Quote:
Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards
Just my two cents, Chantilly was a veritable autograph factory, and, as a vintage dealer the best show I've done. I don't think the two ideas are incompatible.
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Agreed. Having moved from collecting only cards to only autographs back in the mid 90's (slowly moving back to cards) I think in this day and age the promoter should want to appeal to a broad swath of the collecting population. I know collectors who only collect cards, others who only collect autographs, and some who collect both.
Bringing in B and C list actors brings in another type of collector. Personally, I like this new trend as long as there is a baseball tie-in. Drier Brown will be at Chantilly again, and he is a great guy (no, I am not his agent). I am surprised that more female soccer players are not at Chantilly. Chastain, Hamm, Solo and Wambach crushed when they were scheduled to sign. Those type of players bring in a different crowd.
I think one of the things that angers dealers is when the spillover from the autograph crowd blocks potential customers from reaching their table. I understand that concern. The fear of the autograph collector is missing out on the guest, which is why most collectors congregate in the autograph area. Most venues have poor PA systems. A problem with autograph tickets is the tiered pricing (flat, oversize, equipment, art etc.). Each tier starts at 1. So initially, when tickets 1-25 are called the number of collectors wanting to be let in is 25 times the amount of tiers. (granted some collectors could have multiples of a given tier but you get the drift). Easy fix, start the first tier of tickets at 1, the second tier at 200, third tier at 300 and so on and so on. The fear of missing out on a guest is magnified due to poor PA systems. Chantilly does a great job of letting the collector know where each signer is at number wise. I walk the show floor until my tickets numbers are called. Other promoters and venues have poor PA systems and signage that there is no way the collector is going to chance straying too far from the autograph area. Saying that the PA drowns out conversation on the show floor is just north of ridiculous.