Scam? Jan. '07 Readers Write! Opinions?

[jdthakid36]

As some of you may have seen in the new January Beckett "Readers Write" the Nolan Ryan Super Collector was trying to sell his Absolute Memorabilia Tools of the Trade Nolan Ryan Button Collection for $100,000! Being a Nolan Ryan Super Collector myself, and a TRUE fan, I was very interested and motivated by this collectors story in a couple of the previous Beckett's. I read the first article about him having the first 3, numbered out of 4!. Then when I read the next article, maybe a month or two later, about him completing the almost impossible #'d set, getting the 4th from another collector and his son, I thought that was pretty cool. I was happy for this collector and thought he was a true collector. I envied him in the fact that he had attracted Nolan Ryan's attention...a dream for anyone, getting to meet arguably the greatest pitcher of all time and having a picture taken with him. However, when I read that he was trying to sell this 4-card DREAM, I was very disappointed! I don't know the situation behind it, but the fact that it was possibly a money-generating scheme is a slap in the face for any collector, especially a Ryan collector. I feel bad for Tim Pearson and his son, the former owners of the 4th and final piece of that 4-card set. The fact that they gave up, what may have been a very sintimental card, not to mention VALUABLE!, for a greedy scheme is sad!

This really caught my attention, and I was wondering what other collectors thought about this. The only way I could ever sypathize with this guy, who gained this publicity from Beckett and Nolan Ryan himself, is for it to be a "life or death" situation. I truely hope this is the case, but I seriously doubt it!

[travlncard]

Idk Man, You seem kinda bitter about the whole thing... Being an outsider and not much of a Ryan CollectorI just wanted to weigh in with my opinion.

So a few years back, I had a Randy Moss NFL Logo Patch from SPX #'d 1/3 for longest time I searched for the other 2 not just to complete the set but to get the "monopoly" (you have to move your fingers for the quote the thingy when you say that) of all 3! Well its not as easy as it may seem... I never even saw another one the whole time I had it. The fact that dude actually tried to pursue the hunt of the 4 is one thing, the fact that all 4 have actually surfaced AND made there way into his collection is close to a miracle. Why do you have to hate that someone parted with the last one. If you needed one more you would want someone to hook you up, NOT highbuck you cause they know its your last one... And as for the $100,000 its not like they sold for a 100k thats just what he was asking... For all its worth to ya, I could ask a 100k for a card i bought from you for hundred bucks its not like Im gonna get it. Dont Hate, He Completed the Treasure and now you gotta pick him apart.

I dont want you take offense to that, I just wanted to state my opinion. What he did was near impossible, thats all.

[piranhaenter]

I say the guy did some great marketing and I'm quite impressed by the ability to generate interest not only before he completed the set but used it to fish out the 4th card.

Unless he made statements that he only wanted to get it to keep it for himself or something...either way, if I'm holding the fourth card I sell it and require a revenue share if the set it ever sold in excess of 25% since the last card is more important than the first three.

[jdthakid36]

I think you're mis-reading my thread...I feel bad for the guy and his son who parted with the fourth and final one. I will scan the articles so that you can relate to what i'm talking about. In your situation, you weren't saying Moss was you're childhood idol, as this guy did, or that he's your hero, as this guy did!

The man and his son, who pulled the 4th piece to this AWESOME set, will probably never pull something like that again...and aside from the fact that they got money for it, their excitement for pulling the card from a box, was topped by the fact that they might help out a "supposedly" true collector. Put yourself in their shoes for a minute. If you and your son pulled a card like that, it doesn't matter who it is, and then you try to help a "true collector" out, and then this collector turns around and does this, how would you feel as far as being a card collector?

[travlncard]

Piranhaenter - thats a good idea... I wonder how you would do that? You think you contact an attorney and have them write something up that dude signs or what. Cause clearly thats the way to do it. Especially for this particular case, cause I heard about the quest to get them, the Guys who sold it should have known too...

[vikingfan101]

I understand where your coming from, and I gotta say I would be angry myself. I think that if they knew it was just so the guy could go and make a profit, it wouldnt have happened.

Is that lot on ebay? Got a link?

[jdthakid36]

I'm just going by the Beckett Readers Write. I'm about to go to bed, but I will try and get these articles scanned and posted tomorrow, so that everyone can get the whole story.

[travlncard]

JD - I guess when you put it like that... I can atleast see your side of it. But at the same time your tellin me if you had the 3 and the 4th popped up, and someone tells you ahhhh well give us $100 bucks for it... You mean to tell me your gonna say well Im lookin to mark this up a bit this is the final one to the 4 Im probably gonna sell these for 100k so Ill give you guys $10,000 for it. I mean that just dont make sence... Collecting is just that, you collect what you can find... If you can find it! I think you have read more into it than I have and obviously have different opinions on it than me... And thats perfectly fine, I just think its not like hes at fault, you make it seem like hes to blame for some reason. I dont really see that.

[rayny1]

How much did the guy and his son receive for their "parting" of the card? I`m quite sure they were happy enough to let it go for whatever they got for it, otherwise they wouldn`t have let it go. If they didn`t get anything for it, then they`re stupid people in my eyes and weren`t worthy enough to have the card in the first place. Sports is ALL ABOUT THE MONEY, wether you`re a player, coach, network or collector. Don`t be so bitter about it. No one truly cares how much of a fan someone is.

[jdthakid36]

Collecting cards and memorabilia is NOT about the money for many people. If it's your source of income, I have no problem with that. My main problem with this guy is that he said that Ryan was his childhood idol, among other things, to obtain this last card! And another thing about your money statement, I think that money is a big problem in sports these days. Although sports are just as popular (actually more popular) as they used to be before money was the main priority, players and people put way too much emphasis on the money factor!

And you seem like a pretty arrogant person, saying that no one really cares about how much a fan someone is. That means a lot to MANY people! I know you can voice your opinion, but please make sure it's atleast an intelligent one...