Memory Lane, Inc. Wins the $10,000 Grand Prize in the NAXCOM Vintage Invitational Presented
by PSA
Tustin, CA. Based Dealer Wins Competition Among 32 Hobby Retailers
What started as a battle between 32 of the country's top vintage sports memorabilia dealers
concluded with an epic showdown between two of the industry's most respected hobby retailers.
Thanks to the sale of a 1952 Mickey Mantle (GAI 7.5) rookie card for $26,000, Memory Lane
Sports Cards (Tustin, CA) held off a late flurry of sales from McAvoy Sports Cards (Omaha, NE.),
to capture the title Vintage Memorabilia Dealer of the Year and $10,000 in the first annual
NAXCOM.COM Vintage Invitational presented by PSA.
The national competition for 32 sports memorabilia dealers was structured as a weekly
single-elimination tournament with dealers going head-to-head for the right to advance. Both
Memory Lane and McAvoy Sports Cards defeated four other dealers since the competition began
on Sep. 27, 2004. Despite falling short in the championships round (Jan 31-Feb 6), McAvoy
Sports Cards earned $2500 as the runner-up. Jean Roy Collectibles (Simi Valley, CA) and
Keith's Cards (Aliquippa, PA) claimed the $500 prize for reaching the semi-finals.
"We commend Memory Lane for their outstanding performance in this unique competition,"
said Eric Beckerman, CEO of NAXCOM.COM. "Everyone was a winner. Our customers scored great
deals, the dealers moved a tremendous amount of product, and NAXCOM had more visitors and transactions
than ever before. The response was so overwhelming that we have moved up the start date for the
Vintage Invitational 2 with qualifying rounds on March 1 and the competition commencing on June 6."
"We are honored to be the winner of the inaugural NAXCOM Vintage Invitational," said
JP Cohen of Memory Lane, Inc. "This promotion provided a great venue for us to showcase our
extensive inventory of vintage collectibles to a wide audience of collectors. We look forward to
defending our title."
In addition to the sale of the Mantle rookie, some of the other prominent transactions during the
final weeks of the NAXCOM Vintage Invitational included:
1965 Topps Football Complete Set PSA 8 -- $25,000
1911 Framed Christy Matthewson Piece contains a T206 box and T206 Piedmont -- $4,500
1956 Topps Pinback Set -- $4,000
1953 Bowman Color #59 Mantle PSA 8 -- $3,675
1958 Bell Brand Sandy Koufax Trading Card NM - $2,500
1949 Bowman Duke Snyder Rookie #266 PSA 8 -- $2,310
1958 Topps Batting Foes (Aaron/Mantle #418) PSA 8 -- $1,313
Memory Lane has been in business since 2000 and has quickly become one of the industry's leading brokers
and dealers specializing in pre-1970 cards and other high-grade sports collectibles. They recently
made headlines by selling a Sport Kings set for $360,000. McAvoy Sportscards has built a solid
business over the past 32 years. What began as a table at weekend sports memorabilia card shows
has expanded into a full-time family business for retired Army podiatrist William McAvoy with his
wife Jane and daughter Amy.
Vintage memorabilia, defined as anything pre-1980 (cards, publications, autographs, equipment,
figurines, etc.), has a large and growing audience among the nation's sports collecting community.
The NAXCOM.COM Vintage Invitational leverages the renewed interest in the memorabilia of yesterday's
sports legends. While dealers rack up sales, it will be collectors that truly benefit as hundreds
of items each week will be "priced to move" by the competing dealers looking to advance
to the next round.
Unlike online sports memorabilia auctions that let sellers post a starting price and buyers escalate
the price, NAXCOM is modeled after the stock market boasting narrow bid/ask spreads resulting in true
market prices. This format gives consumers the confidence in the purchase price. NAXCOM also secures
the payment process by securing buyer's funds in a holding account until their item is received and
approved. With no monthly membership or listing fees, NAXCOM has been able to attract over 70,000
registered users and over six million listings.
Source: NAXCOM, Inc.
Date: February 7, 2005
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