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#1
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No where to park? I literally parked at the convention center garage. Can't get more convenient than that. Yeah it was $20, but that's a lot cheaper than the $50 round trip Uber ride the day before.
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R0b G@@13t |
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My pick ups… barely touched anything on my want list but still loved all of these pieces!
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You have to understand that many of the people posting horrible stuff weren’t even there.
Last edited by Snapolit1; 07-31-2022 at 05:03 PM. |
#4
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I parked at Caesars which was a few blocks away for $15. No issues at all.
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#5
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I walked from my hotel. There was a parking garage right near the convention center. Seemed like everything was smooth. The only thing I’d recommend is better wifi. That was bad. This was my first one. A little overwhelming but great stuff.
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#6
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I was there Weds at 3pm. Parking lot full and all the little ones around it. Sent me to the multistory one. Only for VIPs. Went to another lot. Only for dealers vans, I eventually parked at Bass Pro for $10. Maybe it freed up later in the week. I had to book a room at the Hard Rock 1.4 miles away 3 months before. I still drove to Bass Pro as walking didn’t look to safe. There has to be a better place. I liked Chicago, Cleveland, and Baltimore. The facility was nice, but what’s around it isn’t. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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Mmmmm. Were you out looking for crack at 3 am? Or looking for a hooker in the middle of the night? Not sure why you were so concerned with action on the streets.
Baltimore? Serious, this must be satire. Quote:
Last edited by Snapolit1; 07-31-2022 at 05:27 PM. |
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My observations on The National. Some will be very contrary to others post.
Full disclosure: I do not collect cards and have no interest in owning any. When I did TTM and hotel in person in Boston in the 1980’s and early 1990’s I would pick up some cards to get signed but did not buy any to collect. By default I now have about 50 as they were in a group of items I purchased (T218, Ardath Photocards and Sporting Champions, Geoffrey Phillips Olympic Champions of 1928, Senior Service Sporting Stars, Churchman Kings of Speed). I never expect to find much in my area of collecting but I go anyway. It is not just the having, but the hunt. Additionally, there are a few friends that I meet up with who I only see a few times a year. Other than the 5 Spencer Haywood signatures I paid for my total outlay for two days was $40.00. I tried to walk down every aisle except the ‘breakers pavillion’. In my opinion that is wasted space that could be better served by allowing more dealers. When the NSCC has a waiting list of legitimate dealers why on God’s green earth would they give the booths to them. Nothing but a bunch of glorified snake oil salesmen and fluffers. They open a pack and it is a relic card of the third string quarterback of (pick a team) and they act like they just found a 5 ounce gold bar. I call bull on those who said parking as tough. I had pointed out in one of the other threads that there was a website that showed all of the parking along with prices. I parked at The Wave parking garage on Fairmount Ave which is the continuation of Baltic Ave. It is 6 stories and about two blocks from the convention center on the other side of the Sheraton. If you stood on the sidewalk in front of the convention center and looked at 2 o’clock you could see it. I parked from 8:50 am to 8 pm on Friday and it was $12.00. Saturday 8:30 am to about 6 and it was $8.00. I befriended one of the parking attendants and he gave me a prime first floor spot on Saturday while waving everyone else to higher floors. As a bonus, White House Subs is on the other side of the garage. I do agree that internet and cell phone service was crap. Connections were spotty at best. I would suspect that if you set up your own wifi hotspot with a VPN it would have been no better. I called Jonathan Sterling on Friday so that we could meet up and talk old basketball. I found a good spot inside with service and got him on the phone. I could not hear him and could not get back in touch. There were more slabs that Arlington National Cemetery. Many, many, many cards were priced. Even though I don’t collect cards I still tried to look in many display cases to ensure I did not miss anything. All of the youngers and a few olders carrying nuclear footballs looked silly, but that is what they do in the changing landscape. I did see a great percentage of them trying to sell rather than buy. They did have a tendency to gather in packs like lemurs and block the aisles. I saw more than a few groups put their cases down on a dealer’s table and start trading. If I was a dealer, that would not be happening. The only real annoying ones were those with rolling file cabinets. Most of them were oblivious. One person was rolling around one of those music amp size cases with two smaller cases on top. As one other poster stated, the prices were across the spectrum. I saw a lot of $1 items, quite a few booths with 20%, 30% and even 50% off signs. One booth had a large amount of graded cards at $20 each. As for the PAMS (Pissers and Moaners) who complain that everything is overpriced, glad you stayed away, it was crowded enough without you and your attitude. I used more colorful language with all of the Net54 dealers I talked to. I don’t usually buy food inside convention centers. Generally not very good and a bit pricey. If you wanted to walk 10 minutes there were enough options. The lines for food did seem to stretch quite long. Since I did not expect to find much I made a concerted effort to seek out every member who was a dealer and had listed their booths in one of the threads. I wrote my own list to follow. I made sure