Rick Probstein interviews Bill Mastro

[Snowman]

This is a pretty good interview. Probstein talks with Mastro on his Instagram channel for about 40 minutes. They discuss the trimmed Wagner card and shill bidding operation at Mastro Auctions among other things.

The interview starts at about 1:45.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CT2hwihp0Vd/

[68Hawk]

Cliff notes?

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by 68Hawk

Cliff notes?

The Wagner card was sheet cut by someone else. He bought all the cards from that sheet from the guy who cut up the sheet. The Wagner was cut ridiculously wide left to right, and bowed out on both sides. Mastro said it looked like a football with a flat top and flat bottom. Mastro trimmed it for himself, not to resell it, and he trimmed it to size. He said it's not undersized at all, and that if you measure it, it would be of above average size for non-trimmed T206s.

He also said the majority of the auctions that were shill bid at Mastro Auctions were actually of Americana or other non-sports card collectibles. He said it was mostly stuff that had very interested few buyers. He said most of the cards had plenty of action and that they didn't "need" to bid on those, but that sometimes they did anyhow because they had access to everyone's bid amounts and they got greedy.

Lots of other great stories though. Worth a listen.

[Carter08]

Thanks for sharing!

[Peter_Spaeth]

I didn't think Alan Ray -- the pre-Mastro owner -- was the one who cut the Wagner from the sheet. I had thought the provenance did not go back all the way to the sheet and I also thought Ray would not say where HE got the card.

But there are several members at least who know the story better.

[drcy]

Very interesting and entertaining. He should write a book. His enthusiasm for cards is obvious.

[Vintagecatcher]

Thanks for sharing!

Interesting to hear him speak. I expect that there will be a tell all book.

Found it interesting that he said he hated Lew Lipset.

Patrick

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by Snowman

The Wagner card was sheet cut by someone else. He bought all the cards from that sheet from the guy who cut up the sheet. The Wagner was cut ridiculously wide left to right, and bowed out on both sides. Mastro said it looked like a football with a flat top and flat bottom. Mastro trimmed it for himself, not to resell it, and he trimmed it to size. He said it's not undersized at all, and that if you measure it, it would be of above average size for non-trimmed T206s.

He also said the majority of the auctions that were shill bid at Mastro Auctions were actually of Americana or other non-sports card collectibles. He said it was mostly stuff that had very interested few buyers. He said most of the cards had plenty of action and that they didn't "need" to bid on those, but that sometimes they did anyhow because they had access to everyone's bid amounts and they got greedy.

Lots of other great stories though. Worth a listen.

.

So basically he was "THIS" close to being innocent and certainly not a bad guy, and everyone should just enjoy what an entertaining fellow he is. Gotcha.

[drcy]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

.

So basically he was "THIS" close to being innocent and certainly not a bad guy, and everyone should just enjoy what an entertaining fellow he is. Gotcha.

He admits to his guilt in the video and served his time.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by drcy

He admits to his guilt in the video and served his time.

Don't think I said anything that contradicted that.

[Hxcmilkshake]

"Hidden reserves" is something new I learned today.



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[Collectorsince62]

The interview was like listening to Pete Rose. A brash personality who knows a lot about the history and inner workings of his industry, a very tarnished reputation after being on top of his world, semi-repentant about his deceit, simultaneously embraced and hated . . . but interesting as hell.

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by Collectorsince62

The interview was like listening to Pete Rose. A brash personality who knows a lot about the history and inner workings of his industry, a very tarnished reputation after being on top of his world, semi-repentant about his deceit, simultaneously embraced and hated . . . but interesting as hell.

That is actually a real good description and a really good comparison about the way he came across.

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by Collectorsince62

The interview was like listening to Pete Rose. A brash personality who knows a lot about the history and inner workings of his industry, a very tarnished reputation after being on top of his world, semi-repentant about his deceit, simultaneously embraced and hated . . . but interesting as hell.

