To add to some of the sentiment around the Philly show, the Tristar show in Houston the weekend of June 4-6 was highest attended in maybe 10+ years (?), and there really were no autograph guests that would "move the needle".
Had my best show since I began "dealing" around 4-5 years ago. There was plenty of energy in the room, as someone earlier pointed out about the hobby in general. One change at this show - if you didn't have a reseller permit, you weren't SUPPOSED to be able to get a table. That's something that I think most promoters should actually consider implementing to (1) cut down on the number of "dealers" and (2) ensure that the dealers aren't just flippers or fly by night one timers. This in turn should help limit the number of tables, which I think is actually a good thing for an event, but realize it's not necessarily in the best interest of the promoter. Good promoters figure out how to make a good balance of that so there is some "value" to actually having the table.
I would say that a lot of the early "action" was still between the dealers, but I think that's true of just about every show and that's not different today than it was for the past several years. However, saying those people aren't "collectors" I think is not entirely accurate. What I'm finding is most of them collect something (besides dollar bills), some are just most focused on what they keep and they see the flipping as a means to get the funds - my own activity for the past several years is not far off from that. I had to start buying and selling more modern cards in an effort to get funds together for my vintage purchasing. It's not net zero to me (I spend more than I bring in), but that supplement "feeds the beast".
I keep hearing plenty of doom and gloom from people for all kinds of reasons, inflation, crypto crashes, lack of stimulus, insert any reason you want to. I actually think that's mostly coming from collectors who are irritated by higher prices for things they want to buy, and on the other side the flippers who may be trapped in cards at higher prices as in the short run seems like modern especially is coming down. Pretty much everything is still quite a bit higher today than it was a year ago, and I believe that has as much to do with interest as anything else. Show attendance sure sounds to be proving that out from what I've seen personally and heard about other shows. I expect the National should probably confirm it, as most are expecting record attendance there as well.
It seems to me that at the shows, and online, the interest in the hobby is maybe as high as it's ever been. That's a good thing. More interest should translate into better things across the board, but since the space is unregulated in virtually every sense, there will be bad actors and fly by nights who just pass through. Tell me how that's different than 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago...And yes, Panini and Topps will overproduce (already have) which will create some fluctuations in pricing. None of this is new.
There's been overwhelmingly too much focus on the prices and values of cards in the past year, versus the actual "art" of the cards themselves. I can assure you that the nostalgia factor is as real as it gets at these shows, and while that's something that will likely get quenched it's nowhere near run it's course yet. The hobby needs to continue to educate better and try to move away from just these headlines of values if it's going to sustain. I think there are enough people who know that who will find their space in it and help things move in a positive direction for everyone. There's plenty of opportunity out there still, and some good new tools and sites that actually make collecting and education more accessible. Again, those are positives that the hobby needs more of.
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