Nationals is open for business…. Quick updates

[mrreality68]

Some observations
1. The forum prep thread and what to do in Atlantic City thread was spot on
2. The convention center as a place is nice and location to the Casino’s for shows, entertainment, walk ability to convention was nice.
3. The convention center infrastructure not so good. From not enough parking, no easy alternatives, to no Wi-Fi or cellular service (saw many dealers and buyers doing deals outside the convention hall to get reception to transact.
4. Dealers were saying the convention center was trying to charge $350 for them to have Wi-Fi access for the 5 days
5. Cash is king need to bring more next time( not comfortable carrying a lot), checks were accepted by some with Id, and by others with References (luckily I had some that vouched for me). PayPal was the 2nd preferred method but not by all dealers and also depending on the reception issues mentioned above
6. eBay is making a big move trying to get into/expand in the hobby. Their “bags” were the Alonso bag for the VIP giveaways
7. The VIP lounge was functional but not necessarily useful. It was good to get fast access entry and avoid lines and good to sit and network with people when spending 8 plus hours in the place. The down side is the “lounge” had no real amenities for food and drink just a place to rest and separate bathroom from the non VIP. The downside it was at one end of convention in hall A so if you were at the far end of convention you had a long walk to get to the lounge
8. Great place to network, meet people from the forum( met many members including Pete C, Pete I, Darrell, Matt, Tony L and others. Great place to put names with faces from auction houses etc
9. Interesting watching kids and teens sitting on floors and in corners doing trades and show off what they got, traded for etc. next generation of collectors.
10. Interesting seeing the large number of people with suitcases of cards and cash(saw one guy casually take out over $200k to buy a mantle) and his suitcase looked stuffed with cash and cards.
11. The place was super packed with people
12. Football, hockey, basketball ball, and Pokémon cards all had huge presence this year.
13. Their was cards, stamps, memorabilia and so much more at every price point which means something for everyone.
14. The layout was ok and could have been better organized. It would have been nice for the masses if the place had as best possible organized by category ie all baseball in the same area or aisles, over by vintage a modern etc.
15. It would be nice if next to each vendor tables on the map or list it tells what their primary focus is. Just something to make it easier to find things.
-6. It took me approx 15 hours to hit everything and kind of get my bearings.
17. Making notes of items I saw, prices, location numbers and pictures were key so when I wanted to double back on things I knew where to go.
18. Need for control not to just buy the first thing you see because often I found the same item/card some other table at better prices or saw a more must have item/card at another table especially if working with a budget(and yes there were times I went back and the item was sold) but sticking to the plan left me with the funds to get what I really wanted that I would not have if in the first 2 rows I bought on impulse the items that caught my eye.
19. Key to have a good breakfast and then bring drinks or snacks do to long lines, limited food/drink options to both save time and money.
20. Time seems to go to fast. When I was 6 hours in on Thursday for example I thought it was only a couple of hours
21. When they want you out they push. The VIP lounge closed at 4 and they made announcements before hand and pushed you out. The convention closed at 6pm thru started announcements at 5pm and continued until you left by 6
22 getting out of the parking garage at 6pm plus looked like a night mare and no real help from police or convention center
23. Ubers and taxis where there but not enough for those that came out at same time(luckily the casinos were straight up the road and easy walk for many of us)

I am sure I missed something and hopefully the others can fill in the blanks

[x2drich2000]

