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

[swerve]

Foot traffic at the Austin Card Show seemed to be on the lighter side this past weekend. However, I think it was a result of F1 being in town, it was nice weather over the weekend and probably a little fatigue from ACL the previous two weekends.

[MavsRChamps]

Originally Posted by f2tornado

It's far from dead in the Midwest but it's definitely not a focal point at most shows. There's still a lot of people like me that don't care about the three and four figure slabbed stuff in showcases and enjoy digging for diamonds in the rough. My problem is decent bargain boxes are becoming a less common sight at card shows as they become slab cities and Pokémon binder bonanzas. But, it really does just take one bargain bin dealer to make my day. They don't have to be extreme deals either. I'm perfectly content loading up on a pile of 50 cent box stuff where I can land a few gems for PSA, maybe flip a few on eBay for a few bucks to offset expenses, and send the rest to COMC for a slow profit.

Makes sense. I do well at shows with $10 - $50 stuff, or even higher. What I am seeing though in Philly / NJ area is that there are SO MANY SHOWS, and also new shows popping up too, and some of these shows have 100+ tables which all leads to supply of cards / dealers is getting to be higher than people actually looking to spend money / buy (in other words customer/dealer ratio is shrinking). Most of the people that buy from me are other dealers at shows at this point.

[f2tornado]

Originally Posted by MavsRChamps

Makes sense. I do well at shows with $10 - $50 stuff, or even higher. What I am seeing though in Philly / NJ area is that there are SO MANY SHOWS, and also new shows popping up too, and some of these shows have 100+ tables which all leads to supply of cards / dealers is getting to be higher than people actually looking to spend money / buy (in other words customer/dealer ratio is shrinking). Most of the people that buy from me are other dealers at shows at this point.

Likewise in puny North Dakota where shows outside of Fargo and occasionally Bismarck were very rare a couple years go. Now they are seen in Grand Forks, Minot, Dickinson, and even Podunk (New Town). The Twin Cities, Minnesota area can have two or three shows on any given weekend. That's definitely going to spread the money around but almost every show I go to is very well attended. Your $10-50 action is probably more like $5-20 action in these parts where people might have a little less cash than the East Coast types. One plus is all these added shows bring out new dealers so I don't have to dig through the same crap I did at the previous show. Dealers are definitely shopping in these parts too and they might be my biggest bargain bin competition... the, "what do you want for the entire box" people that my wallet or available time cannot compete with.

I suppose I'm just another dealer but one that only sells in the digital space. I got out of setting up at shows in the mid 90s when they fell out of favor. I don't keep enough inventory these days to get back into it. I do miss the trades and cash deals but enjoy my time just poking around the show floor.

[thepilluh]

For me, I don't go value box diving, because frankly, I don't have the time. I was at the Chantilly show both Friday and Saturday this past weekend. With as many tables they have, I did half the tables Friday and half the tables Saturday, and that was just looking at showcases and getting a few autographs. I was there probably 2 hours Friday, and 5 hours Saturday. Not much time after that to go value box diving.

Will say, the amount of tables this go around at CSA that didn't price their cards at all seems to have grown. I skip those tables as again, it's a matter of time allotment. I don't know if they guy is way overpriced, reasonable, or above what I want to spend on modern cards, and so i find it easier to go on to the next dealer that does price their cards.

[hermanotarjeta]

My guy who usually buys everything and anything is low on cash and can’t buy anymore.

Not a good sign for things to come.

[boxbuster7]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

My guy who usually buys everything and anything is low on cash and can’t buy anymore.

Not a good sign for things to come.

maybe he shouldn't have bought all those wander franco psa 10s

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

My guy who usually buys everything and anything is low on cash and can’t buy anymore.

Not a good sign for things to come.

he may be an outlier

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

he may be an outlier

I hope so.

He says eBay is really slow and shows are a disappointment.

Then again, he doesn’t really dabble in pokemon.

[ThoseBackPages]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

I hope so.

He says eBay is really slow and shows are a disappointment.

Then again, he doesn’t really dabble in pokemon.

yea, sounds like he is out of touch

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

yea, sounds like he is out of touch

He probably doesn’t grind hard enough.

[solt0131]

The Chantilly show was solid. Friday and Saturday were good like always and Sunday was pretty slow as we expected. Attendance did seem to be down a little bit most likely because of the weather. Still was a decent amount of people that were spending money on sports cards like usual. It's a shame if that show doesn't continue forward.....

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

My guy who usually buys everything and anything is low on cash and can’t buy anymore.

Not a good sign for things to come.

You’ve #@#@#@#@ed up if you don’t have free cash flow.

[Aribasebal]

I set up a few times a year and put out dollar bin boxes as well as showcases and what I've noticed lately is it's all about PSA graded cards. All anyone asks when coming up to my table was what slabs do you have and completely avoiding the dollar bins.

