Views and observations from AC - share your experience at the National!

[Belfast1933]

I just arrived in my hotel about 20 mins outside of Atlantic City and thought I might start a thread where members might share their experiences and observations from the show…

I’ll drop my own thoughts here (am a first-timer) when I get back tonight - and just for fun, here are my own targets to bring home, with any luck:

- my first Ramley HOF card
- my first 1-2 Colgan Chip HOF cards
- some vintage items to help adorn my “card cave” like a vintage catchers mask, etc
- 1-2 empty wax boxes for display (love 65 and 69)
- and perhaps 3-4 other needed HOF cards from coveted sets (33 Delong, 38 Goudey, 1915 Cracker Jack)

More on my quest later tonight… hope others have fun here too! Beats working for the next few days!

Jeff

[Oscar_Stanage]

I thought this is the right thread to share my overall experience as a first timer...

First of all, the event is awesome.. well worth it and there is plenty of everything for everyone. I know many are annoyed the commercialization and crowds but that did not get in my way - it was a great venue to meet people, talk cards, and buy cards. I went Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

- Definitely smart to go the first day. It was the least frantic and got a chance to get a feel for the layout and note the tables I wanted to go back to. I bought a few cards on Day 1 as that was suggested as where to find the best deals... but I was happy with the supply all through Saturday.
- Definitely most productive early - I had early access so I found 930-1130 to be the best time to avoid crowds.
- Had a chance to sort through piles of T206 commons with my checklist, you just don't get to do that anywhere else. if you like to go through boxes of cards, you can lose track of time and find a lot of really good stuff.
- Autos: I got 5 autos over 2 days. The autograph process was time consuming, and the Saturday auto crowds were brutal - I probably would not do more than 1 or 2 in the future. That said, it was exciting to get up close with the players. And, you can even interact with the players you didn't pay to see. Emmitt Smith was 5 feet from me and he was at the tail end of his time with no line, and just sitting there, chatting it up with other fans... At one point, Allen Iverson, Chris Mullin, Ricky Henderson, Paul Pierce were all just a few feet from each other..
- Education: I talked to Al from LOTG for a while about some other tobacco sets, really nice guy and I learned a lot about M116s and Caramels. And spoke to a number of dealers/net54ers.... Just a lot of knowledge floating around, it is nice not to have to type questions.
- Tons and tons of cards - One table had 50-100 Mantles. Whatever you need, its there.

Maybe I will add some more later, but first, every thread needs some cards:

[AnkurJ]

Took my 9’year old. It was his and my first big show and was quite overwhelming. A lot to take in! He had fun but not that much for kids. He enjoyed meeting stars from the Sandlot, The Blind side and Archie Graham from Field of Dreams. He enjoyed talking to Patrick Renna.
His haul is pictured along with a Ruth replica ball.
His observations:
1. Babe Ruth signed a lot of stuff!
2. Babe Ruth cards aren’t as rare as I thought
3. How do people afford these prices?
4. Is there a place where we can play baseball?

I saw a comic dealer set up who I’ve known for years. My son was in a Yankee Jersey and he was gifted a Topps Sterling Reggie Jackson box. Seeing his eyes light up when he pulled a relic card was priceless! Thanks to Mike Carbonaro of Big Apple Conventions for making his day.

My observations (haven’t been buying the last two years)
1. Many prices have come down to earth. Jordan Rc’s, Jeter Rc’s especially
2. Decent number of Star Jordan and 86 Fleer
3. Jordan autograph prices seem very strong
4. It’s not easy for a kid to afford current packs with decent inserts
5. 52 Topps Mantle remains the king of baseball
6. Goudey Ruth prices have jumped the last 3-4 years
7. Ruth auto prices same as above

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by AnkurJ

My observations (haven’t been buying the last two years)
5. 52 Topps Mantle remains the king of baseball

Not the Wagner anymore? When did that happen?

[clamendo]

My observation: Atlantic City a bad location for the National. One of the highest violent crime cities in the US. No where to park.


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[Republicaninmass]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Not the Wagner anymore? When did that happen?

Too expensive, nobody wants them anymore

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by Republicaninmass

Too expensive, nobody wants them anymore

As Yogi would put it!

[clamendo]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

As Yogi would put it!

A Pokémon Illustrator card has surpassed the Wagner. LoL


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Seven]

Breaker/breaking culture was the only thing that left a poor taste in my mouth. The amount of people set up with cameras breaking to live audiences was absurd. This is a side of the hobby I'm not very familiar with, since I stay away from modern when it comes to collecting. The "Whatnot" stage treating youtubers and breakers as celebrities was mind boggling to me. Then again there are things that I don't understand about the hobby, this just happens to be one of them.

A steady supply of vintage was available. Many tables showed off new and shiny things as well. Did a ton of walking, was able to secure some fair prices and good deals. I've been to Atlantic City before, though that was before the pandemic. It felt very run down and dumpy, which I know is the regular for AC but even more so this time around. I am going to try to attend in Chicago, next year, but I do think that, that experience is my last time going to AC.

[Belfast1933]

I have a suggestion to make dealer and purchaser experience SO much more positive…

Ask each seller to fill out a simple 8-10 question form roughly indicating what they are selling at their tables (with space for “freestyle” that the seller wants to announce they have.

It’s almost overwhelming and I would love to be able to target dealers who have what I want… maybe even a simple app to help connect dealer to buyer based on matching need/supply?

Time to modernize the experience, folks!

[cannonballsun]

Originally Posted by Belfast1933

I have a suggestion to make dealer and purchaser experience SO much more positive…

Ask each seller to fill out a simple 8-10 question form roughly indicating what they are selling at their tables (with space for “freestyle” that the seller wants to announce they have.

It’s almost overwhelming and I would love to be able to target dealers who have what I want… maybe even a simple app to help connect dealer to buyer based on matching need/supply?

