SUCCESS-- Lets make a Trade Club -- The DelMarVaPa+ Trade Club

[Rhotchkiss]

Leon, apologies if this is the wrong place for this (obviously move if necessary):

About a month ago, a friend I met through card collecting came to my house with a container full of cards and we spent 2 hours looking at each other's collection and swapping stories. It was a ton of fun and it took me back to kid-days, when I would roll to a friend's house with binders of cards and we would trade the day away and show our collections off. I have had the itch to trade ever since Jack came over a month ago, and I have now decided to try something:

Would any East-Coasters be interested in getting a group together (15-20 people) to trade and just show cards to one another? We could use my office and we can pick a weekend that works for most (and does not conflict with a Chantilly, Philly, White Plains show). Just an old-fashioned gathering of card collectors spending a day sharing and trading?

I live outside of DC and my office is in Crofton, MD, which is smack in the middle of DC, Baltimore, and Annapolis. I know there are many collectors living in MD and nearby states, including PA & NJ, who would appreciate the networking, the chance to show off their collection, trade, and feel like a kid again. One thing, however: I am interested in serious collectors and serious cards. I am not saying everyone needs Goudey Ruths and Cracker Jack Cobbs, but nobody needs to see a binder of raw-mid grade 1976 topps or your 82 Topps Cal Ripken PSA 8....

Anyway, pm or email me (rhotchkiss@horizonlandco.com) if interested, and if I get enough interest, I will put a group together and we will see how it goes.

Ryan

[joshuanip]

Would love to be in the group. Too bad I’m on the wrong side of the coast.

Great idea Ryan.

[oldjudge]

Joshua--Let's have a SoCal group. I am in Pasadena, and I know we have a lot of people out here.

[joshuanip]

I use to live in Pasadena, right on Glenarm. Moved to the other side of the 110 last year in the Southbay. My family still miss that place. Especially Russell’s for breakfast and Gus’ for bbq dinner. Lived there 9 years and never went to a rose parade...

Would love to start up a SoCal club. I’ll move to another post to see what interest we get, so we don’t hijack Ryan’s post.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

...an old-fashioned gathering of card collectors spending a day sharing and trading...serious collectors and serious cards. I am not saying everyone needs Goudey Ruths and Cracker Jack Cobbs, but nobody needs to see a binder of raw-mid grade 1976 topps or your 82 Topps Cal Ripken PSA 8...

Ryan

I understand not bringing a binder of raw-mid grade 1976 Topps. However, the PSA 8 Ripken is worth about $20. I've finished off many a trade by including a throw-in or two in that price range.

Did you have a minimum value in mind, as it pertains to individual cards people can bring?

[Rhotchkiss]

Good question Eric, and SoCal guys, thanks for taking that west-side conversation offline. Regarding minimum value, I don’t have one. But personally, I collect HOF and rarer pre-war stuff and would prefer to assemble a like-minded group. In other words, an e93 tinker appeals much more than a 1962 Lou Brock. And not that we need only 100-year stuff - 1950’s+ is fine - but things that you would want to show off and see; to me, there is zero interesting about a PSA 8 1982 Topps Ripken and can look at hundreds on eBay any given minute.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

Good question Eric, and SoCal guys, thanks for taking that west-side conversation offline. Regarding minimum value, I don’t have one. But personally, I collect HOF and rarer pre-war stuff and would prefer to assemble a like-minded group. In other words, an e93 tinker appeals much more than a 1962 Lou Brock. And not that we need only 100-year stuff - 1950’s+ is fine - but things that you would want to show off and see; to me, there is zero interesting about a PSA 8 1982 Topps Ripken and can look at hundreds on eBay any given minute.

Gotcha...sorry I wasn’t a bit more clear in my post. My question was about what should/should not be brought along in a trade box.

It certainly makes sense that nobody would travel to see a run-of-the mill, pedestrian, everyday card. However, it might prove helpful to have some on hand to finalize a trade.

Perhaps I should have replaced the, “PSA 8 1982 Topps Ripken” reference with, “PSA 3 common from the T206 set.” That probably would have made more sense.

[Jason]

It sounds great and I do live in the area. Problem is I dont think im anywhere near serious or cool enough to get in the club

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by Jason

It sounds great and I do live in the area. Problem is I dont think im anywhere near serious or cool enough to get in the club

Jason, I sense, from your Net54 posts over the past several years, that you have assembled a fantastic T210 collection, one that I would truly enjoy getting to view. And I think you are also working on the T209-2s, which I'd also love to see. I don't think Ryan is only looking for collectors with lots of Ruths, Cobbs, Gehrigs, Wagners, etc.

Ryan, I'm game for giving such a club a go, as the few in-person show-and-tells I have experienced were fantastic experiences. However, the possible "problem" I see with trading, at least for me, is that I seldom have at any given time more than a few reasonably-valued cards to trade; whenever I have a few such cards, I either put them on eBay or give them to an auction house; this is not to say that I wouldn't be willing to take a scarce card from my personal collection and trade it for a scarce card that would mean more to me; what I'm saying in a roundabout way is that I wonder how much trading is likely to be accomplished.