A little bit of 90's and early 2000's reminiscing........

Buying loads and loads of regular packs of 93-94 Upper Deck chasing rookie standouts...and finally getting an Alan Houston and treasuring it...then finding out later you can get one RS in every jumbo pack haha.

If you pulled a 93 94 Mr June you were a king among peasants.

Penny Hardaway being the next Jordan.

Splashing out on "high end" 93-94 Upper Deck SE packs at the video store and chasing die cut allstars and Johnny Kilroy.

The joy of one insert per pack with Fleer. Hotpacks in 94-95 wtf.

Ordering a set of Fleer Drexler Career Highlights, a Shaq Upper Deck rookie card and a few SE die cuts allstars through the mail and friends wondering where I got all these awesome cards from.

Thinking Topps and Hoops were cheap and nasty. But loved Stadium Club.

Holojams.

When MJ came back from retirement in 95 and all the extra cards that would be made.

Grant Hill being the next Jordan.

Pulling a Webber 94-95 Ultra All Rookie Team and thinking this is the best card I will ever own. Then pulling a 95-96 Skybox Jordan Larger Than Life the next year and it going straight into the screw down.

Pulling an insert and looking in Beckett how much it is worth...and being disappointed most of the time haha.

Buying packs of 97-98 Upper Deck and knowing I will never pull a game jersey....but then buying a few over ebay years later lol.

Still think 97-98 Upper Deck is the best set ever made and still chasing game jerseys and diamond dimensions.

mate i reckon we'd have cross paths a few times at card shows around newcastle!
 
Any shire folk on here? We had 3 shops at Miranda - what’s new, card Shaq and that shop on the kingsway whose name escapes me but he had a ‘run and gun’ machine that rewarded you with some crappy base card if you won. Pulled a Scottie pippen die cut all star AND a Barkley electric gold there.... traded the Barkley to one of the shops at parra (outside near the town hall) for the better part of a box of footy cards and instantly regretted it lol. Good times!
 
Buying loads and loads of regular packs of 93-94 Upper Deck chasing rookie standouts...and finally getting an Alan Houston and treasuring it...then finding out later you can get one RS in every jumbo pack haha.

If you pulled a 93 94 Mr June you were a king among peasants.

Penny Hardaway being the next Jordan.

Splashing out on "high end" 93-94 Upper Deck SE packs at the video store and chasing die cut allstars and Johnny Kilroy.

The joy of one insert per pack with Fleer. Hotpacks in 94-95 wtf.

Ordering a set of Fleer Drexler Career Highlights, a Shaq Upper Deck rookie card and a few SE die cuts allstars through the mail and friends wondering where I got all these awesome cards from.

Thinking Topps and Hoops were cheap and nasty. But loved Stadium Club.

Holojams.

When MJ came back from retirement in 95 and all the extra cards that would be made.

Grant Hill being the next Jordan.

Pulling a Webber 94-95 Ultra All Rookie Team and thinking this is the best card I will ever own. Then pulling a 95-96 Skybox Jordan Larger Than Life the next year and it going straight into the screw down.

Pulling an insert and looking in Beckett how much it is worth...and being disappointed most of the time haha.

Buying packs of 97-98 Upper Deck and knowing I will never pull a game jersey....but then buying a few over ebay years later lol.

Still think 97-98 Upper Deck is the best set ever made and still chasing game jerseys and diamond dimensions.
The screw down was the "pool room" of cards.
Only the best went into them!!
I remember a Jordan fleer RC going around the card shops in Perth that must have been in an inch and a half thick screwdown. Was like a paving brick!! LA Gear, Sporting Card Enterprises and Al's were our main shops in the Perth CBD.
Al's card shop still exists albeit in a different spot.
Canning Vale Markets, Midland Military markets, Gosnells market and Wanneroo Market were always good for a few card stalls back then as well!!
Wild days
 
found this today out in the garage? pleasant memories

IMG_1487.jpg
 
Every jersey/patch card being valuable. I remember pulling a Corey Maggette jersey once and being over the moon. Now you'd consider binning it or putting it up on a Facebook sale page for a buck.

Filling binders up with cards because they actually fit into the sleeves.

Ace Colour Copy in Northland Shopping Centre was my local card shop. A printers who use dto have a glass case full of singles and a heap of packs and boxes. Also used to frequent Card Heaven on Glenferrie Road in Hawthorn.
 
