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

[Neal]

Originally Posted by SupermanBrandon

Im fine with people carrying them around but the amount of space they take up on cases when Im trying to look at cards. Be courtious.

And some don't ask the dealer if they can rest them on the display case

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[SupermanBrandon]

Originally Posted by Neal

And some don't ask the dealer if they can rest them on the display case

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Ok boomer

[gabballplayer14]

Originally Posted by discodanman45

HGA, pelican cases, and AI!

https://youtu.be/JMqKJjMSgAI

This is pure comedy gold...I didnt stop laughing the entire time. A FAKE Tom Brady Auto? Oh well!

[notfast]

Originally Posted by Nester99

Or you could just stop trying to belittle and talk down to people in the hobby who use a carry case. It’s so cringe to read “peli bois” if you say it I think worse of you then I do of them.

I belittle people for other things like using knockoff brand pelican cases.

BUT It really is a convenient way to carry cards around if you have a lot of them and are showing them to people often.

I tried it once when I owned a bunch of cards. Too cumbersome for me. Backpack it is with the 5-10 cards I take to a show.

[FlyingDutchman]

Originally Posted by discodanman45

HGA, pelican cases, and AI!

https://youtu.be/JMqKJjMSgAI

I was laughing so much I kept missing parts…had to watch it a few times to catch everything

[thenightman]

Anyone going to the Arlington show tomorrow?

[Raleigh504]

Originally Posted by EldoEsq

Was at a show in Syracuse today...

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A YouTuber who looked at a collector's stuff (outside the venue) to buy was being threatened by the show promoter to take down his video or be sued. I guess the promoter said the guy promoted not buying a table and selling at shows even though he didn't.

It is a tricky area since people could sell to others in front of someone's table and block it or even try to raise/lower the price of the vendors item if another person has the same item. Really a promoter should have an area set aside for trades among guests and charge a flat fee to do it (like $1-$5).

[Raleigh504]

Originally Posted by ObanMontecristo

IMO, sellers just have to figure out who you’re selling to at shows vs. online.

This is 100% spot on. It may take some time or shift throughout the year for shows, but you have to know your audience. It is good to come with a variety of stuff, but selling at shows, it is best to have local teams/guys (college or pros), along with some HOF players and stars/hot RCs. Those seem to move the best at shows with some variety depending on year and actual location of the show.

[thenightman]

Notes from the Arlington show.

- I got there at 10am on Saturday. Spent my day in the main area. It got really busy around noon.

- Seller told me Friday night was completely dead.

- All football and basketball. Very little baseball and virtually nothing else.

- A lot of sellers' prices were above comps, but a few were definitely looking to deal and took comps into consideration. Had a seller offering $130 for an Optic Choice Holo Trae Young Rookie. Showed him comps that were a little over $50 and he took $45 for it.

- Deals to be had for sure, if you knew what you were looking for.

- Cash was king.

[ksemmel]

Originally Posted by thenightman

Notes from the Arlington show.

- I got there at 10am on Saturday. Spent my day in the main area. It got really busy around noon.

- Seller told me Friday night was completely dead.

- All football and basketball. Very little baseball and virtually nothing else.

- A lot of sellers' prices were above comps, but a few were definitely looking to deal and took comps into consideration. Had a seller offering $130 for an Optic Choice Holo Trae Young Rookie. Showed him comps that were a little over $50 and he took $45 for it.

- Deals to be had for sure, if you knew what you were looking for.

- Cash was king.

This will never make sense to me. Asking 2.5x what the card is worth is an easy way to get people walking away from your table quickly

[BlockShotStop]

Originally Posted by ksemmel

This will never make sense to me. Asking 2.5x what the card is worth is an easy way to get people walking away from your table quickly

Absolutely. When I see prices that out of whack, I just walk away and don't look at anything. Why would I want to go through the effort of trying to negotiate you down to a fair market price? It's exhausting and annoying. If you are going to sticker your cards, you should probably check prices before evert show. The market is very dynamic. Yesterday's price is not today's price and I'm not going to waste my time convincing you.

[HRderby22]

Originally Posted by BlockShotStop

Absolutely. When I see prices that out of whack, I just walk away and don't look at anything. Why would I want to go through the effort of trying to negotiate you down to a fair market price? It's exhausting and annoying. If you are going to sticker your cards, you should probably check prices before evert show. The market is very dynamic. Yesterday's price is not today's price and I'm not going to waste my time convincing you.

It's even better when they view a realistic competitive offer as "less than 50% of my ask".

[theshowandme]

Value boxes should not have $2 Alec Bohm base cards in them

[mwash1983]

Originally Posted by HRderby22

It's even better when they view a realistic competitive offer as "less than 50% of my ask".

