My Fanatics Fest Recap 8/16

[messier2]

Let me start with this.

You will NOT like Fanatics Fest if you are:

* Looking to see a full Babe Ruth Game jersey to gawk at and tell your kids about how great he was.

* Looking for awesome museum pieces that looked like they were loaned from a HOF somewhere.

* Looking to see some cool vintage Mantle, Ruth, Maris, etc. to salivate at.

* Looking to have a nice conversation with a dealer about the history of tobacco cards.

* Looking to fill your 1968 commons set.

Basically, if you are into vintage, this is NOT the show for you! Forget about even stopping by! Go to the White Plains show and you will see all the vintage you want!

Ok, with that out of the way, what a freaking show! As I said on the baseball board, this show is BETTER than the National. Yes, better. Even the traffic was better

If you are into modern cards, this is the show for you! I have never been to a show in my LIFE where I stopped and looked at every dealer that had sports cards (some Pokemon stuff were there too). EVERY showcase was full of modern sports cards. I was literally in heaven!

Coming from the National where half the floor was vintage, this was 99% modern. I saw one vintage table and he looked really, really bored!

My goal for the show was to buy up some of my guys going into the season. I did just that and then some! Most dealers were priced fairly (at ebay or below) with some wiggle room.

If you collect these players, you NEED to be there:

*Keyonte George- every dealer had TONS and TONS of his cards. If you collect him, you need to be there!

* Thompson Twins- another common player in every dealer showcase. Ausar and Amen to that!

* Wemby/Brandon Miller- No surprises here

* Paolo- The way his cards are being priced, you would think he is the next NBA scoring king! lol

Anyway, had a great time at the show. Dropped off some crossovers at PSA, then did the show from 1 pm on. Found nice PSA 10's of the guys I'm prospecting for this season at great prices!

I did the tally and I spent almost as much as I did at the entire National in just one day. I may be broke by the end of tomorrow!

Anyway, sorry for my not so usual rambling on recap, hope you guys on the fence will attend!

[Ewing33]

Originally Posted by messier2

Let me start with this.

You will NOT like Fanatics Fest if you are:

* Looking to see a full Babe Ruth Game jersey to gawk at and tell your kids about how great he was.

* Looking for awesome museum pieces that looked like they were loaned from a HOF somewhere.

* Looking to see some cool vintage Mantle, Ruth, Maris, etc. to salivate at.

* Looking to have a nice conversation with a dealer about the history of tobacco cards.

* You are looking to fill your 1968 commons set.

Basically, if you are into vintage, this is NOT the show for you! Forget about even stopping by! Go to the White Plains show and you will see all the vintage you want!

Ok, with that out of the way, what a freaking show! As I said on the baseball board, this show is BETTER than the National. Yes, better. Even the traffic was better

If you are into modern cards, this is the show for you! I have never been to a show in my LIFE where I stopped and looked at every dealer that had sports cards (some Pokemon stuff were there too). EVERY showcase was full of modern sports cards. I was literally in heaven!

Coming from the National where half the floor was vintage, this was 99% modern. I saw one vintage table and he looked really, really bored!

My goal for the show was to buy up some of my guys going into the season. I did just that and then some! Most dealers were priced fairly (at ebay or below) with some wiggle room.

If you collect these players, you NEED to be there:

*Keyonte George- every dealer had TONS and TONS of his cards. If you collect him, you need to be there!

* Thompson Twins- another common player in every dealer showcase. Ausar and Amen to that!

* Wemby/Brandon Miller- No surprises here

* Paolo- The way his cards are being priced, you would think he is the next NBA scoring king! lol

Anyway, had a great time at the show. Dropped off some crossovers at PSA, then did the show from 1 pm on. Found nice PSA 10's of the guys I'm prospecting for this season at great prices!

I did the tally and I spent almost as much as I did at the entire National in just one day. I may be broke by the end of tomorrow!

Anyway, sorry for my not so usual rambling on recap, hope you guys on the fence will attend!

This was one of the best shows I’ve ever attended, was totally surprised at how good it was

[njsportscardguy]

Thanks for the insight. By your estimation, going forward, should this be a ...once a year type 'o show, OR,...perhaps,...(example) a Summer iteration and then,...a Winter?

In short, could it be...."practical", in your opinion, to have more than one FanaticsFest show, per year, or should one be the max?

Being less than an hour away, really/already having regrets about not going!

[kobemagee29]

what did it cost you to get in

[messier2]

Originally Posted by njsportscardguy

Thanks for the insight. By your estimation, going forward, should this be a ...once a year type 'o show, OR,...perhaps,...(example) a Summer iteration and then,...a Winter?

