Observations on the current state of the hobby from a show this weekend

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

i wish there were certain singles i could find to buy

Churn will bring them to you.

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

Churn will bring them to you.

one can hope!

[notfast]

Chantilly has went so far downhill.

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by notfast

Chantilly has went so far downhill.

too much Pokemon?

[jmarascojr]

This was the case at last year's National as well.

I was kinda shocked they were allowing people to walk around with stuff that could easily spill on 3-4-5-6 figure cards if you weren't careful.

And it wasn't someone who BYOB'd either, they were buying from the concession stands....

Originally Posted by hammerva

The funniest thing for me was Friday as I was drinking an overpriced can of beer one of the dealers (might have the guy near the Steelers memorabilia place) went up yelling that I can't carry open beer at this show. Had to convince them I actually bought it in concession stand. Told the dealer next to me that if the dealers can drink during the show why the hell can't I

[Stifle]

Lansing show was very good. Glad I went. The amount of 90’s cards is dwindling but I was able to locate multiple cards I didn’t have in the collection.

[EBCollectibles]

Originally Posted by premium1981

A lot of the ones complaining don’t buy or sell anything.

100%. Just like the one here complaining when the do previews of products. Oh I don't like the design, Oh I like last years better, Oh IT is plain looking. No one is holding a gun to their heads making them open it.

[EBCollectibles]

If there were more Hermanotarjeta'S in the hobby it would be dead.

[notfast]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

too much Pokemon?

Not at all.

Vintage is dwindling. Few dealers I always see were not there. I’d say 25% of the booths were “buying booths” with a single showcase or two of unpriced stuff.

Another 25% were being picked over by wanna be ballers sitting on their roller case buying for repackers.

The rest was just meh overall.

I cannot imagine anyone who went to this show 2-3 years ago thinking it’s better or even the same. If you went pre covid, it has dropped off so much that it’s not even one I’ll care about missing in the future.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by EBCollectibles

If there were more Hermanotarjeta'S in the hobby it would be dead.

If by dead you mean the absence of degenerate gamblerz, influencerz and flipper boyz, you would be right.

What a wonderful “dead” hobby it would be.

[NickyCards]

The buying booths are starting to get too much. It gets to a point where its a drop off center rather than a card show.

[hammerva]

So apparently there is this called Cleaningthehobby.com which seems like basically an excuse to add ambulance chasers to the growing problem of the "gambling" in it. I didn't really see much of it at the Chantilly show but they were papering little flyers all over the trade night tonight. Which was ironic when you see a few people flipping coins on deals

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by NickyCards

The buying booths are starting to get too much. It gets to a point where its a drop off center rather than a card show.

These booths were upsetting the regular dealers who actually had good, but pricey, cards but very little foot traffic.

All the customers were heading to these packed drop off booths to dump their cards for cash.

Great to see the hobby is on fire.

[notfast]

Originally Posted by hammerva

So apparently there is this called Cleaningthehobby.com which seems like basically an excuse to add ambulance chasers to the growing problem of the "gambling" in it. I didn't really see much of it at the Chantilly show but they were papering little flyers all over the trade night tonight. Which was ironic when you see a few people flipping coins on deals

The guy was in the far right corner from the front entrance.

Ambulance chaser was exactly the vibe he gave me as well.

[kipgen]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

These booths were upsetting the regular dealers who actually had good, but pricey, cards but very little foot traffic.

All the customers were heading to these packed drop off booths to dump their cards for cash.

Great to see the hobby is on fire.

So nobody wanted to buy the cards they overpriced?

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by kipgen

So nobody wanted to buy the cards they overpriced?

Of course not. I saw some nice 90’s inserts and rare 90’s basketball wax boxes that people looked at but passed on.

It was easy to see the items in their showcases because nobody was talking to them and no one was buying anything from them.

The busiest booths were the buyer booths advertising 85-95% comps. They barely had anything for sale, they were just taking collections in for repackers.

[hammerva]

Originally Posted by NickyCards

The buying booths are starting to get too much. It gets to a point where its a drop off center rather than a card show.

Although technically RothCards isn't a "buying station", he was very busy on the days I saw him there. I figure he is going to make a killing at the National and it makes no damn sense. He made a half million deal with the part owner of the Commanders for a card I am willing to bet he didn't pull from a pack. So this guy gave you a roadmap on how to make a quick killing and you basically decide that you would rather have someone else drive your car to it.

