reports from the 2017 National

[kmac32]

Just got to mom and dad's home from the National. Had an awesome time hunting. Bumped 1 card off of my T205 Cubs reverse list in a trade, traded for. Minor league T205, bought a Minor league T205 card to start my next project, go my T205 AB slabbed by SGC after they failed to do what I requested when I sent in and had explained to them that an A grade is fine for my needs, consigned my W572 strip set to Heritage, and met lots of board members at the banquet and on the show floor.

Went with 9 Slabbed T205 cards for Trade bait and am returning with only 2 of the original group. Who says you can't trade at the National? I did well and the dealers did well so it was a win win deal for me. Wish I could have done that well with Ebay. LOL

This was my 4th National and probably my best National. The friday and Saturday trip worked well for me and it helped break up a week long trip seeing family. Also caught up with some old friends on the way up, had dinner with a fantasy camp friend this afternoon, and having breakfast with another fantasy camp friend in the morning.

I hope everyone had as good of a week as me.

Ken

[Tennis13]

I went to the National with my dad. It feels like an annual tradition we started in 2014, yet somehow this is only the second time we did it. Last two years were some extenuating circumstances.

Back in the early 1990s, my dad bought some 33 Goudeys that sort of kicked off our hunt to complete the set. I had the great idea of getting them graded this year. So there we went to SGC with a handful of 33 Goudeys and some 1950s cards and 2 Michael Jordan rookies that he bought in like 1992.(sticker and regular issued card)

I always give my dad a ton of credit on the Jordan. He is a doctor, and as the Hollywood guys say, find doctors and dentists if you need to fund a movie, because they have lots of money and are the worst businessmen. But my dad, man, back in 1992 he bought that Jordan from Jack's Baseball Cards in Clearwater, Florida. Jack smoked like a chimney, and has to be dead by now, but I spent many an afternoon at that joint drooling over cards I could never buy on my own. My dad had the same problem, but he could afford the cards. He spent $125 on the card and didn't tell a soul. I swear I didnt know about it til we went to the safe deposit box when I was visiting from college in like 1999. He slyly pulled the card aside and I was so impressed he had the guts to buy it and not tell my mom. After all, it made up for the $125 he spent on my 1986 Donruss Jose Canseco for Christmas in 1992 or so. I still hear about that wasted money to this day.

Anyway, I stop by the SGC booth to pick up our cards, and we got some good grades on the Goudeys. Not like amazing, but slightly better than I thought on a few of them.

The Jordan: a fake! All the way back from 1992. Now my best crafty businessman dad story is yet another strike against him. I would bet I hear about that card everytime I see him for the rest of his life.

Ha, oh well. I don't like the card at all---seems they are everywhere and it never strikes my fancy. But I know it struck him through the heart like a dagger. I had prepared him based on the eye test for a 7 at best---it was nowhere near a 10--, so it wasnt the end of the world to me. I told him there's no way Jack knew, at least I don't think so. Back in the early 90s, no 65 year-old local card shop owner knew, because things were evolving so fast then before the crash.

So I bought him a 1953 Jackie Robinson because that was all he talked about in 2014 and this show he kept hunting them. We also bought a Carl Hubbell 1933 Goudey from the same guy.

[wondo]

I came to the 2017 National as a "Dealer" for the first time. Actually, I was helping my friends, Glyn Parson and his dad, at their double booth. I had a couple of cases to display my museum priced collection. I did sell a couple of cards, but my intention was to go and participate.

I gotta tell ya, it was more fun behind the table and occasionally walking the floor than it was just canvassing the entire National setup non-stop (as I had done in previous years). I met a huge cross section of folks (some great, some sad) and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of working the table, although my body paid the price. Anyone who criticizes dealers for sitting down and taking a load off while behind the tables should try it sometime.

Bought a few T202s from John Goodman including a rare back Factory 10 black Cobb, submitted to PSA (nightmare lines), met some board members (Val, Schwartz, Lee Behrens, Leon, Adam, etc.) and generally survived the National "food" served at the snack bars and restaurant.

Had a great time - thanks, Glyn!