In short, could it be...."practical", in your opinion, to have more than one FanaticsFest show, per year, or should one be the max?

Being less than an hour away, really/already having regrets about not going!

Since this is the first one, there is some of that "unknown" excitement/hype going in. If they were to continue this (which I don't see why not), I would say no more than 2 per year, in different locations (if they were smart) so to maximize the exposure to the Fanatics brand.

Perhaps a spring show and an early fall show. The spring show to capitalize on the spring training hype. The fall show to coincide with the start of the 3 major sports (ie the buying/selling of players will be hot).

That's what I would do.

You have 2 more days, get up here!

[messier2]

Originally Posted by kobemagee29

what did it cost you to get in

50 per day (with discount coupon applied).

[MyckKabongo]

Value boxes? As good as the National?

If the value boxing is legit and this is in NYC again next summer I'm for sure going.

[messier2]

Originally Posted by MyckKabongo

Value boxes? As good as the National?

If the value boxing is legit and this is in NYC again next summer I'm for sure going.

None of the dime, quarter, dollar boxes. NONE. Most of the bargain boxes were of the $5-$100 cards. If you are into those, perfect. If you are into dime boxes, no need to attend

[MyckKabongo]

Originally Posted by messier2

None of the dime, quarter, dollar boxes. NONE. Most of the bargain boxes were of the $5-$100 cards. If you are into those, perfect. If you are into dime boxes, no need to attend

Dime boxes are extinct at big shows. I'm into $5-20 boxes but usually a lot harder to find killer deals in them than the $1-$3 boxes. Won't even touch a junk slab box though. No clue who buys that stuff.

[messier2]

Originally Posted by MyckKabongo

Dime boxes are extinct at big shows. I'm into $5-20 boxes but usually a lot harder to find killer deals in them than the $1-$3 boxes.

Ok, so you should be good. Lots of those boxes floating around!

[Kobefan]

I was there as well and the inventory of modern and 90s cards were much better than other shows I have been to. I've seen 3 96 Kobe credentials, 5 jordan legacy, plenty of PMG green, red, and 1997-98 star rubies around, including Kobe and MJ, unfortunately, they are all out of my range, from 10k, to 25k, to 75k, and even a UD black Kobe and MJ dual auto for 110k. It's great and bad as well, since so many cards I want are so expensive that I might need to rethink what I should collect from now. I end up buying an MJ/Stackhouse class act atomic refractor psa 7 for $200 and a kobe bowman's best insert refractor sgc 8 for $600, that's all. I wanted to get a 1996 MJ rubies bgs 8.5 from skybox series 2, but the seller wants $1,200, when the last comp was around $450, and a 2000 Kobe platinum medallion psa 6 that the seller wants no less than $3,800, when the only comp I can find was a year ago for around $3,500 for a psa 8.

[jfan2024]

Originally Posted by njsportscardguy

Thanks for the insight. By your estimation, going forward, should this be a ...once a year type 'o show, OR,...perhaps,...(example) a Summer iteration and then,...a Winter?

In short, could it be...."practical", in your opinion, to have more than one FanaticsFest show, per year, or should one be the max?

Being less than an hour away, really/already having regrets about not going!

Not about frequency, I think they should keep moving it around to the actual big cities in America like NYC. It will be well attended as long as they are picking prime cities and locations given the league setups and interactions. I think easily 2x a year and they should just add a bit more emphasis on cards. If they do that and bring over the National wrapper redemption etc type card promos, National is officially over.

[messier2]

Originally Posted by Kobefan

I was there as well and the inventory of modern and 90s cards were much better than other shows I have been to. I've seen 3 96 Kobe credentials, 5 jordan legacy, plenty of PMG green, red, and 1997-98 star rubies around, including Kobe and MJ, unfortunately, they are all out of my range, from 10k, to 25k, to 75k, and even a UD black Kobe and MJ dual auto for 110k. It's great and bad as well, since so many cards I want are so expensive that I might need to rethink what I should collect from now. I end up buying an MJ/Stackhouse class act atomic refractor psa 7 for $200 and a kobe bowman's best insert refractor sgc 8 for $600, that's all. I wanted to get a 1996 MJ rubies bgs 8.5 from skybox series 2, but the seller wants $1,200, when the last comp was around $450, and a 2000 Kobe platinum medallion psa 6 that the seller wants no less than $3,800, when the only comp I can find was a year ago for around $3,500 for a psa 8.

I saw a bunch of Jordan refractors (one was like $200). They tempted me, but held strong since I know my goal for attending, and low on the list is impulse buying a Jordan ref I know very little about!

