Live National Report Thread....

[mrvster]

Wanted to start a thread where members can give live reports from the show and chime in....

jump in and post if you just scored a great piece.....or report the traffic on the floor.....or any good deals? .....ect.....ect.......


since I'm not there, would love to have a semi live feed

[bobbyw8469]

Good deals??? At the Nationals??? BAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHHA!!!!

[e107collector]

Johnny,

Great idea for a thread!!

As in past years, some board members kept the rest of the board in-tune with what was going on at the National.

Hopefully, they will post photos, videos, etc.

We would all appreciate it!!

Tony

[mrvster]

Thanks! since I can't be there...why not?


Bobby,



Maybe people can post the worst deals also??

[Matvoo]

Originally Posted by mrvster

Thanks! since I can't be there...why not?


Bobby,



Maybe people can post the worst deals also??

LOL dont ruin my day Im happy

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

Good deals??? At the Nationals??? BAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHHA!!!!

Why the plural, like it's an ice skating championship?

[ErikV]

I'm not at the National, but a board member whose at the show sent me an
email last night. I hope he doesn't mind me sharing. Here's a very small
excerpt from his email...

I t was only dealer set-up today but I'd would estimate I saw 60+% of the
inventory. Tomorrow is the day that will either dictate a good show or a waste
of time/effort.

Count of '14 CJ's I saw in the room - 3

Count of guys I either saw/heard, or was told, were looking for them - 8

I certainly could have missed them or was beaten to them. Bottom line,
there just aren't any and the words's out that they are red hot. Hopefully
tomorrow will be better for them.

I'm hoping to get another email from him tonite. A second board member
promised me he'd send me some photos too. If I get any additional, I'll
post.

ErikV

[mrvster]

Great report...........just what I wanted to see...


keep 'em coming guys! I know everyone is hunting......use those "smart" phones and send some pics.....

pick ups.......ect

[btkpath]

Originally Posted by ErikV

Count of '14 CJ's I saw in the room - 3

Count of guys I either saw/heard, or was told, were looking for them - 8

I certainly could have missed them or was beaten to them. Bottom line,
there just aren't any and the words's out that they are red hot. Hopefully
tomorrow will be better for them.

Well, I am showing up Friday with about 5 of them that I will be looking to sell or trade!!

[GasHouseGang]

Maybe some attendees could post videos to youtube taken while walking the floor of the convention and show some up close pics of what's available. Someone did this last year and it was nice for those of us unable to attend to get a flavor of what was happening.

[Bicem]

New SGC labels are here, they look great.

There are some deals to be had. Picked up a Clev Shop PC for a good price.

[e107collector]

Originally Posted by Bicem

New SGC labels are here, they look great.

That's good to hear Jeff!! The other SGC labels were hideous, imho.

Any pics or videos from the National?

Tony

[refz]

Im anxious to see the new sgc holder. Looks like john goodman behind the gentleman in the red shirt. Very nice fellow.

[sayhey24]

Originally Posted by ErikV

I'm not at the National, but a board member whose at the show sent me an
email last night. I hope he doesn't mind me sharing. Here's a very small
excerpt from his email...

I t was only dealer set-up today but I'd would estimate I saw 60+% of the
inventory. Tomorrow is the day that will either dictate a good show or a waste
of time/effort.

Count of '14 CJ's I saw in the room - 3

Count of guys I either saw/heard, or was told, were looking for them - 8

I certainly could have missed them or was beaten to them. Bottom line,
there just aren't any and the words's out that they are red hot. Hopefully
tomorrow will be better for them.

I'm hoping to get another email from him tonite. A second board member
promised me he'd send me some photos too. If I get any additional, I'll
post.

ErikV

I've had a stack of Cracker Jacks that are among the first cards I bought some thrity years ago. Just checked them for the first time in years to discover that 13 of them are 1914.

Greg

[ullmandds]

lucky you Greg...now would be the time to sell!!!!!

[pawpawdiv9]

Love the youtube video AMEN!!!!
I never been to a card show before, and amazed what i saw in the video.
I mean, i could literally spend the whole day, even when my money run out, i be pulling up a chair just to drool (dont worry i'll bring my own red solo cup)

[sayhey24]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

lucky you Greg...now would be the time to sell!!!!!

Thanks Pete -- I think you may be right!

Greg

[4815162342]

Hilarious!

[shernan30]

Work tomorrow is going to be soooooo productive if this thread keeps going in this direction. I'll add some pictures Friday when I get there.

[atx840]

[4815162342]

Originally Posted by atx840

The ultimate in irony!

