Philadelphia Card Show - March 2023
 

Any Net54 members setting up? Anyone else headed up there this week?

I’ll be there for Friday and most of Saturday. Excited for shows to be picking up again!


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Wish I was going but still can’t bring myself to fly with COVID still looming in the background. Maybe one day when it’s the equivalent of the common cold, if that day will ever come. High risk individuals have to make some tough choices in life. The one time that I got sick was the week after attending the 2022 National in AC and I drove to that one and wore my KN95 mask the entire three days that I was there, still wasn’t enough. Seemed afterwards like just about everybody who posted YouTube videos from the show got sick also. Wouldn’t be surprised if more people got sick at that show than didn’t.

Tom Botticelii and I will be there, him selling and me promoting the auction. Booth 126.

I'm so excited. Philly has emerged as my favorite super-regional event, surpassing Dallas and other larger regional shows given how many vintage guys show up. See y'all Thurs PM, Fri and Saturday. Can't wait.

Philadelphia Card Show - March 2023
 

I keep telling people this. I went for the first time a few months ago and was pleasantly surprised by the selection


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I'll be in booth F - just inside the front doors
 

Buying and selling most things vintage (1900-1980) all 4 sports, non-sports and "oddball" issues. I'm also happy to discuss select private consignments (NOT an auction) of rare or higher end ($1k+ cards and sets).

I'll be wearing my signature Clemente throwback jersey.

I will be set up Friday through Sunday on the wall opposite from the entrance next to TNT. Will have some nice stuff.

I will be there Saturday.

and you always seem to have alot of the good stuff and rare stuff

I'm planning to attend on Saturday, looking forward to it!

I have a good feeling this show will have a huge turnout. Lots of buzz.

To all dealers and customers: I will be setting up at booth 602 with some of the best PSA graded high graded t206 cards, adding more Hall of Famers and many more scarce and rare backs.

Will any Grading Companies be grading onsite at the Philly Show?

Thanks Jeff!
 

The challenge is trying to replace it as fast as I sell it - DEFINITELY a challenge!

I think you're SOL on that one. Maybe that Dimond Sticker Company IDK

I've only seen SGC commit to TAKE HOME submissions. Not sure if there is a discount involved though.

Any Cobb?


I’ll be there Sunday.

I will be there late Friday afternoon and possibly Saturday…


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I am quite excited


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I am being weird and looking for rare back Zack Wheat T206s

Let me know if you have anything in the 1-2 range

I’ll be there Friday after work. And Saturday as well.

Any show reports?

I got there kind of early to drop off some consignments and check out some of the auction houses future items.

When I was there, it was still quiet, but there were a lot of people starting to come in.


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I was there for a few hours. Meh ...

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Busy for a Friday.

Going to be packed tomorrow.

Hope the dealers here are having a good time


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Show report
 

Overall, an excellent Friday. Got there at 1 pm via the early access ticket and landed a major want card (for me, at least). Want to thank Howard for working with me on a great looking 1954 Topps Hank Aaron rookie - friendly, extremely knowledgeable and was a pleasure to deal with.

Show was jam packed today. Parking in particular was really bad as their was a pet show and dance competition in the othe halls. As I was leaving, it sounded like folks were required to have exact change for admission. From the dealers I talked with sounded like sales of cheaper (sub $500) were doing well, but higher priced items weren't really moving. As usual, the best part of the show for me was talking to Dave and his wife (Baggers), Tom Botticelii, and Scott (Aquarian Sports Cards - who by the way has a great looking SGC 7 WWG Ruth coming up for auction!).

My WTF moment of the show was when I asked the price of a PC796 Cobb, I got a response of "its not for sale." If its not for sale, why bother having it in your showcase? I could understand if this was an auction preview, or even a significant "WOW look at that" type card like a T206 Wagner, high grade 52 Nantle, etc to grab peoples attention, but this doesn't seem like that type of card. Ironically, this is the 3rd time this particular dealer has had items on their table that I've asked about and either the items were not for sale or were not priced yet. If anyone can give a good reason why a dealer would do this, I would love to hear it.

Saturday show report
 

WOW! Shoulder-to-shoulder crowd for the 3 hours the missus and I were there. The hobby attendance was fantastic, I hope the dealers had a successful day. A few I spoke to said sales were going well while some others said just 'ok'.... Tons of newer stuff and kids wheeling and dealing with dealers and others.

Vintage pre-war was pretty strong, 7 or 8 dealers w/ 100's upon 100's of T206 variants so those looking to fill in sets, were lined up at these booths.... E-set collectors may be disappointed, not much at all. Saw maybe a dozen or so all day.

For those looking for Cracker Jack, saw some really nice mid-grade cards that were gorgeous. Same with mid-century cards, 8-10 dealer table dedicated to '48-'60 with boxes upon boxes of commons in sleeves. Great set filler show if you're in the market for these!

Also some nice vintage basketball, Football and hockey present as well.

If anyone is thinking of going tomorrow - enjoy!

For the stuff that's not priced yet, he's probably not yet sure if he should take the past sales data and double that average price, triple the price or quadruple the price in order to arrive at the 'correct' number to write on his price sticker. :cool:

I find the not-for-sale stuff is usually just additional eye candy to enhance his set-up and add a little flavor to his booth.

I knew parking would be a bigger problem than usual when I got there on Friday night. I went after work and usually I can park within a few rows of the entrance, but I had to park about 1/4 mile away. Saturday morning was even worse. Even the lots next door (for an Arnold's fun zone, where Expo Center patrons are not allowed to park) were full.