[buymycards]

My wife and I were at the National all day on Thursday and all day on Friday. We stayed until the closing bell on both days. My wife is a saint!

I have to say that I enjoyed every minute. The cards were awesome, most of the dealers were friendly and I was able to find a couple of cards for my collection.

We were able to see the Ty Cobb w/Cobb back that was on sale for 1.2 million. I thought about buying it, but was about 1.19 million short on funds. I bought a nice Weil baking card from Ed Hans, and I met Ted Z for the first time, which resulted in two separate, delightful conversations. I regret passing up a low grade T213-2 Cobb for $950, and I can't remember the name of the dealer who had it in his showcase.

There were 1000's of T206's available. I tried to get a rough count on the T206's in Levi's showcases, and a rough guess would be 1200-1500 cards.

There were 100's of T206 Cobbs, and 100's of 1933 Goudey Ruth cards. It is hard to believe that the prices don't come down when so many are available. I saw more 1952 Mantles than I had seen in previous years. Many dealers had one sitting in the middle of their showcase.

I generally start the show by go to the back of the room and looking at the tables of some of the smaller, non-corporate dealers. They are mostly easier to talk to and some nice deals are available. They come to sell cards, not just display them and talk to their friends. I went to Tony Gordons table, which was way back in the corner. He was close to the Topp's area, which was noisy all day long. I'm glad that I didn't have to listen to that noise all day.

The show was smaller than it was 2 years ago. There was a large area of the convention center floor that was unused and cordoned off by a curtain. I

There is one thing that amazed me. There were dozens of tables that were filled with box after box of 10 cent cards, or 25 cent, 50 cent, and $1 cards. These tables were always packed with people going through the boxes. It was difficult to get near the tables to take a look through the boxes. It is hard to believe that someone can pay their show expenses by selling 10 cent cards, but there were a lot of people giving it a try.

The dealers that specialized in modern cards, especially autographed cards, seemed to be busy all day long. Many of their tables were packed with customers, and these dealers seemed to be focused on selling. I can't tell you how often I went to a vintage dealers table and the dealer was chatting with a buddy and didn't care that he had customers at his table. Also, there are still a lot of dealers who aren't pricing their cards, so, unless they have something that I really want to look at, I just walk past their tables.

Like I said earlier, I enjoyed every minute. We had a free shuttle from our hotel to the convention center and back, and we used Uber every evening to take us to a restaurant and another Uber to bring us back to the hotel. Another thing that we did differently this year, to avoid the traffic congestion in Chicago, is that we got on the Metra train in Harvard and took the train to a station that was 2 miles from our hotel, then used Uber to get the to hotel.
It was cheaper to take the train and use Uber than it is to drive down down the tollway and pay for tolls and gas.

My only regret is that I was only able to stay for 2 days. I have never been to Cleveland, but I am thinking seriously about going next year.

Rick

[tiger8mush]

thanks for sharing your experiences, fun to read for those who couldn't make it!!

[Rich Falvo]

I'm loving hearing all of the descriptions of the show. I was already planning on going next year. Can't wait.

[judgebuck]

This was my fifth National. I attended with four other guys from Kentucky, all of us being 65 years old or older. I really enjoyed the Net54 function on Friday night. There three speakers: guy from Mile High auction company, guy from Love of the Game auction company, and Chicago FBI agent who spoke and answered questions about the FBI's taking down of Mastro Auctions and the resulting prison sentences of the individuals involved. All three speakers were outstanding, an Leon is to be commended! Free pizza and beer, too!!

Even though the floor space was less this year, I thought the crowds were substantial. Plenty of children with their parents, which is good for the hobby.

My big purchase was a mid-grade 1953 Topps set. Also, I bought a 1956 Jay Publishing Yankees set, a 1950s Mantle pin and ribbon from the 1950s, The Book of Baseball (large 1911 baseball book), 1950 Fawcett J. Robby comic, 1954 Post mag with Musial auto (and certificate of authentication), and several small items.

I made several new friends and look forward to Cleveland in '18.

[e107collector]

Just curious - any E107's for sale, or coming up for auction?

Also, did anyone see any rare or interesting Joe Jackson items for sale, or coming up for auction?

