Chantilly (VA) Show - June 23-25
 

This is the first "regional size" card show that I will be attending since COVID began back in early 2020 except for the 2022 National in my old stomping grounds in AC, New Jersey. Anyone else going to be there and might want to meet up at some point? I will be there all three days.

come say Hi to Tom Botticelli and me at booth 207/306

I may go. I have a Garvey bat I’d like to get signed.

Where are we all meeting for dinner ? Attachment 575439Attachment 575439Attachment 575439Attachment 575439Attachment 575439

On-site Auto Authentication?
 

Can anyone confirm if on-site autograph authentication will be available for non-sport/non-show obtained signatures? Lastly, does on-site authentication typically happen in real time or is the item left with the TPA (Beckett) and later returned/mailed back?

Thanks for any/all input

Hi Alan:

I would imagine a dinner meet-up would work best on Saturday evening. I am not familiar with the area at all and am operating on a shoestring budget so maybe a local pizzeria or something like that?

Hi Scott:

I will be sure to stop by your table and say hello.

I think JSA does on-site authentication.

In the past Beckett would take it back to Texas and then mail back to you

JSA does on-site. You leave the autograph table and walk up to theirs.

CAS will definitely be there. JSA and Beckett are usually there.

Hooters is right across from the parking lot.

Once again, the baseball guests are a major disappointment. On the bright side there are baseball guests. Oh well, football is king. I miss Marco Rol.

I'll be attending either Friday or Saturday - not sure which at this point. Phil, which day or days will you be attending? I hope to get the opportunity to meet you.

IMHO, the best food (and reasonably priced too) close to the Chantilly Show venue (the Dulles Expo Center) is at Willard's BBQ, which has beef, pork, chicken and more. Not fancy - you order and pick up your order at the counter. Willard's is a very short walk from the Expo Center - you don't even cross a street. Willard's is a small, local business that has been at this location for many years - before I retired in 2007, I worked a few miles away, and my office buds and I would often go to Willard's for lunch. My wife seldom eats meat, but she likes going to Willard's for its beef brisket.

Williard's is good but seating would be limited for a large Net54 group.

Willard's more than doubled their seating space a couple/few years ago. I doubt there would be any difficulty seating the Net54 group, as I'll bet the number who would actually attend is less than 10 (based on past experience, but I'd love to be wrong about this).

Another aspect to keep in mind is that not all Net54ers who would like to get together for dinner are able to come on the same day. For example, if the dinner is held on Saturday, as of right now, yours truly is more likely to attend the Show on Friday.

That sounds great, Val. I will be arriving early afternoon on Friday and staying through Sunday dinner time so I am available all three days. If Friday after the show is not a big draw, we can still meet up for some good BBQ food.

That is good to hear. It has been awhile since I ate at Willard's. The baseball guest list determines whether I drive out to Chantilly, and the past few shows the line-up has been weak. It would get me out of the house, if at a minimum the promoter strived to secure some of the past few years inductions to the hall. The former promoter was very, very good for my collection. Granted, this show is held during the baseball season and just before the National, but 50+ football, 6 basketball and only 3 baseball guests? Three? The Nationals are the local team and it is a rare day when a National (current or former) is in the mix. Folks do come out for Cowboys and Steelers but throw the baseball collectors a bone with some meat on it every now and again.

I would like to hear from the dealers out there, card wise which sport is the top seller?

I will be at my usual booth - 601
 

Turn your head slightly to the right and you will be looking at me as you walk in the front door. As always - all are invited to come say hello!

I have quite a bit of fresh inventory as well!

Agree. I'm a three hour drive away and the lack of baseball guests in the auto lineup is disappointing. Enough so that I usually skip the show.

There will be plenty of cards there that fit the sets listed in your bio

It’s a card show, not an autograph show!


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I may go, but 272 miles each way on the same day....hmmm...and I may pull it at the end of next month to and from Chicago nine hours each way with the show in between for around five hours. Yes, add in breaks and it actually works out to 26 consecutive hours for this 56 year old lunatic on caffeine. To answer the question that may come to some minds:

No, I have never been a long haul truck driver.

To date at Chantilly, which has a lot of pre-WWII cards, I have only ever purchased one card in that category at the show. A 1916 Zee Nut Morrie Rath from William Chappelle. Nice trip, however, to and from the destination.

