2018 Cleveland National Report - Sneak Peak, Round 2 and Round 3 is LIVE [Archive]

bounce

08-01-2018, 10:38 PM

I've done daily write-ups for the National on another site for the past couple years, thought folks who couldn't make it might enjoy reading/seeing what's going on so thought I'd post here this year as well.

And here...we...go.

I booked my trip to the National this year pretty late - literally just less than two weeks ago. I have to confess, Cleveland just didn't sound or feel like a great place to attend. I've never been here before, so I had no real basis for the feeling, but the thought of Cleveland did absolutely nothing to get me excited about the show this year. However, a couple consecutive rough weeks at work and it was clear I needed a break. I really enjoy the cards and memorabilia, even if just looking, so I decided to book the trip.

I arrived early Tuesday night so I could get settled in, and saw this at the airport.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/bXR0uDE"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/bXR0uDEl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

Gotta be a great sign of how awesome and lucky this show is going to be, right? I mean this was at a freaking AIRPORT!

I goofed around Wednesday morning and early afternoon, as the show was officially open 4-8pm today so no real hurry to start standing in line for no good reason. VIPs get in 30 minutes early each day. Speaking of VIPs...I was fortunate this year to get a VIP pass from a friend of mine who ended up not being able to attend. I've gotten the VIP pass myself the past three years, but at this point I have to completely honest with you - I doubt there are many other times when you'd feel like LESS of a VIP than at the National. When you break it down, the daily admission is $19 in advance, so $95 for the week. I think the VIP passes start at $140 or so. Primary benefits appear to me to be the 30 minute early admission, and access to some free autographs and the VIP lounge. While those are nice, in four years I've never gotten a single one of the autographs and I've visited the lounge sparingly. That 30 minutes is about enough to visit maybe a couple rows of tables, so unless you know there's something that you've got to get to (I'm sure many would say the BBCE booth), I don't really think it's worth the extra money. My view is that the VIP tickets are just a way to squeeze an extra $50 out of you to attend the show - there is no real tangible benefit. Yes, I got some cards, too, but there's nothing in there that's rare and the free autographs are not anyone you'd much care about. I guess I can post pictures of the cards tomorrow.

Here's the view of the front of the show and the VIP lounge access. It was so packed in the VIP lounge, only a few tables to sit at (which were all filled) and long lines for the autographs (I think most people were there for Mike Hargrove?), I walked in and turned and walked back out.

[<a href="https://imgur.com/dIUk59b"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/dIUk59bl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/KU1ycHc"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/KU1ycHcl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

The hall itself is nice and big and spacious. Seems to me it is actually nicer than Chicago, and food/drink amenities are definitely better which should come in handy tomorrow. The layout seems a little different than Chicago, but I only made it halfway through today so don't that for a fact just yet. Unlike Chicago, there weren't stairs anywhere I saw to get more of an aerial view of the show, so these will just have to do.

[<a href="https://imgur.com/S9yg55E"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/S9yg55El.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/JfrCooR"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/JfrCooRl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/pLV7Ifd"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/pLV7Ifdl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/gH37MWl"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/gH37MWll.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

I did not make it to the BBCE booth until right before show close, so unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that share today.
The bit I did see looked pretty good, though, and I'm sure there are plenty of great items still available so check back in tomorrow for that. There was an $80,000 case of something, and looks like they were running daily specials as well.

bounce

08-01-2018, 10:39 PM

In terms of cool stuff I saw, the following is what caught my eye. In the half of the show I got through today, I'd say the biggest volume was modern stuff, mostly baseball and basketball. Virtually everything was autographs, almost to the point where if I didn't know any better I would think the everything modern was signed.

That said, here was a pretty impressive unsigned card - Trout superfractor. Ask is $200,000 - WHAT?!?!?
[<a href="https://imgur.com/PkFixzV"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/PkFixzVl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

Nice looking Mantle I thought. Ask is $45,000.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/mdQbBh8"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/mdQbBh8l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

For you unopened fiends, I did run across a table that had what looked like to some solid unopened. I didn't really pay attention to prices, just thought they looked cool.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/CXamOHj"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/CXamOHjl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/sXSFSq4"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/sXSFSq4l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/zzTGKOT"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/zzTGKOTl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/dnKg0js"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/dnKg0jsl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/8mvnH9G"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/8mvnH9Gl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

I also saw this display, although I must admit one item in here seemed awfully out of place. Pretty "official" looking authentication, no? :wink:

[<a href="https://imgur.com/sXSFSq4"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/sXSFSq4l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/ruUkKva"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/ruUkKval.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

I also ran across this, and instantly knew what and who it was.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/fn98in3"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/fn98in3l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

Yes, today I got to meet the junk wax card cutting artist, Tim. I have to say, his stuff is even more impressive in person and he's a really interesting and nice guy. Again, these creations are unlike anything else you've ever seen, and it's kind of fun to watch him cut some of the cards up and put the pieces in place. Really unique, and again a super nice guy. He answered basically every question I asked about how he did it, how he picks the colors from the cards for the pieces, etc. Just check these out, if you've seen the other threads you now how cool some of the others are as well.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/KnKZ9kS"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/KnKZ9kSl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

In the art theme, I saw these late in the day, too. While I'm not really an art collector, I could easily see how some people would be drawn to these types of items. Again, in person they are so much better than in pictures.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/l7pFC5z"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/l7pFC5zl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/QTnb3Vh"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/QTnb3Vhl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/cbebdQG"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/cbebdQGl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

bounce

08-01-2018, 10:39 PM

Most of you know Jeff and the Card Country crew, as well as Brady who sets up in their same pod. If you know them, you don't need me to tell you how nice they are or how great their cards are, so I'm not going to do that. I will share one photo form their pod, just because I think the Lajoie Goudey is a super cool card.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/nVhAJ1r"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/nVhAJ1rl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

Couple of other interesting cases that I saw. The first is full of turn of the century tobacco cards of various people. I don't know much about the issue, etc. but there were all kinds of subjects like Mark Twain, various Presidents and other famous people from the era. I had not seen a lot of these types of cards before, and considering many were from 1901 or so, it was just impressive they were still around in decent condition like this. The old tobacco packs were also pretty cool.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/sJhpB4v"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/sJhpB4vl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

And finally, some pretty impressive cardboard and a turn of the century Cracker Jack box. According to this dealer, this box slightly pre-dates the cards, but again just not something you see very often and it caught my eye.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/brU2Jkt"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/brU2Jktl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

Before I comment on what seemed like the overall tone of the "market" today...I did actually get on the board today with a purchase. As some of you know, I collect almost everything - modern and vintage cards, autographs and memorabilia, I have a little bit of everything. I do have a list of what I'm primarily looking for, and didn't see much of it today, but because I hit a lot of different areas there's always something for me to find. Last year it took me almost two days to finally get on the board, but today it only took about 90 minutes. This is a Calvin Coolidge autographed White House card. I've always liked his signature, and this one is pretty clean. Nice addition to my Presidents autograph collection.

bounce

08-01-2018, 10:40 PM

Brief comment on tone of the market and pricing. I personally did NOT see a lot of buying action today, but when I did it was more of the modern cards. Rare Trout RCs were selling pretty well, things like the 2011 Update parallels (especially the red border), and lot of people were asking about the Chrome refractors and base autos.

In terms of pricing, in general I would say I was pretty disappointed today. Every single dealer that bothered to price their cards (so many of them still don't even bother) had them priced IN MY OPINION at least 20% or more over current market. Many of the dealers price them on the back, so you have to ask to find out but at least in those cases there is a price they can quote you. There are still plenty of dealers who can't even do that, which is a huge turnoff to me now. However, except for a couple of Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax rookies I asked about, virtually every other price quote was so high it almost couldn't even be countered. Couple of specific examples, I've been looking for a nice 1948 Leaf Jackie Robinson. I saw a couple of nice looking 5s today, they weren't perfect centering by any means but they were nice looking cards. VCP is $4,360 on a 5, highest price in 2 years is right at $6,000 - two asks today were $7,000 and $6,750. Again, these cards did not qualify as high end by any stretch. When you're more than $2,000 above a normal selling price, which is around 50% higher than that average price, you're just not inviting a counter - you're basically saying I'm not here to sell, I'm just here to show.

There is also another 10-15% of the booths that I honestly have no idea how they even cover the cost of their booths. I don't collect everything, obviously, but I collect enough different things that it's really tough to not have even something I might be interested in. But there are booths like this. Again, honestly no idea how they make any money and wondering if they just setup to have something to do because they certainly aren't busy selling much if anything.

Finally, I will wrap today with probably the dumbest three things I heard. I'm hoping this gives folks at least a small chuckle.

1) Gentleman at a booth as me and another customer start to ask for prices on some vintage graded cards:
"This isn't my booth. Let me call him, I'm just sitting here." - NOTE TO BOOTH OWNER, if you aren't available and you don't price your cards, you probably can't sell them. This happened less than 20 minutes into the show opening.

2) Couple of young-ish guys who were sharing part of a pod. This pair was definitely past college age, but reminded me of this newer generation and how much I just don't understand them. I could have never done this, despite however much economic sense it may make. And their cases were full of modern basketball cards priced anywhere from $100 to $5,000 each.
Dude 1 - "I'm back with my parents."
Dude 2 - "Do you pay rent?"
Dude 1 - "No, so I can just stash away."
Dude 2 - "Yeah man, why not? Just have to obey a few rules?"
Dude 1 - "Yeah, it's not a big hassle and they cook for me to, so why not?"

3) Young guy showing off an impressive Stockton autograph card, and discussing prices with one of the dealers. The dealer is a guy I've seen each year, and he has some really nice stuff but it's always overpriced. I didn't get a good look at the card but I really think it was a 2003-04 Exquisite Number Pieces autograph numbered out of /12 - you can find it on eBay, it was listed for $12k but didn't sell.
Stockton Owner - "Yeah, the prices are really crazy on some of this stuff."
Dealer - "Yes, sometimes I price things and I think it's high and I come back in the morning and it's already been bought now."
Stockton Owner - "I know what you mean. I listed the card for like $10,000 and was scared to death someone might actually buy it."
LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING RIGHT NOW - unless John Stockton is the one who is trying to give you ONLY $10,000 for that card, you should take that money from literally anyone else who would give it to you and run immediately to the bank and deposit it before they change their minds.

Okay gang - that's it from me today. I will be at it again first thing tomorrow, and will get you the BBCE pics that I know so many of you are longing to see. They have some 1957 football I may need for my set. :smile:

08-01-2018, 11:24 PM

Fantastic recap, David. Thank you!

BruceinGa

08-02-2018, 05:09 AM

Thanks for the report and great pics! Maybe I'll make it there in the future.

ullmandds

08-02-2018, 05:17 AM

sounds like a typical national!!!! this year...like most...i have little expectation of finding/buying much of anything...it will be a social trip while viewing showcases of museum pieces!

Leon

08-02-2018, 06:31 AM

sounds like a typical national!!!! this year...like most...i have little expectation of finding/buying much of anything...it will be a social trip while viewing showcases of museum pieces!

+1 the way it's been for me for around the last 5-8 yrs.

