Saturday national

[Ray Van]

Not sure what Cleveland National some of you guys went to ... the one I went to seemed to have T206's at every second table and dozens upon dozens of vendors selling other prewar. Also lots of cool memorabilia: Type 1 photos, old uniforms, bobbleheads, pennants, and everything in between. Sure there were lots of tables with shiny new stuff, but those tables were mobbed as well so there are buyers for pretty much everything - and one day some of these buyers will come on over to vintage which can only strengthen the hobby. Saw lots of kids and (shocker!) even some women walking around. Parking/wifi/food concessions/washroom issues aside, I thought it was pretty well run and I came away with a few new additions to my collection (some Colgans and my first Helmar), plus I met Graig Kreindler so it was an awesome show for me.

[Republicaninmass]

Sadly, many of the modern collectors will flee once the cards start falling in price and will chase the next shiny object.. if we are lucky, they will come back to the hobby in another 20 prn30 years. Hence the cycle. Same I saw happen in the 80s to 90s and some people just came back during Covid.


As bigfish wrote, the National is more about meeting the collectors and dealers than finding some "score". Most of those are bought up and marked up before the show opens Wednesday. Sometimes an extreme rarity pops up and someone is lucky to grab it.

However, with the advent of ebay and the new "flippers" cards aren't even In sellers hands yet and they are already listed. It would be tough to find a card at the national which was not listed in ebay/Facebook even minutes prior.

[jimtodd]

Originally Posted by Ray Van

Not sure what Cleveland National some of you guys went to ... the one I went to seemed to have T206's at every second table and dozens upon dozens of vendors selling other prewar. Also lots of cool memorabilia: Type 1 photos, old uniforms, bobbleheads, pennants, and everything in between. Sure there were lots of tables with shiny new stuff, but those tables were mobbed as well so there are buyers for pretty much everything - and one day some of these buyers will come on over to vintage which can only strengthen the hobby. Saw lots of kids and (shocker!) even some women walking around. Parking/wifi/food concessions/washroom issues aside, I thought it was pretty well run and I came away with a few new additions to my collection (some Colgans and my first Helmar), plus I met Graig Kreindler so it was an awesome show for me.

I completely agree Ray. Had a great time and saw a ton of vintage and more pre-war than I expected. Maybe it was my off-peak timing, but I didn't have issues w the bathroom or food. I would have loved to meet Graig - love his art.

[Leon]

A little while ago I saw Graig at the airport. We stepped aside and probably spoke for 20+ minutes. It's been many years since we were able to do that. If I were at home that wouldn't have happened.
And yes, there was more prewar in the room, exponentially, than the other 3 largest shows put together.
.

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by Leon

And yes, there was more prewar in the room, exponentially, than the other 3 largest shows put together.

But at what cost? I don't have thousands upon thousands of deep pockets disposable play money dollars. The only people I know making these kinds of pickups are on this forum and Blowout, etc. I'm not boo-hooing, and I'm not jealous. I just don't have that kind of money laying around. The stuff I have that commands that kind of money today I got years, decades, ago when I could spend my Navy pay or reenlistment bonus money and not have to worry about it. Yesterday I got a nice handful of beater grade 1954, 1959, 1961 and 1965 Topps cards (stars, HoFers) for all of $34 and change. Now that's a hobby, and it was fun!