When I first left Beckett in 2007, my “plan” such as it was, was to write a book about people in the hobby much in the way that Lawrence Ritter did in his masterful tome, “The Glory of Their Times.” Ritter, who wrote the book based on the assumption he wanted to talk to players of an age long ago whose numbers were dwindling. He did an absolutely masterful job with his … [Read more...]
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Ramblings: Ryan Rookie Recollection Spurs More Memories of Youth and Youthful Shenanigans
I remember reading a book written by a rock critic about his favorite songs and in that article he commented something to this effect: "I've been listening to Smokey Robinson since I was a child and I feel as an adult he helped raise me". Well, I don't feel Nolan Ryan helped raise me but when I first started following baseball Nolan Ryan was a young pup with the New York Mets … [Read more...]
Rich Klein’s Ramblings: Errors and Variations Hardly a New Thing
I was given a new file at work to process in the past few days. Normally, my front end work is pretty simple if the information was put in correctly but this specific file came in with rafts of errors. Seeing that file reminded me of one of the hobby’s subtlest but hottest grouping of cards. T206 printing errors and other interesting ghosts on cards along with a raft of back … [Read more...]
2012 Bowman Sterling Worth the Price Tag
by Rich Klein One advantage any Bowman football product has over its baseball counterpart is there is not only always a rookie crop which is usually pretty well defined but also preparations can begin earlier thanks to the NFL draft. Players find their way to their teams by April and then comes the rookie photo shoot before training camp begins. This gives the football … [Read more...]
Ramblings: COMC Picks Up Pace and a Show Grows in Texas
By Rich Klein In a previous Ramblings, we discussed some various hobby changes past and present and how change can be difficult. Earlier, I wrote about COMC.com and how well my new cards did when they hit the system and how November may possibly had been my best month ever. In discussion with a couple of other users, that has been the case for many other sellers as well. … [Read more...]
Rich’s Ramblings: Things That Make You Go Hmmm…
by Rich Klein About 20 years ago a hit record was released called "Things that make you go hmmm." There is no doubt everyone in the hobby has encountered those things which seemingly do not make sense. Over the years here are some of mine. When I first started in the hobby, a Mark "The Bird" Fidrych 1977 Topps Rookie Card was selling for the same price as many of the … [Read more...]
2012 Topps Chrome Football Review
by Rich Klein Whenever someone or something is gone for a while it is always nice to see them return. Each year around Thanksgiving weekend some Beckett price guide people past and present meet for lunch. It is always fun to catch up and hear the latest about the hobby from those people still immersed in it on a daily basis. Over the long holiday weekend, I also got … [Read more...]
Remembering Long Time Hobby Friends
by Rich Klein To me, one of the best aspects of the past two National Conventions in Baltimore has been the proximity to the New York Metropolitan area where I grew up. Baltimore is so reasonably close to New York that many of my friends from that era are able to make the Baltimore trip with ease. One of my friends is Karen Morris, sister of long-time dealer Brian Morris. … [Read more...]
2012 Bowman Chrome Baseball Box Break
by Rich Klein I write quite a bit about my local card store (Triple Cards in Plano, Tx.) and frankly, one of the reasons is that between the owner and the regulars who usually attend the store’s popular trade night (most Wednesdays 5-7 PM) the feedback is excellent on new products. Everyone is honest and lets me know if the product is good or not so good. I get to hear … [Read more...]
2012 Topps Platinum Football Doing Well in Marketplace
by Rich Klein The 2012 Topps Platinum Football product is one that fits into the Topps "mid-range" brand package. The price point is one that most collectors feel comfortable with. And, of course, that is one of the most interesting parts of collecting in that companies have to try to come up with products that will be successful at a certain price point, while delivering … [Read more...]
