Will anyone be giving a blow-by-blow account from the National this year?

[Tennis13]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Once you establish yourself as a knowledgeable collector and not some jammoke who just stumbled in from the casino I think most sellers are willing to be reasonable. Of course there can always be good faith difference in opinion as to what something is worth. I would chat a bit and establish you know what you are doing before throwing out a number.

So I am somewhere between a jammoke (I think, I'm not sure what that is but it doesn't sound complimentary) and a knowledgeable collector. I know there is a ton of talk about pricing at the National, and here's sort of my view:

1) The National is the only show where I can confidently walk in knowing that I can line up 5 to 10 cards that I want, look at them side-by-side, and understand exactly what I'm buying and how it stacks up versus the other cards. I bought my Gehrigs this year and last year, and both times I hemmed and hawed, and went back and forth on what card I wanted, and could have easily bought any of 4 or 5 cards, but I settled on a LOWER GRADED card because I did not like the higher graded alternatives as much as I thought I should. It had nothing to do with price, but it had to do with what I could see and how the row of cards stacked up against each other. I won't get that at many other shows, I don't think.

2) Because it's the National, these guys are paying premium $$$ for tables, and so in a seller's market, that cost is transferred to the buyer. That's just basic economics in what is clearly right now a price inelastic market.

3) I don't go to the National to compete on pricing. I go for the experience, the ability to learn and to see what I estimate is 75% to 80% of total US inventory for sale at this stage in life. I get good data points on how prices are moving, what's available and not in broad strokes, and a way to sort of narrow down my focus. In short, it's a very complete data point in what is typically a very fragmented, opaque marketplace. If I ever go, and guys are competing on pricing aggressively, that will be very instructive to me as well for how I could purchase cards over the next 12 to 18 months.

Using all of that information, I think you can find pockets and areas that are soft, or not extremely elevated, in order to get what you need. I paid a lot more than I wanted for my Gehrig last year (and I didn't bargain on mine this year) but I walked the entire floor and didn't find another one in the ENTIRE NATIONAL. That pressed me into action; I wouldn't have had that experience without the National.

Is it worth $22 and $10 for parking and maybe $25 in gas? For me, without a doubt. I look forward to it every single year.