It's official! 2023 National best attended event in 43 year history!
 

From the facebook page -

It’s official! The 2023 National was the best attended event in the 43 year history of the National. Many thanks to all who helped make this possible. Attendees! Exhibitors! Corporate Sponsors! Autograph Guests and especially our great National Staff.

[url]https://www.facebook.com/nsccshow[/url]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I knew after Thursday that this was going to happen. There were people EVERYWHERE. Convention lobby, halls, vip rooms, hotel lobbies, and outside the convention center. SO MANY PEOPLE. The show felt packed/crowded.

Chicago needs to be named the permeant location.

From what I heard from one of the TriStar employees, they reached the record Friday and everything else was a new record.

[QUOTE=packman80;18971634]Chicago needs to be named the permeant location.[/QUOTE]

It won't be because it makes too much sense.

It was honestly overwhelming. If you weren't there, it's hard to describe. The National this year confirmed to me that collecting cardboard isn't going anywhere. And, yes, perhaps it should be in Chicago every year but they really need to upgrade the AC. Wi-Fi was great, there were better food choices, there was a bar area in the lobby, and they opened up an entire new room - all great additions. The AC though....yikes.

Happy to be part of it.

A lot of good with some bad (air conditioning)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I had mixed feelings about this one. Definitely an energy booster for sure, but for me that's where it stopped.

Honestly more of an expensive excuse to eat at Gibsons, get a few cards slabbed and enjoy a weekend away in a different location. Attending only Saturday/Sunday, sounds as though most of the things I were looking for got picked over but no biggie. Good people, cardboard & steak is a great weekend

There was definitely a record amount of attendees who didn't believe in soap or deodorant!

[QUOTE=imbluestreak23;18972244]I had mixed feelings about this one. Definitely an energy booster for sure, but for me that's where it stopped.

Honestly more of an expensive excuse to eat at Gibsons, get a few cards slabbed and enjoy a weekend away in a different location. Attending only Saturday/Sunday, sounds as though most of the things I were looking for got picked over but no biggie. Good people, cardboard & steak is a great weekend[/QUOTE]

Honestly (and this goes for every National), Thursday and Friday of the National are always the best days. You're right, folks want to hammer out deals before the weekend crowd comes in. My Wed-Fri blew my Sat/Sun out of the water.

[QUOTE=rambel;18972249]There was definitely a record amount of attendees who didn't believe in soap or deodorant![/QUOTE]

I brought my wife on Saturday and she said alot of these guys smell. LOL. I did kinda warn her

Not shocked one bit. Now Id like to hear how the dealers did. How did their wallets look after this National vs 2022, 2021, 2019, etc.

We were setup and were so busy the entire time I did not get to see any of the show. I maybe got 10% of the floor covered. Never made it into the main room other than to get my redemptions with Panini. It was crippling hot Wed and Thursday to the point I could barely breath when the table was crowded. Happened to see an old guy take off his shoes and start rubbing his feet over by the breaker pavilion on Thursday which is just totally unacceptable! Picked up alot of really cool stuff but came back with none of it. Did not get the 2 cards I needed to finish my Lebron refractor rainbow but they will come at some point.

[QUOTE=SupermanBrandon;18972265]Not shocked one bit. Now Id like to hear how the dealers did. How did their wallets look after this National vs 2022, 2021, 2019, etc.[/QUOTE]
I have several friends who set up at the show. Most (not all) said it was by far their best national ever (based on sales). One even said it was 4 times better than any other and he has set up at over 25 nationals.

For me, I had a single 8 foot table and it turned out to be the best show I've ever done.

People who thought the hobby was dying or going in the tank are absolutely off their freakin' rocker.

Most of the dealers I spoke with said they are dreading the next 2 years locations. Cleveland is reasonable, majority saying their sales will drop about 25%
But 100% of them are not looking forward to Atlantic City. Only reason they stick through it is because they need to keep their priority for future show set ups

I worked a booth and did buying all week. Convention center lobbies packed with kids trying to make deals. Fun sight to see. Like someone stated in another thread, this National had EVERYTHING. Game used memorabilia, Pokemon, Vintage, Wax, you name it

Hygiene was good from when I was walking around. Took me 2 full days to walk the entire show and map everything. After that, I knew which cards were at which tables that peaked my interest

The BIGGEST peeve I had was dealers selling items that did not have a price. Literally showcases full of stuff with 0 pricing. When asked, they would look up comps as they went. Any table I saw like this, I passed on.

I can say we did more buying at our tables than we did walking around. It was also fun to see what cool stuff the kids had. Favorite card I saw was an Optic Black Lamelo 1/1 RC BGS 8.5.

