Dallas Card Show Recap!

[messier2]

Alright, sitting in my usual spot at the airport waiting for my flight. Got an hour to kill, so here goes.

This is my 5th Dallas Card Show! Can't believe I've been to 5 of these already. Once again, this is card show is no joke! This is THE show to go to (outside of the National) no matter what you are into. Vintage, bargain bins, any sport, high-end, mid-end, low-end, funko pops, comics, Pokemon, no-name grading companies trying to make a name, etc.! This show was it all!

With that said here we go:

* Friday is the day I usually don't buy anything. It's my "feeling out" portion of the show. Where the "good" bargain bins are, where the good-priced dealers are, etc. So, it was no different this year.

* Saturday is where I do the most damage. This year, not much damage. My usual bargain bin guy was not there and I was left with bargain bins that were pure junk or $100 cards in those "bargain bins" that had an ebay comp of $50.

* The crowds were definitely there again. It was packed, but never packed to like craziness like other shows. High ceiling helped and there were never any bottleneck situations.

* As someone commented earlier, I did also notice a decrease in people with Pelican cases. They were there for sure, but not like in previous shows where everyone and their mother's had one! Not sure if that is a good sign or not...

* The good thing about this show is that the dealers had their usual spots. So, I noticed cards that I saw two months ago were still there! They can't get rid of it!

* Speaking of dealers, still a bunch with no prices. I noticed that by Sunday those same cards were still in their showcase...coincidence? I think not...

* Speaking of Sunday, this is the first Sunday I have ever been to and it was complete and utter waste of time. Tired of seeing body bags and empty booths. I get it, 9 am to be ready is "early" for them, but IDK, just disappointing. Kudos to those guys that were ready to go. Sadly, their showcases did not interest me.

* The BGS booth was dead for most of the show. The lines I saw in the last few shows were non-existent. Sad state of affairs for the once dominant TPG.

* Can't believe people are still paying for parking at $10 per day when it's totally free across the street! You just have to cross...the...street...

* They should place a sign that the "big room" is down the hall. People went into the room by the garage first. One guy even said..."this is all?!". I told him to keep going down the hall!

* It's also sad to see so many people with their bulk PSA orders of cards that clearly should not have been graded. Base prizm of semi-stars graded 8 or worse and dealers trying to get $15 for them...

* YT influencers, like Roth, SportscardTaxi, Fornos, Mojo, Great Curator, Sasha, Meelypops, MC Sports and a few other were there.

* Just one incident that I know of....shoplyfting on a dealer caught on tape. No arrest, the guy is gone.

Lastly, shout out to the dealer that sold me the Tatum Vanguard Gold /10 RC. Great guy, great knowledge and an easy transaction! Such a sweet card! Can't wait to get home and place it in a proper mag (that's not scuffed up). Oh, I see Tatum scored 54 today! :eek:

That's all folks! Happy to answer any questions as usual!

[Kingschwab4215]

Love your recap, as always. Was there all day Friday-Saturday and had pleasant interactions with Insta folks and a BO member or two.

Like all the big shows I attend, there were plenty of deals to be had that allowed me to leave happy and cashless.

[timfsu2k]

* Just one incident that I know of....shoplyfting on a dealer caught on tape. No arrest, the guy is gone.


Paulie Walnuts took care of him, eh?


Nice writeup, sounds like a great show! Sad that you come ready to spend some cash and couldn't find much. I've had that happen and it's a bummer.

[doctorres112]

Instead of making my own thread I’ll piggyback onto this one!

This was the first Dallas Card Show my son and I attended and the largest card show we’ve ever been to.

-As collectors we found that being there Thursday-Sunday was perfect. We were tired by the end of each day but given the amount of tables, 4 days was perfect and should we go again, we will be attending all 4 days.

-Being isolated from shows this large until now, I never truly understood how many people are in this simply as a business. I certainly don’t have a problem with it but I was easily able to distinguish the “collectors” from those who were “on the clock.” It’s really incredible how many folks are making a living on cards.

-Lots of kids! My 12 y/o was super intimidated and clearly out of his element at the start of the show. Admittedly him being homeschooled also revealed some awkwardness when it came to him trying to talk/negotiate with kids and adults alike. While this sort of worked itself out over the duration of the show, everyone was really nice and most were happy to entertain him asking prices on cards I/he/they knew he couldn’t afford. In the end, he made trades and deals within his budget with fellow kid collectors and a few adults.

-As a Spurs big 3 collector, I was thrilled with the amount of cards I saw that I either secured for my PC or that I just enjoyed drooling over. My local shows DO NOT scratch this itch for the Dallas show most certainly did.

-So. Many. Slabs. I can’t wait for this aspect of the show/hobby to end. Boxes and boxes of .50 & $1 cards in PSA 7-10 slabs.

-CSG slabs were in abundance. Maybe not that extreme but far more than I expected. I actually feel like I saw more CSG than SGC. I don’t have a dog in either camp but I did leave the show with 3 CSG Spurs cards.

