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

If you're looking to the card shop to send your kid to college......

The Stephen Strasburg example provides the textbook case of how sports cards as an investment are no safer in the long term than anything else you could sink your money into.  If investing in cards provide a better alternative than just taking your life savings and putting it all on one spin of the roulette wheel in Vegas, here's one player recommended as a target to put your money in.  An eBay search of the cards mentioned in the article indicates they can still be had for a song.......as low as 35 cents in one case (plus a rather exorbitant shipping charge for 2 baseball cards).  Then there's this one, which will cost you a little more. 

Clayton Kershaw's Los Angeles Dodgers rookie trading cards starting to pick up investment steam

Just sign here

This is one of those rare pieces that can is beneficial to collectors AND dealers, although it is quite obviously written for the casual collector who happens to run into a player or former player in public or attends a signing.  Whether you're looking to add a signed ball or two to the shelf in your "(Insert name of favorite team here) room" or hoarding them for a potential goldmine down the road, there is care and maintenance involved just as any other hobby........

How to take care of an autographed baseball

If you win it, they will buy

My best guess is you could substitute Cleveland, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Houston, and possibly Detroit for the Phoenix area in this article and it would read exactly the same.  And my utmost condolences to anyone who loaded up on modern era Pittsburgh Pirates memorabilia thinking it would provide your kid's first class ticket to the Ivy League.........

Down year for Arizona sports team equals weak sales for Phoenix memorabilia dealers

Divine Intervention

The story from early November about a Honus Wagner card being auctioned off to benefit a Catholic school initially had a less-than-Hollywood ending, with the original winning bidder failing to produce the $220,000 pledged for the card.  Fortunately, and just in time for the holidays, the story took a brighter turn thanks to a doctor and card collector. 

Catholic sisters' baseball card auctioned off to new owner