America's Pastime

Travelling on business from CA to New Jersey the past few years, I always make it a point to go in to see Rich at America's Pastime. This past year, I was putting together a 55 Topps set, and I needed about 35 cards including Sandy Koufax. Rich has about 27 of the cards I needed, including the Koufax, and gave me an excellent price on all of them. A few weeks later he called me and told me he had the rest of the cards I needed. We handled that by mail-order and when I received the cards, they were exactly as he had described. I am very happy to have this connection with him over the years. He goes out of his way to make sure his customers are happy with the service and quality.

I stopped in to America;s pastime and was taken back by the quality and amount of vintage cards in this store. They are one of the few stores that carries all sports. The owner was very friendly and knowledgable. I ended up buying a Sandy Koufax card as well as several football cards. The price was very fair. Card stores have come and gone but this one has stood the test of time. Rich is a true professional at what he does. I can't wait to go back.

When I first entered America's Pastime, I thought I had accidentally wandered into a homeless shelter because this place looks as if it hasn't been vacuumed since the Reagan Administration. When I made my way toward the back of the store, I finally saw the owner sitting at a table behind the counter. He was gorging himself on a gigantic brownie sundae and had chocolate sauce all over his face. About 20 napkins later, he stood up and asked if he could help me find something. As he walked toward me, I thought he was standing in a hole, but it turns out he's just really, really short; kind of like a cross between Chucky and Kojak. But, by FAR the worst thing about this store was the owner's friend. He was there the whole time and wouldn't stop telling these tedious, boring stories. I mean, this guy seriously forced me to consider running out into traffic and ending it all. At this point, I was about to leave because I was a bit frightened and depressed, but instead I explained that I was building several sets from the 60s and needed a bunch of commons to complete them. Rich was very helpful, and had more than 90% of the cards I was looking for! And, his prices were reasonable too, considering how expensive it is to maintain a card shop in New Jersey, even one with carpeting straight out of the Great Depression. After I got past the initial shock of seeing someone polish off an entire brownie sundae in less than 30 seconds, I had a pleasant experience at America's Pastime, and I'll be back soon.

I spent the better part of an afternoon there, the more I looked the more I found. Not your typical box set dealer - lots of gems, The owner really knows his stuff. I ended up buying a lot more than I was expecting to, but did get a real nice discount,

THIS GUY IS A REAL CLOWN ... RIP OFF ... DO NOT GO TO THIS STORE ... FAKE AUTOS AND HIGHEST PRICES IN NEW JERSEY ... DO NOT WALK RUN FAR AWAY !