Spokane WA Card Show Review

[todeen]

I was blown away by my local card show. I've lived here in Spokane for 30 years. Current Metro market population of Spokane is 800k. In the 90s, the biggest events were auto Signings that were hosted by a card shop called Jack's. There were some small shows that occurred in malls. When he retired, the signings ended. The last show I remember was maybe 2004 in a bowling alley that had a small convention space. Then we went thru the doldrums for what felt like 20 years. Maybe 3-4 years ago, my LCS was sold and the new owners started getting shows going again. I went to one in 2022 in a restaurant that had a convention space that sometimes hosts high school dances.

So I was surprised to see the most recent show advertised in our downtown official convention center. That might be 5-8 times the size of the last one I attended (I can't judge space well, but it was easily 5 times). Dealers from Montana and Seattle attended. I was hoping to see Beckett authentication, or Mill Creek Sports, but neither was there. But I was impressed by who was there. Vintage was significantly lacking. I saw 3 tables of vintage that I stopped at. Only one prominently displayed pre-war cards, but they were non-sport. The best vintage table carried cards up to 1980, and then had ultra modern. There were no tables of significant amount of 1990s (which is my favorite era to collect!). I think 40% of tables carried Pokémon. The rest were ultra modern. Maybe 2-3 booths had no cards on display with signs simply stating "We Buy Cards." I thought that was weird to have no cards displayed, but I guess you won't get robbed while you are focused on buying cards.

I was also impressed by foot traffic. Each aisle was busy. I think there were 8 aisles. I saw a bunch of dudes carrying plastic briefcases that I recognize as slabbed card holders. It made me laugh, they looked like spies. I still can't get over that, even though they've been around for years now.

Anyway, if you are close to the Pacific Northwest, think about coming to Spokane for the next show. I would love to see more vintage to browse through, especially 1990s dealers.

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[perezfan]

I can envision it perfectly, as it sounds just like the Front Row card shows in Seattle and Portland. 5% of the booths (max) had vintage offerings. But my definition of "vintage" (being an old fart) is anything made before 1980. Even cards from the later '70s look "modern" to my eyes.

Bottom line... The odds of us ever having a decent vintage Show in the PNW seems slim-to-none.

[todeen]

Originally Posted by perezfan

I can envision it perfectly, as it sounds just like the Front Row card shows in Seattle and Portland. 5% of the booths (max) had vintage offerings. But my definition of "vintage" (being an old fart) is anything made before 1980. Even cards from the later '70s look "modern" to my eyes.



Bottom line... The odds of us ever having a decent vintage Show in the PNW seems slim-to-none.

You and I are memorabilia guys. I see pictures of the Moeller show in Cincinnati and drool. This Spokane show was 95% cards. The other 5% being auto baseballs. If someone showed up with a Mariners table of memorabilia, it would be so awesome! I didn't even see posters of Griffey. In those Cincinnati card shows I see on the Reds Collectors Facebook group, pictures show Sports Illustrated posters among others. I didn't even see any Pilots items. But there were no bats, Gloves, hats, jerseys, jackets, bases, Bobblehead, etc etc.

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[perezfan]

Originally Posted by todeen

You and I are memorabilia guys. I see pictures of the Moeller show in Cincinnati and drool. This Spokane show was 95% cards. The other 5% being auto baseballs. If someone showed up with a Mariners table of memorabilia, it would be so awesome! I didn't even see posters of Griffey. In those Cincinnati card shows I see on the Reds Collectors Facebook group, pictures show Sports Illustrated posters among others. I didn't even see any Pilots items. But there were no bats, Gloves, hats, jerseys, jackets, bases, Bobblehead, etc etc.

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Yes.... the east coast (and more specifically the NE) is definitely the place to be if you like shows. Sure wish the western states were better in terms of vintage cards and memorabilia.

[Tabe]

Thanks for the review. I'd see the ads for the show but couldn't attend. Will try to get you the next one.