60 plus guests? There are usually more people waiting in the autograph area than one can count on the sales floor. I am all for a healthy hobby, but Cowboys and Steelers drive that show. Go look behind the curtain and tell me the money is not in the autographs. The amount of merchandise behind the curtain will blow your mind. I wonder why a big outfit like 707 Sports Cards out of PA no longer sets-up at Chantilly. I have seen them once.

I have sent email messages to the promoters pleading for decent guests. I even provide a list. I just want a reason to get out of the house and risk my life on the beltway. Granted, there are new collectors that join the autograph side of the hobby each year but if you don't already have Dawson, Boggs or Garvey you are just not trying hard enough. Those three don't move the needle for me. Back in the day of guests selling out, I would preorder tickets but have not preordered in well over a decade. I buy my tickets day of and if the ticket number received is over 100, I say the guest drew okay. I would be surprised if a day of ticket for a flat or ball for Dawson, Boggs or Garvey is over 100. I guess I will have to wait until the October show. Last year, CSA brought in Edgar Martinez, Jim Kaat and Mariano Rivera. Now, those three got me out of the house and I even spent money at dealer tables purchasing a 1958 AS Mantle and a pennant! Come on CSA throw the baseball collectors a bone! Heck, CSA gives the wrestling crew the Undertaker! Baseball gets Dawson, Boggs and Garvey..........ho-hum, bury me undertaker, bury me!

Not sure why I’m seeing so many sad sacks lamenting about the autograph guests. This show always seems to be football heavy but there’s a fair mix of other sports stars.

Boggs, Dawson and Garvey are great. I’m going to get a Garvey game used bat signed. I’m not a Steeler or Cowboy fan, but the names they put together are no slouches.

Last year I got to meet my QB Daniel Jones and I got Eddie Murray to sign a game used bat. I’ll gladly drive the 2 hours from Richmond for guys like that. We don’t have the Tuff Stuff shows here anymore so Chantilly fills the void for me.

I don’t see them set up at any shows besides the National.

I have seen them at Chantilly once. I can't say for a fact that they set up at the Philly show. I have seen them at the National. Perhaps, their online sales trump the need to set up at shows in the area.

Guess you answered your questions about why they don’t set up at Chantilly then. Doesn’t seem like a good way to measure how good a show is.

I will be there Friday and would love to catch up with Net54 members for dinner that night too. I always go to Willards around 6 or so if anyone wants to meet up and join me that is attending on Friday.

Would love to meet other members and see those I already known (hi Val and Mark and others!).

jeff

P.S. I wouldn't call Chantilly 'football heavy' but there are a few really great football dealers that sometimes come. Give us football guys some love!

??? - I did not say Chantilly was a bad show. I am fortunate to have one of the major promoters in my backyard. I have been in the autograph/memorabilia side of the hobby for 30 years. Since memorabilia is scant at CSA, my hope is for an autograph guest (usually recent hall inductees) that I can add to the collection. I am hopeful that the October show can deliver.

The reference was to the number of football guests.

It depends on your perspective. Some collectors are only interested in vintage baseball cards, some for modern baseball cards, some for vintage autographs, some for recent autographs, some (Hi Jeff !!!) for football, etc,...

I'll see you all at Willards on Friday night !!!
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Hey Alan! Let's DO IT.

jeff

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks.

jeff

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Virginia is a wretched state.

Care to elaborate?

Phil, I have now determined that I will be attending the Show on Saturday, and I'd enjoy getting together with you at Willard's BBQ (or any other eating restaurant) after the Show closes. Because the Show closes at 5 p.m. on Saturday (vs. 8 p.m. on Friday), hopefully the Net54 members who are set up at the Show (Howard, Scott, Tom and ??) will join us after they secure their inventories for the night.

For those that aren't aware, one of Phil Garry's collecting focuses is HOF rookie cards, and Phil was the key person for the creation of Old Cardboard Magazine's comprehensive HOF Rookie Card Listing, which I refer to frequently: https://oldcardboard.com/ref/rookies/RookiesList.asp Also, Phil wrote a feature article entitled "Collecting Baseball Hall of Fame Rookie Cards" which appeared in Issue #21 (Fall 2009) of OCM.

I’d be interested to hear why as well.

I heard that Virginia is for Lovers

VA
 

Yes, why ??

Will be there Saturday and Sunday.

Hey Val:

Thanks for the info. I sent you a PM. See you over the weekend.

