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

[f2tornado]

Originally Posted by JoshMN

Are there any other legitimate reasons why dealers prefer cash? It’s just about tax avoidance, right?

Avoids transaction fees (when done the right way), unless the buyer is willing to add the convenience fee to the total.

Also, dealers with cash on hand are better equipped to buy on the spot when people bring cards to the table.

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by notfast

I love when this topic comes up. People love paying taxes.

Doesn’t change the fact that people prefer dealing in cash because they cheat their taxes.

[solt0131]

Here is the collection that I picked up this weekend from a local collector in my area that has been in the family for many years:












I am doing SGC for the 24 card Sport Kings partial set and then doing PSA for the other bigger cards.

Pretty nice stuff, eh?

[NYBBFAN]

Who are all those bums? No Jasson Dominguez? No EDLC? Good luck with that. They don’t even look like refractors.

[JoshMN]

Originally Posted by NYBBFAN

Who are all those bums? No Jasson Dominguez? No EDLC? Good luck with that. They don’t even look like refractors.

Looks like a lot of unlicensed stuff without autos. Hard pass. Also, some cards of a guy named after a disease. Does anyone realize that guy played baseball? Probably not. Good luck with that!

[JoshMN]

Originally Posted by premium1981

I actually view it as a sign of success. I'm really good at maximizing tax savings, but if my tax bill is larger than the previous year it means I have been more successful. Everything in life is about perspective.

I cannot agree more with this. Avoiding taxes (legally) is one of my other hobbies, so I view a big tax bill as something to celebrate even if that seems counterintuitive at first.

[mrb842]

Chicago Show Takeaways

-The absolute greed of the organizers was on full display to the detriment of the show. They've raised prices to get in (friday was $25 for 2 hours early) and prices for tables and it's driven people and dealers away. There were at most 60 people lined up to go in early at 1pm. If you've been to the national at the top of the escalators on the right was where they had VIP lined up and they barely filled that area with maybe 15 waiting in front of the elevators. For a show of Chicago's size on a sunny day that is a very weak number. If I were a dealer I'd be furious.

-The show signers sucked again, another reason people didn't show up. I don't know if it's the athletes, the show, the agents, but for a big city these were really weak lame signers.

-Back to the greed of the prices for tables and admission. The show should want MORE people in the door, MORE dealers wanting to set up, more people excited to get into this. For those who haven't been it's in the upstairs of rosemont where the national is.

-Friday was very very light with foot traffic, even on a 70 and sunny day it was easy to breeze around. There was virtually no issue all day getting to tables with people in front of you, anywhere.

-Pokemon and wwe were WAY up compared to the past as was the amount of post covid era companies at the front by the signing area.

-I would say the busiest dealers were pokemon, wwe, high end modern folks, the authentication lines.

-The busiest folks at the national are the dime and quarter boxes and a lot of those dealers have stopped coming to the chicago show because of how expensive it is.

-Some dealers started leaving at 5 even in high traffic areas because the show was so empty of people.

-Some of the longtime dealers did not set up because I was told they were at other competing shows.

-Credit to the dealers who bring the same stuff every show with the prices for cards whose values have declined demonstrably.

-Whatever Pokemon and WWE are doing to promote their stuff is working because Chicago is a very old hobby focused type show (think front of national guys) and the pokemon and wwe newer type dealers/collectors were a much much bigger piece of it.

-The real losers were the organizers. They need better signers, lower table prices to bring more especially newer dealers in, more customers, more energy. Less focus on big corporate sponsors. The smaller shows I go to are PACKED with all kinds of energy, deals, ages, Chicago had none of that this weekend on the nicest weather they'll ever have for one of these.

-If you're a dealer and your boxes of cards are packed so tightly you can't get cards out you're not going to sell. If they're not organized in way shape or form, you're going to have a hard time getting people to waste hours sifting through them.

-My favorite moments were every 3-5 tables you guys making absolute stacks with spreadsheets from junk wax era boxes. "Junk wax" gets thrown around in the most dismissive of tones but every row of the show there were guys pulling late 80s score, early 90s fleer. That era will always have a connection.

[eastbayak]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

Hell yeah, Khal! Congratulations on the pick-up!!

[LVDan]

Originally Posted by solt0131

Here is the collection that I picked up this weekend from a local collector in my area that has been in the family for many years:




Pretty nice stuff, eh?

just WOW

[eastbayak]

Originally Posted by solt0131

Here is the collection that I picked up this weekend from a local collector in my area that has been in the family for many years:












I am doing SGC for the 24 card Sport Kings partial set and then doing PSA for the other bigger cards.

