Kanwaka Kollectibles

It's difficult at times trying to find exciting and collectible items for sale on eBay or at the Lawrence Antique Mall were I have a booth. You can go to a hundred garage sales which seem to only feature stained baby clothes and kitchenware dating all the way back to 1998 and find absolutely NOTHING! Can you imagine that in 100 years, the only antiques will be made of plastic and manufactured in China?! The life of a antiques and collectibles dealer is all about the hunt. You never know when you will find that box of treasure stuck under a table full of those proverbial stained baby clothes. Case in point, on humid and hot Friday summer morning at 9a.m., I stumble into a garage sale that seemed somewhat interesting from the advert in the local newspaper. The item that piqued my interest in the advertisement was "box of old sports magazines." I deal in all things paper and sports, among other collectibles, if I can find them. As usual, I quickly peruse the offering, finding little of interest, but the merchandise on sale is certainly of a masculine nature, which is unusual. Unfortunately, I can find no box of sports magazines. The 50 year old man, who's worldly possessions are sprawled across the driveway, is pleasant enough. He's very busy though, selling some old shorts to a balding Hispanic man. I decide to wait and ask about the now mysterious missing box of sports magazines. I spy my entry and step up and ask about them. He tells me he hasn't had time to bring them out yet, the dammed "early birds" came knocking at his door at 6 in the a.m.! In the mean time, there is a break in the garage sale action and he enters his home to haul them out for me. Some minutes later he reappears with a tattered box and drops them at my feet. I look down and to my amazement, Mickey Mantle is looking up at me from a vintage mid-1960's magazine! SCORE! I drop to my knees and examine the contents of the box. There are vintage Sports Illustrated and old Sports magazines by the dozens. Now comes the question from me. "How about $10 for the box?" He pauses for a second and says "OK." I can't hide my excitement and that is not a good thing. I hand him a crisp $10 bill. Now the second question comes to my mind. "Hey, do you have any more?" I ask. He smiles and says,"Yeah, I'm cleaning out my garage and storage area. Come back tomorrow." I quickly hand him my card and thank him. The moral of my story is never give up the search. This man is now my friend. I met his sons and his mom. Rick, a former sports coach and local Jayhawk fan, has been my source for boxes and boxes of vintage sports items. His lovely mother, Marilyn, has sold me some of her autographed sports items. I like these people and they have been well supplied with my money for well over a month now. My coffers are somewhat bare, but my inventory of sports collectibles is now full, for the coming year. I will make my money back times 4 or 5 or 6 times over, or hopefully more. I recently left my manager's job at Sears. It was a dreadful position for a 46 year-old. Now through hard work and good luck, I am a full time antiques and collectibles dealer. Between the antique mall, eBay, and a loving wife with a good job with state benefits, I can be self employed. My advice to all, follow your dreams and think outside the box.