Thanks
Tony

[AddieJoss]

Originally Posted by e107collector

Just curious - any E107's for sale, or coming up for auction?

Also, did anyone see any rare or interesting Joe Jackson items for sale, or coming up for auction?

Thanks
Tony

REA has a number of E107s in thier next auction. Some of them were on display at the National.

[canjond]

Originally Posted by AddieJoss

REA has a number of E107s in thier next auction. Some of them were on display at the National.

Young and Plank as I recall.

[glynparson]

Thanks to my friend John Wondowski and my dad who were both tremendous helps. The show was excellent. Plenty of buyers for all different types of cards. It seems everything is in demand right now. I sold a nice cross section of cards. From t cards through high grade 1970s. Had some great conversations and a real fun time. I pushed myself a little to hard the first couple days and paid the price by Saturday. I am getting close to healthy but this long strenuous week showed me I'm not there yet. I am so grateful for John and my father I could not have done this alone. See everyone in Cleveland. Best sellers: t206, psa high grade cards, Cobb, Mathewson. Most shown pieces (I am a little high on some cause I don't really want to sell) T5, psa 7 and higher t206, high grade 1965 tall boy football psa 9-10. Again thanks to all my friends, customers, and fellow dealers that made this such a great show.

[LuckyLarry]

National Report Day 5 (copied from the OBC site)

I remember back in 2013, Sunday at the National meant BLOWOUT prices! So I was really looking forward to getting back to the show. I visited with Mike and Doug during the hotel provided free breakfast, then said goodbye to Doug as he had to drive home. Spike, Taylor and I left for a 1/2 day at the National as we had flights to catch at ORD airport.

First purchase dealer had nice stack of ’64 Beatles cards and ’66 Bat Laffs cards marked $1-$3 I offered to buy them all at .50c each so I added 26 cards to my doubles box.

Next purchase dealer had 1961 Fleer Pirates Bold cards in NM condition $3-$4 each I said I’d buy them all at $2 and I bought all 30 cards this is a good deal, only one hit to my list but all these are going to be upgrades.

As I am pretty new to baseball exhibit cards, I texted Taylor for an assist, and I purchased both variations ’47-’66 Mickey Mantle cards (batting waist up) for a decent price I was within $10 of the deal and the seller came down to my offer My kind of “meeting in the middle”. I also bought three other Mantle cards from him to bundle in, 2 cards 1961 Topps “Mantle Blasts 565 FT Home Run’ and also the ’61 Nu Card Scoops “Mantle Hits Longest Homer”.

Picked up 20 to 30 misc hits to my lists, including a 1962 Tops football “bucks” Jim Brown, then found a stack of 1935 Goudy baseball cards I had not seen all week. This was a surprise all morning for me, how do I spend five full days at the National, and on day five I am seeing new cards? I picked up three more big hits too my 1935 Goudey master set including two with more rare backs! I had to come off my wallet a bit for these, but I think I got a fair deal.

Last purchase. All week I have been watching a near set 1971 basketball near set 1971 “Topps Trio” basketball cards. These are the sticker cards, black borders, in three card panels. Only missing one of the short printed ABA Team Logos sheet #24A, other than this one, all others are there. Maravich, Big O, Alcinder, Wilt, Barry, West. A quick price check on eBay shows a few singles selling for $6-$8 many above $10 each. So I thought $5 each would be a good buy for me and I offered $125 dealers lowest price all week was $160. The dealer said his rock bottom price was $140 and I think he said this is what he had in the set. So I bought them for $140 or $5.60 a card. I have been wanting to start this set for awhile anyway.

So by noon we were done, and Taylor dropped us off at ORD. I am VERY happy to report that when I checked in on the American Airlines App, I got the TSA Pre Check, and was through security within ten minutes. I did have to kill five plus hours as my flight home was delayed but between a nice lunch and watching the NASCAR race the time went pretty fast. On the aircraft, I was the only passenger in my row, and looked at baseball cards all the way home!

