Captain Obvious here to report that the collecting world went through a significant shift in the late 1980’s to early 1990’s. The introduction of Upper Deck into the card world, alongside more structured and legitimate price guides saw what was predominantly viewed as a kids hobby evolve into a full blown business. As with similar changes in other areas of industry, people want to get in on the market action and square away their portion of the consumers disposable income. And I’ll tell ya what bub; That consumer was no longer the snot nosed kid coming into the corner store or depanneur with some pocket change to get some wax wrapped cards with a cardboard stick of gum. Never mind the fact that anything sports related, no matter how tenuously, beyond cards and autographs was now getting sucked into the market of what was considered to be “sports memorabilia”, creating a vast marketplace for both sellers and buyers alike. This was no longer penny poker my friends. It was high stakes buy-in with pay-off implications.
This has long since been a kids game. A pack of cards climbed north of a buck over 25 years ago, and although the flooding of the market has calmed substantially with respect the players in the game, and the amount of playing fields for that matter (we miss you mid-‘90s Katch medallions!), any chance of the hobby in general re-adjusting to kid friendly levels is pretty much nil. I'm not suggesting it should either, as the hobby is a very different one than I lived in during the 1980’s, and it could not sustain itself that way anymore. Twenty-five cent packs when people are demanding autographs and game-worn memorabilia doesn't equate! So I'm not going to drone on about getting things back to the way they used to be as it’s just not happening. At the same time, I will drone on about what can be done to sidestep many of these financial barriers, and over time you'll see how some creativity and detective work can score you some primo deals!
I'd call this lesson one, but you'll see me revisit this with examples so many times I’d have to label it “Lesson One ‘A’ through ‘Z’ “, and that's just annoying (amongst the millions of things that are annoying about my hack’ish missives, but I digress…). So I’ll settle for introducing this to you and driving it home to you over time: Thrift Shops. They go by a million different names, be they chain or local: Salvation Army, Goodwill, Value Village, Frenchy’s, or a variety of “XXXXX” Auxiliary Thrift Shop. Basic premise is that Joe and Jane Q.Public donate items they no longer want to the shop, or to another organization (often a charity of sorts) which sells them to the thrift shop in bulk, and the items are, in turn, sold to the public with a portion of sales oftentimes helping to support an organization associated with the shop. The key here is that the person donating places little personal value in what they're donating, while in many cases the individuals pricing items at the store undervalue the financial worth of anything they're accustomed to dealing with, such as clothing and small appliances. This is where the astute collector can cash in!
I can tell you from experience that there is definite payoff in hitting these shops. On multiple occasions I've turned single digit investments into double digit hits, and is their ever some satisfaction that comes from it! How do we optimize the likelihood of seeing these payoffs though? Here's a few hints:
1. Patience. This is the ultimate virtue in this approach. Not every store is going to have something you're looking for. In fact, stores with potential hits are the exception more than the rule. So don't get frustrated if there's nothing for you in your first run of visits. Be patient and you'll find something eventually!
2. Re-visit. That store that was bare last month may have some swag this month! Give it a look if you've got a chance! The nature of these shops is that stock is very fluid with new stuff always coming in. This plays to your hand…
3. Target. We don't all have an hour to waste digging through merchandise upon every visit if the name of the game is optimizing. If you're grocery shopping and want milk you don't waste time looking through produce! Same idea here. If you're looking for cards, don't rifle through clothes. Instead, try the toy or games. If you're into season yearbooks, old magazines or other types of written materials, there's usually a book section. Old equipment and the like? Try sporting goods or a subsection of clothing. You into oddball things like packaging, lunch boxes or bobble heads? Housewares and toys. Point being, optimize your time and effort.
4. Mental Notes. Don't have time to hit a newly spotted store? Tuck it away for a time you do have a few minutes. Notice something unique about this store that differentiates it from others, whether it be product placement or other things? Keep it in mind! Could come in useful down the road.
