Comics, Cards, Sneakers and Collectibles Show makes its Greeley Stampede debut – Greeley Tribune

Rick Mellin of Greeley holds a pair of 1985 Michael Jordan shoes while at the Stampede Comics, Cards, Sneakers and Collectibles Show on Saturday, July 6, 2024.(Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)

Rick Mellin, a retired Greeley oral surgeon, saw a lot of mouths and faces during his 23 years of practicing. However, a pair of things set him apart from other oral surgeons: his love of Jordans.

“I had a whole collection of (Air) Jordan shoes at my office that I wore to do surgery,” Mellin said. “A big part of my practice was taking care of high school kids, doing wisdom teeth, and I kind of became known with the kids that I had Jordans.”

Mellin said he’d rock a pair of Jordans during surgery, and he also had a pair for when he went to watch patients at their high school games. The No. 1 question patients asked him when they saw him in the office or in public was what kind of heat he was rocking on his feet.

“So it kind of became one of my signature things about who I was,” he said.

Mellin was among more than a dozen sellers who set up shop on Saturday in the 4-H building at Island Grove for the first Comic, Cards, Sneakers and Collectibles Show at the Greeley Stampede. The show was the idea of Ken Yamada, owner of No Limit Collectibles LLC,1125 W. Drake Road, Fort Collins.

The store used to be located in Greeley at 59th Avenue and 20th Street, and he said it’s possible the store could come back someday.

“It’s going great,” Yamada said. “It’s been great today.”

Yamada has wanted to make the show a reality in the northern Colorado area for a long time. He said he has a few connections within the Stampede, so he utilized those to make the show come to fruition.

In addition to organizing the event, Yamada also sold Denver Broncos cards and other cards. A Peyton Manning autographed card which also had a piece of Manning’s jersey in it was the crown jewel. It had an asking price of $10,000.

Mellin brought 60 pairs of shoes to the show, mostly Jordans, with the prized pairs being the original 1985 Chicago and Banned Jordan 1s, both pairs used. He was asking $5,000 for the Banneds and $6,000 for the Chicagos. Mellin said his shoe collection is around 300 pairs.

Elijah and Owen Hatch, father and son, brought their expansive Star Wars collection from Kersey to the show. Owen, after looking at their inventory app, said they brought about 665 items to the show. He said that’s most of their collection, but there were older items they didn’t bring.

Owen, 15, said he and his father have been collecting Star Wars items and ’80s toys all of his life, which led to the creation of their business, HG Toys.

“It’s fun. I like it,” said Owen about collecting and running a business.

Along with the shoes, cards and Star Wars items, other sellers had Pokémon cards, Nikola Jokic cards and other sports cards as the show ran from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

A Dark Blastoise 1st edition Pokémon card had an asking price of $225, and Jokic rookie cards ranged between $500 and $3,500. Asking for and getting for an item are two different things at shows like this.

Hatch, Mellin and Yamada said they conduct research on various apps to gauge pricing for their items. They all said when it comes to negotiation for an item, it’s about finding a fair deal for both parties.

“I certainly want to be fair. I’ve invested a lot of money in buying these (shoes) over the years,” Mellin said. “Mostly, I would love for someone to enjoy them because I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them.”

For Mellin, this was his first time selling at any show, and it’s possible he and the other sellers could be back at the event next summer. Yamada said he’s optimistic about bringing the show back to the Stampede next summer.

The Stampede comes to a close Sunday with two final special events: Touch-a-Truck at 11 a.m. and the Pop-Up Roller Rink from 12-4 p.m. at the D Saloon.