Outline · Standard · [ Linear+ ] Things Overheard at the Shop......2012......, New Location.....Same Crazy People.....

Each year for the last 3 or 4 years I have started a thread in this very forum on this site outlining the often times ridiculous, insane, outlandish, and down right crazy things that customers have said at my shop. There have been some real doozies over the years. Many of these encounters have left me with a look of....... Others have provided us all with hours of entertainment. There have been tall tales of safety deposit boxes filled to the brim with autographed Babe Ruth rookie cards and other rare treasures. There have been many silly questions that have proven that while the customer may always be right, they often times still have no idea what they are talking about. These stories are meant to give everyone a chuckle and even more, a look inside the things that dealers have to go through on a daily basis. For every good solid educated customer that knows sports and sports collectibles, there are 10 that have no idea if a football is pumped or stuffed but who are more than happy to talk to you about everything and anything. Mark Twain once said, "I prefer to remain silent and appear to be a fool, than to open my mouth and remove all doubt". I'll be honest, I don't know anything about how to fly an airplane, so you won't catch me having a conversation about my piloting skills. Still, some of these customers relish the opportunity to educate me about the world of sports collectibles. Luckily, I have learned a lot in my 25 years in the hobby, but I know I still have a lot to learn If you are new to this site and haven't followed the saga, I linked the past threads below. Now its time to sit back and enjoy the latest installment of Things Overheard at the Shop.......2012 edition.

Things Overheard at the Shop.....2009

Things Overheard at the Shop.....2010

Things Overheard at the Shop.....2011


Two weeks ago I relocated my shop to a new mall that was recently renovated and reopened after being empty for the past 7 or 8 years. This place is right on the very busy I-40 corridor between Nashville and Knoxville. The location could not be more perfect. Local traffic studies put thousands of cars per day passing by this area. I already love it. My previous location was out of the way and I had to work non-stop to establish myself and build up a client base. It's hard to believe but I made it work at that location for 10 years !!! I had been ready to make the move to a better spot for years now, it just had to be the right opportunity and the right situation. I got a U-Haul and a buddy to help me and we carefully loaded and unloaded my entire shop inventory all in one day. My new shop looks like a disaster zone behind the counter but the storefront is coming together nicely. The first two weekends at the new location have been awesome. I have already met more knowledgeable sports fans in two weeks there than I did in 10 years at the other place. The 2 locations are only about 11 miles apart but they are like different worlds. Nonetheless, I still have met some folks that will no doubt provide me with lots of material for this thread in the coming months. The first 2 memorable encounters from my first 2 weeks are outlined below. Read at your own risk. Once you start reading, there's no turning back


My very first weekend at my new location came and went without much of the strange and unusual encounters that I had become accustomed to at my previous locale. Sunday evening just before closing time, a guy about my age came in walking with a cane. I greeted him and we exchanged hellos. He seemed like a fairly normal guy. Surely, he wouldn't ruin my perfect game? He wouldn't spoil my shutout this close to end of the business day? I had made it through my grand opening with only positive experiences. No crazy stories or tall tales or ridiculous questions. My high school English teacher had a saying, "If it seems to good to be true, hey baby, it ain't true!" I should have known my streak would come to an end sooner rather than later. The guy looked around and then it began....."Do you have any Michael Jordan cards?" he asked. "I sure do. What type cards are you looking for?" I questioned. "I have a card of his and I'm not sure what it is worth" he continued. "I have never seen another one like it" he affirmed. My mind began racing, oh boy, we are about to go off the tracks, I just know it. "It is the one where he is dunking the ball" he stated with a straight face. There it is folks! I knew it was coming! This guy has the card where Michael Jordan is pictured dunking the basketball. You know Jordan rarely did that, so this MUST be valuable! "I think it is from 1989" he continued. "I would just have to see it and then I could give you an idea of what it might be worth" I replied. "It is put up" he nodded. "I've got it in my safe with my rare Emmitt Smith gold card" he said. "Do you know what that Emmitt card might be worth?" he asked. "It is 14 karat gold" he continued. "It is the one that shows him running with the football" he confirmed. Oh no he didn't! There it is again! I knew it! Emmitt only made a living running the football. Why would he ever be pictured on a trading card doing such a crazy thing? "I would just need to see that one too" I said filled with a familiar feeling of deja vu. The guy poked around for a few more minutes. He may have mumbled some other things but by that time I was tuned out. He shuffled off and I thanked him for coming by. Mostly I was just thankful for his contribution to this thread as the very first entry of 2012 !!!