Larry

[fduran27]

Originally Posted by LuckyLarry

National Report Day 5 (copied from the OBC site)

I remember back in 2013, Sunday at the National meant BLOWOUT prices! So I was really looking forward to getting back to the show. I visited with Mike and Doug during the hotel provided free breakfast, then said goodbye to Doug as he had to drive home. Spike, Taylor and I left for a 1/2 day at the National as we had flights to catch at ORD airport.

First purchase dealer had nice stack of ’64 Beatles cards and ’66 Bat Laffs cards marked $1-$3 I offered to buy them all at .50c each so I added 26 cards to my doubles box.

Next purchase dealer had 1961 Fleer Pirates Bold cards in NM condition $3-$4 each I said I’d buy them all at $2 and I bought all 30 cards this is a good deal, only one hit to my list but all these are going to be upgrades.

As I am pretty new to baseball exhibit cards, I texted Taylor for an assist, and I purchased both variations ’47-’66 Mickey Mantle cards (batting waist up) for a decent price I was within $10 of the deal and the seller came down to my offer My kind of “meeting in the middle”. I also bought three other Mantle cards from him to bundle in, 2 cards 1961 Topps “Mantle Blasts 565 FT Home Run’ and also the ’61 Nu Card Scoops “Mantle Hits Longest Homer”.

Picked up 20 to 30 misc hits to my lists, including a 1962 Tops football “bucks” Jim Brown, then found a stack of 1935 Goudy baseball cards I had not seen all week. This was a surprise all morning for me, how do I spend five full days at the National, and on day five I am seeing new cards? I picked up three more big hits too my 1935 Goudey master set including two with more rare backs! I had to come off my wallet a bit for these, but I think I got a fair deal.

Last purchase. All week I have been watching a near set 1971 basketball near set 1971 “Topps Trio” basketball cards. These are the sticker cards, black borders, in three card panels. Only missing one of the short printed ABA Team Logos sheet #24A, other than this one, all others are there. Maravich, Big O, Alcinder, Wilt, Barry, West. A quick price check on eBay shows a few singles selling for $6-$8 many above $10 each. So I thought $5 each would be a good buy for me and I offered $125 dealers lowest price all week was $160. The dealer said his rock bottom price was $140 and I think he said this is what he had in the set. So I bought them for $140 or $5.60 a card. I have been wanting to start this set for awhile anyway.

So by noon we were done, and Taylor dropped us off at ORD. I am VERY happy to report that when I checked in on the American Airlines App, I got the TSA Pre Check, and was through security within ten minutes. I did have to kill five plus hours as my flight home was delayed but between a nice lunch and watching the NASCAR race the time went pretty fast. On the aircraft, I was the only passenger in my row, and looked at baseball cards all the way home!

Larry

Loved reading your updates! thank you

[LuckyLarry]

[LuckyLarry]

[trdcrdkid]

I had a great time on Friday in my one day at the National. Since I have a wide variety of collecting interests, I was able to find plenty of stuff, and it was great to see and talk to so many people. I had a nice chat with Mike Peich and picked up six new T206s from him, bringing my Monster Number to 485. I also had a nice chat with Ed Hans, who was nice enough to give me a packet of hobby stuff from the 1970s, and I also talked to Scott Brockelman and Jay Miller at the adjacent table. Ed gave me a good deal on four T213s (three type 2, one type 3) to go with my various T206 back runs, and his partner Gary Nuchereno gave me a discount on a stack of 1970 and 1971 Topps I needed. From other dealers, I made progress on 1960, 1963, and 1967 Topps, and I completed my 1969 Topps set by getting the last three cards I needed (Mays, Mantle, and Reggie) for very reasonable prices. Working on those sets is just a fun thing that I've pretty much only done at shows over the past few years, but I'm close enough on 1970 and 1971 Topps that I'll probably just get the last few I need online.

