Phil Castinetti isn't a big fan of agents.
Castinetti, the owner of Sportsworld, billed as New England's largest sports memorabilia shop, blames player agents for the exorbitant amount of money charged for player signatures, which, in turn, has put a damper on the sports memorabilia market.
Castinetti, whose shop is located on 87 Broadway (Route 1) in Saugus, has been in this business full time since 1986 and it's player/agent greed, he said, that makes it difficult for fans to obtain affordable signatures of their favorite players.
"It's crazy now," Castinetti said. "A Mookie Betts signed baseball right now sells for the same as a Mickey Mantle or a Ted Williams one - and you can't even read it.
"I have no respect for Tom Brady now. It cost $1,049 just for him to sign a regular piece (no helmet, jersey) at a private signing. I mean, come on, give back a little. I heard he got 2.2 million for the signing. Agents mess up everything. You also have big companies like Fanatics who sign players to exclusive deals and charge these ridiculous prices."
According to Castinetti, the sports card/memorabilia market has changed drastically since he opened his doors 33 years ago.
"I got in just before the sports card craze began," he said. "It was around 88 or 89 when the card companies ruined everything by overproducing their product. It's rebounding a little bit now because a lot of those companies are gone."
Gone are the days when opening packs and putting together sets were the goal. Today, it's more about finding an autograph of your favorite player in a pack of cards than it is to find his rookie card.
Castinetti said it's the vintage cards that are hot at his place, but even those older cards are becoming a challenge to deal with.
"The 40s, 50s and 60s are pretty hot," he said, "but now you have to pay to send them in and get them graded. Vintage is where it's at, but I'm working harder to get that stuff."
According to Castinetti, eBay has also been a thorn in the side of sports memorabilia, specifically autographs.
"I look at eBay and I get sick to my stomach when I see what's out there," he said. "There are so many fakes out there it's sickening. There are so many bad people out there so it helps if you have them authenticated by a company like JSA, PSA or Beckett."
Castinetti has obviously done something right since he's survived the roller-coaster ride for 30-plus years, but he's not sure what's next for the hobby.
"It's getting pretty hard and I do get discouraged at times," he said. "I remember when I used to stay open until 9 on a Friday and it would be packed. I couldn't wait until Friday, but it's not like that anymore. I'm in a place where I have 100,000 cars go by a day and there are some days where zero come in.
"I've managed to survive because I've made a lot of connections and I've tried to do the right thing all these years."
Mike Thomas is the sports editor of The Herald News. Follow him on Twitter @NostraThomasHN