Vintage Card dealer sells at Yankee Stadium

blowoutcards · 03-26-2010, 09:24 AM

Vintage Collecting Still A Modern Pastime: An Interview with Andre Chiavelli
DateWednesday, March 24, 2010 at 8:03PM Email ArticleEmail Article Print ArticlePrint Article

Photo Credit: www.vintagesportscardclub.comBy Nick Singleton

Only a handful of hobbies are more symbolic than America’s pastime of sports card collecting. However, website juggernauts like eBay are contributing to the departure of the sports card show circuit, and carrying it into an e-commerce industry. Despite a market that is heavily influenced by the Internet, Andre Chiavelli has adopted a loyal following of collectors by vending at one of New York’s largest attractions, Yankee Stadium. I recently sat down with Mr. Chiavelli, CEO of Vintage Sportscard Club, to talk about the changes within the sports card industry and his experience at Yankee Stadium.

Nick Singleton: You’ve been collecting cards since you were 9 years old, what attracted you into the field of sports cards and memorabilia?

Andre Chiavelli: I started off collecting the cards of my era, but the one thing I did different was collecting tobacco cards of the early 1900’s, which were available at the flea markets in jewelry boxes. For some reason, I gravitated towards them and started collecting a mass amount. I built a huge collection by the time I was 17, which I traded for my first car.

NS: You invented a device called the inspectorscope, what is its functionality and relevance to the sports card industry?

AC: The inspectorscope was a card-checking device that helped detect cards that have creases or were tampered with, before the grading came in. At one time, these devices were across the United States and on almost every dealer’s table, so that further helped give me creditability in the business. Andre Chiavelli and Nets Guard Devin Harris (Photo Credit: www.VintageSportscardclub.com)The scope at the time, which I don’t produce anymore, had a portable blue-light in it with white light and magnification. You could pull it out portably, and it created darkness to put a card in, check to see if there were any creases, and the blue-light could pick up any discoloration.

NS: Do you think card grading has helped or hurt the business?

AC: It has really segmented the business in the sense that there are a lot of investment people within the business now, but I actually think it’s stronger than ever. What happened in the card industry was that in the ‘80s and early ‘90s there was a mass production of cards, and the values went up and then went down. It turned off a lot of people, and those people believed the card market had crashed. The grading systems have come in with SGC and PSA, and they’ve done a great job of certifying the cards.

NS: With the huge shift into the digital age, is sports card collecting translocating with the rise of the Internet?

AC: The show circuit and local shows have gotten hurt, but there were a lot of areas that didn’t have access to cards. Our eBay store does tremendous business, and people want to buy from someone they can trust, and we were very fortunate to have the Yankee creditability behind us. As far as the change, it has totally changed the dynamics of the industry. I think you’ll see some reemergence of shows coming back, but online is a massive business at this point.

NS: Between that massive online business, and your business at Yankee Stadium, how does each compare?

AC: I think the volume at Yankee Stadium is unsurpassed, even with online. The wonderful thing about Yankee collectors is that they love the memorabilia and the history. It’s great when you’re selling something and people appreciate that you found it and had it. That’s what makes it so much fun while we’re there because every game season ticket holders come back and they’re always looking for what’s new, and we keep providing them with what’s new, going back to Babe Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle.

NS: How did the opportunity to vend at Yankee Stadium come into fruition?

AC: That was kind of a miracle the way it happened. I went to a game and I saw these large pictures of baseball cards outside the Yankee museum, and I assumed there were cards in the museum, and when I went in I was taken back that there wasn’t any. I made about a hundred calls, and I finally got through to somebody who was the general manager of Legends, Mike Loparo. I happened to get lucky because I had bought a huge Yankee collection three days earlier, and I brought in just about every Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra card you could find. Mike had the vision that from the concession standpoint, bringing me in would put a whole unique spin on the concept of the Yankees, and that’s promoting the history of the game. Real short, he called all the executives down, and they said we want you in by Friday, shook my hand, walked out and the deal was done. It was done in one handshake, and the Yankees deal in handshake only. It’s amazing that with the progression of the Internet and everything else, the only thing that matters is a visit, a talk about your family, and an honest business interest. We’ve been there ever since.

NS: Being a big collector of Mantle, Berra, Maris, and DiMaggio, was there any nostalgia of selling vintage memorabilia in Yankee Stadium last year?

AC: The greatest experience I had during the season was when I saw a gentleman looking at a Roger Maris rookie card a quarter-inch away from the showcase, which was unusual. I said to him, “Sir, that’s a Roger Maris rookie card.” He looked up and said, “I know, that’s my dad, I’m Kevin Maris. I’m Roger’s son.” I was blown away that Kevin was there. He looks identical to Roger too, the crew cut and everything. I told him, “Kevin, I want to show you something,” and I happened to have the 60 and 61 home run newspapers framed. When I showed it to him, it brought tears to his eyes. Kevin was really amazed, and we’ve stayed in touch. We’ve also been talking with him about doing a t-shirt with him that says, “The Real Home Run Champ: Roger Maris.” With the steroid scandal going on, he’s the home run champ, and it’s the perfect timing.