I also had a nice visit with Ted Z, and with Doak Ewing of Rare Sportsfilms, from whom I got a couple of T205s and a T206 for another of my back runs (Maddox). Ted and Doak both had impressive displays of T206 rare backs. In addition, I caught up with several board members on the show floor: Jesse Arnott (pokeyplyr80), Steven (brass-rat), Justin Burleson (jburl), and jburl's friend Darren, who is not a member of the board but with whom I recently did a trade, brokered by Justin, involving some T211s and T210-8s. Steven, Justin, Darren and I had a fun conversation about T211s and related topics. That evening at the Net54 dinner I saw those three guys again, along with many other people, some of whom I've met before and some of whom I hadn't. In particular I had substantial conversations with Fred McKie (whiteymet) and Rich Klein, and shorter encounters with Dave Hornish (toppscat), Tom Boblitt (autograf), Leon, and numerous others. Lots of people had nice things to say about my hobby history posts, which is always encouraging. As others have said, the three speakers at the dinner were top-notch, and tonight I plan to post some material related to a question that was asked of the last speaker.

[Vttlarry]

Active observer that rarely posts, I would like to add my comments on the National. I attended my first National in Chicago in 1983 at the ripe age of 30! Have been in and out of actively collecting several times since then, but have been actively collecting again and loving it. Love mostly the 50's and 60's cards.

A friend and I flew from Minneapolis to Chicago on Sunday for the day to the attend the conference. My recollections of the 1983 are hazy so can't make many comparisons. I was, however, quite impressed with the show and like the proverbial kid in a candy store. My friend and I bought several cards that I am sure were all readily available on eBay, but it was fun and I never want to forget to have fun as a collector along the way. Had many great conversations along the way, and with very tired feet got home about 11 pm.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by LuckyLarry

that is a lot of what it's all about (to me).....it reminds me of our Net54baseball dinners 10+ yrs ago....

[Donscards]

Originally Posted by LuckyLarry

Larry, I see my 35 Goudey Ruth on your table, and a great looking photo, it was very nice meeting you and a wonderful talk. Good luck and see you next year. Don.

[midmo]

I had a great time at the National this year. I think this was my 6th, but my first time attending the Net54 dinner. I helped out at the door so it was cool putting some names with faces. Here's a pic of the dinner while Al was speaking.



I didn't find too much from my want list, but managed to pickup a few things. Already looking forward to next year!

[BeanTown]

Originally Posted by Leon

that is a lot of what it's all about (to me).....it reminds me of our Net54baseball dinners 10+ yrs ago....

Try 15 years ago! Good times.

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by MW1

TSA screenings are pretty much useless and only serve to delay and embarrass travelers.

For those who did not already know -- https://www.citylab.com/transportati...ective/394778/

And theft by TSA employees is commonplace -- https://www.rt.com/usa/tsa-stealing-from-travelers-358/

On way back from Chicago, they pulled me out the line and put me into the easy line to get through. Was so thankful I had the easy one for once

[Yoda]

Arrived safely home worn and weary but, I think, happier after Thurs. thru Sat. at the National. A couple of quick, personal sound bites:
1, I thought crowd levels were good if not overwhelming.
2. PSA was beyond frantic, with collectors with foaming mouths throwing their money and their cards at terrified processors. SGC, by contrast, had far fewer submitters
3. I was pleased that Levi was sporting a new, silly hat.
4. I just wonder if the '52 Topps Mantle craze may have hit its' peak. After so many have been sold lately and still tons on show at the National, I wonder if supply has finally outstripped demand and prices will retreat from current lofty levels.
5. Maybe it was me looking in the wrong places, but I spotted little 19th century stuff just a few mangled OJ's.
6. Sadly, could not make the New54 function. Just ran out of gas after 2 days on the run. But did run into and old pal, and fellow '54er, Aaron Seefield. We hadn't seen each other in 15 or so years and laughed about setting up side by side at Ft.Washington shows and the havoc the ex wives caused with our collections.
7. I was happy to see fearless leader Leon manning a case at Mile High's booth. And there it was, Leon's signature card, the E90-1 Cy Young PSA 7 for sale at a breathtaking price. But he has promised never to sell the football helmet variation card. Thank God!
8. I brought about 6 high-value, high-graded PSA cards, all with o/c qualifiers on them to SGC for crossovers, and accepted for one full grade reduction, paying $30 a card for the privilege. None would crossover; yet all were very close to o/c grading standards and all had wonderful eye appeal. Does that matter any more? To add insult to injury, the one raw card I brought in for grading, a rare PC of Scottish golfing icon Tom Morris, which graded fine. I had asked them to put "Old "Tom" on the flip, which they graciously did; however, Tom Morris had been mislabeled Tom Miller. Must have slipped by quality control. And so it goes.

