Running National newbie question thread

[polakoff]

Thanks all, that's what I was wondering!

Originally Posted by tschock

FWIW, I'll be there all week so hope to see you there and catch up!

Taylor, sounds good! I hope to see some familiar NC faces though Chandy tells me he is likely not going and I hope he changes his mind!

[JustCollectVP]

There should be enough sports related items on the show floor, in addition to sneaking a few peeks at the autograph guests, to keep a non-collecting sports fan entertained for at least one day.

If your friend takes an interest to anything and wants to come back, then you're golden. If not, there are enough things to do around the casinos and town to take up another day while you attend the show.

Good luck and maybe you can bring another collector into the hobby...

[Leon]

Depends if he likes sports or not. Even as a non-collector I would think 1-2 days at the National wouldn't be boring....Just "people watching" could be half a day!!

[iowadoc77]

I have taken my dad along 2 of last 3 years and in Cleveland we did 3 days and he is not a collector but loves to hang out with me and my two boys, 11 and 14. About 1 hour into it, he was having as much fun as we were and digging through boxes with the boys and when he had enough he went and read a book but that was close to the end of the day. I think you guys would have a great time

[Jantz]

Two words for your best friend:

Benchwarmer's booth!

I wouldn't be shocked if your friend ends up buying a few items. I took a friend to the last Cleveland National. When we met up for lunch he had 4-6 bags of stuff.

[Snapolit1]

Atlantic City has a beach. Now I wont argue it's Cancun or anything . . . but reading a book under an umbrella ain't a bad way to spend a day. Even a few beach bars now.

[TheNightmanCometh]

Does the National always take place in AC?

[polakoff]

So my circumstances have changed since my initial question, and now I am left with tons of more questions, so I figured I would turn this into a running thread in which I can pick your brains.

Turned out my friend couldn't come with me, and the same day I was approached by two other friends of mine to share a booth at the National, so now I am going to my first ever National...and selling!

I know everyone's tastes are different when it comes to how you shop. The few people on the board who have shopped with me at a Raleigh show (Tschock among them) can attest to the fact that I don't like to play games. I like to mark my items with the price I need. If you buy bulk, I will discount. I don't like to play games and mark book value, do percentage off sticker, etc.

My plan for NSCC is to bring mostly vintage. I do not deal in high end, mostly low to mid range vintage. At smaller shows I will generally have a box or two with cards priced as marked ranging from 25 cents to $40. For the National I will be bringing bulk, of course, and am trying to decide how to sort. Personally, I love nothing more than when there is a disorganized box on a table with a price per card and I can dig through hoping I find a treasure. Not everyone is like that though, and at a high traffic show I'm concerned that might cause a backup at my table (or maybe that's a good thing? I don't know).

In your opinion as buyers, would you rather see vintage cards:
A) Sorted by price only - i.e., $1 box, $2 box, $3 box, $5 box, $10 and up box
B) Sorted by sport only - i.e., baseball box all prices, football box all prices, etc
C) Sorted by price AND by sport - i.e., $1 baseball box, $1 football box, etc
D) Sorted by sport AND by year - i.e., 1955 Baseball section all prices, etc
E) Not sorted at all - boxes of cards priced individually
F) Other (please specify)

Thanks in advance as always - this forum has always been such a great resource for me!

[Leon]

Originally Posted by TheNightmanCometh

Does the National always take place in AC?

No, it is rarely there. And we are (almost) all glad of that .