to use and knew Nick had the Archives vintage card redemptions which I hoped he would redeem for me.

It did take Nick a minute to recognize me but when he did he said, “You know I keep up with you a bit from your column.”

Think about that for a minute.  He made an immediate connection by saying he knew me and plus he added a little boost to my ego!  Trust me, every writer likes knowing they are being read.

I should mention, by the way, that there were at least 15 people in the store when I came in and Nick's store is also extremely user-friendly. One can touch many cards (they are in holders) and there is a lot of eye candy to view in showcases and behind the counters as well.  Nick’s store is well organized.  A few minutes later we figured out how much I had in gift cards and he took care of my redemption.  I bought a box, he let me keep the change and left by saying “Please stop by more often, you do know a few things about sports cards and it's always good to get your perspective."

In the few minutes I was in his store, he made the emotional connection with me, made the sale and made me feel good as I left.  You don't stay more than 24 years in the same location without those people skills.  I forgot to ask about Debbie but she is doing well also. And Nick assured me he is about to sign another long-term lease so his local customers will continue to enjoy being treated right.

So, if you are a store owner, weekend dealer or show promoter,  do you want to be like Hoffbrau or be like Nick’s?  I would wager that we’d all choose Nick's every time.

Rich Klein can be reached at Sabrgeek@aol.com