-Every dealer I either bought a card from or debated on buying a card from was more than happy to discuss comps and/or look up comps with me. 90% of the cards I wanted to buy the dealer was ready to make a deal. I bought cards on each day/night and it was nice to find dealers like this!

-Social media presence. I was most impressed with Mojo Sports, or at least I’m sure that’s his handle. The chat with him felt really genuine. He interacted with my son, gave him some free cards, asked to see what I was buying and held a nice chat with me about Tim Duncan and the Spurs. Additionally, the team at “MeelyPops” was great to work with. They had two Tony Parker cards I wanted and they seemed both happy to give me an extremely fair price and also seemed happy that the cards were going to a collector.

-There were several dealers in the main and smaller rooms that I would stop by and chat with each day. Most of which I bought a card or two from at some point during the show. Each day they seemed happy to talk and even show off what they had bought during the show. This was a part of the show I wasn’t expecting and actually makes me really excited for whenever my son and I can get to the next one.

-I second the free parking comment. There was a larger building caddy corner to the show and I parked there all 4 days. No way I would pay for parking when I get almost as close for free.

-Bring water and snacks. It sort of feels like Vegas where 5 hours can go by and you ask yourself “have I had any water or food?”

-trade nights with a 12 y/o wasn’t incredible. He and I both have low budgets and we did feel “priced out” for the most part. This isn’t the end of the world and to be honest, we were EXHAUSTED by the end of each day anyway.

Bottom line - we can’t wait to go back!!!

-Chris

[jimmyjam1973]

Great recap as usual. I've got to make it a point to set up again, but it's a big investment of time and money since I don't have graded cards or Super High end stuff.

Did see the shoplifter on FB jacking what looks like a blaster box off a table.

[soey10]

I love to hear these write ups it helps if I do attend. Unfortunately I live in California where we don’t have anything even remotely close to this.

How often is this show and is it always around the same time of the year?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jimmyjam1973]

I love to hear these write ups it helps if I do attend. Unfortunately I live in California where we don’t have anything even remotely close to this.

How often is this show and is it always around the same time of the year?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

about every other month.

[jmarascojr]

I think this is the first 'major' show for the MeelyPops team since the GI JOE/Pokemon fiasco...

Wonder if the main guy was there or if he's still in hiding...

[doctorres112]

I think this is the first 'major' show for the MeelyPops team since the GI JOE/Pokemon fiasco...

Wonder if the main guy was there or if he's still in hiding...

Not sure of his name but the main guy I know of was most certainly there.

There was lots of movement at his booth. They also had a 12-13 Prizm sealed box I was drooling over.

[mc1]

Not sure of his name but the main guy I know of was most certainly there.

There was lots of movement at his booth. They also had a 12-13 Prizm sealed box I was drooling over.

Sealed? Was it BBCE wrapped?
https://c.tenor.com/zAe6N7L7biwAAAAC/tell-us-more-willy-wonka.gif

[Nomad]

I always wondered why it wasn't common thing to avoid BCCE, because (beyond Pokemon) in many cases whatever hit was believed to exist was pulled and random genuine packs added.

[Lone Wulf]

Thanks for the recap, I always like hearing about the card show experience of others.

I'm local to the Dallas area and made it over there on Saturday. I went with a friend and it was a good time.

The best pickup for me was finding the 2014 Kevin Garnett Kaboom PSA 9. There was a dealer that had tons of Kabooms and Color Blasts and when I saw the KG I knew I had to snatch it up since it was on my list and is very hard to find. There are only 7 total graded with PSA and this dealer had 2 of them lol. I also asked if he had the Karl Anthony Towns 2105 Kaboom but he did not unfortunately, so still on the hunt for that one. He had $1200 listed for the KG, I offered $1000 cash and he accepted (thank you!), I would have paid up to like $2k if I had to probably to get it since I can't ever find it, aside from the one sitting on ebay for $3500. I was kind of interested in his Tim Duncan Kabooms as well, but didn't want to blow my entire budget at one table. Another table had 5 of the original Jambalaya's, I asked if he had a KG hidden somewhere but he did not, so was fun to see what he had, but I didn't find anything to pick up there. The other best table was someone that had a bunch of E-X Credential stuff, he had a few KGs, he had a 1999 I believe it was out of /19 but he wanted like $4k for it. Awesome stuff, just a bit too high for me. Love seeing that type of stuff.

The best part of card shows to me is the atmosphere and finding rare stuff. As a KG collector, and Anthony Edwards collector now, I love finding unique stuff. And conversely, it is pretty meh when you just see common stuff that you can find online especially when dealers have stickers at or above comps, it is like why would I even bother getting something like that. Dealers are free to do what they want with their cards, but if I can get a better deal online for your common card I am just skipping over you and will spend money on more unique stuff one table over.

