Marvin,
This idea is incredible!
You never stop to amaze me!
I'll be tooting my horn on a gig and have to miss this event but wanted to take this moment to drop you a line and once again say hello!
Best wishes always my friend,
John M. Somers, Orchestra Leader
Somers Dream Orchestra
Student Rewards Program at The Hobby Shop celebrates its 18th Year!
Get your final grades turned into $$ in our store
Go to http://www.hobbyshopnj.com/announcements.html for more information and a full list of rules.
Please let people know about this FREE giveaway. The Hobby Shop does this as a community service, so someone, other than the parents, reinforces the rewards of hard work and good grades to our children. This is the 18th year that The Hobby Shop is doing this and they are hoping to issue more certificates than last year. We need your help to pass the word along and encourage you to let others in your school, on your street or in your scout troop know about this "winner of a special program". Every kid should enjoy a hobby and as our customers say: "If you can't find you here .... you may not find it anywhere!"
You could really spend the whole day at the Aberdeen Town Square Shopping Center! After the movie, we went to Denino's and had the most delicious, crispy pizza! Then, we walked next door to The Hobby Shop to "browse." Jakey and Ethan had a blast "looking" at the toys and playing with the train table. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE The Hobby Shop--they have the best selection of books, puzzles, arts and craft projects, games, and cars and trains! I could spend the whole day there, and I think that Jakey could buy up the whole store too! Luckily, they had some inexpensive items by the cash register, and I managed to get out just spending $1.29 on a Cars sticker book. Did you know that The Hobby Shop also hosts special events? They are holding a Family Game Night on 2 consecutive Friday nights: August 14 and and August 20. Check out their website for more info: http://www.hobbyshopnj.com/announcements.html . In addition, they have a special Student Rewards Program in which you can get your kids' final grades turned into money at their store. See the column below for more detailed info!
Which authenticator should you trust? Or just how much more is a graded card really worth?
What a nice idea ….. some one considered an expert in this field to guide a non-expert buyer as to the fact of whether the autographed item or baseball card you are looking to buy is real or fake and how this card or autograph ranks in a scale of 1 thru 10. (10 being purfekt!)
When it comes to authenticating sports collectible items, the “expert” authenticators are generally split into two groups. One group is the “sports guys”. This group tends to believe that it has seen so many “samples” of each item that they can spot a real one from a fake one. They also claim to know from the actual media whether the timeline for your hero could possibly match the availability of that particular media.
The second group is the “science guys” who also use “comparisons to known autographs” in addition to some kind of forensic science to attest to the media and ink of the autograph as well. One might give the edge to the “science guys” here.
HOWEVER: Whoever the authenticator is and in order for them to BE KNOWN AND SUCCESSFUL they must authenticate a lot of items. After all there is just a small amount you can earn by just doing a few items.
Question: How does someone become “successful” in the authentication business?
Answer: By “teaming up” with large auction houses (the prime buyers of these expert opinions). One very large example of this team up is EBAY and PSA/DNA. Since EBAY merchandise is not pre-screened a user can request a “quick look” and pay a small fee for the “experts opinion” of the authenticity of an autograph they are thinking of purchasing. Then, the authenticators “appear to look” but do not actually even look at the item for sale and have the nerve to call it a “probable fake”! And they charge you for this questionable on-line service to boot! PSA gets paid and EBAY gets its percentage and in this way neither has any potential risk. But this certainly is not fair or honest! Admittedly they will be right 90% of the time. The seller usually gets much less for his item unless he has it “authenticated”. Once authenticated more buyers appear to be interested and the bidding usually ends up higher.
Other than this fool proof public fraud other “team ups” tend to cause the auction houses (the income providers) an advantage over the authenticator. When a questionable item comes up where the authenticator wants to say “I don’t know about this one” the rule of needing to make a living comes into play. The auction house will try to make a big client (who is trying to sell) happy and try to leverage the decision by “threatening” to terminate their agreements if the authenticator cannot “work with them”. Even if the threat is not obvious it is always “implied”. A small individual collector does not have this “volume clout”.
So it is never black or white ……it’s just plain grey! Most of the times both groups will tend to disagree with each other on questionable items. It is always “safe” to call an item “questionable”. If one group calls the item “authentic” and the other calls the same item “fake” which one is right? There is no guaranty even from the most well known! If an artist can paint your face on paper and it really looks like you this same artistic skill can fool any authenticator. Buy wisely! Research carefully! And if you can get an authentication letter (if you really must) …. Be happy!
Just remember, the grading on your card is a subjective number. There is no computer involved where the outcome is always consistently the same We are all human, there is no diploma issued by any college for grading sports cards. If you had thousands of samples to sort thru you could certainly rank them from best to worst. or too close to call … most of the time these samples are in far limited numbers to do a ranking process. So would the 9 be a 9 always? Or could one grader call it an 8.5 (a real tough grader) or a 9.5 (a grader who is looking to please). How much extra will it cost to get that 9.5 rated a 10 since on EBAY 10’s seem to go for much higher prices. Is there any governing body overseeing these graders? Trust me, no one is monitoring this process. To us it just seems out of control.
