Notes from the National
 

Cloudy day in Chicago but everyone's excited about the sneak preview in an hour. They just announced that the pre-show ticket sales was fantastic and they look for a huge crowd this year, much bigger than the past few years. We shall see.....
The food in the VIP loung was awful but was free. Lots and lots of shiny card collectors packed the place. Didn't spot any familiar pre war faces but a lot of them are either setting up inside or waiting for 3:30 to hit the sneak preview.
The past few years there were a lot of the same cards I've seen in eBay with the same tired BIN prices but maybe this year the prices will be more reasonable. We can always hope ......

Keep the reports coming! Love hearing whats going on.

+1

It's like being there! I can almost smell the dealers! :D:D:D

all my friends....
 

I have gotten a few reports .......sounds so exciting! can almost smell the printer's scrap....I think I need help:o:)!

The ones wearing deodorant or the ones without? :)

Maybe
 

Maybe this is the year that some of the dealers actually make eye contact with their customers in between mouthfuls of food. :(

Sorry, I'm just PO'd that I'm not there.

Rick

Now there's an image that will haunt me for years to come!

One Positive...
 

From not being at the National my knees are saved from those unforgiving concrete floors!

National
 

I got an email yesterday from Mile High Auctions advertising their Fall Auction, and will be having some of the cards graded at the National.

High-grade Collins McCarthy complete set, Sporting News complete set, M110 complete set. Pretty impressive.

Leland's is selling a PSA 2 T206 Wagner.

Sounds like there will be quite a display of big $$ items.

Wish I was there.

Tony

Let me know when there is a Chris Browne siting!

He's my brother!!!

Craig

tell us more about this mile high auction house.

Can't wait until Saturday. Looking to add a couple of T201's to my set!

wouldn't an AXE deodorant booth just clean up in sales there?

The people who need deodorant don't buy deodorant.

Geekness.

http://i.imgur.com/KMtLfLJ.jpg

Chris Browne is the man.
 

Just sayin'.

suprisingly enough, i was shocked. i figured i would have seen way more of a selection.

kevin

Jumping in the car at 4 AM tomorrow and heading that way. Can't wait.

That's what I thought when I was all done. If you're looking to build a 50s/60s set or into t206s you had all you could handle. I found very little within my collecting interest versus Baltimore where everywhere I looked there was something for me. I only made 1 purchase and finished in a record 2 1/2 hours.

i only do t206. my comment was about that. there were tons of low grade raw cards. i was expecting all of the untouchables and slabbed 5+'s.

there was one guy there that had a ton of 5s, 707 sportscards which had a boat load of stuff under a 5. a handfull of guys with only a handfull of rare backs. a couple of guys with some 8s that wanted triple or quadruple the price of what they were worth.

and like 2 or 3 guys that had what i needed and were reasonable with their final prices. the rest was mid range 50s, 60s and 70s or like 5000 count boxes of cheap/garbage autographs. boy that market is over populated now. talk about devaluing the autograph market to basically worthless. you could grab just about any auto for 5 bucks or under.

kevin

The National...
 

Is pretty neat to experience, but does nothing for those who don't collect T-cards, 50's sets and some type/oddities cards. Otherwise, some of these cards are just unreal, wish I found more for my focus, but was nice to see some of the cards I'm going to win in the Huggins auction :)

Anyone else drooling over that Novelty Cutlery Cobby? Man, oh man....

I have never been to a National, but from what I hear, I imagine it to be like a museum....you go and see a bunch of stuff you could never afford and then find yourself in the gift shop buying a bunch of crap just so you can say you didn't go home empty handed.

Had no clue who he was
 

but I met someone named Chris Browne yesterday, is that our man? :D

Anyone see a E103 Wagner?
If so, can you please post a pic & who the seller is (contact #/email)
Thanks

I'm sort of a big deal around here ;)

So far my favorite part of the show is meeting so many nice collectors from here.

A lot of museum quality pieces, but also a ton of affordable extremely cool pieces as well. It's an insanely large card show lol

Anyone saw any dealer at the Nats who have a graded 4 or 5 goudey lajoie for sale ?
thanks

I pretty much came out empty handed thanks to a LOT of dealers who can't be bothered to put price tags on their cards or handle more then one customer at a time. Whats even better is when you ask a price and they spend 10 mins "looking it up" and then are annoyed that your turning down their overpriced cards. I thought putting prices on cards was something that was established years ago as basic protocol to get people to BUY your cards?

Holy smokes, if only I could figure out how to attach a photo from my (android) phone...Ken Kendrick has a bunch of his cards on display at the Memory Lane booth, including the T206 Plank (psa 8), Young portrait and Cobb bat off, both psa 9, and a psa 10 '52 Topps Mantle.

People seem very upbeat today...and since it's only Friday, the dealers don't smell that bad yet. Wait until Sunday. :D

Prices are show prices...not marked and the initial quote is really high to anchor people...frustrating to say the least.

Have a good one,
Steve

Yep, most I've talked with are complete a-holes. I'm looking for high grade or high dollar cards, and they pretty much write me off or don't spend two seconds with me to barter because I'm just a kid

Does anyone have any photos of the Cambridge find? I'd love to see that.

Had the same experience last year. What was most shocking to me was that I spent a few grand with two different dealers, and neither one of them asked me for any contact information. Terrible business sense.

Brent, there are some good guys out there but you are right, many cannot be bothered with people. I was there yesterday and honestly I got so ticked off at some of the dealers that I let it ruin the experience for me. This is my 12th National and I think the dealers have gotten worse. My faith was restored when I when I visited a booth to add some nice '72's to my set and the deal (LJ Sands or JL Sands...cannot remember which) could not be nicer and gave me a great deal on the cards I pulled. It is because of him that I am going back tomorrow and spending more money with him alone. Don't let those a-hole dealers ruin the experience for you. There are good ones out there.