Great write up, Bounce. Thanks so much!!

insidethewrapper

08-02-2018, 07:32 AM

Should just call it "The Traveling Sports Card Hall of Fame" and take it to various cities. Most dealers are not their to sell anything. No prices, not at table, no greeting etc. I stopped going .
Note: Report on attendance as the week progresses. I don't believe the show will give that information.

sgbernard

08-02-2018, 07:57 AM

Great post! Thanks

kailes2872

08-02-2018, 08:16 AM

Thanks for the update. I am driving over tomorrow from Pittsburgh. I went in '14 and to AC in '16. The AC trip was a disappointment as I felt that I got through everything in half of a day. I was trying to decide if I wanted to deal with tolls, gas and admission to look at cards at nose bleed prices. I finally relented as I figured it would be no different than going to the baseball hall of fame - as I will look at my favorite cards and memorabilia and take some pictures.

How things have changed for me... In '14, we did two days with a hotel mixed in. I took the boys. We had backpacks full of stuff to trade or sell (we didn't end up getting rid of anything and ended up taking it back to the car and putting it in the trunk). I bought a few things that I didn't need at prices that I justified by the fact that I had the cards in hand.

I didn't even go to the Strongsville or Pittsburgh shows this year. I am in a unique spot where the want list right now is narrow but not rare - so they are always available, it is just a matter of when I want to pull the trigger.

aconte

08-02-2018, 08:44 AM

Thank you for an excellent write-up!

AGuinness

08-02-2018, 08:56 AM

Fun read, thanks!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

SMPEP

08-02-2018, 09:08 AM

My annual reminder of why I won't go back to the national until they bring it back to the West Coast. BRING BACK ANAHIEM!!!!!!!

Cheers,
Patrick

ibuysportsephemera

08-02-2018, 09:11 AM

Great review...please keep them coming.

Jeff

Neal

08-02-2018, 09:21 AM

Good stuff, thanks for sharing!

calvindog

08-02-2018, 10:40 AM

I was there from 10-7 yesterday. The Cleveland floor/food/spacing is significantly better than Chicago and Baltimore Nationals. While the IX Center is not attached to the airport or any hotel, it's five mins away and not a problem to get back and forth. I'd pick Cleveland ahead of the other cities just for the actual floor walking experience. The hotels are dumps but adequate if you're mostly there to see cards. Nearby restaurants are fine+ for dinner.

I didn't see much extraordinarily different material than what I'm used to from other Nationals but pretty much you can find something you want or need.

Just picked up a couple of items: a Seattle Pilots ashtray which I'm giddy about and this Hoss Radbourn Red Stockings Cigar card from Glen Mechanick who, year in and out, has the most interesting cards/material on the floor and is a pleasure to speak to and deal with (a pearl before swine in the dealer pool).

Spent some time with Brian Dwyer of REA who is a serious, hard-working dude. Head and shoulders ahead of what you'd expect from an auction house owner these days, Joe T and Dan McKee who are always great to see, and Deplorable Dewolf who took me out for some great dinners. I'm looking forward to next year in Chicago.

insidethewrapper

08-02-2018, 01:22 PM

Do you have to be a dealer to set up at the National or can a collector set up and sell parts of their collection ?

packs

08-02-2018, 01:40 PM

What do you mean? If you want table space you'd have to pay for it. If you see someone at a table advertising that they're buying, you're free to see if you can make a sale.

Jason

08-02-2018, 01:53 PM

I agree with bounce. I have been a fan of Tim's card artwork from afar and after seeing him working on a sweet Thome for myself I have to say im very impressed. I will have to sacrifice some extra cards one day and purchase one of those masterpieces. Any guess who the subject/card would be??

bobbyw8469

08-02-2018, 02:52 PM

Cool writeup. I laughed out loud about the dealer who thought he had gold in his John Stockton card.

samosa4u

08-02-2018, 03:53 PM

I love this thread! Thank you!

Peter_Spaeth

08-02-2018, 04:38 PM

DR nice report. Year after year we hear the same thing, almost nobody prices at a point where an educated cost-conscious collector would buy, everyone wants to hit the home run against the guy who doesn't know better. Oh well.

Those turn of the century cards look mostly like Ogdens to me, and/or Felix Potins, for the most part very plentiful.

lloydchristmas

08-02-2018, 05:50 PM

Thanks for the show report, Dave! I just got into town, can’t wait to see everything tomorrow.

As an aside, if anyone wants to grab a beer or something like, now, send me a PM.

h2oya311

08-03-2018, 12:02 AM

Just picked up a couple of items: a Seattle Pilots ashtray which I'm giddy about and this Hoss Radbourn Red Stockings Cigar card from Glen Mechanick who, year in and out, has the most interesting cards/material on the floor and is a pleasure to speak to and deal with (a pearl before swine in the dealer pool).

Delicious card! Great pick-up on that Red Stockings Cigar Radbourn!

that T206 Guy

08-03-2018, 04:21 AM

I am excited.

Going today.

Will be my First Time at the National Show :)

RedsFan1941

08-03-2018, 04:53 AM

don’t be shy about asking plenty of questions.

rhettyeakley

08-03-2018, 05:35 AM

bbcard1

08-03-2018, 06:52 AM

I picked the all star game over the national this year and have no regrets. I have heard the prices being asked are...shall we say...looking to achieve a new watermark. Did you find that?

calvindog

08-03-2018, 07:51 AM

Jeff sorry I missed you at the show. If you were coming back stop by 2255.

Sorry I missed you as well. Next year for sure.

rainier2004

08-03-2018, 08:28 AM

KMayUSA6060

08-03-2018, 09:44 AM

Spent two days the show, thought it was great. Looked like lots of people, seems like attendance has been on the rise and will continue that way.
My observations were:
1. More FB and BB than I remember, I don't collect either but thought it was more prevalent than I have ever seen.
2. Less "crap" and non-card displays. I remember beanie babies and all sorts of odds and ends being sold at the show, seems to be less of that. Also, I noticed less memorabilia and art being sold. This show seems to have piles of cards and photos.
3. Tons or 50s and 60s per norm.
4. I thought there were some good deals to be had and did p/u a couple cards that are far from rare but was happy with my buys.
5. Lots of excitement among collectors.

I agree with the above bold. I had a blast yesterday, and came away with a helluva haul of Pre-War. A couple of notes I would like to add regarding the show...

1. Few dealers are as professional, genuine, and pleasant to speak with than Chris Bland and Michael Piech. I was surprised to see them both in the same space, and really enjoyed my conversations with them. There are lots of great dealers out there, but few compare to those two, and many dealers would do well to be more genuine and engaging with their customers. Also, Just Collect was TERRIFIC as well!

2. I can't believe TriStar or whoever runs the show is charging $10 to park PER DAY. I'm very jaded by that money gouging scheme, especially since the car show (held at the IX Center around March) is free parking. That's $10 yesterday that didn't go to dealers, and $10 on Saturday (if I choose to go now) that won't go to dealers. Multiply that by the thousands of people that will attend, and that's a lot of money not going to the dealers. It is a bit of a turnoff.

3. I really, really like this event in Cleveland (it has nothing to do with me living 45-50 minutes away ;) ). The layout is terrific, very easy to navigate, and well organized. The only suggestion I would have is better markings on dealers' booths for their booth number.

Bugsy

08-03-2018, 09:55 AM

ullmandds

08-03-2018, 10:03 AM

Mechani5@aol.com...im sitting next to glen right now!!

Bugsy

08-03-2018, 10:57 AM

Mechani5@aol.com...im sitting next to glen right now!!

Thanks Pete!!!

calvindog

08-03-2018, 11:41 AM

The only suggestion I would have is better markings on dealers' booths for their booth number.

Agreed, this would help a lot.

buymycards

08-03-2018, 12:27 PM

I agree with the above bold. I had a blast yesterday, and came away with a helluva haul of Pre-War. A couple of notes I would like to add regarding the show...

2. I can't believe TriStar or whoever runs the show is charging $10 to park PER DAY. I'm very jaded by that money gouging scheme, especially since the car show (held at the IX Center around March) is free parking. That's $10 yesterday that didn't go to dealers, and $10 on Saturday (if I choose to go now) that won't go to dealers. Multiply that by the thousands of people that will attend, and that's a lot of money not going to the dealers. It is a bit of a turnoff.

If I remember correctly, parking at the Donald Stephens Center at the Chicago National was $20 per day.

I regret missing the National in Cleveland. I love going to the National, and my wife and I are already making plans to attend next years National in Chicago.

Rick

KMayUSA6060

08-03-2018, 01:28 PM

buymycards

08-03-2018, 03:47 PM

Does the Donald Stephens Center charge for every event?

I don't know. I have gone to card shows at that venue in the spring, in the fall, and at the National and they have always charged for parking. I'm guessing that they also charge for parking for antique shows, art shows, etc.

Promethius88

08-03-2018, 04:54 PM

If I remember correctly, parking at the Donald Stephens Center at the Chicago National was $20 per day.

I regret missing the National in Cleveland. I love going to the National, and my wife and I are already making plans to attend next years National in Chicago.

Rick

I haven't been to a National in years and all the pictures and posts have got me excited about next year. Started looking at hotels already and hoping that the Hyatt across the street has free parking. Don't mind spending a little extra for the convenience if I get free parking!

kailes2872

08-03-2018, 05:34 PM

I was thinking about doing a new a new post but didn't want to muddy the waters. I made the decision on Wednesday to take the day off today and travel over to the National. I had low expectations and event though I took about a grand, I really didn't expect to find anything worth buying - since my want list was pretty short and the prices tend to be high.

The toll on 76/80 keeps going up. It was $7.45 to get back into Pennsylvania. plus the I-80 tolls. Couple that with $3.09 per gallon and it was probably $20 bucks just getting there and back.

The $10 parking seems to be over the top. I know that admission ($22) is paying a promoter versus paying the IX center but $32 before walking in the door was kind of a bummer.

But I digress... on with the show.

I have been to Cleveland in 2014 and AC in 2016. Both prior times I took the boys. Unfortunately today the 19 year old had to work and the 16 year old had band camp so it was a solo trip. I didn't think I would miss them as much as I did. They go for me, but, it is our thing and deep down, I think that they enjoy it. Without them, I went table to table very quickly without a plan or purpose.

My original intent was to just look at tables and make a note of anything that stood out. I then decided that my want list would consist of a '64 Topps Giant Set - even though they are readily available, I wanted to pull the trigger and get it into the collection. I was also looking at 74/75 and 73/74 Topps basketball. Again, a couple of low dollar sets that would continue to round out the collection. I was also hoping to find a '76 Topps Traded baseball - as I really need to get it to put it in the binder and I keep forgetting (If anyone has one, let me know).

I found a '64 Giant Set. It was $250. I looked at completed sales and it seemed high but I at least wanted to engage with the dealer. I stood there for about 5 minutes but the guy did not even look at me, despite no other customers. After a while, I just left the table and figured that I would make a note of the table and come back if it was the best that I found. I went to another table and they had an ungraded Giant set... for $1400. I passed.

I then went to a table where they had a bunch of sets listed. They had the Topps Giants listed for $185. I asked if I could see it. The lady, as she handed it to me, immediately said, we have some room in that if you like it. It looked nice, mid grade and she offered it for $170 so that was where we settled.