Time to modernize the experience, folks!

Sounds like a great idea to me.

[Snapolit1]

Would be hard. Most dealers couldn’t really capture in a few words what they sell. I saw plenty of guys selling modern and old together, cards and memorabilia together, baseball and basketball together, on and on. And was does memorabilia mean? Photos or magazines or tickets etc. Would be more difficult than it seems for many. There are the narrow focus guys but they are outnumbered.

[Rich Klein]

"Thanks to Mike Carbonaro of Big Apple Conventions for making his day."

I've known Mike for more than 40 years and he is one of the most interesting people you'll ever meet.

Rich

[mrvster]

was AWESOME!

overwhelming!

I wish they had it in AC every year

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by clamendo

A Pokémon Illustrator card has surpassed the Wagner. LoL Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Let's try George Harrison: "All things must surpass, all things must pass away"

[Fballguy]

Originally Posted by clamendo

My observation: Atlantic City a bad location for the National. One of the highest violent crime cities in the US. No where to park.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No where to park? I literally parked at the convention center garage. Can't get more convenient than that. Yeah it was $20, but that's a lot cheaper than the $50 round trip Uber ride the day before.

[Belfast1933]

My pick ups… barely touched anything on my want list but still loved all of these pieces!

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by Fballguy

No where to park? I literally parked at the convention center garage. Can't get more convenient than that. Yeah it was $20, but that's a lot cheaper than the $50 round trip Uber ride the day before.

You have to understand that many of the people posting horrible stuff weren’t even there.

[AnkurJ]

I parked at Caesars which was a few blocks away for $15. No issues at all.

[Carter08]

I walked from my hotel. There was a parking garage right near the convention center. Seemed like everything was smooth. The only thing I’d recommend is better wifi. That was bad. This was my first one. A little overwhelming but great stuff.

[clamendo]

Originally Posted by Fballguy

No where to park? I literally parked at the convention center garage. Can't get more convenient than that. Yeah it was $20, but that's a lot cheaper than the $50 round trip Uber ride the day before.

I was there Weds at 3pm. Parking lot full and all the little ones around it. Sent me to the multistory one. Only for VIPs. Went to another lot. Only for dealers vans, I eventually parked at Bass Pro for $10. Maybe it freed up later in the week. I had to book a room at the Hard Rock 1.4 miles away 3 months before. I still drove to Bass Pro as walking didn’t look to safe. There has to be a better place. I liked Chicago, Cleveland, and Baltimore.

The facility was nice, but what’s around it isn’t.




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[Snapolit1]

Mmmmm. Were you out looking for crack at 3 am? Or looking for a hooker in the middle of the night? Not sure why you were so concerned with action on the streets.

Baltimore? Serious, this must be satire.

Originally Posted by clamendo

I was there Weds at 3pm. Parking lot full and all the little ones around it. Sent me to the multistory one. Only for VIPs. Went to another lot. Only for dealers vans, I eventually parked at Bass Pro for $10. Maybe it freed up later in the week. I had to book a room at the Hard Rock 1.4 miles away 3 months before. I still drove to Bass Pro as walking didn’t look to safe. There has to be a better place. I liked Chicago, Cleveland, and Baltimore.

The facility was nice, but what’s around it isn’t.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Michael B]

My observations on The National. Some will be very contrary to others post.
Full disclosure: I do not collect cards and have no interest in owning any. When I did TTM and hotel in person in Boston in the 1980’s and early 1990’s I would pick up some cards to get signed but did not buy any to collect. By default I now have about 50 as they were in a group of items I purchased (T218, Ardath Photocards and Sporting Champions, Geoffrey Phillips Olympic Champions of 1928, Senior Service Sporting Stars, Churchman Kings of Speed).

I never expect to find much in my area of collecting but I go anyway. It is not just the having, but the hunt. Additionally, there are a few friends that I meet up with who I only see a few times a year. Other than the 5 Spencer Haywood signatures I paid for my total outlay for two days was $40.00.

I tried to walk down every aisle except the ‘breakers pavillion’. In my opinion that is wasted space that could be better served by allowing more dealers. When the NSCC has a waiting list of legitimate dealers why on God’s green earth would they give the booths to them. Nothing but a bunch of glorified snake oil salesmen and fluffers. They open a pack and it is a relic card of the third string quarterback of (pick a team) and they act like they just found a 5 ounce gold bar.

I call bull on those who said parking as tough. I had pointed out in one of the other threads that there was a website that showed all of the parking along with prices. I parked at The Wave parking garage on Fairmount Ave which is the continuation of Baltic Ave. It is 6 stories and about two blocks from the convention center on the other side of the Sheraton. If you stood on the sidewalk in front of the convention center and looked at 2 o’clock you could see it. I parked from 8:50 am to 8 pm on Friday and it was $12.00. Saturday 8:30 am to about 6 and it was $8.00. I befriended one of the parking attendants and he gave me a prime first floor spot on Saturday while waving everyone else to higher floors. As a bonus, White House Subs is on the other side of the garage.

I do agree that internet and cell phone service was crap. Connections were spotty at best. I would suspect that if you set up your own wifi hotspot with a VPN it would have been no better. I called Jonathan Sterling on Friday so that we could meet up and talk old basketball. I found a good spot inside with service and got him on the phone. I could not hear him and could not get back in touch.

There were more slabs that Arlington National Cemetery.

Many, many, many cards were priced. Even though I don’t collect cards I still tried to look in many display cases to ensure I did not miss anything.

All of the youngers and a few olders carrying nuclear footballs looked silly, but that is what they do in the changing landscape. I did see a great percentage of them trying to sell rather than buy. They did have a tendency to gather in packs like lemurs and block the aisles. I saw more than a few groups put their cases down on a dealer’s table and start trading. If I was a dealer, that would not be happening. The only real annoying ones were those with rolling file cabinets. Most of them were oblivious. One person was rolling around one of those music amp size cases with two smaller cases on top.

