Being a Bulk-Subber..Easy or Hard? Hobby Quick Hits E201

Hobby Got Quick hits delivering that breaking hobby news loads. You want to know those hot Josh card shaft shop, You've got your cover here Host. John new name name, Hey, it's time for another episode of Hobby Quick. It seems like it's been a while.

I think with some of the card matches changing into breaking cardboard, I think we actually missed the week. We're back episode two oh one. What is the topic for the day being a Bolk suburb which I do for SGC, and I'm going to kind of let you behind the curtains to how that started, what it entails, How easy is it, how hard is it? That sort of thing. I'm not going to give the whole Colonel Sanders recipe away, but I am going to share some insights there for because I do get asked from time to time questions about doing it, so figured I put out an episode I haven't touched on this specific topic yet.

So that's what today's episode is going to be about. We're going to hear from our great sponsors, and then we're going to go over the new release calendar, what is on the docket, what's coming out product wise, some news and notes, and then we'll dive into today's topic. Okay, now a quick word from our great sponsor, followed by the new product release schedule. Then we'll go around the hobby verse to tell you all the latest hobby happenings and news.

Then we'll tackle today's topic of discussion. Hi, this is Pat Hughes, Cubs announcer, coming to you from the Sportscard Shop in beautiful New Buffalo, Michigan. The Gocher family has built an incredible place here for collectors to buy, sell, and trade cards and memorabilia. Be sure to stop buy and let them show you around the Sportscardshop dot com, connecting sports athletes, the hobby and collectors around the world.

Hi, this is Alan Pinkett and I'm here to tell you the Gochr family has done it again. They've just opened up the Sport Card Shop in downtown Valparaiso, Indiana, and it is awesome. If you're a collector, you need to check this place out. Tell them Alan sent you and get a free gift on your first visit.

Let's check out. This week's hobby wax release is Take It Away. Max. Hey, guys, it's Max and the Sports Card Shop just wanted to bring you guys a weekly at least for these next upcoming weeks.

Here, starting off in the twenty eight tier twenty twenty four to twenty five, Penny Origins Basket, twenty twenty four Leaf Multi Sport Hobby and Blaster, and then moving on we have twenty twenty five Try to Start Hitting Treasures Football Mini Helmet Championship, twenty twenty four Penny Doners Football Hobby Factory set, and on the second we have Upper Deex Series two Hockey Retail twenty twenty four to twenty five. On the third we have twenty twenty four to twenty five Bowman Crome University Basketball Breakers, the Light and Basketball Bowman Chrome University Basketball, Blasters, Hobbies and Vegas. Also on the third we have twenty twenty four Tops MLS Finest Soccer, twenty twenty four Tops Inception Football twenty twenty four Tops you have see Royalty and on the ninth we have twenty twenty three twenty four Pennie Immaculate Basketball, twenty twenty four to twenty five, Penny Origins Basketball h two, twenty twenty four, Pennie Select Baseball twenty twenty five Upper All Elite Wrestling, twenty twenty four to twenty five Upperdeck SPX Hockey. On the tenth we have twenty twenty four Tops Finest Formula one Racing, twenty twenty four Leaf Collective Football Hobby and Jumbo twenty twenty four to twenty five Panini Donros Year League Basketball.

And on the eleventh again we have twenty twenty four Penine Donros Optic Football, twenty twenty four Panini Select Best Baseball Hobby Blaster, and twenty twenty three Tops three Basketball. Thank you guys for tuning into the show and enjoy the rest of it. Let's go round the Hobby VERSU and catch up on this week's hobby news. And find out all right, you know, we're seeing a lot more former athletes current athletes get involved in the hobby file.

This one under that if you're a die hard baseball fan, you might recognize the name. JJ Hoover played between the years of twenty twenty eighteen. Pitcher played for three teams, predominantly the Cincinnati Reds. Well, JJ Hoover has opened up Hoover's dugout in Alexandria, Kentucky, which is right near Cincinnati, is former playing town and they carry Pokemon cards, sports cards and really gotten involved in the hobby.