On the 14th or 15th row, I found a guy, Mike McKee, I believe. He had a going out of business sign and a sign that said make an offer on the entire table. He had both 74/75 and 73/74. Both were sharp. He had the older one for $175 and the newer one for $160. I asked if he would take $320 for both and he said yes. Of course, after he said yes, I wondered if he would take $300... such is life.

So, I was about 90 minutes in and only missing the '76 traded set which I couldn't find.

I spent the next 3-4 hours going to different tables. I met Evan at his table but Sean was already gone. I saw Kevin & Pat from Kevin Savage Cards. I saw Uncle Dick and Wayne from Shoebox Cards. I got the chance to meet Don from Don's Cards and saw all of those beautiful CJ's (oh...my...goodness...). I met Adam at the LOTG table and told him that my neighbor got food poisoning last week and immediately thought of his act (my buddy lost about 20 pounds - Adam's routine had that joke in it)...

At 3:30 Leighton from Just Collect did a break on a 20ct cello pack from '55 Bowman. In the break was a really nice Ernie Banks. Then, card 19 was the Mickey Mantle - pack fresh and 60/40 centered. It was really cool seeing that happen.

I was back in the car by 4:30 heading back home - happy that I made the decision to go. I have attached some of the picture highlights over the next couple of posts.

It was great meeting Net54 friends in person.

As my set run has gotten closer to complete, I have realized just what a large % of the material is 50's and 60's topps. Since I have almost all of it, I would scan quickly to the next table. Modern is not my thing, so I would natually be pulled to pre-war. I am still a couple years away from 52 Topps and 51 Bowman being finished so I won't be full on into pre-war until probably 2021 or 2022 - but I am getting excited about the prospect! I love looking at those '38 big head Goudey's. The CJs are so bright red. My favorite table had 3 complete Goudey sets, a 34, a 35, and a 36. Of all the prewar, I am probably the least interested in T206 (blasphemy, I know), but it is still nice to look at those familiar cards. For the folks that are all pre-war, all the time, I would guess that maybe 10% of the tables would have had your material. For those looking at thinly traded stuff - beyond the big pre-war sets, you might have had a half dozen tables that would interest you.

Pricing was such a wide swath. I could usually look at the price of a commonly traded card - a 33 Ruth, a Red Cobb, etc., and know right away if they had any interest in selling anything. A lot of times that answer was no - but a few tables had strong prices and were even willing to negotiate on top of that.

I probably won't be in Chicago next year, but AC is definitely a possibility in 2020.

Edit - I have about 10 more pictures but every time that I attempt to upload, it says upload failed. I even tried to rename them to a generic name to see if that was the reason. I would be happy to add more if anyone can coach me through it. Otherwise, I only have these 4 posted.

kailes2872

08-03-2018, 05:43 PM

Mechani5@aol.com...im sitting next to glen right now!!

There were two guys at that table (1669 if I recall). An older gentleman and a guy in a ponytail (I think). I hovered around the table hoping to say hello but I didn't recognize the company name on the sign and thought I might have had the wrong table. Bummer as I was hoping to meet you guys.

kailes2872

08-03-2018, 05:46 PM

I picked the all star game over the national this year and have no regrets. I have heard the prices being asked are...shall we say...looking to achieve a new watermark. Did you find that?

Todd,
The observation that I made on pricing was that it was about 2 grades off of VCP. for example, a PSA 4 Mantle would have the price of PSA 6 VCP. If you found it one grade off that was a nice starting point to get closer.

One guy had a booth with a big sign that says prices are firm. I don't care about your Ebay fees. Soooo... not a lot of camaraderie and negotiation going on at that table.

KMayUSA6060

08-03-2018, 06:08 PM

I don't know. I have gone to card shows at that venue in the spring, in the fall, and at the National and they have always charged for parking. I'm guessing that they also charge for parking for antique shows, art shows, etc.

Wouldn't surprise me. I just don't like that the IX Center doesn't charge for the car show, yet the National is $10 parking + ticket prices. No need to money gouge.

I haven't been to a National in years and all the pictures and posts have got me excited about next year. Started looking at hotels already and hoping that the Hyatt across the street has free parking. Don't mind spending a little extra for the convenience if I get free parking!

I stayed at that Hyatt Regency for a conference in April. Gorgeous hotel. 70"+ flat screen in my room. Haha.

glynparson

08-03-2018, 06:16 PM

There were two guys at that table (1669 if I recall). An older gentleman and a guy in a ponytail (I think). I hovered around the table hoping to say hello but I didn't recognize the company name on the sign and thought I might have had the wrong table. Bummer as I was hoping to meet you guys.

That’s my table. I’m the guy with a ponytail and my dad is the old guy.

kailes2872

08-03-2018, 06:19 PM

That’s my table. I’m the guy with a ponytail and my dad is the old guy.

Bummer I made the mistake of looking for a guy that looked like the Dos Equis guy (old habits die hard... I am still convinced that Leon looks just like Babe Ruth in the 144 card.

I was wearing a red National League batting practice jersey from the all-star game. My ears aren’t quite as big as Mossi’s in the picture.

glynparson

08-03-2018, 06:23 PM

Bummer I made the mistake of looking for a guy that looked like the Dos Equis guy (old habits die hard... I am still convinced that Leon looks just like Babe Ruth in the 144 card.

I was wearing a red National League batting practice jersey from the all-star game. My ears aren’t quite as big as Mossi’s in the picture.

Lol. Sorry we didn’t get to meet. Hope you enjoyed the show.

bounce

08-03-2018, 06:49 PM

Sorry for the delay on this, I honestly passed out exhausted last night and didn't quite have time to copy in this morning.

Anyway, this is my Thursday Round 2 recap. I'll be posting Friday Round 3 later tonight, and have something exciting to show off.

Okay, Round 2 in the books.

Apologize for not getting this posted last night, but the Surgeon General has indicated that walking around in this body for 8 hours a day with very little sitting is not good for your health. I passed out watching the Goldin auction last night, I think there were a couple nice deals in those lots but I was only half coherent during most of it.

Anyway, let's start with PICTURES! Here you go, you BBCE fan boys! :smile: FYI - as of yesterday the 1986 Fleer box break HAD NOT SOLD OUT, but it's close and Reed said they're soon going to open it to the multi-pack buyers so it will happen.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/UwH7YHg"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/UwH7YHgl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/GY0y7Kn"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/GY0y7Knl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/WxWfcE0"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/WxWfcE0l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/ug3gHWM"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/ug3gHWMl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/jBuZ1gr"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/jBuZ1grl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/REgJBty"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/REgJBtyl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/YCgUmad"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/YCgUmadl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/noumQb7"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/noumQb7l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/fnNU01a"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/fnNU01al.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

Overall, seems to me their best offering were probably the football boxes. They also have an impressive number of rack packs, and they've got tons of singles and sets. There's a little bit of something for everyone. Really great display, as they have every year. I will show you a few of those singles a little later in this update.

Oh, and one more quick thing. I spent about 10-15 minutes talking to Reed today. I usually do not jump into the fray on the board non-sense and fights, but anyone who rips on these guys for their opinions on forums without having actually spoken to them or gotten to know them is just so wrong. Reed and Steve are top notch, every interaction I have ever had with them has been good. They are booth genuinely good dudes who care about the hobby, collectors and especially their customers. The written word can be a strange thing sometimes, and can easily be taken out of context, especially if you don't have the full context. Rant over.

As just small proof of the above, I brought this rack back to them to re-wrap because the logo was over Earl's face originally. Steve re-did it overnight for me, no charge. I'm not a great customer of theirs, but he took it no questions asked. Thanks, men.

[<a href="https://imgur.com/IfKikho"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/IfKikhol.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

bounce

08-03-2018, 06:50 PM

Next up, how about a few "big guns"? I've searched for a Wagner, but didn't see one. However, these aren't too shabby.

[<a href="https://imgur.com/6fjDWLc"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/6fjDWLcl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

[<a href="https://imgur.com/GjrwZl1"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/GjrwZl1l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

[<a href="https://imgur.com/35YgC2p"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/35YgC2pl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

[<a href="https://imgur.com/bseid1E"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/bseid1El.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

Pretty solid pair of balls here, no? They're leather, not brass, but they might be gold.

[<a href="https://imgur.com/3R5lvft"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/3R5lvftl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

This is probably the most impressive thing I've seen in a while. These are going to be in the upcoming REA auction, there are honestly no words so I'm not even going to try. I'm only showing you the truly awesome, but this collection of autographs spanned all the way to modern day. It's a jaw dropping collection, event the REA guys had trouble describing it.

[<a href="https://imgur.com/Z3T02O4"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Z3T02O4l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/WMy0PCi"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/WMy0PCil.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

Speaking of auction houses, I'm honestly a little disappointed in Heritage for having this on display. The Vice President of Common Sense obviously did not get a chance to chime in on this one.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/WFgD9GC"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/WFgD9GCl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

But let's swing this back the right direction with a hunka-hunka burnin' love! Who doesn't love Elvis?!?!
[<a href="https://imgur.com/PNd9bwI"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/PNd9bwIl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

bounce

08-03-2018, 06:50 PM

Did you know there's a ferris wheel in this place? I do now!

[<a href="https://imgur.com/xzWu9b2"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/xzWu9b2l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

And I also found this guy - if you notice my shirt celebrates his world championship. My son thought this was absolutely hilarious!
[<a href="https://imgur.com/Gtf9M0D"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Gtf9M0Dl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

Oh - and one more star sighting. I won't give this one away yet, let's see if you guys can figure it out.
One hint - he's SEXY!
[<a href="https://imgur.com/riCISHG"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/riCISHGl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

Few more things that interest me. I really do like the old stuff. Autographs, cards, Presidential items especially - I just think they're absolutely fascinating. And the old tobacco packs are so cool - they're much smaller than I expected, but makes sense when you see them why the cards are so small. Can you just imagine people standing around on the corner trading their cards while having a smoke? It had to have happened, right?
[<a href="https://imgur.com/KO2IiSF"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/KO2IiSFl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/LZqLdn6"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/LZqLdn6l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/WLtugbT"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/WLtugbTl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/Hw1rxkJ"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Hw1rxkJl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

This case is incredible.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/sdxszkU"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/sdxszkUl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

bounce

08-03-2018, 06:50 PM

Market commentary for today is a little better. Seems to me that some of the dealers started loosening up a bit. Some of the cards I was watching disappeared on return, but a few others were still there. The most action by far is on the modern stuff, which may be somewhat of a commentary on the different dealers. I think this younger bunch may "get it" a little more, just in terms of willingness to move things around. The "old guard" can be so difficult to work with.

There's one guy in particular, he's got some really nice stuff. But good grief he is so gruff, and I saw all these same cards in his case last year - and the year before that - and the year before that. And he's still the same unlikable fellow he's been every time. Here's an example. A guy walks up with a 1955 Ted Williams PSA 5, nice looking card, asks if they might be interested in it. Guy doesn't even get out of his chair, his "assistant" walks it over to him. And he says, just about as disgustedly as he could, "I've got a low grade one of those in my case already for $425, why would I be interested in that?". OK, good information. Except, the one in the case is a PSA 6, with a VCP of $376, and last two sales are $350 or less. Just saying. How about just be nice, hey that's a great card but I have one, however keep shopping it - people are always interested in nice looking HOFers. I mean he never even got to the part of whether the guy was selling or trading.