As one other poster stated, the prices were across the spectrum. I saw a lot of $1 items, quite a few booths with 20%, 30% and even 50% off signs. One booth had a large amount of graded cards at $20 each.

As for the PAMS (Pissers and Moaners) who complain that everything is overpriced, glad you stayed away, it was crowded enough without you and your attitude. I used more colorful language with all of the Net54 dealers I talked to.

I don’t usually buy food inside convention centers. Generally not very good and a bit pricey. If you wanted to walk 10 minutes there were enough options. The lines for food did seem to stretch quite long.

Since I did not expect to find much I made a concerted effort to seek out every member who was a dealer and had listed their booths in one of the threads. I wrote my own list to follow. I made sure to say I was Net54 and that I was trying to meet everyone of them. I met the following:

Steve Sabow – He had a very nice booth with a wide variety of items.

Scott Russell – Mainly auction preview items including one item that fit into my collecting focus.

Tony Gordon

Glenn and Lisa Mechanick

Robert Klevens (Prestige) – impressive display of Japanese baseball. He tried to help me interpret a signature, but it turned out to be Chinese.

Chris Bland (Lutfa Sportscards) - We talked about photo collecting. He is getting into it.

Justin Burleson – He was subletting from Rhys Yeakley. When I got there on Friday Rhys had already left and gave the rest of his space to another dealer. From what I gathered Rhys did not set up at all.

Scott Brockelman - He had traded some t206’s for a Babe Ruth photo. We discussed the possible value of it.

Ed Hans - His booth, along with Gary Nuchereno, was an endcap along with Scott’s booth.

Bill Broadhead – big display of prewar (WWI) cards.

Al Crisafulli (Love of the Game)

Don Hontz (Dons Cards) – we got to talk about his city, Portland, Maine. One of my favorite small cities that has changed quite a bit over the years.

Andy Aaronstein – He is working for Al at LOTG. I had swung back by that booth as I thought A.J. Johnson, who I never met, was in that area. Andy and I had a long conversation about photography copyright and storage.

I tried to find Howard Chasser, but I could not find his booth. The numbers in the row did not seem to go as high as the number he listed.

I also got to meet Bob C., Paul P and Tyler. There were one or two others I met but neglected to write down their names. One person, possibly Paul P?, knew my full name. I was very impressed as I introduced myself with my screen name.

It was a pleasure to meet all of the members there. If I was a card collector I would have no problem purchasing from any of them.

My big $25 purchase:

jo-jo.jpg

[Jewish-collector]

Michael - Thanks for your show experience. I LOVE that photo of Jo Jo !!! See you in Chantilly and/or in Chicago beer chug.gif

[glynparson]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Mmmmm. Were you out looking for crack at 3 am? Or looking for a hooker in the middle of the night? Not sure why you were so concerned with action on the streets.

Baltimore? Serious, this must be satire.

Steve here’s one time I agree with you 100%. Of course some complainers are just a pain in the ass that all dealers talk about as cheap and never wanted to spend anything so they will definitely complain. Some Cheap asses probably didn’t want to pay the $20 parking fee. Some people are well known in this hobby as being lucky they got into it before it was as valuable as it is now because they never want to spend any money. Talk to football card dealers ask them if certain people ever buy anything from them or just give them headaches. Ask them if they try to walk away from The table when certain people come up to it because they don’t want to deal with their cheap asses. I know some people even were so cheap they’d try and trade writing an article for a magazine for grading fees. Some people just like to bitch. Hope you had a good show Steve.

[Snapolit1]

People just want to bitch.

Have you ever gone to a Carribean island. Sure most us have. Do you walk the streets in the Bahamas off hours? No. Do you do wander around in San Juan? No. Do you do it in Cancun. Hell no. You stay in a nice hotel and take a taxi when you need to go somewhere.

It's not rocket science.

Atlantic City has a real crime problem in the inner city part of town. As do a lot of cities. Avoid it.

Originally Posted by glynparson

Steve here’s one time I agree with you 100%. Of course some complainers are just a pain in the ass that all dealers talk about as cheap and never wanted to spend anything so they will definitely complain. Some Cheap asses probably didn’t want to pay the $20 parking fee. Some people are well known in this hobby as being lucky they got into it before it was as valuable as it is now because they never want to spend any money. Talk to football card dealers ask them if certain people ever buy anything from them or just give them headaches. Ask them if they try to walk away from The table when certain people come up to it because they don’t want to deal with their cheap asses. I know some people even were so cheap they’d try and trade writing an article for a magazine for grading fees. Some people just like to bitch. Hope you had a good show Steve.

[ALBB]

yea, your gonna get that in any large city in the country ( capable of properly running a show this size)....

[Fballguy]

My first timer observations...Warning LCC*

*Little card content

1) Take away all the corporate space, auction house advertising, box breaks, social media, games, etc and I'm not sure this show is that much bigger than the one at NRG in Houston. Ok...probably a little bigger but not as big as I expected. I was there Wed night and all day Thursday and I felt like I saw everything 5 times over.

2) Not a lot of memorabilia. If you're a card collector, I imagine it's paradise. If you're a memorabilia collector, not as much. If you're a football memorabilia collector, you get three or four guys.

3) Couldn't help noticing that attendance each day was comprised of about 15,000 nerds and maybe 5 hot girlfriends. (PS...I am counting myself among the 15,000 so lets all just relax)

4) Seeing the 4 and 5 digit prices on some PSA 5s and 6s immediately reminded me of a score I had 8-10 years ago. It was only about 20 cards but mostly rookies and all razor sharp. Bill Russell, Jerry West and Bob Cousy rookies. Musial and Koufax rookies. Mantle Red Heart. Unitas rookie. Jim Brown rookie are the ones I remember. I just wasn't into grading and sold them raw shortly after acquiring. Was happy with what I got for them at the time too. But I'd still like a do over.

