Philly Show

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

I'm sure there is not a single long running show in the country that is "as good as it used to be" in the memory of people who have cherished memories of it. I went, first time, and I thought it was pretty good. Big enough that I found some stuff I was interested in. But the idea that the people running it are strong arming people who are trying to make a few bucks and keep the hobby alive is a crock of bs.

Agree. And there also isn't another show, I am aware of, that says if you set up at theirs you can't set up at others. I would never, ever set up at that show and probably wouldn't attend it for that reason. But everyone has their own opinion of stuff. Happy collecting.....

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

My rant wasn't directed at any one person, so please don't anyone take it personally.

As for the "strong-arm" tactics. Right or wrong there was a very specific reason for it. A promoter tried to create a rival show in Oaks less than 20 miles away. They courted the same big dealers and scheduled their show often the week immediately before the Philly Show.

There are several show promoters who do the Philly show and promote their own shows (not including my fledgling efforts) and there has never been an issue with that, or dealers doing both their shows and the Philly show. It was specifically in response to someone who tried to torpedo them. It's a free market, but their reaction is also part of the free market. I'm not defending it, but I do understand it.

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

My rant wasn't directed at any one person, so please don't anyone take it personally.

As for the "strong-arm" tactics. Right or wrong there was a very specific reason for it. A promoter tried to create a rival show in Oaks less than 20 miles away. They courted the same big dealers and scheduled their show often the week immediately before the Philly Show.

There are several show promoters who do the Philly show and promote their own shows (not including my fledgling efforts) and there has never been an issue with that, or dealers doing both their shows and the Philly show. It was specifically in response to someone who tried to torpedo them. It's a free market, but their reaction is also part of the free market. I'm not defending it, but I do understand it.

Yeah, having read the actual policy it is a little more nuanced than I imagined. Limited both in time and to types of shows. I kind of see both sides, but I'm not a dealer tying to get by so I'm probably not a good person to judge all of this.

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by Leon

Agree. And there also isn't another show, I am aware of, that says if you set up at theirs you can't set up at others. I would never, ever set up at that show and probably wouldn't attend it for that reason. But everyone has their own opinion of stuff. Happy collecting.....

+1

Economically, there is no reason to look for reasons to ban dealers from doing your shows. The only acceptable reason I have ever have is at our 1st location being sold out of tables. Thanks to an innovative dealer, we were even able to fix that for the end of our run at the Southfork Hotel.

I have 16 more tables to fill at the Comfort Inn (show on this Saturday FYI) and the only reason I would ever say no to a person is if they set up with nothing but "Broder" type cards which are all unlicensed. other than that, we need all our dealers to have a good experience for our collectors!

That especially means people such as Leon (HI LEON!), whose stock is always evolving and always have new material for each show.

Rich

[ValKehl]

I drove up from No. VA and was at the Show nearly all day on Saturday (only because my wife had taken the car and gone shopping!). It appears to me that the Philly Show has declined to the point that it is now comparable to the Chantilly, VA, Show, which takes place only a few miles from where I live. Like other long-time collectors, I long for the Willow Grove and Ft. Washington Shows of the 1980's and 1990's. I have attended the Philly Show about once a year over recent years, but this may have been my last one. I was able to pick up my winnings from the recent LOTG and H&S Auctions, and I used the shipping costs I saved to help justify my going to the show. Al C., it's always great to chat with you! I also enjoyed chatting with DJ, Steve H., several dealers, and a few collectors I didn't know. I found next to nothing for my collection - only bought two very inexpensive cards, one of them from a collector who was trying to sell his stuff to dealers.
Val

[Jewish-collector]

I too have been going to this Philly show since the Motor Lodge days and followed the show to Ft. Washington and then Reading and now to Valley Forge. I used to stay overnight on occasion at the Ft. Washington show because I needed 2 days to get through the whole show.

For this past show, I was there most of Friday. The best part of the show was talking to Al of LOTG. The show really has substantially gone downhill. This particular day that I was there was probably the worst Friday I've ever been to at this show. The number of dealers was significantly down from previous shows there. There was a table with lounge chairs in the middle of the show where 2 or 3 tables could have been. Plus, there were tables with the dealer's name tag, but nothing there. I don't know if they were bringing their cards on Saturday and/or Sunday. It seemed that there was a lot of open space where tables had been in previous shows.

It might be the beginning of the end. I hope not, though.