Phil

Then you should probably stay well clear.

See you all in Chantilly !!! Oh hell yeah !!! Attachment 576681

Especially sports card lovers! :D

Interested to hear about attendance and card prices at the show.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...712045f57f.jpg
Many thanks to Tom B for the deal. Been looking for one of these for a while now


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Opening day at the show today, my first time attending here. I believe there were more than double the number of modern booths as compared to vintage, maybe more like 3:1. Prices on the vintage cards weren’t outrageous but, with that being said, there didn’t seem to be a lot of room for negotiation at most tables. William Chappell had lots of good stuff and fair prices across the board. Heading back tomorrow for Day 2.

packed Friday and today (Saturday)

Lots of good stuff in the room.

Glad to see so many friendly faces.

Will be back tomorrow for a few hours

Fun show today. Loved meeting Steve Garvey and getting my gamer signed.

I had a really good 3 days at this show.

Here are the pick ups

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FzfoZ8xa...pg&name=medium

Sounds like a good show. Had the whole family in town this weekend - a rare occurrence these days - so had to stay close.

Chantilly
 

I was with my wife so I couldn’t be as casual. Best thing was a 1970 Bob Hayes glossy insert centered and unbubbled for $5. Completes a meaningless but sentimental set. Murder to find on eBay and even the 22 National. Worked on some 59s. Miss the days when this was in Richmond 15 minutes from my house and how they used to go into the 400s on autograph tickets.

Heard it was well attended, but it seemed more attendees were concerned with getting autographs.

I'd say the split is 70/30 there for the cards vs. autographs.

There is of course some spillover between the two.

Agreed! Henrico resident here and when I first moved to Richmond, the Tuff Stuff shows were in full swing and were glorious. I miss those days.

Being my first regional show attending in 4 years, I was very surprised at the lack of auction houses and grading companies there for what was mentioned to me as being a key vintage card show these days along with Philly, Strongsville, and Shriner’s. Those that were there seemed to have minimal foot traffic at their respective booths throughout the weekend. I have to agree the attendee focus was not on vintage sports cards but divided up between modern and autos. Of course, there were some buyers like myself there but I was expecting that to be the primary focus and it absolutely was not.

While at the show, I was hoping to buy a raw card from a dealer and bring it over to the SGC booth for submission to take advantage of their show discount and not have to pay shipping to Boca Raton. I currently had another small grading order at SGC already which was close to completion. I asked the SGC customer service individual there if they could take my card back and ship it together with the other small order that I had on hand with them to save another $30 return shipping charge on a single $300 card that I was looking to submit.

As is the norm these days, they denied my request for accommodation. So, that killed the deal, I passed on buying the card at the show so the dealer lost a sale, I didn’t get the card that I wanted and SGC lost grading fees. A lose/lose/lose all the way around. That’s how the corporate entities are in the hobby these days, they think the collector needs them more than they need the collector, well this mentality doesn’t work for me so I am done submitting anything to them ever again.

The “customer is always right” mentality is beyond frustrating.

“Do something special for me that you don’t do for anyone else and adds to our workload and if you don’t, you’re the worst company ever.”

Yo! I'm in RVA, I used to go to the Tuff Stuff shows back in high school. Have a fond memory of my friend and I walking up the exit ramp at the stage that Arod was signing on, and yelling at him "HEY AROD". He looked up, and we both waived, laughed to ourselves, then ran down the ramp. Just dumb fun kid stuff.

Funny, the way I look at it, the corporate attitude is beyond frustrating. Everything in this world is only about the almighty dollar these days and whatever is going to get you there.

I don’t blame SGC in this case. For a small submission/single card, they would be taking on liability for transport (that insurance may or may not cover), and, it would likely be an administrative headache for the card to get from the card-mule coming back from Chantilly (to their house), to SGC Monday morning, then to find your specific (admittedly small) order, have it held until your order is ready, and then include the Chantilly card with the other order in the package back to you; mind you that your original submission did not include postage and thus insurance for the chantilly card. That is a lot of “stuff” for one submission.

I make no comment on SGC generally. But in this case, I don’t blame SGC (or anyone else) under the circumstances.

Let’s just say that this was not an isolated incident, instead the culmination of many years of continued frustration. Nothing like the days of the early 2000’s under an entirely different regime.

+1. Many fond memories of the Tuff Stuff shows going back to the 1980s. I wish a good show would come back to Richmond.