National Collectors Xpo - Columbus, OH?

[hausem06]

Anyone have any information about how many tables or if they are sold out? I have been searching and can't find anything on that subject other than on Beckett (500 tables). Odd for a big show not to post how many tables there will be at the show.

Mainly asking because I don't want to drive from Iowa to Columbus unless it's a decent size.

[wrp1989]

Originally Posted by hausem06

Anyone have any information about how many tables or if they are sold out? I have been searching and can't find anything on that subject other than on Beckett (500 tables). Odd for a big show not to post how many tables there will be at the show.

Mainly asking because I don't want to drive from Iowa to Columbus unless it's a decent size.

I've seen some posts on Facebook about it. Search for Ohio Sports Card Shows, not sure if you'll find any info that you are looking for though

[hausem06]

Thanks for the response. Yeah I’ve seen some people questioning the event over on Facebook.


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[bryanscs]

I’m setting up at this show. I booked my tables back in June, and was told 40% of tables were booked then.

They do currently have a small list of 60ish dealers listed on their website.

The promoters have been kinda vague about everything really, not sure why!

[hausem06]

That is very interesting. Thanks a lot for the info Bryan.


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[bryanscs]

They just posted on Instagram, that they have 275 tables currently sold.

[hausem06]

Great news. Thanks for the quick update.


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[Cardfanusa]

Did anyone attend this show? If so how was it?

[bryanscs]

From my perspective as a dealer, it was a total dumpster fire. I won't be attending again, if they do another show.

Advertised as a 500 show table, reality was maybe 175 tables.

Out of the 175 tables, I would guess maybe 50 different dealers.

Promoters were very vague on basically every issue.

Really bad optics from advertising perspective. Advertised mostly towards getting dealers to book tables.

Advertising on website also showed shoes / watches / toys, which led to lots of confusion about what was actually being sold at the show. Again, promoters were basically non existent on answering questions from random people on social media about the advertising, which led to lots of frustrated customers.

There is a nasty email floating around on social media from the promoter, replying to a person who was asking about the show.

Advertising also stated there would be signers, but there were 0 at the show.

I didn't attend trade night, so I'm not sure if the 1 signer showed up for that or not. I never heard anyone say anything about this.

Show hours were advertised as starting at 10 am. Tickets sold on the website showed an 8 am start time. This caused a big headache for many, including dealers & customers.

With all the confusion on the start time, if anyone were at the convention center from 8am - 9:30ish, they could just walk on in, as the doors were open, which is not cool, as a lot of dealers left their inventory just hanging out, some booths were even uncovered. Anyone could walk right up and steal what they wanted, and no one would know the wiser.

There was also no announcement to 'end' the show. People just randomly left at different times, until I presume someone locked the doors, or at least I hoped they locked the doors. Every time I arrived, I just walked on in.

Security was present, but were mostly guarding the promotor's own 'red carpet' items.

Parking was $20 per day, which dealers were informed of the morning of move in. This also didn't help with getting customers in the door.

VIP Day (Friday) was a total loss, as admission was $25 per person for 3PM - 8PM. Maybe 50 customers came in, could have been less though, as there was hardly anyone there. Swag bags for VIP were 10 toploaders.

Admission was $15 per person on Saturday. I would guess maybe 300-400 people came in the door.

Advertising pushed customers to the website to purchase tickets. However, lots of customers complained that the website didn't work / showed sold out. Lots of folks on social media were unsure if you could buy a ticket at the door, so I would imagine most never even attempted to show up.

There was a 2 table minimum for dealer setup. I have a large inventory, so this wasn't an issue for me, but it prevented numerous smaller dealers from attending. Dealers also paid different prices for tables. Some tables were $350, some were $250, some were less.

Lots of dealers / corporate booths left Saturday in the middle of the show.

Sunday admission was $15, but if you purchased a ticket at the door Sunday morning, it was $10, due to the amount of dealers that were not there. I would guess maybe 25% of dealers were setup on Sunday. Maybe 200-300 people came in on Sunday.

I do lots of shows, and for this to be billed as the biggest and best show in Columbus, it was definitely the complete opposite.

The entire show just seemed like a money grab from the promotors, who were so out of touch on how to run a show.

The show was a huge disappointment.

[Coolstavi]

Worst 'big show' I've ever attended. Many regional, smaller shows are WAY better and much better attended than this was. With what you've shared from a dealer perspective, no way this ever goes on again.