Since I am a collector rather than someone looking to make money or flip I didn't even bring any of my own cards (I don't want to get rid of anything I have), I just brought cash to get new stuff, but my friend I was with brought some cards. The dealers he talked with really did not want to pay him cash for his stuff, but they seemed willing to trade as long as it was in their favor. I get it, the dealer is trying to make money, so this is logical, more just pointing out that if people are trying to bring a bunch of stuff and get cash it is either very hard or you just have to expect to get a fraction of the value since the person you are selling to has to make their money on top of it. I'd probably opt to just get my own table one day if I ever need/want to downsize or get rid of stuff so that I can get better value rather than trying to sell to dealers.

I saw maybe 5 tables that had Marvel, which surprised me based on youtube people talking it up for months now, figured there would be more of it. Hockey was limited to only a few tables as well unfortunately. Baseball and Football were prevalent. Basketball was the only thing I considered buying and there were some good options this time around.

I really like having the best show in the country a half hour drive away, and going for one day with whatever budget I can afford at the time is perfect to just go have fun and browse. I'll be at the next one as well I am sure.

[ClipsFan]

I was “nearby” for work in Houston so stopped by the show only for a few hours on Friday before heading back to SoCal. It was my first big show and I ended up having a great time. Dealers were overall cool but I always take the mentality of at least saying “hi” and chatting them up when they seem up to it. It was overwhelming at first with the sheer number of tables and eye candy meant to draw your attention. I decided to take a quarter of the main room in at a time with breaks in between in the lobby to gather myself and game-plan. A lot of stuff was priced high but like any show I was able to bargain pretty well and left with a bunch for the PC. Wish I had more time to go through boxes and also check out the memorabilia as there was some cool stuff that I just quickly walked by. The room by the parking garage did feel like an afterthought. I’ll definitely be back.

Anyone check out the autograph sessions on Saturday?

[losangelesfan]

Instead of making my own thread I’ll piggyback onto this one!

This was the first Dallas Card Show my son and I attended and the largest card show we’ve ever been to.

-As collectors we found that being there Thursday-Sunday was perfect. We were tired by the end of each day but given the amount of tables, 4 days was perfect and should we go again, we will be attending all 4 days.

-Being isolated from shows this large until now, I never truly understood how many people are in this simply as a business. I certainly don’t have a problem with it but I was easily able to distinguish the “collectors” from those who were “on the clock.” It’s really incredible how many folks are making a living on cards.

-Lots of kids! My 12 y/o was super intimidated and clearly out of his element at the start of the show. Admittedly him being homeschooled also revealed some awkwardness when it came to him trying to talk/negotiate with kids and adults alike. While this sort of worked itself out over the duration of the show, everyone was really nice and most were happy to entertain him asking prices on cards I/he/they knew he couldn’t afford. In the end, he made trades and deals within his budget with fellow kid collectors and a few adults.

-As a Spurs big 3 collector, I was thrilled with the amount of cards I saw that I either secured for my PC or that I just enjoyed drooling over. My local shows DO NOT scratch this itch for the Dallas show most certainly did.

-So. Many. Slabs. I can’t wait for this aspect of the show/hobby to end. Boxes and boxes of .50 & $1 cards in PSA 7-10 slabs.

-CSG slabs were in abundance. Maybe not that extreme but far more than I expected. I actually feel like I saw more CSG than SGC. I don’t have a dog in either camp but I did leave the show with 3 CSG Spurs cards.

-Every dealer I either bought a card from or debated on buying a card from was more than happy to discuss comps and/or look up comps with me. 90% of the cards I wanted to buy the dealer was ready to make a deal. I bought cards on each day/night and it was nice to find dealers like this!

-Social media presence. I was most impressed with Mojo Sports, or at least I’m sure that’s his handle. The chat with him felt really genuine. He interacted with my son, gave him some free cards, asked to see what I was buying and held a nice chat with me about Tim Duncan and the Spurs. Additionally, the team at “MeelyPops” was great to work with. They had two Tony Parker cards I wanted and they seemed both happy to give me an extremely fair price and also seemed happy that the cards were going to a collector.

-There were several dealers in the main and smaller rooms that I would stop by and chat with each day. Most of which I bought a card or two from at some point during the show. Each day they seemed happy to talk and even show off what they had bought during the show. This was a part of the show I wasn’t expecting and actually makes me really excited for whenever my son and I can get to the next one.

-I second the free parking comment. There was a larger building caddy corner to the show and I parked there all 4 days. No way I would pay for parking when I get almost as close for free.

-Bring water and snacks. It sort of feels like Vegas where 5 hours can go by and you ask yourself “have I had any water or food?”

-trade nights with a 12 y/o wasn’t incredible. He and I both have low budgets and we did feel “priced out” for the most part. This isn’t the end of the world and to be honest, we were EXHAUSTED by the end of each day anyway.

Bottom line - we can’t wait to go back!!!

-Chris

This sounds like alot of fun, I cant wait to do something like this when my kids are old enough to want to go to shows.

[discodanman45]

I love to hear these write ups it helps if I do attend. Unfortunately I live in California where we don’t have anything even remotely close to this.

