Same here, John, hope we can continue our conversation somewhere down the road. Baltimore, maybe? Dan, Ken, myself, and others will carry on in Chantilly, perhaps we can entice other vintage nuts to make that their regular show fix and help turn it into the must-go show Ft. Washington used to be. Sorry about your unfortunate situation, Leon. Having done his shows for 15 years, I have nothing but good things to say about Marco and Angie and their staff, so many favors they've done me, not once any kind of uncooperative attitude. Can't imagine what went wrong, but I hate to hear about it.
Hank

Hi Hank
Well, when I checked in he said I was right next to the door. I said great, until I got to the door and it was all closed off due to drapes. Why do you think John and Dan recommended (thank God) that I move in with them? Maybe it was a mistake. Marco is human like the rest of us. Like I say, this isn't personal at all. I still like him and he has always been super nice to me. Maybe I should have said something to him so it's sort of my fault. But once again, after traveling from Big D and taking a weekend out of my life, I was pretty discouraged where he put me to set up. Mr.Mint, Memory Lane, Baggers and others were all right at the very front and everyone was directed towards them, via the curtain partitions, as you walked in the front. It's not like I asked for the worst spot in the whole place where there were NO other auction houses :).

I'm sorry to hear this show was so poorly attended. There was definitely an impressive dealer line-up.

I disagree with the folks writing the obituary for card shows. Shows are NOT dead. I attend shows in the Midwest every single weekend. I was set up at the Gonzaga show yesterday in Milwaukee where at least 250 people came through the door and am very pleased with my sales. The previous weekend I was set up at the Two Hearts show in St. Louis where at least 300 people came through the door. These are one-day shows.

In respect to the Oaks show, I've noticed over the past 10 years or so that new shows NEVER do well. It doesn't matter who is set up or who is signing, new shows seem to always bomb. The days where customers will attend any show listed in Beckett is long gone. As several people have mentioned, card shows are much more social today than they used to be. As a result, customers will generally attend the established shows where they have known the dealers and other customers for years. I've also observed that attendance always goes down during football season. Regardless, I do believe there is room for new shows but it takes a lot of patience from dealers and promoters to have some success.

In the meantime, there are plenty of great shows out there. I read about many of them regularly on this board. Sounds like the Shriner's show in Boston is a great show. I'd like to attend that one sometime. I'm looking forward to the Sun-Times show in Rosemont, IL, this weekend. Over Thanksgiving weekend I'm going to attend two shows, one, a terrific show in Orland Park, IL, then back up to Milwaukee for the Serb Hall show. There are terrific shows every weekend in Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri and Ohio that I regularly attend. Shows aren't going away any time soon.

yet more wasted keystrokes

I wish you had said something to Marco, I'm sure he would have done something to make you OK with your situation. You probably didn't want to seem like a complainer, but to Marco it would just have been yet another detail to attend to, and from my experience I know he would have made it right. Quoting General Buck Turgeson, "You can't condemn the whole program because of one little slipup!"

Oaks Philly Show
 

1st......contrary to some rumors, Marco said the next Oaks Show is scheduled for the last weekend of April 2012.


Like Dan M, I had a very good show. In fact it exceeded any one of the five Valley Forge shows that I had set-up at in 2009 and 2010.

For example....many of you are familiar with my T206 "junk box" (priced at $20/card, or 6 cards for $100). I usually start with 50 cards.
This weekend I re-loaded it several times (142 cards were sold from this box).

Here's a flavor of some of the cards I sold....T206 Matty, several T201 and T202 (stars & commons), 1941 Play Ball's, some T209's, and
a bunch of 1948 - 1952 Bowman's.

And, except for one graded T201 and one graded T202, the rest were all RAW......I am sure that makes Dan M :)

Todd (bbcard1) and I had a great trade in which I helped Todd with 53 - T206's for his set. I think he needs only 50 more to complete it.


But, I can't say enough for the great conversations I had with Dan McKee, Levi Bleam & Jim, Leon Luckey, Ken Cohen, Mike Peich, Alan
Rosen, Dave Czuba, Bob Steinberg, Val Kehl, William Chappell, John Hom, Peter Putman, Dave Hayward, Peggy and Adam Lawrence, and
Andy (who I started him on an N162 set).

Also, John (Wonkaticket) who made my day on Sunday by spending some nice $$$$ on T-cards, while we were exchanging stories about
Greek restaurants here in Pennsylvania.

The way I see it....Auctions houses, nor Ebay....will never really replace the human interaction enjoyed by many of us at these shows.


T-Rex TED

A lot of good insight in these posts (as usual :))

I agree with the human interaction input, but it seems like the shows are turning from a show for people to get cards and dealers to make money into a show for dealers and people to get together and swap stories and share collections. Personally, I like the latter more, but from a business standpoint, the former is obviously preferred.

Many dealers are willing to be reasonable, the others either go out of business or are located in an area with a lot of marks.

Phillies*phan
 

Doug

Sorry, I forgot to mention you in my earlier post here. I enjoyed "Talking T206's" with you on Friday.

And, glad to add Matty and Dolly Stark to one of your T206 sets.

Best regards ole friend.

TED Z

seems to me from my recent experience at a local show out here in Los Angeles and from the posts here that these shows might do better if they eliminated Sunday altogether. Just do a Friday/Saturday thing or a one day show and you might concentrate the attendance and minimize the exposure (time commitment).

I enjoy all aspects of attending and setting up at a show but everyone's lives are busy and devoting an entire weekend when most of the sales could concentrated in a small window doesn't make too much sense.

Not trying to revamp the whole system but maybe these modern times call for shorter show lengths. Except for the National, though I'm sure everyone could do without Sunday at that one as well.

Sundays have gotten to be such a drag (if they ever weren't), what a blessing it would be for that unhappy tradition to disappear. Friday setup, then go til 8 or 9, 10 to 4 on Saturday, then back home. Saving a day and a hotel night, you might even attract more part-time dealers to the hobby if it was less of a slog.

Really........... Who needs Sunday:confused:

Oaks
 

The show was good. Checking out stuff from the big 3 (John, Jim and Leon) was great. I had my 9 year old and he found some things to look at as well. I did not expect to buy much if anything but wanted to see what the draw was for the Oaks. I saw it and will be back. Everything was there to see. Was it priced well ?? Supply and demand, we make the market.

Gradedcardman
 

Adam

It was nice meeting you and your son, Jerry.

We need more vintage collectors, like you, attending this show to make it a success.
Sounds like it was worth the long trip for you.

Regards,

TED Z

Ted,
My email note never got to you. What's your correct email ?
Thanks.

Alan
 

Email me at......

tedzan11@comcast.net

Regards,

TED Z