Open Letter: A Larry Fritsch Experience....

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Posted By: Mark Rios

I just received my ordered card and along with it - its sales receipt; problem is - the card was $65 and the final charge was
$78; a $13 difference.

After a phone call to Stevens Point - the difference was explained as the following: $8.95 for shipping and $3.70 "convenience telephone charge" - I swear I am not making this up. It appears that Larry charges an additional 5% of the total cost of the order when the order is place over the phone.

The small envelope that the card was sent could - at most - cost .75 cents and the postage on the envelope was $1.98.
Additionally, the card was sent through regular mail - not express, not priority, no delivery confirmation or registered receipt.

So $9 for postage????????

So let that one pass, but how about the $3.70 convenience charge - that one is sweet - isn't Larry making a killing
on the price of the cards themselves. Surely, a fat dealer's profit margin is factored in to the price of the cards themselves - to incur the inevitable costs of employees, advertising, catalog, breathing, etc.

I will save you guys from the "overgrading-itis" that the Fritsch's are renown for.

But are all these charges justified?

And I know, I know - if I do not want to deal with'em
I should pass, I have a choice, etc. - but some collector's
either are spurred to buy a card because of the right price,
type collector who may not see a tough card again or
lower condition afford-ability.

Comments?

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Posted By: Steve M.

is that any reason to call Larry fat?

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Posted By: Richard

I think Mark meant to put the word "fat" after the word "dealer's" and not before.

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Posted By: Josh Adams

Richard,
Did you know about this processing fee before you bought the cards? Were you informed of the fee when you made the call?
Sounds as shady as the Cubs scalping their own tickets.

Go Go White Sox
2005 World Series Champions!

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Posted By: Steve M.

I know

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Posted By: Kyle

As shady as the Cubs scalping tickets?

In 2005, the Chicago Cubs sold 98% of all their home game tickets, averaging 38,753 fans per game, ranking 6th in Major League Baseball. Attendance on Road games was at 80% occupancy, resulting in the Cubs having the best overall Road and Home total attendance of all teams at 88.9% in MLB.

Your champion White Sox, and their "dedicated" fans supported your team by filling up your stadium at just 71%, averaging 28,923 fans per game (nearly 10,000 less fans per game than the Cubs) while having a capacity of over 40,000 (and we all know when the fans were there the most, when the team was winning at the end).

The reason? Cubs games are enjoyable, people like being there, people pay top dollar for tickets, HENCE why scalpers exist and why the fan base for the Cubs is so strong. Going to Joan Cusack Stadium is a lame experience, as the stadium is a gigantic concrete slab in a terrible neighborhood of Chicago. Transportation to and from the park is far from pleasant and overall, unsafe. The most enjoyable part of going to a Sox game is riding the RedLine to the park.


By the way, through the first three games of the season, the Cubs lead home attendance and overall attendance. Overall the Sox coming in 12th for combined attendance, and fourth for home games. In 2006, the Cubs are still averaging close to 4,000 more fan per game than the World Champions.

Sorry - I got a little Off-Topic


Cited Sources:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/attendance?sort=all_pct&year=2005&seasonType=2
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/stadium?team=chw

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Posted By: matt

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Posted By: John S

Nice Matt, that about sums it up. I have not ordered from Larry in a couple of years. I don't recall being unhappy about any charges; but what you described is ridiculous. Fritsch has many unique items in stock and understands that collectors are in many cases forced to pay these fees or hope that the item eventually comes up on eBay. I have to assume that dealers continue to feel the pinch from online auctions and will do anything to increase their revenue.

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Posted By: Richard Simon

Multiply that convenience by how many telephone orders he gets in a year, and you have a big time chunk of change.
I know Larry Fritsch is a big time dealer and has done a lot more business than I have, but I would be ashamed to charge a fee like that to a customer.

--

I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
Unknown author
--
We made a promise. We swore we'd always remember.
No retreat baby, no surrender.
The Boss

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Posted By: Chris Counts

Mark,

If someone docked me a $3.70 "convenience charge" for talking on a telephone, I would "conveniently" avoid that vendor in the future. What a joke. I walked into a local coffee shop the other day and noticed a coin-operated lock on the restroom. It is truly amazing how much business some folks are willing to lose in the name of making money ...