Saw this sign at another table, just so inviting isn't it? I'm thinking about making one for my buddy above.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/uPif893"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/uPif893l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

Anyway, enough complaining. Here's my haul for the day.

BBCE and their singles helped me out on my set. 1957 Football, all 8s.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/VdyIKri"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/VdyIKril.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

Also snagged these beauties, so nice for the grades. Corners are rounded which is the only thing holding these back.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/reGRNi7"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/reGRNi7l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

I love Walter Johnson. Wasn't really looking for this, but got a pretty good deal I thought so went ahead and picked it up.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/kZQv9eO"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/kZQv9eOl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

Always love the autographs, this is one of my favorite items. Just can't get enough of them.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/40YC26P"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/40YC26Pl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

And ran across these walking around. Told them "I'm really your only shot at selling these." They tried to tell me how Tiger was having a resurgence, but I reminded them that David wasn't. Masters flags are always cool, but the US Open flag is a 2008, which is his last major...so far. I've got several Tigers, but these were just too cool to pass up.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/ge0Nd9n"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/ge0Nd9nl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/5K9Qnu3"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/5K9Qnu3l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

That's it for Thursday. I'm headed out for Round 3!

kailes2872

08-03-2018, 07:01 PM

Saw this sign at another table, just so inviting isn't it? I'm thinking about making one for my buddy above.
[source: imgur.com]

I saw that table as well. I don't collect hockey so it wasn't a big deal. However, he did have a nice '56 set I wanted to leaf through. I started to look at it and tried to turn the page - only to realize it was under the plastic. I already have one, so no big deal... but I am sure there was someone today that wanted to look at the set and possibly buy it but took a walk instead.

gman

08-03-2018, 07:45 PM

Oh - and one more star sighting. I won't give this one away yet, let's see if you guys can figure it out.
One hint - he's SEXY!

Well, Kevin Nash is the Big Sexy, but I don't think I see him in this picture.

LuckyLarry

08-03-2018, 07:48 PM

Thur/Fri report

Thursday arrived at opening time and walked the aisles all day until closing met many Net54 and OBC members and had “lunch” with the Net54 football collecting crew. I bought quite a few cards today I just started collecting the 50s/60s Parkhurst hockey cards and I added a big stack even though I can’t tell what year is what yet lol. I also just started 1960 Nu-Card Baseball Highlights (post card sized) and made several purchases. First large purchase I bought a 1954 Dan Dee Mickey Mantle a card which I have been seeking for several years and that card finished my set:) my wantlist noted PSA1 for around $400 was my target price but this was a few years old and prices have gone up I advised the dealer of my price point (dealer is a friend) he said he was into the card for more than that. Did not see another Dan Dee until the next day one Dealer had three and his bottom line price was very slightly more than what I paid although his were slabbed. (2 days later I’m still glad I got it lol card was $540 it would probably grade a 2 or maybe 3).

Plenty of tables to sit down at IX Center and they have a coffee kiosk and the guy makes a great Americano which served as a pick me up each day.

I met Scott Brockelman owner of Brockelman Auctions I have won lots a few times and wanted to say hi. I pictured a frail thin old guy in my mind. Oh crap was I wrong lol my Auction payments will never be tardy! Great to meet OBC and Net54 friends old and new!

Picked up two hits 1935 Goudey 4 in 1 I’m down to four cards left for my master set 707 cards had one but Levi knows what he has lol!

Final pickup story for day two 1953 Topps World on Wheels cards 160-180 are SP very tough come with blue Backs I have all these cards 171-180 also can be found with Red backs tougher still I have not even seen one but new dealer friend sold me two of them $50 each I was glad to get them.

After the show OBC members had a BBQ at Sams house it was so great but we got back to the hotel exhausted and didn’t get to sleep until after 1 or so. To tired to report yesterday.

Friday still in shock from spending over $500 on a piece of cardboard I started out slow and no better place than Chandys $1 bargain bazaar to kill some time and settle in. I did purchase a $5 item from him which turned out to be a fake or fantasy card and I went back later and he refunded my purchase. Any semi knowledgeable collector should have know what it was I should have known it was a fantasy piece Chandy is top notch in my book. Then I helped via texting a friend of mine Doug D. Purchase a 1935 Goudey Babe Ruth thanks William Chappell the best took PayPal from Doug D in North Carolina and I’ll get the card to him in the mail.

By now after a couple hours at Chandys and then spending someone else’s money I’m about recovered from my big pickup so let’s get shopping. I restocked my doubles box with beautiful 1959 1962 1964 Topps hi numbers $1 each WTH I’ll upgrade my sets and have plenty to send around to OBC. Bought more Parkhurst hockey and several more bargain box finds. Pick up a nice stack of Civil War News cards I am building nine sets to fit in a binder my favorite set as a kid oh I forgot I purchased a CWN wax wrapper yesterday my first it was $10 a good price I think.

I took a peek into this random cardboard box it was filled up with non sports cards but dealer said he was selling as starter sets. But he had not listed the few 1953 World on Wheels cards that were in there and I told him I needed one card for my set. I gave him the card and he sold it to me for one dollar you guessed it was hi number 171 “Pontiac Strato-Star” hi number with a red back. Yesterday I purchased two of these for $100 today I purchased another but this one was $1. So I’m into these high numbers with red backs for $33 each that’s pretty good right?

We turned the lights off at the IX Center and had a great dinner at this great sports bar. Then back to the hotel by 8pm we are all exhausted. But we will be ready in the AM!

Larry

albrshbr

08-03-2018, 09:14 PM

I guess my report is like what many others have already stated.

First, my focus this trip is my young son who is with me. There has been a tremendous amount of activities for the younger kids, and he's having a great time! With that being said, I haven't done much shopping for me yet.

As usual, my first stop is Net54's own Ed Hans. I was able to pick up 4 T205's for my set I have been taking my time on. I'm trying to focus on a little bit tougher backs, and I was able to pick up 3 American Beauty's and 1 Sovereign from Ed for good prices. Other than that I picked up 2 other T205s for very reasonable prices a bit later. My only other pick up was 2 E135-type blank backs for $15 each. Don't know why but I pick these up whenever I find them for reasonable prices.

As others have also stated, I have seen quite a few prices that were quite high. A few weeks ago I picked up a T205 Phelan SGC 40 with a Hassan back off eBay for $82. I saw the same card with an asking price of $240.

What's bothering me is the inattentiveness of some of the dealers. I can't begin to count the number of tables I've walked away from. It's not that they're busy with other customers, they just act like they're not interested in selling. I've also stopped by a particular table that has some scarce regionals I'm interested in, and the other guy sharing the booth tells me the guy with the regionals has "stepped away for a few minutes". 3 times in 3 days. I guess it's just bad timing.

And how do some of these folks sell enough to even cover their expenses?

LuckyLarry

08-03-2018, 09:35 PM

Rhotchkiss

08-03-2018, 09:50 PM

I was there Wednesday and Thursday. I had a great time. The facility was phenomenal and I was very pleased with the selection of pre war (WWI) cards. I made two huge trades and a large purchase. I met many Net54ers - David (the patron of this thread), Sam, Danny, Evan, AJ, etc., met some iconic collectors and industry personalities, caught up with old friends, and made some new friends. My only complaint is there was too much to look at that I left both days starving (never ate) and exhausted. Yes, many cards were overpriced, but whose surprised? Awesome show!

whitehse

08-03-2018, 10:10 PM

Does the Donald Stephens Center charge for every event?

If you knew about the city of Rosemont you would know they are trying to find a way to charge for the air that you breathe. Yep....they charge for every event.

bounce

08-03-2018, 10:34 PM

David: I’m enjoying your reports very much but wanted to comment on the “PLEASE DO NOT PUT HANDS UNDER PLASTIC” table. I do not know this dealers name but he is quite nice and managing his large set up by himself. I assume his stuff (all hockey) is under plastic to prevent theft.
Larry

Not to be snarky, but is a sign truly necessary if you've got the plastic over them? I appreciate the concern for theft, but why not just get cases like everyone else? Again, to each their own, it's his stuff and he can handle how he desires. However, I'm sure I'm not alone in the feeling that it just sends the wrong message, and people like me just keep walking so he never gets a chance.

bounce

08-03-2018, 10:35 PM

Okay - Round 3 is in the books and what a day it was!

First off, I knew today was going to be a short one for me, as one of my buddies had tickets for the Indians/Angels game tonight, including ON FIELD PASSES for batting practice. As you can tell from some of my previous posts, I'm an autograph collector, too, so the chance to get Trout, Ohtani, Pujols and/or Lindor was exciting. I've gotten Pujols before, but he'd still be a nice score.

I mean we were right there, I could not quite spit on them but it would still be close.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/JxwzvQU"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/JxwzvQUl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/0NFUEwp"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/0NFUEwpl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/ZjrAGMi"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/ZjrAGMil.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

To get ready for the potential, I bought a 2014 All Star ball (Trout MVP), a 2016 All Star ball (first time Lindor was an All Star) and a regular MLB baseball (could use for anyone). I was ready to rock!

Well, as terrible luck would have it...Lindor had finished BP before they let us down on the field. Strike one.
Trout is hurt with a right wrist injury and apparently hasn't swung a bat in two days, so he didn't participate today. Strike two.
Ohtani doesn't pay attention to anyone, including the Angels family folks. Strike three.
Pujols actually walked over right next to us to talk to someone he knew. By that time, it was one little kid and me and my buddy - 3 total autographs - but when we asked he says "Not right now, Papi" to my friend and walks off. Strike four. Thanks, Albert.

COMPLETE DISASTER! My buddy said that has never happened to him before, and he travels the country and does this frequently in many different cities thanks to his job. To borrow a phrase from someone on Instagram who was disappointed that Trout wasn't in the lineup after they planned their trip including a 7 hour drive - "I'm getting a good taste of the Cleveland fan experience." UGH, really disappointing but still cool to hang out on the field. I'd been to BP many times before, but never that close so it was neat. The stadium is pretty cool as well. Tough to really complain, and yes I understand no one is crying for me. First world problems - I get it.

bounce

08-03-2018, 10:35 PM

Moving along to the action, today I did something I rarely do. I just sorta wandered through the aisles, hoping that the cards that wanted me to own them today would somehow draw me near. And sure enough, they did!

