Good point Jake and agreed the seller should assume liability as well. Pawn shop was a good reference to. I'm a little bias as my one and only time bidding in one of his auctions around 2001. Al screwed me over as I was the only bidder on many high end lots. Then I noticed he shut his auction down earlier than what was advertised. So the next day when I called him to get my winning total he said I'm lucky he will even sell to me for my opening bid and then I made the mistake of asking him how come he shut down the auction early and asked him why am I lucky??? Then he promptly said FU and he doesn't have to explain anything to me and he isn't going to honor any bids as he hung up the phone.

After reading Ryan's post and some other posters expierence with him, I can say that they are not alone in the feeling. He may have become a better person after the Enet came around but I'll never know. Plus, I'm sure he was loved by his close friends and dealer network as I do think he had a big personality that he could apply differently depending on his mood and who he was entertaining.

RIP and Al would as I believe he would approve of this thread because of this motto. "If they are talking good or bad about you, then that's good! When they stop talking about you then you have to worry and rethink your approach." Al was a master self promoter with that theme IMO

There was a time, albeit a brief one, when you could not be stupid enough not to make money on baseball cards. I mean a 50 cent pack could yield a $5 card and there were buyers for that. It was a relatively brief time and Rosen rode the wave.

The auction issue you are bringing up is entirely a different area i was commenting on. I was commenting about his buying practices you commented on at card shows. I wouldnt be happy if i was treated like you say you were in the 'auctions'

Never a fan. But I didn't absolutely detest him like I did the Bruces. RIP and condolences to his family.

"Kindness is my religion"-- Dali Lama

I don't think he bullied anyone. He was just an aggressive salesman and he was very good at what he did. He paid sellers what many dealers would not pay.

It's up to the seller to just walk away if they are not happy with the deal. If they can find someone to make a better offer, then its up to them to find that deal.
I have been ripped off many times from dealers but I can't blame them. I have to blame myself for not walking away.

I never met Mr. Mint but I respected what he did. I have never seen anyone do what he did.

i think I have a baseball card of good old Mr Mint somewhere????

I always find it interesting when i see someone about to sell a card for say $300, and someone else says the seller is getting ripped off but wont make an offer on the card. Its easy to say the someone is getting ripped off if you are arent going to be topping the offer. Same thing in fantasy baseball!:o

I heard about Al's passing several days ago and was immediately sad that another one of my competitors is gone.

In the 1970s, Al was just one of us out there trying to make a buck. Back then, he was always a friend who bought from me and sold to me.

Then he created the Mr. Mint persona and hit big-time pay dirt with aggressive marketing. He was a great spokesperson for the hobby and made some spectacular deals.

I mostly have fond memories of our dealings. But do I have stories? Of course I do, but they will also remain as memories. They don't belong here.

It really saddens me that some of you always find that this is the place to air your grievances when it is just too late to make a difference anyway.

My sincere condolences to his family.

Steve S.

Nice write up, Steve. I have to agree that there is a time and place for everything. When someone passes away is not the time to air dirty laundry, in my opinion.
I only met Al once or twice so only know what has been told. I am sure he had great friends and family just like the rest of us. No doubt, he was a character!! RIP Mr. Mint.

Cranston, Rhode Island
 

Mr. Mint,

I had one dealing with Alan Rosen at a Cranston,Rhode Island show many many years ago, we were set up. I had purchased an almost complete set of the Hockey year of Bobby Orr's rookie from our famous store owner in CT, Neal Sakow. I went up to Mr. Mint, he flipped through the pages, i told him it was not complete, he looked at me, gave me a very fair offer at that time and we were both very happy.

John

That's pretty much why I've held off posting for so long. I've mixed feelings about Mr Mint, but it's not the place or time for much of it.

I met him very briefly when he had a table at one of the Halls shows. I was helping out with one of the tables right near his. While my style could best be described as the exact opposite of his (With the exact opposite financial rewards fwiw) Seeing him in action for a few hours and also during the downtime when things were slow was very interesting. He put on a GREAT show! And that was exactly what some people wanted even if they didn't know it. One whole showcase with no cards, just cash, and his own armed guard standing by. But I was close enough to be sort of in on a few conversations during slow times later on, and mostly just listened to him discussing cards with other dealers. What I saw was a guy who really knew his cards and was fairly happy to discuss them with other people who he knew also knew cards.

I also saw a guy who wanted to spend, but only on the right stuff, or for the right deal and who readily referred people to the right dealer for stuff he didn't want. An aspect that I don't think was seen all that often because it was done quickly and quietly. Quick glance, "It's not for me but see X, he'll give you the best offer. " Maybe that was because of the small size of the show, I don't know.

And he was a big part of getting stuff out of attics and into the hobby.

The rest I may have mentioned before, and doesn't really belong here, so maybe another time.

Steve B

I was always curious as the decades passed; does anyone know if Al kept any of the primo 52 Mantles? The topic must have come up often in certain circles.

As far as I know, Al sold all the cards from the famed 52 deal. Remember he bought and sold cards, did not keep them