[kengoldin]

To comment further and a last time on the SAH stuff. I first called into SAH in 1995 I believe. I last called in 2002. I, like many, thought Don West was funny and almost thought he was putting on an act, which to a degree he was. I was told that is what their audience liked, they were the ante-QVC, which is a soft, non value sell. I imagine while I was doing it I did not take it seriously enough. At the time it was kind of like a comedy show, it was parodied often on SNL, as well as Opie and Anthony show. In the 11 years since I have called into SAH, I have been divorced, remarried, had 2 daughters, and found my love again for what started me in this hobby when I was 11 years old, vintage cards and vintage memorabilia. I started by traveling to shows, buying and selling with my father, Paul Goldin, who many of you knew if you were around in the 1970s and 80s. I still have a vast collection and have been building on it the past 10 years . Yes, the new stuff for the most part is crap that will not be worth much in the future.
Yes, SAH was over the top. Yes, SAH in the majority of instances sold product for way too much money (keep in mind as a retailer however, they sold product for double what they paid, meaning the vendor got ½ the amount, or LESS then the price you saw on the screen). I wish I could say it wasn’t part of my past, but it is. I apologize for using the words ‘that’s how it was done’ and I have edited that out almost immediately out of the post. I am sorry for the word choice of my original posting, and as stated, as someone who understood the business very well, I was doing well enough by just selling to the soft cell QVC. I should never have stooped to the hard sell SAH method of doing business and I am sorry it happened. I know many hobbyist hated those shows, and I know many people loved them. I know the dealers that were providing me with product loved me. The people that hated the shows have always been the most vocal…and relentless. My point in the earlier post about mentioning QVC was only to point out that as an individual, I was able to adapt my ‘pitch’ to the network. One wanted a high energy, over the top performance, the other wanted an informative, no hype, no value driven soft sell. In hindsight I should have let SAH sell the product and not participate and wish I did not. At this point, when I turn 60 , 70 and even 80 to some I will always be known as the guy who used to call into SAH.
Hopefully to many of you I will not be remembered that way, to some I will, no matter what good I did in the past and do in the future. I will have to live with that. Just like I had to live with losing $1 million plus on Mark Mcgwire product (most of which I still have in inventory) because I did invest in the product I sold, and did get killed when he fell off the map and later had steroid controversy. To address one last question that was raised, on post 48 I outlined my departure from SB in 1997, as well as fact that I was not with the company when redemptions were due (including the Wagner card) so I cannot answer as to the outcome that John White CEO of SB did with the card. The company had run a similar promotion with a 52 topps mantle when I was there in 1996 and everyone got their cards, including the 52 topps Mantle that was given away. Also, with regards to authenticity question raised just above this post, I refer you back to my post #46. And I will repeat, there were 6-8 vendors to SAH…I just happen to be the most well known. With respect to autographs I constantly emailed SAH that they need to be careful who they purchased autos from, as they were buying from people who were not experts and not providing good certs…I purchased several items from them with ‘Howards sports collectibles’ certs to see what customers were getting, and then would send them to SAH management telling them I did not think it was real. . Again, all I ask is fairness. If I was not the vendor who sold a given product, I cannot take blame for that product. Just because it was sold on SAH does NOT mean the company I worked for was the vendor.
I wish the best of luck and collecting to all of you, even the negative posters, and hope at some point in time in the future you will look at Ken Goldin as the person who brought athletes to the masses, the guy who signed Shaq exclusively, and hopefully, the guy who always delivers great auctions and great products. I am available by PM or email if I can help any dealer or collector in any way, but believe my days of posting and reading this is over.