National advice
 

I'm hoping to make it to the National this year for the first time in about 10 years. I've read National reports on here the past few years and one of the big takeaways was the massive crowds. Any advice for avoiding crowds at the National - besides don't go? Specifically, would you recommend attending the Wednesday sneak peak or going in on Thursday when it opens? Or another time?

Any thoughts and/or anecdotal evidence is appreciated.

The only way to truly avoid the crowds is to attend on Sunday.

National
 

I would go Wednesday and Thursday.

What Chris said. Otherwise, Wednesday would be the next best choice.

Once you get inside the show the crowd is not that bad if you are looking for vintage or pre war cards or autographs. The real crowds are at the shiny tables, the corporate booths, the breaks, the give aways, maybe the autograph lines, etc. There is plenty of room at most vintage tables. Thursday and Sunday are usually the least crowded as already mentioned with Sunday by far the least attended day. However, many dealers leave very early on Sunday.

I feel like Thursday and Friday early are the least busy times. Besides Sunday.

I was at the National in 2023, so my data points are limited.

On Friday in the last hour it was pretty quiet. I was able to stay 30 mins after official closing to continue making deals.

Using the early entry on Saturday, gave some small respite from the crowds. But honestly, even with the crowds on Saturday, I didn't find it that unbearable. Sometimes I had to wait a minute to look through a bargain box, but not often.

As others have mentioned Sunday was better.

Crowds of people around tables, especially vintage, isn't really an issue. The long lines are the biggest pain. My best advice is to bring your own lunch. Last year one of my days I spent 1.5 hours waiting in line at PSA to pick up my submission, 1 hour for lunch and 1 hour for a photo.

I've had many Sundays at shows where people were half packing up at noon and displays were emptying out, but I think I recall a post in the last few years where the National was supposedly really cracking down on that.

An hour in line to get lunch? That's a long time.

Yep, the lines for food can be a hassle. Bringing a packed lunch is a good idea.
I waited until about 2pm for the lunch crowds to ease off. I paid far too much for a far too small hot dog.

for less crowd Sunday Afternoon potentially more deals but also potential miss out on alot of cards that sold the prior days
pack a lunch but keep it simple and good shoes/sneakers is a must

Thanks all for the info, advice, and tips. Much appreciated and gives me a lot to think about for planning my trip this summer.

I always go Wed and Thursday to avoid the weekend crowds. Though 2023 in CHI was a cluster F....and last year parking/traffic was a joke in CLE on both days.

If anyone here is going this year and wants to split an early entrance pass ($150/5 days)...and will be going F-Su...let me know. I'd happily pay $5/day more to get in ahead of the rest of the mongrels.

I took a backpack loaded with empty 660 ct boxes, one touch holders, 2 or 3 bottles of water, and several granola bars and other snacks. Then I was pretty good to go until dinner, since I don't mind refilling water bottles. I didn't spend a penny on concessions, nor did I have to stand in a line to do so. More time and money for cards!
kevin

It would have been funny if I didn't know just how frustrated people were, but every morning I was amazed at all the people waiting for an hour to get into the front entrance to the lot, when 1/4 mile down the road behind the building there was another entrance that had zero wait all week.

I know the National may not go back to Cleveland, but if it does, I sure hope people realize the other entrance exists. It would have made people's experience sooo much better and alleviated many of the complaints people had.

Since Covid, the National has gotten ridiculously more crowded each year, where it's now long lines for admission, food, restrooms, etc,... and it becomes very uncomfortable trying to maneuver within the isles with so many people. I would suggest Wednesday and Sunday would be the least crowded. Everyone goes for different reasons. The responses on here are from predominantly vintage baseball card collectors, so you'll get a different perspective on other card forums, message boards, YouTube, etc,...

Definitely, do the evening activities (Net54 dinner, etc,...) to meet other fellow collectors & dealers.

The one piece of advice I always give
 

If you see your "white whale" and it's priced reasonably do not shop around, just pay the $$$$

I can't tell you how many stories I've heard of well I noted it and went back an hour later to see it was gone.

Now, if your white whale is a PSA 8 1977 Topps Bruce Sutter RC well centered -- yeah that you can figure out how to wait and shop around as 1214 have been graded PSA 8

If your white whale is a... PSA 7 1971 O-Pee-Chee Al Weis, well I would grab that card if priced right because only 5 cards have been graded PSA7 or higher.

+1 on snacks. I pack a bunch of nuts, meats, etc. and just munch on that stuff all day long, basically skip lunch. I also load up on a big breakfast each day. BYO water bottle too.

I was lucky as well as Park Corp was a client of mine back in the day so I knew to go around the traffic where lanes opened up. Also the parking and entrance was a COMPLETE joke...as I mentioned before I just flashed my ticket in the VIP lane both days and had free parking...also walked in the place for free on Wednesday...could have done the same Thursday if I didn't need to sell my Wed ticket and walk in with the buyer.