So another athlete this time, we'll open a store. We all know. Now, I'm assuming you know. Dick's Sporting Goods was the winning bidder for the Paul Skiings, one of one Top's major league debut patch, and they're going to display it in their hometown store, of all places, Pittsburgh.

Final bidding price was one point one one million dollars and I'm not gonna lie, I'm gonna take. I'm gonna pat myself on the back here. I was on hobby hotline and we were kind of going around the panel predicting and this was before the auction even started what this card would bring, and I gave a range of eight hundred k to one point two million dollars. So got it right if you will.

You know, crazy to think about a modern card bringing seven figures, but you know, here we are, that's exactly what happened. Speaking of seven figures, a preseason jersey photo matched to Michael Jordan's rookie season, actually preseason before he even played a regular season game, from an October fifth game in nineteen eighty four, just sold at Southern Beast for war point two million dollars. So one of his first jerseys, if you know, arguably one of his first has a new owner who paid four point two million dollars for that, you know, piece of amazing memorabilia. In our final story for this week's this episode's new segment, April fifth National Hockey Card Day, go to your participating participating retailers not only in Canada but the US.

You can get five card packs. It's a sixty six card set with autos possible, although very difficult to obtain. Also, on the Canadian side, if you spend ten dollars you will get well, actually i'm both sides. If you spend ten dollars you'll get a special Maclin Celabrini card.

But on the Canadian side, select retailers are offering nine card uncut sheets as well. So April fifth National Hockey Card Day, and let me sneak one more story in SGC real busy with the specials they're running, which end here on April fourth. They'll get them in while you can. They're low backlocks, and they announced that their five to ten day turnaround is now fifteen to twenty day turnaround and as a folk suburb I can attest to that's exactly the case.

But hopefully they'll get caught up with these specials ending and they'll be back to their five or ten day turnaround. So, like I've said before, sometimes my episodes come from either suggestions from other people or questions I get asked. And you know, for those that may not know, which is probably a good portion of you, some may know bolk sub I'm a folk subber for SGC. At the shows I do.

I get an SGC table full disclosure. The promoters give me that table for free because it does bring people into the show. It's a nice attractive selling point for collectors to be able to drop off their stub stuff for bolk subbing. So I do get that table complimentary, but my tables I do pay for.

You know, so I wanted a full disclosure that and this whole thing really happened by accident. Truth be told, and what it was is you know, SGC is a sponsor of my podcast Sports Cardination and the promoter of my Syracuse show, which I've done for twenty years. Knew that, and he asked me, Hey, you think you think you could get SGC to come to my shows and take cards in for grading. And I said, uh, his name is Lindy, he's been on the show before.

Look that up, good guy. I said, no, then you know that this isn't While this show is a decent size, they're not gonna travel, you know, to come from Florida the Syracuse to be here, you know. And that's not a slight on you. They do very little shows like that, and uh, you know, they only do some big ones and you can count one hand how many shows that they do.

So that was, you know, but I mentioned a TESGC, knowing full well what the answer would be, and you know, let them know that, like I said, not gonna not gonna be possible. Then he asked me, could you take cards in on their behalf and then SGC grades them? And I'll, truth be told, had never thought about it. Was not an ambition of mine, you know. And I said, you know, Linn, I'm not even sure I want to do that.

Let me think about it. Number one, I'm not sure I want to do it. Number two, I'm not sure they're going to let me do it. You know, you got to be they got to give you the thumbs up or the thumbs down, I said, so let me think.

You know, so I thought about it and I thought, you know, it would be kind of cool. I didn't know what it entailed. So I called up my guys at SGC. You know, over the years I've gotten to know them pretty well.

I can text or call, and I called him number one. I asked, you know, is this something I could do? And if it is, you know, what is it entail? How does it work? So they gave me some details and I was definitely interested. But then they said, well, you know we can't get the final say that that goes to the Peter Steinberg, the CEO. And again this is pre you know, Collectors Universe Acquisition.

