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Let's Talk About Card Shows For A Minute
When I got back into card collecting as an adult, I would estimate that somewhere around 65 to 70 percent of the old cards I have came from card shows. The rest were given to me by folks (relatives) leaving the hobby, and the rest I bought elsewhere or traded for (which is what I do for the most part these days).
The last card show I attended was at the Coral Square Mall, in Coral Springs, Florida some time before we got transferred to Pearl Harbor in 2000. I attended many of them before that, all around Fort Lauderdale, Charleston, Chanute AFB in Rantoul, Illinois and Memphis. The shows were where you got really good deals. Is that still the case? |
Card Shows
I was at a show in Raleigh a few weeks ago and some prices seemed rather inflated. There were some good deals to be had, but you really had to do your homework and check recent sales(eBay). My plan for the National is to really scope out the scene and do my diligence before buying. A few months ago, prices seemed to go up every day, but things have been settling lately. I certainly plan to enjoy the shows, but you do really have to be price conscious so that you don't pay more than you should. It really stinks to buy something for a price and then find that same thing cheaper a few tables over. Good luck to you as you reenter the scene..
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Off Shape Beaters You Will Find Deals, why no upside. People that buy beat cards will always be cheap.
Nice Shape Higher Grade Cards Expect High Prices, they will bring up past sales Jan-March 2021….and the potential for Upside in the future. |
I haven’t been to a card show since I was 10. A lot of the recent vlogs describing what card shows are like now makes me just want to continue to stay in my introverted, online collection life.
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You can still find stuff at card shows but the reality is that the real 'show' is on-line these days. I got to card shows to catch up with friends, leaf through binders, chat with dealers, and occasionally find something I need. Auctions are much more like to turn up interesting things... particularly pre-war that shows are these days IMHO.
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Just being in the musty environs of a card show always makes it worth it. Just a feast for the eyes and soul, whether or not you walk away with great deals or not. Inhaling the cardboard aroma at someone's table stacked with a wide variety of cool old stuff (what I call The Cardboard Menagerie) reduces stress and adds years to your life. If there's a show taking place near you, go.
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Better at a Flea Market or yard sale then a card show I got these at the endless 301 yard sale in NC back in 2019 I have done better at Flea Markets/Swap Meets then card shows since the 1980's in NJ Pennsy California and NC
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It’s all online now. You can find a Nolan Ryan rookie in about 2 minutes. Why wait for a show?
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Better to see in person than a scan
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Flea Market being at the right place and right time all bought at Flea Markets in in NJ and PA
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I’ve been to a couple of shows. I don’t think your going to find any deals on more widely available, high dollar cards as dealers seem to mark stuff at or above market. I picked up a couple of variations I hadn’t seen on eBay before at eBay prices, so it was good just to see and have the opportunity to buy something new. It’s also great to just walk around and see what everyone is selling and what the auction houses have displayed. Someone else can weigh in, but it might be a good place to pick up cheap cards (I.e., dollar bin cards) if you are a set builder as you save in shipping and tax that would substantially increase the price of any nominal value cards on eBay.
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I love and treasure my stuff as much as anybody. I can also handle being alone and left to my own devices as much as anybody. But as I slouch into my twilight years, I realize more and more that what gave my life and the things I did with it the most juice was the PEOPLE I got to know and love through those activities. I remember "Twilight Zone" episodes where extreme introverts got their fondest wish to live in a world by themselves, no other people to bother them, and all the time they could ask for to read their books, or leaf through their card collections, or whatever else they thought was central to their existence. Of course, they soon discovered that it was those other people, bothersome or not, that gave these pursuits their meaning and brought them alive. Just as I feel sorry for anyone who didn't live in the heyday of neighborhood playgrounds like I did and get to experience all of the life-affirming joys, challenges, and life-lessons they gifted me, I likewise am so happy that I was in this hobby during the heyday of shows, where I had so many fabulous experiences of all kinds and made so many great friends I couldn't begin to remember them all. What a joy it was to see so many of the grizzled veterans I shared those with at the recent Philly Show, I could have given them all a big kiss to thank them for being there when we all had so much fun together and for being there still--if they would only shave. I would counsel those recent to the hobby to go to every show you can, no matter how big or small, while they last, I can guarantee that down the road you'll be glad you did, that's where your most enduring and fondest memories will have come from, the associations you developed and all the interesting interactions you had face-to-face. Just a little advice from another old guy pissing in the wind, take it or leave it as you will.
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I haven't been to a show in about 8 years. Every time I see a show I want to attend I forget about it until a few days after it's already happened. I thought they were great for working on and building my sets that I worked on and got lots of good deals in that regard. Never really bought any big cards at shows.
One thing I did enjoy greatly about card shows was actually seeing some of those bigger cards in person as opposed to a computer screen or magazine. That, and I always see a few things that I'd never known about before and would likely have never known about unless I saw it at the show. |
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I love going to shows because, even though they can be frustrating and there's usually no good prewar and the prices are too high, there's bound to be one card that speaks to me and ends up coming home. And usually it's something that I wouldn't normally collect, so it helps diversify my collection. Here are some of my best card-show pickups. The signed T205 Snodgrass I found raw for barely more than the price of the regular T205 itself. JSA passed it at the show a couple hours later :)
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I Attend shows to talk with fellow collectors and still attend any I can. Last June during all this lockdown I saw an Ad for an outdoor show in Trumbull CT. I went but It was weird being totally outside with a mask on but it was something during these odd times. I'll remember that along with my Memphis shows I attended while stationed at Blytheville AFB in the 80's and met Mantle.. among others.. Good times..
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How about a seller's perspective?
Since the mid 1970s, I have always attended shows as a seller. I've always had a ton of followers/customers who bought from me at every show I attended, and followed me from show to show. It seems like only yesterday but I have set up at every National but the first four. it's not just the money -- but that helps to continue me buying and enjoying the pursuit of items that I know will sell to specific customers. I might have mentioned it previously, but this year I am returning to my roots and focusing on all four sports, and their vintage stars and rookies. I had abandoned that display 15 + years ago, and had focused on unusual sports and non sports items. I will cut back there but still display items that others can't find or no longer have available to display. Since I am primarily a Vintage Raw seller, I have nothing invested in PSA grading and have much more room to negotiate. If you see prices at booths that scare you away, test the seller out and see if he or she has room. You don't lose anything by giving it a shot. Without even asking I tend to give everyone at least a 10-15% break. If I don't offer you a break, then I just don't have the room but that is highly unusual. Stop by at this year's National at Booth 1114, 8 booths in the door facing the food concessions. Drop me a line or call me if you are looking for something I can bring to the show or help you in advance. Either way, enjoy the show if we don't get to talk before then or at the show. Steve -- DynamicTwo@aol.com 914-522-3853 |
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