Buying vintage cards at the National

[notfast]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Bring your cash but use some common sense. If you are not familiar with how to handle yourself in a city on the street, there are a few rules:

Get your face out of your phone. If you are staring at a screen you are a sitting duck.

Do not walk out of a bank with cash in hand. The teller will put it into an envelope. Store it before you walk away. Don't walk out either. Call a ride and wait for it. If the bank has security, ask them to walk you out to the waiting car at the curb because of the cash.

Keep only a few hundred in your wallet. Keep the rest in a money belt. If you need to replenish your cash grab a stall in the bathroom and do it there.

If you have a large sum waiting for a special card, consider leaving the money in the hotel's main safe in a sealed envelope. You can always go back and get it. Give the dealer a deposit with what you have and go get your funds. Again, get a ride rather than walking from the hotel to the convention center.

Never ever flash your bankroll. Don't talk about what you have on you. Assume someone with bad intentions is watching and listening.

Assuming your wallet will get stolen, leave all of your extraneous stuff in the hotel main safe or in your room safe if the items are not valuable but you need them to get home (like your ID for the flight). Carry a relatively small amount of cash, one credit card, and maybe one ATM card and that's it. Minimize the damage of getting ripped off. Get a second wallet that has a chain or otherwise attaches to your pants and put some more cash in there, maybe what you need for the day. Hide that one away. If you get jacked, hand over the regular wallet.

If you plan to make a major cash purchase, ask the dealer if you can come behind the table to do it, turn your back to the crowd and try to find somewhere shielded to pull out the money. Many dealers have gigantic safes or other displays that create a shelter from prying eyes.

Don't flash that new expensive card. Don't brag about it either. Assume someone is listening.

Great advice here.

Cash is always king and a lot of people will be walking around with way more money than you. People will have millions of dollars are cards tucked in a backpack and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in a crossbody bag.

Don’t make yourself a target or put yourself in a bad situation and you will be fine.

Remember, Rosemont IS NOT the crime ridden sh*thole that the majority of Chicago is.