Last weekend a couple teenagers came in. They were blown away by each and every item they saw. They were filled with the usual questions......"Do you buy cards?", "Are these autographs really signed?", "Is this card $10 or $5 because it has 2 prices on it?" You know the usual stuff One of the kids who had a nice set of Bama Bangs covering half of his face, declared that he loved the game of basketball. Before you know it that had turned into a game of 50 questions, all of which began with, "Do you have any cards of (insert basketball player here) ?" After showing the kid my selection of base, inserts, RCs, and GUs of every player he asked about, he was ready to make a purchase. You see this kid had wasted a good 2 hours of my time and now he was about to reward me with.......$2.00........in dimes and nickels. I could tell from our conversation that he knew very little about basketball and even less about cards but he was determined to spend his $2.00 in change and he was prepared to go ask his mother for as much as another $1.00 if necessary. His sidekick was of the same ilk. Very little knowledge about sports or cards or life in general. He disappeared for a few minutes and returned to ask the question of the day....."Do you have any cards of Mickey Rooney?" Now I was without a shadow of a doubt certain that he had no interest in any Donruss Americana cards so I assumed that he was perhaps looking for another Mickey that some sports fans may have heard of. "You mean Mickey Mantle?" I asked. "I don't know his name. My mom said he was some famous baseball player or something." "I'm sure she meant Mickey Mantle" I affirmed as I showed him a stack of modern Mantle base and inserts. "I'll be right back the kid said" as he disappeared again. He then returned with $1.00 of his own, and be still my heart....he even had paper money! He picked out a Mantle base card and left. He then returned several more times asking each time for a different baseball legend whom his mother had told him about. All in all I made about $8.00 off these 2 kids for a couple hours of aggravation and frustration. The best part is that they both said they would be back every weekend. Maybe I can teach them a thing or two and they may even turn into solid members of our hobby. Who am I kidding, I hate to say it but I miss Packlets already.......

Your just missed out on 'the guy' that was gonna make you rich!

Your just missed out on 'the guy' that was gonna make you rich!

Not so fast my friend! I received a call from the guy with the array of RCs at 7:30 am on Sunday. Needless to say I didn't answer. If someone calls super early or late, I don't answer. If they don't have any concept of common courtesy and having respect for someone's privacy then I ignore them. He then called me again at a more reasonable 2 pm. That time I answered and he just wanted to confirm that I was in fact open before he "wasted gas" and came "all the way" to see me. I live 68 miles from my shop. It takes me about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes to get there. I have no sympathy for someone driving 15 - 20 miles and acting like it is a week long cross-country journey. Anyway, the guy said he knew exactly where I was located. About 15 minutes before closing as I was securing some items and locking up some display cases I got yet another call from the guy. This time he was at the mall and couldn't find me. I had given him exact directions on where to park and enter the mall to find me. I told him to come to side facing the interstate past JC Penney and enter through the door marked "Service Merchandise". He called and started rambling about how big the place was and how he didn't know where to go. Of course he had parked on the opposite end of the building than where I had instructed him to park. He was naming off every store and shop he passed as I explained that he should look for the big sign that says "SPORTS CARDS". I had zero patience at this point because the guy was getting on my nerves with his whole schtick. Finally he found me at 6 pm....closing time. I told him that he would have to wait until I had closed up because securing my merchandise was the most important concern I had at that moment. After everything was put away, display cases covered and locked, I took a look at what this guy had brought me. He proudly displayed Donruss, Fleer, and Topps Cal Ripken rookie cards, a Topps Frank Thomas rookie card, a very worn 1971 Topps Nolan Ryan, another worn 1977 Topps Nolan Ryan, and a very badly worn Reggie Jackson rookie card. Then he pulled out 1 other card....a pretty nice 1972 Topps Nolan Ryan. This card was well centered, had nice corners, no marks or blemished of any kind front or back. It is from the high number series and has a high BV of $100. In short, it didn't belong with the rest of those cards. It belonged in my vintage display case where it will now proudly reside for a few weeks until someone snatches it up. At least it wasn't a total loss. Sometimes you have to put up with a lot of aggrevation to get something worthwhile. The guy even remarked that I had a lot of nice things that he would like to have when he gets the money. Who knows maybe he will come back at a later time and do some more wheeling and dealing. This may be the start of a profitable business relationship. I just hope that he made it "all the way" back home those 15 grueling miles without having to get a hotel room and layover for the night.

