Strong Museum Silent Auction

[Adam Nedeff]

As part of their annual Play Ball, the Strong Museum of Play (home of the National Archives of Game Show History) is holding a silent auction, and you can bid online. Follow the link below. There are goodies from Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, and show-used decks from Card Sharks. Beyond the game show stuff, there are also some neat Atari-related goodies autographed by Nolan Bushnell, if that strikes your fancy.

https://strongmu2025.ggo.bid/bidding/package-browse

[Jeremy Nelson]

Did the Card Sharks cards have a "Buy it Now" element? Those auctions are over, and the blue and gold decks went for $75 and $150, respectively. I'd have to think that they would have/should have gone for more than that, cause I definitely would have placed a larger bid had I seen this when you posted.

[TLEberle]

Same. I looked twice and saw neither auction.

[rstrata]

Did the Card Sharks cards have a "Buy it Now" element? Those auctions are over, and the blue and gold decks went for $75 and $150, respectively. I'd have to think that they would have/should have gone for more than that, cause I definitely would have placed a larger bid had I seen this when you posted.

Yeah, they all do.

Someone got an absolute steal.

[Jeremy Nelson]

Someone got an absolute steal.

Snooping around the site, and considering that Harry Friedman's personal Wheel denim jacket went for $450, "an absolute steal" is an undersell. They could have made out like bandits even if they just broke these sets up by suit.

I'd have to think someone in our fandom saw this and snatched these up right away, so whoever you are, I hope they're going to a good home.

[Matt Ottinger]

Yeah, this whole auction is oddly structured.  If there's not a single closing time for all of this, then every closing time really ought to be on the thumbnail, not just in the listing.  It also seems likely that the organizer of the auction is not necessarily a game show person, and therefore didn't realize that game used props are highly collectible in a way that standard swag maybe is not.

Also, what am I not understanding about the shipping rules?  They won't ship it to you if you live in town, but they will if you don't?  If they're charging for shipping (which they are), what difference does it make how far it's going?

[tvmitch]

I would have paid a silly amount of money for either of those Card Sharks decks. I had looked at them earlier in the week, too - not sure when they ended, but I thought I had more time.

That's a sad thing, to see that each of those decks raised less than $100 for the museum. That said, congrats if it's one of us who got them!

I'm not sure I understand the decision to hold the auction on their website instead of eBay. They would easily make up the eBay fees with added visibility. Happy to offer some services/volunteer help here if someone is reading this and would like to discuss further.

[Jeremy Nelson]

It also seems likely that the organizer of the auction is not necessarily a game show person, and therefore didn't realize that game used props are highly collectible in a way that standard swag maybe is not.

Seconded, though I am surprised that they didn't consult Bob or Adam or anyone from that section of the museum as a backstop. Past my own jealousy, it seems like a real miss, especially with the pulled federal funding that cut the museum's budget

[GAME SHOW FAN 87]

It was me, I was fortunate enough to snag the gold deck.  I was also surprised they were going for so cheap.  When I saw the blue deck went for just $75, I knew I had to attempt to make a bid.  I was browsing the forum on my phone when I saw Adam's post and went to the site.  It took a bit to make an account, so long I thought I would get outbid.  Luckily, I was able to figure it out in time.  There was a buy it now option for $150.  I think I remember Cory paying double that for his Eubanks deck a few years ago, so I agree it's a steal.  I'm just grateful to have an authentic piece of game show memorabilia, and I hope this fundraiser brought in lots of money for the Museum.  If anyone likes, I'll post pics when they arrive.

[TLEberle]

Was it from the 70s/80s or 10s?

[TimK2003]

Either everything sold so quickly after the original post that it was already off the site, or I couldn't find anything...even with the search categories provided.

All I know is that it looked like a good auction if you were a fan of the Bills Mafia.

[GAME SHOW FAN 87]

Was it from the 70s/80s or 10s?

It was from the 2010s McHale version.