This was when it was SGC on their own entity, and so you know, they got back to me in a couple of days. They're like, yeah, it's a go. If you want to do this, well we'll green light it. Here's what you have to do.

We went all over the parameter. So I called Lynn and said, hey, you know, we can do it. And you know, the whole deal was, you know, we'll give you a table and that sort of thing. So SGC did send some like shirts and Matt's and a sign and and that sort of thing to uh, to signify that table and as a bolt sub so I did the show as a for the first time, you know, with an SGC table for bolk subbing, and went very well, you know.

And so it's crazy that it's almost been two years now since I did that first show as a folk subber. And to even look back now and what happened almost as happenstance, almost by accident, and where we are here two years later with the entity, it's it's kind of kind of head scratching, but uh fun. So let's get into how it works. I do one or two shows a month, and at each show I do have an SGC bulk subtable, so I have paperwork printed out.

People can sit down sub their cards. I have semi rigids on the table, which I can sell if they don't have them in semi rigids to begin with, most people do, believe it or not. I'd say eighty five percent of the folks have the cards and the extra large semi rigids. But for those that don't, I do have clean ones on the table where they can purchase them for No.

Ten to twenty cents a pop. If someone's subbing one to two cards, I'm probably not charging them twenty cents. But you know someone's got a twenty thirty card order, you know, that might be a different story. I also sell Penny the Penny sleever extra large semi rigids as whole packs for those who might want to use them for whatever reason or the future subs.

You know, over the course now of almost two years, I've really built up. I'm on sub number thirty one, so I'll tell you how many I've I've sent in over the course of a couple of years, and you know, so that's really it's I don't know, it might be more than two years. If I'm on sub number thirty one, I'm losing track of time. And you know, people will can sub one card and the biggest one I had was over one hundred cards from one person.

Now I'm not gonna go and give you all the gory details, but I have a bulk subrate, so I get a little bit of a discount as a bulk suburb. So that's where I you know, get to wet my beak so to speak. You know, it's a buck or two per card. I would say on average is my ROI You got to remember too, I am paying the shipping back and to and fro SGC.

I also have collectibles insurance which I carry, which covers those shipments to and from SGC as well. Obviously my time is a factor to sort that all out. So I do one to two BOLK subs per month on average, I'd say probably anywhere from four hundred cards to eight hundred cards in total with both a month. You know, I remember even now, I still get nervous, right, You know the majority of these cards are not mine, and in some BOLK subs they all aren't mine.

I may not put any cards in on that sub, and so I'm responsible for these cards getting at least two SGC, right, And you know it can be nerve wracking. There are some big cards I've had subbed. And that's the fun part, right, It's the fun and the nerve wracking part at the same time is handling and seeing some of these incredible iconic cards, right from you know Babe Ruth cards to Michael Jordan Rookies, you know, Honus Wagner's. We've had I've had a ty Cobb t tools, I've had some some really you know, great, great iconic cards come through, and very proud that you know, people trust me with those kind of cards.

It really, I really do appreciate that that that's not lost on me. So every folk sub that I send, I set up a camera on a tripod and I film every card front and back that's being sucked. And you might ask, for John, how do if you know, if you send multiple cards, how do you know who's who? There is a system in place, not going to give you all the secret sauce. But for example, let me let me give you the actual real world scenario.

You know, you know Ricky Henderson recently passed away some months back. Rust in peace to Ricky, and you know he was already that's you know that eighty tops is already an icon of card. But you know, you know what happens in the hobby, someone passes away and these cards kind of come out of the woodwork. So on one sub, on one sub alone, I had sixteen Ricky Henderson rookie.

I think ten were one person's cards, and then this other six were like three or four other people for a total of six wes. Shec told me. You know, it was one of the first questions I asked them before I even started doing the bulk subs, like how would duplicate cards? How can we avoid, you know, and make sure that the right owner gets the right card, no missteps or mix ups. And so they told me a system and an invoice thing, how I ship the cards whom in a certain way, and how I invoice the package to them, so when I get it back, I kind of know what ordered those cards and who those cards belong to.