How often is this show and is it always around the same time of the year?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They do have some decent shows in California, but they are at the big convention centers in San Fran, LA, and San Diego areas. They had one in Fresno and it was not good at all. It is a pain for me in Chowchilla to go to one without making a vacation out of it. The shows in the Central Valley tend to be mostly flippers trying to get out of the junk they graded with PSA/CSG right now. There is one in Hayward I might attend in April.

[Nomad]

Interesting show coming (https://www.themintcollective.com) in Las Vegas, though it seems more like an industry event. But the tables sold out a couple weeks ago and it's at the Hyatt.

[imbluestreak23]

How much does Beckett charge for RCR at the show?

[The_Reverend]

How much does Beckett charge for RCR at the show?

I think it was $40. As stated, they were not busy at all. The great thing about this show is dealers typically are in the same area of the room and therefore it was easy for me to find tables I did deals with before. I saw maybe 1 table that had a significant amount of Trubisky, but that could be expected. People are holding In Expectation of a new team bump (as am I).

[jimmyjam1973]

Interesting show coming (thttps://www.themintcollective.com) in Las Vegas, though it seems more like an industry event. But the tables sold out a couple weeks ago and it's at the Hyatt.

I'm heading out to Vegas for the Mint show. Can't wait!

[ClipsFan]

I love to hear these write ups it helps if I do attend. Unfortunately I live in California where we don’t have anything even remotely close to this.

How often is this show and is it always around the same time of the year?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Although definitely smaller than Dallas, there are a several good regular shows in the LA area - Cardstock, Premier, Newport and the new two-day one coming up in Del Mar.

[imbluestreak23]

I think it was $40. As stated, they were not busy at all. The great thing about this show is dealers typically are in the same area of the room and therefore it was easy for me to find tables I did deals with before. I saw maybe 1 table that had a significant amount of Trubisky, but that could be expected. People are holding In Expectation of a new team bump (as am I).

Nice!

I might check out the next one. Hopefully by then we are at $25 lol

[GMSportsCards]

I think this is the first 'major' show for the MeelyPops team since the GI JOE/Pokemon fiasco...

Wonder if the main guy was there or if he's still in hiding...


Jameel was never “in hiding.” He was forthcoming during the whole ordeal. Anyone who has spent any time with him at all knows he’s as honest as they come , and that he was as much a victim as anyone. I hate how his reputation has been smeared. He and his wife are fabulous people who really are great ambassadors for the hobby. I feel extremely blessed and proud that he is our local shop owner in Gainesville, FL! (Yeah, I take any shots at his character kind of personally, not trying to derail the thread.)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Blanketcards]

Great show and picked up some nice PC items and cashed out my Ja stuff I have been sitting on for awhile. I believe BGS was only doing auto authentication this show not RCR so that was the reason for the lack of line. Not 100% so don't blast me if I am wrong.
Overall was very good. Felt like it had a better vibe than last show but maybe just me. It seemed like people were making slightly better deals and especially for cash offers. See everyone in Chicago in a few weeks.

[The_Reverend]

Jameel was never “in hiding.” He was forthcoming during the whole ordeal. Anyone who has spent any time with him at all knows he’s as honest as they come , and that he was as much a victim as anyone. I hate how his reputation has been smeared. He and his wife are fabulous people who really are great ambassadors for the hobby. I feel extremely blessed and proud that he is our local shop owner in Gainesville, FL! (Yeah, I take any shots at his character kind of personally, not trying to derail the thread.)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I actually had an encouraging conversation with Ryan and Jameel! I believe Yan, Jameel and Mojo all appreciated what I had to say to them. This was the first time I had met any of them and I went away from the conversations encouraged about the future of the hobby.

[doctorres112]

Thanks for the recap, I always like hearing about the card show experience of others.

I'm local to the Dallas area and made it over there on Saturday. I went with a friend and it was a good time.

The best pickup for me was finding the 2014 Kevin Garnett Kaboom PSA 9. There was a dealer that had tons of Kabooms and Color Blasts and when I saw the KG I knew I had to snatch it up since it was on my list and is very hard to find. There are only 7 total graded with PSA and this dealer had 2 of them lol. I also asked if he had the Karl Anthony Towns 2105 Kaboom but he did not unfortunately, so still on the hunt for that one. He had $1200 listed for the KG, I offered $1000 cash and he accepted (thank you!), I would have paid up to like $2k if I had to probably to get it since I can't ever find it, aside from the one sitting on ebay for $3500. I was kind of interested in his Tim Duncan Kabooms as well, but didn't want to blow my entire budget at one table. Another table had 5 of the original Jambalaya's, I asked if he had a KG hidden somewhere but he did not, so was fun to see what he had, but I didn't find anything to pick up there. The other best table was someone that had a bunch of E-X Credential stuff, he had a few KGs, he had a 1999 I believe it was out of /19 but he wanted like $4k for it. Awesome stuff, just a bit too high for me. Love seeing that type of stuff.

