• 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 Baseball Cards
      • Bowman Chrome Cards
      • Mike Trout Cards
      • Fernando Tatis Jr. Rookie Cards
      • Babe Ruth Cards
      • Hank Aaron Cards
      • Jackie Robinson Cards:
      • Mickey Mantle Cards
      • Willie Mays Cards
      • Vintage Baseball Card Sets
      • T206 Cards
      • Hottest Baseball Hobby Boxes
    • Most Watched Basketball
      • Top 100 Most Watched Basketball Rookie Cards
      • 100 Hottest 2020-21 NBA Rookie Cards
      • 100 Hottest 2019-20 NBA Rookie Cards
        • Zion Williamson Rookie Cards
        • Ja Morant Rookie Cards
      • Prizm Basketball Cards
      • Luka Doncic Rookie Cards
      • LeBron James Rookie Cards
      • Michael Jordan Cards
      • Kobe Bryant Cards
      • NBA Top Shot
      • Panini National Treasures
    • Most Watched Football Cards
      • Most Watched NFL Rookie Cards
      • 2020 NFL Rookie Cards
      • Tom Brady Cards
      • Patrick Mahomes Rookie Cards
    • Most Watched Hockey Cards
      • Top 100 Most Watched Hockey 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 Graded Rookies
    • Most Watched PSA 10 Cards
    • Most Watched 1 of 1 Cards
    • Most Watched Memorabilia
    • Most Watched Racing Cards
    • Most Watched Autographs
  • Ending Soon on Ebay
    • Baseball Cards
    • Basketball Cards
    • Football Cards
    • Hockey Cards
    • Soccer Cards
    • Golf Cards
    • Vintage Sports Memorabilia

Sports Collectors Daily

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

Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you click one and make a purchase, we may receive a commission.  It helps keep us afloat!

  • 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
    • Hobby Shops Selling, Breaking Online During COVID-19
  • Around The Hobby
    • Editor’s Blog
    • David Cycleback’s Identification and Authentication Advice
  • Popular Stories
  • Sell Your Cards
You are here: Home / Hobby Shop Talk / Shop Talk: Vacations, Basketball Busy and Bear Clawed Babe

Shop Talk: Vacations, Basketball Busy and Bear Clawed Babe

March 22, 2021 By Tony Reid

Spring break arrived here in central PA last week and with the shop’s owner on a vacation to the Outer Banks, I was left in charge.  I had help from our buddy Zach for a few hours each morning, which definitely made the week more bearable. He assists in shipping the sometimes ungodly amount of orders we have on a daily basis. His help is always much appreciated. Beyond that, I was pretty much on my own all week, manning the store out front on the sales floor and in the back handling all shipping and receiving. With sales in store coupled with hundreds of online orders and a relatively large amount of freight coming and going each day, I’m not ashamed to say I was glad to see the week come to an end.

Monday morning, we walked into nearly 400 online orders. We were running around like our hair was on fire from the get go that morning through Saturday afternoon.

It’s abundantly clear that the stimulus checks have started to arrive as we were selling big ticket items all week and many of them to people we’ve rarely, if ever, seen before. In addition to cards and sports memorabilia, we sell RC cars and parts and we sold more cars in store this week than we have in weeks and maybe months prior. Aside from the lead up to the holiday season and the week or so after, we were as busy this week as any I can remember. 

That sentiment also applies to our online sales, as we’ve been selling items that have darn near collected dust in the shop over the past few months.

Topps Inception Baseball released this week to many people’s excitement. We saw one box opened in store and by the next morning the rest of our stock had sold out online.

We sell a hellacious amount of Super 7 and Reaction figures. We have a wide selection of sports and non-sports figures– from the most recent NBA series to heavy metal and everything in between. The new basketball series arrived this week and they are hot. The series includes two LeBron James figures, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant in Brooklyn Nets uniforms, the white hot Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson and others. 

Speaking of basketball, March Madness is in full swing. We are entering the second half of the NBA season and the card market is reflecting that national and international attention on hoops.

2020-21 Donruss Basketball blasters made their way to the shop this week and even at $9 a pack and $77 per blaster, they sold out within 24 hours. We are in the process of getting those restocked but in the meantime we did get some cello boxes and packs for our customers.

Rookie standouts Lamelo Ball and Anthony Edwards Donruss cards are already going for substantial money online. It’ll be interesting to see how Lamelo’s market shakes out now that he’s out for the season.

Saturday ended the week with a bang for us. One of our good customers is a guy I also coached baseball with a few years ago. Of course, baseball cards came up in conversation pretty regularly. He told me years ago (and sporadically since) that his grandfather had stashed away some 1933 Goudeys including a Babe Ruth. The story became a tall tale over the years but in recent weeks Todd had phoned me a number of times about being serious and legitimately wanting to sell the cards.

Earlier in the week he told me he would stop in Saturday to show me the cards. I was so busy I almost forgot by the end of the day that he said he was stopping in. Much to my excitement, he rolled in about 1:00 PM on Saturday afternoon with an envelope and an autograph book that clearly had some age to it.

