Visiting a New Card Shop

Due to an unfortunate event in my family, I had to travel on Monday evening to my parents' house.  The whole whole family was due to get together Tuesday afternoon, so I had some time to kill that morning.  My mom gave me a coupon for the new card shop that had opened in Clemmons, NC, so we all rode there to get our minds off of things.  The new shop was nice; it had more football related items than anything, mostly license plates, shirts, wall art, etc, but they did have a small assortment of vintage cards in their display case.  One of the cards I picked up (and the only one i picked up for myself) was the above 1975 Topps Jim Rice RC.  I got it for $1.00 and as you can see, it's pretty beat up.  I thought a buck was a good enough deal for a HOF RC, so I didn't mind paying it.  I also picked up some cards for a couple trade partners to go out in some of my 'random mailers.'

Something else I got was the above 'pennant' for $5.00.  It is a round pennant, but made of felt, nonetheless.  I didn't have it, so I will hang it on the wall with my other Orioles pennants.  I really can't complain for $5.00.

So, I was pretty pleased with the new shop.  They are called Lucky Dog Collectables and they are located on Lewisville-Clemmons Road in Clemmons, NC.  If you are in the area, I suggest you check them out.  It is quite hard to find new shops opening, so I am glad to see it.

Finally, those of you who do know me closely, I would like to thank you for the well wishes while I was off dealing with these family issues.  I appreciate the thoughts, sincerely.  I'm not one who tries to draw attention to himself, but I really appreciated the messages I got.

Finally, Chris is Getting Into Cards!

Finally!  Yesterday, as I was sitting in front of my laptop, writing a post about Gary Carter, I looked over and saw a sight that a lot of dads dream of seeing.  I looked over to see my son engaged in my hobby!  Chris had grabbed his box of cards from his room along with his card album that we had been putting his wrestling cards in and filled each and every album page with baseball cards.

He did not discriminate as to which cards went where, he just picked ones out that he thought 'looked cool.'  In the end, I helped him pick out cards as he slid them into the sheets.  He got the box of cards from various packs that he would open from the card shop and card shows that we would visit.  Some of the cards he has are actually quite nice.  He took several of the Tim Lincecums that he has picked up and added them to the album.  I saw a Bobby Abreu Bowman Rookie in there as well.  The only thing I had any real input on was the final two pages where he asked me to pick out card for him.  I went through his box and helped him make two pages of Hall of Famers.

It was a really nice way to spend an hour or so, just looking through 90s junk wax and helping my son add to his album.  He wasn't worried about condition or book value or name recognition.  He wasn't even worried about which teams were represented.  He just wanted to put cards into an album.  I sometimes wish we could all step back from the hobby and break it down into those simple terms.  I find myself not as worried about book value or condition anymore, but instead I have realized that I would rather have cards that told a good story or ones that would make a good blog post.

I plan on picking Chris up another album and some sheets sometime soon so he has a new album to fill.  He has said that he wants to do some trades with people,so I think I will help him get some more Tim Lincecums or some wrestling cards using what he has in his album.  I think it might be good for him.  I know it will be good for us, as we spend the time together doing something we both enjoy!

Some Card Shop Pickups

When I went to the card shop last weekend (the same weekend I picked up the box of 2011 Topps Update), I picked up a few loose cards out of the bargain bin.

 This 1996 Score Franchise Cal Ripken looks so much better in person.  This is one of the rare times that my scanner didn't perform as well as I had hoped on a card.  It's pretty sharp, though.  I'm more than certain I didn't have this card in my vast Ripken collection before last Sunday...

 Oh for two with the scanner.  This bland looking card actually looks really cool in person, too.  A 1999 Fleer Metal Cal.  I know I didn't ak\lready have it, either.

I got two similar Brian Roberts cards that I didn't have yet...  This 2010 Bowman Blue...

...and this 2011 Bowman Blue.  I like these parallels.  I like the orange Bowmans better, you know, Orioles colors, but the blue is nice, too.

 I also got these two 'minor league' cards of Hall of Famers Jim Palmer and Jimmie Foxx.

I love the shot in this Foxx card.  Foxx was a beast (maybe why that nickname fit him so well) and I'm happy to add more of him to the collection.

Card Shop Pickup - Replacing the Hank Aaron Baseball

I have a lot of stuff to post still, lots of mail, and some more leftovers from the card show, but I really wanted to get my latest Hall of Fame baseball posted... Hank Aaron!

That's right, I replaced my fake Aaron ball with an authentic ball signed by the true home run king.

I spent this past weekend in Columbia, SC visiting my younger brother. He always takes me to this awesome antique store/card shop, and as it turns out, a good friend of mine used to be in the card business with the proprietor of the shop, so I know he is definitely on the up and up. I saw his signed Aaron ball immediately as I entered the shop. I asked him how much he wanted for it, and was satisfied with the price, so I purchased it, along with 25 high numbers to fill in my 1970 Topps set.

I am really happy that I was able to replace my Aaron ball cheaply, and I know it is authentic this time, as opposed to being suspicious. The shop owner had several other HOF signed baseballs, so I may have to pick another up next time I visit my brother.

