Advice for "The National"

[Bosox Blair]

Originally Posted by btkpath

My questions regarding my attendance are as follows:

1. How critical is it to attend during the Wednesday "sneak peek"? Are most dealers even set up that early?
2. What type of ticket represents the best value? Are the "all access" and "VIP" passes worth the money? I am not all that interested in the autographs, but cutting an hour or two off of a line for the grading companies would be welcome. Are the additional giveaways worthwhile with the more expensive ticket packages?
3. Are the player autographs something that I should not miss?
4. Are the lines for the grading companies always long, or is there a strategy to use to minimize the lines (and the need for a more expensive ticket)? Is there on site grading available, and, if so when does material need to be dropped off to ensure its return during the show?
5. Are things pretty much torn down by Sunday morning, making attendance on Sunday worthless?
6. I understand that there are several night time auctions during the convention. Is it typically Friday night?

2011 was my first National, so I have limited experience, but very recent.

I went with the VIP pass covering all days and attended every session. No regrets.

My answers are a little different than Jeff's.

1. Wednesday is worth it. Helps you get the lay of the land. You can possibly snag a bargain, or be the first to get to a rare card/item.
2. I liked the VIP very much. Includes all the days. IIRC 1/2 hour early admission in the AM lets you get the jump and better face time with dealers. Lounge area is handy. The auto tickets make up some value too. I'm not really an auto collector, but I got swept up in it and made sure I got 6-7 free autos on the tickets that were part of my VIP. Another point about the auto tickets. I discovered that there is an active market for these things. You are probably not supposed to do this, but I saw many people selling auto tickets to the people milling about the auto area. For the VIP free guys, it seemed like folks were able to get buyers for the tickets at $5-$10. So you could also do that to make back some of the VIP price. (Of course, the real nice guys were giving their tickets they didn't want away to kids for free...that gave me a good feeling). VIP also includes a load of modern promo cards that I couldn't care less about. I thought about eBaying them, but I'm too lazy!
3. The thing about this is...it is an insane time eater. Honestly, for each free player auto you line up to get you can assume you will spend 60-90 minutes of the day standing in lines. At first, I thought this was completely insane. Then after multiple days at the show I realized that I wasn't going to spend every minute looking at cards. Met some nice folks standing around waiting for autos. Patience and a good attitude are required!!!
4. At the outset of the show, the PSA line is LONG. Many people want to drop the cards early to ensure prompt return (maybe even to sell at the show). PSA line on Wednesday might be an hour or more. SGC never had a long line that I saw during the show. Longest I waited for service from SGC was 10 minutes. I got grading done by both PSA and SGC at the show. Advantage SGC.
5. I did not find things were torn down Sunday AM. In fact, I did some good shopping on Sunday AM. I got some great deals on some nice Type I photos on Sunday. I also used Sunday to buy supplies/boxes/holder, so I didn't have to carry them around before the end of the entire show.
6. I believe Jeff is right - Thursday and Friday. At the 2011 show Heritage had a free dinner for its customers/bidders, which I attended, followed by their live auction.

Cheers,
Blair