So there is a system in place for duplicate cards. I'm thankful for it. Otherwise that was an absolute nightmare and very discouraging. So that's nice to avoid that obviously.

You know, like I said, I film each card front and back. You know, I package very well with a lot of bubble map bubble wrap, and it doesn't shift in the box, and it doesn't matter from my first Folk sub to my recent one of thirty first Folk sub I'm nervous every all the time until that gets there and I see it's received. I send it where it has to be hand signed for that's what my collectible's insurance requires me to do for covered. So I do what keeps me covered and legal and very well packed.

Right, and the first couple subs Folk subs I had shipped here to my house and I'm gonna watch my language here. But my fed driver for my house area here is not a nice guy, not a good guy. He was saying he attempted delivery and that no one was home when there would be four people in my house. And the final straw was one time, and I don't know if I've ever told the story on the air.

One time he tried to One time he stopped across the street from my house with the Bolk sub. He stopped his truck. I'm looking out my window at him. My phone goes off notification and it says FedEx tried to deliver your package on no one home, no one available, will reattempt next business day.

I'm literally looking at him. Never got out of his truck, so he drives off. I jump in my car. This says like a Benny Hill epis or three students.

I jump in my car and I find him on one of the side streets. I get out of my car and I don't want you to think less of me here, but I was just so living and mad that he would do something like that, And you know, I got out him car and said, hey, man, you know, i'll paraphrase here, what are you doing? This is like the third time you've put you've attempt tried to attempt delivery when I'm I'm home and I'm looking at the window. You never got out of your truck. You never rang my doorbell.

I have a ring doorbell, which would have you on camera. And I said, I'm not a guy that calls people's bosses, but I have to do this now, because this is this is not a one time deal. This is like your EMO. And you know, he apologized.

He I signed for the package and gave it to me right then and there. But I was still so mad, and so I called. I called up the supervisor. I said, what's going on with your guy? But I explained to him that three or four times he has done this, and I said, you know, you got to do something.

But I had already made up my mind, like I'm not gonna have that at least the bulk subs shipped here. Like if I've fed other FedEx packages from other places or stuff I ordered individually, it is what it is. But the bulk subs I'm gonna have ship to a different location, and I go pick it up there. It's safe, it's secure, it's delivered every time.

There's always someone there to sign for it, guaranteed multiple people that could sign for it. So that's what I do, and it's it was the best decision that I made, so you know, I get the box. These boxes are heavy, you know, they can weigh fifty sixty pounds. The last one I think was eighty something pounds.

And obviously they're in some semblance of an order, but not perfect. So stuff still needs to be sorted out. That usually takes a couple hours to do. And it's probably you're not gonna you know, you might not believe this or you might like it's probably the least fun, even though it's fun to see what the card's got, and although I can see that on my computer screening before I ever get that package, but it's it's kind of tedious, right, And so it takes a couple of hours.

I sort them out and then I have them, you know, in a lock box, and then people will either if I know someone real well, I have them come to my house to pick them up. If I don't know them as well, I'll meet them at a Dunkin Donuts nearby in the conference room that most dunkin Donuts, I'll have my my local one does we'll meet in there. Or you know, if a lot of people just come to the next monthly show and pick them up at the show and then sub their next sub and you know, it's been two years now, it's been better than I thought. Again, I can't quit my day job, so I'm still working as a teacher assistant.

But it's a nice little extra income. It allows me to sub some of my stuff as well, which I would have been doing folk sub or not folk subbing. I'm really proud of the relationship I've established with SGC, not only but from the bulk Suvin, but even prior to that, with you know, the sponsorship of the podcast. Are getting the know them on the real, you know, organic level, and it's it's you know, it's you know.

If someone asked me, is it hard to be a Bolke suburb, I wouldn't say it's hard, but I definitely wouldn't say it's easy. It's somewhere in between. It's Listen, and I'm not trying to dissuade you. If it's something you're thinking about doing or adding to what you might do.