NS: When comparing contemporary cards to vintage cards, how will they be interpreted in the future with steroids being such a big factor in Major League Baseball? I’m sure Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens cards must be taking a big hit.

AC: Basically, ESPN came up and interviewed us this year because they were wondering why Roger Clemens was in the lower-price pile of cards, and we only go by what the customer wants. With Clemens involved in that scandal, his memorabilia has unfortunately plummeted. What’s happening with the steroids guys, their cards have gone down, but the great thing was that we were able to push everybody into Derek Jeter. Being such a class act, his cards have doubled and tripled. So, Jeter is the kind of guy who has revived this whole era of cards from the ‘80s and ‘90s that crashed, and collectors have now ventured back into Jeter. I see a revival coming on, and he’s leading the way.

NS: What kind of trends of collectors have you noticed at Yankee Stadium?

AC: One thing I’ve noticed at Yankee Stadium is the love and affection for Thurman Munson, it’s just outrageous. He has the most massive following, and I was not aware of his type of collector because they want every single thing printed with Munson they can find, it doesn’t matter. Other collectors look for specific items on a specific guy. Munson, they want everything. Every time we find anything on him, they buy it, and it feels like they got a little piece of Thurman back. I’ll never forget when a guy came up and said he had the ultimate Thurman Munson item. He had Munson’s 1979 Mercedes SL Convertible that he purchased from Thurman’s wife, in his garage in mint condition, never driven. He showed me a picture of the ashes of the cigar that Thurman smoked on the way to the airport that were still there. These are the kind of unbelievable people that love Munson.

NS: Where can collectors find you at Yankee Stadium this year, and on the Internet, as well?

AC: We may be going to right field bleachers, right next to Monument Park, which is exciting because you can actually see our booth from anywhere on the first deck. Also, and this is inside information, they are putting a Monument Store into Yankee Stadium. That will be the new attraction this year, and we’ve been asked about possibly going into the Monument Store. If not, we’ll be right next to it. A flood of people will be there. You can find us under our eBay store at Vintage Sportscard Club. We always have a tremendous amount of vintage cards, and eBay is based a lot on feedback, and have a perfect score. We keep the shipping prices reasonable, and throw free cards into every order.

Vintage Collecting Still A Modern Pastime: An Interview with AndreChiavelli - Baseball - Features & Interviews - Back Sports Page

