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

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by ewokpelts

Are people falling for the repack scam again?

Gamblers gotta gamble.....

[DylanPowers92]

Went to trade night at the LCS tonight and it was all football, basketball, and Pokémon cards, hardly any baseball. Everything was crazy priced and slabbed. Didn’t end up staying too long because of that.


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[dodgerfanjohn]

This is a first. A card show at Dodger Stadium.

https://www.lacardshow.com/

The have former Dodgers Joe Kelly, Ramon Martinez, and Orel Hershiser as autograph guests.

I’m not going but I am interested to see how it goes. Last cards I bought at Dodger Stadium, a former player had owned a card shop and donated a bunch of junk wax to the Dodgers foundation. At Fanfest in 2015 or 2016 they sold the cards. I got a 1987 and 1989 Topps traded set for $3 and $5 respectively and a 1986 Topps rack box directly from a case for $20. Wish I had the foresight to buy more.

So $25-30 for admission just isn’t happening on my part.

[ewokpelts]

Originally Posted by dodgerfanjohn

This is a first. A card show at Dodger Stadium.

https://www.lacardshow.com/

The have former Dodgers Joe Kelly, Ramon Martinez, and Orel Hershiser as autograph guests.

I’m not going but I am interested to see how it goes. Last cards I bought at Dodger Stadium, a former player had owned a card shop and donated a bunch of junk wax to the Dodgers foundation. At Fanfest in 2015 or 2016 they sold the cards. I got a 1987 and 1989 Topps traded set for $3 and $5 respectively and a 1986 Topps rack box directly from a case for $20. Wish I had the foresight to buy more.

So $25-30 for admission just isn’t happening on my part.

Yeah, that entry is xxx-pensive. And then Joe Kelly was $89 for an auto?

[hammerva]

Went to the Baltimore Card show this morning. Pretty solid show with about 200 tables. Although numbers could be deceiving as there were at least 4 or 5 tables with I assume dealers that was empty. It is definitely a 50/50 TCG and sports card show so if that bothers you. I was a little worried given that it was promoted by Nova Card Show in Arlington which while good is a very DMV same dealers selling same stuff shows. But some new dealers or ones from others shows like Slade and that Westminster mall shows.

Next show isn't until May though

[f2tornado]

I went to the massive St. Paul card show on Saturday. It was much better than the April edition. Most dealer tables looked well attended. There were more bargain boxes than the last one. I took time to pick through the best ones, then ran an out of time and money to really dig through the more marginal ones. As such, I left some bargains on the table and likely missed some others. A lot of that stuff wasn't sorted by sport which may have helped me land some deals long after the show opened. If there was one negative, it's that I didn't see a lot of baseball sorted by team or player.

Outside of seeing some Vikings cards sell, I have no clue what the sports people were buying. It was fairly crowded but I wasn't competing hard for most of the bargain boxes.

[BoSoxFan1999]

Originally Posted by hammerva

Went to the Baltimore Card show this morning. Pretty solid show with about 200 tables. Although numbers could be deceiving as there were at least 4 or 5 tables with I assume dealers that was empty. It is definitely a 50/50 TCG and sports card show so if that bothers you. I was a little worried given that it was promoted by Nova Card Show in Arlington which while good is a very DMV same dealers selling same stuff shows. But some new dealers or ones from others shows like Slade and that Westminster mall shows.

Next show isn't until May though

I took my son to the show yesterday. Definitely a good crowd that showed up. We were there from open to a little before 2pm. Was sorta surprised the Pokemon/sports card split was basically 50/50 (maybe slightly more Pokemon actually).

Was able to offload a couple cards (LeBron white suit rookie PSA 9, Jackson Holliday auto) for pretty much what the PSA app was showing as current offers, and traded for a cool Curry/Nash/Magic triple auto (albeit Leaf) 1/1 for the PC. Had to give up one of my Paige Bueckers/Stephon Castle dual autos, but since I had another one was willing to let it go.

[ironfireman]

Big 500+ table 2 day show in Charlotte this weekend. A vendor friend posted a link on facebook - Admission for 2 day VIP is $50 in advance - 1 day is $40 - you can get a regular 1 day admission for only $12 but parking is extra - $10 and you can't get in til 10 AM (VIP gets in at 9AM) kids 12 and under get in free though.

So if I want to drive an hour to a show that will be 2/3rd pokemon/TCG packed with kids for $40...

[NYBBFAN]

Originally Posted by ironfireman

Big 500+ table 2 day show in Charlotte this weekend. A vendor friend posted a link on facebook - Admission for 2 day VIP is $50 in advance - 1 day is $40 - you can get a regular 1 day admission for only $12 but parking is extra - $10 and you can't get in til 10 AM (VIP gets in at 9AM) kids 12 and under get in free though.

So if I want to drive an hour to a show that will be 2/3rd pokemon/TCG packed with kids for $40...

Hadn’t heard about that one. Sounds terrible. I’ll hold out for the show on Oct 11th at the Park Expo.