[jp1216]

Just got back from 2 days. Had a great time. First day was 100% about the floor. Hitting every table. 8 hours and sore feet. Met Leon (hi Leon) and a few other members. I too noticed the ridiculous prices, but there were deals out there.
Day 2 was a last minute decision. Brought my 8 year-old son for the experience. He (we) did great. Dealers were great with kids and I'm surprised he lasted the whole day. His quote as we walked out was ' wow, that went by fast'. I was shocked. Spent the day looking through 25 cent - $1 boxes. Hours of fun. One autograph purchase - Jason Kipnis. Had to do it. My son's favorite.

[LincolnVT]

What is the report on Ruth items at the National?...I heard from a reliable source that the early Ruth stuff is very, very scarce and that the few items that are being made available are being sold for a steep premium. Can people confirm?

Thanks.

Ethan

[kailes2872]

First National - great time. 2 days 10-6 both days with me and the boys (12&15).

Highlights:
With one or two minor exceptions, the exhibitors were super friendly to my kids. They gave them free stuff they talked to them about baseball (the 12 year old had a 1977 era Pirates pillbox hat and they would talk to him about it). I was expecting the worst and they went out of their way.

Incredible experience seeing all of the inventory. I felt like my 8 year old daughter when she went to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Magic Kingdom or the American Girl Store in NYC. For the first hour on Friday, I was overwhelmed.

Biggest highlight was finally putting faces to names. I met Tony Schaefer of Monster Cards who has been a great friend and mentor online. I met Leon and got me Babe Ruth Net54 pin. I met Kit Young, Levi from 707 (what an inventory!) Probstein (he didn't give me the time of day). I enjoyed spending some time with Tim Carroll and watching him do his commission for the LBJ piece - cutting up the cards one by one.


Lowlights - Goodness the pricing was expensive. I have no problem paying a 10-20% premium to support the dealers and walk out with the card in hard. However, some of the prices were just ridiculous - 100-150% markup over the buy it now museum prices on Ebay.

Dealers would not price their cards. This was usually the indicator that they were astronomically priced. They would have 20%-30% off everything in the case. As an example, I am a set collector post war. I was upgrading my 57 and looking for an Ex Mint Tony Kubek 312. There is one in BST for $55 as a PSA 6. I have seen raw EX 35-45. So, a guy had an EX+ Kubek in his case - not priced with the 30% off note. I asked about it it. He said that it was $350 - but 30% off - so $245. I told him thanks, but I would pass. PSA 6 54 Aarons at 2400. PSA 6 55 Clementes at 2200. I felt like I was shopping at SAKs or Nordstroms. It was neat looking at the cards, however. If dealers didn't price their cards, I stopped asking after late Friday.


I really fell in love with Turkey Reds - I think that is what they are called - T3's. A really nice exhibitor told me the story about how they were acquired and how someone could order for a specific player. Leon gave some additional color to the methodology. At some point, I will begin buying pre-war. When I do, I have T3 fever. What a beautiful group of cards.

My friend Wayne from Shoebox cards told me that I was wasting time and money buying post war. He told me a story of how he stumbled upon a group of T3s in 1969 - where he bought them at an antique shop for $5 a card - over 100 of them. He sold them several years ago, but ranks it as his greatest find.

Good times. Great bonding with my boys. It was great that it was close to home - not sure if I will go to Chicago or AC as there were no deals to be found but I enjoyed the experience.

I am going to try to attach some pictures - if I can't attach mutiple, then it will be over a series of posts - apologies in advance for my lack of acumen - I swear that 10 years ago I was actually pretty good with the PC - now I have to ask my 15 year old how to do stuff... sigh

[kailes2872]

Here is a second round of pictures

[Pat R]

Just got home after a 9 hour drive ( 2 hours sitting in traffic on I90 because
some geniuses in Ohio decide to merge six lanes down to one on the busiest
weekend of the year with the National, NFL hall of fame inductions and PGA
tour event).

Picked up a few T206's but the best part was meeting up with Jantz, Chris B
and other members.

Patrick

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by LincolnVT

What is the report on Ruth items at the National?...I heard from a reliable source that the early Ruth stuff is very, very scarce and that the few items that are being made available are being sold for a steep premium. Can people confirm?

Thanks.

Ethan

I saw several early Ruth cards.

[Exhibitman]

I am on my way home now after four days. Great trip as usual.

I did not see ridiculous prices but I wasn't looking for the hottest prewar sets in high grade slabs either. I bought over 200 cards for my collection. I dug and dug on messy tables, sifted through hundreds of commons looking for the right cards, and worked over every buck negotiating prices. That's how you gotta work the show--relentlessly. And be flexible. I got some great prewar photos of the cubs training on Catalina and a ton of postwar Topps cards. Even got a nice Morrell Koufax and a Koufax rookie. All those were on my list but I could not count on them. They were targets of opportunity. If you approach the show looking for one narrow thing you will probably leave disappointed, especially if you are after a hot set.