Pretty sure I have this card back at my parents place. Possibly the most bizarre thing I've heard in 2018 (and that's saying something) is that eBay are now blocking sales of a card because it is affiliated with murders...

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12177721
Pretty grim stuff. I will admit I went through my old cards to see if I had one though.

This also could be an opportunity for eagle eyed collectors to try and find other known people in the background of other cards, there must be a few out there with celebrity NBA fans courtside.
 
Pretty grim stuff. I will admit I went through my old cards to see if I had one though.

This also could be an opportunity for eagle eyed collectors to try and find other known people in the background of other cards, there must be a few out there with celebrity NBA fans courtside.

Most anything lakers is a good chance for some Jack Nicholson appearances. He always has courtside seats at their home games.
 
I worked at Card Shaq for about 4 years , absolute time of my life. Living the dream out as a job , also collected a little myself but careful not to get too hooked.

We had some fantastic clients , staff and memories

Some amazing moments stood out.

A little 5 year old kid coming up to the counter and asked for the Shaq and Penny auto from Classic draft picks. Told him it was $350 not $3.50 and he said "yes i know" and pulled out a wad of $50's. His dad was on the bench waiting so i had to go over and confirm it was ok. It was.

A toothless customer who came in and always made us laugh , was a little bit off centre but one day he pulled 3 hoops redemptions from the same pack , and he was forever known as 3 hoops redemptions.

We stocked the Fleer Cello packs 92 with the Team Leaders one per pack , $80 a pack they were , Jordan was worth $800 at the time. A guy came in and bought 6 packs and got nothing ( i bought the Reggie off him personally as i was a massive Reggie fan ) , then his mate bought one pack and you guessed it , pulled the Jordan.

We had a bet between the owner of the stores and my mate a fellow employee , that he couldnt go undefeated through NBA Jam and he would give him $500 if he did. He got there , a great night at the bar near the shop , the George Adams Bar ensued.

We had Run and Gun machine , a seriously under-rated game , spent so much of our down time on it.

Soccer was not big at the time , but a few guys were pretty hardcore buyers. Most of us were bball heads so when someone purchased soccer cards we put it in the till as Non-Sports. One customer got so upset when he realised he wanted to fight us :)

I will post some more soon when i remember more.
 
I worked at Card Shaq for about 4 years , absolute time of my life. Living the dream out as a job , also collected a little myself but careful not to get too hooked.

We had some fantastic clients , staff and memories

Some amazing moments stood out.

A little 5 year old kid coming up to the counter and asked for the Shaq and Penny auto from Classic draft picks. Told him it was $350 not $3.50 and he said "yes i know" and pulled out a wad of $50's. His dad was on the bench waiting so i had to go over and confirm it was ok. It was.

A toothless customer who came in and always made us laugh , was a little bit off centre but one day he pulled 3 hoops redemptions from the same pack , and he was forever known as 3 hoops redemptions.

We stocked the Fleer Cello packs 92 with the Team Leaders one per pack , $80 a pack they were , Jordan was worth $800 at the time. A guy came in and bought 6 packs and got nothing ( i bought the Reggie off him personally as i was a massive Reggie fan ) , then his mate bought one pack and you guessed it , pulled the Jordan.

We had a bet between the owner of the stores and my mate a fellow employee , that he couldnt go undefeated through NBA Jam and he would give him $500 if he did. He got there , a great night at the bar near the shop , the George Adams Bar ensued.

We had Run and Gun machine , a seriously under-rated game , spent so much of our down time on it.

Soccer was not big at the time , but a few guys were pretty hardcore buyers. Most of us were bball heads so when someone purchased soccer cards we put it in the till as Non-Sports. One customer got so upset when he realised he wanted to fight us :)

I will post some more soon when i remember more.

Great times, nothing beats being a card collector in the early 90’s and living in Sydney. Did you work at the Store underneath the Sydney Hilton and if so do you have any photos of it?
 
I remember not collecting back then and thinking that such pursuits were for children, gaylords and nerds. How things change. I can imagine that it brings back much nostalgia for those who were then participating in (and what is clear to me now) the greatest hobby anyone could participate in....period. I hope it keeps growing and growing. It's a precious thing, and it needs nurturing.
 
