The Baseball Hall of Fame has honored musician Terry Cashman on more than one occasion by using his classic baseball song, “Talkin’ Baseball ( Willie, Mickey, and the Duke) ” during its ceremonies. But that is not the only baseball song that Cashman has written and recorded. In fact, he has released quite a few baseball-themed recordings that are just as poignant, though not as … [Read more...]
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Autograph Authentication on Amazon and eBay: Where Does It Stand?
In April 2000 a joint report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service, and U.S. Attorney’s Office regarding the now well-known “Operation Bullpen” began with the following paragraph: “According to long-time memorabilia collectors, the market for genuine vintage memorabilia has changed dramatically over the last decade. In the late 1980s, the market … [Read more...]
Early Reaction to 2013-14 Upper Deck Black Basketball
At the end of her hit song Anticipation, Carly Simon sings “these are the good old days” as she wraps up her anthem to the unknown. It is a sentiment often used in movies, novels, theater, etc., and it may well sum up how several collectors of high-end basketball cards feel regarding the recent release of 2013-14 Upper Deck Black Basketball. Originally slated for a January … [Read more...]
Narrow Escape: Vintage Cards Being Sold to Aid Flood Victims
A Canadian family is hoping a decades-old collection of hockey cards can help ease at least a little of the pain of losing virtually everything they had in the historic Alberta flooding of last June. Craig James is selling a group of 56 graded 1951-52 Parkhurst cards including a Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard rookie card on behalf of his stepfather, who collected them as a child. … [Read more...]
Rich Klein: Beckett Business Solutions Aims to Aid Collector, Shop Owner
Recently, Beckett Media hired long-time hobby dealer and store owner Rob Veres to spearhead a project using the trade name Beckett Business Solutions. Having known Rob for nearly 20 years let me assure you that no one has a better feel for what retailers both big and small go through on a day to day basis. Although what Rob has done is basically unique in today's business, … [Read more...]
8 Great Ways to Be a Smarter Collector
There are so many different ways to participate in the sports card and memorabilia hobby, sometimes it's easy for your brain to go on overload. From vintage cards and sets to game worn material, autographs, the latest parallels from card company sets, rookie cards, team issues. If you can name it, you can collect it. It's easy to go overboard or worse yet, have a collection … [Read more...]
eBay Policy Changes Produce Sterling Results for Smaller Auction House
It has been argued that eBay is one of the internet's largest and most successful corporations. However, like many companies that grow to a certain level, inevitably the proverbial 'little guy' begins to suffer. Originally billed as a website where anyone could sell anything, eBay has begun to redefine itself as a marketplace catering to Power Sellers in the vein of … [Read more...]
Baseball Memorabilia: 25 Cool Ways to Collect
If the whole sports collecting thing has you a little confused, or if you're a veteran collector feeling bored, we've channeled our inner pack rat to come up with a list of twenty-five genres of baseball memorabilia that should get your creative juices flowing.You'll notice a theme throughout, though. We've tried to keep the cost factor in mind because not everyone is blessed … [Read more...]
Operation Bullpen: The Case That Has Never Gone Away
By Kevin Nelson On October 13, 1999, the FBI crashed the party of a bunch of guys who found a way to make money fall from the sky. On that day hundreds of federal agents raided dozens of homes and businesses in six states and seized a mountain of forged memorabilia and a half-million dollars in cold hard cash, busting up what was the biggest autograph forgery ring in … [Read more...]
eBay Debuts Setify; New Site Aimed at Collectors and Collections
It’s not ready for sports collectors yet and the whole concept is still in beta testing, but eBay is launching something called Setify, which it says can be used to create and share collections online. It’s the latest in a string of moves this year aimed at reaching out to collectors, including the current free listing promotion in the Sports Memorabilia and Card … [Read more...]