Todd told me a story of how his grandparents lived in the New York City area and they were big baseball fans. They would travel to Yankee Stadium to see games and potentially get autographs. His grandfather literally carried the 1933 Babe Ruth RC in his pocket and later in his wallet every time he went out to a game in hopes of getting the Bambino’s sweet signature.

That never happened and Todd actually never even met his grandfather but the cards were passed down to Todd’s father years ago. Todd and his father recently had a conversation about selling the cards which they had come to agreement to do so.

It’s such an incredibly cool story from a person I know and trust, so I decided to take a chance and buy the entire lot he brought in to me that day, which included about a small group of Goudeys along with a few other pre-War issues.


The lot included the Babe Ruth which, as Todd had told me the night before, to “imagine the ugliest Babe Ruth card you ever saw and then imagine it being mauled by a bear.” I don’t know if it’s quite that worn out but it might be close.

While it might be the worst authentic Goudey Ruth known to man, for Todd’s asking price, I couldn’t turn it down.

Did I mention a lot also included the 1948-49 Leaf Babe Ruth card? Well, it did. Again, all the cards were ungraded and in pretty rough shape but they came with a great story, so I took the chance.

Todd came to me because we’ve developed quite a relationship over the years. We’ve become friends and we trust each other and he knows the cards will go to a good home. Regardless of condition, these cards are more of a piece of history and a work of art than they are baseball cards or mere old, smelly cardboard.

To have those cards in my hand and in my possession is great, but to have developed a relationship with a friend who trusted me with his family’s generational baseball card collection is even more special.

Thank you as always for allowing me to open the doors to our shop through this piece. I will check in again next week.

 

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • Facebook Messenger

Related Stories:

Lou Boudreau 1948 Leaf5 Underrated 1948 Leaf Baseball Cards Satchel Paige 1948 LeafSatchel Paige Rookie Card Cracks Six Figures at MHCC Auction The Underappreciated 1949 Leaf Premiums Set Minnesota Priest’s Cards Bring Strong Prices in Charity Auction Shop Talk: Weekly Highlights and Happenings at My LCS (1/18/21) Shop Talk: Price Barrier Concerns, Restocks and a Young Vintage Card Fan Shop Talk: Remembering a Friend Shop Talk: Cold Fronts and Hoops Heat Shop Talk: Supply and Demand Remains a Challenge for Hobby Shops Shop Talk: Red Hot Releases and Road Trip Interviews
Avatar

About Tony Reid

From the time he was a little kid, Tony has been a huge sports fan. If he could play sports, watch sports and talk about sports it was a great day. From as early as he was drawn to sports, Tony was drawn to collecting sports cards. Not much has changed over the years. He collects RCs of star players in baseball, basketball and football. He also has a soft spot for first autographs of MMA stars. If you want to talk to Tony about the greatness of Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson or Ken Griffey, Jr. you can reach him at @reidrattlecage on all social media platforms.

Filed Under: Hobby Shop Talk Tagged With: 1933 Goudey set, 1948 Leaf, 1949 Leaf, Shop Talk

Our articles may contain affiliate links. When you click one and make a purchase, we receive a commission.  The revenue is what helps keep SC Daily afloat!

  • Football
  • Basketball
  • Baseball
  • Hockey

High End Cards and Memorabilia

  • BBCE Authenticated Boxes, Packs
  • Graded Rookie Cards
  • Authenticated Photos
  • Graded Tickets & Stubs

Bargain Corner

  • Michael Jordan cards $5 and less
  • Kobe Bryant cards $5 and less
  • Mickey Mantle Cards Under $150
  • Graded T206 Cards Under $150
  • Pre-1980 Graded Baseball Cards $10 and Less
  • Pre-1985 Graded Football Cards $5 and Less
  • Vintage Graded Basketball Cards $10 and less
  • Vintage Graded Hockey Cards $10 and Less
  • Complete Sets Under $10
  • Baseball Hall of Famers for $5 or Less
  • Football Hall of Famers for $5 or Less
  • Hobby Boxes Under $30
  • Pre-1986 Rookie Cards Under $1

RSS Auction Report

  • RR Auction Presents Space and Aviation Auction Ending April 22, 2021
  • Steve Novella Offers 100+ PSA Graded Baseball and Basketball Card Auctions Ending April 20, 2021
  • Record $1.3 Million Auction. Historic Masters Victory


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
  • 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

Sponsor Links

  • Sports Card Forum
  • Buying Vintage Sports Cards
  • Game Used Jerseys
  • 1952 Topps Baseball
  • Championship Rings For Sale
  • Vintage Basketball Cards
  • NBA Signed Items
  • Signed Sports Memorabilia
  • UFC Memorabilia
  • Autographed Baseballs
  • NASCAR Autographs
  • Vintage Graded Baseball Cards
  • Player Pictures
  • Vintage Football Cards
  • Sports Card Boxes
  • Sports Collectors Store