The best part of card shows to me is the atmosphere and finding rare stuff. As a KG collector, and Anthony Edwards collector now, I love finding unique stuff. And conversely, it is pretty meh when you just see common stuff that you can find online especially when dealers have stickers at or above comps, it is like why would I even bother getting something like that. Dealers are free to do what they want with their cards, but if I can get a better deal online for your common card I am just skipping over you and will spend money on more unique stuff one table over.

Since I am a collector rather than someone looking to make money or flip I didn't even bring any of my own cards (I don't want to get rid of anything I have), I just brought cash to get new stuff, but my friend I was with brought some cards. The dealers he talked with really did not want to pay him cash for his stuff, but they seemed willing to trade as long as it was in their favor. I get it, the dealer is trying to make money, so this is logical, more just pointing out that if people are trying to bring a bunch of stuff and get cash it is either very hard or you just have to expect to get a fraction of the value since the person you are selling to has to make their money on top of it. I'd probably opt to just get my own table one day if I ever need/want to downsize or get rid of stuff so that I can get better value rather than trying to sell to dealers.

I saw maybe 5 tables that had Marvel, which surprised me based on youtube people talking it up for months now, figured there would be more of it. Hockey was limited to only a few tables as well unfortunately. Baseball and Football were prevalent. Basketball was the only thing I considered buying and there were some good options this time around.

I really like having the best show in the country a half hour drive away, and going for one day with whatever budget I can afford at the time is perfect to just go have fun and browse. I'll be at the next one as well I am sure.

It sounds like you and I had a similar strategy. I saw the Kaboom/Colorblast table, that guy is at the local shows here in San Antonio as well. I'm a Duncan guy but couldn't spring for the Kabooms. I was after more pre-panini Duncan stuff and got just that!

Mike is the guy w/ the Duncan Jambalya cards. He was great to chat with and had some sweet stuff in his cases.

I can't say enough about how great the card show was and my son and I have discussed it no less than 5 times since returning home last night.

-Chris

[mc1]

Jameel was never “in hiding.” He was forthcoming during the whole ordeal. Anyone who has spent any time with him at all knows he’s as honest as they come , and that he was as much a victim as anyone. I hate how his reputation has been smeared. He and his wife are fabulous people who really are great ambassadors for the hobby. I feel extremely blessed and proud that he is our local shop owner in Gainesville, FL! (Yeah, I take any shots at his character kind of personally, not trying to derail the thread.)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

All I know is that he did not attend some of the bigger shows, such as this one, for a while. I dont know if you can say he “was hiding” or just letting the whole Pokemon fake case fiasco blow over.

[Foo3112]

I attended on Friday, and when I walked into the main room floor, I immediately noticed it was much slower than when I last attended which was back in October. Still traffic but it started out slow. Around 1pm, I left to grab a bite and came back around 2pm and the floor was absolutely packed. You could move around but traffic was full steam ahead by 2pm. I made one purchase in which I felt I got a great deal. Under comps actually so I was thrilled about that and then I spent the rest of the time just chatting it up with friends and dealers who I was familiar with. Left shortly after 6pm. Then I came back on Saturday, and it was pretty busy from the start. I stayed for only two hours because I had somewhere else to be.

The shows are always a lot of fun. What's great is the number of tables and floor room space. It will definitely take someone some time to make it through the whole main room. I also love that you can come back and revisit tables and even find new inventory because of trades or purchases they made, so there's always something new you'll see or perhaps even missed on the first round.

Prices aren't bad to be honest, unless it's a really scarce or iconic (grail) type card and then the dealers will just be taking offers because of the rarity of that particular item. Most dealers will certainly wiggle in price but always better to have cash on hand. There was one dealer who was telling me that he stopped even taking PayPal to avoid the whole tax thing. Just wanted to do cash transactions or trades & cash. Most people however do pay in cash, so I don't think he was hurting his sales.

Not sure if I will be attending in May. I have a few things going on and also be coming back from an oversees vacation so funds would most likely be tight. Plus, I would rather attend when I actually have the cash to spend and with a particular card in mind and not just wander aimlessly looking to spend my money on something that I probably didn't even really want to begin with only to sell it later on. Aside from that, it's always a great day when you are looking at cards. For those who have never attended and are thinking about going in the future, it's worth jumping on a plane to attend. Even if it's just once a year. I'm just fortunate that the show is 30 minutes driving time from my location.

[drobfan8]

Instead of making my own thread I’ll piggyback onto this one!

This was the first Dallas Card Show my son and I attended and the largest card show we’ve ever been to.

-As collectors we found that being there Thursday-Sunday was perfect. We were tired by the end of each day but given the amount of tables, 4 days was perfect and should we go again, we will be attending all 4 days.

-Being isolated from shows this large until now, I never truly understood how many people are in this simply as a business. I certainly don’t have a problem with it but I was easily able to distinguish the “collectors” from those who were “on the clock.” It’s really incredible how many folks are making a living on cards.