[QUOTE=FBallHobbies;18973673]Most of the dealers I spoke with said they are dreading the next 2 years locations. Cleveland is reasonable, majority saying their sales will drop about 25%
But 100% of them are not looking forward to Atlantic City. Only reason they stick through it is because they need to keep their priority for future show set ups

I worked a booth and did buying all week. Convention center lobbies packed with kids trying to make deals. Fun sight to see. Like someone stated in another thread, this National had EVERYTHING. Game used memorabilia, Pokemon, Vintage, Wax, you name it

Hygiene was good from when I was walking around. Took me 2 full days to walk the entire show and map everything. After that, I knew which cards were at which tables that peaked my interest

The BIGGEST peeve I had was dealers selling items that did not have a price. Literally showcases full of stuff with 0 pricing. When asked, they would look up comps as they went. Any table I saw like this, I passed on.

I can say we did more buying at our tables than we did walking around. It was also fun to see what cool stuff the kids had. Favorite card I saw was an Optic Black Lamelo 1/1 RC BGS 8.5.[/QUOTE]

It won't be in AC within the next two years. Its Cleveland then Chicago. The soonest AC could host again is 2026 and thats not confirmed.

Totally agree about no pricing. Tons of dealers with 0 pricing on their cards.

I too skipped any tables with zero pricing. The old adage, if you have to ask, you can't afford it! Frankly, it was so crowded too, sometimes it takes time to get dealers attention with all the other guests where its not worth my time waiting to see how much.

* Cleveland will do just fine. Swap out the marginal road trippers from Minneapolis, KC, Stl etc with folks that will be driving in from Philly, NJ, DC, etc. A lot more people and money on the East Coast. Remember the show set daily attendance records last year in AC too.

Maybe, just maybe, the growth of the hobby means that the show will do well wherever. I guess rather than contemplating this, it seems like guys with Midwestern team flair who already have the show in their backyard 3 out of every 4 years want to instead argue that the rest of the country should never again get to host a national.

I’ve never been to the National, is the air conditioning usually an issue for every venue?

[QUOTE=NickyCards;18974468]I’ve never been to the National, is the air conditioning usually an issue for every venue?[/QUOTE]

...no

[QUOTE=NickyCards;18974468]I’ve never been to the National, is the air conditioning usually an issue for every venue?[/QUOTE]

It's maybe a problem for people with health issues, those who keep their thermostat 72 year round, and anyone not used to standing/walking for extended periods. Most people are too busy to notice the ac. If you're uncomfortably warm, or smelling BO another perennial complaint, then you're probably standing shoulder to shoulder which isn't ideal anyway if you want to see anything at the tables.

[QUOTE=solt0131;18973562]For me, I had a single 8 foot table and it turned out to be the best show I've ever done.

People who thought the hobby was dying or going in the tank are absolutely off their freakin' rocker.[/QUOTE]

Not sure what the right way is to say it, but it's not a hobby anymore.

Best attended ever? Or creative counting?

They show did seem like the busiest ever, crowd wise. Just think if they had not expanded the floor space and all those people were in the main room at the same time.

As for the creative accounting some board members are saying that the attendance figures are misleading because every VIP pass, Super VIP pass, 5 day early entry pass, Platinum pass and line priority pass was counted as five entrances instead of one person attending.

Either way it was a lot of people.

[QUOTE=Bigjigglies;18974828]Best attended ever? Or creative counting?

They show did seem like the busiest ever, crowd wise. Just think if they had not expanded the floor space and all those people were in the main room at the same time.

As for the creative accounting some board members are saying that the attendance figures are misleading because every VIP pass, Super VIP pass, 5 day early entry pass, Platinum pass and line priority pass was counted as five entrances instead of one person attending.

Either way it was a lot of people.[/QUOTE]

If that's the case, Anaheim's numbers also need to be changed. People bought multiple tickets for the promo cards. It was no different than a bobblehead giveaway. Same thing happened in Chicago in 1993, for the Chris Webber Classic Promo's.

[QUOTE=thepilluh;18974396]I too skipped any tables with zero pricing. The old adage, if you have to ask, you can't afford it! Frankly, it was so crowded too, sometimes it takes time to get dealers attention with all the other guests where its not worth my time waiting to see how much.[/QUOTE]

I love it when buyers pass those tables because most times those are hobby people who enjoy talking shop. Keep bypassing and I’ll leave feedback about prices and conversation.

A friend told me he sold a ton of his high end. He also picked up enough to have a solid show in Sept.