5) Is there anything worse than a pompous, inflexible dealer? Probably, but they still generally suck. Unfortunately, one of the "three or four" football guys fell into this category.

6) The best part for me, without a doubt, is the people you meet...both at the show and around town. I found myself engaged in conversation with strangers only to realize a couple minutes in that I know this person...I had just never met them live. So that was fun. And then there's Jack Youngblood, my hero since I first discovered football. What a relaxed, no pressure meeting. Nice guy. Listened to my preamble about being a fan since I was "this tall" and very gracious. Thanked me for my story instead of brushing me off. It was a great experience. His wife was nice too. And he gives great autograph. Beautiful signature and inscription. What a relief. It sucks when your heroes turn out to be dicks. And of course my patron saint of pennants, who went out of his way to make my first National experience a great one. Not sure if he wants the attention so I'll leave him nameless but he knows who he is. Thank you!

7) If a clusterf*ck impregnated a birds nest and the birds nest proceeded to drink throughout the entire gestation period, it would give birth to the road/highway system of Atlantic City and the surrounding area. What a mess. Even Siri was like WTF? At one point she told me to do a U turn between a 10 foot gap in Jersey barriers on the highway. Likely would've ended in tragedy. Another time, leaving the convention center, I was driving to the hotel for 5-6 minutes and somehow ended up back at the convention center. And what does Absecon have against left turns?

8). White Horse Pike...the main drag between the Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City...which takes you right through Absecon...gives off a bit of zombie apocalypse vibe. Upon exiting the highway, you're immediately greeted by abandoned business after abandoned business. I must've passed five straight boarded up gas stations. Hotels too. A little creepy. It was a meth head Disney World. What happened here? How did this go? A little further down the road, things livened up and my hotel, the Holiday Inn Express, thankfully was still in business.

9) I didn't get as much experience with the food as I would've liked but what I did have was good. Really wanted a White House sub but couldn't make it work. Had a nice dinner with friends at LB One Steakhouse. A nice 1970s style experience replete with salad bar. Enjoyed the place and especially the company. Then I ate at Villa Refici right on White Horse Pike...twice. The first time it was a consolation prize. My Uber driver recommended another place but they had a live band and I just wasn't feeling it so I walked out. I wanted a quiet bar to sit at to contemplate my expenditures...and eat. Villa Refici was right down the street so I went there and I'm glad I did. This may have been Top 5 Italian food for me. I've been to Little Italy in NYC more times than I can count...Arthur Ave too. Franklin Ave in Hartford was practically my back yard... and I love them...but this place is right up there. The sauce was amongst the best I've tasted and the bread was so good I asked for seconds. I can't get bread like this in Houston and Italian food? Forget about it. It was a locals place which I love. Everyone at the bar was talking to each other and the staff and laughing. They were regulars. If I lived in the area, I would be too.

10) So...Atlantic City. It seems like the kind of place if you didn't leave your hotel you'd probably love it. The newer ones look very nice. I'm sure the restaurants and bars within are amazing. But old Atlantic City is still there and it's kind of a bummer. I don't know if I'd go back. Maybe after a little more gentrification. In the mean time, I'd head down a little farther to Cape May and look at the pretty houses. We'll see. Never say never.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by Michael B

Don Hontz (Dons Cards) – we got to talk about his city, Portland, Maine. One of my favorite small cities that has changed quite a bit over the years.

Very nice guy, and couldn't agree more about Portland. From my experience, Portland has been the friendliest city in the country.

[CJinPA]

Originally Posted by Fballguy

My first timer observations...Warning LCC*

7) If a clusterf*ck impregnated a birds nest and the birds nest proceeded to drink throughout the entire gestation period, it would give birth to the road/highway system of Atlantic City and the surrounding area. What a mess. Even Siri was like WTF? At one point she told me to do a U turn between a 10 foot gap in Jersey barriers on the highway. Likely would've ended in tragedy. Another time, leaving the convention center, I was driving to the hotel for 5-6 minutes and somehow ended up back at the convention center. And what does Absecon have against left turns?

10) So...Atlantic City. It seems like the kind of place if you didn't leave your hotel you'd probably love it. The newer ones look very nice. I'm sure the restaurants and bars within are amazing. But old Atlantic City is still there and it's kind of a bummer. I don't know if I'd go back. Maybe after a little more gentrification. In the mean time, I'd head down a little farther to Cape May and look at the pretty houses. We'll see. Never say never.

So funny to hear this from out-of-towners..... bitch about the city, bitch about the traffic circles and at the end of the day, they relied on Siri.... I laugh at you all!

Nice report though - thank you for that!

[Pat R]

Originally Posted by Michael B

My observations on The National. Some will be very contrary to others post.
Full disclosure: I do not collect cards and have no interest in owning any. When I did TTM and hotel in person in Boston in the 1980’s and early 1990’s I would pick up some cards to get signed but did not buy any to collect. By default I now have about 50 as they were in a group of items I purchased (T218, Ardath Photocards and Sporting Champions, Geoffrey Phillips Olympic Champions of 1928, Senior Service Sporting Stars, Churchman Kings of Speed).

I never expect to find much in my area of collecting but I go anyway. It is not just the having, but the hunt. Additionally, there are a few friends that I meet up with who I only see a few times a year. Other than the 5 Spencer Haywood signatures I paid for my total outlay for two days was $40.00.