-Lots of kids! My 12 y/o was super intimidated and clearly out of his element at the start of the show. Admittedly him being homeschooled also revealed some awkwardness when it came to him trying to talk/negotiate with kids and adults alike. While this sort of worked itself out over the duration of the show, everyone was really nice and most were happy to entertain him asking prices on cards I/he/they knew he couldn’t afford. In the end, he made trades and deals within his budget with fellow kid collectors and a few adults.

-As a Spurs big 3 collector, I was thrilled with the amount of cards I saw that I either secured for my PC or that I just enjoyed drooling over. My local shows DO NOT scratch this itch for the Dallas show most certainly did.

-So. Many. Slabs. I can’t wait for this aspect of the show/hobby to end. Boxes and boxes of .50 & $1 cards in PSA 7-10 slabs.

-CSG slabs were in abundance. Maybe not that extreme but far more than I expected. I actually feel like I saw more CSG than SGC. I don’t have a dog in either camp but I did leave the show with 3 CSG Spurs cards.

-Every dealer I either bought a card from or debated on buying a card from was more than happy to discuss comps and/or look up comps with me. 90% of the cards I wanted to buy the dealer was ready to make a deal. I bought cards on each day/night and it was nice to find dealers like this!

-Social media presence. I was most impressed with Mojo Sports, or at least I’m sure that’s his handle. The chat with him felt really genuine. He interacted with my son, gave him some free cards, asked to see what I was buying and held a nice chat with me about Tim Duncan and the Spurs. Additionally, the team at “MeelyPops” was great to work with. They had two Tony Parker cards I wanted and they seemed both happy to give me an extremely fair price and also seemed happy that the cards were going to a collector.

-There were several dealers in the main and smaller rooms that I would stop by and chat with each day. Most of which I bought a card or two from at some point during the show. Each day they seemed happy to talk and even show off what they had bought during the show. This was a part of the show I wasn’t expecting and actually makes me really excited for whenever my son and I can get to the next one.

-I second the free parking comment. There was a larger building caddy corner to the show and I parked there all 4 days. No way I would pay for parking when I get almost as close for free.

-Bring water and snacks. It sort of feels like Vegas where 5 hours can go by and you ask yourself “have I had any water or food?”

-trade nights with a 12 y/o wasn’t incredible. He and I both have low budgets and we did feel “priced out” for the most part. This isn’t the end of the world and to be honest, we were EXHAUSTED by the end of each day anyway.

Bottom line - we can’t wait to go back!!!

-Chris

Incredible write up.

I'm going next year. Meet you in SA for a steak first. :)!

[drobfan8]

It sounds like you and I had a similar strategy. I saw the Kaboom/Colorblast table, that guy is at the local shows here in San Antonio as well. I'm a Duncan guy but couldn't spring for the Kabooms. I was after more pre-panini Duncan stuff and got just that!

Mike is the guy w/ the Duncan Jambalya cards. He was great to chat with and had some sweet stuff in his cases.

I can't say enough about how great the card show was and my son and I have discussed it no less than 5 times since returning home last night.

-Chris

What price did he have on the 97 Tim Duncan Jambalaya?

[sportsfanatic]

Instead of making my own thread I’ll piggyback onto this one!

-Every dealer I either bought a card from or debated on buying a card from was more than happy to discuss comps and/or look up comps with me. 90% of the cards I wanted to buy the dealer was ready to make a deal. I bought cards on each day/night and it was nice to find dealers like this!



-Chris
Were they looking up comps just on their phones or using laptops? Reason I ask is b/c there's been increasingly rampant shill bidding going on at Feebay (there's a thread about it in the football forum). If people are using their phones only, there's no way to really see whether the recent sales are just shill bid auctions and not true comps. Wouldn't want to be negotiating prices using fake sales of cards that will be listed again 1-2 weeks later (or have already been relisted several times). Used to be an issue mostly with the big consigner accounts but now everyone including fellas with double digit feedback scores are shill bidding their auctions

[messier2]

Good stuff guys! Love the conversations in the thread!

Going to this show is just an experience...I don't know how else to explain it. It's like you get transported to a different world...a world only about sports cards (and similar stuff) for 3 days! Amazing experience as always!

Just "cleaned up" the Tatum and really, the scan does not do it justice. It's a SHARP card in-person!

https://i.imgur.com/dYc31aal.jpg

[The_Reverend]

Good stuff guys! Love the conversations in the thread!

Going to this show is just an experience...I don't know how else to explain it. It's like you get transported to a different world...a world only about sports cards (and similar stuff) for 3 days! Amazing experience as always!

Just "cleaned up" the Tatum and really, the scan does not do it justice. It's a SHARP card in-person!

https://i.imgur.com/dYc31aal.jpg

The vanguard RC cards get so little respect. Beautiful card.

[bdrr]

Reply from a Dallas vendor who has been there since show #1. Reasonable takes aside from these two.




* The good thing about this show is that the dealers had their usual spots. So, I noticed cards that I saw two months ago were still there! They can't get rid of it!



