OAKS Philly Show this weekend....FREE admission FRI & SUNDAY

[danmckee]

1 or 2 O'Clock on Sunday?? I am surprised they stayed after Saturday. Imagine being there for 2 or 3 days and only seeing 12 customers walk by and only 4 of them stopping at your table, it was painful..

I only came back Sunday to see Leon who was in from out of town, otherwise I was DTFR on Saturday night.

it was a sad situation

[MooseWithFleas]

It's to be expected with EBay. You see so many people checking prices on their smart phones and just finding shows to not be worth it with the marked-up prices even though most dealers are willing to be reasonable. Card shows have simply turned into a venue for the old school collectors to swap stories.

[basesareempty]

Dan- There are a lot of collectors who collect autos and vintage cards such as myself. If the auto lineup was better it may have motivated them to come to the show and then spend money with card dealers. I also agree with another poster that if show dealers insist on pricing their stuff at 2 or 3 times Ebay prices then card shows will go the way of the dinosaur.I also cannot stand dealers that do not put prices on their stuff. I am not going there to overpay and frankly I do not want to go back and forth with dealers haggling over price. Dealers that have $100 cards marked for $200 or more I just walk by because I feel that they will not come down to the level I want to pay. Now if they had the same item priced at $125 and when asked for their "best price" they give the obligatory 10-15% discount now we are in the ballpark.

[kcohen]

I always label my stuff with prices under what I am willing to take and expect to get. I always explain that the sticker is designed to start the conversation. Frankly, I'd love to put a fixed price on the cards but everyone wants to play the "do you have any room"? game. It's obviously the established rules of the game. I don't make them. I just play by them.

[Gradedcardman]

The show was good. Checking out stuff from the big 3 (John, Jim and Leon) was great. I had my 9 year old and he found some things to look at as well. I did not expect to buy much if anything but wanted to see what the draw was for the Oaks. I saw it and will be back. Everything was there to see. Was it priced well ?? Supply and demand, we make the market.

[tedzan]

Adam

It was nice meeting you and your son, Jerry.

We need more vintage collectors, like you, attending this show to make it a success.
Sounds like it was worth the long trip for you.

Regards,

TED Z

[Jewish-collector]

Ted,
My email note never got to you. What's your correct email ?
Thanks.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by basesareempty

Now if they had the same item priced at $125 and when asked for their "best price" they give the obligatory 10-15% discount now we are in the ballpark.

I did quite well with that strategy......

[basesareempty]

Originally Posted by Leon

I did quite well with that strategy......

Leon- That is why you had a relatively decent show in comparison to others who are complaining. As a dealer you cannot fall in love with this stuff. You buy it, put a reasonable mark-up on it, sell it and move on. The other option is to price stuff too high and then you can cart it from show to show and have a traveling museum. The first option seems like the better business model.

[wonkaticket]

Moose to a point I agree with you on eBay, but card shows are not dead just run in a very poor manner. Also you don’t have half of the inventory in pre-war on eBay. Just our little circle between Dan, Leon, Jim R and myself had more Pre-War goods than I could find on eBay in a 6 month period.

Then toss in Levi, Ken C, Willam C, Ted Z, Bagger, Joe T and you have quite a selection to choose from. Then there’s also the visuals to boot, you will get to hold and see stuff you never could afford or own etc. toss in the story swaps and getting to know folks beyond a screen name and I think shows still have a future independent of eBay.

John

[dog*dirt]

I wish that I had more time to spend at the show. I thought there was a number of great cards, photos and oddball stuff. I managed to pick up a few cards I had been searching for which was nice. Enjoyed meeting and talking to Leon and John.

As far as the pricing at the show it was just like any other show to me, if you have a fair price I would much rather buy from a dealer at a show in hopes that it would keep card shows alive and well. However, most of us on here are aware of what prices are reasonable, so who in their right mind is going to pay $300 for a card that they can get for $150 here or on ebay? This is not just a comment on the Oaks show but a general statement on most card shows I go to.

I thank all you guys who set up at the show

Andrew

[Dave1943]

Got to meet Jim Rivera and John McDaniel, and visit with Bagger, Ken C, Leon, Ted Z, and Dan M. I was fortunate enough to gather several nice MLers for my T206 set at what I considered good prices.

I do not have the experience or knowledge of any of the above mentioned persons; but I truely hope someone will find a way to keeps shows in or near the area. I can see and do not disagree with Dan's point from a dealer's perspective. It is a 300+ mile trip for me as a fairly new collector, but I find the experience well worth my time and travel - I reside in an area where 1980 is considered vintage.

Respectfully,

Dave

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Dave1943

Got to meet Jim Rivera and John McDaniel, and visit with Bagger, Ken C, Leon, Ted Z, and Dan M. I was fortunate enough to gather several nice MLers for my T206 set at what I considered good prices.

I do not have the experience or knowledge of any of the above mentioned persons; but I truely hope someone will find a way to keeps shows in or near the area. I can see and do not disagree with Dan's point from a dealer's perspective. It is a 300+ mile trip for me as a fairly new collector, but I find the experience well worth my time and travel - I reside in an area where 1980 is considered vintage.

Respectfully,

Dave

Hey Dave,
I had only mentioned guys I was set up with before but it was certainly nice speaking with you again too, as well as Andrew, Mike and a few others I know I am forgetting. I agree with you too. If I could drive for a hundred or so miles to a decent show, as a collector or even a dealer, I would do it in a heartbeat. My very first post today was more about having to spend 1k+ to attend a show as a business and not having any traffic. Our board here is fine but there is no substitute for hootin' and hollerin' in person. Thanks for the shirt sale too!! take care