I tried to walk down every aisle except the ‘breakers pavillion’. In my opinion that is wasted space that could be better served by allowing more dealers. When the NSCC has a waiting list of legitimate dealers why on God’s green earth would they give the booths to them. Nothing but a bunch of glorified snake oil salesmen and fluffers. They open a pack and it is a relic card of the third string quarterback of (pick a team) and they act like they just found a 5 ounce gold bar.

I call bull on those who said parking as tough. I had pointed out in one of the other threads that there was a website that showed all of the parking along with prices. I parked at The Wave parking garage on Fairmount Ave which is the continuation of Baltic Ave. It is 6 stories and about two blocks from the convention center on the other side of the Sheraton. If you stood on the sidewalk in front of the convention center and looked at 2 o’clock you could see it. I parked from 8:50 am to 8 pm on Friday and it was $12.00. Saturday 8:30 am to about 6 and it was $8.00. I befriended one of the parking attendants and he gave me a prime first floor spot on Saturday while waving everyone else to higher floors. As a bonus, White House Subs is on the other side of the garage.

I do agree that internet and cell phone service was crap. Connections were spotty at best. I would suspect that if you set up your own wifi hotspot with a VPN it would have been no better. I called Jonathan Sterling on Friday so that we could meet up and talk old basketball. I found a good spot inside with service and got him on the phone. I could not hear him and could not get back in touch.

There were more slabs that Arlington National Cemetery.

Many, many, many cards were priced. Even though I don’t collect cards I still tried to look in many display cases to ensure I did not miss anything.

All of the youngers and a few olders carrying nuclear footballs looked silly, but that is what they do in the changing landscape. I did see a great percentage of them trying to sell rather than buy. They did have a tendency to gather in packs like lemurs and block the aisles. I saw more than a few groups put their cases down on a dealer’s table and start trading. If I was a dealer, that would not be happening. The only real annoying ones were those with rolling file cabinets. Most of them were oblivious. One person was rolling around one of those music amp size cases with two smaller cases on top.

As one other poster stated, the prices were across the spectrum. I saw a lot of $1 items, quite a few booths with 20%, 30% and even 50% off signs. One booth had a large amount of graded cards at $20 each.

As for the PAMS (Pissers and Moaners) who complain that everything is overpriced, glad you stayed away, it was crowded enough without you and your attitude. I used more colorful language with all of the Net54 dealers I talked to.

I don’t usually buy food inside convention centers. Generally not very good and a bit pricey. If you wanted to walk 10 minutes there were enough options. The lines for food did seem to stretch quite long.

Since I did not expect to find much I made a concerted effort to seek out every member who was a dealer and had listed their booths in one of the threads. I wrote my own list to follow. I made sure to say I was Net54 and that I was trying to meet everyone of them. I met the following:

Steve Sabow – He had a very nice booth with a wide variety of items.

Scott Russell – Mainly auction preview items including one item that fit into my collecting focus.

Tony Gordon

Glenn and Lisa Mechanick

Robert Klevens (Prestige) – impressive display of Japanese baseball. He tried to help me interpret a signature, but it turned out to be Chinese.

Chris Bland (Lutfa Sportscards) - We talked about photo collecting. He is getting into it.

Justin Burleson – He was subletting from Rhys Yeakley. When I got there on Friday Rhys had already left and gave the rest of his space to another dealer. From what I gathered Rhys did not set up at all.

Scott Brockelman - He had traded some t206’s for a Babe Ruth photo. We discussed the possible value of it.

Ed Hans - His booth, along with Gary Nuchereno, was an endcap along with Scott’s booth.

Bill Broadhead – big display of prewar (WWI) cards.

Al Crisafulli (Love of the Game)

Don Hontz (Dons Cards) – we got to talk about his city, Portland, Maine. One of my favorite small cities that has changed quite a bit over the years.

Andy Aaronstein – He is working for Al at LOTG. I had swung back by that booth as I thought A.J. Johnson, who I never met, was in that area. Andy and I had a long conversation about photography copyright and storage.

I tried to find Howard Chasser, but I could not find his booth. The numbers in the row did not seem to go as high as the number he listed.

I also got to meet Bob C., Paul P and Tyler. There were one or two others I met but neglected to write down their names. One person, possibly Paul P?, knew my full name. I was very impressed as I introduced myself with my screen name.

It was a pleasure to meet all of the members there. If I was a card collector I would have no problem purchasing from any of them.

My big $25 purchase:

Attachment 527529

Well maybe if you weren't there on Thursday when the convention center lot was full at 10:15 am or tell it to the Atlantic City police directing traffic outside the convention center or the parking lot attendants in every lot we went in that was full or the taxi drivers and casino valets who all said the parking was an absolute mess on Thursday.

[todeen]

Originally Posted by Michael B

My observations on The National. Some will be very contrary to others post.
Full disclosure: I do not collect cards and have no interest in owning any. When I did TTM and hotel in person in Boston in the 1980’s and early 1990’s I would pick up some cards to get signed but did not buy any to collect. By default I now have about 50 as they were in a group of items I purchased (T218, Ardath Photocards and Sporting Champions, Geoffrey Phillips Olympic Champions of 1928, Senior Service Sporting Stars, Churchman Kings of Speed).

I never expect to find much in my area of collecting but I go anyway. It is not just the having, but the hunt. Additionally, there are a few friends that I meet up with who I only see a few times a year. Other than the 5 Spencer Haywood signatures I paid for my total outlay for two days was $40.00.

I tried to walk down every aisle except the ‘breakers pavillion’. In my opinion that is wasted space that could be better served by allowing more dealers. When the NSCC has a waiting list of legitimate dealers why on God’s green earth would they give the booths to them. Nothing but a bunch of glorified snake oil salesmen and fluffers. They open a pack and it is a relic card of the third string quarterback of (pick a team) and they act like they just found a 5 ounce gold bar.