Pretty nice stuff, eh?

Hot damn, nice pick-up!!

[theshowandme]

Rookie move by Chicago to host the same weekend as Dallas

[dcbaseballcards]

Originally Posted by theshowandme

Dan isn’t the only dealer I have heard say that Philly was the best show they have ever done.

Let’s see if that momentum can carry into Chantilly in a few weeks

I hope it will too. Isn't March usually the best Chantilly Show? at least for baseball. It's before the summer weather, great baseball timing, and has active football autograph signers.

[Cardfanusa]

Originally Posted by theshowandme

Rookie move by Chicago to host the same weekend as Dallas

The Chicago March show has been second/third weekend of March long before the Dallas show started.

[KhalDrogo]

What is the premier show that isn’t the National or Fanatics Fest?

[Cardfanusa]

Originally Posted by mrb842

Chicago Show Takeaways

-The absolute greed of the organizers was on full display to the detriment of the show. They've raised prices to get in (friday was $25 for 2 hours early) and prices for tables and it's driven people and dealers away. There were at most 60 people lined up to go in early at 1pm. If you've been to the national at the top of the escalators on the right was where they had VIP lined up and they barely filled that area with maybe 15 waiting in front of the elevators. For a show of Chicago's size on a sunny day that is a very weak number. If I were a dealer I'd be furious.

-The show signers sucked again, another reason people didn't show up. I don't know if it's the athletes, the show, the agents, but for a big city these were really weak lame signers.

-Back to the greed of the prices for tables and admission. The show should want MORE people in the door, MORE dealers wanting to set up, more people excited to get into this. For those who haven't been it's in the upstairs of rosemont where the national is.

-Friday was very very light with foot traffic, even on a 70 and sunny day it was easy to breeze around. There was virtually no issue all day getting to tables with people in front of you, anywhere.

-Pokemon and wwe were WAY up compared to the past as was the amount of post covid era companies at the front by the signing area.

-I would say the busiest dealers were pokemon, wwe, high end modern folks, the authentication lines.

-The busiest folks at the national are the dime and quarter boxes and a lot of those dealers have stopped coming to the chicago show because of how expensive it is.

-Some dealers started leaving at 5 even in high traffic areas because the show was so empty of people.

-Some of the longtime dealers did not set up because I was told they were at other competing shows.

-Credit to the dealers who bring the same stuff every show with the prices for cards whose values have declined demonstrably.

-Whatever Pokemon and WWE are doing to promote their stuff is working because Chicago is a very old hobby focused type show (think front of national guys) and the pokemon and wwe newer type dealers/collectors were a much much bigger piece of it.

-The real losers were the organizers. They need better signers, lower table prices to bring more especially newer dealers in, more customers, more energy. Less focus on big corporate sponsors. The smaller shows I go to are PACKED with all kinds of energy, deals, ages, Chicago had none of that this weekend on the nicest weather they'll ever have for one of these.

-If you're a dealer and your boxes of cards are packed so tightly you can't get cards out you're not going to sell. If they're not organized in way shape or form, you're going to have a hard time getting people to waste hours sifting through them.

-My favorite moments were every 3-5 tables you guys making absolute stacks with spreadsheets from junk wax era boxes. "Junk wax" gets thrown around in the most dismissive of tones but every row of the show there were guys pulling late 80s score, early 90s fleer. That era will always have a connection.

As a dealer setup toward the front, the show was great. Where I was setup the Friday crowd was strong, atleast stronger than normal. The Saturday attendance was lighter than normal. The crowd for Sunday was strong in my area of the room.

I don’t know how many more dealers you expect them to pack into the show. Ten or so years ago before the Covid boom and pre-Covid boom (2018 or so) there were FAR less dealers setup than today.

Click on the floor plan https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/07...f?v=1740585554

Ten years ago all of the A tables and A and C booths not on the wall were not there. Table #’s 1 -17 was the end of the dealer tables. When PSA graded on-site, they were setup where C20-C23 are.

On the opposite side of the show table #’s 311-335 were not there. There were shows the island next to that, table #’s 228-257 were not there either.

Over the past ten years, with increases in table fees, etc they have added MANY tables/vendors to this show.

Just for the record, in the 1990’s the room was more full than 2005 x 2015 era. My first show there in 1995 or so I was setup around what is now table 348.

