[sirraffles]

My name is Charles Mandel, I own Helmar Brewing and make the cards that you are discussing. Wow, I didn't realize that I was causing such a fuss. How best to respond? I must admit that the insinuations in this thread did get a bit under my skin.

I can tell you that I've been collecting since I was ten years old, which is now more than forty years ago. Time does fly. I attended every show that I could find when the hobby began to grow in the 1970's and eventually I traveled to shows all around the country. It was an exciting hobby back then. There was a real sense of comradery and excitement. At every show, no matter how small, there was something new to see. It hasn't been like that in a long time now, but anyone that experienced it will never forget it. I try to bring a little of that thrill back through the cards that we make. We strive to delight collectors with something that they've never seen before...something that perhaps just should have been made but never was.

In the nineties my collection was stolen and I thought that was the end of my collecting days. Not only could I not afford to buy back copies of cards that I once owned, but the thought of paying perhaps $500 for something that I once cherished and purchased for $2 really stuck in my craw. Happily, I eventually returned to my collecting roots when a master brewer and I formulated and marketed Big League Brew. I paid handsomely for licensing from the Ruth and other estates, by the way. Far from being an off-the-shelf recipe, it took us a couple years to get the product to taste the way we wanted it to. We distributed it in five states. And yes, I was proud when we eventually won that Gold Medal at the World Festival of Beer. It is actually a well respected competition that attracts submissions from all over. If you consider Miller, Bud et al real beer companies you'll be happy to know that they participate. I've turned down opportunities to resume distribution over the last couple of years because I have something in mind regarding that beer and others. But I digress.

Let me skip forward to the cards. There are no tricks, no subterfuge. I paint some myself and work with a couple great, great artists to make the best cards that we can. A lot of thought and effort goes into these. I'm humbled that there are collectors out there that enjoy them as much as I do, and humbled that they are willing to pay generous prices in order to acquire them. The market sets the price, by the way, and that is a great way to do it.

I see a lot of the posts have to do with the possibility that at some time in the distant future some crook might try to sell the cards as being older than they are, perhaps as some variation of the original Goudey set or something along those lines. Hmmm. Most of the common players in our R319-Helmar series already sell for more than the common players in the original Goudey set in similar condition. A crook is far more likely to try to sell a reprint as genuine and we don't make reprints. Besides, a crook from the future could take any item, any item at all, in your own home and misrepresent it.

Oh, there was someone that wondered how many returns that we get. Only once has someone sent a card back, about a year ago. Ironically, he had paid only about $15 for it--around a third of what the card has sold for more recently.

Among the grumblings I read there is one thing that did set me back, the complaint that Helmar items are listed on eBay in the Pre WWII category. It didn't occur to me that this was a problem for some collectors. I had, in fact, checked with eBay prior to listing the items there. They said that it wasn't a problem and in fact one can find hundreds, if not thousands, of modern cards of old players listed there. My thought is that collectors looking for players from that era would more likely look there than anywhere else. And, of course, virtually all the cards we make are of early players.

I don't check this board very often, you can reach me through my email...or at eBay! Best, Charles