I call bull on those who said parking as tough. I had pointed out in one of the other threads that there was a website that showed all of the parking along with prices. I parked at The Wave parking garage on Fairmount Ave which is the continuation of Baltic Ave. It is 6 stories and about two blocks from the convention center on the other side of the Sheraton. If you stood on the sidewalk in front of the convention center and looked at 2 o’clock you could see it. I parked from 8:50 am to 8 pm on Friday and it was $12.00. Saturday 8:30 am to about 6 and it was $8.00. I befriended one of the parking attendants and he gave me a prime first floor spot on Saturday while waving everyone else to higher floors. As a bonus, White House Subs is on the other side of the garage.

I do agree that internet and cell phone service was crap. Connections were spotty at best. I would suspect that if you set up your own wifi hotspot with a VPN it would have been no better. I called Jonathan Sterling on Friday so that we could meet up and talk old basketball. I found a good spot inside with service and got him on the phone. I could not hear him and could not get back in touch.

There were more slabs that Arlington National Cemetery.

Many, many, many cards were priced. Even though I don’t collect cards I still tried to look in many display cases to ensure I did not miss anything.

All of the youngers and a few olders carrying nuclear footballs looked silly, but that is what they do in the changing landscape. I did see a great percentage of them trying to sell rather than buy. They did have a tendency to gather in packs like lemurs and block the aisles. I saw more than a few groups put their cases down on a dealer’s table and start trading. If I was a dealer, that would not be happening. The only real annoying ones were those with rolling file cabinets. Most of them were oblivious. One person was rolling around one of those music amp size cases with two smaller cases on top.

As one other poster stated, the prices were across the spectrum. I saw a lot of $1 items, quite a few booths with 20%, 30% and even 50% off signs. One booth had a large amount of graded cards at $20 each.

As for the PAMS (Pissers and Moaners) who complain that everything is overpriced, glad you stayed away, it was crowded enough without you and your attitude. I used more colorful language with all of the Net54 dealers I talked to.

I don’t usually buy food inside convention centers. Generally not very good and a bit pricey. If you wanted to walk 10 minutes there were enough options. The lines for food did seem to stretch quite long.

Since I did not expect to find much I made a concerted effort to seek out every member who was a dealer and had listed their booths in one of the threads. I wrote my own list to follow. I made sure to say I was Net54 and that I was trying to meet everyone of them. I met the following:

Steve Sabow – He had a very nice booth with a wide variety of items.

Scott Russell – Mainly auction preview items including one item that fit into my collecting focus.

Tony Gordon

Glenn and Lisa Mechanick

Robert Klevens (Prestige) – impressive display of Japanese baseball. He tried to help me interpret a signature, but it turned out to be Chinese.

Chris Bland (Lutfa Sportscards) - We talked about photo collecting. He is getting into it.

Justin Burleson – He was subletting from Rhys Yeakley. When I got there on Friday Rhys had already left and gave the rest of his space to another dealer. From what I gathered Rhys did not set up at all.

Scott Brockelman - He had traded some t206’s for a Babe Ruth photo. We discussed the possible value of it.

Ed Hans - His booth, along with Gary Nuchereno, was an endcap along with Scott’s booth.

Bill Broadhead – big display of prewar (WWI) cards.

Al Crisafulli (Love of the Game)

Don Hontz (Dons Cards) – we got to talk about his city, Portland, Maine. One of my favorite small cities that has changed quite a bit over the years.

Andy Aaronstein – He is working for Al at LOTG. I had swung back by that booth as I thought A.J. Johnson, who I never met, was in that area. Andy and I had a long conversation about photography copyright and storage.

I tried to find Howard Chasser, but I could not find his booth. The numbers in the row did not seem to go as high as the number he listed.

I also got to meet Bob C., Paul P and Tyler. There were one or two others I met but neglected to write down their names. One person, possibly Paul P?, knew my full name. I was very impressed as I introduced myself with my screen name.

It was a pleasure to meet all of the members there. If I was a card collector I would have no problem purchasing from any of them.

My big $25 purchase:

Attachment 527529

my favorite write up and a great idea.

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[Michael B]

Originally Posted by todeen

my favorite write up and a great idea.

Sent from my SM-G9900 using Tapatalk

Tim,

Thank you, that is kind. Remember - 'We aim to please, so you aim too please!'

[Republicaninmass]

Originally Posted by Pat R

Well maybe if you weren't there on Thursday when the convention center lot was full at 10:15 am or tell it to the Atlantic City police directing traffic outside the convention center or the parking lot attendants in every lot we went in that was full or the taxi drivers and casino valets who all said the parking was an absolute mess on Thursday.

When I left on Friday at about 12p. It looked like the parking lot was blocked off because it was full already!

[notfast]

Had a good time, like always but Atlantic City is an absolute shit hole. I guess if you stay at Harrahs/Borgota and Uber to convention center, you’d think otherwise but anyone defending the town is either clueless or blind.

We walked from Ballys/Claridge multiple times and even at 8am we ran in to panhandlers and people doing the dope fiend lean. Had to deal with dirt bike riders and squeegee guys during ubers to an airbnb less than 1 mile away from hotel.

Our group is from the Baltimore area and we all said that AC is basically Baltimore with a beach.

I didn’t talk to a single person who had anything to say about AC that wasn’t overwhelmingly negative…except for people from NJ/NY. The only positives anyone had were that it was a close drive, myself included.

[sportscardpete]

I thought it was a great National. There was definitely a good buzz. Not a lot of vintage stuff (because Jeff took all the Ruths). I spent a good deal of time meeting folks (like Jeff), which was probably the highlight.

One thing that amazed me was the wide range of ages present. I think that is great for the hobby.

[notfast]

As for the show itself, I thought it was great. I was helping out a dealer for Wed-Fri with mainly modern even though I dabble in both modern and vintage.

