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> Things Overheard at the Shop......2012......, New Location.....Same Crazy People.....

dodgerblue38501
post Apr 10 2012, 11:00 PM
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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....... blink.gif 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 smile.gif 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 wink.gif


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 rolleyes.gif 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. mad.gif 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?" unsure.gif 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." ohmy.gif "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....... laugh.gif

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Gforce083
post Apr 10 2012, 11:07 PM
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Packlets!!!!

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Posts in this topic
dodgerblue38501   Things Overheard at the Shop......2012......   Apr 10 2012, 11:00 PM
Gforce083   Packlets!!!!   Apr 10 2012, 11:07 PM
SFGiants   Congrats on the new locale! Great read as alwa...   Apr 11 2012, 12:42 AM
dodgerblue38501   I didn't have to......he was there before I ...   Apr 11 2012, 08:21 AM
tyrodsports   Please don't take this the wrong way, but aren...   Apr 11 2012, 06:59 AM
dodgerblue38501   Absolutely! That is exactly why I was patien...   Apr 11 2012, 08:16 AM
tyrodsports   Awesome, now can you tell me how much my one of ...   Apr 11 2012, 06:30 PM
19th Century Indiana Jones   Okay, now I HAVE to visit and spend a day or two a...   Apr 11 2012, 07:22 AM
sschind   Just make sure you ask the right questions and ...   Apr 11 2012, 04:05 PM
road_runner_1964   Congrats on the new location, can't wait to he...   Apr 11 2012, 07:43 AM
finestkind   Chad, congrats on the new store. You have far more...   Apr 11 2012, 06:55 PM
dodgerblue38501   I just found out that the local cable TV series, ...   Apr 12 2012, 03:28 PM
chopinalex   Great start to volume 4! Mickey Rooney! Is...   Apr 12 2012, 10:24 PM
Gforce083   I would pay Packlets $20 to hang at your stor...   Apr 13 2012, 09:35 AM
dodgerblue38501   Time for an update from last weekend. Sad to say I...   Apr 19 2012, 11:57 AM
tyrodsports   should have traded for those crappy players, lol   Apr 19 2012, 12:09 PM
Gforce083   So we hear the stories of the nickel and dimers......   Apr 19 2012, 12:36 PM
dodgerblue38501   Yes they do G! Unfortunately, there just isn...   Apr 19 2012, 01:07 PM
finestkind   That's my lunch money for the week. :lo...   Apr 19 2012, 05:10 PM
dodgerblue38501   I say that only because the couple big spenders ...   Apr 19 2012, 06:04 PM
Gforce083   I'm not trying to figure out how much money...   Apr 20 2012, 09:24 AM
dodgerblue38501   No worries G. I just usually don't include t...   Apr 20 2012, 12:33 PM
dodgerblue38501   I meant to post this last week. The average tran...   Apr 28 2012, 01:15 PM
dodgerblue38501   Another weekend in the books. Business was strong ...   Apr 24 2012, 11:53 PM
SFGiants   Great read. IF only those autos were REALLY real...   Apr 25 2012, 01:28 AM
dodgerblue38501   I thought I would try something new today. Live st...   Apr 28 2012, 12:34 PM
finestkind   Maybe he meant http://ryanmayberry.com/i...   Apr 28 2012, 07:00 PM
dodgerblue38501   :lol: :lol: :lol: You might be on to someth...   Apr 29 2012, 12:34 PM
tyrodsports   Lolololol   Apr 29 2012, 03:49 PM
dodgerblue38501   Another live update......this just happened moment...   Apr 29 2012, 12:40 PM
dodgerblue38501   This doozy of a brag-fest just concluded and man a...   Apr 29 2012, 01:46 PM
road_runner_1964   ;)   Apr 29 2012, 02:40 PM
dielonthug   LOL, the woman asking you if you buy collectors ha...   Apr 29 2012, 02:45 PM
dodgerblue38501   Nothing too much this past weekend in the way of t...   May 8 2012, 04:07 PM
osufan2383   lol puff his chest only to be deflated because he ...   May 12 2012, 12:34 PM
dodgerblue38501   Just checking in with an update or two. Not really...   May 22 2012, 02:21 PM
19th Century Indiana Jones   You mean second-hand-informational-theory?   Jun 2 2012, 09:45 AM
dodgerblue38501   Absolutely! :lol:   Jun 2 2012, 03:35 PM
Luke2411   Pete Rose RC PSA 8.5   May 22 2012, 10:36 PM
dodgerblue38501   Well looks like daddy only has 2 left now..........   May 24 2012, 03:04 PM
