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

[anusinha]

Originally Posted by NYBBFAN

I can’t tell if you’re joking, but PSA has far more than 50 card graders.

Hundreds of people making 20 bucks an hour churing through crappy cards all day. Can you imagine the turnover and how little traiing these guys get?

[PuddleMonkey]

Originally Posted by solt0131

Why doesn’t the puddle monkey ever give a recap of a show that he attended?

Local shows are beneath me, we've gone over this. I'm a big time dealer now. Currently stockpiling for my nickel boxes, these will be a big hit at The National.

[PuddleMonkey]

Originally Posted by anusinha

Hundreds of people making 20 bucks an hour churing through crappy cards all day. Can you imagine the turnover and how little traiing these guys get?

Maybe they hired most of Beckett's skilled graders that were let go?

[majestik101]

Originally Posted by PuddleMonkey

Maybe they hired most of Beckett's skilled graders that were let go?

[livfreely]

Went to a card shop on Sunday to drop off some cards for grading and it was packed. Good flow in/out. Good mixture of ages.

[NYBBFAN]

Originally Posted by anusinha

Hundreds of people making 20 bucks an hour churing through crappy cards all day. Can you imagine the turnover and how little traiing these guys get?

That doesn’t sound fun. I’m picturing anything under $1k gets assigned a grade based on a weighted random number generator. Ultra-modern? Random between 6 and 10. Vintage? Random between 3 and 6.

[Big35Hurt]

Originally Posted by NYBBFAN

That doesn’t sound fun. I’m picturing anything under $1k gets assigned a grade based on a weighted random number generator. Ultra-modern? Random between 6 and 10. Vintage? Random between 3 and 6.

That's probably not far off from the truth. I know the grading fanboys don't like to hear this but there are so many examples of head scratching grades or misses altogether that have been shared over the years. I don't put a ton of faith in grading otherwise why would people say, "buy the card, not the slab"?

[hammerva]

So I guess we will see more of this in the next week or two but I wonder if this whole Real ID thing is going to have an impact on people getting to shows. I assume that if you are coming to the National by air you will need one

[premium1981]

Originally Posted by hammerva

So I guess we will see more of this in the next week or two but I wonder if this whole Real ID thing is going to have an impact on people getting to shows. I assume that if you are coming to the National by air you will need one

That will have a near zero impact. Anyone who travels regularly already has it or has a passport. Anyone who planned on traveling and didn't get it already and doesn't have a passport is a moron. With that being said, the casual fans that attend the shows are usually driving, even if its many hours to do so. My guess, is the number of people who live across the country and planned on flying to the show but can't because of their Real ID is most likely zero.

[anusinha]

WTF doesnt have a real ID yet?

[Big35Hurt]

Originally Posted by hammerva

So I guess we will see more of this in the next week or two but I wonder if this whole Real ID thing is going to have an impact on people getting to shows. I assume that if you are coming to the National by air you will need one

I don't think there will be any impact unless someone has been living under a rock for the past 10+ years. I think my previous license renewal provided an option for the standard renewal or Real ID and that was back in 2017. People who are flying in probably already booked their flights and I would guess that the Real ID requirement was front and center during the process. If anyone is caught with their pants down on this, it's on them.

[Bowman1951]

Originally Posted by anusinha

WTF doesnt have a real ID yet?

All of these people in Pennsylvania. There are photos and articles like this in many states.

[f2tornado]

Originally Posted by whitmm

Went to the show at Canterbury Park in Minnesota today. Decent crowd for end of show, heard some dealers saying it was a great show and super busy the first half.

I paid the $10 to get there for early open. I spent a total of $55 and $40 was at the table with well sorted recent Topps stuff. Bargain box disaster. Most dealers had them at $1 or $2 and populated with stuff I wouldn't pay a quarter for. Not much for baseball either. Then you had the people hogging up the boxes looking up comps. Pull out what you like, step to the side, and leave room for others. Thankfully, I didn't go far out of the way for that one and could watch Churchill Downs action on the TVs. I'll plan on hitting the bigger Fargo show on 17th then might take a breather until the big Omaha one in late July. Shows are becoming more of a chore than fun lately and a break is in order.

[scotts]

Was at the "Pittsburgh 750" show this weekend and set up as a dealer. I think 750 dealer tables is too many. The room that my table was in was hot, dealers and the crowd were mentioning it. I think 500 tables is good number for the Washington Mall

As far as the crowds, it seemed busy but it didn't feel as busy as the Pittsburrh 550 back in February. Maybe that was due to the fact it rained all Saturday? Maybe due to the storms we had in Pittsburgh last week with many losing power?