I'm sometimes a set collector, so when I saw this on top of a stack at a good price I just knew my 57 set was going to make another leap forward. Of course, foreshadowing things to come, it was literally the only card I needed in a stack of 8s and 9s that was probably 50 cards total. But still, you take them when you can get them.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/OBB6y8P"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/OBB6y8Pl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

I'm also a set collector of the 2012 Topps Chrome football refractor sets. I had put them together in raw form, but had decided in the last few months to go ahead and upgrade my Lucks and Wilsons to BGS 9.5s. So this one was a great add for me at a great price. Got it form a guy who only does baseball, but it took it in on a trade yesterday and it was the only non-baseball card in his case. He was excited to sell it, and I was excited to own it. WIN WIN!
[<a href="https://imgur.com/XjUt5Td"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/XjUt5Tdl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

My wandering then led me to this. Certainly one of the more interesting items I've seen at the show, and I feel like maybe this is one of those odd collections that just about anyone could start - signed coasters? That's a Wilt Chamberlain in case you don't know, and someone actually paid PSA to slab the thing. To each their own, and no I did not purchase this - in fact I forgot to ask the price, I should do that tomorrow.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/k2Ex5u6"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/k2Ex5u6l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

This might be one of the coolest booths at the show, not sure my picture does it justice at all. The Card Bar is pretty cool, I'm sure the man-cavers can latch onto some version of this in the future.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/XHkmlBY"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/XHkmlBYl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

Dumbest thing I heard today...
Me - What are you asking for the PSA 4?
Dealer - These are only available as a pair.
Me - Fine, how much for the pair?
Dealer - $16,000
Me - Ok, but I really only want the PSA 4.
Dealer - I need to keep it so people can see the comparison to the other one.
Me - I'm not sure they need to see both to understand, but good luck to you.

[<a href="https://imgur.com/BnDwCE8"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/BnDwCE8l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

Yes, I'm willing to concede I'm probably a jerk, as long as everyone else is willing to concede that neither one of those cards are actually for sale.

Moving on to big guns, just know that there's always a bigger gun out there. I finally found them today.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/1gCk4WJ"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/1gCk4WJl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

This next one I think qualifies as a big gun? However, since we've been talking refractors earlier I think this one needs to be re-slabbed as a "Sepia Tone" variation. I'd much rather have the real one, but I know people like the weird T206 stuff and this one definitely qualifies on several levels.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/WDf3LNk"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/WDf3LNkl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

Some incredible baseballs, a couple of these may just make my pursuit list for the 2019 National. That second Ruth is really a stunning ball.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/1vAyiqI"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/1vAyiqIl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/tFZEwVP"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/tFZEwVPl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

bounce

08-03-2018, 10:35 PM

In terms of time line, this post is going to fast forward again to tonight after I got back from the game. I sat down at the hotel with one of the guys I met last year at the National, we saw each other Wednesday on the way out and talked, but didn't finally connect in the show until today and planned a meet up tonight. It just reminded me that I'm not doing a very good job of getting to know some of the other collectors as well as I should, not because I'm not interested but more because sometimes I'm not that outgoing. However, I really enjoy meeting with him tonight and talking cards, and jobs, and families and life and all kinds of things. And ultimately getting a nice sized trade done was just the icing on the cake. Anyway, I walked away with these.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/ZOp7yZy"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/ZOp7yZyl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/2hVPIHP"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/2hVPIHPl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
[<a href="https://imgur.com/kM8CICW"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/kM8CICWl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

Not a bad day, right? Well, let's rewind back to about 1:30pm this afternoon, when my WHOLE SHOW got made. Remember, I was just wandering aimlessly around, no direction, just zig-zagging my way across the floor. I turned the corner at a booth, and lo and behold...THERE IT WAS! Literally the ONE CARD that was at the VERY TOP of my want list. The National is the only place I would ever see this card, other than online auctions. I won't bore you with details, but it took about 45 minutes to close the deal, but I'm the proud new owner of this. Walter Johnson is my absolute favorite of the original Hall of Famers, and this my absolute favorite card of his. That's right, the T204 Ramly.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/Ha4g6Bb"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Ha4g6Bbl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

Short day the show for me today, but I bagged my whale this trip. My only other National experience that even compares to this is when I picked up an Abraham Lincoln autograph. If today isn't the best, it's runner up only to that, but I think it's probably 1A and 1B for me. I absolutely LOVE the Ramly design, I've wanted this card for two years now and finally was in position to get it done.

Tomorrow will be my final day here, but who knows what might be in store? I've had my eye on a couple other things, here's hoping to some good fortune tomorrow and a couple dealers who are truly ready to make a deal? We shall see.

DeanH3

08-03-2018, 11:02 PM

Fantastic haul David. Congrats on harpooning your whale! Thanks for write ups.

Stampsfan

08-04-2018, 01:38 AM

Thanks for the efforts on the write-ops, David, and everyone else. Much apreciate the information you guys are posting. And what a beautiful T204 you picked up.

I'm guessing the guy with the plastic over the hockey cards might be Len Pottie. From Nova Scotia, if I recall correctly. Good guy, have bought from him for years.

glynparson

08-04-2018, 02:18 AM

Not to be snarky, but is a sign truly necessary if you've got the plastic over them? I appreciate the concern for theft, but why not just get cases like everyone else? Again, to each their own, it's his stuff and he can handle how he desires. However, I'm sure I'm not alone in the feeling that it just sends the wrong message, and people like me just keep walking so he never gets a chance.

Lem, the hockey dealer being discussed here, has had his tables set up that way for at least 20-25 years and it doesn’t seem to have effected his sales. He has also had a sign for as long as I can remember. I don’t see this as wrong to not want someone to reach under the plastic. I know I don’t want someone I didn’t say it was ok to to just open and reach in my showcases. I honestly do not see a difference.

bounce

08-04-2018, 06:11 AM

I don’t see this as wrong to not want someone to reach under the plastic. I know I don’t want someone I didn’t say it was ok to to just open and reach in my showcases. I honestly do not see a difference.

I never said it was wrong - read what I wrote.

Do you post a sign in your cases that says "PLEASE DO NOT OPEN MY CASES"?

:)

JustinD

08-04-2018, 10:47 AM

My wandering then led me to this. Certainly one of the more interesting items I've seen at the show, and I feel like maybe this is one of those odd collections that just about anyone could start - signed coasters? That's a Wilt Chamberlain in case you don't know, and someone actually paid PSA to slab the thing. To each their own, and no I did not purchase this - in fact I forgot to ask the price, I should do that tomorrow.
[<a href="https://imgur.com/k2Ex5u6"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/k2Ex5u6l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]

I have a good feeling that's actually an item on my want list as they are not uncommon. If you asked to see the obverse, it is most likely a coaster from Wilt's restaurant which is a cool basketball design with the restaurant title. The bummer is that most examples are signed on the reverse like this one as Wilt logically would for legibility as the design is dark. I have always wanted one ( at a reasonable price, which is always the problem isn't it?) that is signed on the design for display purposes.

It is labeled as a "cut" so it might also be just cut in a circle for some weird reason, but if it is one the coasters, I think you'll think it's nifty.

RedsFan1941

08-04-2018, 11:53 AM

KMayUSA6060

08-04-2018, 05:05 PM

from the website of the IX center:

Parking for all I-X Center shows is $10.

http://www.ixcenter.com/directions/

so it is not the evil show promoter who is taking food out of dealers' mouths (insert joke here)

I don't know who he car show promoter is, but I wonder if they pay the estimated total parking tab.

At the very least, it should have been a $10 parking pass or something like that, valid for multiple days.

823dek

08-04-2018, 06:48 PM

Crying thinking all or most were i my collection a decade back

scooter729

08-04-2018, 08:14 PM

Did anyone get to see the '55 Mantle get pulled from the Bowman pack? Must've been pretty exciting to see that happen!

bounce

08-04-2018, 08:45 PM

I have a good feeling that's actually an item on my want list as they are not uncommon. If you asked to see the obverse, it is most likely a coaster from Wilt's restaurant which is a cool basketball design with the restaurant title. The bummer is that most examples are signed on the reverse like this one as Wilt logically would for legibility as the design is dark. I have always wanted one ( at a reasonable price, which is always the problem isn't it?) that is signed on the design for display purposes.

It is labeled as a "cut" so it might also be just cut in a circle for some weird reason, but if it is one the coasters, I think you'll think it's nifty.

Yep you nailed it - signed coaster from Wilts restaurant/bar. $1200 ask.

LuckyLarry

08-04-2018, 10:53 PM

Saturday another full day at the show. Crowd seemed pretty heavy and while selection has been picked over I still found was to spend my money.

I need three cards to finish 1961 Nu Card football set including the most expensive card Ernie Davis. Spotted a partial full unopened box 19+ packs sticker said $320 but negotiated to $170 hey collectors of the shiny stuff pay $10 for a pack so why can’t I? Was going to open it tonight at the OBC swap party but to much other activity going on so I’ll bust it open when I get home. Discovered the set includes some inserts in each pack I didn’t even know about. Hopefully I’ll pull that Ernie Davis card from a pack and use the others to upgrade my set. I gave one empty wrapper to Sam T who needed one for his set binder always great to help a friend. I know there might be some value in the wrappers and even the empty box so I’m glad I bought it. Also a couple flyers in the box for retailers. That’s gonna be fun!

Other pickups more exhibit baseball and random hits to my list. Revisited the dealer who sold me those red World on Wheels SP high numbers and he had another waiting for me at $37. So I picked up a total go four SP high numbers with red backs for $50 $50 $37 and $1 avg $35 that’s pretty good right? More Civil War News and other non sports overall another great day.

Final purchase of the day left me wondering if I had made a good purchase or not. Dealer saw my OBC hat and called me to his table to see my wantlist. I asked to look at his Red Man baseball cards as I only need a few and he had some I needed. 1952 Larry Doby and Ted Williams 1953 Stan Musial (last Card needed) and 1954 George Kell. All cards had the tabs cut off. Dealers sticker price came to over $600 he discounted to $350 and I almost choked. Then the dealer asked me what I wanted to pay. Of course the Ted Williams holds good value as does Musial who finishes my set. I counter with $150 which the dealer accepts. Dang it should have came in lower rookie mistake. After the show I ran the scenario back to Mac W and his offer would have been $100 so maybe I learned a $50 lesson plus I did get a Ted Williams and Stan Musial Red Man cards. And on a related note, I know exactly where this dealer is and he does have a large inventory and I want another crack at him! Call me “Low Ball Larry” lol

Our annual OBC trading session pizza party was a huge success thanks to Sam T and wife for hosting! Thanks to all the dealers who gave us cards for our rookies to scour through!

Closing in on 1am hard to tell what tomorrow will bring. I’ve seen the dealers really mark down their stuff and present good buying opportunities for collectors. I’ve also seen dealers start to lock things down at noon. We shall see!

“Low Ball Lawrence”

kailes2872

08-04-2018, 11:13 PM

Did anyone get to see the '55 Mantle get pulled from the Bowman pack? Must've been pretty exciting to see that happen!

I was there. Front left. When they showed the Mantle, I thought no way it is a 9. I thought it was a 6.5 - 5 if I submitted it!

Hxcmilkshake

08-04-2018, 11:36 PM

Its on the you tube. Minute 28 i think. Awesome.

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

Michael B

08-04-2018, 11:50 PM

Does the Donald Stephens Center charge for every event?

You do not need to park at the Stephens Center or at the parking garage across the street. The Rosemont subway station is about 1/3 mile north of the convention center on the same street. It is just north of Rte 190. Parking there was $7.00 all day (up to 14 hours). If you are in reasonable shape it is a less than 10 minute walk. The trick to parking there is to make absolutely sure of your space number. I remember pre-paying at a kiosk and you entered your space number. A local told me to pay with a credit card so you would get a receipt to prove payment. They check the spaces during the day and tow for non-paying parkers. From the CTA website:

Rosemont
5801 N. River Rd. •$7.00 for 0 to 14 hours
•$9.00 for 14 to 18 hours
•$13.00 for 18 to 24 hours
•Each additional 24 hours (or fraction thereof) $13.00
•Lost ticket: $39.00
750

glynparson

08-05-2018, 05:39 AM

I never said it was wrong - read what I wrote.