I heard from several dealers that traveled far for the show that their sales on Friday (by 7:00pm) made the trip worth it for them.

Tons of vintage, even more modern. Baseball, football, hockey, futbol, pokemon, memoribilia...there's a little bit for everyone. SGC was even there! Overall a great experience, as always.

Here's my haul from the show:

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I was at the show today and will probably go back tomorrow, with a bunch of pre-war cards throughout the show. Place was very crowded and in many spots, shoulder to shoulder.

It's always my favorite show, so i'm glad to see it thriving.

Lots of double parked cars in the lot today!


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There sure were!
Probably helped the parking lot into a mess by the time I left.

I'm glad I went on Friday. There was a decent crowd then but nowhere near as crowded as it sounds like Saturday was.

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Jam packed today


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My WTF moment of the show was when I asked the price of a PC796 Cobb, I got a response of "its not for sale." If its not for sale, why bother having it in your showcase? I could understand if this was an auction preview, or even a significant "WOW look at that" type card like a T206 Wagner, high grade 52 Nantle, etc to grab peoples attention, but this doesn't seem like that type of card

Sometimes, even if it not a significant WOW card you put a card into the showcase to possibly entice a collector or dealer who might have something similar to show it to you and see if you want their cards. It is why back in the day, many dealers had an expensive (for that time) vintage card or cards in their showcase even if they had mostly modern cards. Why? Well to try to get more of those older cards. Actually that does make perfect sense if you really think about it.

Back in the day, Seth Poppel would display high school yearbooks of famous people and very few were for sale so he could either juice the market or pick up other yearbooks

Regards
Rich

Definitely saw a few Not For Sale stickers on several items

Wish it was still at the casino. Parking there sucked at times too . . .but at least you had a casino.

They have a lot of ultra modern cards to choose from that have to be like
gambling. The prices for some of this stuff was absurd.

I heard the show was gangbusters from several dealers. Raws and under $100 price point were selling like hotcakes.

Show has greatly outgrown the casino!!
 

I've been setting up at the show for years. The casino literally couldn't accommodate the crowd anymore. It's only 10 minutes east of the expo center (I still stay there). Moving it to the Expo center was the right move. I don't know of a venue that can better accommodate parking, though I understand it isn't ideal.

Concerning the show this weekend - there were thefts from at least 3 dealers that I know of - myself sadly included - someone reached about 3 1/2 feet over one of my tables when I wasn't looking and grabbed 2 sets in binders. I was disappointed to learn that while there were clearly cameras in place, no one knew if they were operational and would not be able to be reviewed till tomorrow (Monday) if they were. I have a lot of appreciation and respect for Joe D and think he is one of the best show promoters in the country. I spoke with him and hope to see beefed-up security including better and more immediate access to video surveillance in the future.

The Thefts aside, the show appeared better attended than any show I have seen here. All of the dealers I spoke with were very happy with their show sales.

Sorry to hear that happened Howard, some people just suck.

Howard, sorry that happened to you. That sucks. I heard that Nashville also had some thefts this weekend.

Howard, this is awful. Sorry to hear this

I also saw a post about an incident at the Dallas Show.

Dealers, be vigilant.

The show was amazingly well attended and those people were actually on the floor not just high-tailing it to the autographs. I don't think I've ever seen a show as packed as it was Saturday. Almost the entire day the aisles were full.

Got to meet some Net 54 people for the first time and also got some amazing consignments in addition to showing off the Ridiculous Ruth that DJ mentioned which got a gratifying amount of double takes from people walking by.

Highlights on the consignment front are probably a COMPLETE Transogram box with figures and all packaging, Nolan Ryan. and a 1971 Topps Football Cello Pack among many others.

Howard
 

Is a class act hope they catch the losers ,,hang in howard

Howard, so sorry to hear about your loss and hope the c/c video will disclose the perp. I had a beautiful '33 Goudey Gehrig stolen from me at a Ft. Washington show many years ago. Eventually I got an insurance payment to offset part of the loss but only after police report, witness statements etc. Bob Lemke was great about it.

The Dallas card show had at least one big card get stolen (they already had the film saved) but maybe not fast enough to catch the kid still at the show. Good film of the card being stolen is extant. Don't know of any other thefts.

There was also someone passing very obvious fake bills, they actually said COPY on the front and felt differently than real bills. The bills were $5's, $10's, $20's and $50's. The person passing those bills out was walked out in cuffs from what I heard

Rich

Glad they caught him Rich, guys like that need to have a scarlet T for thief tatooed on their slimy forehead.

If there's no security footage, here's an idea:

There were probably hundreds of people walking around with their phones. Some of them were likely shooting footage, either for social media or personal use. Others were taking pictures (still shots) for the same reasons.

Net54 has more than a few members (Mike Moynihan, for example) with YouTube Channels and other methods of reaching out to thousands of collectors without too much effort on their part. Have the Net54 community spread the word:

Hey, I'd like to ask my viewers to check on something. If you were at the Philly Show on xxxday and took some pictures or video at around xx o'clock, take a look at what you've got. You might have caught a criminal stealing from one of the dealers. If you've got footage or pictures...

There may be legal nuances involved with this; I don't know. However, I do know that the number of pictures and amount of footage can only go down as time passes. Plus, the show is fresh in people's minds right now. Carpe diem.