Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ Things Overheard at the Shop.....2011 !!!, The Saga Continues.......

[edgerrin32]

O man


Those were great. I don't think anything will ever top the scratch and sniff GU, but always great to read a new add.


I bet you could publish a little book with all your adds in these topics!! Just a cheap little paper back maybe $10 bucks each. Nothing big, but would be worth the price. You could sell them to hobby store to sell to there customers! I honestly think it would do great, maybe not millions but it might be worth looking into! Or I could look into if for you??

I mean who wouldn't want to read something like this, who is in our hobby? And what would you call it, "Things Overheard at the Shop". How could you call it anything else?

[chopinalex]

does that little guy still come around. I forgot his name and its been a while.

[dodgerblue38501]

does that little guy still come around. I forgot his name and its been a while.

Packlets is alive and well. I see him every weekend. His dad does maintainence for the facility. He spends most of his time in the video game shop at the other end of the building. He likes to hang around there and play PS3.......... and that is fine with me! He did stop by and bust a couple of packlets of 2010-11 Prestige Basketball a few weeks ago. He is still chasing a GU or AUTO of his idol, Kobe Bryant.

[MWS]

Good old "packlets"

[dodgerblue38501]

Well, I haven't updated this thread in a while. I actually don't hear very much new material these days. I am still swamped with same stories, questions, and tall tales of the great collections that everyone seems to have at home. They want to sell these fine collections. Somehow though, they never seem to bring anything in to sell. Don't worry folks, that is fine with me. I would rather just dream and believe that they are all sitting on mint stashes of T206s rather than 1991 Donruss commons anyway. Most of the comic relief that I have had recently surrounds my decision to mark all my single cards with discount price stickers. Each card has a white price sticker with the current BV. Directly under that white sticker is a flourescent orange sticker with the discounted price, or more simply what I am asking for the card. The number on the white sticker is bigger.......I promise. In fact most of the time it is 50%-75% more than the number on the orange sticker. I have heard no less than a dozen people over the last few weeks having discussions amongst themsevles wondering how much a particluar card is. They don't know if I am asking $25 for the card or $10. I have taken to answering this perplexing question in the following manner.

Customer: "Is this card $25.00 or $10.00? It has 2 prices on it."

Me: "Today we are running a special where the customers can choose which price they would rather pay."

I answered that same question in that very same way just last weekend concering a Ryan Howard rookie card. The white sticker said $20. The orange sticker said $10. The response I received from the customer was a pleasant surprise. "Oh, I'll give $20 for that card! I think he is going to break the home run record some day." The man then gave me $20 and walked away with the Howard RC. Needless to say......I hope that dude comes back soon and often!!!

Just yesterday I had an interesting encounter with a couple that made me wonder why I live such an extravagent lavish lifestyle.