Prices were high across the board but there were deals to be found. EVERYONE who came to the booth was selling. Modern vintage TCG etc. People’s prices weren’t great either, much like majority of the dealers.

Overall, the hobby is beyond strong IMO. People are just changing their focuses.

Edit - forgot about some of the best convos I had in the PSA lines. Met and talked to so many diverse people. From guy grading 51 Mantle to a PMG Kobe. The last line you had me picking up a 2022 card, talking to guy from this group who was a t206 expert picking up a 51 mantle mixing it up with woman behind us with a $50k Luka card.

[Johnny630]

100 Hundred Dollar Bills Everywhere from 14 year old's to 70's. On dealer had a bank counting machine on his backup table. Wow. The wealth in this hobby is broad reaching.

[hcv123]

I had an INCREDIBLE show - literally didn't have time to use a rest room from Wed-Sat. Sold a very broad range of material. As mentioned a very broad range of ages - also saw a lot more women than I usually see at shows. Great to meet a few and see a few other Net 54 members. Anyone who said the show sucked, clearly was at a different show.

That said a few well deserved criticisms - The reliance on union personnel was horrific - I was unable to set up Tuesday despite arriving at 10AM because it took the union 3.5 hours to deliver 4 tables I had ordered and paid for 3 months earlier (that were supposed to be waiting at my booth)!!

Lack of internet connectivity!! How they operate a "Convention center", a place which by definition is in large part about attracting and doing business with a signal that sucks so bad that you almost cannot conduct business is disgraceful. I spoke to 1 customer who got separated from his son and was unable to get through to him on his cell phone because there was no signal strength! I lost a few transactions (buy and sell) because I was unable to do due diligence on the net. Utterly ridiculous. I know there was the option for dealers to pay $80 per day for a locked WIFI signal - That would have been +30% of the booth cost - ridiculous and still doesn't resolve the issue for people walking the show. Didn't speak to anyone who chose that option, so I don't know the quality of that signal.

It wasn't an issue for dealers, but I heard from many customers about the parking nightmare.

All in all my takeaway - the hobby is VERY healthy!

Howard

[mrreality68]

just a few last things related to AC

1. The wifi/cellular issues might have been done on purpose but not sure. I spoke to many dealers and they said that the Show wanted them to pay $350 each for Wifi access for the 5 day show. most did not but a few supposedly paid.

Regarding parking. The convention center Wed thru Friday seem to have issues on those days and on Thur and Frid I did see signs saying parking lot full. But another member said it well. There were plenty of options if you used the Parking finder website or if you parked at the Casinos and walked.

Regarding prices. That depends on dealers. We can all expect prices at the National Show to be higher do to the dealers overhead. However, if you really take a look around, take notes of what you find and where you can find deals/prices that you are comfortable with. I did find some dealers that were way way over even the National Show prices and I found others I was comfortable with and bought from them. I do believe some dealers had some cards that were just display cards and they did nto intend to sell and thus priced those really high.

Overall meeting the members on the Forum and others was the best part.

Regarding the Crime and other issue like that I did not see any problems since the event is during the day and if you stayed on the main paths (like the street the tanger oultet was on) and you walk in or near groups issues can be avoided.

I would and will go to the National Show again if they do it in AC.

[Belfast1933]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Would be hard. Most dealers couldn’t really capture in a few words what they sell. I saw plenty of guys selling modern and old together, cards and memorabilia together, baseball and basketball together, on and on. And was does memorabilia mean? Photos or magazines or tickets etc. Would be more difficult than it seems for many. There are the narrow focus guys but they are outnumbered.

Even if the tables were directionally indicated (in terms of their inventory), it would be such a great experience for the customer. I'd love to also give dealers the option to also include their contact info AHEAD of the conference start. That way (if they chose) they could receive and reply to wish lists from customers.

I met quite a few crusty/cranky dealers who I know wouldn't be willing to do that ("if I had it, it would be out already! Truly heard).

But I also met quite a few very nice dealers who might be willing to put in a little extra effort (not much needed, really) to bring targeted customers to them.

Not sure it will work, but I drafted a simple check box that is an example of what I have in mind... imagine this in an NSCCC app (assuming the wifi worked!).

Again, millions and millions of $$ probably exchanged hands last week... a more modern experience would raise our hobby game from a huge flea-market model to something better for both seller and buyer.

Example:
Very Modern (2000 to current)
Modern (1981 to 1999)
Vintage (1952 to 1980)
Very Vintage (1900-1951)
Pre-1900

Memorabilia (tickets, yearbook, tickets)
Game-worn equipment, uniforms, hate
Autographs

Other (free text)

Special notes to customers (free text… $1 boxes, extremely rare items to call out, etc.)

Dealer Name
Dealer booth #

[parkplace33]

Originally Posted by Belfast1933

Even if the tables were directionally indicated (in terms of their inventory), it would be such a great experience for the customer. I'd love to also give dealers the option to also include their contact info AHEAD of the conference start. That way (if they chose) they could receive and reply to wish lists from customers.

I met quite a few crusty/cranky dealers who I know wouldn't be willing to do that ("if I had it, it would be out already! Truly heard).

But I also met quite a few very nice dealers who might be willing to put in a little extra effort (not much needed, really) to bring targeted customers to them.

Not sure it will work, but I drafted a simple check box that is an example of what I have in mind... imagine this in an NSCCC app (assuming the wifi worked!).

Again, millions and millions of $$ probably exchanged hands last week... a more modern experience would raise our hobby game from a huge flea-market model to something better for both seller and buyer.

Example:
Very Modern (2000 to current)
Modern (1981 to 1999)
Vintage (1952 to 1980)
Very Vintage (1900-1951)
Pre-1900

Memorabilia (tickets, yearbook, tickets)
Game-worn equipment, uniforms, hate
Autographs

Other (free text)

Special notes to customers (free text… $1 boxes, extremely rare items to call out, etc.)