This is true, but you do not know the business models of any individual vendor. And I use the term "vendor" because not all people set up are professional "dealers". High quality/high margin/low turnover can be just as profitable as any quality/low margin/high turnover. I couldn't tell you which guys are killing it and which aren't because "new stuff" is absolutely not an accurate barometer. You do not know how actively anybody tries to sell their cards. Some people may be shows only; some people may only do one show a month; some people may have everything listed on eBay and myslabs.


* Speaking of Sunday, this is the first Sunday I have ever been to and it was complete and utter waste of time. Tired of seeing body bags and empty booths. I get it, 9 am to be ready is "early" for them, but IDK, just disappointing. Kudos to those guys that were ready to go. Sadly, their showcases did not interest me.



This is very much a you problem. If you've been coming to Dallas for more than one show, then you know that the Saturday trade night is much more important than Sunday morning. Just sleep in and show up at 11:00. Everybody knows this. So stop complaining and adjust. And given how many shows you travel you, you're also aware that simply bailing on Sunday is commonplace no matter where you go - even the National. Yes, even the National where every year they send us emails and flyers threatening to cancel our tables if we leave too early on Sunday.

[drobfan8]

Reply from a Dallas vendor who has been there since show #1. Reasonable takes aside from these two.



This is true, but you do not know the business models of any individual vendor. And I use the term "vendor" because not all people set up are professional "dealers". High quality/high margin/low turnover can be just as profitable as any quality/low margin/high turnover. I couldn't tell you which guys are killing it and which aren't because "new stuff" is absolutely not an accurate barometer. You do not know how actively anybody tries to sell their cards. Some people may be shows only; some people may only do one show a month; some people may have everything listed on eBay and myslabs.



This is very much a you problem. If you've been coming to Dallas for more than one show, then you know that the Saturday trade night is much more important than Sunday morning. Just sleep in and show up at 11:00. Everybody knows this. So stop complaining and adjust. And given how many shows you travel you, you're also aware that simply bailing on Sunday is commonplace no matter where you go - even the National. Yes, even the National where every year they send us emails and flyers threatening to cancel our tables if we leave too early on Sunday.

Nice reply from bdrr who knows his stuff.

A little confrontational but I think all parties are bringing their own experience and opinions of the shows to the table.

Which is awesome.

:)!

[doctorres112]

Incredible write up.

I'm going next year. Meet you in SA for a steak first. :)!

Absolutely! There were several Spurs tables and that was awesome in and of itself!!

What price did he have on the 97 Tim Duncan Jambalaya?

I don't recall off the top of my head but I do believe his prices were above comps. However, those are more rare so it's really hard to use comps with stuff like that when they aren't as readily available. I wanted many cards from his table.

Were they looking up comps just on their phones or using laptops? Reason I ask is b/c there's been increasingly rampant shill bidding going on at Feebay (there's a thread about it in the football forum). If people are using their phones only, there's no way to really see whether the recent sales are just shill bid auctions and not true comps. Wouldn't want to be negotiating prices using fake sales of cards that will be listed again 1-2 weeks later (or have already been relisted several times). Used to be an issue mostly with the big consigner accounts but now everyone including fellas with double digit feedback scores are shill bidding their auctions

Phones mostly. For the cards I was buying, I didn't perceive shill bidding.

[ClipsFan]

This is very much a you problem. If you've been coming to Dallas for more than one show, then you know that the Saturday trade night is much more important than Sunday morning. Just sleep in and show up at 11:00. Everybody knows this. So stop complaining and adjust. And given how many shows you travel you, you're also aware that simply bailing on Sunday is commonplace no matter where you go - even the National. Yes, even the National where every year they send us emails and flyers threatening to cancel our tables if we leave too early on Sunday. Last day, ditch day is pretty much true of any convention/show in any industry.

[bloodwings19]

Trade Nights pretty killed all the shows on Sunday except autograph lines on that day. I know Tri-Star in Houston charged Friday's admission price same as on Sunday.

[sportsfanatic]

Were they looking up comps just on their phones or using laptops? Reason I ask is b/c there's been increasingly rampant shill bidding going on at Feebay (there's a thread about it in the football forum). If people are using their phones only, there's no way to really see whether the recent sales are just shill bid auctions and not true comps. Wouldn't want to be negotiating prices using fake sales of cards that will be listed again 1-2 weeks later (or have already been relisted several times). Used to be an issue mostly with the big consigner accounts but now everyone including fellas with double digit feedback scores are shill bidding their auctions


Phones mostly. For the cards I was buying, I didn't perceive shill bidding.
Mmm yeah that's what I figured. You gotta do your research beforehand and/or bring your laptop to check for shill-bid comps. It's comical that some dealers at shows price their singles above Ebay comps when most of these comps are shill-bid auctions. If anything, prices should be 25-30% below Ebay comps

[drobfan8]

Absolutely! There were several Spurs tables and that was awesome in and of itself!!