5. Talk to staff. Find something in the store you're going to snap up? Why not ask the staff if they might have anymore of the same product in the back waiting to be placed on the shelves? Stores will sometimes break up larger bundles of a product into smaller pieces for sale, waiting for what's on the floor to sell before placing more out, or not wanting to take up shelf space with something they feel will sit there forever. They may be quite happy for you to take it off their hands in one fell swoop, so along never hurts!
6. Use what you know, learn as you go. At the end of the day we may find ourselves in front of something we are tempted to buy, but aren't 100% convinced it's worth it. To be quite honest, there will be many occasions where we are not totally sure, and that's fine! Ask any card buyer if they were 100% sure of what was going to be in the pack before they opened it, and that can normalize this a great deal! The key here is just making sure to be informed. You may not know exactly how much that bag of cards is worth, but knowing that pretty much anything from Pro Set is worthless, or that the market flood of the early ‘90’s devalued most cards from that era, can inform your decision. You may not know this book from the back of your hand, but looking at the publishing date, print run, and checking the inner covers for potential signatures better informs you. The same also applies post-purchase, sometimes for good, sometimes for the learning experience! So you check the price guide and you scored on the cards! But that 2002 Team Canada Theo Fleury bobble head? A little legwork tells you they were overproduced and aren't worth any more than what you just paid for it. Lesson learned, more info for next time! Sometimes you pay for the lesson, but luckily at a thrift shop the lesson will be reasonably priced!
So there's a little intro into tapping into a high prices hobby on the cheap. There are more spots than the local thrift shop to learn about, and I’ll share that info moving forward for sure, as well as a few of my personal scores! But in a few days, a nice story to underscore the usefulness of the thrift shop buy!
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Do you have a piece of treasured memorabilia that has a great story behind it? Let me know and you can be featured in an article. Doesn't matter how big or small the piece is, how valuable it may be, or whether it's a common item or more oddball. If you think it has a story, contact me via the information below and we'll chat. In the meantime, check out some previous "Display Case" articles via the links below to see what others have submitted in the past...
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Shawn Gates
[email protected]
Facebook: Shawn Gates
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Previous “Display Case” Articles
#1: The “Frankenstick!”
#2: Your desk has the right to remain collectable!
#3: Have Pads, Will Travel
#4: Pick a Pekka (Rinne) Autographed Mask
#5: Ted Lindsay Gets Kronwalled?
#6: The Only Thing We Have To Fehr Is Fehr Himself
#7: “Hungary” For Team Canada Swag
#8: The Soldiers Kid and “The Kid”
#9: Fan Appreciation & Player Humility Via The '72 Series
#10: Bobby Orr and....Birth Control?!?!?!
#11: Johnny Bower The “Portrait” Of Health At 88!!!
#12: Scotty Bowman – Stick Detective!!!
#13: Touch 'Em All Joe!!!
#14: Joey and Sergei's European (Lockout) Adventure!!!
#15: I’d Give The Jersey Off My Back For You…
#16: The Case Of The 1940’s Era Leafs
#17: Scrapping The History Of The Isles...
#18: Gretzky “Re-Signs” in Edmonton
#19: Gilmour Is Such A Caricature!!!
#20: Toys In The Attic
#21: The Right King Place At The Right King Time
#22: Momma Bear Takes On A “Killer”!!!
Previous “According to Twitter” Articles
Randy Carlyle Firing
NHL – NHLPA “Negotiations”
Olympic Gold Medal Game
Olympic Hockey
Kovalchuk Trade
Previous “Who Am I?” Articles
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#15,
#16,
#17,
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#19,
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#42
Previous “Hockey Videos”
2012: Week 1
2012: Week 2
2012: Week 3
2012: Week 4
2012: Week 5
2012: Week 6
2012: Week 7
Pain for Pleasure
National Anthems
Dion Phaneuf
Hockey Fans
Hockey Christmas
Nature Versus Sports
Goalie Fights!
Nature Versus Sports: Winter Classic 2014 Edition
NHL and The Tragically Hip
Previous ”On The Market” Articles
Gretzky’s 1000th Goal Stick
Andrew Shaw’s Cup Final Stitches
Previous “WHAT IF…?” Articles
#1 What If The NHL Contracted To 24 Teams?