[Big35Hurt]

Originally Posted by Cardfanusa

As a dealer setup toward the front, the show was great. Where I was setup the Friday crowd was strong, atleast stronger than normal. The Saturday attendance was lighter than normal. The crowd for Sunday was strong in my area of the room.

I don’t know how many more dealers you expect them to pack into the show. Ten or so years ago before the Covid boom and pre-Covid boom (2018 or so) there were FAR less dealers setup than today.

Click on the floor plan https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/07...f?v=1740585554

Ten years ago all of the A tables and A and C booths not on the wall were not there. Table #’s 1 -17 was the end of the dealer tables. When PSA graded on-site, they were setup where C20-C23 are.

On the opposite side of the show table #’s 311-335 were not there. There were shows the island next to that, table #’s 228-257 were not there either.

Over the past ten years, with increases in table fees, etc they have added MANY tables/vendors to this show.

Just for the record, in the 1990’s the room was more full than 2005 x 2015 era. My first show there in 1995 or so I was setup around what is now table 348.

Your take aligns closely with what I saw. It was busy, but not crazy busy like some of the smaller monthly shows in the area. A lot of transacting was happening, and the show was noticeably bigger and busier than what I remember from 2017-2019.

[Crosby 87]

Originally Posted by mrb842

Chicago Show Takeaways

If they're not organized in way shape or form, you're going to have a hard time getting people to waste hours sifting through them.

-.

Maybe it's me but I find the best stuff in those unorganized boxes for value and for personal wants because people lack the patience to go thru it leaving it unpicked over

Also good weather should translate to less attendance imo. Who wants to waste a good weather day inside a building?

[Big35Hurt]

Originally Posted by Crosby 87

Maybe it's me but I find the best stuff in those unorganized boxes for value and for personal eats because people lack the patience to go thru it leaving it unpicked over

Also good weather should translate to less attendance imo. Who wants to waste a good weather day inside a building?

Agree on both points. Friday was gorgeous out. Staying inside looking at cards is probably the last thing on my mind after months of cold in the midwest.

Value boxes have gems in there. Not anything where you can retire but putting the work in can yield a handful of cards for a fraction of what it would cost on eBay.

[Sluggerrr]

I didn't mind being away from the St. Patrick's Day crowd

[lklopfenstein]

Not saying it is but the Cobb looks suspect. The black box at the bottom coloring appears slightly off and the Cobb image is fuzzier than normal leading to an old reprint. Good luck on those. Hope they are legit.

Originally Posted by solt0131

Here is the collection that I picked up this weekend from a local collector in my area that has been in the family for many years:












I am doing SGC for the 24 card Sport Kings partial set and then doing PSA for the other bigger cards.

Pretty nice stuff, eh?

[f2tornado]

Originally Posted by Crosby 87

Maybe it's me but I find the best stuff in those unorganized boxes for value and for personal wants because people lack the patience to go thru it leaving it unpicked over

Truth. I see a lot of people go up to that kind of box and either thumb through a few or pick up a small stack before walking away.

Fortunately, most of the deep divers are player or team collectors leaving plenty for the next guy.

[theshowandme]

Originally Posted by Cardfanusa

The Chicago March show has been second/third weekend of March long before the Dallas show started.

Old dogs sometimes need to learn new tricks

[notfast]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

What is the premier show that isn’t the National or Fanatics Fest?

I think it’s starting to be Philly.

But certain Dallas and Cali shows seem to be big too.

[K111]

Originally Posted by mrb842

Chicago Show Takeaways

-The absolute greed of the organizers was on full display to the detriment of the show. They've raised prices to get in (friday was $25 for 2 hours early) and prices for tables and it's driven people and dealers away. There were at most 60 people lined up to go in early at 1pm. If you've been to the national at the top of the escalators on the right was where they had VIP lined up and they barely filled that area with maybe 15 waiting in front of the elevators. For a show of Chicago's size on a sunny day that is a very weak number. If I were a dealer I'd be furious.
.

And the best part is the cash only as usual for admission, we get why individual dealers prefer cash only, but for the organizer of the event to essentially say we plan on making hundreds of thousand on admission and only reporting a small percentage of that is ballsy

[Big35Hurt]

Originally Posted by K111

And the best part is the cash only as usual for admission, we get why individual dealers prefer cash only, but for the organizer of the event to essentially say we plan on making hundreds of thousand on admission and only reporting a small percentage of that is ballsy

It was only cash only for those that arrived without having bought a ticket online earlier. Most people in line on Friday had already bought one online from what I saw.