Do you post a sign in your cases that says "PLEASE DO NOT OPEN MY CASES"?

:)

Do you honestly not see a difference between a lockable showcase and a piece of plastic? I know I do. I can understand a customer not knowing it is wrong to reach under the plastic. Where as I think it s easily inferred to not open and reach in a showcase. If I had the number of instances of people
Opening showcases as he did people reaching under his plastic I would absolutely not hesitate to put up such a sign.

pow323

08-05-2018, 05:59 AM

Thanks for the post and the pictures! I really liked the old Cracker Jack Box, I was just thinking about what one looked like back then and there it was!!! Thanks for reading my mind! LOL! Have a great time !! Marc

ruth-gehrig

08-05-2018, 01:10 PM

I was there. Front left. When they showed the Mantle, I thought no way it is a 9. I thought it was a 6.5 - 5 if I submitted it!

Guess it's now known it was a legit unopened pack:D

So the guy throught it would grade a PSA 3 and it came back a PSA 9?:confused:

LuckyLarry

08-05-2018, 01:20 PM

Short day today Taylor and I dropped Spike off at the airport and we are inside the show at 9 you can tell everyone is exhausted. I did return for round two and today did better with the dealer. Picked up a few random hits here and there and then spotted a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #144 at JDs table that drew me in lol. Never though I would pull the trigger but I did. Card is solid but does have some writing on the back. I walked this card, the 1954 Dan Dee Mantle, and a friends ‘35 Goudey over to SGC for slabbing 20 business day turn around. JD took a PayPal f/f which also got me a slightly better discount but still looks like Ramen noodles for a month lol.

Taylor is driving home to NC and needs to get started but we are both suffering from cardboard burn out. I have about a five hour wait here at CLE but I don’t really care as I can use the rest! I’ll be home after midnight.

Larry

swarmee

08-05-2018, 01:52 PM

So the guy throught it would grade a PSA 3 and it came back a PSA 9?:confused:
Read the article again. He *already owns* a PSA 3. The card was straight out of the cello pack and the major issue was centering; nobody thought it might grade a PSA 3.

ruth-gehrig

08-05-2018, 01:57 PM

I stand corrected. I completely read that wrong

kailes2872

08-05-2018, 02:22 PM

Guess it's now known it was a legit unopened pack:D

So the guy throught it would grade a PSA 3 and it came back a PSA 9?:confused:

Guilty as charged. I still can’t believe it was a 9 and feel that there was some “national pressure” to get that grade. Not meaning to accuse of anything nafarious and I admit that even after these years I can’t seem to tell the difference very well of a 6 and a 9 - other than if I submit it is a 6 and if the AH submits it is a 9 - but it seemed that there was some grade politicking from be stage and Leighton chuckled when he made the “plea” to PSA but it seems easy to get caught up in the story and the hysteria.

jp1216

08-05-2018, 03:24 PM

Living 5 minutes away - always a plus. Brought my 12 year old son this time. His 2nd National but first since he was 8. Amazing difference. This show was all about him. The eye candy etc would've kept me entertained for days but he wanted the cheap stuff. Loved the 50 cents or $1 boxes. Especially those divided into teams. We spent hours sifting through boxes finding cards. The best moments were my son finding Trout (chrome, glossy, platinum whatever), Indians stars and a retro Joe Jackson (he identified it - not me). Mission accomplished. At the end, we spent $50 inside and left with more than $50 in memories.

JollyElm

08-05-2018, 03:33 PM

52ToppsMantle

08-05-2018, 05:42 PM

08-05-2018, 07:19 PM

Do you honestly not see a difference between a lockable showcase and a piece of plastic? I know I do. I can understand a customer not knowing it is wrong to reach under the plastic. Where as I think it s easily inferred to not open and reach in a showcase. If I had the number of instances of people
Opening showcases as he did people reaching under his plastic I would absolutely not hesitate to put up such a sign.

I can see both sides here. Maybe a good compromise is to change the sign a bit, like "PLEASE ASK IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE WHAT IS UNDER THE PLASTIC".

Thanks everyone for the recaps. I attended Friday and Saturday but it's still nice to see everyone's experiences and observations.

As I scanned the entire floor on Saturday, I was pleased to see how busy it was and also how many younger people I saw asking about prices on cards at the tables.

Rich Klein

08-05-2018, 09:09 PM

Guilty as charged. I still can’t believe it was a 9 and feel that there was some “national pressure” to get that grade. Not meaning to accuse of anything nafarious and I admit that even after these years I can’t seem to tell the difference very well of a 6 and a 9 - other than if I submit it is a 6 and if the AH submits it is a 9 - but it seemed that there was some grade politicking from be stage and Leighton chuckled when he made the “plea” to PSA but it seems easy to get caught up in the story and the hysteria.

On the video they said it could be an 8.5 and it came out a 9. I looked at the card on the video and it's pretty nice but I'm not perfect at seeing how the centering matches PSA standards.

But we know it's pack fresh and with the publicity I'm OK with the 9 under the circumstances.

08-05-2018, 10:48 PM

Short day the show for me today, but I bagged my whale this trip. My only other National experience that even compares to this is when I picked up an Abraham Lincoln autograph. If today isn't the best, it's runner up only to that, but I think it's probably 1A and 1B for me. I absolutely LOVE the Ramly design, I've wanted this card for two years now and finally was in position to get it done.

I have seen some amazing hauls from the National this year, and yours easily ranks in the top 3, if not THE best. You not only have good taste, but you know how to make a deal. Congrats!

basesareempty

08-06-2018, 06:17 AM

I know next year is in Chicago followed by Atlantic City in 2020. Do they have the schedule set past that?

LuckyLarry

08-06-2018, 07:37 AM

initial "sort"
https://i.imgur.com/MGHDcHOl.jpg

vthobby

08-06-2018, 07:45 AM

initial "sort"
https://i.imgur.com/MGHDcHOl.jpg

Cool stuff!

I feel bad though for the 1964 Topps Stand-Up in the back there. He looks so damn lonely! :cool:

Peace, Mike

Jdoggs

08-06-2018, 09:50 AM

initial "sort"
https://i.imgur.com/MGHDcHOl.jpg

Is that an authentic 33 goudey lajoie?

LuckyLarry

08-06-2018, 10:05 AM

Is that an authentic 33 goudey lajoie?

no

Donscards

08-06-2018, 10:44 AM

Larry---Great buys---nice seeing you again this year--always nice to chat with you. Don

glynparson

08-06-2018, 03:37 PM

On the video they said it could be an 8.5 and it came out a 9. I looked at the card on the video and it's pretty nice but I'm not perfect at seeing how the centering matches PSA standards.

But we know it's pack fresh and with the publicity I'm OK with the 9 under the circumstances.

Rich in order to get an 8.5 it would have to meet the centering standards for a 9. The .5 For PSA must have centering within the parameters of one grade higher. I honestly have no problem with that card in a 9 holder, and i believe Leighton said he thought it could get a 9 when he was going around the show understandably pumped up.

ValKehl

08-06-2018, 04:27 PM

I was surprised to find a relatively long piece about this 1955 Bowman Mantle pull in the Metro Section of this morning's Washington Post. This is certainly great publicity for our hobby. Here's the link to this piece, which includes pics of both the Mantle card in its PSA slab and the cello pack in its PSA slab before it was removed: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2018/08/05/maryland-collector-snags-mickey-mantle-baseball-card-with-value-of-at-least-50000/?utm_term=.228a0d3e0bff

Hxcmilkshake

08-06-2018, 05:53 PM

initial "sort"
https://i.imgur.com/MGHDcHOl.jpgDinner table?

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

CurtisFlood

08-07-2018, 07:34 PM

Does the Donald Stephens Center charge for every event?

That parking venue is a cash cow for the owner. They just keep raising prices, I'll not miss them when I retire. They charge for every event I have attended, which includes the March and November Fanatics Shows and an occasional summer show.

CurtisFlood

08-07-2018, 07:45 PM

I saw that table as well. I don't collect hockey so it wasn't a big deal. However, he did have a nice '56 set I wanted to leaf through. I started to look at it and tried to turn the page - only to realize it was under the plastic. I already have one, so no big deal... but I am sure there was someone today that wanted to look at the set and possibly buy it but took a walk instead.

I want to say that the gentleman who puts the plexiglass over his cards is a top notch Canadien dealer, and a genuinely nice guy. He is Mr. Hockey in my book!

CurtisFlood

08-07-2018, 07:56 PM

I know next year is in Chicago followed by Atlantic City in 2020. Do they have the schedule set past that?

I sent in a ballot today. I believe it is Chicago/Cleveland/Chicago as the favorite. Seems like these two cities, plus Atlantic City are the favorites. There is some concern about Atlantic City dwindling away. I enjoyed it, as well as Baltimore. Cleveland is less expensive, but very accommodating when compared to Chicago. I told one of the guys that you can stay in Cleveland and eat out every night for the cost of either the food or hotel in Chicago. Throw in the tolls and expensive parking and it eats a lot of profit from the Illinois show.

perezfan

08-07-2018, 08:14 PM

I sent in a ballot today. I believe it is Chicago/Cleveland/Chicago as the favorite. Seems like these two cities, plus Atlantic City are the favorites. There is some concern about Atlantic City dwindling away. I enjoyed it, as well as Baltimore. Cleveland is less expensive, but very accommodating when compared to Chicago. I told one of the guys that you can stay in Cleveland and eat out every night for the cost of either the food or hotel in Chicago. Throw in the tolls and expensive parking and it eats a lot of profit from the Illinois show.

So there was nothing on the Ballot other than those cities? For many, Chicago is the only one that even has a direct flight. Might need to boycott the National if they aren't even considering anything west of the Mississippi any time in the future. Just not worth the hassle.

Michael B

08-07-2018, 08:29 PM

That parking venue is a cash cow for the owner. They just keep raising prices, I'll not miss them when I retire. They charge for every event I have attended, which includes the March and November Fanatics Shows and an occasional summer show.

From my earlier post about parking in Chicago. I would suspect that all of the hotels charge more than this lot. If you are not comfortable parking there overnight you could move it, however for a full day at the show it is much cheaper. Well worth the walk though from what I saw some collectors could not make it. It would be a very good deal even for dealers.

You do not need to park at the Stephens Center or at the parking garage across the street. The Rosemont subway station is about 1/3 mile north of the convention center on the same street. It is just north of Rte 190. Parking there was $7.00 all day (up to 14 hours). If you are in reasonable shape it is a less than 10 minute walk. The trick to parking there is to make absolutely sure of your space number. I remember pre-paying at a kiosk and you entered your space number. A local told me to pay with a credit card so you would get a receipt to prove payment. They check the spaces during the day and tow for non-paying parkers. From the CTA website:

Rosemont
5801 N. River Rd. •$7.00 for 0 to 14 hours
•$9.00 for 14 to 18 hours
•$13.00 for 18 to 24 hours
•Each additional 24 hours (or fraction thereof) $13.00
•Lost ticket: $39.00
Capacity 750

bounce

08-07-2018, 08:48 PM

OKAY GANG! Saturday was my last day at the show, so this will cover that and an overall wrap up.