That's a good analogy, as Mastro is certainly a polarizing figure. I did enjoy hearing Mastro's thoughts (like him or not). My name appeared on the "You've been shilled List" when it was released... and yes it was a real downer. So while I'm certainly not a fan of Mastro or what he did, I was still quite interested to hear the story from his perspective.

Pete Rose (even at his advanced age) probably knows as much about baseball as anyone alive today. I would've put Don Zimmer in that category before he passed, as well. The hobby equivalent is undeniably Mastro. Like Rose, he is still passionate about the hobby and expresses a moderate degree of remorse. Whether it's remorse over what he did or just at getting caught is open to interpretation. Still, some of my best pieces came from the early days of Mastro Auctions (dating back to Mastro & Steinbach).

I agree that Probstein should stick to his "day job", as his interviewing skills were awful, to the point of maddening. Just as Mastro would hit on an interesting topic, Probstein would interrupt him or change course. Just let him speak, for Christ's sake. A good interviewer lets the person complete their thoughts and then bases the follow-up question(s) on what's been revealed (assuming the interviewer possesses good listening skills). Johnny Carson was the master of this, and even Leno was far superior to the current Late Night crop.

Anyway, Mastro's stories of the early days were engaging. I would've liked to hear more about his federal prison experience and how he built his auction house into the empire it was back in the day. Sounded like a follow-up interview might be in the works.

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by perezfan

A good interviewer lets the person complete their thoughts and then bases the follow-up question(s) on what's been revealed (assuming the interviewer possesses good listening skills). Johnny Carson was the master of this, and even Leno was far superior to the current Late Night crop.

Howard Stern might be the best interviewer and makes the very most of the hour or so he has with his guests.

Did not watch the Mastro interview yet so I cannot comment.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Christiana Amanpour.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by perezfan

I agree that Probstein should stick to his "day job", as his interviewing skills were awful, to the point of maddening. Just as Mastro would hit on an interesting topic, Probstein would interrupt him or change course. Just let him speak, for Christ's sake. A good interviewer lets the person complete their thoughts and then bases the follow-up question(s) on what's been revealed (assuming the interviewer possesses good listening skills). Johnny Carson was the master of this, and even Leno was far superior to the current Late Night crop.

That's the secret sauce in the baseball oral history classic, "The Glory of Their Times." Having listened to all of Ritter's original interview tapes, his patience with the players is what stands out as the key to the great stories he got out of them. I sometimes wondered if something had happened as the seconds rolled by while Larry sat silently to allow his subject to travel back in time in his mind. No attempt to hurry them, prod them for specifics, show off his knowledge of their careers, none of that. Just silence. Then, after what seemed like minutes sometimes, when the player was satisfied that his memory had filled in enough of the detail from many decades long past, he would launch into one of the amazing stories that make the book so magical. If a course in "Interviewing for Oral History" was ever taught, one of the textbooks should be Ritter and GOTT. You can hear the process at work on the audio set, even with a lot of editing for time and flow.

[egri]

Originally Posted by perezfan

I agree that Probstein should stick to his "day job", as his interviewing skills were awful, to the point of maddening. Just as Mastro would hit on an interesting topic, Probstein would interrupt him or change course. Just let him speak, for Christ's sake. A good interviewer lets the person complete their thoughts and then bases the follow-up question(s) on what's been revealed (assuming the interviewer possesses good listening skills). Johnny Carson was the master of this, and even Leno was far superior to the current Late Night crop.

I once listened to an interview with a Civil War veteran that was the same way. The veteran had been at Pickett's Charge, and it sounded like he was about to go into a story about that day, when the interviewer cut him off with a question about something completely unrelated.

[lumberjack]

There can be a short audio delay with Face Time. It makes for clumsy dialogue, but it's not anybody's fault that people are stepping on each other's lines. Somebody correct me if I am wrong.
lumberjack

[Fred]

Originally Posted by egri

I once listened to an interview with a Civil War veteran that was the same way. The veteran had been at Pickett's Charge, and it sounded like he was about to go into a story about that day, when the interviewer cut him off with a question about something completely unrelated.

