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08-02-2010, 01:36 PM #1
A Word with Chris Bossy
In the 80s in hockey mad Montreal, the name Bossy was synonymous with greatness. Today it still is, not for the highlight reel moves of Mike but for the hockey cards store of his brother Chris.
By Karine Hains
The Bossy kids grew up loving and literally eating hockey; the six brothers all dreamt of a National Hockey League career, but as Chris puts it himself: “Doesn't everyone want a career in the NHL? But as time passed, we all sensed that we were not all gifted, reality sets in and life goes on.” What they could all do however was collect hockey cards. In Montreal a city which is often seem as The Mecca of hockey, kids are almost born with a pack of cards in their hands.
From a young age Chris collected for a few years before quitting like most teenagers and returning to what is referred to in collecting circles as “the hobby” in 1980. Just in time to collect the cards produced featuring his brother. In 1995, he quit again, somewhat disillusioned by the mass production of cards by the Upper Deck company and the fact that it was too easy to get them...The thrill of the chase had gone. He then started up again in 1999 when he was introduced to trading cards.
Having touched many careers in his life he was forced to find a non physical occupation after suffering a back injury which resulted in two herniated discs. When a friend of his who owned a toy store called Le Coin du Jouet in Lasalle moved into a bigger space and asked him to open a card section in his store, he had found a perfect new career. Something he would be able to do and which was as much a hobby as it was a job. He has now been running the card section of the store for four years in Carrefour Angrignon.
The rise of the internet has been a blessing for him, opening new doors and bringing a large quantity of collectors from around the world to his front door figuratively speaking. There are now numerous trading sites online on which he has met a lot of people and formed a network of traders. The human aspect is one of the things he prefers in the hobby; “I love the possibility of acquiring new cards by interacting with people online, getting great trades done. You meet so many types of people that friendships do grow” he says.
I met Chris myself on one of those trading websites and his human approach to the hobby is what made me want to visit his store in Montreal during my holiday. When trading with him, you do not get the feeling that he is running a business but rather that he is trying to get the right cards to the right people. He has even started getting lists of wanted cards from his customers and trading/buying for those online on the different trading sites and on eBay. Another service he offers is to help people value their cards - there are plenty of new collectors who think they have found a golden egg but are in fact just holding a card from the mass production era.
Overall, Chris is really positive about the hobby although he admits that his one pet peeve is the fact that some people see the value given to cards by Beckett as dogma. He says: “When will we all understand that the value of a card can vary from one person to another? What gives Beckett the right to put a value which sometimes doesn't even come close to the real value which people are willing to pay for?” A number of online collectors are asking themselves the exact same questions.
When I first met Chris online I was surprised to find out that for him writing in English is easier than in French. As you may know, Montréal is in the province of Québec in Canada. The one province where French is the first language of the vast majority of the population. Having left Québec for London eight years ago, I was surprised to hear that the language is not a problem for Chris. In the day to day running of his store he does speak more French than English but sometimes it can be 50-50 The use of a language is only a difficulty if you are hard headed and do not wish to learn according to him. The language aspect gets easier every day he tells me.
Mike Bossy might have finished his 10 year NHL career with 1126 points but in 10 months on www.sportscardforum.com his brother Chris already has 187 successful transactions and runs a great store in Montreal. Check his bucket at http://s921.photobucket.com/albums/ad54/cp27bossy/ and his website at http://bossyscards.weebly.com/, if you see anything you like, drop him a private message on SCF his user ID is bossy'scards.
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08-03-2010, 11:53 PM #2
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