By Saturday morning, I have to be honest - I was pretty sick of baseball cards and memorabilia. I don't know if it's just my age, or possibly coming down off the high of acquiring the T204 Ramly Walter Johnson and thinking no way there's an encore to that, but upon entering the show Saturday there was literally nothing else I was particularly interested in chasing. As it was, that actually worked out pretty well for me because one of my buddies was at the show and had several autograph guests that he wanted to me to help him with.

Here are a few pictures, in all I got to meet Roger Clemens, Rickey Henderson, Daryl Strawberry and Cal Ripken Jr.

<a href="https://imgur.com/aScKoId"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/aScKoIdl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/ODy9qAR"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/ODy9qARl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/1xEMTOH"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/1xEMTOHl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/ei2h6fK"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/ei2h6fKl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

Thanks to my efforts, my buddy gave me one of the Clemens autograph tickets. On short notice, I had to find something to get signed. Being from Houston, I actually have several items signed by him already but there was one in particular I've always wanted and this seemed to be the perfect setup to get it. The other one I've had in my collection for awhile, but this is the perfect complement to it. 1986 MLB All Star Programs - played right here in Houston, and Rocket was the MVP.
<a href="https://imgur.com/A0W6Zq5"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/A0W6Zq5l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

I did manage to look around some more, and ultimately decided I just couldn't pass up on a couple more items for my Presidential autograph collection. I got these from a dealer I've bought from now for the past four Nationals and done a couple other deals in between. He is someone I really have enjoyed getting to know because of these shows, and I can honestly say in the non-card and really non-sport space, he is one of the absolute best. He even said to me that he was disappointed that we hadn't actually done any business yet and was wondering if something was wrong. I told him of course not, I'd simply been noodling on several of the items trying to decide my course of action. We settled on prices on for these, and we will soon be discussing another couple items as well.

These are signed by Grover and Frances Cleveland, and Zachary Taylor.
<a href="https://imgur.com/c4ESp9i"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/c4ESp9il.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
<a href="https://imgur.com/YS06mN8"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/YS06mN8l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

As was the case Friday, I was even more of a wanderer on Saturday especially considering I was wearing down. But my eye was still pretty sharp, and I saw this sitting on one dealer's table who obviously didn't deal in unopened. Pretty sure he took as part of a trade, and I got what I felt like was a smoking hot deal on it. 1981 Topps Football wax box, BBCE wrapped.
<a href="https://imgur.com/uWQ607h"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/uWQ607hl.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

Shortly before heading to the airport, I took one last run by the BBCE booth. I wanted to see the results of the 86 Fleer box break, and also just wanted to see what might be left in the cases. This one caught my eye. Just WOW!
<a href="https://imgur.com/tqXz7e4"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/tqXz7e4l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

And finally, dumbest thing I saw today. My buddy and I literally stood here for AT LEAST 5 minutes, but to no avail. No one ever showed up, no one yelled from a short space away to say "coming". An empty booth, with a free phone and lunch. I could say a lot of different things here, but I'm just going to be quiet and let you decide the word or phrase you'd use to describe this scene.
<a href="https://imgur.com/bYdBE53"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/bYdBE53l.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

bounce

08-07-2018, 08:48 PM

And now for the wrap up.

THE LAND and THE SHOW
I had never been to Cleveland before. In terms of the actual space and layout, I actually do prefer it over Chicago. The food choices are far superior inside the show, and I really preferred this layout versus Chicago where there are dealer tables on the side with all the corporate stuff in the middle. However, as others have noted the internet service was atrocious. Luckily for me, I didn't really experience the same issues as others (maybe my carrier was THE ONE that worked), but mine was still slow at times and in 2018 there's just no excuse for it being so bad. My hotel was a short Uber away, and there were some decent places to eat near me, but from the hotels and outside of show perspective I do prefer Chicago. I have a few more flight options to Chicago, Cleveland was somewhat limited but not terrible. Again, slight nod to Chicago if I had to choose. I have to believe Cleveland keeps it spot in the lineup because of economics somehow. I've heard that they give the space for free to get the show (and thus the hotels, etc.) - that would make sense to me if true but sounds almost too good to be true. Give me a choice, and I would vote Chicago, but that's mainly because of the non-show factors.

THE DEALERS and THE DOUGH
I've discussed the dealers a bit already, but I'll recap. Wednesday and Thursday felt like the dealers were trying to set a new record price for every graded card they had out to sell. That tactic is extremely irritating and I think very short sighted. As a guy who walks around with a fair amount of money to spend, and seemingly unlimited opportunities to spend it, pricing your cards more than 15-20% higher than going market as a starting ask costs you my business most of the time, because there's so much to see and I really don't want to waste time haggling when it's that far away. My REAL want list is pretty limited and those are the only things I'd even consider paying up that much for. However, I will buy just about anything that catches my eye and has a fair price. It took a couple days for dealers to loosen up IMO, but seemed like by Friday dealers were coming down to earth. Rare modern cards of Trout were the only real exception I saw, those were being feverishly sought and many were selling despite the jaw dropping prices. I do think money was flowing pretty freely every day I was there, although by Saturday it did feel like it had slowed down. I also haven't mentioned it in this post, but it's been discussed here before. I know there are a lot of people who feel like collecting is and will do very well, and I wouldn't necessarily dispute that. However, if you attend this show it's easy to see that there is a real lack of diversity in the attendees. I think there is definitely a demographic problem that will hold some of these markets back over time, but until the economy slows down I doubt we will see that impact.

WHAT TO KNOW and TIME TO GO
I didn't book this trip until late this year, but obviously I was very pleased I went. Probably my 2nd favorite of the past four Nationals, but it's close. Getting your #1 wish list card obviously plays a big factor, but I was able to stay pretty steadily engaged this time which wasn't necessarily the case in previous Nationals. Maybe the experience of going to several is helping. This is really the ONLY PLACE you have the opportunity to see things you can't other places and might not ever again. If you've ever thought about going, I'm hopeful that my write-ups will help push you over the edge to attend. As far as I'm concerned, the more the merrier. I really did enjoy the people this time, and I'm looking forward to developing more of these relationships, and ultimately hoping to do more connecting with those folks in person next time around. Working the tables at the show is certainly fun, but I'm that much more interested in talking to folks I primarily know electronically, and I'd really like to be able to do more meet ups for trading outside the show, when the time pressure and surroundings aren't as distracting. Inevitably, there's a sense and element of "competition" inside the arena, but that's not really there after the show ends each day. So to Ryan, James, Kurt, Adam, Mike, a couple Keiths, Patrick, a couple more Joes, and everyone else I'm forgetting - thanks for a great time and another great experience. I hope everyone can enjoy their collecting as much as I have been, and here's to hopefully another bright future of it between now and National 2019.

And thanks everyone for putting up with me this week. I'll try to behave as we move forward. :smile:

Rhotchkiss

08-08-2018, 04:26 AM

David, thanks for all the posts - I really enjoyed all reading your updates. I am glad we finally got to meet in person and a huge congratulations on roping that T204 Johnson - it is an awesome example of an awesome card!! Stay in touch and remind me that I owe you a primer on mobile home parks. Talk soon.

Ryan

Donscards

08-08-2018, 05:06 AM

So there was nothing on the Ballot other than those cities? For many, Chicago is the only one that even has a direct flight. Might need to boycott the National if they aren't even considering anything west of the Mississippi any time in the future. Just not worth the hassle.

The other sites on the ballot discussed were Baltimore, St. Louis, San Diego, Philadelphia, Dallas, Denver and Anaheim. But on these sites, the National stated that they couldn't provide terms and conditions satisfactory for the event--Or the right dates, or adequate load in facilities-pricing, and other guarantees---so it comes down to Chicago and Cleveland for the next few years.

KMayUSA6060

08-08-2018, 08:43 AM

That parking venue is a cash cow for the owner. They just keep raising prices, I'll not miss them when I retire. They charge for every event I have attended, which includes the March and November Fanatics Shows and an occasional summer show.

Interesting. I do know with the IX Center, they don't charge for parking for the huge car show that takes place in March (as I've previously stated). THAT'S what irks me the most regarding the pay-to-park. Not to mention a multi-day parking pass isn't offered.

To weigh in on the National location, and I may be a homer, but I heard TONS of people rave about it being in Cleveland, and how underrated they found CLE to be. Ease of commuting, cost of living, etc.

CurtisFlood

08-09-2018, 07:59 AM

From my earlier post about parking in Chicago. I would suspect that all of the hotels charge more than this lot. If you are not comfortable parking there overnight you could move it, however for a full day at the show it is much cheaper. Well worth the walk though from what I saw some collectors could not make it. It would be a very good deal even for dealers.

You do not need to park at the Stephens Center or at the parking garage across the street. The Rosemont subway station is about 1/3 mile north of the convention center on the same street. It is just north of Rte 190. Parking there was $7.00 all day (up to 14 hours). If you are in reasonable shape it is a less than 10 minute walk. The trick to parking there is to make absolutely sure of your space number. I remember pre-paying at a kiosk and you entered your space number. A local told me to pay with a credit card so you would get a receipt to prove payment. They check the spaces during the day and tow for non-paying parkers. From the CTA website:

Rosemont
5801 N. River Rd. •$7.00 for 0 to 14 hours
•$9.00 for 14 to 18 hours
•$13.00 for 18 to 24 hours
•Each additional 24 hours (or fraction thereof) $13.00
•Lost ticket: $39.00
Capacity 750

The show gives dealers a good price on parking discount, we share rides daily from the hotel, and do everything we can to keep the parking costs as low as possible.

CurtisFlood

08-09-2018, 08:02 AM

Interesting. I do know with the IX Center, they don't charge for parking for the huge car show that takes place in March (as I've previously stated). THAT'S what irks me the most regarding the pay-to-park. Not to mention a multi-day parking pass isn't offered.

To weigh in on the National location, and I may be a homer, but I heard TONS of people rave about it being in Cleveland, and how underrated they found CLE to be. Ease of commuting, cost of living, etc.

To be honest I have loved every national I have set up at. I have enjoyed Cleveland the most, but Chicago, Baltimore, and Atlantic City are very good as well. I've done the most Nationals in Chicago, Cleveland next, and Baltimore twice. Atlantic City only once, but I may just decide to go again next time. I definitely want to go back to Cleveland one more time.

ullmandds

08-09-2018, 08:05 AM

personally...I liked cleveland better than chitown...much less expensive all around and the venue much easier to navigate than chicago. more food options as well.

Exhibitman

08-09-2018, 10:34 AM

This year, I decided to travel on Monday and hit the show Tuesday since I heard that early set-up day is now a ‘thing’ for relentless deal hunters like me.

I was really looking forward to this show. Monday morning I awoke at 4:30 and couldn’t fall back to sleep. I tossed and turned until my wife took me to the Fly Away bus terminal for the hour ride to the airport.