A guy stopped in and was checking out my GU display case. I recognized him. He stops by a few times per year. He knows just enough about our hobby to be annoying. He asked me if I had any game used bat cards. He kept saying that he only saw "fabric cards" but no bats. I directed him to my $5 GU Box that has several HOF GU Bat cards. He did say that he liked old school players so I figured that would be where he needed to direct his attention. Of course he didn't even bother looking through the box but rather asked me another question. "What kind of package deal can you give me?" he asked. "What cards are you interested in?" I wondered. "I like that A-Rod jersey with the pinstripe, that Tom Brady jersey there, and both Terry Bradshaw pieces you have" he answered. I looked over the A-Rod, Brady Ultimate Collection GU /50, Terry Bradshaw GU, and Terry Bradshaw Triple Prime GU /50, and shot him a very fair price, discounting the cards an extra 15% off the already discounted prices. "I think I've only got ten bucks" the man said pulling out his wallet. Really? You are going to ask about 4 very nice pieces of top superstars while you are packing all of $10 to spend? At that point I had decided that I would walk away before assault charges would be filed. "Let me walk around and thank on it" he continued. "I need to find my wife, she is here somewhere spending my money" he concluded. No sooner than he said that did his wife appear and announced that she had made some purchases. She said, "I bought a few things". "What did you get?" he asked her. "I got these hot peppers for daddy, she said holding up a bag, and I bought a piece of furniture." The guy look confused and somewhat worried, "You bought some furniture?" he questioned. "Yeah, I did and it was VERY expensive" the woman said. The guy did not look happy. Just to add to his enjoyment of his wife's purchase I then cracked a joke about her showing up just in time to have him carry the furniture to the car. The guy then remarked to his wife that I was "playing hardball on some cards". "I will allow you to spend as much as I did" the wife said. "How much did you spend?" the man asked with a glimmer of hope in his eye. "I spent $3.00 on daddy's peppers and $7.00 on the furniture" she said. What? A few minutes earlier she was acting ashamed that she had spent so much on a VERY expensive piece of furniture and now I find out it was all of $7.00. Really? $7.00? Folks, that sums us the mentality of the majority of people that I encounter. If $7.00 is a VERY expensive piece of furniture, then my house is furnished better than Buckingham Palace! I just laughed out loud in front of them, shook my head, and walked away. The guy ended up getting some money from his wife and buying a card before they left. I had to strongly resist the urge to follow them outside to see him load the bank breaking purchases into the car. I will always wonder just how nice the $7.00 furniture could have been. I bet it was the finest TV tray that $7.00 could buy........some people......

[Luke2411]

Good story Chad. I would like to think that the woman was joking about being all scared about spending $7. Maybe she was giving her husband a hard time.

[2006BowmanDraftFan]

I keep telling my wife's relatives to stay away. Not only dangerously inbred, but hard of hearing I guess.

Keep them coming!!!

[road_runner_1964]

"Oh, I'll give $20 for that card!"...... (this smilie does not do justice to the laughter I just exhibited.)

[Gforce083]

Me: "Today we are running a special where the customers can choose which price they would rather pay."

I answered that same question in that very same way just last weekend concering a Ryan Howard rookie card. The white sticker said $20. The orange sticker said $10. The response I received from the customer was a pleasant surprise. "Oh, I'll give $20 for that card! I think he is going to break the home run record some day." The man then gave me $20 and walked away with the Howard RC. Needless to say......I hope that dude comes back soon and often!!!

PRICELESS!!!!

[dodgerblue38501]

Good story Chad.  I would like to think that the woman was joking about being all scared about spending $7.  Maybe she was giving her husband a hard time.

I would like to think that she was joking also, but based on the other evidence in this case, I have to believe that she was very serious.

[drocksthaparty]

I have to say I love this thread

[dodgerblue38501]

Another successful weekend in the books, and a few more tall tales and interesting encounters to share.

The first "customer" of the day was a doozy! He was an older gentleman dressed in golf attire. He stopped by to look around and apparently brag about the charmed life he has led. He started out in my WWE Collectibles section checking out my wall of 8x10 photos. "What is this guys name?" the man asked gesturing toward an 8x10 photo of The Miz. "That is The Miz. He is one of the newer stars. He held the championship for quite a while" I answered. "I have seen him on TV a lot" the man replied. "My good friend passed away last weekend" the man continued. "I'm sorry to hear that" I said. "His name was Randy Savage" the man confirmed. "We had lockers right next to each other in Florida when we played Minor League Baseball together" he continued. "I had always been a big Macho Man fan. He was one of my favorites" I said. The man continued on recapping the media reports of Savage's death as though I had been living under a rock for the last week or two. When he finished that story he had made his way around to my display case of local guys: Titans, Vols, Predators, etc. "What do you think about the Titans getting a new quarterback?" he asked. "I like Jake Locker. I like his attitude and work ethic. I think he will be more accepted by the fan base" I answered. "Young just didn't understand the mental side of the game" the man said. "I just retired from the Titans. I worked the replay booth for 10 years" he continued. "I know all the players" he asserted proudly. I then gave my general response of "Oh yeah?". That is generally what I say when I doubt the validity of someones statement. I use that phrase quite often. The man then continued looking around and must have spotted something in another display case that reminded him of another aspect of his storied life. "What about the Braves? Are they gonna win this year?" the man then asked me. "If they can stay healthy I think they have a good shot at winning the Wild Card in the National League and getting in the playoffs" I replied. "Their pitching just isn't what it used to be" the man said. "I helped train some of those pitchers from the 90s" he continued. "oh yeah?" I responded. "I worked with Smoltz, Glavine, and the other one" he claimed. "Other one? You mean Greg Maddux?" I asked. "Yeah, Gary Maddux" he agreed. "They were really good guys and good listeners" he confirmed. With that statement the man wandered away. I could hear him a few minutes later talking to another vendor down the aisle, no doubt sharing his life experiences. Is this man's story possible?........sure. It is highly unlikely.........absolutely.

