"Buying trips" have been a way of life for some dealers as far back as the 1970s and 80s where shoeboxes full of sports cards were carried into conference rooms at hotels across North America. Dealers built their show inventory by advertising their presence in local newspapers and on radio. Closets and attics emptied, dealers forked over a few bucks and … [Read more...]
Top Banner 486X60
What’s Hot: Big Deals and Hot Cardboard
I'm sitting here at Casa De Fruitman just chilling out after sadly watching the Nuggets lose to the Jazz on the road. While winter may keep us all inside a little more, that means there is often some closet-cleaning going on and more proof that card shops aren’t just about new products. It was an interesting day at the shop as I shipped off my first pallet of cards … [Read more...]
Collectable Raises Over $500,000 for New Sports Collectible Marketplace
Collectable, a Boston-based technology company that brings together historical and real-time pricing data from sports memorabilia auctions, has acquired seed funding to launch a new peer-to-peer marketplace. Seed-round investors include Evan Mathis, a former Super Bowl champion NFL player and avid collector, Jason Epstein, co-founder of CastleRock REO, and Larry Richmond, … [Read more...]
8 Collecting Tips To Help You Avoid Being Ripped Off
Other than losing a collection of cards or having a prized collection stolen, it may be a collector's worst nightmare. Each year, collectors are duped over and over by purchasing fake or altered cards. With improved printing capabilities and other technologies, it is easier than ever to create authentic-looking forged and altered vintage cards. While no 100% foolproof … [Read more...]
Creative Ways to Sell Modern Era Cards
A few months ago, I went to a painting class for a friend's birthday. There were about 20 of us lined up with paint and a canvas. The mission: To paint the perfect tree. I'm creative enough of a guy and have all the tools everyone else does, so I figured I'd bang out the greatest painting in all the land. I was wrong. I ended up painting my … [Read more...]
Buying Sports Cards on Amazon: Finding What You Need
You might think of them as a place to buy books, music or maybe a gift for your Aunt Jane but some collectors have discovered that buying sports cards on Amazon (and other sports memorabilia) is a viable option with some benefits. Some of the biggest sports card dealers in North America have their inventory on the website, but so do thousands of other sports memorabilia … [Read more...]
Ramblings: Buying at the Dip
We received quite a bit of feedback to yesterday’s Ramblings on the 20th anniversary of the baseball strike and the effects on both the sport as well as the hobby. Which player do you think got hurt the worst by the strike? Tony Gwynn’s pursuit of .400? A strong contender but in my opinion, it was Fred McGriff. Why? Consider that the strike may well have cost him reaching … [Read more...]