I see you don't like the potential business I throw your way

Do you want to offer your consignment services for what's left of my Jason Campbell collection? I'm sure you have plenty of people who come in and ask for his stuff

Do you want to offer your consignment services for what's left of my Jason Campbell collection? I'm sure you have plenty of people who come in and ask for his stuff

No offense G but I would probably have better luck selling Glenn Campbell CDs than Jason Campbell cards.

No offense G but I would probably have better luck selling Glenn Campbell CDs than Jason Campbell cards. 

Ouch... come on, think about it. A whole display case and banner reading "2004 SEC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR" people would flock from miles and miles!

Basically, I deal with a lot of folks that are full of ...........misinformation and incorrect ideas about their stuff.

You mean second-hand-informational-theory?

You mean second-hand-informational-theory?

Absolutely!

As the weekend winds down I thought I would change it up a little bit and share some of the more amusing questions I have been asked this weekend. These are direct quotes. If you don't understand them, don't feel bad, I didn't either!

"Do you buy gold?"

"Do you have any baseball cards or only football?"

"Would you take $15 for this Jerry Rice autographed photo?"

"Could you use 100 St. Louis Cardinals lapel pins?"

"Do you have any real rookie cards?"

"Will you be getting any more of those hats?"

"Did you see which way Danny went?"

"I've got a complete set of 1991 Nascar cards. How much would they be worth?

"How much is Peyton Manning worth?"

"Do you have any Ricky Cheshire cards?"

"Are you going to open today?"

"Do you have any Jim Cena wrestling dolls?"

That's only a s mall sample folks. It's no wonder I'm loosing my mind.

Are you going to tell us or not...which way did Danny go...the world wonders.

Live from the shop today we have a couple jewels already.

A couple college aged guys dropped in to ask if I "take in cards". I explained that I'm really only looking for stuff produced before 1980. "I've got so many cards from when I was young, it would blow your mind" the guy commented. Judging by his age, I'm sure my mind would be blown by mass produced early 90s garbage. So typical. His companion did chime in and offer up this little tidbit, "My friend just got a John Elway card that was one from one and it had the cotton in it". "Oh it was a jersey card?" I asked. "Yeah, he sold it for $650" the guy said. "If you get something rare like that out of these new products you can get pretty big money for it sometimes I affirmed. If only I could meet the buyer of the one from one Elway cotton card, I have plenty of Elway stuff I would love to sell them. They guys continued to browse around for a few minutes commenting aloud on each player and the price of his rookie card. Then the guy that told me about the cotton asked, "Is the orange sticker the right price?" Once again my system of discounting items has managed to confuse someone. In an economy where the majority of people will ask you to take less for an item that is marked "FREE" I can't understand why anyone would question an item that has a reduced price. I really thought doing that would simplify things but apparently it only made it worse. I just can't seem to make my shop idiot proof no matter how hard I try.

A couple youngsters poked their heads in my doorway and one of them asked, "Is everything in here a collector's item?" "Yes it sure is." I responded. "Does everything cost a lot?" the youinger of the two asked. "Not everything. I have some items that are only .25" I answered. "See I told you stupid!" the child snapped at the other one as they ran out the doorway. I'm always glad to settle friendly wagers, direct folks to the kettle corn, pork rinds, bathroom, ATM, or even help people decide which direction Danny went.

Until next time.......

Live from the shop today we have a couple jewels already.


A couple youngsters poked their heads in my doorway and one of them asked, "Is everything in here a collector's item?" "Yes it sure is." I responded. "Does everything cost a lot?" the youinger of the two asked. "Not everything. I have some items that are only .25" I answered. "See I told you stupid!" the child snapped at the other one as they ran out the doorway. I'm always glad to settle friendly wagers, direct folks to the kettle corn, pork rinds, bathroom, ATM, or even help people decide which direction Danny went.

Until next time.......

I'd bet anything that the "stupid" one was Danny.

Poor kid. His parents named him stupid.

Just another update.....this time not a story of what the heck but rather a story of some nice pulls. We have already tweeted this out via our Twitter account and posted it on our Facebook page but I wanted to share it here as well. A regular customer just busted a hobby box of 2012 Topps Archives and pulled a Will Clark Autograph (BV $100) and a.........Bryce Harper SP RC (BV $250) !!!! For good measure the box also contained a Wally Backman Autograph and Madison Bumgarner GU. Not too shabby!

Now if I only knew which way Danny went so I could tell him the news......

When it rains it pours. I just had a run in of sorts with a jerk who thought he would one up me.