Pages

  • 10 Hottest Kareem Hunt Rookie Cards
  • 100 Hottest 2019-20 NBA Rookie Cards
  • 100 Hottest UFC Trading Cards
  • 100 Most Watched Graded Rookie Cards for Sale on eBay
  • 100 Most Watched Tom Brady Card Auctions on eBay
  • 20 Hottest Barry Sanders Football Cards
  • 2016 Cubs Replica Championship Rings Don’t Cost a Fortune
  • 2017 Topps Definitive Collection Box Breaks, Most Watched
  • 2019 Toronto Raptors NBA Championship Memorabilia Guide
  • 2019 US Women’s World Cup Apparel, Merchandise, Memorabilia Guide
  • 50 Hottest Baseball Hobby Boxes at Auction on eBay
  • 50 Most Watched Golf Trading Cards on eBay
  • 50 Most Watched Kevin Durant Auctions on eBay
  • 50 Most Watched Wrestling Trading Cards on eBay
  • 75 Most Watched Bowman Chrome Cards
  • 8 Types of Kobe Bryant Collectibles to Remember Him By
  • Aaron Judge Game Used Memorabilia Inventory Growing
  • About Us/Contact/Advertise
    • Advertise with SC Daily
    • Contact Us
    • Get Sports Collectors Daily via EMail
  • Affordable Vintage Sports Cards and Collectibles
  • Barnebys Sports Memorabilia Auctions
  • Baseball Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Basketball Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Best Derek Jeter Baseball Cards on eBay
  • Best Display Cabinets for Sports Memorabilia
  • Best Joey Votto Rookie Cards
  • Best Pascal Siakam Rookie Cards
  • Chiefs Super Bowl Champs Memorabilia Hits the Market
  • Current Most Watched Baseball Cards on eBay
  • Dale Murphy Rookie Card Remains Popular, Affordable
  • Eagles Super Bowl Champions Memorabilia Guide
  • Fanatics Under Wraps 2017 Next Level Edition Autographed Baseballs
  • Football Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon
  • Frank Gore Rookie Cards Get No Respect
  • Gardner Minshew Rookie Cards Heat Up as Fun-Loving Rookie Shows His Ability
  • Great Gifts for Cubs Fans
  • Guide to 2018-19 Clemson Tigers National Championship Memorabilia
  • Guide to Houston Astros Championship Memorabilia
  • Guide to LSU National Championship Merchandise, Memorabilia
  • Guide to Nationals World Series Champs Memorabilia, Merchandise
  • Guide to St. Louis Blues Stanley Cup Champions Merchandise, Memorabilia
  • Guide to Vegas Golden Knights Stanley Cup Memorabilia
  • Hank Aaron Cards on eBay
  • Henrik Lundqvist Rookie Cards a Strong Long-Term Play
  • Hockey Card Auctions Ending Soon on eBay
  • Hottest 2019 Baseball Rookie Cards
  • Hottest 2019 NFL Rookie Cards on eBay
  • Hottest Chicago Bulls Memorabilia Auctions on eBay
  • Hottest Devin Booker Rookie Cards as Suns Star Piles Up Points
  • Hottest Kyle Lewis Rookie Cards on eBay
  • Hottest Lonzo Ball Rookie Cards on eBay
  • Hottest Panini National Treasures Cards on eBay
  • Hottest Panini World Cup Stickers on eBay
  • Hottest Pokémon Card Auctions on eBay
  • Hottest PSA 10 Cards for Sale on eBay
  • Hottest Topps Living Set Auctions on eBay
  • Hottest Topps NOW Cards on eBay
  • Hottest Xander Bogaerts Rookie Cards
  • LeBron James Lakers Jerseys Already Available
  • Links
  • Mickey Mantle Cards on eBay
  • Most Popular Bobbleheads on eBay
  • Most Popular Mark McGwire Rookie Card Auctions 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 Kobe Bryant Basketball Card Auctions 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 Topps Project 2020 Auctions on eBay
  • Most Watched Unopened Sports Card Boxes, Packs on eBay
  • Most Watched Vintage Sports Memorabilia on eBay
  • Nick Bosa Rookie Cards Getting Collectors’ Attention
  • Patriots Super Bowl 51 Champions Merchandise
  • Ryne Sandberg Rookie Cards, Minor League Issues Still Collector Favorites
  • Selling Sports Cards on eBay for Cash
  • Soccer Card Auctions Ending Soon on eBay
  • Sports Card Bargain Bin
  • Sports Memorabilia Auctions Ending Soon on eBay
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Test
  • The 2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Kris Bryant Auto Saga: A Timeline
  • Tony Gwynn Rookie Cards Recall “The Best Hitter Since Ted”
  • 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
  • Top Selling Patriots Super Bowl Championship Items
  • Upper Deck Authenticated Autographs Remain Popular, Accessible
  • Vintage Sports Memorabilia on eBay Ending Soon
  • Wade Boggs Rookie Cards Still a Collector Favorite
  • Wayne Gretzky Cards
  • What’s Hot on eBay
  • What’s It Worth
  • Where Can I Sell My Baseball Cards?
  • Where to Buy the Anthony Fauci Topps Baseball Card
  • Write About Your Sports Collection
  • Write for Sports Collectors Daily

Copyright © 2021 SportsCollectorsDaily.com | Genesis Web Design by Wickam Group