If you look at this ball vs the fake ball, the differences jump out right away. They jump out more so in person than via photo, which is what I tried to do with the fake ball. I had compared it to PSA authenticated balls on Ebay and it seemed to match up. Now, though, I can definitely see a difference. Oh well, I have learned from my mistake. I now have 31 baseballs signed by Hall of Famers. I'm curious to see who will be next to be added to the list...

All Things Must Come To An End

I knew it was coming when supplies stopped being ordered, but I hoped that something could be done to keep the doors open longer, but, the inevitable happened yesterday: The card shop I've been helping out at has finally gone out of business.

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I have worked hard over the last several months doing everything I could to get some sales in (going to card shows, etc) but it wasn't enough. The economy crash of 2008-2009 and the ever increasing amount of card related websites has done in the neighborhood card shop.

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The rent for the place was ridiculous, I won't disclose the amount, but I find it hard to see how the shop owner ever turned a profit with the amount of overhead that he had. Once his construction business tanked, I knew it was going to be hard for the shop to stay open.

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To me, the worst part is what will all of the kids who came in on Saturdays end up doing now? Most were really gppd kids who I will keep in touch with, but I know that some of them will turn to 'alternate' forms of entertainment and will most likely go down some less than savory paths.

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My lack of a part-time job doesn't concern me near as much as the fact that I'll probably never have the same experience as i was able to have at the shop. Most of the people who came in there thought I owned the place, but, I didn't. I wish, but I don't have enough money to invest in something like that. It is really sad, you HAVE to have benefits and health care. If I had my own shop, I don't know how long I would be able to sustain it and be able to pay for necessities for my wife and son. I hope to be able to open one, one day, but as it looks right now, it won't be for a while.

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So, it was a great ride, the four years I was there. I'm going to miss a lot of the people who have come in.

Random Card Pickup at the Shop

While working at the shop yesterday, a lady came in looking to get back into cards. We talked for a while about the hobby (she is focusing more on football) and looked over a few of the albums she brought in. It is always nice when people come into the card shop who will actually listen to you when it comes to collecting, etc. Usually, I get the people who come in thinking they know everything about cards and that the 1990 Donruss Ben McDonald that they have is worth THOUSANDS of dollars. Usually, that leaves me as the one who has to break it to them that their late 80s - early 90s stuff is pretty much kindling...
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It was refreshing to have a woman come in who 1. knew about sports and 2. was interested in cards. I am lucky to have a good friend (Babe) who seriously knows sports. Trust me, you don't want to play her in any fantasy league, because she will OWN you... Growing up, my mom had a big interest in sports (yeah, ok, it was mostly because she thought Don Mattingly was cute, but hey, thats a start), so that helped me along in building my interest.
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I'm glad to see that the hobby and the blogs are a diverse bunch; I believe this is a good sign that the hobby will be ok, even in this world of exclusive licensing, etc. I hope the lady who came in keeps her enthusiasm, even if she focuses on football, because any new or returning collectors we can maintain makes it better for all of us.
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I noticed that I didn't talk about the card at all, haha. She had the above 1993 Conlon Collection Walter Johnson/Nolan Ryan in her album and I asked her if she'd part with it. She gave it to me for free, which was unnecessary, but a nice gesture from her. I think the card looks pretty sweet. I was never a fan of the Conlon stuff, but this card is pretty sharp and I like the novelty photo of the Big Train and the Ryan Express. What do you guys think?

Stuff Happening.....

This weekend, we will initiate my wife and son moving to Greenville. My wife starts at her new store on Wednesday!! My birthday is Monday. The house is looking good and getting showings, and now we will have been moved out of it (for the most part). Card shop on Saturday. Busy weekend coming up!!!!!! Hopefully, I can get my scanner hooked up to my laptop and get you guys some scans of some stuff. Maybe be able to blog a little more often? Hope so!!!

Card Shop today

Yes I will be at the card shop today, but probably a little more stressed than usual as I couldn't get a babysitter today. I will have my 3 year old son with me... exciting. He says he is going to be a good boy so he can look through Blake's box of cars... Wish me luck!

the holidays

Hi guys. The shop will be open on Saturday and I will be there. I don't plan on taking any Saturdays off anytime soon, so you guys should see me regularly. I also plan on taking some of my savings and spending a little at the card show. I am hoping to find a few things that would be a little harder for me to find. We'll see. How was everyone's thanksgiving? I cooked the bird for the first time and it turned out awesome. I took some tips from a friend at work and it turned out great. Now we have a bunch of leftovers, woo hoo!

Card Blog 1st entry....

Woo Hoo. I finally got the guts to 'blog' about cards on something other than my myspace. Thanks for talking me into it P.A. Hope i don't disappoint. Right now, I don't have a specific plan as to what exactly I plan on blogging about. First things first, lets put a plug in for the card shop i help out at: All About Sports located at 397 Jonestown Rd., Winston-Salem, NC. I plan on, at some point, taking 'special orsers for the shop through here and maybe expanding our reach a little bit... We're not all that sophisticated yet though, so we'll see how that goes. I also plan on putting up some pics etc of awesome cards I have come across. Everyone knows which i will start with. If you don't know, how about sending me some comments trying to guess?