A guy walked in and started looking at some of my framed 8x10 autographed photos. There were several people in the shop in three or four small groups looking at various items. I noticed he was paying close attention to the autographed photos. I could just feel something building. "Let me know if I can help any of you with anything" I said in a statement to everyone in the shop. "You kinda just did" quipped the loudmouth know-it-all. After the crowd somewhat dispursed the guy came up to me and said, "I just bought one of those Kaline pictures a while back for a couple bucks. I see you have $79 on yours." he continued. "Yes that photo is autographed and authenticated by PSA and also professionally framed and double matted. Given the fee for autographs, the cost for authentication services, and the cost of professional framing, that is well below typical retail prices" I said with a smile. The guy looked dumbfounded for a moment. He supposedly was a big Tigers fan. he was such a big tigers fan that I had to point out the Al Kaline autographed bat, also authenticated by PSA, in the display case just a few inches away from the photo he was remarking about. "That is pretty slick" he said of the bat. "Maybe I will get it for Father's Day" he said hopefully. "I was just trying to figure out how old Kaline would be now. He's got to be in his 70s" he continued. "Well I can find out" I said reaching for some modern Kaline base cards I had in my superstar boxes. "He was born in 1934" I said handing the guy the cards to browse through. He ended up spending all of $1.50 but he thanked me and called me sir before he left. Game, set, match. That was the sweetest $1.50 I have made in a while. I just get a kick out of pushy abrasive loudmouths that think they can one up me with their nonsensical stories. I especially love the idiots that want to loudly proclaim their superior knowledge of collectibles to other customers in the shop. I may look young but I've been doing this for 25 years and this ain't my first rodeo. Now I think I will take that $1.50 and go get me a large sweet tea at the food court. If I see Danny.......I will update everyone accordingly.

A couple other quick observations......

Why do people think that the fascimilie signatures on Bowman cards and vintage Topps cards are actual autographs while they think that actual autographed items are not real?

Why do people not understand the difference between a reprint and a modern card of a retired player? The word reprint is misused more than any term in the hobby today.

A few more nuggets from this weekends action......


"Do you have any of the new mini bat display racks?"

"Do you have a shop somehwere or is this it?"

"Do you have any of those new cards?"

"Did you ever get any new Nascar hats in yet?"

"I didn't even know they made hockey cards."

"Do you take cash?"

"Is this the place where my dad bought his cards?"

"This card has $12 and $5 on it. What does that mean?"

"Do you have any cards of that guy that played for Tech? He is supposed to be doing pretty good this year."

The next statement pretty much sums up alot of the folks I see every weekend. The guy quoted above that was confused by the card with the white price sticker reading $12 and orange price sticker directly below the white one that read $5, browsed through my huge stack of Derek Jeter base and insert cards for at least 5 minutes before uttering, "I don't know anything about cards". Apparently he doesn't know anything about shopping in general since the concept of a discounted item was so hard for him to grasp. I'm beginning to think that I'm not here to sell sports collectibles but rather to educate the masses who lack any shred of common sense.

One other tidbit, I Tweeted and posted on my Facebook page yesterday about some last pack mojo that happened to me at my shop. We had 1 pack of 2011 Topps WWE cards left in the box. It had sat in the box for a few weeks receiving no love or attention from any customers. You see, generally folks loathe the last pack in the box. They will not buy it. I usually try to bundle the last pack or two into a deal for someone when they are buying packs so I don't get stuck with the dreaded last pack in the box. Somehow it happened. There that lonely pack sat staring at me. I was bored. I didn't plan to re-stock that product since a new WWE product will be coming out soon so I decided to bust the pack and sell the base cards (wrestling base from newer products sell pretty well for me). So I opened the pack and boom!..........a John Cena Autograph !!! $100 BV. Not too shabby. Let this be a lesson to you all......NEVER leave the last pack.

And the winner of today's completely and totally clueless because they have obviously been living under a rock award goes to.......

A guy who after browsing my $5 GU box and all my display cases asked, "Do you have any Brian Harper cards?"

The guy corrected himself and said "Bryce Harper" after a few seconds of me staring at him blankly. Folks if you cannot even get the name right of the hottest player in the hobby, you probably shouldn't be trying to buy his cards. I bet everything in my shop that if I had a Bryce Harper card he wouldn't have bought it because he also has no idea what kind of prices are associated with Harper's stuff. I also would have given anything to have had an early 90s common or two of former Twins catcher, Brian Harper lying around just to try to sell him for a few bucks.

Whenever I have two prices on a product and someone asks "what is the price on this one" I'll say "you can pay whichever one you want" I have yet to have anyone pay the higher price.