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by notfast

Not at all.

Vintage is dwindling. Few dealers I always see were not there. I’d say 25% of the booths were “buying booths” with a single showcase or two of unpriced stuff.

Another 25% were being picked over by wanna be ballers sitting on their roller case buying for repackers.

The rest was just meh overall.

I cannot imagine anyone who went to this show 2-3 years ago thinking it’s better or even the same. If you went pre covid, it has dropped off so much that it’s not even one I’ll care about missing in the future.

ahhh i hear ya. im expecting this to happen at least some at the show next month.

[fabiani12333]

Originally Posted by hammerva

So apparently there is this called Cleaningthehobby.com which seems like basically an excuse to add ambulance chasers to the growing problem of the "gambling" in it.

Well-written mission statement:

Our Mission

At Cleaning The Hobby, we are an alliance of two Law Firms dedicated to protecting consumer rights in the world of card collecting. We believe every collector deserves transparency and fair treatment when engaging in this high-stakes environment.

The Vartazarian Law Firm, in partnership with GN - Attorneys at Law, is bringing the truth about card breaking to light.

Platforms like Whatnot and Fanatics Live have turned card collecting into high-stakes gambling through a practice known as "breaking."While marketed as entertainment, these activities mirror the structure of illegal gambling—leaving thousands of consumers with substantial financial losses.

We are leading the legal fight against these platforms to hold them accountable and to obtain compensation for all consumers. We will fight to get your financial losses back on a Contingency Basis. No Recovery No Fee & No Out Of Pocket Costs.

Nothing I disagree with. It definitely mirrors illegal gambling, and it's getting worse -- the hobby is becoming more and more about gambling by the day.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by fabiani12333

Well-written mission statement:



Nothing I disagree with. It definitely mirrors illegal gambling, and it's getting worse -- the hobby is becoming more and more about gambling by the day.

I love it!

A crackdown on the drug distributors will be a great thing for this hobby.

[notfast]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

ahhh i hear ya. im expecting this to happen at least some at the show next month.

It’s going to happen a lot.

The only thing that will make the national better is there is A LOT more to wonder around and look at. Plus more people to hang out with.

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by notfast

It’s going to happen a lot.

The only thing that will make the national better is there is A LOT more to wonder around and look at. Plus more people to hang out with.

100%! thats the best reason to go!

[bigdog2003]

I went to the SC Card Show today. It was a packed house. They moved to a bigger building for this show after you could hardly walk around the last show. Still hard to see stuff. A lot of variety, a good amount of vintage and pokemon. Most dealers were really nice and wanted to deal, some dealers didn’t have a clue on pricing. I saw a dealer pull out at Beckett to price some cards somebody was asking about. Another guy had piles of raw vintage which was nice to see, but he was quoting PSA 9 prices for low grade raw cards. I offered $500 for a very rough 68 Ryan rookie and he said I “wasn’t even close”. Another dealer had boxes of 90 and 91 Donruss wax boxes he said he really wanted to move, I’m a sucker for stuff from my childhood, so I asked how much if I took them all. He said he was asking $30 a box but if I took every box he’d do $25 each.

I did pick up a few things. 2 Jose Canseco PSA/DNA RC Autos, and Beckett 10 Ric Flair signed card, some pokemon to finish my Gen 1 binder, some cards for somebody else, and I bought out a dealers low end slabs.

I will say, Dale Murphy was a stand up guy. I didn’t get an auto, but even after his flight was cancelled this morning, he still drove to the show to sign. Bo Jackson will be there tomorrow. They also had free autographs from Gamecock players which was a hit with the local fans. Palmetto Cards does a really good job with this show.

[notfast]

Hey Adam Kriss.

I see you’re still weird as sh-t

[Rage]

I had a table today at day one of the San Diego Summer Slam show. Lots of Pokemon buyers. Lots of Ohtani window shoppers. My Ohtani slabs were getting cleaned out by a couple big spenders. One guy bought 8000 worth. I traded another 3000 worth of Shohei slabs to a guy for a RC Ohtani auto. I was surprised I was able to sell some Soto and Tatis slabs there. It was a good show traffic wise but felt a little less busy than the one back in March. We'll see how tomorrow goes, have to reload the showcases. Size of show is 125 or so tables spread out in multiple rooms. People there must have missed the memo about the hobby being dead...