Hall's Nostalgia - end of an era?

[scooter729]

I think the whole family is great, but I think they did themselves a disservice by not keeping up with the times.

The phone bids (with no online bidding option) hurt them as many bidders now would prefer just dealing online. Their consignment fees - which were normal 15+ years ago - were high in comparison now. And because of those factors, consignors got leery about having Halls auction high dollar items.

I don't think they were dishonest at all, but didn't evolve as grading standards evolved. I bought cards from their auction which I hadn't seen but only read the descriptions, only to get them and notice significant paper loss or other material issues with it. When I would mention it to them (and I was a 30 year customer), I would hear, "that's why it was graded VG-ex and not mint, so you should expect things like paper loss." Significant paper loss maybe was the case for a VG-ex card in 1980, but not so much now.

Anyways, I didn't start this to talk badly about Halls - just wanted to point out what I had noticed, and to thank them for many nice card-related memories as I was growing up.

[sox1903wschamp]

Thanks for posting about Hall's Scott.

I like Joel, Dave and Walt. They really did let technology pass them right by but they seem happy these days.

A fair amount of my collection came by way of Hall's. I have never made one of their "live" auctions but I have had relatives bid on my behalf back in the 80's and have purchased remotely fairly recently.

I will always remember the ads on the back of every SCD. Here is an ad from a 1979 SCD.

[prestigecollectibles]

They do have an eBay store with nearly 3000 items in it. http://stores.ebay.com/hallsnostalgia

[btcarfagno]

When I started to realize there was a secondary market for my beloved hobby (early 1980's) there were two names in the hobby that were like royalty to me. They were Larry Fritsch and Hall's Nostalgia.

I remember when a friend of mine bought a beater 1953 Topps Willie Mays from them. When it arrived I walked two and a half miles after school so I could see it firsthand. One of my cherished hobby memories.

Tom C

[brian1961]

I remember when a friend of mine bought a beater 1953 Topps Willie Mays from them. When it arrived I walked two and a half miles after school so I could see it firsthand. One of my cherished hobby memories.

Tom C[/QUOTE]

Tom, thank you for sharing your story. I loved it. Our love affair with sports and non-sports trading cards when we were young could get very intense indeed. Then again, some things don't change when we get gray-haired, either! Anyway, thanks again, bro. --Brian Powell

[DHogan]

Hall's also had live auction at some of their Peabody shows. I never bought anything from those auctions. I did attend on of their live auctions at the K of C in Arlington Mass. auctions about 5 years ago. It seemed that their starting bid were a bit high. At least to me. They were very nice every time I asked questions in their store or shows and auctions.

[wolf441]

I believe Hall's Nostalgia also had a shop in Buzzard's Bay in the early 1980's as well...

[jerrys]

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