I bought the Ebay scrapbook

[dell webb]

Hello all,
I was definitely on the fence about the book in the days leading up to the close and enjoyed reading the different posts on here. I was able to talk at great length with the seller on the phone several days before expiration. I felt that he was legitimate. He said that he was selling the book for an older gentleman that he knew, allthough not well. He ran in to this guy at the post office one day and the older gentleman mentioned to the seller that he had this scrapbook among other things that he was considering selling. The seller said that he would be happy to list the man's items on Ebay if he would like.
While talking to the seller, he said that if I would happen to be the winning bidder that he would give me ample time to examine the book in case I decided to return it. He mentioned a 5 day return policy in the listing but I explained to him that I would more than likely be out of town at the time of delivery and might need some extra time. I also asked the seller if I could get in touch with the owner if I would end up being the high bidder. I didn't feel that it was that important to talk to the owner prior to winning with the examination period in tact and the Paypal guarantee etc.
After winning the book I quickly Googled the seller and learned that he was a successful bussinessman and not a deadbeat scammer like we all feared. The seller called me that evening to go over details. He was a really nice guy and we talked so long I missed 2 innings of my sons baseball game. I was standing right at the field but didn't see a thing. I guess I can't watch and talk at the same time. The seller gave me the phone number of the owner and said that he gave him a heads up that I would like to talk to him. The seller said that the owner had a lot of info. about the book that the seller didn't even know and the older gentleman was looking forward to my call.
The next day I called the older gentleman and we talked at great length. He is about 82 or 83 years old and a really nice guy. I bet he went on for an hour or so. I pretty much learned his life history. He said that the book was purchased in the early 80's at a storage auction in Virginia (have you seen storage wars?). He said that all they could do was peek inside prior to bidding on the unit. He said that he spotted a Xerox machine in the back and figured he would bid on the lot. Well he won the lot for $150 and was obviously surprised when it came time to clean it out. The unpaid storage unit contained the property of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association. In addition to the scrapbook the unit was full of office furniture, signed baseballs, uncashed checks etc..
As far as my purchase of the book. I realize with the premium that I had to pay that it's anything but a homerun. I'm 44 years old and my oldest son is only 14 but I can envision the day when the grandkids come in to the office to look at pop's old baseball card book. I'm having fun just thinking about it.
It was reassuring to see some nice cards in the book that weren't shown in the listing though, including an E90-1 Joe Jackson.
I'll post a scan when my 14 year old is around to show me how.
I realize that the cards are pretty well beat allthough a few are quite nice. 10 grand!! oh well easy come easy go...........Thats my story and I'm sticking to it...............Mike

[Ladder7]

great find. wish i could have bid more!

[nebboy]

Thanks for sharing the story.

Look forward to seeing more.

Im sure this will be talked about for some time.

[Danny Smith]

Congrats man. Good buy and great heirloom for the kids.

[GasHouseGang]

The thing we all still wonder is are the cards real? I thought it seemed too large to be a fake, but that doesn't mean there couldn't be some reprints mixed in. It sounds like you plan to keep it together, or are you going to let someone try to remove the cards to see what you have? Just wondering.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by dell webb

I'm 44 years old and my oldest son is only 14 but I can envision the day when the grandkids come in to the office to look at pop's old baseball card book.

So, the book is staying intact?

[slidekellyslide]

Good deal..I was wrong. Looking at the seller's other items I started to wonder how he obtained all those MLBPA items. I still don't think those MVP awards were real though.

[dell webb]

Towards the end of the book there are many pages of mostly sports related clippings from '32 and '33. The cards are at the beginning of the book so I would assume that the cards were glued in either before the clippings or at the same time. There are about 50 or so cards, the ones that looked weird in the listing, that were hand made by some kid. I would be very surprised if everything else wasn't authentic.

[deadballera]

Thanks for sharing your story. Glad you were able to talk to the owner and get some details.

still a great pickup in my opinion. Enjoy the bonus Joe Jackson card !!

