The weekend baseball card show at the local mall is officially dead in Southeast PA

[Eric72]

I scoped out the Beckett Show Calendar online this morning and found that there was a show at the Exton Square Mall. The facility is fairly new (about 12 years old) and is located in a somewhat upscale area where the recession barely left a mark.

I have been to this show about a dozen times before and purchased a few things. So, while I was not expecting a plethora of dealers, there was enough credibility (and past experience) surrounding this show and the cards for sale to tempt me to spend some time there today.

When I arrived, there were exactly two dealers. Yep, just two.

Absolutely shameful on the promoter's end of things. Why even have the show at all?

[glynparson]

is known to have pretty dismal shows even back when mall shows were very hot. Id stick with either Berkshire Mall or Plymouth meeting over that show. Neither is always a hit but i have made some great buys at both malls.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by glynparson

is known to have pretty dismal shows even back when mall shows were very hot. Id stick with either Berkshire Mall or Plymouth meeting over that show. Neither is always a hit but i have made some great buys at both malls.

Glyn,

From what I've seen personally, the Plymouth Meeting Mall show is dead, too. So is the Springfield Mall show, as are the ones at MacDade Mall, Leo Mall, Village Mall, etc.

I have never visited Berkshire Mall. If you could please tell me how the turnout is there, I would greatly appreciate it.

Luckily, in this particular region, collectors have the Philly Show, which is actually held 20 or so miles west of Philadelphia. Were it not for the supposed concentration of collectors in Southeastern PA, I would be entirely reliant on the Internet to shop for cards.

Thankfully, one such Internet site is Net54. And I have encountered many great sellers here on the B/S/T.

Many thanks to everyone here.

Best regards,

Eric

[39special]

The Berkshire Mall had a show last week.There were 15+ vendors.They have shows about every 2 to 3 months.There's usually a decent mix of cards.

[bbcard1]

I used to do a mall show here in Roanoke that absolutely had them hanging off the rafters. The show sold out instantly. They had a special designated community room and we had several quality free guests including Wally Moon, Ron Hodges, Rocky Bridges and others. We had some great quality dealers and lots of T206s and such...of course it was in the 1980s. The mall management eventually closed the community room and had the show move out into the mall, which IMO killed it. There just wasn't the same excitement and percolation. I still have a couple of dealers tell me how much they miss that show. I never made any money off of it, so I was not incentivized to keep it going once it stopped being as exciting for me.

[timn1]

I used to live a few hundred yards from the Exton Mall and don't remember ever seeing a card show there. Maybe it was an experiment.

(Also, the Exton Square Mall is at least 30 years old, if it matters...)

[philliesfan]

Have you tried the Neshaminy Mall in Bensalem? They usually have a good number of dealers but only a few with the older material. They usually have it about three maybe four times a year.
Robert

[hangman62]

speaking on Dead Card Shows..... Anyone know if the" almost" monthly Woodbridge NJ - Hampton Inn show is now Dead ? Havent seen that one listed on months ??

[glynparson]

cards at neshaminay and plymouth meeting in the last 5 years. Not a ton of dealers but usually a mix of all types.