Dealer Name
Dealer booth #

I really like this idea. That way, you know who to go to and who to skip.

[rjackson44]

i took an uber from long beach island thank god.bought milk dud basball complete boxes ,86 fleer basketball graded cards..packed no wifi ,was there 3 hrs and gone.still have a bad foot .people being followed around with cameras like they were movie stars hmmm.still dont get that bizzare.good time i had ,,hobby is strong.

[BabyRuth]

Great show all around - was there on Thursday. Prices were in the stratosphere on some items, but deals were also plentiful. Snagged some cool pre war items and my brother picked up around 50 T206 commons on his quest for 520!!

I parked at the Wave garage - They put me in the VIP parking - first spot on the ground floor!! was there for a good 10+ hours - $12.

A nice dinner at Tun's Tavern - some Shark Bite Irish Red Ale was the perfect ending to a great day.

Talked with many Net54ers!!!

All in all, it was an awesome show!!!

[clamendo]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Mmmmm. Were you out looking for crack at 3 am? Or looking for a hooker in the middle of the night? Not sure why you were so concerned with action on the streets.

Baltimore? Serious, this must be satire.

The show started at 3pm. I’ve been happily married for 43 years, I don’t go looking for hookers in the middle of the night. I don’t do crack, but for you to make a childish comment like that maybe Leon should put you in the timeout chair for a little while. I think your not supposed to personally attack people on this forum? The Atlantic City crime situation is well documented, those aren’t my stats.


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[clamendo]

Originally Posted by glynparson

Steve here’s one time I agree with you 100%. Of course some complainers are just a pain in the ass that all dealers talk about as cheap and never wanted to spend anything so they will definitely complain. Some Cheap asses probably didn’t want to pay the $20 parking fee. Some people are well known in this hobby as being lucky they got into it before it was as valuable as it is now because they never want to spend any money. Talk to football card dealers ask them if certain people ever buy anything from them or just give them headaches. Ask them if they try to walk away from The table when certain people come up to it because they don’t want to deal with their cheap asses. I know some people even were so cheap they’d try and trade writing an article for a magazine for grading fees. Some people just like to bitch. Hope you had a good show Steve.

Glynn- You actually have to collect cards and know something about them to write an article. Not just look up cards in Vintage card prices . Com. Also, not to get taken advantage of by a dealer selling cards for 2-3x what they are worth. There are many people on this forum that agree with my assessment of Atlantic City. Finally, I’ll bet the people are being cheap are the ones who live nearby to Atlantic City so they didn’t have to pay $300/night for a hotel room like I did.


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[tedzan]

A little too much "complaining" about the Atlantic City show going on here.

I am happy to say I had a great show Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday. I only set-up three days at the National Shows, because that's when all the action occurs.

This Atlantic City show was as good as my best Chicago show (Chicago shows usually are my best). Either I was lucky, or I brought the right Goodies to this show.
You may ask....what were the "right Goodies" ?
They were a group of T206 cards with the tougher backs listed here. The BL 350 and the COUPON sold immediately. Plus, 16 of the cards in this group of 22 sold.


.

1910 COUPON
AMERICAN BEAUTY 350
BROAD LEAF 350
CYCLE 350
PIEDMONT 460/42
POLAR BEAR
Red HINDU
SOVEREIGN
TOLSTOI

Plus T206 HOFer's, T205's, GOUDEY's, BOWMAN's, and a couple of OLD JUDGE's.

This assortment proved to be the right stuff. At my age, I like to travel light


That was sweet.....and meeting up with Net54 guys was a real pleasure.

See you at the Philly Show in September in Oaks, Pennsylvania.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[ocjack]

Just an off-the-wall question for those that attended: Which dealer(s) slipped into the premium "Mr. Mint" tables located at the front door? I know it's been a few years since he passed away, but I assume some other "special" dealer now gets that spot.

And to those that attended, hope you enjoyed the show. It's a lot of walking and talking, but I always enjoyed the few Nationals I attended.

[x2drich2000]

Originally Posted by ocjack

Just an off-the-wall question for those that attended: Which dealer(s) slipped into the premium "Mr. Mint" tables located at the front door? I know it's been a few years since he passed away, but I assume some other "special" dealer now gets that spot.

And to those that attended, hope you enjoyed the show. It's a lot of walking and talking, but I always enjoyed the few Nationals I attended.

The two booths that were at the very front where general admission entered were Memory Lane (straight ahead) and Lelands (to the right).

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by tedzan

A little too much "complaining" about the Atlantic City show going on here.

I am happy to say I had a great show Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday. I only set-up three days at the National Shows, because that's when all the action occurs.

This Atlantic City show was as good as my best Chicago show (Chicago shows usually are my best). Either I was lucky, or I brought the right Goodies to this show.
You may ask....what were the "right Goodies" ?
They were a group of T206 cards with the tougher backs listed here. The BL 350 and the COUPON sold immediately. Plus, 16 of the cards in this group of 22 sold.


.

1910 COUPON
AMERICAN BEAUTY 350
BROAD LEAF 350
CYCLE 350
PIEDMONT 460/42
POLAR BEAR
Red HINDU
SOVEREIGN
TOLSTOI

Plus T206 HOFer's, T205's, GOUDEY's, BOWMAN's, and a couple of OLD JUDGE's.

This assortment proved to be the right stuff. At my age, I like to travel light


That was sweet.....and meeting up with Net54 guys was a real pleasure.

See you at the Philly Show in September in Oaks, Pennsylvania.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

Ted how does that work only setting up three days at the National, Tuesday-Thursday ? I thought it was part of the contract that you had to stay through Sunday?