[Jewish-collector]

Mazel Tov Mike !!! Come to the Net54 dinner at the National in Chicago in early August & show us this wonderful item !!!

Alan

[scottglevy]

Nice pickup Mike,

The Joe Jax card alone could be worth your purchase price. Let us know how it all turns out ... and congrats.

Best,
Scott

[fkw]

Not a single red flag about the auction or book IMO.

Besides the obviously homemade cards mixed in, all cards I saw in the scrapbook were 100% authentic. Yet I didnt see a single card that didnt meet the scissors.

interesting the BEST card in the lot was not pictured.... E90-1 Jackson, was it just trimmed like some of the better cards or did it get its caption chopped off?

Post pics when you can would love to see more.

sets I remember seeing in the album...
T212-1
T212-2
T212-3
T206
T205
T217
D311
M116
M101-4/5
E136
E137
E90-2
E90-1

[dell webb]

Unfortunately the young scrapbooker cut off the name. Since the cards were trimmed in different ways I assume that the kid acquirred several different collections at the time and assembled them in the album.

[npa589]

This is definitely going to be talked about for a long time.

This is awesome.

Thank you for the info Dell!

[teetwoohsix]

Thanks Mike-

I'm sure we were all wondering who ended up with this, and was nice of you to bring the story to all of us. I was skeptical of this book, but I think I'm that way in nature anyways- but the bottom line is,- if you are happy with your purchase that's all that really matters.

Thanks again for posting about this !!

Sincerely, Clayton

[glchen]

I think you should still post a picture of the Joe Jax card. Frank's one of the best in determining the likelihood of genuine vs fake. However, two of the easiest ways to see if the Jackson card is real or not are gone with this card. These are:

(1) Fakes / reprints have a "20" on the back, which is often scuffed off in scams. Since this card is glued in a notebook, you can't see this.

(2) The "k" in the name Joe Jackson should be right below the bat. Since the name is trimmed off, you can't verify this either.

There is still a very good chance the card is genuine. And since there are other things to look for, some very knowledgeable board members here can probably tell you if the card is real by looking at it.

Here's another thread on determining whether E90-1 Jackson is real or not: Linky

[D. Bergin]

This is why I love Net54. It's fun watching these stories come full circle as it happens.

[Tsaiko]

Congrats on your winnings, I was a true non believer. The story that you've relayed and the people involved all seem credible and innocent and I find the whole story very believable.

Having said that, it's still a story and if I were in your shoes I'd want some concrete verification. If I had won that auction, the first thing I would've done after receiving the book would be to take a page out and ship it to Dick so he could remove and send a card or two to a grading company. That way you'll know for sure. An easy, painless process that wouldn't devalue a find such as that, IMO. Scan first so you can reconstruct if necessary.

Just my opinion.

Best of luck on what ever you decide to do

[collectbaseball]

Congrats on the pickup. I don't know if I could stomach $10k on chopped up cards, no matter who they were. Did you collect before (I imagine you did?)?

[caramelcard]

I was hoping that all the net 54 naysayers (and the strange "cards" mixed in) would bring the value of the book down so that I could win it, but that obviously didn't happen.

The book went way beyond what I thought was retail for the group of cards. The Jackson brings it up a bit, but still a very healthy price for the seller.

Congrats on the book!

Rob

[danmckee]

I finished 3rd, great book and you should do well.

Do you collect or are you strictly a flipper like 99% of today's newbes?

[dell webb]

Originally Posted by danmckee

I finished 3rd, great book and you should do well.

Do you collect or are you strictly a flipper like 99% of today's newbes?

I'll do the hoarding I mean collecting and the grandkids can do the flipping some day

[Exhibitman]

I hope the book lives up to the investment.

[dstraate]

It is really great that you came on and shared the story. I kept the book up on my "Watch List" well after the sale was completed just to see if the feedback would be positive. Its deals like this that make the hobby so intriguing.