Another guy that I see regularly stopped by for the first time. I had never spoken with him but other vendors had warned me that he was a troublemaker. He has a very confrontational attitude and walks around with a scowl on his face lowballing people trying to get merchandise for virtually nothing. "You have any Hulk Hogan stuff?" he asked. "Yes I have several Hogan items: an autographed 8x10 photo, trading cards, some action figures......" I answered. The man then cut me off mid sentence and said, "You got any Hulk Hogan stuff like this?" showing me the screen of his cell phone. He had a photo on his phone of him standing with Hulk Hogan. "We had dinner together the other night" the guy continued. Hogan had been in town recently to promote a new project called Micro Extreme Wrestling featuring little people in hardcore matches. Folks, I will tell you I get EXTREMELY sick and tired of everyone trying to impress me with who they have met or what they have in their collections that is more valuable than my entire inventory. I figured if this guy liked to act tough and bully people I would call his bluff. "No I don't have any photos for sale of you standing next to Hulk Hogan. They probably wouldn't sell since nobody knows who you are" I quipped. The guy just stood there for a second and replied, "I'm having lunch with Ric Flair in a couple of weeks". The guy has no idea that I am probably the biggest Flair fan around. I reached for my business card and handed it to the guy. "Tell Naitch I said hello. I haven't talked to him in a while" I said with a smile. The guy stood there for a minute then just walked away. I can't stand people like that !

In yet another test of my patience. A guy stopped to look at some of my McFarlane figures. He pulled a very beat up dusty figure out of a bag. It was Vince Young. He was trying to push all of the dents out of the packaging as he proudly said, "I just bought this same thing you've got there for $7.00". "I guess that's not a bad price for a figure that has that much damage to the packaging" I again said with a warm smile. "I have several figures of big name players on clearance right over there for $5.00 each, and the packages are in mint condition" I told the guy. "You got any Titans posters or other stuff besides cards? he asked. Looking around and shaking my head I said, "No I only do cards, action figures, and autographs as you can see". "Well how much would a Chris Johnson Rookie Card go for?" the man asked. "He has dozens and dozens of different rookie cards so it would just depend on what it is" I replied. "Yeah, well, I will just check back when you get some more of those posters in" the guy concluded. Now I know I am getting forgetful in my old age but I don't recall ever telling him that I carried posters or would carry posters in the future.

A guy and his young son stopped in. I always love to see a father and son looking at cards together and talking about the various players and teams. To me that is what sports is all about. As fans it ties generations of our families together. I exchanged hellos with the man and his son and told them to let me know if I could help them with anything. I then left them alone to look around and talk. For the next hour they carefully went from display case to display case looking at the various cards and whispering and pointing. They carefully searched through all the boxes on top of the display cases. Then they discovered the $5 GU box. The boys face lit up. They spent several more minuted going through the box. The young lad chose 3 GU cards from the box and the man presented them to me for payment. "That will be $15 please" I said. The man then opened his wallet and said to his son, "I've only got $6 son, so you can only pick one card". Good grief! Here we go again. Just like the lady last week that was so traumatized over buying a VERY expensive piece of furniture for a whopping $7, this guy has been shopping around for over an hour with all of $6 to spend! The boy settled on a Ladanian Tomlinson GU and the two went on their way. As they walked away the man told his son, "Let's go down this aisle and look around some more". Little did they know that the $1 items were at the other end of the building.