03-26-2010, 09:24 AM	#1
blowoutcards Administrator Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 9,050 blowoutcards	Vintage Card dealer sells at Yankee Stadium Vintage Collecting Still A Modern Pastime: An Interview with Andre Chiavelli DateWednesday, March 24, 2010 at 8:03PM Email ArticleEmail Article Print ArticlePrint Article Photo Credit: www.vintagesportscardclub.comBy Nick Singleton Only a handful of hobbies are more symbolic than America’s pastime of sports card collecting. However, website juggernauts like eBay are contributing to the departure of the sports card show circuit, and carrying it into an e-commerce industry. Despite a market that is heavily influenced by the Internet, Andre Chiavelli has adopted a loyal following of collectors by vending at one of New York’s largest attractions, Yankee Stadium. I recently sat down with Mr. Chiavelli, CEO of Vintage Sportscard Club, to talk about the changes within the sports card industry and his experience at Yankee Stadium. Nick Singleton: You’ve been collecting cards since you were 9 years old, what attracted you into the field of sports cards and memorabilia? Andre Chiavelli: I started off collecting the cards of my era, but the one thing I did different was collecting tobacco cards of the early 1900’s, which were available at the flea markets in jewelry boxes. For some reason, I gravitated towards them and started collecting a mass amount. I built a huge collection by the time I was 17, which I traded for my first car. NS: You invented a device called the inspectorscope, what is its functionality and relevance to the sports card industry? AC: The inspectorscope was a card-checking device that helped detect cards that have creases or were tampered with, before the grading came in. At one time, these devices were across the United States and on almost every dealer’s table, so that further helped give me creditability in the business. Andre Chiavelli and Nets Guard Devin Harris (Photo Credit: www.VintageSportscardclub.com)The scope at the time, which I don’t produce anymore, had a portable blue-light in it with white light and magnification. You could pull it out portably, and it created darkness to put a card in, check to see if there were any creases, and the blue-light could pick up any discoloration. NS: Do you think card grading has helped or hurt the business? AC: It has really segmented the business in the sense that there are a lot of investment people within the business now, but I actually think it’s stronger than ever. What happened in the card industry was that in the ‘80s and early ‘90s there was a mass production of cards, and the values went up and then went down. It turned off a lot of people, and those people believed the card market had crashed. The grading systems have come in with SGC and PSA, and they’ve done a great job of certifying the cards. NS: With the huge shift into the digital age, is sports card collecting translocating with the rise of the Internet? AC: The show circuit and local shows have gotten hurt, but there were a lot of areas that didn’t have access to cards. Our eBay store does tremendous business, and people want to buy from someone they can trust, and we were very fortunate to have the Yankee creditability behind us. As far as the change, it has totally changed the dynamics of the industry. I think you’ll see some reemergence of shows coming back, but online is a massive business at this point. NS: Between that massive online business, and your business at Yankee Stadium, how does each compare? AC: I think the volume at Yankee Stadium is unsurpassed, even with online. The wonderful thing about Yankee collectors is that they love the memorabilia and the history. It’s great when you’re selling something and people appreciate that you found it and had it. That’s what makes it so much fun while we’re there because every game season ticket holders come back and they’re always looking for what’s new, and we keep providing them with what’s new, going back to Babe Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle. NS: How did the opportunity to vend at Yankee Stadium come into fruition? AC: That was kind of a miracle the way it happened. I went to a game and I saw these large pictures of baseball cards outside the Yankee museum, and I assumed there were cards in the museum, and when I went in I was taken back that there wasn’t any. I made about a hundred calls, and I finally got through to somebody who was the general manager of Legends, Mike Loparo. I happened to get lucky because I had bought a huge Yankee collection three days earlier, and I brought in just about every Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra card you could find. Mike had the vision that from the concession standpoint, bringing me in would put a whole unique spin on the concept of the Yankees, and that’s promoting the history of the game. Real short, he called all the executives down, and they said we want you in by Friday, shook my hand, walked out and the deal was done. It was done in one handshake, and the Yankees deal in handshake only. It’s amazing that with the progression of the Internet and everything else, the only thing that matters is a visit, a talk about your family, and an honest business interest. We’ve been there ever since. NS: Being a big collector of Mantle, Berra, Maris, and DiMaggio, was there any nostalgia of selling vintage memorabilia in Yankee Stadium last year? AC: The greatest experience I had during the season was when I saw a gentleman looking at a Roger Maris rookie card a quarter-inch away from the showcase, which was unusual. I said to him, “Sir, that’s a Roger Maris rookie card.” He looked up and said, “I know, that’s my dad, I’m Kevin Maris. I’m Roger’s son.” I was blown away that Kevin was there. He looks identical to Roger too, the crew cut and everything. I told him, “Kevin, I want to show you something,” and I happened to have the 60 and 61 home run newspapers framed. When I showed it to him, it brought tears to his eyes. Kevin was really amazed, and we’ve stayed in touch. We’ve also been talking with him about doing a t-shirt with him that says, “The Real Home Run Champ: Roger Maris.” With the steroid scandal going on, he’s the home run champ, and it’s the perfect timing. NS: When comparing contemporary cards to vintage cards, how will they be interpreted in the future with steroids being such a big factor in Major League Baseball? I’m sure Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens cards must be taking a big hit. AC: Basically, ESPN came up and interviewed us this year because they were wondering why Roger Clemens was in the lower-price pile of cards, and we only go by what the customer wants. With Clemens involved in that scandal, his memorabilia has unfortunately plummeted. What’s happening with the steroids guys, their cards have gone down, but the great thing was that we were able to push everybody into Derek Jeter. Being such a class act, his cards have doubled and tripled. So, Jeter is the kind of guy who has revived this whole era of cards from the ‘80s and ‘90s that crashed, and collectors have now ventured back into Jeter. I see a revival coming on, and he’s leading the way. NS: What kind of trends of collectors have you noticed at Yankee Stadium? AC: One thing I’ve noticed at Yankee Stadium is the love and affection for Thurman Munson, it’s just outrageous. He has the most massive following, and I was not aware of his type of collector because they want every single thing printed with Munson they can find, it doesn’t matter. Other collectors look for specific items on a specific guy. Munson, they want everything. Every time we find anything on him, they buy it, and it feels like they got a little piece of Thurman back. I’ll never forget when a guy came up and said he had the ultimate Thurman Munson item. He had Munson’s 1979 Mercedes SL Convertible that he purchased from Thurman’s wife, in his garage in mint condition, never driven. He showed me a picture of the ashes of the cigar that Thurman smoked on the way to the airport that were still there. These are the kind of unbelievable people that love Munson. NS: Where can collectors find you at Yankee Stadium this year, and on the Internet, as well? AC: We may be going to right field bleachers, right next to Monument Park, which is exciting because you can actually see our booth from anywhere on the first deck. Also, and this is inside information, they are putting a Monument Store into Yankee Stadium. That will be the new attraction this year, and we’ve been asked about possibly going into the Monument Store. If not, we’ll be right next to it. A flood of people will be there. You can find us under our eBay store at Vintage Sportscard Club. We always have a tremendous amount of vintage cards, and eBay is based a lot on feedback, and have a perfect score. We keep the shipping prices reasonable, and throw free cards into every order. Vintage Collecting Still A Modern Pastime: An Interview with AndreChiavelli - Baseball - Features & Interviews - Back Sports Page __________________ Sign Up For Blowout Emails To Get The Latest Hobby Info And Exclusive Savings!