I started collecting seriously in 1987. Like most people, I began buying baseball cards, with my hobby later transforming to vintage memorabilia. In 1988, I started collecting Bo Jackson cards. The hype for the Royals and Raiders two-star athlete was bigger than MJ, Tiger, Lebron, Kobe or even American Idol, for crump sakes! It seemed like with every “Bo Knows” Nike commercial, Jackson cards became tougher and tougher to find.

My goal, when in my young teens, was to obtain one of each Jackson card that was ever made. That meant every Topps, Donruss, Fleer, Classic and even every “Broder” card that was ever produced. For those of you who don’t know what a Broder card is, they were unlicensed cards that were every bit as popular amongst youngsters as cards issued by the big companies.

Keep in mind, there was no eBay at this time. That made my Bo Jackson goal almost impossible to achieve. That said, I pounded the pavement. I would order as many singles as I could from Tuff Stuff and SCD ads, went to as many shows as my dad would take me to, go to as many card shops as I could discover in the Yellow Pages and traded with as many friends as I could.

My good friend Troy Kinunen (now of MEARS) used to promote shows in my hometown, which I set up at when I was in middle school. The majority of my friends when I was 13 years old were 18 years or older, all because of collecting cards. The night before a Saturday morning show, in Marinette, Wisconsin, would be spent going through cards and price guides and counting the minutes til the 9am opening bell. It was awesome!

If there was eBay back then, there would have been little reason to go to as many shows as I went to. In addition, I wouldn’t have gone to nearly as many card shops or trade with as many friends.
From time to time I will field a call at the SCD office with the typical question, “why is your magazine so much smaller than it was ten years ago?”

Anyone who asks that question has forgotten these special pre-eBay days.
The funny thing is these people never ask me what happened to card shops or local card shows. Ask yourself one question. How many card shops that you visited 15 years ago are still in business.

Very few, if any, will be your answer.

Also, I haven’t been to too many local card shows in the last few years, but the ones I go to seem to have transformed into displays of Beanie Babies and die-cast racecars.

Alright, now everyone is going to think I am anti-eBay, and also probably think I am an angry dude. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I enjoy eBay, but how can you not be a little sad when you think of how great collecting was in the pre-Internet days.

I gotta go now… gotta go see if I won my eBay auction I was sniping.

Only one day after my blog entry about Robert Edward Auctions’ online preview, I got a call from REA’s auction house owner Rob Lifson. This was the first time I ever talked with Rob, and I must say, he is a very nice guy and really cares about the hobby.

It is no secret that Lifson has a keen eye for super high-quality baseball memorabilia, but what continues to surprise me is the way he does it.

When on the phone today, I found out more about his business and his strategy to success. Lifson doesn’t set up at shows. When all the other major players in the auction industry have some of the biggest booths at The National, Sportsfest and others, you would think it would be key that an auction house sets up. Lifson said he would rather walk around and check things out that way.
What he does think is a big deal is taking care of his customers and being honest. Lifson stressed some of his policies to me today and I commend his efforts.

Rob told me that no employee of his, including himself, may own or bid on an item in his auction. That pretty much is unheard of nowadays and really takes out any conflict of interests that may arise.

If any of his authenticators consign an item to his auction, he has no problem with that. The only stipulation is he reveals that the authenticator is the seller in the lot’s description.

Rob also told me what goes into his catalogs. The current issue went out today to 10,000 people, at a whopping 680 pages! He also told me that the catalog is too big to go out at his normal $4.05 USPS Priority Mail rate, so he had to ship the book via FedEx ground at about $5-$8 each. I didn’t know that much went into sending an auction catalog. All this and that doesn't even take into consideration how much his production costs were.

Rob also stressed the importance of using MEARS to authenticate his game-used equipment. MEARS stands behind everything they authenticate and offers a money-back guarantee as its policy.
By no means is Lifson 100-percent satisfied with where his business is. He still is excited at his potential to grow.

Good stuff from a guy who has been in the business for many years.

Happy Easter everyone!

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Who hit more home runs, Babe Ruth or Anna Nicole Smith? Okay, I couldn’t resist. I laughed at the uncanny irony between the first and last lots in Universal Rarities’ current auction. Probably the only auction house that has offered a game-used Ruth bat and an Anna Nicole driver license in the same sale, Universal’s auction ends tomorrow.

Always known for its vast array of premium sports memorabilia and interesting relics from the entertainment industry, UR didn’t disappoint with its latest offerings.

Tonight, American Memorabilia’s auction ends and it also features a game-used piece of lumber from the Sultan of Swat. This one, graded a PSA GU8, is at nearly $40,000 and still climbing. I will keep an eye on it and other lots including a gorgeous 1957 Roy Campanella Brooklyn Dodgers game-worn flannel.

With the recent record-breaking result that Huggins and Scott just tallied on its Christy Mathewson ball, it seems like single-signed balls are really taking collectors by storm. AMI has a single-signed Jackie Robinson ball ending tonight and it is already at about $15,000. The ball is in primo condition (highest ever graded PSA 9), so I wouldn’t be surprised if it hits 25k or more.

As far as potential deals may go, AMI has a pair of Michael Jordan rookie game-worn shoes and they are only at $2,500. They have a nice provenance letter from a former coach at Maryland, so I doubt they will stay at that price, but that is a lot to definitely keep an eye on.

Wow, I just clicked on lot No. 25 and it is a Tiger Woods signed baseball. I saw this lot about three weeks ago online, but AMI now added a picture of Woods in a Braves uniform. That serves as pretty nice provenance and it is at least worth a look if you’re a Woods fan and never saw him out of his Nike polo.