[ddearing]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

My guy who usually buys everything and anything is low on cash and can’t buy anymore.

Not a good sign for things to come.

I'll be your new guy.

I set up at Chantilly this past weekend. Typical, solid good show. My inventory is a bit depleted recently, but still had good sales volume on what I took. All my Ohtani autos and 2018 baseball wax (none of which sold on Friday) were all snatched up first thing Saturday morning after his big night on Friday at full sticker price. No objection from me.

I am trying to aggressively purchase new inventory, and picked up some cool things this weekend, but not nearly enough. I am just fighting too many people in the room trying to buy the same things.

I did decide to buy a new Buying sign. My current one says "Buying 75-85%" and I think I am losing out to the guys with the "Buying 90%" signs. I know for a fact that I am paying as much or more than they are for the same cards, so time for a new sign. The only things they are typically buying at 90% are Jordan Rookies & autos, Mahomes autos, Brady autos, etc. Everything else, they are paying the same or less than me, so time for a new sign. I am happy to pay 90% on Jordan autos, etc.

[ScooterD]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

You’ve #@#@#@#@ed up if you don’t have free cash flow.

One of the bigger buyers at our LCS has been in a coma (hospital care) for 3 months because he got hit by a drunk driver at noon on a Sunday while driving to a local show. He and his wife don’t have free cash flow because the insurance companies (6 of them) are fighting it out while he is accruing extensive medical bills.

Should I tell his wife that they “#@#@#@#@ed up,” or should I wait until he wakes up to tell him?

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by ScooterD

One of the bigger buyers at our LCS has been in a coma (hospital care) for 3 months because he got hit by a drunk driver at noon on a Sunday while driving to a local show. He and his wife don’t have free cash flow because the insurance companies (6 of them) are fighting it out while he is accruing extensive medical bills.

Should I tell his wife that they “#@#@#@#@ed up,” or should I wait until he wakes up to tell him?

Since I know this system well, I’m going to help your friend out.

1. Have the wife find a lawyer.
2. If she already has a lawyer, find a new one.
3. Have the lawyer speak with the hospitals’ and privately contracted groups on their behalf to negotiate deferred payment plans.
4. If payments are due and they don’t have the money, any good plaintiffs lawyer will front the money in a case like this.

Lastly, my comment was in response to a guy who is trying to buy cards and has run out of money. Look where you took it dude. You see my name and the KDS cripples you. Jesus.

[ScooterD]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

Since I know this system well, I’m going to help your friend out.

1. Have the wife find a lawyer.
2. If she already has a lawyer, find a new one.
3. Have the lawyer speak with the hospitals’ and privately contracted groups on their behalf to negotiate deferred payment plans.
4. If payments are due and they don’t have the money, any good plaintiffs lawyer will front the money in a case like this.

Lastly, my comment was in response to a guy who is trying to buy cards and has run out of money. Look where you took it dude. You see my name and the KDS cripples you. Jesus.

Wouldn’t it have been more accurate to just start your initial statement with “in most circumstances…”? I know that you post what you want, but you aren’t very good at posting what you actually mean.

No big deal - you do you




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

You’ve #@#@#@#@ed up if you don’t have free cash flow.

The scariest thing is that he asked if I had any Ohtani after claiming no funds. I said no, then he reiterated his lack of funds.

It’s disturbing that some would willingly go into debt to purchase cards they believe they can flip immediately.

Sometimes the reckless get margin called.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by ddearing

I'll be your new guy.

I set up at Chantilly this past weekend. Typical, solid good show. My inventory is a bit depleted recently, but still had good sales volume on what I took. All my Ohtani autos and 2018 baseball wax (none of which sold on Friday) were all snatched up first thing Saturday morning after his big night on Friday at full sticker price. No objection from me.

I am trying to aggressively purchase new inventory, and picked up some cool things this weekend, but not nearly enough. I am just fighting too many people in the room trying to buy the same things.

I did decide to buy a new Buying sign. My current one says "Buying 75-85%" and I think I am losing out to the guys with the "Buying 90%" signs. I know for a fact that I am paying as much or more than they are for the same cards, so time for a new sign. The only things they are typically buying at 90% are Jordan Rookies & autos, Mahomes autos, Brady autos, etc. Everything else, they are paying the same or less than me, so time for a new sign. I am happy to pay 90% on Jordan autos, etc.

I am glad to hear some people are willing to grind. I’m having less sympathy for the lazy.

[Twalk1975]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

You’ve #@#@#@#@ed up if you don’t have free cash flow.

Won't you please think of my mental health and just cut this one short before you get into the virtue signaling and punching down at the poor?

[theshowandme]

definitely a lot of poors setting up recently but the smart ones are doing well