Sports collectors con report

[buttock]

 

... per ESPN.

 

My favorite quote (highlights are mine):

 

Time for a tangent: One of my favorite rules of collecting is "never buy from a dealer who's an a-hole." It's just not worth it. You'll always have the stink of the jerk who sold whatever you bought on it. Unfortunately, many of these guys are unfriendly; it's a relatively lonely business filled with unhappy people who act like they have more power than they do and don't mind spitting chicken fingers on you as you're trying to negotiate a price with them. The way to combat these people is by not giving these people money. I know, crazy. What's amazes me is their willingness to throw away any rules for selling that work in any other walk of life: Being friendly and reasonable; having a sense of humor; avoiding any condescending or derisive remarks; not keeping a customer waiting because you're busy telling another dealer a stupid story about your personal life; engaging the customer immediately instead of appearing put-out because they've interrupted your lunch or your phone call; etc., etc. It's one of those professions in which, when you deal with someone normal and friendly, you feel obligated to thank them for being normal and friendly. Sad but true.

 

Hmmm... sounds familiar.

[seanfingh]

 

spitting chicken fingers on you as you're trying to negotiate a price with them.

 

Hmmm... sounds familiar.

 

Danny Hernandez!!!!!!!!

[Mr. Zipper]

Hmmm... sounds familiar.

 

Collectors and dealers across all hobbies are generally cut from the same cloth. The only thing that varies is the actual items they collect or sell.

[capt_comics]

... per ESPN.

 

My favorite quote (highlights are mine):

 

Time for a tangent: One of my favorite rules of collecting is "never buy from a dealer who's an a-hole." It's just not worth it. You'll always have the stink of the jerk who sold whatever you bought on it. Unfortunately, many of these guys are unfriendly; it's a relatively lonely business filled with unhappy people who act like they have more power than they do and don't mind spitting chicken fingers on you as you're trying to negotiate a price with them. The way to combat these people is by not giving these people money. I know, crazy. What's amazes me is their willingness to throw away any rules for selling that work in any other walk of life: Being friendly and reasonable; having a sense of humor; avoiding any condescending or derisive remarks; not keeping a customer waiting because you're busy telling another dealer a stupid story about your personal life; engaging the customer immediately instead of appearing put-out because they've interrupted your lunch or your phone call; etc., etc. It's one of those professions in which, when you deal with someone normal and friendly, you feel obligated to thank them for being normal and friendly. Sad but true.

 

Hmmm... sounds familiar.

 

The BSD's of the sports card world have a worse reputation than the comic guys. If you can believe that.

 

 

 

 

 

[marino1]

no kidding,i was collecting patch cards for awhile and then started to find out guys were taking the jersey out of the cards and replacing them with fake patches to make more money.

[electricprune]

... per ESPN.

 

My favorite quote (highlights are mine):

 

Time for a tangent: One of my favorite rules of collecting is "never buy from a dealer who's an a-hole." It's just not worth it. You'll always have the stink of the jerk who sold whatever you bought on it. Unfortunately, many of these guys are unfriendly; it's a relatively lonely business filled with unhappy people who act like they have more power than they do and don't mind spitting chicken fingers on you as you're trying to negotiate a price with them. The way to combat these people is by not giving these people money. I know, crazy. What's amazes me is their willingness to throw away any rules for selling that work in any other walk of life: Being friendly and reasonable; having a sense of humor; avoiding any condescending or derisive remarks; not keeping a customer waiting because you're busy telling another dealer a stupid story about your personal life; engaging the customer immediately instead of appearing put-out because they've interrupted your lunch or your phone call; etc., etc. It's one of those professions in which, when you deal with someone normal and friendly, you feel obligated to thank them for being normal and friendly. Sad but true.

 

Hmmm... sounds familiar.

 

The BSD's of the sports card world have a worse reputation than the comic guys. If you can believe that.

 

 

 

 

 

True, there are some REALLY bad ones out there. Resealing packs, trimming cards, buying vintage wax wrappers and stuufing them with junk, then selling them as original...there are a few cool people though.

[HOTFLIPS]

We did the National Sportscard Convention last year, which, actually was in the same venue as WW Chicago. We were supposed to do it this year as well but it was the weekend right after San Diego. Set up for the Sportscard show was Tuesday. Realized it was pretty much impossible to get from San Diego late Sunday night to Cleveland early Tuesday morning. We'll be set up next year. Its gonna be in Baltimore.

[buttock]

We did the National Sportscard Convention last year, which, actually was in the same venue as WW Chicago. We were supposed to do it this year as well but it was the weekend right after San Diego. Set up for the Sportscard show was Tuesday. Realized it was pretty much impossible to get from San Diego late Sunday night to Cleveland early Tuesday morning. We'll be set up next year. Its gonna be in Baltimore.

 

Hmmm. May be worth the trip.

[Mr. Zipper]

True, there are some REALLY bad ones out there. Resealing packs, trimming cards, buying vintage wax wrappers and stuufing them with junk, then selling them as original...there are a few cool people though.

 

Yup... and in autographs you have dealers who knowingly sell forgeries, turn a blind eye to items that come from dubious sources, remove inscriptions, cut up valuable documents to sell them word-by-word, etc.

 

There's good and bad dealers in every hobby. However, the common denominator that allows the bad ones to flourish is collectors who "must have" whatever for their collection. "Must have" collectors are willing to believe the unbelievable and suspend all disbelief, thus making wonderful "marks."

[capt_comics]

We did the National Sportscard Convention last year, which, actually was in the same venue as WW Chicago. We were supposed to do it this year as well but it was the weekend right after San Diego. Set up for the Sportscard show was Tuesday. Realized it was pretty much impossible to get from San Diego late Sunday night to Cleveland early Tuesday morning. We'll be set up next year. Its gonna be in Baltimore.

 

Hmmm. May be worth the trip.

 

Think I'm going to try and make it

 

Kick myself for missing the one in Atlanta a few years back.

 

 

 

 

[collector_bill]

 

... per ESPN.

 

My favorite quote (highlights are mine):

 

Time for a tangent: One of my favorite rules of collecting is "never buy from a dealer who's an a-hole." It's just not worth it. You'll always have the stink of the jerk who sold whatever you bought on it. Unfortunately, many of these guys are unfriendly; it's a relatively lonely business filled with unhappy people who act like they have more power than they do and don't mind spitting chicken fingers on you as you're trying to negotiate a price with them. The way to combat these people is by not giving these people money. I know, crazy. What's amazes me is their willingness to throw away any rules for selling that work in any other walk of life: Being friendly and reasonable; having a sense of humor; avoiding any condescending or derisive remarks; not keeping a customer waiting because you're busy telling another dealer a stupid story about your personal life; engaging the customer immediately instead of appearing put-out because they've interrupted your lunch or your phone call; etc., etc. It's one of those professions in which, when you deal with someone normal and friendly, you feel obligated to thank them for being normal and friendly. Sad but true.

 

As Homer Simpson would say " it's funny cause it's true "