Hammerin' Hank......Baseball Card Ambassador

Whether or not you grew up in the era when they played, I hope you have educated your children on some of the baseball greats of generations before us.  Unfortunately, sometimes it takes the passing of these legends before they are fully appreciated.  Fortunately, one of those who is still with us has given the baseball card hobby a huge boost over the past week on behalf of the Topps 60th Anniversary celebration.  Here is an excellent podcast interview AND a segment from Wednesday's Late Show With David Letterman featuring the man who remains the Home Run King in the minds of many fans.........

Podcast: Hank Aaron talks baseball cards, home runs and Jeter

 

 

With Topps in 2011, ALL days are diamonds!

In October, Topps unveiled plans for a 60th anniversary contest with a diamond ring with the grand prize.  The site is now live as of Tuesday (2/15/2011).  It is very similar in nature to last year's Million Card giveaway, with a few variations.  Click the link below to head there and start unlocking your treasures while working your way toward making an honest woman of your significant other! 

Topps Diamond Giveaway Website

Levels of (Dis)interest

To commemmorate the 60th anniversary of Topps, NPR's excellent current events quiz show, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, found someone who knew very little about baseball cards or their history for a feature they call "Not My Job" and subtitled "This Game Comes With A Shard Of Brittle Gum".  With your knowledge and love of the hobby, can you outscore actor John Leguizamo on this quiz? 

 

Actor John Leguizamo Plays Not My Job

The memories remain......

Reading pieces like this, I often find myself wishing I had a DeLorean so I could either: a) stop someone's mom from throwing out a shoebox of what would now be vintage cards, thus leaving their children to wax nostalgic via the magic of print media, or b) talk her into giving them to me and then hopping back to present day courtesy of the trusty ol' flux capacitor.  Anyone reading this who may have discovered a treasure trove of cards they thought were gone forever?  Share your stories in the Comment section.........

Harry Deitz: I still miss special box of memories

Dance with the one that brought you......

Another piece about a brick and mortar shop that is hangin' in there, but this one points out a few things about the hobby and industry that I found interesting.......

1) No matter how a card shop chooses to expand their line of product and no matter how wide of variety of more "upscale" items they offer (autographed memorabilia, game used merchandise, etc.), CARDS remain what keeps the bills paid and the doors open. 

2) Note which holiday provides a surprising boom in business according to the owners

3) These folks are pretty smart in offering negotiable pricing with their autographed memorabilia, given the fact that sites like Groupon and Living Social and bartering becoming an increasingly popular phenomenon in still shaky economic times.  As an eBay seller, about 75% of my business comes from the "Best Offer" option.  If you're a seller in ANY forum (eBay, checkoutmycards.com, Sportslots, etc.), this is a great option to help you move product that's been "sitting on the shelf" in a manner of speaking. 

Piece of the action: Store helps customers get close to the game

I'm on TV, so I MUST be an expert!

It seems like collecting anything or the pursuit involved in collecting anything, sports cards and memorabilia or otherwise, seems to make for compelling reality TV these days.  Pawn Stars, Antiques Roadshow, Treasure Hunters, and for the freak show element, Hoarders.......are among some of the most watched shows on basic cable.  We've documented previously how one show dashed the dreams of a youngster who thought he had a goldmine in baseball cards.  I think it's safe to assume that none of the folks on these shows bury themselves in Beckett or religiously check eBay for the market value of the cards like those of us in the hobby do, but overall, is the advice they give, which is normally solicited solely because they're on TV, anywhere in the ballpark (no pun intended) of those regularly associated with the hobby?  Let's find out from one of HGTV's newest stars.............

 

Trash to Treasures, Cari Cucksey talks 'Cash & Cari,' on HGTV

Just give me 10 years, and I'll get right on it.....

What do retired baseball superstars do with all that free time on their hands?  For a former franchise Red Sox superstar, they catch up on all their fan mail.  Reading this gives me a visual of a room in his house where mail is stacked floor to ceiling. 

If you're looking to collect signed memorabilia via snail mail, here's a name you might want to add to your list that is pretty much a slam dunk to reply...........

Nomar Garciaparra Catching Up With Fans More Than a Decade Later

 

Uncut & Uncensored!!!

The article below reminded me of a time when I first discovered the hobby in the early 80's when uncut sheets were a goldmine.  Safer than money in the bank.  Since rediscovering and re-entering the fray a few years ago, I began to read a few assorted pieces online indicating that they commanded nowhere near the premiums they got at the late 80's/early 90's peak of the hobby.  Once I gave it a search on the Bay, it looks like the value of uncut sheets have been knocked to the canvas. 

A closer look says, as suspected, the older the product, the bigger the price.  While any 80's era uncut sheet can be had for a song (or two), even some of the more rare and seemingly in-demand 80's era sheets have gone largely ignored thanks to overproduction.  Case in point.......this '82 Topps sheet featuring the Ripken RC for $56.55. 

As you would probably expect, the older the sheet, the higher the price.  A '65 O-Pee-Chee sheet featuring at least 11 Hall of Famers fetched almost $3,400.  So if you have anything pre-1970, it can still grab a pretty nice premium. 

If you're holding an uncut sheet, would it benefit you to chop it up?  Let's go to the experts.......

Babe Waxpak: To cut or not to cut card sheets, that is a complex dilemma