• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Get Sports Collectors Daily via EMail
    • Advertise with SC Daily
    • Write for Sports Collectors Daily
    • Write About Your Sports Collection
    • Where Can I Sell My Baseball Cards?
  • Hot on eBay
    • Most Watched Graded Rookies
    • Most Watched PSA 10 Cards
    • Most Watched BGS, BVG Cards
    • Most Watched SGC Cards
    • Most Watched CSG,CGC Cards
    • Most Watched Baseball Cards
      • Most Watched 2023 Baseball Cards
      • Most Watched 2022 Baseball Rookie Cards
      • Bowman Chrome Cards
      • Ronald Acuna Jr. Cards
      • Shohei Ohtani Cards
      • Mike Trout Cards
      • Fernando Tatis Jr. Cards
      • Babe Ruth Cards
      • Hank Aaron Cards
      • Jackie Robinson Cards:
      • Mickey Mantle Cards
      • Willie Mays Cards
      • Vintage Baseball Card Sets
      • T206 Cards
    • Most Watched Basketball
      • Top 100 Most Watched Basketball Rookie Cards
      • 100 Hottest 2022-23 NBA Rookie Cards
      • Victor Wembanyama Cards
      • Michael Jordan Cards
      • Kobe Bryant Cards
      • LeBron James Rookie Cards
      • Nikola Jokic Rookie Cards
      • Giannis Antetokounmpo Cards
      • Luka Doncic Rookie Cards
      • Prizm Basketball Cards
      • Panini National Treasures
    • Most Watched Football Cards
      • Most Watched NFL Rookie Cards
      • 2023 NFL Rookie Cards
        • CJ Stroud Cards
      • 2022 NFL Rookie Cards
        • Brock Purdy Rookie Cards
      • 2021 NFL Rookie Cards
      • 2020 NFL Rookie Cards
        • Joe Burrow Rookie Cards
        • Justin Herbert Rookie Cards
        • Jalen Hurts Rookie Cards
      • Josh Allen Rookie Cards
      • Patrick Mahomes Rookie Cards
      • Tom Brady Cards
    • Most Watched Hockey Cards
      • Top 100 Most Watched Hockey Rookie Cards
      • Most Watched 2021-22 NHL Rookie Cards
      • Most Watched 2020-21 Rookie Cards
      • Most Watched 2019-20 Rookie Cards
      • Connor McDavid Cards
      • Wayne Gretzky Cards
      • Bobby Orr Cards
    • Most Watched Soccer Cards
    • Most Watched UFC Cards
    • Most Watched Golf Cards
    • Most Watched 1 of 1 Cards
    • Most Watched Topps SuperFractors
    • Most Watched Racing Cards
    • Top Sports Card Dealers on eBay
    • Most Watched Memorabilia
      • Vintage Sports Memorabilia
      • Vintage Sports Tickets, Stubs
      • Most Watched Autographs
  • Ending Soon on Ebay
    • Baseball Cards
    • Basketball Cards
    • Football Cards
    • Hockey Cards
    • Soccer Cards
    • Golf Cards
    • UFC Cards
  • Top - Ad

Sports Collectors Daily

Sports Collectors Daily

Sports collecting news - Sports cards and sports memorabilia industry news.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.com.

  • Sports Memorabilia News
  • Sports Card News
    • Modern Sports Card News
      • New Sports Card Release Calendar
      • Shop Talk
    • Vintage Sports Card News
      • Affordable Vintage Cards, Collectibles
      • Old Baseball Card Sets
      • Old Basketball Card Sets
      • Old Football Card Sets
      • Old Hockey Card Sets
      • Vintage Pack Facts
  • Business/Industry News
    • Sports Memorabilia Business News
    • Sports Memorabilia Industry News
  • Around The Hobby
    • Editor’s Blog
    • David Cycleback’s Identification and Authentication Advice
  • Popular Stories
  • Sell Your Cards
You are here: Home / Around the Hobby / Dedicated Collector Travels Nearly 10,000 Miles to NSCC

Dedicated Collector Travels Nearly 10,000 Miles to NSCC

August 4, 2014 By Rich Mueller

Unless there was a collector from another planet roaming the halls of the IX Center in Cleveland last week (and come to think of it, wouldn’t that make a great story), the award for longest journey to the National Sports Collectors Convention goes to Vince Bellier.

He wins it every year.

An advanced collector, Bellier hails from Melbourne, Australia.  The National is his winter time getaway.

Collector Vince Bellier
Vince Bellier of Melbourne, Australia, at the 2014 National Sports Collectors Convention.

