I remember ole Bob. He was highly priced and would always bark at me when I would ask him something. He did have great stuff though and I agree, way ahead of his time. Dan.
www.danmckee.com/pictures/types001.jpg>
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
Hugh Jones used to tell me about bidding against Foster in auctions. The bid might go $100, $200, and then Foster would bid $1500 to just scare everyone else off. Hugh called it a "Foster Close-out"
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
When Bob Foster had his 'NS card museum' set up at card shows, I'd always make it a point to work the entire rest of the room first, and only THEN end up at Bob's table. Reason being that his stuff, at those prices, really wasn't going anywhere fast, and there was a small chance that one might possibly find what you need at non-Foster prices, elsewhere.
Also, there was the little issue of Bob's demeanor (you could call him grouchy, in an understatement, but that might also tick off grouches everywhere! .
But every time he'd catch my eye at one of those shows (say, I'm at Todd Riley's table), if I happened to look across the table in his direction, or whenever I was in earshot, he'd actually holler out in that gruff voice, no smile, "Let's go, let's go! You KNOW you're coming over here. I've got what you want. Don't waste time!"
Was collecting 50s stuff back in those days, and I think the item I got from him that I remember best was a full set of Rinso Soap Paladin insert cards, in about Exmt condition.
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
He had a web site up in the late 90's and I remember almost falling out of my chair thinking "Who in the hell would pay those prices?" but I don't think those prices would look too crazy now.
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
...had something to do with "Balrog" as the theme...logging onto it, the viewer was greeted by an animated dragon (didn't work too well, this was "old" technology, would look crude now)...
...got to know Bob well over the years, first at North Jersey shows in the early '80's, then, later, was set up next to him at the Dennis/Toser San Jose non-sports shows (Bob and I were the only ones who traveled from the east coast to set up, the first couple of years, so Roxanne gave us "priority space" up front)...
...he had his grouchy side, which he was always willing to display, but he was also a gracious guy in his own way...over plenty of before- and after-show coffee chats, he and I used to tease each other about prices (his were exorbitant, I'd tell him, and he'd counter that my stuff was not only too cheap, but worthless to begin with...there was truth in both points of view)...
...I miss Bob...as well as Tom Reid, Paul Gallagher, and many others from those first days of the non-sports card shows...
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
I remember Bob very well, since he is one of the few NS people I actually met several times--(I recall when he decided to be called Robert & not Bob anymore---heaven help anyone who forgot!) Altho his prices were way high he explained it to me as follows: the first/best customer always got first shot at any prime material, but he paid for the privilege of first refusal. HJJ also had this philosophy & would frequently lower his price when he reached 3rd or 4th best customers. First time RF explained this to me I was his 3rd best customer---I actually made #1 for a very short while, & Bob did not hesitate to let me know when I slipped down his list again---I always looked forward to his phone call offers, which came all too rarely as time passed.
Bob/Robert did not like to negotiate at all & once told me how he treated people who wanted a discount---one time a customer spent 20/30 minutes going thru one of his lower priced boxes & picked out a card marked at 5 dollars---he asked Bob if he would take 3 bucks for it & Bob took the card & ripped it in half----what a guy---needless to say, I never bothered trying to argue him down in price.
Chuck---that was his favorite auction tactic---he didn't bother with maximum bids much, just jumped in & bid his top offer, hoping to discourage anyone else.
He could be very gracious indeed when he desired & would let me go behind his table while he showed me stuff & then let me park my stuff there while I went around the rest of the room----(most expensive parking space I ever had)----those were the good old days---tables with RF, HJJ, Ron Wilson, Wade Carsel, Tosers, Marks & many others---what an all star lineup!
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
"Robert Foster has become well-known through his guide as one of the foremost authorities on the world of J.R.R. Tolkien. He was an Assistant Professor of English at Rutgers College, New Jersey. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he received his MA and PhD in English and Medieval Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. He was a consultant to the Tolkien Society of America and his Guide to Middle-earth, punlished in 1971, resulted from his work of tracing the etymology of names used in JRR Tolkien's book"
This message has been edited by ctyankee on Jun 18, 2009 9:43 PM
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
I remember his site having "rjbalrog" in it, but it wasn't a simple .com if I recall. And yeah, there was an animated dragon. Unfortunately my Prodigy email address containing his domain ceased working a decade ago
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
Sorry, Todd and Jim, old Bob never had anything to do with those references. Bob came on board The Wrapper in 1981 and told me that before dealing in non-sports cards, he collected Eskimo art(!). He also had work experience as a construction foreman(engineer?). Why he behaved toward others is still a mystery to me....
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
I told this tale once before...but why not again..
In the 8o's we had a toy auction catalog and Bob contacted us and said he had some robots for sale..So we travelled to his home in Connecticut and purchased about 15K worth of robots.
On the way out, I spotted a small box of unopened gum packs, which was the only thing I was actually collecting at the time (still do)
I asked him how much he wanted for the box and he said $3500...called a friend who said that $2000 was too much, never mind $3500..
I was desperate for certain packs in the box and thought, what the heck and offered him $2500...I will never forget his next two
words - and I quote: GET OUT !!!
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts.
![[linked image]](http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/danster-nj/EE/foster.jpg)
.