[jjcan]

Originally Posted by ironfireman

So if I want to drive an hour to a show that will be 2/3rd pokemon/TCG packed with kids for $40...

Wow $40 for a card show entrance, did you get a goody bag or something? Are we paying a tariff on the Cost of the Door.

[notfast]

Originally Posted by hammerva

Went to the Baltimore Card show this morning. Pretty solid show with about 200 tables. Although numbers could be deceiving as there were at least 4 or 5 tables with I assume dealers that was empty. It is definitely a 50/50 TCG and sports card show so if that bothers you. I was a little worried given that it was promoted by Nova Card Show in Arlington which while good is a very DMV same dealers selling same stuff shows. But some new dealers or ones from others shows like Slade and that Westminster mall shows.

Next show isn't until May though

Originally Posted by BoSoxFan1999

I took my son to the show yesterday. Definitely a good crowd that showed up. We were there from open to a little before 2pm. Was sorta surprised the Pokemon/sports card split was basically 50/50 (maybe slightly more Pokemon actually).

Was able to offload a couple cards (LeBron white suit rookie PSA 9, Jackson Holliday auto) for pretty much what the PSA app was showing as current offers, and traded for a cool Curry/Nash/Magic triple auto (albeit Leaf) 1/1 for the PC. Had to give up one of my Paige Bueckers/Stephon Castle dual autos, but since I had another one was willing to let it go.

Wasn’t a bad show but the 60-40 split of pokemon kinda sucks. I guess thats all these shows now though.

I dont see the need for it to be a two day show though.

I’ll be back because it’s 30 mins away. I wouldn’t be happy if I came into town from hours away or booked a hotel for it though.

[ironfireman]

Originally Posted by NYBBFAN

Hadn’t heard about that one. Sounds terrible. I’ll hold out for the show on Oct 11th at the Park Expo.

It's up in Concord. A friend who's a vendor says they are charging $200 for a 6' table and they have 532 tables - so roughly 100k? But they still feel the need to gouge the public? It's $12 + parking $10 so you can get in for $22 but you have to wait til 10 to get in. If you want to get in at 9am you need to buy the VIP package and ya gotta buy tix in advance or wait in the cash line and yeah I just can't do it.

[auctionjmm]

Originally Posted by ironfireman

It's up in Concord. A friend who's a vendor says they are charging $200 for a 6' table and they have 532 tables - so roughly 100k? But they still feel the need to gouge the public? It's $12 + parking $10 so you can get in for $22 but you have to wait til 10 to get in. If you want to get in at 9am you need to buy the VIP package and ya gotta buy tix in advance or wait in the cash line and yeah I just can't do it.

To be fair, the average cost for a venue like that is likely 20K/day (maybe more) just for the rental. Then you have equipment (tables/chairs), staffing, and security. Even in the months leading up to the show you are writing check after check for this that and the third. My buddy is a promoter and I've seen the months of work and headaches he deals with for a show 1/3 the size. Most won't even try an event of this size because it is risky and could be cost prohibitive if it doesn't draw enough.

I had an econ professor who used to say "You need to count every staff member who is involved in the project from day one, multiplied by their hourly wage/salary, multiplied by the number of hours they are involved" just to estimate worker compensation for an event. His point was, these things are far more costly than most realize and those costs start accruing months before the event even takes place.

What seems like gouging to you might in reality be very fair and necessary to put the event on.

[byronscott4ever]

Originally Posted by f2tornado

I went to the massive St. Paul card show on Saturday. It was much better than the April edition. Most dealer tables looked well attended. There were more bargain boxes than the last one. I took time to pick through the best ones, then ran an out of time and money to really dig through the more marginal ones. As such, I left some bargains on the table and likely missed some others. A lot of that stuff wasn't sorted by sport which may have helped me land some deals long after the show opened. If there was one negative, it's that I didn't see a lot of baseball sorted by team or player.

Outside of seeing some Vikings cards sell, I have no clue what the sports people were buying. It was fairly crowded but I wasn't competing hard for most of the bargain boxes.

I’ve been to the show Sunday and see empty tables…went Thursday and there were empty tables…first day seems like a good day to be there

[hammerva]

I don't understand the empty tables at shows. I can't tell if these are tables that are bought for and the dealers just don't make it or only going at certain times when convenient or they are empty tables that are "open" to be bought by a dealer or collector. The Baltimore show had at least 5 or 6 of them as of about 11 AM.

Philly show is this weekend. My second favorite show next to Chantilly. Unfortunately can only go on Saturday and not Friday which is the prime day to go. Will be interesting to see what the crowds are given that this feels like one of the weakest autograph guest lists in a while

[f2tornado]

Originally Posted by hammerva

I don't understand the empty tables at shows. I can't tell if these are tables that are bought for and the dealers just don't make it or only going at certain times when convenient or they are empty tables that are "open" to be bought by a dealer or collector. The Baltimore show had at least 5 or 6 of them as of about 11 AM.

Some dealers simply have stuff come up like family emergency. Some dealers will skip the weekday portion and others will skip Sunday or pack up early that day. Also, it's not unheard of to have a dealer get bought out but the buying party may not have a tax permit to switch sides.