Our suggestion is to trust your own eyes and buy your collectibles from a reputable retailer where you can see and touch the item. Buying from a picture on the internet is not always a good move. Back to the key question: which grader do you trust? The answer will be to check out auction results to see which graders name will garner the highest bids when it comes time for you to sell your collection. Then compare their fees to see if you can come out ahead of the game.
| Lionel Licenses M.T.H. for Tinplate |
| Yesterday, an electric charge rippled through the model train boards when someone managed to find a draft of a press release on the M.T.H. web site that was not otherwise available to the public, and post it on OGR. And while the timing was off by a week or so, the facts are correct. Since the news leaked yesterday afternoon that Lionel is going to license M.T.H. to use its name on historical tinplate Standard and O Gauge model trains and accessories, a lot of questions have been raised, and I’ve heard everything from, “Wow, great for the hobby,” to “Wow, say it ain’t so.” I understand that the idea of Lionel and M.T.H. working cooperatively, so soon after settling our long and bitter lawsuit, is a shock to a lot of people, especially those who became so personally invested in that conflict. I can only say that the model train hobby isn’t about lawsuits or personal enmity, it’s about exciting products, the fellowship of enjoying them, and ultimately, it’s about making sure that our hobby is stable and strong. I’m sure I can speak for Mike Wolf, when I say that the best way to repair the damage that was done to our hobby as a result of those hostilities is for our two companies to do exactly that. Before anyone starts singing Kumbaya, or wondering what happens on the color spectrum when you mix Orange, Blue and Purple, I’d like to issue a reality check and answer some of those questions that were raised: Lionel and M.T.H. are two, entirely separate companies with entirely different business models and destinies. We fiercely compete, and will continue to fiercely compete, in the core, O gauge segment of the model railroad hobby, especially in the arena of high-end engines and Operating Systems. However, our interests do not conflict, to any great extent, in other gauges and markets. Both companies are equally committed to making great trains and, where we do compete, both companies are equally committed to convincing hobbyists that they do so better than the other. And none of that will change. The agreement between Lionel and M.T.H. is a conventional and straightforward, multi year license, in which Lionel will be paid a royalty on each tinplate train that is sold. As an acknowledged and acclaimed maker of tinplate trains and accessories, M.T.H will now be able to do so using the historical and authentic Lionel and American Flyer badging that made them historical and authentic in the first place. While M.T.H. will be solely responsible for manufacturing the new line, Lionel will work with M.T.H to select the trains that will be made over the next few years, and will do whatever it can to help make them the success they deserve to be. Yesterday, before the thread that broke the news was taken down, in response to a post that expressed strong negative feelings, someone quoted the great, old Nick Lowe song, ‘What’s So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding?’ I can only add that we live on a very small planet and we participate in an even smaller hobby. And while I don’t anticipate that M.T.H. and Lionel will begin exchanging Valentine’s Day cards, it’s not too much to work on items one and three. Below you’ll find the press release, as it was intended to be released next week. Happy New Year. Jerry Calabrese LIONEL LICENSES M.T.H. FOR TINPLATE New York City, NY, Dec. 31, 2008 -- Lionel Electric Trains announced today that it has entered into a multi-year licensing agreement with M.T.H. Electric Trains, in which the Columbia, MD, model train maker will create a new line of tinplate Lionel Standard and O gauge products. The license will also include tinplate Standard and O gauge offerings for American Flyer, which has been part of Lionel since its acquisition in 1967. Using its extensive collection of tinplate tooling, M.T.H. plans to issue new versions of Lionel and American Flyer classic tinplate trains and accessories that were originally released between 1900 and 1942. These products will be packaged in all-new boxes with iconic Lionel and American Flyer advertising images and logos from the prewar tinplate era. Promotion of new tinplate Lionel and American Flyer products will begin in early 2009, with full-color catalogs. A Web site, dedicated to the new product line, will also offer product videos, sound clips and other information not available in print catalogs. “I’m very pleased that M.T.H. and Lionel will be working together on this new Lionel and American Flyer tinplate line,” said Jerry Calabrese, Lionel CEO. Calabrese went on to say, “In times as difficult and challenging as these, I hope it’s reassuring to all model train fans that both our companies will be joining forces to write a productive new chapter in our hobby’s history. There is no better way to express our mutual belief and commitment to the future of model railroading than for Lionel and M.T.H. to collaborate on something as imaginative and exciting as these new Tinplate products. “This collaboration builds on what we’ve accomplished with our Tinplate Traditions line over the past three decades,” noted M.T.H. President Mike Wolf. “It is no secret to those who know me that Lionel’s history has inspired me since my youth.” Wolf went on to say, “By working together, our two companies will be able to offer products that even more faithfully evoke the beauty and artistry of the toys that Lionel and American Flyer turned out in the prewar years, as well as make those trains available to a wider audience. Wolf added, “Putting aside the differences our firms have had over the years, Jerry and I have always recognized how much synergy exists between Lionel and M.T.H. Together we sat down and worked out this agreement with the express goal of expanding on both firms’ longstanding commitments to grow our hobby.” Based in New York City, Lionel has been making model trains and accessories since 1900. It is one of the world's leading model train companies, and among the most widely recognized brands in America. Based in Columbia, Maryland, M.T.H. Electric Trains is a seasoned model train manufacturer with a long history of innovation. In little more than a quarter century, M.T.H. has created an appealing multi-gauge product line. |
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