[Kobefan]

Originally Posted by messier2

I saw a bunch of Jordan refractors (one was like $200). They tempted me, but held strong since I know my goal for attending, and low on the list is impulse buying a Jordan ref I know very little about!

What is your goal for attending? My original goal is to add cards to my Kobe PCs, but it has becoming increasingly unattainable, so I plan to shift my focus to high nostalgic value cards that has since tanked in value, so I purchased the MJ refractor; pulling MJ & Kobe refractors was what I wanted when I started collecting in 1996, next card to get would probably be 1996 MJ holding court refractor.

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by messier2

Since this is the first one, there is some of that "unknown" excitement/hype going in. If they were to continue this (which I don't see why not), I would say no more than 2 per year, in different locations (if they were smart) so to maximize the exposure to the Fanatics brand.

Perhaps a spring show and an early fall show. The spring show to capitalize on the spring training hype. The fall show to coincide with the start of the 3 major sports (ie the buying/selling of players will be hot).

That's what I would do.

You have 2 more days, get up here!

If 2/year, it needs to be summer and winter. Holding it while most schools are in session would be a mistake.

[messier2]

Originally Posted by Kobefan

What is your goal for attending? My original goal is to add cards to my Kobe PCs, but it has becoming increasingly unattainable, so I plan to shift my focus to high nostalgic value cards that has since tanked in value, so I purchased the MJ refractor; pulling MJ & Kobe refractors was what I wanted when I started collecting in 1996.

My goal is to buy players I'm hoping will have a good season coming up. Some PSA 10's, autos, etc.

Looking forward to tomorrow as I see many dealers buying up new inventory, so they should be priced out tomorrow.

[messier2]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

If 2/year, it needs to be summer and winter. Holding it while most schools are in session would be a mistake.

That works too, I'm flexible on my dates

[boxbuster7]

always enjoy your recaps

[drobfan8]

Great recap.

Sounds fun.

There's a ton of opportunity with modern. There's a lot of nice inserts and parallels around that are in a nice place.

Of course there's also a ton of risk with buying NT RPAs etc of unproven guys.

[Kingofkings1281]

Really cool to hear. I didn’t make it out there this time, but my card did haha. I very much plan on going to the next one.

[dodgerfanjohn]

1.) no shade from me at all. I’m 52 and to me it sounds like a great time. I know that some of the WWE folks were priced decent and I would have been happy with a few of those autos as well.

2.) I wonder with the recent collaboration of Burbank Sports Cards and fanatics if that will morph into the west coast fanatics fest. They already take up two floors at the Anaheim convention center, Jan and Feb are the slowest time of year out here for that type of thing, and weather in so ca is almost never too horrible…dodgers fanfest is always in late January and it’s always sunny and 75. Seems like a good reason to escape the Midwest and east coast in the middle of winter. And even if no one outside California, AZ, and NV travelled here, they’d still sell a million tix.

[tconte]

Originally Posted by messier2

Let me start:

* Thompson Twins- another common player in every dealer showcase. Ausar and Amen to that!

!

That’s awesome. Did they perform their hit singles? “Hold Me Now” was a favorite of mine!

Other than that, I would find this show to be nothing but a sports festival geared towards gambling and taking money from kids.

Today’s cards have millions of parallels and inserts and autos. It is nauseating. Each day is on to the next release and money grab by fanatics geared to the hot new hyped card. Prospects going for thousands only to become $1 bin cards in a couple years.

But if it can turn some of these kids in the collectors, then it will be a win for the hobby.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kobefan]

Originally Posted by jfan2024

Not about frequency, I think they should keep moving it around to the actual big cities in America like NYC. It will be well attended as long as they are picking prime cities and locations given the league setups and interactions. I think easily 2x a year and they should just add a bit more emphasis on cards. If they do that and bring over the National wrapper redemption etc type card promos, National is officially over.

I can't see this event being done for more than once a year or even on a rotating venue for several reasons. First, it was already mentioned that Fanatics is losing money to run this event and it is only done to promote and cross promote their products. Second, the event was great for the buyers, but it wasn't very busy/great for the vendors/sellers, especially at the price that the Fanatics was charging. Third, the convention center is very busy and the Fanatics doesn't have the pricing power to dictate the time and day of the event, so if they don't book the venue year after year, they might not get to book it for the event, or at least not the time and day they want.

[Bigjigglies]

I have heard that they are planning 4-6 of these fests next year and they will cover most of the country. New York to California.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by Bigjigglies

I have heard that they are planning 4-6 of these fests next year and they will cover most of the country. New York to California.

The novelty may start to wear off quickly if they don’t keep an A lister appearance slate.

Besides we don’t want our athletes hawking car insurance and pizza, we want them to shut up and dribble.