It was a very frustrating weekend filled with lots of tall tales, hot air, and big spenders. No matter how long I do this, I just can't understand the thinking or the mindset of some folks. If you have never worked in a retail setting dealing with the public it is very hard to understand how much it wears on you. I also ask myself why I even do this sometimes. The good customers still outweigh the bad though. Sometimes the bad ones even provide us with entertainment so I guess in the end it is still worth it!

[dodgerblue38501]

Is there anyone out there?

I've been recording a few stories and plan to update this topic soon.......stay tuned.

[road_runner_1964]

Is there anyone out there?

I've been recording a few stories and plan to update this topic soon.......stay tuned. 

Chirp chirp....

[obe459]

I had forgotten about these threads, as I only read the 2009 before. Those were fantastic stories Chad. You had me crying from laughing so hard at some points. Keep it up.

[Tick-Tock-Man]

love the stories keep it up.

[ronaldinho0003]

I've missed this thread! Can't wait for more stories.

[Beavers98]

Always a good read Chad...Very Funny in many cases

At least you have some "good ending" stories too. Those signed baseballs seem sweet

[dodgerblue38501]

Well folks as you may have noticed, I don't update as often as I used to. I don't encounter very much new material to share with you these days. Just much of the same misguided souls trying to cash in on their stashes of early 90s mass produced commons or wondering aloud if I buy cards or asking the other members of their group if my autographs are real or trying to figure out what the pictures of my customer pack pulls really are. This past weekend I met a couple that I thought at first might have something in common with me. After our brief conversation, I was very wrong.

A woman and her husband and/or boyfriend were browsing my Basketball Rookie Card Display Case wondering aloud if I had any Tim Tebow cards. I saw the lady was carrying a Florida Gators key chain so I attempted to strike up some friendly discussion. "I like your key chain" I opened. "I'm a huge Gators fan myself" I continued holding up my shop keys which are affixed to a Gators key chain as well. "Have they made any Tim Tebow cards yet ?" the woman replied. I then went on to explain that Tebow has in fact had hundreds if not thousands of cards produced over the past year plus. "Do you have any ?" the lady asked. "I sure do" I answered. "Are you looking for college cards or NFL rookie cards?" I questioned. "College" she replied again. I then proceeded to show here a stack of base and inserts from various brands with Timmy T pictured in his Gators uniform. As the lady was looking through the stack she came back at me with this, "Do you have any Tebow autographs ?" Now I knew that this lady wasn't exactly a seasoned collector so I was fairly confident that she wouldn't fork over the dough necessary to purchase a Tebow autograph, but I humored her and amused myself. "I have several in my personal collection at home but I don't have any here at the shop for sale" I answered. "Many of his autographs carry a price tag in the hundreds of dollars" I continued. "Really ?" the woman said looking surprised. She then put aside a Tebow base card with the steep price tag of $1 and looked at he partner and said, "The cheapest one is a dollar. I don't have a dollar do I ?" Of course the mute man holding the baby with a huge head shook his head no. "I can't believe the Dolphins didn't want him. He wanted to go there but they wouldn't take him. I was like, C'mon this dude can play!" the woman concluded handing me back the stack of cards. "Yes he is talented. He had an incredible college career. That is why his cards are usually expensive, at least a dollar or more" I said with a warm smile. I just really wonder what people expect when they ask for cards or autographs of top level guys. It never ceases to amaze me. It makes about as much sense as looking through my $5 GU box while announcing that you are looking for Babe Ruth (which by the way has happened many, many times). People have no clue about this stuff or life for that matter.

[obe459]

Another solid entry