[Bicem]

Originally Posted by LincolnVT

What is the report on Ruth items at the National?...I heard from a reliable source that the early Ruth stuff is very, very scarce and that the few items that are being made available are being sold for a steep premium. Can people confirm?

Thanks.

Ethan

coming soon...

[Bicem]

[Leon]

Originally Posted by LincolnVT

What is the report on Ruth items at the National?...I heard from a reliable source that the early Ruth stuff is very, very scarce and that the few items that are being made available are being sold for a steep premium. Can people confirm?

Thanks.

Ethan

Even with my "museum" strategy of pricing of my personal collection I sold an early Ruth card. The buyer is ecstatic and I am happy so that is all that matters. Early Ruth items are still hot.

[Vintageclout]

Originally Posted by Leon

Even with my "museum" strategy of pricing of my personal collection I sold an early Ruth card. The buyer is ecstatic and I am happy so that is all that matters. Early Ruth items are still hot.

You bet I'm ecstatic Leon. I may never see that one again!

Joe

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

My thoughts from the National were this:

(1) Lots of cool stuff to see. If you haven't had the opportunity to personally examine some of the rarer stuff then go.

(2) The prices were ridiculous. However, I saw some dealers except 50% of their list price.

(3) Meeting people was a plus. Most of the collectors I talked to were very friendly especially board members. It was especially fun to hang out with Eric and Steve.

(4) I don't know that I will make a return trip a high priority but I had a great time.

[LuckyLarry]

I am stuck in my CLE hotel room with a Monday PM departure home. No better time to sort my purchases

Larry

[Matvoo]

Wowzers Larry thats a lot of vintage for sure

[1880nonsports]

you must have accidently picked-up that graded card :-)

[LuckyLarry]

Originally Posted by 1880nonsports

you must have accidently picked-up that graded card :-)

haha busted! but actually the slabbed t205 was a gift look close under those "raw" 1935 Goudey and you will see my first original Babe Ruth graded PSA2!
Larry

[4815162342]

Larry that is hardcore - barely a slab, top loader, or penny sleeve in sight!

[DHogan]

Originally Posted by LuckyLarry

I am stuck in my CLE hotel room with a Monday PM departure home. No better time to sort my purchases

Larry

That looks like my bed when I was 10 years old. Good stuff !

[LuckyLarry]

Originally Posted by DHogan

That looks like my bed when I was 10 years old. Good stuff !

Thanks Dave and I hope everyone enjoys their cards as much as I do mine!
Larry

[conor912]

Originally Posted by DHogan

That looks like my bed when I was 10 years old. Good stuff !

Ha! +1

[brewing]

Dang Larry, what don't you collect?

[MonsterCards]

Thanks to all for your contributions to this thread. As a dealer, customer opinions definitely serve as market research. Of course, some comments are (intentionally) just pure entertainment… Either will do!

A quick “Hey” to Kevin Ailes – it was great to meet you and your boys this weekend! As always at shows, whether it’s a several-day marathon or just a small one-day event, I wish I would have had more time to chat.

Unfortunately, I agree with his and some others’ opinions that many dealers have off-puttingly (I occasionally make up words) high prices. I’ll say that dealers like myself are at shows to pick up cards too – from other dealers and customers. That Tuesday and pre-VIP time on Wednesday can be a flurry of dealer-to-dealer action. While collectors and dealers are free to price their cards as they wish, I’ll just echo that I was kinda disappointed in this regard also.

That said, sales were strong for me and most every dealer I know well enough to speak candidly with. (I just know the good/reasonable dealers, of course! ) Thank you to the Cleveland market and all who traveled long distances to attend and make that happen.

Incidentally, I was set up pretty close to that ‘ruckus,’ which I believe was coming from the Topps area. I was convinced that there couldn’t be people chanting with such fervor so frequently (I thought it was a recording), but was incorrect in that assumption. Whoever was whipping up such a frenzy has a serious talent for crowd work. He/she should have been operating that lonely ferris wheel....

-T

[LuckyLarry]

Originally Posted by brewing

Dang Larry, what don't you collect?

Brent if it's pre 1980 it might be on my wantlist I bought a bunch of 50s and 60s Topps hockey as well but I had to sort that on the dresser as I ran out of room on the bed!

[tschock]

Originally Posted by LuckyLarry

Brent if it's pre 1980 it might be on my wantlist I bought a bunch of 50s and 60s Topps hockey as well but I had to sort that on the dresser as I ran out of room on the bed!

Should make you glad I left on Sunday so you had some place to sort all those cards. LOL

[atx840]

Al had a few scraps/errors for his next auction.