Card shows are depressing for collectors

[Pierce09]

I had a long rant planned to explain my logic but no point.

Booths don't care about value or paying market rates unless its one of a dozen cards that everyone is trading at the moment. If they could sell pencils they would. It's about buy and sell, liquidate and make money.

As a collector (and I realize that sounds pompous, but as someone who buys, holds, and keeps) there is very little reason to go to card shows. Stick to eBay and build instagram groups of people who collect what you do. It cost me $50 in Dallas (parking + pass) just to get in the door. meh.

It kind of feels like this

[JMStang]

What show was it? There are local shows around that cheaper and fun. I’m in Frisco btw.


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[Pierce09]

The Dallas Card Show.

[JMStang]

Ok, that one is fun to walk around. Agree with the sentiment on the dealers though. There is a smaller Frisco one. Might have better luck there. Went one they had and it was packed but sounded like a lot of deals being done.

https://friscosportscardshow.tickets...portscard-show


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[ThoseBackPages]

same as it ever was

if your goal in this hobby is to be alone, get the cards you want and at best, live on the internet, then there is no reason to go to shows.

But if you want to make life long friendships, develop networking (to find the stuff you collect), and to have a good time, then shows are better than the internet

[Nomad]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

same as it ever was

if your goal in this hobby is to be alone, get the cards you want and at best, live on the internet, then there is no reason to go to shows.

But if you want to make life long friendships, develop networking (to find the stuff you collect), and to have a good time, then shows are better than the internet

I am also guessing there is a big difference between someone coming in and saying ,"look through my cards for something to buy" and engaging with what they have on display. Im sure there are trade opportunities and actually you can ask dealers to keep their heads up for certain high end players' cards or specific sets. And then, voila, they will be buying beyond the hot list, taking their 20 percent in the process.

[sethc1020]

There are still good dealers out there but they are getting harder and harder to find.

[mrb842]

I enjoy local shows. All kinds of random people with random interests and no shipping or taxes. There's no suites or sky boxes or nosebleeds at shows. Everyone walks the same floors.

[dengbang]

I used to collect online exclusively. It was great for me at the time but going to and setting up at shows unlocks another aspect of the hobby that you can't find online. When I set up at shows, I enjoy the stories and chats about the the hobby and basketball in general more so than the transactions.

[Kobefan]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

same as it ever was

if your goal in this hobby is to be alone, get the cards you want and at best, live on the internet, then there is no reason to go to shows.

But if you want to make life long friendships, develop networking (to find the stuff you collect), and to have a good time, then shows are better than the internet

Not necessarily true. Some folks may appreciate collecting more than socializing, but that doesn't make them anti-social. From my experience, the biggest disadvantage for shows is the lack of variety, when compared to the inventories online. Many collectors are looking for only certain specific cards from specific years, sets, and/or players, rather than looking to buy underpriced cards for flipping, as such, those folks would not find the things they want from a show, so it's understandable to be disappointed, even if they make connections at a card show.

[hermanotarjeta]

Going to shows make you visually shocked by just how many cards are out there. Makes you wonder if anything anyone owns truly is special, and it’s kinda depressing.

[rogueriver]

I agree the Dallas Show is one of the worst for this reason. I too am from north Texas and see the same thing. I can’t even find a good shop around Dallas. Every time it seems I go into one up here it is full of brand new over priced sigles overpriced hobby and retail boxes. They are all either on their phones or doing live breaks from the store. I went to one last week and asked for some prices on some boxes and they handed me a printed menu, wtf happened to good old fashioned customer service. No more good shows and no more good old fashioned card shop where the people actually care about cards, it seems like all they care about anymore is the newest break…..sorry for the long vent

[nbahobbyaddict]

The title of this thread is misleading and wildly distorted. Tons of collectors love going to shows and have a great time there. The national has become so popular that you can barely move through it. And there are many other card shows that collectors look forward to going to on a regular basis, including Dallas.