“Normally we stop off in L.A. and stay there for a couple of days,” Bellier told Sports Collectors Daily as he arrived for a day of buying and meeting old hobby friends.  “This time I went straight through so it took 30 hours including layover.”

After all that time on planes and in airports, it might seem a little stifling to spend three or four days walking in the concrete jungle that is a giant convention center, but Bellier makes a vacation out of it.  He played a little golf at Jack Nicklaus’ Muirfield Village course near Columbus on Friday.  Back in Australia, he’s in the home building business.

“I met my wife, who is Australian, in Montreal and then in 1999, we decided to go to Australia for a couple of years and fifteen years later we’re still there.”

He collects a variety of high-grade, vintage sports cards including hockey, rookie cards of Pro Football Hall of Famers and certain pre-War baseball cards.  He planned to spend six or seven hours at the show over two days, conducting business with PSA and chatting with dealers and auction houses he deals with the remainder of the year while building his collection.  His biggest accomplishment to date is constructing a complete 1951-52 Parkhurst hockey set.

cards. Knowing that I did Hall of Fame rookies and I’ve got the Unitas and the Starr, now I’m going to have to do the set. He got me now. So, that will be my next little challenge, the ’57 Topps football set.”

While there is a fairly sizeable audience of Australian sports fans that collects North American cards, especially basketball, building a collection while living almost 10,000 miles from Cleveland isn’t always easy.

“Shipping costs are always the biggest challenge,” Bellier lamented.  “But, you know, over the years I’ve built relationships with some dealers I trust. And eBay has helped.  eBay is probably why I started. But, in the end, eBay has become more of a here and there. I probably buy less than 10% of what I used to buy, maybe 5% of what I used to buy. The auction houses have sort of picked that up. Then, you do a lot of private transactions.”

Brian Dwyer REA Auctions Vince Bellier
Vince Bellier talks with Brian Dwyer of Robert Edward Auctions (L) at the Joe’s Vintage Sports Cards booth inside the NSCC in Cleveland.

Bellier buys from several auctioneers who specialize in the vintage, graded material he likes including Robert Edward Auctions, Bill Goodwin and Memory Lane’s J.P. Cohen.

“J.P. and I go back,” Bellier said. “He helped me get quite a few pretty incredible cards.  He seems to be able to get pretty much anything.  Then, there’s a bunch of other guys here, there and everywhere.  Good guys in the hobby that have helped me. There are so many shows over here.   I wish I could come over more often, go to them and meet a few more people but instead I have to go about it slowly but surely.  It’s a lot of personal connections and friends and some guys know what I’m looking for. If they find it, they’ll give me a call, or send me an email, and I do it that way.”

Taxes can also pose a problem and Bellier keeps an eye on the exchange rate.

“When I started collecting, the Aussie dollars were 70 cents U.S., so if I’d buy a card for $100, I had to pay $150. That kept me disciplined but now the exchange rate’s pretty close to par so I almost feel like   I’m getting a discount.”

Bellier will leave summer behind this week and get back to his job in his adopted home country while making plans to return to the U.S. when the 2015 National opens in Chicago.

“It’s turned out to be more than a hobby.  There’s a lot of friendships now.  I’d probably come over even if there wasn’t a show.”

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • Facebook Messenger

Related Stories:

REA’s Fall Auction on Fox Business News Daniel Alexander and Chris CarlinYoung Cancer Survivor Presented with His Own Baseball Card Baltimore News Ruth, T206 Wagner Up For Sale Babe Ruth bat 1932 PSA 10Ruth Exhibit, Top Rated 1964 Topps Set on Display at Expo

About Rich Mueller

Rich is the editor and founder of Sports Collectors Daily. A broadcaster and writer for over 40 years and a collector for even longer than that, he's usually typing something somewhere. Type him back at [email protected].

Filed Under: Around the Hobby, National Sports Collectors Convention, Popular Stories Tagged With: Australia, memory lane, national sports collectors convention, Robert Edward Auctions, sports collectors

Primary Sidebar

Our articles may contain affiliate links. When you click on links to merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network. 