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Posted By: Chris Mc

I grew up in Rockford, near Chicago and have been a Sox fan all my life. If you live near the Chicago area it's a well known fact that you either like the Sox(hate the Cubs) or like the Cubs(hate the Sox). Family has been divided, including mine. I am proud to be a Sox fan.A good fan base does not always win a World Championship. My first baseball card was a Hugh Duffy T205.Keeping it from being OT.

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Posted By: Glen V

I think the catalog does mention a 5% fee for phone orders. This probably covers the credit card fees that Fritsch has to pay. You can get around this by calling them, getting the cards put on hold, then mailing them a check/money order.

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Posted By: Bob

And be sure and use the coupons he provides in his catalogues, ten dollars off on cards $100+

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Posted By: Holstein

Steve-

That was funny! Maybe I have a wierd sense of humor - but that was funny! Hope all is well. I have never purchased from the "fat" dealer being discussed.

Paul

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Posted By: steve f

I've seen his photo, it's a typo... $3.75 cannoli fee

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Posted By: andy becker

kyle,
while i am a true blue cubbie fan....born and raised in chitown....even sold hot dawgs at wrigley for 5 years....i do see josh's analogy.

for those who do not know, the cubs set up a "ticket service" a few years ago...where they would sell "prime seats and prime games". basically scalping their own tickets .

sounds like fritsch.....in the baseball card business to me.

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Posted By: Kyle

All teams are doing it, even the white sox. Does this not encourage scalping?

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/cws/ticketing/ticket_exchange.jsp

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Posted By: Andrew Parks

You think that's bad? There's a restaurant near here that charged $.25 for ice in their mixed drinks!

That practice did not last long.

Oh and BCD can vouch for their burgers and service...

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Posted By: Josh Adams

That is the White Sox ticket exchange, where season ticket holders sell their tickets to other individuals, it is not the ballclub selling their own tickets.
Also, Kyle, please do not interpret my previous post as an attempt to stir up a North Side/ South Side debate! While I root for my beloved White Sox, I wish the north siders all the best, I just don't "hate" them like the stereotypical rivaly would assume.
I was merely making an analogy between a "phone convenience fee" and a major league club "selling" their tickets to a "ticket broker" owned by the same club, and then selling those same ticket at 10-20X the face value. The loser in the end is the true fan who wants to see a ball game there.

On a side note, you can have the attendance flag anyday, I'll take the World Series banner

Edited to add: "Going to Joan Cusack Stadium is a lame experience, as the stadium is a gigantic concrete slab in a terrible neighborhood of Chicago. Transportation to and from the park is far from pleasant and overall, unsafe."
I'm sorry, but that cannot be farther from the truth. The stadium when first erected was an eyesore, true. I did not care much for going. In the past 3 yrs (when the All-Star game was here in 03), there have been major renovations, and the overall experience at the Cell (or the "Joan") is quite enjoyable.
As far as transportation being unsafe, like the neighborhood, that too is not true. I went to 30+ games last year, all riding the EL, and not once did I feel scared, harassed, or unsafe. My brother has lived in Bridgeport for 4 years, and has not once been the victim of a crime. He can tell you too how safe Bridgeport is. There is a misconception that the "South Side" is a "bad" part of town. While parts of the south side of Chicago are unsafe, so are parts of the North side. Shocking, I know. But true.

Go Go White Sox
2005 World Series Champions!

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Posted By: Kyle

See I interpreted it as the weirdos scalping outside the stadium. I'm unaware of the club scalping tickets that way and definitely don't like hearing about it.

No harm, no foul... and I too would rather have a banner than attendance.... maybe this year is the year.

-Kyle-

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Posted By: Sean

It his catalog it lists a 5 percent phone/fax order...I first thought it covered the credit card fee, but you can send in your c.c. info to pay by mail.
Personally I would think it would be easier to take phone and fax orders; it's quick you don't have to wait for the payment to maybe arrive.
Like everyone said above, if you don't buy cards from him he will be forced to one day to remove the fee.

Maybe the fee covers the cigar cost for the Larry Dollar coupon?