Leela's Tips & Tricks - April 2010

Leela’s Tips & Tricks is Leela’s first foray into writing a monthly column – she usually just appears in Mike DeNero’s Neighborhood. As such, she does not have an impressive resume … yet. But give her a break; she’s only five-years-old! We hope you find her vintage collecting tips useful, her butchered attempts at composing sentences in what she calls “Canadien-French” amusing (if not refreshing, albeit confusing), and her unabashed love for her Montreal Canadiens admirable. Enjoy!

What’s In A Grade?

(Translation: Qu'est-ce qu'un grade?)

by Leela

Bonjour, collectionnuers de cartes! It’s me again, Leela, and I’m not gonna give ya some vintage cardboard education … my tip o' the month. Voilà!

For those of you who collect vintage cards (et j'espère sincèrement que vous tous) and feel the need to buy them in a certain grade higher (e.g., “I only collect PSA 7s or higher.”), try lowering your “standards” by one whole grade. Often times, you can get a 6 that looks as good or better than a 7 – after all, the grading companies’ processes are not as strenuous as those of NASA, for example (les gars de la société de classification ne sont que les geeks carte, comme vous et moi (enfin, comme vous peut-être plus que moi). Seriously, take a good look at some of the 7s you have and then run an eBay search for the same cards in PSA 6 – I bet you find some that look better than your 7. Excellente idée, non? Qui mieux que moi? Personne!

Je dois y aller. I need to venture over to the dry cleaner to drop off my vintage red wool Maurice "the Rocket" Richard #9 Montreal Canadiens hockey sweater. On Monday night, I spilled some apple juice on the front of it while celebrating a Les Habitants goal. Then after I sat back down in my bean bag chair, I leaned back on some Lorna Doones and they left a little stain on the back. I hope that incompétents imbecile at the dry cleaner can figure out how to remove the stains without ruining my sweater! Dites une prière pour moi et Maurice Richard.

'Til next time -- Vive Les Habitants! C'est tout!