Or better yet, don’t have anything marked on cards and when someone is interested they look on their phone for the price and then ask 500% of what it’s going for on eBay.

[SupermanBrandon]

Went to my local Nashville 100 table show this past Saturday. More of the same re: good amount of people, nobody buying the high end, lots of people digging thru value boxes, very little money exchanging hands. Saw a couple (highend) guys packing up at 11AM and leaving.

What amazes me about these shows, still...the amount of basketball and football compared to baseball. There's highend & lowend of both bball and football in every showcase. There's barely any great modern baseball stuff, ever...year round. PSA is grading more baseball than any other sport. Is baseball stuff just stuck in actual collections? Ive always thought of it that way, but its really showing some truth..imo.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by SupermanBrandon

Went to my local Nashville 100 table show this past Saturday. More of the same re: good amount of people, nobody buying the high end, lots of people digging thru value boxes, very little money exchanging hands. Saw a couple (highend) guys packing up at 11AM and leaving.

What amazes me about these shows, still...the amount of basketball and football compared to baseball. There's highend & lowend of both bball and football in every showcase. There's barely any great modern baseball stuff, ever...year round. PSA is grading more baseball than any other sport. Is baseball stuff just stuck in actual collections? Ive always thought of it that way, but its really showing some truth..imo.

I think baseball is perceived as being undervalued compared to the other sports. Dealers will show off what they are trying to move, and plus it’s the baseball offseason so why sell low?

[SupermanBrandon]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

I think baseball is perceived as being undervalued compared to the other sports. Dealers will show off what they are trying to move, and plus it’s the baseball offseason so why sell low?

Its like that year round at the shows I attend.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by SupermanBrandon

Its like that year round at the shows I attend.

Do you have newer dealers who set up? Many of the newer slab collectors are into fb and bk because those have been the hotter sports the last few years.

Most dealers who get into breaks have done more fb and bk as well.

Many older school dealers have more baseball, but not the shiny new stuff.

A lot of the prospectors won’t bring out cards until their guy gets hot.

Bowman has been too expensive recently for any dealer to bust and flip, so they simply don’t carry as much supply.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Went to the show in Xenia, Ohio this past weekend. I always love that show. Fairly large with lots of vintage and always plenty of Reds for my PC.

I ended up finishing my Frank Robinson run, getting my Bench and Seaver runs within 1 card of completion each, and picking up a few more PC items. I was happy with the result.

[37Jetson]

Somebody is doing their best Jim Hawkins Impersonation. Jim is/was one of the biggest jerks in the hobby. I was talking to a friend a couple of steps back from his table showing off what I bought and he came out from behind the table like a maniac screaming that Carpet Baggers like me were ruining his shows.

Originally Posted by EldoEsq

Was at a show in Syracuse today...
/
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[gmoney328]

Originally Posted by 37Jetson

Somebody is doing their best Jim Hawkins Impersonation. Jim is/was one of the biggest jerks in the hobby. I was talking to a friend a couple of steps back from his table showing off what I bought and he came out from behind the table like a maniac screaming that Carpet Baggers like me were ruining his shows.

Lol. Carpetbaggers.

[thenightman]

Originally Posted by ksemmel

This will never make sense to me. Asking 2.5x what the card is worth is an easy way to get people walking away from your table quickly

He told me he hadn’t looked up comps lately and I had just heard him telling his partner that he was wanting cash-money. I already had him holding a stack of cards, so I looked up the comps and showed him that it was selling between $50-$60. I offered $45 and he agreed. I then bought a few more cards from the guy.

[BlockShotStop]

Originally Posted by SupermanBrandon

Its like that year round at the shows I attend.

I have this experience also. There's always one "Bowman Chrome" guy who has nothing but 1st autos. But other than that, mid- to high-end ultra modern baseball seems relatively scarce.

[theshowandme]

Walk around any show and find the one or two 2009 BCA Mike Trout cards.

Then go find the 50+ autos each of Burrow, Herbert, Allen, Luka, Zion, Ja, etc. out there.

The good baseball stuff is being kept close to heart.

Is there anything "Blue Chip" from basketball/football from modern outside Lebron/Steph and Brady?

[notfast]

Originally Posted by theshowandme

Walk around any show and find the one or two 2009 BCA Mike Trout cards.

Then go find the 50+ autos each of Burrow, Herbert, Allen, Luka, Zion, Ja, etc. out there.

The good baseball stuff is being kept close to heart.

Is there anything "Blue Chip" from basketball/football from modern outside Lebron/Steph and Brady?

Basketball and football are more popular right now.

I would go to the Philly show in 2020-21 and there would be 3 (non auction showcase) t206 Ty Cobbs.

There was probably 25-50 at the show last week.

Times change.