2008 SP Authentic By The Letter Matt Kemp Autograph

I try to keep a look out for good deals when I am trying to trade for cards.  Usually, I will ask about Rays or Cardinals, but sometimes I will venture away from my collection staples.  I especially find that collectors can capitalize on this when deal with stores, card show dealers, etc.  Stores and dealers often have a set market that is determined by their location and cliental and can often do little to change the types of products and cards that they can sell successfully.

For example, I used to regularly attend the Cardinals Winter Warm-up when I lived in Saint Louis.  The amount of cool Cardinals memorabilia and cards was staggering.  I would usually spend two or three months worth of my card budget at the event and walk away with a few nice pieces.  One of the last years I attended I went with a fellow collector and picked up on something pretty sharp that he did with the vendors.  He would approach a booth, peruse the Cardinals cards or memorabilia and then pick out something nice that was a non-Cardinal.  The conversation would usually bring out the amount of time the dealer had been stuck with the item and how there was no market for player X in Saint Louis.  Then there was an offer.  It worked surprisingly well.  The next table I tried the approach and walked away with a 1995 Upper Deck Reggie Jackson Autograph for $20 in 1999.  Great price at the time.  

1995 Upper Deck Reggie Jackson Autograph

Recently I started working with a card shop owner in Iowa, whom I met through a friend in Saint Louis, and started working with him to trade him Cubs and Cardinals cards for his baseball section of his store.  I do not really value the Cubs cards, so I am happy to trade them.  However, I have found the principle I learned at the Cardinals Winter Warm-Up thirteen years ago still applies to the industry today despite all the changes.  My preference is to have as few Cubs cards as possible.  The store owner wins.  Since I met him through Saint Louis friends he understands that any Cardinals cards that I trade or sell him I could easily sell or trade other stores or collectors.  I win.  However, I can also help the store owner win and my card collection win by taking on valuable cards that do not have a market in their current location.  One day this Matt Kemp card is sitting on a card store shelf for three years in Iowa.  The next it is finding a spot in my house.    

Remember that when you go to a card show or your local card shop to take time to take the the owner and the store employees.  Talk to them about their business.  Look for cards that seem to be "stuck" in the store.