Shop Sports Cards on Ebay
  • Football
  • Basketball
  • Baseball
  • Hockey

High End Cards and Memorabilia

  • BBCE Authenticated Boxes, Packs opens in a new window
  • Graded pre-War Card eBay Auctions
  • PWCC Premier Auction
  • PWCC Fixed Price Marketplace
  • Graded Rookie Cards on eBay opens in a new window
  • Authenticated Photos on eBay opens in a new window
  • Graded Tickets & Stubs opens in a new window

Bargain Corner

  • Michael Jordan cards $5 and less opens in a new window
  • Kobe Bryant cards $5 and less opens in a new window
  • Mickey Mantle Cards Under $150 opens in a new window
  • Graded T206 Cards Under $150 opens in a new window
  • Pre-War Cards Under $100 opens in a new window
  • Pre-1980 Graded Baseball Cards $10 and Less opens in a new window
  • Pre-1980 Graded Football Cards $10 and Less opens in a new window
  • Vintage Graded Basketball Cards $25 and less opens in a new window
  • Vintage Graded Hockey Cards $10 and Less opens in a new window
  • Complete Sets $20 and Less opens in a new window
  • Baseball Hall of Famers for $5 or Less opens in a new window
  • Football Hall of Famers for $5 or Less opens in a new window
  • Hobby Boxes Under $30 opens in a new window
  • Pre-1986 Rookie Cards Under $1 opens in a new window
  • Buy Boxes Directly from Topps opens in a new window

RSS Auction Report

  • Goldin Sells Namath Rookie Original Photo For Record Price
  • PWCC Marketplace T206 Cycle 350/460 Auction Ends December 19, 2023
  • Love of the Game Accepting Consignment For Next Auction

Footer

Categories

  • Around the Hobby
  • Business/Industry News
    • Sports Memorabilia Business News
    • Sports Memorabilia Industry News
  • David Cycleback's Identification and Authentication Advice
  • Editor's Blog
  • Featured Articles
  • Hobby Shop Talk
  • National Sports Collectors Convention
  • Popular Stories
  • Rich Klein's Ramblings
  • Sports Card News
    • Modern Sports Card News
      • New Sports Card Release Calendar
    • Vintage Sports Card News
      • Old Baseball Card Sets
      • Old Basketball Card Sets
      • Old Football Card Sets
      • Old Hockey Card Sets
      • Vintage Pack Facts
  • Sports Memorabilia News
  • Uncategorized

Sponsor Links

  • Sports Card Forumopens in a new window
  • Buying Vintage Sports Cardsopens in a new window
  • Championship Rings For Saleopens in a new window
  • Autographed Baseballsopens in a new window
  • Vintage Graded Baseball Cardsopens in a new window
  • Sports Collectors Storeopens in a new window

Pages

Ending on eBay Soon
  • Baseball Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Basketball Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Football Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Hockey Card Auctions Ending Soon on eBay
  • Vintage Sports Memorabilia on eBay Ending Soon
Top 100 on Ebay
  • Top 100 Most Watched Baseball Rookie Cards on eBay
  • Top 100 Most Watched Basketball Rookie Cards for Sale on eBay
  • Top 100 Most Watched Hockey Rookie Card Auctions
  • Top Authenticated Vintage Unopened Sports Card Boxes, Packs on eBay
Most Watched on eBay
  • 100 Most Watched Graded Rookie Cards for Sale on eBay
  • 100 Most Watched Tom Brady Card Auctions on eBay
  • 50 Hottest Hobby Boxes at Auction on eBay
  • 50 Most Watched Golf Trading Cards on eBay
  • 50 Most Watched Wrestling Trading Cards on eBay
  • 75 Most Watched Bowman Chrome Cards
  • Most Popular Bobbleheads on eBay
  • Most Watched 1/1 Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Basketball Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Complete Baseball Card Sets at Auction on eBay
  • Most Watched Football Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Football Rookie Card Auctions
  • Most Watched Goudey Baseball Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Hockey Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Racing Cards on eBay
  • Most Watched Soccer Cards for Sale on eBay
  • Most Watched Sports Autographs on eBay
  • Most Watched Sports Jerseys on eBay
  • Most Watched Unopened Sports Card Boxes, Packs on eBay
  • Most Watched Vintage Sports Memorabilia on eBay
  • Hottest Panini National Treasures Cards on eBay
  • Hottest PSA 10 Cards for Sale on eBay
  • What’s Hot on eBay
Sports Memorabilia
  • Sports Card Bargain Bin
  • Sports Memorabilia Auctions Ending Soon on eBay
About Sports Collectors Daily
  • Advertise with SC Daily
  • Contact Us
  • Get Sports Collectors Daily via EMail
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
Sell Your Cards
  • What’s It Worth
  • Where Can I Sell My Baseball Cards?

Copyright © 2023 SportsCollectorsDaily.com | Web Design by Wickam Groupopens in a new window