ISLP55   Man you have the life of Riley. You ever seen that...   May 22 2012, 10:54 PM
dodgerblue38501   A couple tidbits from today's happenings at th...   May 26 2012, 05:20 PM
chopinalex   Your just missed out on 'the guy' that was...   May 26 2012, 10:10 PM
dodgerblue38501   Not so fast my friend! I received a call fro...   May 28 2012, 11:56 PM
Gforce083   I see you don't like the potential business I ...   May 29 2012, 11:32 AM
Gforce083   Do you want to offer your consignment services for...   May 30 2012, 11:34 AM
dodgerblue38501   No offense G but I would probably have better lu...   May 30 2012, 02:32 PM
Gforce083   Ouch... come on, think about it. A whole displa...   Jun 1 2012, 12:03 PM
dodgerblue38501   As the weekend winds down I thought I would change...   Jun 3 2012, 02:33 PM
sschind   Are you going to tell us or not...which way did Da...   Jun 5 2012, 07:24 AM
SFGiants   Thanks. This list was hilarious. I will have to r...   Jun 19 2012, 12:05 AM
dodgerblue38501   Live from the shop today we have a couple jewels a...   Jun 9 2012, 12:20 PM
sschind   I'd bet anything that the "stupid...   Jun 9 2012, 02:21 PM
finestkind   Poor kid. His parents named him stupid. :lol:   Jun 9 2012, 03:18 PM
dodgerblue38501   Just another update.....this time not a story of w...   Jun 10 2012, 03:04 PM
dodgerblue38501   When it rains it pours. I just had a run in of sor...   Jun 10 2012, 03:36 PM
dodgerblue38501   A couple other quick observations...... Why do pe...   Jun 10 2012, 04:31 PM
dodgerblue38501   A few more nuggets from this weekends action.........   Jun 17 2012, 12:25 PM
sschind   Whenever I have two prices on a product and someon...   Jun 18 2012, 04:44 PM
dodgerblue38501   Oh yeah. I've done that too. I actually had ...   Jun 21 2012, 10:35 AM
Gforce083   RE: Things Overheard at the Shop......2012......   Jun 22 2012, 11:48 AM
dodgerblue38501   One other tidbit, I Tweeted and posted on my Faceb...   Jun 17 2012, 12:33 PM
dodgerblue38501   And the winner of today's completely and total...   Jun 17 2012, 04:09 PM
ISLP55   :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :blink:   Jun 18 2012, 05:52 PM
northicehero99   Do you buy gold? I would have answered that one w...   Jun 19 2012, 05:58 AM
dodgerblue38501   It's not just at the shop that I get some ...   Jun 21 2012, 10:43 AM
sschind   I can only think of one appropriate (and one no...   Jun 22 2012, 10:54 AM
dodgerblue38501   :lol: That paragraph made my day! The feath...   Jun 22 2012, 04:01 PM
dodgerblue38501   Well folks. The person that responded to my online...   Jul 1 2012, 02:10 PM
19th Century Indiana Jones   Well, do you? :mellow:   Jul 1 2012, 02:58 PM
dodgerblue38501   Does anyone? I'd love to buy some for a ...   Jul 1 2012, 09:56 PM
19th Century Indiana Jones   Maybe you need to cut back on the salt. I know I h...   Jul 2 2012, 12:06 PM
dodgerblue38501   Indy, sometimes I feel like the world is one gia...   Jul 3 2012, 03:48 PM
19th Century Indiana Jones   Then you need to find this and all will be well....   Jul 3 2012, 04:14 PM
dodgerblue38501   :lol: I could probably show up wearing that ou...   Jul 3 2012, 10:04 PM
dodgerblue38501   Another weekend is almost in the books so I though...   Jul 8 2012, 04:24 PM
dodgerblue38501   I haven't updated this thread in a little whil...   Sep 5 2012, 11:34 AM
sschind   An interesting (maybe) story regarding those Pee-k...   Sep 6 2012, 09:28 AM
dodgerblue38501   Another weekend of wild and wooley action from t...   Sep 17 2012, 11:53 AM
SFGiants   I cant stop laughing LOLOLOLOLOL. Thanks! Jer...   Sep 6 2012, 03:09 AM
Kmart6nets   "Do you take cash?" Nahhhhhhhhhh I like...   Sep 6 2012, 03:41 PM
hugeeaglesfan   Would you be interested in an autographed Babe Rut...   Sep 9 2012, 01:10 AM
dodgerblue38501   The guy that actually asked me that brought in a...   Sep 9 2012, 10:58 PM
19th Century Indiana Jones   Complete idiots? Wait until I make a road trip to ...   Sep 17 2012, 01:05 PM
dodgerblue38501   Two weeks back after my vacation and still more of...   Oct 6 2012, 02:21 PM
dodgerblue38501   Just checking in with a short and sweet entry this...   Oct 14 2012, 11:08 PM
dodgerblue38501   Well another weekend of shop insanity is well unde...   Oct 20 2012, 12:47 PM
dodgerblue38501   Another interesting exchange just overheard a few ...   Oct 20 2012, 04:41 PM
chopinalex   good to read up upon your last adventure or misadv...   May 27 2013, 05:02 PM


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