Well said, I have met more great dealers than bad and were very fun in speaking with.

the whole price tag thing is a puzzler to me too. If I see in a case that prices are high Im not going to ask to look at them. These dealers now have to:
A. open the case
B. Worry I dont steal cards
C. "Figure out" what they want
D. Put them back because they are over prices
E. Do all the above about 500 times a day

BTW the #1 culprit I saw doing this had his workers referring to him as MISTER.

Mint?

Can someone explain, Why a dealer wouldn't have prices on his cards? If they were priced with what he wanted. They would just have to say "yes" and take the money or"no". Seems easy as pie. Am I missing something? Dave.

Laziness. It might take a little work on the dealer's part.

haha no but your PROB close ;)

well. in stores, people swap price tags on cheaper items to more expensive items. people also make mistakes.

if you handle a large inventory it would be impossible for you to ensure that each item has not been tampered with and that you have done everything flawless on all of your items.

you gotta look it up anyway to make sure you are not making a mistake, before you actually buy a card or part with the card.

kevin

I hate the priceless cards too. It's ridiculous. If there's a dealer on the board who refuses to list prices on their cards, I would love to hear the reasoning.

Day 3 and the old legs are getting sore from traipsing around the floor for so many hours each day. One of the hazards of being an "older collector" I guess. To me, the best part of coming to the National is the chance to re-kindle old friendships, meet guys in person who you otherwise only meet through emails, 54 posts or in bidding against them. Meeting new collectors and swapping stories is what I enjoy most. There are pre-war cards here and some dealers will come off their prices if you ask in a cordial and friendly way what the best price they can offer will be. Net 54 dealers, of course, are most receptive to offering deals. I was able to score some nice T210s from series 5,6 and 7 from Ted Z and enjoyed talking cards with Mr. PCL, Mark Macrae who has forgotten more about Zeenuts and West Coast minor league sets than anyone of us will ever know. Every time I talk to Mark I come away with more knowledge of Zeenuts and D310s and D311s and their history in the hobby. No visit to the National is complete with stopping at Leon, Scott B. and Richard M's table. Gary Nucherino and Ed Hans' table is also always a treat, not only for the cards but also for their friendship and kindness.
I met some collectors and dealers for the first time like Al C from Legends of the Fame and guys who I feel I know from the Board and eBay like Bruce Babcock who was always "uffda" to me. There are guys who seemed to have disappeared like Rob Adesso who I was glad to see again and the same old cast of characters who are always so much fun to hang with like Bill C, Robert S, Zach R, Tim N, Mike P, Lyman H, Adam W, Jim B and many more who I apologize for not naming. To me, this is what makes the hobby great.
As far as cards, not many E94s, 97s or 98s. Saw some 95s and 96s, more of the 95s. One dealer had a group of E99s and 100s but he had the 2010 price tags back when they were strong, not the softer nowadays prices. I managed to pick up a lot of T210s from East Coast cards, graded and raw, decent prices. William Chapelle sold me a T213 Matty that was slabbed and gorgeous at a good price. The albatross I chased for 6 years, the rare and elusive red background E98 Lajoie I picked up on eBay thanks to the help of some 54 members who let me know out of kindness, now rests in an SGC holder and looks beautiful. SGC customer service was far superior to PSA, as usual. PSA had more customers but that was no excuse for the boorish attitude of their employers toward collectors who patiently waited in line only to see others waited on first, etc.
The 54 Dinner and Drinks is tonight and I hope to see other 54ers there like David McDonald, Tom Boblitt and others who are here but I keep missing. I did meet a lot of members for the first time like Bubba and Frank Burkett. All in all it's been a great time....

If these are excuses for cards not being priced, then they are absurd. First, shows are not stores.....someone is always there hovering over the showcases. Second, and errors or mistakes should be corrected before placed on sale. And third, one doesn't "have to look it up anyway".

I think the answer lies somewhere around laziness and greed.....Greed in the sense that dealers will "ask" (read charge) different people, different prices. Dave.

They don't because the prices fluctuate per potential buyer. An uneducated buyer will get a ridiculous markup compared to a more educated one

Sorry, forgot to mention the tobacco cards. A fair amount of T201s and 202s but not as many as in past years. 204 Ramlys were pretty scarce. Good selection if T205s and a ton of T206s of course. Prices on any T206 with a lighter color or missing a color or miscut continue to baffle me as they are going through the roof. More T207s than I had seen in previous years but a paucity of Broadleafs, Anonymous back cards and very few red Cycke back cards. The tougher T207s seem to really have dried up. Not very many T213s as they appear to be the flavor if the month lately with a lot of interest in them. Not as many T210s either. The guys like Joe's Vintage Sportscards have seen their inventories evaporate, especially of higher graded T210s and cards from series 4-8. Very few Obaks, surprisingly, no Victorys which I saw.
It seems like more cards are being collected and going in to collections to disappear than in past years when cards seemed to have been flipped much more frequently....

I really appreciate you guys sharing your experiences. I wanted to make it so bad this year but it just wasn't in the "cards", excuse the pun. :) Hopefully next year will be the year I get to attend and finally meet some fellow Net54'ers.

Oh, wanted to ask if there many E93's, E101's, E102's and E92's being offered. Thanks again.

Tbob, did you happen to see any e92 Nadja other than the St. Louis players?

DJ

Hardly any 101s or 102s. A couple of dealers had 93s, graded and raw. Saw a nice Griffith, Jennings, Tinker, Donovan and a few others. Less E92s than in past years, I thought.