Status of shows in the Boston area:
Most of you know that I started to promote shows here in the late 1970's. I ran them regularly until my illness got terminal and retired last year. In Boston, the focal point of the hobby was my weekly shows and the one big Shriner's show.
For decades our hobby was organized and full of wonderful people. I created a place that would remain a safe haven for collectors and dealers to meet at on a regular basis. However, it looks like collecting will go in a different direction.
After talking to many, many people about the state of the hobby and the lack of money available from today's dealers to buy their cards, it appears that cards have become a small hobby rather than a booming business.
The show report here is that the Shriner's show is a mere shell of it's former self. My shows have disappeared and someone's running an irregular and non-consistent version of what I did. This saddens me.
It's not all bad, and in fact collectors rejoice because the hobby is in your hands now. You should be able to pay what you want for cards in most cases. Of course, there are exceptions based on scarcity, condition and age.
Here's just one quote regarding the Shriner's show:
"I am primarily focused on real estate right now, and, judging by how poorly the weekend show went, that will stay my focus."
"The show was a joke. Lots of long faces and not much business."
I sincerely hope that collecting cards is a hobby for everyone for years to come. I loved shows and shows were my life, however it appears that collectors will collect via different avenues than I did. There's no admission fee on net54 and I have recommended to all my former clients that net54 is the best place to collect.
The finest people in the hobby are on here as well as acess to virtually any card you'd ever want or need.
I have not been well enough to leave a post on here in a while. I love our sport and our hobby. Future generations of collectors need to see our hobby for what it was during the rise, boom times and fall of the empire! It is an honorable hobby and a lot of fun.
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