I don't recall off the top of my head but I do believe his prices were above comps. However, those are more rare so it's really hard to use comps with stuff like that when they aren't as readily available. I wanted many cards from his table.



Phones mostly. For the cards I was buying, I didn't perceive shill bidding.

Wow, Spurs tables. That's freaking exciting. I anticipate I'll be bringing some Spurs doubles from Exquisite and Flawless next year and was worried people in Dallas would not care. Now I'm more excited I'll be able to grab some Spurs stuff also.

Thanks.

I'm looking for a TD Jambalaya if it's priced ok. I understand it could be a little spenny. We'll see.

I also don't think anyone looks at the last ebay comp and goes off that. If it's a card that sells often, you average it out anyway.

Also, just pay what you're willing to pay and the dealer with have to drop the price eventually or maybe they're happy to hold the card as they feel it could be going up.

Depends on availability of that card really. Like bdrr says, nobody knows what type of "business" some of these guys are running.

I think at the last couple of Australian shows, 90% were there for experience, to make a little money, and then to find some cards for the PC.

[messier2]

Reply from a Dallas vendor who has been there since show #1. Reasonable takes aside from these two.



This is true, but you do not know the business models of any individual vendor. And I use the term "vendor" because not all people set up are professional "dealers". High quality/high margin/low turnover can be just as profitable as any quality/low margin/high turnover. I couldn't tell you which guys are killing it and which aren't because "new stuff" is absolutely not an accurate barometer. You do not know how actively anybody tries to sell their cards. Some people may be shows only; some people may only do one show a month; some people may have everything listed on eBay and myslabs.



This is very much a you problem. If you've been coming to Dallas for more than one show, then you know that the Saturday trade night is much more important than Sunday morning. Just sleep in and show up at 11:00. Everybody knows this. So stop complaining and adjust. And given how many shows you travel you, you're also aware that simply bailing on Sunday is commonplace no matter where you go - even the National. Yes, even the National where every year they send us emails and flyers threatening to cancel our tables if we leave too early on Sunday.

Thank you for replying. It's great to hear from the dealers' point of view. Absolutely, I know very well that Sundays are slow days (that's why I skip Sundays 99% of the time; this was the 1%). I must admit, I did not know that Trade Night was the cause of tardiness from many of the dealers. Good to know!

[DajuanWagner]

#deodorant

[jimmyjam1973]

I spoke with 2 of my good friend who set up and they both said that this was one of their worse Dallas Shows to date. Granted they still sold a lot and had a great time, but they believe that having this show every other month instead of once a quarter could be hurting it. I'm going to try and set up at one of upcoming ones as long as I can get into the main room and not one off to the side.

[solt0131]

for the same weekend, The Philly Show was one of the busiest shows on record. Saturday was an absolute mess as people had trouble walking around and seeing tables because it was so busy. Sales were off the chart for most dealers.....some said it was the best sales show they ever had. It was the busiest Sunday I had ever seen there.

[messier2]

for the same weekend, The Philly Show was one of the busiest shows on record. Saturday was an absolute mess as people had trouble walking around and seeing tables because it was so busy. Sales were off the chart for most dealers.....some said it was the best sales show they ever had. It was the busiest Sunday I had ever seen there.

I think the Philly show has outgrown the venue. Time to move it out to a larger space. The last Philly show I went to was super tight.

[gomiamigo]

for the same weekend, The Philly Show was one of the busiest shows on record. Saturday was an absolute mess as people had trouble walking around and seeing tables because it was so busy. Sales were off the chart for most dealers.....some said it was the best sales show they ever had. It was the busiest Sunday I had ever seen there.

Agreed on all counts, the dealers I spoke to said they had done a ton of biz, by Sunday the 'gaps' in their display cases were noticeable for a lot of people. Sunday was packed!

[DajuanWagner]

I think the Philly show has outgrown the venue. Time to move it out to a larger space. The last Philly show I went to was super tight.

Another reason deodorant would have been good. Maybe we should start selling deodorant at these shows instead of cards........#appreciatethehustle

[bdrr]

Agreed on all counts, the dealers I spoke to said they had done a ton of biz, by Sunday the 'gaps' in their display cases were noticeable for a lot of people. Sunday was packed!

Was very upset that Dallas and Philly were counterscheduled. I did pretty well in Dallas so I'm not upset. But those are two of my biggest for sure.

[Mantlefan]

I like Friday at Dallas. Saturday just gets to crowded. The front room gets warm. Too many people. I didn't notice crowds being any smaller than previous shows. Saturday afternoon in the main room it was hard to walk at times. I found some decent deals spent $700 over 2 days. I'm with you on guys that don't have prices. It drives me crazy when I see a bunch of stuff I like and they want me to show them comps. There were some tables I just had to walk away from because I couldn't justify sitting there for 30 minutes looking up cards

[DajuanWagner]

Was very upset that Dallas and Philly were counterscheduled. I did pretty well in Dallas so I'm not upset. But those are two of my biggest for sure.



You made $62,000 last time. What did you make this time????