Started off slow from like 1000 to 1130 and then picked up until 1500 and then it died off quite a bit (show was open until 1700). Next one is in August there and then they are moving the normal November show further West of Washington to St Clairsville OH. Should be a good August show with college and NFL starting a couple weeks after

[premium1981]

Originally Posted by anusinha

WTF doesnt have a real ID yet?

I don't have one. But I have passport so I don't plan on getting it. I've traveled to almost 50 countries now, so hopefully the 50 states all stay in play with a passport.

[BoSoxFan1999]

Originally Posted by premium1981

I don't have one. But I have passport so I don't plan on getting it. I've traveled to almost 50 countries now, so hopefully the 50 states all stay in play with a passport.

I think a lot of people (like those standing in that line in PA) think you need to get a REAL ID-compliant driver's license, but don't realize that they may already have a REAL ID (passport, green card, military/military dependent ID, etc).

[whitmm]

Originally Posted by f2tornado

I paid the $10 to get there for early open. I spent a total of $55 and $40 was at the table with well sorted recent Topps stuff. Bargain box disaster. Most dealers had them at $1 or $2 and populated with stuff I wouldn't pay a quarter for. Not much for baseball either. Then you had the people hogging up the boxes looking up comps. Pull out what you like, step to the side, and leave room for others. Thankfully, I didn't go far out of the way for that one and could watch Churchill Downs action on the TVs. I'll plan on hitting the bigger Fargo show on 17th then might take a breather until the big Omaha one in late July. Shows are becoming more of a chore than fun lately and a break is in order.

I'm pretty sure I know which table you're talking about. Was able to knock out a bunch of Bowman chrome prospect cards for one of the years I'm working on. Think I spent $55 with him and most of it was a Waldrep team color and a Schwellenbach gold.

I agree the bargin boxes were lacking. Lots of tables with very little products, mostly a display case with a few dozen cards. I'm lucky if I spent an hour total. Not worth the two hour drive over. Fortunately, my casino stop made up for it.

[PumpnDumpling]

Originally Posted by anusinha

WTF doesnt have a real ID yet?

I have a passport, wth would i need that nonsense?

[FT35]

Originally Posted by NYBBFAN

That doesn’t sound fun. I’m picturing anything under $1k gets assigned a grade based on a weighted random number generator. Ultra-modern? Random between 6 and 10. Vintage? Random between 3 and 6.

Oh my!! I know you’re kidding (maybe?), but this sure would explain a lot!

[PuddleMonkey]

I have neither a real ID or a passport, these things are irrelevant in a card market crash. The only thing that matters is how much ammunition you have.

[auctionjmm]

I don't even understand what the issue is? I got mine in 2021 and it was a box I had to check with two forms of ID. What reason would anyone have to not simply check the box and bring the IDs at renewal? We all have to renew a license every 4 years anyway. Is it that much of a burden to carry your SS card and a utility bill in line with you?

Then again, those same people standing in line are probably the same ones who defaulted on their student loans because they didn't bother to enter the SAVE plan when it was an option. Can't fix dumb. Now we have to read those sob stories when they could have simply entered SAVE and gotten administrative forbearance.

[premium1981]

Originally Posted by auctionjmm

Can't fix dumb.

This is accurate.

[NYRE2PECT]

Originally Posted by auctionjmm

I don't even understand what the issue is? I got mine in 2021 and it was a box I had to check with two forms of ID. What reason would anyone have to not simply check the box and bring the IDs at renewal? We all have to renew a license every 4 years anyway. Is it that much of a burden to carry your SS card and a utility bill in line with you?

Then again, those same people standing in line are probably the same ones who defaulted on their student loans because they didn't bother to enter the SAVE plan when it was an option. Can't fix dumb. Now we have to read those sob stories when they could have simply entered SAVE and gotten administrative forbearance.

Every 8 years down here in the Republic (unless you are over 85).

[auctionjmm]

Originally Posted by NYRE2PECT

Every 8 years down here in the Republic (unless you are over 85).

Yes, that option exists here now too. But again, Real ID has been around long enough that nobody who is due for a renewal today would not have had that option 8 years ago. I could see if it was cost prohibitive or cumbersome to get, but that wasn't the case.

[whitmm]

Originally Posted by auctionjmm

Yes, that option exists here now too. But again, Real ID has been around long enough that nobody who is due for a renewal today would not have had that option 8 years ago. I could see if it was cost prohibitive or cumbersome to get, but that wasn't the case.

I was mad because it started the day after I had to renew my license two times ago (had all of the documents with me, I was too stubborn to get an extension because I didn't want to make another trip to the DMV), and my last renewal was when everything was shut down and I chose to just renew online.