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

[Stifle]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

Are you going Erin Brockovich on us?

I’m glad you found a refractor you were looking for at the show.

Herman, That may not be a bad idea. Hypothetically, 150 thousand gallons of missing fuel can go a long ways. This is a different occurrence than what I hypothetically previously discussed. Some people believe property is the way to go instead of cards but if a gas station / service station had never changed it’s fuel tank therefore leading to a agency surveying property roughly 400 yards away, you just hope that the homes half the distance have no leaks in their pipes. I would be concerned about the restaurants that were next to that location as well.

Could that property have a false value do to a group not wanting others who are not selected in the group to know how bad the hidden issue is? A blowout member thought it was wise to put money into property, I believe it’s more wise instead of putting a Billion dollars into spy ware and instead put money into protecting those that increase the value of the company or those that use the company. That just might be a Brockovich type of case that could require lots of popcorn, but who would spend more money on spy ware than pennies on the spy ware dollar to protect these individuals ?

Hoping the next show in Kalamazoo has a great turnout.

[eastbayak]

delete, failed attempt at humor

[Stifle]

Originally Posted by eastbayak

delete, failed attempt at humor

Not much humor when taking a package to a home where the couple were extremely grateful it was delivered. Stage 4 cancer is never humorous. The property of that home was near a pond I’ve discussed. Hope she is still around, very nice lady and husband is the salt of the earth.

The Lansing show should be coming up, reminds me of a street down the road.

[swerve]

Hit my target for sales at this past weekends Palmer Event Center Show in Austin. Place was busy all of Saturday and a good portion of Sunday. I actually sold more on Sunday than Saturday and not by giving "Sunday deals"...

[cholodolo]

Originally Posted by solt0131

Hold on, hold on here. If the market is crashing and dying then why are so many people out there buying? That doesn't make sense.....

You do realize this is the exact same thing as the others, right?

They consistently say it is down/crashing. You consistently say it isn't. On every single page.

Doesn't really help the discussion at all.

[solt0131]

Originally Posted by cholodolo

You do realize this is the exact same thing as the others, right?

They consistently say it is down/crashing. You consistently say it isn't. On every single page.

Doesn't really help the discussion at all.

The ones saying it’s crashing go to zero shows and are totally clueless as to what is going on in the hobby. There’s a decent number of that go to several shows a month that give you more realistic information about what is really going on.

[theshowandme]

I’ve gone to every Chantilly show each day it’s been open for the last 6 years.

Next week I think I’m only going Sunday

Am I cooked?

[ScooterD]

Originally Posted by Stifle

Herman, That may not be a bad idea. Hypothetically, 150 thousand gallons of missing fuel can go a long ways. This is a different occurrence than what I hypothetically previously discussed. Some people believe property is the way to go instead of cards but if a gas station / service station had never changed it’s fuel tank therefore leading to a agency surveying property roughly 400 yards away, you just hope that the homes half the distance have no leaks in their pipes. I would be concerned about the restaurants that were next to that location as well.

Could that property have a false value do to a group not wanting others who are not selected in the group to know how bad the hidden issue is? A blowout member thought it was wise to put money into property, I believe it’s more wise instead of putting a Billion dollars into spy ware and instead put money into protecting those that increase the value of the company or those that use the company. That just might be a Brockovich type of case that could require lots of popcorn, but who would spend more money on spy ware than pennies on the spy ware dollar to protect these individuals ?

Hoping the next show in Kalamazoo has a great turnout.

Originally Posted by Stifle

Not much humor when taking a package to a home where the couple were extremely grateful it was delivered. Stage 4 cancer is never humorous. The property of that home was near a pond I’ve discussed. Hope she is still around, very nice lady and husband is the salt of the earth.

The Lansing show should be coming up, reminds me of a street down the road.

Good cause, but weird platform to spread your information.

[ScooterD]

Originally Posted by cholodolo

You do realize this is the exact same thing as the others, right?

They consistently say it is down/crashing. You consistently say it isn't. On every single page.

Doesn't really help the discussion at all.

Truth - did you tell Puddle and the others the same?

[kipgen]

Originally Posted by theshowandme

I’ve gone to every Chantilly show each day it’s been open for the last 6 years.

Next week I think I’m only going Sunday

Am I cooked?

No, in fact it is the hobby that is cooked

[mchenrycards]

As an old timer who has collected for the better part of 50 years I feel like I am a single voice shouting into the abyss.