You know, now it's a responsibility, right. You remember you're responsible for these folks cards. You better have collectible insurance number one. You know, people don't pick up their cards the same day, so you better have you know, a safe or somewhere they can be locked up because they're not your cards.

You know, ninety eight percent of a Bolke sub order in my case, maybe even higher than that. Sometimes one hundred percent are not my cards. I am responsible if anything happens. No one wants to hear, oh this happened.

I'm sorry. They're gonna be like, hey, how do I get my card? Or how do I get what my card was worth? And reimbursement? Right, and so it's a big responsibility. And that's the part where you know, I get nervous every time first suborder to thirty first suborder. But it's went well, it's went better than I imagine when I first started.

And it's nice to be able to provide debt service to people I know who are friends people I don't know, right, And it's funny, you know, when someone subs with me for the first time, I chuckle because it's kind of funny. And I would do the same thing. On most they'll only send a couple of cards right to dip the tone the water, test how the process work. And you know, I've had people tell me, Hey, I'm going to send a couple of cards, see what this like.

If I like the service, If everything goes well, I'll send more with you don't take that personal. And I get it. I get it, and I appreciate that. And I tell you, you know, ninety five percent of those folks are still with me and up sent in subsequent largers and that, you know, I appreciate the trust or to do nothing to you know, dishonor that or ruin my integrity, you know, so I really do appreciate that.

I'm very transparent. I tell everyone when they're getting sent in because sometimes I'll actually hold the cards a week if I have a show back to back week. So if I have a show on like the seventh, and then another one on the fourteenth, rather than send two separate bulk orders, I'll just send that all this one big one. And I'm very transparent.

I tell everyone who I see on the seventh, like these are not going out to the fifteenth. After the fourteenth show. I'd want to know that if they were my cards, and I'm very transparent, do appreciate that. I just want to say one thing I didn't mention earlier.

I'm trying to do this in chronological order, if you will. I send emails to everybody who's on each sub to where the status is. So the first email will say on their way to as you see, both were going Florida. The second email will say safely there.

The third one will say in the grading process. The next one will say grading process is complete, they're on their way back to New York. And the last one that I send out to everybody is, hey, I have got them back. Give me a day to sort them and they'll be available tomorrow for pick up locally or if you just want to pick them up at the show and don't usually ask people kind of to respond to that last email and kind of tell me how they would like to pick up them, whether that's in person or at the next show.

That way, I know, and I don't want to bring someone's cards to a show if they're not going to be there to pick them, you know what I mean, Because I'm handling them, I'm bringing them there I'm responsible form shows get busy, even though it's behind the counter. I just don't want to have someone's cards at the show if I know and they know that they're not to get them. So everything is kind of coordinated and organized, and so I know who's going to meet me where and when and have their cards there. So and I will tell you this, after two years or over two years now of doing this, I've really streamlined some of the process.

I'm better at it today than I was when I I'll probably be better at it six months from now than I am today. And you know, really been a pleasure. And you know, while it is a little work and time consuming, it's not pulling teeth. It's not something I don't enjoy.

What so really having fun with it. People love it. I've gotten I don't do it for this reason, but I've gotten tips from people. I've gotten gifts from people.

I've gotten you know, my favorite alcohols, the Crown Royal BlackBerry. Have a good friend of mine, Paul I won't say his last name, gifted me, you know, a brand new bottle that and just really, you know, it's not I don't require that, but if people appreciate it, and show I appreciate of that. So if you have any questions, I've said this all the time, my door is always open. If it's something you're wondering about or thinking about doing again, you got to get the permission from de grading company.

I can kind of tips. I don't want to say tricks. So thanks for listening to everybody listening. All right, thank you for listening to another episode of Hobby Quick Hits.

Want to give out our social media, starting with our website which is www dot Sportscardinationpodcast dot com. Facebook. You can follow us at www dot Facebook dot com, forward slash Sportscardination Podcast, forward slash Twitter. We are at sportscard nat t one so it's sportscard n ati one, Instagram at Sportscardination Podcast, or you can email the show Hobby Quick Hits at gmail dot com.

Again, thanks for listening. We'll see you next week.