I worked at Card Shaq for about 4 years , absolute time of my life. Living the dream out as a job , also collected a little myself but careful not to get too hooked.

We had some fantastic clients , staff and memories

Some amazing moments stood out.

A little 5 year old kid coming up to the counter and asked for the Shaq and Penny auto from Classic draft picks. Told him it was $350 not $3.50 and he said "yes i know" and pulled out a wad of $50's. His dad was on the bench waiting so i had to go over and confirm it was ok. It was.

A toothless customer who came in and always made us laugh , was a little bit off centre but one day he pulled 3 hoops redemptions from the same pack , and he was forever known as 3 hoops redemptions.

We stocked the Fleer Cello packs 92 with the Team Leaders one per pack , $80 a pack they were , Jordan was worth $800 at the time. A guy came in and bought 6 packs and got nothing ( i bought the Reggie off him personally as i was a massive Reggie fan ) , then his mate bought one pack and you guessed it , pulled the Jordan.

We had a bet between the owner of the stores and my mate a fellow employee , that he couldnt go undefeated through NBA Jam and he would give him $500 if he did. He got there , a great night at the bar near the shop , the George Adams Bar ensued.

We had Run and Gun machine , a seriously under-rated game , spent so much of our down time on it.

Soccer was not big at the time , but a few guys were pretty hardcore buyers. Most of us were bball heads so when someone purchased soccer cards we put it in the till as Non-Sports. One customer got so upset when he realised he wanted to fight us :)

I will post some more soon when i remember more.
Wonderfull memories of the 90s.So many card shops to choose from.The stand out was the card shop at Blacktown.Run by 2 wonderfull and very genuine young men. ;)
 
Great times, nothing beats being a card collector in the early 90’s and living in Sydney. Did you work at the Store underneath the Sydney Hilton and if so do you have any photos of it?
Yes worked in Hilton quite a lot , Mid City Centre , Maroubra , Gosford , Bankstown , even Penrith on occasions.

Opening day for Penrith we had Brad Fittler in store signing autographs , he must of been 22-23 at that stage , his mum came in with vegemite sandwiches for him for lunch , we sat in the back room and had a chin wag , good guy.

Bankstown was rough as. Our shop was right on the station , saw stabbings out the front , big gang fights , had to shield a kid instore while police came one day as a gang of kids wanted to bash him.

City was much better , in the Hilton store one day we got a batch of 5 boxes of Topps Stadium Club that had 2 First Day Issue cards per pack , when it was normally 1 per box. We only found out as a mate bought one and opened it in the shop , pulled 2 Jordan regulars , 1 of the sub tier Jordans and a few Shaqs.

Best part of Hilton store was the fact i could go out on the Friday night at the bars in the Hilton, sleep in the shop , had a shower right next door and work Saturday morning.

Photo of the shops , I am not in any but the two owners are and a mate of mine to this day.

IMG_8738.jpeg


cardshaq.jpg
 
I missed this thread but it's a good read. I grew up in a tiny town so never got to experience many card shop visits during the boom but one thing I did get was card crazy vending machines. i loved the variety of singles and different products in those things. I remember buying singles I didnt want could a could see a shaq a few cards back. Great memories.
 
This is the greatest thread ever lol.... I remember always going to markets and always being really disappointed if there was no card store there, What's New in Northland was the best on a Friday night, and I would have taken a Harold Miner card over a Jordan anyday of the week
 
This is the greatest thread ever lol.... I remember always going to markets and always being really disappointed if there was no card store there, What's New in Northland was the best on a Friday night, and I would have taken a Harold Miner card over a Jordan anyday of the week
I remember the Harold Miner First Day Issue from Stadium Club selling for $200 in our shop , crazy stuff. He was that hot with EVERYONE wanting a piece of him.
 
Thanks for the reminisce! There used to be a few card shops in Adelaide, i dont know if there is even one now. I really enjoyed that 90's bball card trading era as a kid. My mate got me onto it. I gave him some dollars and he bought me 1 pack of 93-94 UD Series II and 1 pack of 93-94 Skybox. The UD pack landed me an MJ Mr June. The MJ didn't last a day cos some kid desperately wanted it and traded me a stack.
I have complete base sets of the 2 brands, and looking at them takes me back. I asked my dad to buy me a box of 93-94 UD Series II, it cost him $200. That started the set I have now.
 
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