The hobby isn't cooked. The hobby will go on but it just cannot sustain the prices that modern is or has been fetching. Sooner or later those that are paying crazy prices for artificially scarce cards will want a return on their investment and when they dont get that return, they will take the loss and move onto something else. We have seen this a million times in this hobby despite the predictions that this hobby will implode on itself.

I am a vintage collector by choice as it is, for the most part very affordable. I love ripping wax but will not pay the prices Topps is asking for their boxes. I am willing to wait it out as I fill the holes in my vintage sets.

This cycle will continue to happen over and over again.

[Stifle]

Originally Posted by ScooterD

Good cause, but weird platform to spread your information.

Another member mentioned that cards were not as safe as property. My reply is check the pipes of incoming water. It only seems weird when you don’t know the people who live in sketchy “contaminated” areas.

[ScooterD]

Originally Posted by Stifle

Another member mentioned that cards were not as safe as property. My reply is check the pipes of incoming water. It only seems weird when you don’t know the people who live in sketchy “contaminated” areas.

I don’t know what your talking about

[seanbros55]

Originally Posted by netmasters

The biggest surprise to me at small local shows now is how many people are actively promoting they're buying. Repackers/live sellers are definitely providing liquidity right now.

What are dealer buyers at card shows paying on average vs eBay comps?

[solt0131]

Originally Posted by seanbros55

What are dealer buyers at card shows paying on average vs eBay comps?

80 to 90 percent.

[seanbros55]

Originally Posted by solt0131

80 to 90 percent.

Thanks!

[cholodolo]

Originally Posted by solt0131

The ones saying it’s crashing go to zero shows and are totally clueless as to what is going on in the hobby. There’s a decent number of that go to several shows a month that give you more realistic information about what is really going on.

The truth is somewhere in between "hobby is dead" and "hobby is on fire".

From my personal experience, it's closer to dead than on fire.

Originally Posted by ScooterD

Truth - did you tell Puddle and the others the same?

Puddle Mono is reading in copy.

[shawnkrebs]

Originally Posted by theshowandme

I’ve gone to every Chantilly show each day it’s been open for the last 6 years.

Next week I think I’m only going Sunday

Am I cooked?

That's too bad. Im setting up in Chantilly for the first time in many years. Not much vintage, but we'll have some cool stuff.

[Galileo77]

Originally Posted by solt0131

The ones saying it’s crashing go to zero shows and are totally clueless as to what is going on in the hobby. There’s a decent number of that go to several shows a month that give you more realistic information about what is really going on.

I do not think much good comes out of a discussion where we talk about extremes -the market is either dead or on fire . Or whether those who go to shows know more about the market than those who buy exclusively from eBay and IG etc. I sell and buy like many of us on BO
and feel if I offer a buyer a excellent deal on a card they like the market is alive and well as ever. If I get greedy and try to charge unreasonable prices then its relatively dead market . Buyers i would say are more savvy they have many options to buy and sites like this one to hear different opinions about players -

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by Galileo77

I do not think much good comes out of a discussion where we talk about extremes -the market is either dead or on fire . Or whether those who go to shows know more about the market than those who buy exclusively from eBay and IG etc. I sell and buy like many of us on BO
and feel if I offer a buyer a excellent deal on a card they like the market is alive and well as ever. If I get greedy and try to charge unreasonable prices then its relatively dead market . Buyers i would say are more savvy they have many options to buy and sites like this one to hear different opinions about players -

The other issue is that there is no one "market".....there are instead hundreds of different smaller markets....and some of those may be doing well, while others are pretty dead.

[Galileo77]

Originally Posted by mfw13

The other issue is that there is no one "market".....there are instead hundreds of different smaller markets....and some of those may be doing well, while others are pretty dead.

absolutely true

[eastbayak]

Originally Posted by mfw13

The other issue is that there is no one "market".....there are instead hundreds of different smaller markets....and some of those may be doing well, while others are pretty dead.

Those who are doing well => hobby on fire
Those who are doing poorly => hobby is dead

Those who have money => can afford to participate in the hobby
Those who don't have money => complain or just watch others participate in the hobby

[PuddleMonkey]

Originally Posted by eastbayak

Those who are doing well => hobby on fire
Those who are doing poorly => hobby is dead

Those who have money => can afford to participate in the hobby
Those who don't have money => complain or just watch others participate in the hobby

Those who don't have money but still participate heavily in the market => bankruptcy

[boxbuster7]

[solt0131]

Originally Posted by PuddleMonkey

Those who don't have money but still participate heavily in the market => bankruptcy

Hey, wait a minute. I like to think I participate pretty heavily in the hobby!