Originally Posted by mrreality68

Some observations
1. The forum prep thread and what to do in Atlantic City thread was spot on
2. The convention center as a place is nice and location to the Casino’s for shows, entertainment, walk ability to convention was nice.
3. The convention center infrastructure not so good. From not enough parking, no easy alternatives, to no Wi-Fi or cellular service (saw many dealers and buyers doing deals outside the convention hall to get reception to transact.
4. Dealers were saying the convention center was trying to charge $350 for them to have Wi-Fi access for the 5 days
5. Cash is king need to bring more next time( not comfortable carrying a lot), checks were accepted by some with Id, and by others with References (luckily I had some that vouched for me). PayPal was the 2nd preferred method but not by all dealers and also depending on the reception issues mentioned above
6. eBay is making a big move trying to get into/expand in the hobby. Their “bags” were the Alonso bag for the VIP giveaways
7. The VIP lounge was functional but not necessarily useful. It was good to get fast access entry and avoid lines and good to sit and network with people when spending 8 plus hours in the place. The down side is the “lounge” had no real amenities for food and drink just a place to rest and separate bathroom from the non VIP. The downside it was at one end of convention in hall A so if you were at the far end of convention you had a long walk to get to the lounge
8. Great place to network, meet people from the forum( met many members including Pete C, Pete I, Darrell, Matt, Tony L and others. Great place to put names with faces from auction houses etc
9. Interesting watching kids and teens sitting on floors and in corners doing trades and show off what they got, traded for etc. next generation of collectors.
10. Interesting seeing the large number of people with suitcases of cards and cash(saw one guy casually take out over $200k to buy a mantle) and his suitcase looked stuffed with cash and cards.
11. The place was super packed with people
12. Football, hockey, basketball ball, and Pokémon cards all had huge presence this year.
13. Their was cards, stamps, memorabilia and so much more at every price point which means something for everyone.
14. The layout was ok and could have been better organized. It would have been nice for the masses if the place had as best possible organized by category ie all baseball in the same area or aisles, over by vintage a modern etc.
15. It would be nice if next to each vendor tables on the map or list it tells what their primary focus is. Just something to make it easier to find things.
-6. It took me approx 15 hours to hit everything and kind of get my bearings.
17. Making notes of items I saw, prices, location numbers and pictures were key so when I wanted to double back on things I knew where to go.
18. Need for control not to just buy the first thing you see because often I found the same item/card some other table at better prices or saw a more must have item/card at another table especially if working with a budget(and yes there were times I went back and the item was sold) but sticking to the plan left me with the funds to get what I really wanted that I would not have if in the first 2 rows I bought on impulse the items that caught my eye.
19. Key to have a good breakfast and then bring drinks or snacks do to long lines, limited food/drink options to both save time and money.
20. Time seems to go to fast. When I was 6 hours in on Thursday for example I thought it was only a couple of hours
21. When they want you out they push. The VIP lounge closed at 4 and they made announcements before hand and pushed you out. The convention closed at 6pm thru started announcements at 5pm and continued until you left by 6
22 getting out of the parking garage at 6pm plus looked like a night mare and no real help from police or convention center
23. Ubers and taxis where there but not enough for those that came out at same time(luckily the casinos were straight up the road and easy walk for many of us)

I am sure I missed something and hopefully the others can fill in the blanks

Jeff's assessment I think is pretty on target.

I saw a large group of mostly kids/teens trading between themselves between the Claridge and Bally's at like 10:30pm. The one thing I saw that really rubbed me was a 12-13 year old bought something for a few hundred dollars and he was just throwing the money toward the dealer one at a time in a big theatrical manner. I really hope this was just an isolated incident.
In the parents defense, he did make the kid gather the money up and hand it to the dealer afterwards. On the other end, I definitely saw a bunch of kids politely asking dealers if the bought stuff and the all dealers treated the kids very well even if they weren't interested.

The internet going out and the food service were definitely issues. Never had to wait for the restroom. The lack of trashcans though was definitely an issue. You can understand calling AC a dump when the food waste is literally piling up on the floor next to the overflowing trash can.

Walking to and from the boardwalk to the convention center wasn't an issue. Yesterday while walking to the show just before it opened I overheard a traffic cop telling people the garage was full. The traffic seemed like a nightmare. Definitely easier to park away and walk to the show rather than trying to park right at the convention center. I even managed to walk from the convention center to the boardwalk after 10pm without getting robbed, stabbed, run over, or sent to the hospital.

As for pickups, after 3 days, only got 1 item. And, big surprise, the dealer that told me to come back didn't have the cards in his case today.