A whopper of a transaction went down between two of the hobby’s biggest dealers Thursday.
Baseball Card Exchange has reached an agreement to buy out a massive unopened box and factory set inventory from Burbank Sports Cards in southern California.
According BBCE, the buy includes:
– 22,000 unopened boxes and factory sets (1987-2012)
– 250 factory sealed cases
– 1,800 different items
– Enough material to fill 1 1/2 semi trailers
While many of the boxes from the first few years of the run don’t ave a lot of value, some of the products produced later have dried up and it’s safe to say BBCE will know what to do with the rest. The amount of unopened material is actually more than the company currently has in its own inventory. Known for vintage unopened stock, they also deal heavily in a variety of other markets including more modern wax and sets, autographs and other items.
It took two weeks for BBCE to inventory and price Burbank’s stock. Based in northwest Indiana, they will travel to California next week to work on the logistics of getting the product back to the Midwest.
Burbank is the largest dealer of sports card singles in the hobby, with approximately 42 million cards in stock. Owner Rob Veres tells SC Daily his new expansion project calls for 100,000 single cards in all four major sports to be loaded online per week and unloading this part of his inventory will help make room while allowing Burbank to sharpen its focus even further on that part of the business.
About 2.2 million cards–vintage and modern– are in the company’s eBay store.
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An interesting ‘blast from the past’ type blog post from SB Nation this week about Fleer.
Writer Elena Bergeron spoke with the defunct trading card maker’s former VP of Marketing and Creative Director about what was happening at the company–and the hobby– in the 1990s.
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1986-87 Fleer Box from Missouri Find Offered Box Break Style
Burbank: True Collectors Driving Sales
Business: Burbank Hits 2 Million Cards; Upper Deck Signs Shaq
Card Shop Manager Winds Up on Kris Bryant’s Rookie
Beckett Accelerator Aimed at Helping Sellers Move Singles Easier
Baseball Card Exchange Retail Shop to Open April 12
Baseball Card Exchange Moving to Larger Warehouse; Will Open Retail Store
Volume Business Keeps Burbank Sports Cards Busy
Reed Kasaoka Exits BBCE to Return to Dave & Adam’s