to say I was Net54 and that I was trying to meet everyone of them. I met the following: Steve Sabow – He had a very nice booth with a wide variety of items. Scott Russell – Mainly auction preview items including one item that fit into my collecting focus. Tony Gordon Glenn and Lisa Mechanick Robert Klevens (Prestige) – impressive display of Japanese baseball. He tried to help me interpret a signature, but it turned out to be Chinese. Chris Bland (Lutfa Sportscards) - We talked about photo collecting. He is getting into it. Justin Burleson – He was subletting from Rhys Yeakley. When I got there on Friday Rhys had already left and gave the rest of his space to another dealer. From what I gathered Rhys did not set up at all. Scott Brockelman - He had traded some t206’s for a Babe Ruth photo. We discussed the possible value of it. Ed Hans - His booth, along with Gary Nuchereno, was an endcap along with Scott’s booth. Bill Broadhead – big display of prewar (WWI) cards. Al Crisafulli (Love of the Game) Don Hontz (Dons Cards) – we got to talk about his city, Portland, Maine. One of my favorite small cities that has changed quite a bit over the years. Andy Aaronstein – He is working for Al at LOTG. I had swung back by that booth as I thought A.J. Johnson, who I never met, was in that area. Andy and I had a long conversation about photography copyright and storage. I tried to find Howard Chasser, but I could not find his booth. The numbers in the row did not seem to go as high as the number he listed. I also got to meet Bob C., Paul P and Tyler. There were one or two others I met but neglected to write down their names. One person, possibly Paul P?, knew my full name. I was very impressed as I introduced myself with my screen name. It was a pleasure to meet all of the members there. If I was a card collector I would have no problem purchasing from any of them. My big $25 purchase: jo-jo.jpg
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'Integrity is what you do when no one is looking' "The man who can keep a secret may be wise, but he is not half as wise as the man with no secrets to keep” Last edited by Michael B; 07-31-2022 at 05:59 PM. |
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Michael - Thanks for your show experience. I LOVE that photo of Jo Jo !!! See you in Chantilly and/or in Chicago beer chug.gif
Last edited by Jewish-collector; 07-31-2022 at 06:25 PM. |
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Very nice guy, and couldn't agree more about Portland. From my experience, Portland has been the friendliest city in the country.
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#11
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Well maybe if you weren't there on Thursday when the convention center lot was full at 10:15 am or tell it to the Atlantic City police directing traffic outside the convention center or the parking lot attendants in every lot we went in that was full or the taxi drivers and casino valets who all said the parking was an absolute mess on Thursday. |
#12
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When I left on Friday at about 12p. It looked like the parking lot was blocked off because it was full already!
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"Trolling Ebay right now" © Always looking for signed 1952 topps as well as variations and errors |
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Had a good time, like always but Atlantic City is an absolute shit hole. I guess if you stay at Harrahs/Borgota and Uber to convention center, you’d think otherwise but anyone defending the town is either clueless or blind.
We walked from Ballys/Claridge multiple times and even at 8am we ran in to panhandlers and people doing the dope fiend lean. Had to deal with dirt bike riders and squeegee guys during ubers to an airbnb less than 1 mile away from hotel. Our group is from the Baltimore area and we all said that AC is basically Baltimore with a beach. I didn’t talk to a single person who had anything to say about AC that wasn’t overwhelmingly negative…except for people from NJ/NY. The only positives anyone had were that it was a close drive, myself included. |
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I thought it was a great National. There was definitely a good buzz. Not a lot of vintage stuff (because Jeff took all the Ruths). I spent a good deal of time meeting folks (like Jeff), which was probably the highlight.
One thing that amazed me was the wide range of ages present. I think that is great for the hobby.
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Looking for: W600 Cobb and Wagner Sporting News/Collins McCarthy Jackson Seamless Cobb rookie Low Grade Ruth rookie Cards: https://www.flickr.com/photos/189414509@N08/albums |
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just a few last things related to AC
1. The wifi/cellular issues might have been done on purpose but not sure. I spoke to many dealers and they said that the Show wanted them to pay $350 each for Wifi access for the 5 day show. most did not but a few supposedly paid. Regarding parking. The convention center Wed thru Friday seem to have issues on those days and on Thur and Frid I did see signs saying parking lot full. But another member said it well. There were plenty of options if you used the Parking finder website or if you parked at the Casinos and walked. Regarding prices. That depends on dealers. We can all expect prices at the National Show to be higher do to the dealers overhead. However, if you really take a look around, take notes of what you find and where you can find deals/prices that you are comfortable with. I did find some dealers that were way way over even the National Show prices and I found others I was comfortable with and bought from them. I do believe some dealers had some cards that were just display cards and they did nto intend to sell and thus priced those really high. Overall meeting the members on the Forum and others was the best part. Regarding the Crime and other issue like that I did not see any problems since the event is during the day and if you stayed on the main paths (like the street the tanger oultet was on) and you walk in or near groups issues can be avoided. I would and will go to the National Show again if they do it in AC.