[Hess687]

Originally Posted by nbahobbyaddict

The total of this thread is misleading and wildly distorted. Tons of collectors love going to shows and have a great time there. The national has become so popular that you can barely move through it. And there are many other card shows that collectors look forward to going to on a regular basis, including Dallas.

Take it easy, Debbie Downer.....

[drobfan8]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

Going to shows make you visually shocked by just how many cards are out there. Makes you wonder if anything anyone owns truly is special, and it’s kinda depressing.

And just wait until Fanatics ramps up the presses.

About to get crazy

[smanzari]

Originally Posted by Pierce09

Booths don't care about value or paying market rates unless its one of a dozen cards that everyone is trading at the moment.

No Dealer is going to pay "market rates" - its a business and that's how they make their money (by selling at "market rates")

[auctionjmm]

Originally Posted by smanzari

No Dealer is going to pay "market rates" - its a business and that's how they make their money (by selling at "market rates")

Not to mention the cost of the booth and if they have paid employees working the booth. OP paid $50 but what are the dealers paying to setup for a weekend? Of course it's buy and sell, liquidate and make money. What the heck else would a dealer be doing at a show?

[rhigh2390]

Originally Posted by smanzari

No Dealer is going to pay "market rates" - its a business and that's how they make their money (by selling at "market rates")

If only most dealers sold for market rates. I find it pretty crazy how many guys try to sell for double what comps are. I think they just have so much inventory that they don't care if they sit on stuff for a long time.

[BaseRookieCards]

I stopped going to shows around here. Everything is marked way up and most of what is selling are people selling to other sellers to try to flip. So, you have a buyer trying to offer below comps in order to flip and a seller wanting to sell at 25-50 percent above comps. No collector involvement at all. I've had some success, as a collector, working with sellers to negotiate a reasonable price but I don't collect ultra-modern, so I'm typically working with cards with prices that are relatively stable and not overly liquid. But, mostly, the displays are full of Pokemon and ultra-modern for this reason.

The other reason is something that is indicative of a healthy show in that shows like the Minnesota Sports Card Show and even our monthly Twin Cities Sports Card Collectors Group shows are very busy. Not a lot of breathing room, space, opportunity to interact. I can't tell you how many times I was talking with a seller when a person flopped his pelican case onto a seller's display case and interrupts to ask if the seller is buying (a pet peeve of mine, by the way -- keep your heavy pelican case off my display and don't block the view of others that want to browse).

For me, a person that buys mostly 1980s through early 2000s, and sometimes older vintage, shows aren't the best place to buy.

[ninjabum87]

LCS and shows in general are bad for my own sports collecting purposes. I usually only collect SSPs of specific players unless an impulse buy comes over me. Usually those cards just get tossed on ebay I find. If you are looking for prizm silver/choice disco level cards, though they're okay I guess.

Now for pokemon where you find even the rare chase cards everywhere I like going to LCS cause I always find something fun.

[Nomad]

Seems to me that the Fanatics show was less crowded and hence more talking opportunities? Maybe they need a different metric for accepting and placing dealers? While cutting the monotonous corporate aesthetic.

You could literally have a flippers room or floor. All the slab-only singles for easy access and movement. Get that boiler room vibe going. And then have another area for small-end browsing and endless conversation about, you know, John Havlicek's career with the Ohio State Buckeyes.

They are both dynamic parts of the hobby. As people age out of one they gravitate toward another. Today's Paulo trader is tomorrow's rainbow collector.

Price tables differently based on niche as well. Some of the most interesting setups probably don't generate enough margin to pay current prices at big shows.

[Boo]

Who doesn’t like seeing a bunch of fat old guys trying to rip off other fat old guys?

[Nomad]

Ah I forgot the fat old guy thing. That needs to go. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[nbahobbyaddict]

Originally Posted by Hess687

Take it easy, Debbie Downer.....

Haha I know. It's difficult to be positive on BO.

[Dereth]

I'm going to be moving to Dallas in about a month. Is there a FB page or some other resource that you guys use to find card shows?