I didn't notice any empty tables in St. Paul on Saturday but there were a number of them on Thursday back in April.

The card show circuit, at least in the upper Midwest is now bigger than the 90s peak. Even in my puny North Dakota, there's a show somewhere in the state every weekend, sans one, between now and the last weekend of October. Fargo 9/21, Bismarck 9/27, Minot 10/4, Mandan 10/11, Dickinson 10/25. Shows outside of Fargo and occasionally Bismarck were very rare just a couple years ago.

[Raleigh504]

Originally Posted by ironfireman

It's up in Concord. A friend who's a vendor says they are charging $200 for a 6' table and they have 532 tables - so roughly 100k? But they still feel the need to gouge the public? It's $12 + parking $10 so you can get in for $22 but you have to wait til 10 to get in. If you want to get in at 9am you need to buy the VIP package and ya gotta buy tix in advance or wait in the cash line and yeah I just can't do it.

Originally Posted by jjcan

Wow $40 for a card show entrance, did you get a goody bag or something? Are we paying a tariff on the Cost of the Door.

Originally Posted by NYBBFAN

Hadn’t heard about that one. Sounds terrible. I’ll hold out for the show on Oct 11th at the Park Expo.

Originally Posted by ironfireman

Big 500+ table 2 day show in Charlotte this weekend. A vendor friend posted a link on facebook - Admission for 2 day VIP is $50 in advance - 1 day is $40 - you can get a regular 1 day admission for only $12 but parking is extra - $10 and you can't get in til 10 AM (VIP gets in at 9AM) kids 12 and under get in free though.

So if I want to drive an hour to a show that will be 2/3rd pokemon/TCG packed with kids for $40...

I am actually setting up at the show. Saw a breakdown of the table set up and seems to be pretty evenly split (granted the mixed tables I don't know how much are sports/tcg/other).

There are also autograph signers there (I think both days). Some of the signers are Kemba Walker, Muggsy Bouges, Lawrence Taylor, Doc Gooden & WWE Kelly Kelly.

For VIP I believe they do get a VIP bag or something but again not sure if it is limited to a certain amount of VIP or those that bought pre-sale. They also get free parking too. So honestly doing the pre-sale VIP at $40 seems to be the best bet if you plan on going both days.

[Raleigh504]

Originally Posted by f2tornado

Some dealers simply have stuff come up like family emergency. Some dealers will skip the weekday portion and others will skip Sunday or pack up early that day. Also, it's not unheard of to have a dealer get bought out but the buying party may not have a tax permit to switch sides.

I didn't notice any empty tables in St. Paul on Saturday but there were a number of them on Thursday back in April.

The card show circuit, at least in the upper Midwest is now bigger than the 90s peak. Even in my puny North Dakota, there's a show somewhere in the state every weekend, sans one, between now and the last weekend of October. Fargo 9/21, Bismarck 9/27, Minot 10/4, Mandan 10/11, Dickinson 10/25. Shows outside of Fargo and occasionally Bismarck were very rare just a couple years ago.

I have seen people buy tables and put down 5 $20 cards that they want $500 for each and just sit there. I think they try to use it as a buying route for online selling.

[ScooterD]

Originally Posted by Raleigh504

I have seen people buy tables and put down 5 $20 cards that they want $500 for each and just sit there. I think they try to use it as a buying route for online selling.

I would be fun to use their selling prices as %s of comps of what they are trying to buy.

[hammerva]

Originally Posted by Raleigh504

I have seen people buy tables and put down 5 $20 cards that they want $500 for each and just sit there. I think they try to use it as a buying route for online selling.

You are probably not wrong but it is terrible marketing strategy. Let me advertise my online store or website by showing you how awful and delusional our prices are.

[BoSoxFan1999]

I'm not sure what's worse: a dealer that has absolutely nothing priced, or dealers that have most inventory priced but the listed prices are 2x latest comps or more.

[Raleigh504]

Originally Posted by hammerva

You are probably not wrong but it is terrible marketing strategy. Let me advertise my online store or website by showing you how awful and delusional our prices are.

I know the kid did/does Whatnot and have heard mixed stuff on it with either getting steals or people paying way above comp.

[tyrith]

Originally Posted by BoSoxFan1999

I'm not sure what's worse: a dealer that has absolutely nothing priced, or dealers that have most inventory priced but the listed prices are 2x latest comps or more.

At least the one that prices their stuff doesn't waste my time before telling me their prices aren't grounded in reality. 90% of the time if I have to ask, the price is garbage.

[jam92102]

Originally Posted by tyrith

At least the one that prices their stuff doesn't waste my time before telling me their prices aren't grounded in reality. 90% of the time if I have to ask, the price is garbage.

Lol preach brother. I can't stand having to ask about everything.

[kyle1707]

Tons of retail wax everywhere that is not being purchased anymore

Was at a local show 10’days ago

It was a good turnout. 50 dealers no hobby wax anywhere


People buying . Just not spending a lot