[CurtisFlood]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

Geez, Larry is getting the pat down of his life and you nerds are jealous of his ultra pro sheets.

I've got your back Larry. If the TSA agents forgot their Ziplok doggy bags, part with a few sheets and you'll be fine.

Yeah, he is getting a reach around and you guys want plastic sheets.

[jbsports33]

Thanks for all the notes and comments!

Jimmy

[vintagerookies51]

For my first ever National, I went all day Friday and Saturday. It was an awesome experience- my first 20 minutes of walking around I saw some incredible cards, especially the '52 Topps/'53 Topps Mantles graded 9 and 10, respectively. Then I figured I should probably get to the PSA line as early as possible. I submitted 4 cards for grading that I should get sometime next week. Spent the rest of the day (about 5 hours or so) just walking around, browsing tables. Wasn't planning on buying anything, but I noticed a lot of the stuff was definitely overpriced, which you can expect at the National I'm sure. did find a few good deals- t206 speaker, Bresnahan EPDG, 1953 Topps Paige, that I would've came back and bought the next day. But in the last few minutes I finally found some Bond Bread Jackies, and bought a cheap one that I needed. I'm now up to 10!

Heritage and Goldin were basically like walking through a museum. Some incredible items- it was awesome to see that Joe Jackson signed ball. I found it a lot more enjoyable to talk to auction house tables that were just displaying rather than having dealers trying to persuade me to buy. Did meet a lot of great people. I even met some guys I've purchased big cards from in the past.

I was surprised but glad to see how much vintage and pre-war there was. And how many guys my age were looking through pre-war. I'd say a majority of cards were older ones, but maybe it's just because I walked right by the new stuff. At the smaller shows I've been to I've seen mostly just the new shiny stuff. On Saturday I went to the Oscar Robertson signing, then walked around some more. Overall a great experience, and hoping I can make the trip to Cleveland next year

[Exhibitman]

I always have a great time at the show. This year was no different. I love to dig through the mass--you never know what will turn up. I picked up about 80 HOFers from the four major sports for my mainstream postwar collection in crispy pack fresh condition for about $2-$3 each. The best of them was a 1976 Ryan that is better than my 7.5. If you are not looking at 9-10 level slabs there are really great cards available on the cheap.

On the less cheap I also picked up a 1934 Goudey Ruth premium, a 1954 NY Journal American Jackie Robinson, and a 1958 Bell Koufax. Plus a nice Wheaties series 1 Hartnett, a 1955 Topps Spahn, and I finished my 1971 Topps Supers set.

The socializing was its usual highlight of the week. Met and hung out with too many to name. Special kudos to Al at LOTG for hosting my boxing show cases. I sold all my books (thanks Justin for buying one) but few cards.

At the airport on Sunday on returning home the security guy xrayed my bag and asked "baseball cards?" I said "how did you know?" and he said they've been getting a lot of them today.

[tjenkins]

I went to my first National and totally enjoyed it. It was a bit overwhelming at first but then came up with a plan. I think I saw most of what was there. I was their from Wednesday to Friday noon not missing a single minute. What made it special for me was for the first time at a card show things fell in place perfectly for me.

My goal was to pick a graded Mantle Auto, preferably a 1994 Upper Deck! I submitted two cards for next day return to BGS. An Aaron Judge Archives Bazooka Auto and a '17 Heritage Trout Auto. The Judge came back a 9.5/10 and the Trout 9.5/9. Ended scoring an 8.5/10 '94 UD Mantle Auto and much more after trading the Judge and Trout. I am usually a reverse flipper. My wife even said, well finally you sold high!

I had heard that some members said prices where high and that dealers weren't budging on prices. I found out just the opposite. I had found some really good prices after a little bargaining. I was particularly happy with the PSA 4 '53 Bowman Color of Musial I picked up! Twins autos were also selling cheap which was great for me!

Needless to say, my first National was a blast and can't wait until next year!

[pro9]

JC, thanks for posting that photo. We all look so young.....where did the years go?