The trip started inauspiciously: the airport shuttle bus broke down and they piled us into taxis, four to a Prius including luggage. Ours was driven by a surly Armenian immigrant who spent the long trip to the airport giving us chapter and verse about how poorly the bus company paid for his services and how he was missing out on better tips. Cramming my 6’3” into the rear of that cab I pulled a groin muscle and spent the rest of the day indelicately rubbing my crotch region whenever I could.

But I digress.

I arrived at LAX in enough time to make my flight easily and slipped the driver a couple of bucks for his cheery driving. The flight to Cleveland was fine. Though I have to say, United Airlines first class to Cleveland really is an oxymoron. It wasn’t the worst first class I’ve flown (that distinction goes to Hawaii Air) but it was a disrespectable second. The seating was blah, the food underwhelming, and the service was practically non-existent, but at least I got a decent overhead bin for my grotesquely heavy bag o cards. Without a dead dog in it. And no one was beaten and dragged off the flight...but at least that could have been entertaining.

I arrived at the Sheraton after what is by that point 8 hours of travel. I went to my room with the non-functional room key, got that straightened out, and decided to eat in the hotel. Did you know that everything in Cleveland comes with fries? I didn’t. But it does. And salad invariably includes bacon and cheese. I didn’t care, though, as I was so tired that I went right to bed. Where I experienced insomnia. That may have had a bit to do with watching Sons of Anarchy on my laptop just before I lay down. Who would have suspected that a violent drama about a motorcycle gang would affect my sleep?

After a luxurious breakfast Tuesday morning…no, wait, that wasn’t me…I went over to the IX (pronounced “ick”) Center early to get my badge. LOTG was kind enough to sponsor me so the precious ducat (sorry) was to be in the LOTG envelope waiting for me. Now you would assume that since my name was on the freakin envelope it would be a simple matter to give me the freakin' badge, and you would be wrong. I am glad I am persuasive because I had to use all my skill to get that badge out of the well-meaning but dim woman helping me.

“I’m here to pick up my badge to start setting up for Love of the Game Auctions.”

“What’s your name?”

“Adam Warshaw”

[looks under “W”] “We don’t have an envelope.”

“I know. Try Love of the Game Auctions.”

“Are you Al Crisa…Crisa..”

“fulli. No, I am working with Al. My name is Warshaw. I am supposed to pick up my badge.”

“Al’s not here yet.”

“I know. He will be here later. I want to start setting up the booth.”

“Al’s not here yet.”

“Is there someone else I can talk to?”

Eventually we get it sorted, I get my badge, and in I go.

The IX Center. Lovely. It stinks of exhaust fumes because dealers are driving their cars onto the floor to set up. The lights are barely on. Here and there, dealers have stuff ready, so I start picking.

Now, besides my endless want list of weird crap, one of my goals this year is to find cheap raw cards to replace my slabbed 1970s cards. I am sick of the heavy, bulky plastic. I want my cards in albums so I can enjoy them readily, turning pages instead of fumbling with plastic cases. I find myself over by the ferris wheel at Chandy Greenholt’s table. Chandy is a dealer from Raleigh who had hundreds of thousands of cards of every stripe all mixed together in 5000 count boxes. I’ve known Chandy for years and usually find something at his table. He tells me that he bought out the inventory of a swap meet card dealer and is tossing it out there for the show. All I know is that I am pulling out handfuls of exactly the cards I am looking for: clean, crisp HOFers at a buck a throw. I spend most of the morning and early afternoon there.

After about four hours of digging, I have to take a break. I pay for my stack of HOFers and go over to the tables in the nascent food court to put the cards into the Card Savers I brought with me for just this sort of pick. I then resume the walking and stalking, making a few more buys. One table I come to has dozens of Star Cal decals for sale. I have been looking for an Al Rosen for years. My search ends. Nice. I also pick up a quartet of boxing exhibits at a throw-away price including Dempsey, Tunney, Leonard, and one signed by heavyweight champ Jack Sharkey. I then run into a pair of boxing buyers who make my largest sale of the week before I even set up. End of early set up day and I have taken in almost as much as I did the entire show last year

As the show closes, me and another LOTG parasite head back to the Sheraton and get a group together to go to dinner. I’ve now had 36 hours without a decent meal and my stomach is churning so we have to go somewhere better than the hotel slophouse. I find a restaurant on Yelp that seems promising, and we end up having a pretty good meal.

I gotta say, Cleveland is an odd place. Riding through it on the way to dinner I honestly cannot tell whether a neighborhood is good or bad: it all looks run down. One thing we all notice is the large number of fast food places and funeral homes. Any connection there? Back to the Sheraton and into the bar for the evening. I head upstairs at a reasonable hour and I miss Luis Tiant hanging out at the bar. Serves me right.

Wednesday. Another bad breakfast at the Sheraton and it is off to the show for the longest day. Now, in Chicago or Baltimore I will leave the show for an hour or so to nap before the evening because I can easily walk across the street to my hotel. Not the IX…try a $30 round trip Uber. So I muscle through 11+ hours of picking. How many cards do I look at? I have no idea, but I buy so many that I have to buy a box of Card Savers.

At one point I am wandering through the ass-end of the show and I see one of the infamous ten-cent tables, except this one has a crispy looking 1973 Bob Hayes sticking out of a row of cards, so I decide to take a look. I am elbow deep into a group of pack fresh 1973-79 football cards when Ed Hans (hi Ed) runs into me and starts giving me grief for going through ‘crap’ at a ten-cent table. A few minutes later I pull out a 1970 OPC sticker of Bobby Orr in nice shape, which is about a $50 card. I pay for it and 49 other HOFers from the seventies. Five bucks. I go over to Ed’s table and give him a moment of grief. Childish? I suppose. But fun. Meanwhile, a walk-in at my table brought me two of the very rarest boxing Exhibit cards:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/saleholding/websize/exhibit%20Azteca%20and%20Jackson.jpg

From a ridiculously scarce early 1930s print run. I've only seen either card a couple of times in 20+ years.

That night we are all too wrecked to go out—I did not realize that my toenails could ache—soe we dine at the Sheraton. Then to the Sheraton bar. Sitting to our right at dinner, Artis Gilmore; to the left, Frank Robinson. In the bar later, the very personable Eric Metcalf. This is fun.

Thursday is a carbon copy of Wednesday but shorter. Until dinner. A friend has set up a trip for German food. It was great. You gotta love a place with liver dumpling soup, pierogies and Schwartzwalder kirschtort for dessert.

Friday and I was hung over as hell, without ever having a drink. Maybe it is getting older, or fatter, but the National has a way of making me feel like I’ve gone 15 rounds with Ali. In my impaired state I decide to go to the PSA luncheon. I regret missing the day they handed out that CJ Ruth that sold for a few hundred on eBay, so my hopes are high. Nope. Anyone want a heavy book and a signed 1972 Rico Petrocelli? The gifts are worth literally fives of dollars. It was the worst meal I’ve ever had. Nasty chicken, bad beef and frozen veg. Has anyone in Cleveland ever heard of salad? Fresh veg? I return to the show floor and queasily resume my quest, only this time I am out for big game. I am chasing a 1954 Topps Gordie Howe card. The several I see suck and are over priced. I finally find a nice mid-grade and buy it. Then I spot a set break on 1969 Topps Supers and the Hank Aaron is calling my name. I ponder the buy for a while but damn, that PSA 9 is nice, so I do it. Big card off my Aaron list.

Saturday. I am going home and thanks to PSA I have the one thing you want for a plane ride: diarrhea.

The last day at the show is always a bittersweet one. On the one hand I want my bed, my food, my dog and cat, my routine. Yet, as N54 'playa' Robert Silverman says, your worst day at a card show is better than your best day at work. I pick some more cards and try to redeem my Panini redemption card. I've been waiting four months for a signed Stan Lee card I pulled: about a $200 item, and Panini is offering blind boxes of redemption items of comparable value. Well, their "customer service" is a cruel joke. One clerk working one laptop. I wasted about 20 minutes in line and left. A woman in line next to me wanted to leave but had been waiting for a year for the redemption to be fulfilled. On the shuttle back to the hotel I spot a collector with a Panini redemption trade up box and ask how long it took to get it. Two hours. F*** Panini: I am never buying their unopened products again.

I came home with over 400 new items and completely sold out of the books I brought with me.

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/hockey/websize/1954%20Topps%20Howe.jpg

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/hockey/websize/Natty%20hockey%201.jpg

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/hockey/websize/1974%20OPC%20WHA%20Natty.jpg

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/miscellaneous4/websize/1969%20Super%20Aaron.jpg

Only 51 weeks until Chicago. I am already pumped for it.

irv

08-09-2018, 10:49 AM

Great write up, Adam. :)

One of these years I am going to have to attend one of these Nationals. They sure sound entertaining!

Yoda

08-09-2018, 12:09 PM

Just a few bullet points about my National experience:
--One would think there would be a direct flight between West Palm Beach and Cleveland, but no. Best bet seemed to be American but with the inevitable plane change in Charlotte, necessitating a mad dash between Concourse C and E. Not fun with a backpack filled with entombed baseball cards. No coronary to report.
--Now Thursday morning and at breakfast sat next to Frank and Mrs. Robinson. Tried not to listen to their conversation but couldn't help myself.
--Over to the Center and was immediately impressed with the layout. Food court and bars off to one side away from the dealers tables. Great choice of junk food, particularly the soft ice cream stands, where I made about a dozen stops over the next few days. Didn't understand the carousel in the middle, which seemed superfluous and a bit silly. No Wi Fi was a bummer but didn't affect me much. Access in and around tables seemed easier than prior Nationals.
--Crowd size seemed manageable and not overwhelming.
--Stopped at LOTG and submitted a nice consignment of pre-war cards to Al. Finally met Jeff, who is a great addition and I am sure will help take LOTG to the next level. The usual suspects were hanging around, drinking Al's free water and generally making a mess of his booth.
--Didn't buy much, mainly, I guess, to due sticker shock and miserable attitude on the part of some dealers. Major auction houses were showing lots of eye candy and strutting their stuff. Their power and influence was palpable.
Did, however, snag a couple of great '14 Cracker Jacks, a Chance and Hooper, from Don Hontz who was kind enough to take my personal check for part of the purchase after I ran out of hundred dollar bills. Thanks Don.
--SGC was, at best, shambolic; tiny submission area, terminals to handle submissions rather than people, terrible communication, broken sealing machine etc. Dave Foreman no where in sight to try and defuse things. A lot of unhappy SGC supporters muttering under their breaths. Meanwhile, even though the crowds were predictably large at PSA, things were moving along and their customers didn't seem about to revolt.
--For me, the Sheraton was a disaster mainly because I suffered a nasty scrape to my leg on the shuttle bus. The Sheraton's attitude was appalling, no offer of medical help, total indifference to my bleeding leg and so on. Carolina Brights is my witness. I am seriously thinking of taking legal action against them, which is something I would never consider if they had responded in a more humane fashion. I will never be their guest again if I can help it.
--Leon, you were missed, but still met up with some old friends and a few Net 54'ers.
If I can get a direct flight, will probably hit Chicago next year. Atlantic City is doubtful. Just don't like the place.