Scott, I'm gonna bite - did the CW veteran ever get back to the story about Pickett's Charge? If not, bummer... When people like that get on a roll, a good interviewer would just let them keep going.

I bet Mastro could go on for hours. I'd listen but I would also not forget. Did he pay his debt to society? Maybe, but I'm going to bet he isn't "whole" with a lot of hobby community.

[CTDean]

Originally Posted by Hxcmilkshake

"Hidden reserves" is something new I learned today.



Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

I've bought and sold at auctions for the last 50 years and the hidden reserve has always been around for the quality catalog auctions. Some catalogs will explain the hidden reserve in the written "Auction Terms". The auction lot should have a specified high-low estimate with the listing, and the hidden reserve can't exceed the low estimate.

I dropped out of the East Coast card show circuit by 1984 so I only have good memories of Bill Mastro. Bill was the last one on the phone for my SCD phone auctions that ended at midnight and always a easy to deal with and talk to at card shows. Bill made mistakes and he paid the price so he not getting a free pass. I wish Bill the best of luck going forward.

Peck Dean

[Yoda]

I have had a 30 year relationship with Lew Lipset. Yes, he could be a curmudgeon at times and his grading standards were out-of-step with TPG'ers. But what a fountainhead of baseball knowledge and collectibles. His books about 19th century, T & E cards are classics and sit in my library. His auctions, although rudimentary by today's standards, always had great material and were scrupulously run. He belongs in that special pantheon of early pioneers, like Nagy and others, who brought so much to the hobby we love.

[Ricky]

Originally Posted by Yoda

I have had a 30 year relationship with Lew Lipset. Yes, he could be a curmudgeon at times and his grading standards were out-of-step with TPG'ers. But what a fountainhead of baseball knowledge and collectibles. His books about 19th century, T & E cards are classics and sit in my library. His auctions, although rudimentary by today's standards, always had great material and were scrupulously run. He belongs in that special pantheon of early pioneers, like Nagy and others, who brought so much to the hobby we love.

Agree about Lew, John. Purchased some cards from him back in the day and he always had interesting material. Read his encyclopedias and Old Judge publications religiously. Is he still active in the hobby?

[Yoda]

Originally Posted by Ricky

Agree about Lew, John. Purchased some cards from him back in the day and he always had interesting material. Read his encyclopedias and Old Judge publications religiously. Is he still active in the hobby?

Rich, I have sort of lost touch with Lew. As you probably know, he and Marsha finally sold their house in AZ and moved back to NJ a few years ago. I haven't heard much lately.
I remember well when they would come down to the Jersey shore, when I lived there, looking for a consignment. Afterward, we always had lunch and he would fill me in on hobby gossip. Interestingly, at least to me, he mentioned he never had a problem with Alan Rosen, and I think he quietly liked Alan and the publicity he brought to the hobby.

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by Yoda

I have had a 30 year relationship with Lew Lipset. Yes, he could be a curmudgeon at times and his grading standards were out-of-step with TPG'ers. But what a fountainhead of baseball knowledge and collectibles. His books about 19th century, T & E cards are classics and sit in my library. His auctions, although rudimentary by today's standards, always had great material and were scrupulously run. He belongs in that special pantheon of early pioneers, like Nagy and others, who brought so much to the hobby we love.

So that gives him an excuse to treat people like crap. Got it.

[molenick]

Is this viewable other than on Instagram (says the old guy without an Instagram account)?

[CTDean]

Originally Posted by molenick

Is this viewable other than on Instagram (says the old guy without an Instagram account)?

I'm an old guy without an Instagram account and I just clicked the link in the first post and watched the interview.

[GaryPassamonte]

Originally Posted by molenick

Is this viewable other than on Instagram (says the old guy without an Instagram account)?

Michael- I don't have an Instagram account either, but was able to watch anyway.