#2 What If Quebec Traded Lindros To The Rangers Instead Of The Flyers?
#3 What If Calgary Drafted Martin Brodeur Instead Of Trevor Kidd?
#3a What If Calgary Drafted Martin Brodeur Instead Of Trevor Kidd?: A RESPONSE
#4 What If The WHA Never Existed?
#5 What If The Position Of Rover Had Not Been Eliminated?
#6 What If Pittsburgh Had Not Been Awarded A Team In 1967?
#7 What If Steve Smith Had Not Scored In His Own Net In Game 7?
#8 What If The NHL Had a Cross-Conference Playoff Structure?
#9 What If The NHL Asked For Fan Ideas For Improving The Game??
#10 What If Henderson Had Missed The Net In Game 8?
#11 What If You Could Sneak Into A Stanley Cup Celebration?
#12 What If The NHL Returned To Quebec City?
#13 What if Toronto and Edmonton Had Traded Teams in 1981?
#14 What if You Could Create Your Own Hockey Dream Team?
#15 What if An Active Player in the NHL “Came Out” as Gay?
#16 You Could Assemble Your Own Fantasy Pick-up Hockey Team?
#17 Hockey Had A Champions League Tournament?
#18 Team "X" Did NOT Make Trade "Y" At The Deadline?
#19 Gretzky Had Been Called For he High Stick?
#20 Star Players Hadn't Had Their Careers Cut Short?
#21 Mark Cuban Owned An NHL Team?
#22 Should Divisional Play Be Overhauled?
#23 You Won The Lottery Using Jersey Numbers?
#24 You Could Change Any Teams Name?
#25 You Could Own Any Odd Piece Of Hockey Memorabilia?
#26 You Could Pick One Silver Lining From The Lockout?
Previous “Points To Ponder” Articles
NHLs Latest Concession Does Not Pass The Stink Test
Cancelled Winter Classic Is About NHL Spite, Not Pragmatism
Fehr's Take On Offer Not Reflecting Optimism Of Fans?
Hybrid Icing: An AHL Experiment With An NHL Future?
Hockey Writers: Bottom Of The Barrel?!?!?
161 Players Overrate The Need To Offer Their Opinion
East vs West: Which Conference is Best?
Previous “Would You Rather…?
#1,
#2
Previous “Very Random Thoughts” Articles
August 9, 2012
August 1, 2012
July 24, 2012
Upcoming Signings
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Previous “Who Knew?” Articles
#1: Gordie Howe
#2: The Zamboni
#3: Maurice “The Rocket” Richard
#4: Ron Hextall
#5: Stanley Cup Abuse, Neglect and Versatility
#6: The Puck
#7: Don Cherry
#8: Cam Neely
#9: The Early Years of Les Canadiens
#10: Hockey Superstitions!
#11: Olympic Hockey Pt1
#12: Jarome Iginla
#13: Mark Messier
#14: Johnny Bower
Previous Product Previews & Reviews
2010-11 Donruss Hockey
2010-11 Panini Score Hockey
2010-11 Panini Certified Hockey
2010-11 ITG Ultimate Memorabilia, 10th Edition
2010-11 ITG Heroes & Prospects
2010-11 Panini Pinnacle Hockey
2011 UD National Hockey Card Day
2011 UD All Star Weekend Redemptions
2010-11 ITG Between The Pipes
Ultimate Set Build
INDEX
Previous "Devil's In The Details" Articles
#1: Beware the "Factory Sealed Box"!
#2: The Price Guide"
#3: What IS A Rookie Card?
#4: Beware the Money Order!
#5: The Counterfeit Gretzky RC
Previous Box Breaks
2010-11 Score Hockey
Previous “Devil's Advocate” Articles
Gary Bettman and the Phoenix Coyotes
Previous “Town Without A Team” Articles
Booger Hollow, Arkansas
Hell, Michigan
Previous “Hockey Psychology” Articles
State Dependent Learning
Arousal and Performance
Depression
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