Leon, how come you and some of the other guys don't start a grading company?

Jim VB · #1 05-14-2009, 04:38 PM

Geesh! What a great idea. Leon still has a few hairs left. His blood pressure hasn't popped any arteries, yet. His ulcers seem under control. He's got plenty of free time. I mean, he's only juggling a day job, his own collecting, this board, an auction house, his family, his community involvement, and softball.

Let's do it!

marvjung · #2 05-14-2009, 04:42 PM

Well, I asked the question because I felt there's just a tremendous amount of high quality knowledge on this board - there's so much information, even after three months, I still randomly go through pages to read past posts.

As for conflict of interest....well...hmmm....Rob Lifson doesn't have a personal collection? Bill Maestro didn't? It seems that several of the higher end auction houses have members that have personal collections. Am I wrong?

Just a thought

slidekellyslide · #3 05-14-2009, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marvjung

As for conflict of interest....well...hmmm....Rob Lifson doesn't have a personal collection? Bill Maestro didn't? It seems that several of the higher end auction houses have members that have personal collections. Am I wrong?

Just a thought

Good point, and most auction houses have taken steps recently to make sure there is no impropriety...honest auto-bid, keeping bidder records, et cetera.

I still wouldn't buy a GEM MINT encapsulated card from someone who works at one of the grading companies.

Abravefan11 · #4 05-14-2009, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

I still wouldn't buy a GEM MINT encapsulated card from someone who works at one of the grading companies.

So you're saying you won't buy cards from Beckett Media?

Leon · #5 05-14-2009, 04:58 PM

Actually they are Grandy's restaurants in Tarrant County (Arlington and Ft Worth). They have been doing a lot better lately and today we found 21k that forgot to be deposited. We have a new point of sale system and the merchant services sales (credit cards) weren't being deposited yet. lt is a good day today!!

Whenever I talk to Chad D, the west coast collector, we always joke about the restaurants. The joke goes something like "how do you make a million dollars in the restaurant business?" Answer- You start out with 2 million.

V117collector · #6 05-14-2009, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leon

"how do you make a million dollars in the restaurant business?" Answer- You start out with 2 million.

That was funny!

ksfarmboy · #7 05-14-2009, 05:09 PM

Leon, we used to have a couple of Grandy's in Wichita. They had the best rolls I ever tasted and the food was pretty good. Never understood why they went out of business. Wichita is pretty fickle though. If I ever make it down to Arlington I'll have to try it out.

sb1 · #8 05-14-2009, 05:11 PM

I think you would be surprised at the number of collectors/dealers/auction house owners/employees that have collections. Most had or still have quite a bit.

Scott

slidekellyslide · #9 05-14-2009, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abravefan11

So you're saying you won't buy cards from Beckett Media?

So Beckett sells encapsulated cards that they own?

Abravefan11 · #10 05-14-2009, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

So Beckett sells encapsulated cards that they own?

I think their stance is they grade the card, then provide the service to sell the card for the owner.

So no they don't own the card.

slidekellyslide · #11 05-14-2009, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abravefan11

I think their stance is they grade the card, then provide the service to sell the card for the owner.

So no they don't own the card.

Do they charge a flat fee to sell or are they taking a percentage of the final price?

Leon · #12 05-14-2009, 04:43 PM

I think somewhere in this suggestion there is a compliment so I do appreciate that. That being said there is no way in the world I would want to start a grading company. SGC guys and Beckett guys are good friends and that is close enough for me.....kind regards

Jim- you forgot my 2 failing restaurants......I have 2 stand alone restaurants with about 30 employees total.....someone else is running them but I have more involvement than I want to.

marvjung · #13 05-14-2009, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leon

I think somewhere in this suggestion there is a compliment so I do appreciate that. That being said there is no way in the world I would want to start a grading company. SGC guys and Beckett guys are good friends and that is close enough for me.....kind regards

Yessir, there is a compliment

hehe When I started in on the T series, I was blown away by all the other pre-war stuff, the E series, the 215's the W's, etc, etc and thought it was pretty damn cool

So I looked up a solid forum where I could get very reliable information - Net54

Ladder7 · #14 05-14-2009, 04:46 PM

Can you start up the grading company after adding a no brown-nosing line to the faq's please. *wink*

marvjung · #15 05-14-2009, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ladder7

Can you start up the grading company after adding a no brown-nosing line to the faq's please. *wink*

Not brown-nosing...simply showing my appreciation for the knowledge provided. I haven't been collecting this stuff long enough to really provide any thorough feedback like many on the board. that is all

Jim VB · #16 05-14-2009, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leon

Jim- you forgot my 2 failing restaurants......I have 2 stand alone restaurants with about 30 employees total.....someone else is running them but I have more involvement than I want to.

I must have missed that nugget. Maybe you need to advertise more?

Honestly, the restaurant business may be the only "legal" thing to burn through money faster than this hobby. (The "legal" qualification excludes: crack/cocaine usage, bookies, and dog and cock fighting, among other things.)