I got an "inside baseball" phone call last night from a fellow collector who has a shot at buying a large collection. I enjoyed hearing about the opportunity and talking about my experiences being in the same situation. He was looking for advice on how to evaluate it and move forward and I was happy to share my thoughts.
Vintage Scouting Memorabilia On eBay
Reflecting on that conservation this morning it occurred to me that I'm one of those guys that views this hobby NOT as a zero sum game. In other words there are not winners and losers. So if there is anything I can do to help the hobby in general (videos, podcast, moderating the Facebook Group, hosting a TOR) then it isn't because I am keeping score.
You would be surprised (well maybe you wouldn't) that there are some dealers in our hobby that don't see it that way. Maybe they are just a little too competitive but they think that if somebody else lands a big collection, has a good week trading at the Jamboree, or even hosts a TOR for the benefit of a Cub Scout Pack that somehow that hurts their business.
Ok I will just come out and say it. There is a dealer in my parts actively telling people he won't attend the Charlotte TOR and suggesting they shouldn't either. I'm not even sure at what point I got cross with this guy but it's kinda embarrassing for him because numerous people have come up to me and said "hey have you heard what so and so said about you". It's kinda like being in middle school I guess but I just have to let it roll off and ignore the haters as they say these days.
Instead of holding animosity towards other dealers and trying to throw knives at them here is what my theory is. There are over 300k items in the Boy Scout category. As hard as I work my business represents a drop in the bucket of that staggering number. So my focus is on trying to build the hobby, raise up the next generation of collectors, spread the word about everyone's TORs, and keep collectors connected in new ways.
Oh and just to make my final point. Ok and so I can be a little "middle school" about it. My friend who is talking crap about the event - I have already received TOR reservations from as far away as PA. It's going to be your loss because with the BSA Supply Group bringing their truck full of goodies this show will be dynamite! ;)
www.CharlotteTOR.com
Keep Calm And Scout On,
Jason Spangler Hot Finds Newsletter
In Charlotte, North Carolina I have an antique mall booth that is filled with nothing but Scouting stuff. I call this location my clearance center because I've marked down everything to move. A lot of what you will find there are items that are too bulky to easily ship from an Internet store. The booth is located in The Sleepy Poet which is a well established antique mall on South Blvd in Charlotte. The mall is open 7-days/week year round. So the next time you are in the area come check it out.