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Thanks all Jeff Kuhr https://www.flickr.com/photos/144250058@N05/ Looking for 1920 Heading Home Ruth Cards 1917-20 Felix Mendelssohn Babe Ruth 1921 Frederick Foto Ruth Joe Jackson Cards 1916 Advertising Backs 1910 Old Mills Joe Jackson 1914 Boston Garter Joe Jackson 1915 Cracker Jack Joe Jackson 1911 Pinkerton Joe Jackson Shoeless Joe Jackson Autograph |
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Sent from my SM-G9900 using Tapatalk
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Barry Larkin, Joey Votto, Tris Speaker, 1930-45 Cincinnati Reds, T206 Cincinnati Successful deals with: Banksfan14, Brianp-beme, Bumpus Jones, Dacubfan (x5), Dstrawberryfan39, Ed_Hutchinson, Fballguy, fusorcruiser (x2), GoCalBears, Gorditadog, Luke, MikeKam, Moosedog, Nineunder71, Powdered H20, PSU, Ronniehatesjazz, Roarfrom34, Sebie43, Seven, and Wondo |
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Thank you, that is kind. Remember - 'We aim to please, so you aim too please!'
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'Integrity is what you do when no one is looking' "The man who can keep a secret may be wise, but he is not half as wise as the man with no secrets to keep” |
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Michael B! Sorry to have missed you. I was indeed set up at Love of the Game booth. I did get in a little late one day (can't remember which) after getting locked out of my room (key got demagnetized) at Caesars after a late night 3:30am poker game. Can't remember who said it but the 15,000 nerds and 5 hot girlfriend comment made me spit out my drink. Have to hand it to the wives/girlfriends who brave the huddled masses. I did see one lady following her husband, dutifully managing a multi page want list with pencil in hand making checks as they walked. Thought that was pretty cool. I felt bad for the people trying to park at the convention center. I walked down from Caesars and it was a total nightmare in the streets on Thurs/Fri with cars backed up for miles trying to get in. Like someone else said, there were tons of other parking options close by but maybe many out of towners didn't know about those. I compare AC to downtown Vegas where you have some of the older hotels. As long as you stay in the vicinity of the hotel at night you're fine. Don't think you'd want to walk too far afield at night (but that's the case in most major cities). I ended up walking by myself on the boardwalk at night twice from Tropicana to Caesars and didn't feel unsafe at all. I had a fantastic time just being around all the other card nerds like myself. I sold a couple things and ended up finding a card I'd been wanting for awhile (You da man Don Hontz!)
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A.J. Johnson https://www.collectorfocus.com/collection/ajohnson39 *Proudest hobby accomplishment: finished the 1914 Cracker Jack set ranked #11 all-time Last edited by ajjohnsonsoxfan; 08-02-2022 at 09:53 PM. |
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Quote:
__________________
'Integrity is what you do when no one is looking' "The man who can keep a secret may be wise, but he is not half as wise as the man with no secrets to keep” |
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A few post AC National thoughts.
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Steve here’s one time I agree with you 100%. Of course some complainers are just a pain in the ass that all dealers talk about as cheap and never wanted to spend anything so they will definitely complain. Some Cheap asses probably didn’t want to pay the $20 parking fee. Some people are well known in this hobby as being lucky they got into it before it was as valuable as it is now because they never want to spend any money. Talk to football card dealers ask them if certain people ever buy anything from them or just give them headaches. Ask them if they try to walk away from The table when certain people come up to it because they don’t want to deal with their cheap asses. I know some people even were so cheap they’d try and trade writing an article for a magazine for grading fees. Some people just like to bitch. Hope you had a good show Steve.
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People just want to bitch.
Have you ever gone to a Carribean island. Sure most us have. Do you walk the streets in the Bahamas off hours? No. Do you do wander around in San Juan? No. Do you do it in Cancun. Hell no. You stay in a nice hotel and take a taxi when you need to go somewhere. It's not rocket science. Atlantic City has a real crime problem in the inner city part of town. As do a lot of cities. Avoid it. Quote:
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AC
yea, your gonna get that in any large city in the country ( capable of properly running a show this size)....
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#25
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Glynn- You actually have to collect cards and know something about them to write an article. Not just look up cards in Vintage card prices . Com. Also, not to get taken advantage of by a dealer selling cards for 2-3x what they are worth. There are many people on this forum that agree with my assessment of Atlantic City. Finally, I’ll bet the people are being cheap are the ones who live nearby to Atlantic City so they didn’t have to pay $300/night for a hotel room like I did. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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The show started at 3pm. I’ve been happily married for 43 years, I don’t go looking for hookers in the middle of the night. I don’t do crack, but for you to make a childish comment like that maybe Leon should put you in the timeout chair for a little while. I think your not supposed to personally attack people on this forum? The Atlantic City crime situation is well documented, those aren’t my stats. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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My first timer observations...Warning LCC*
*Little card content 1) Take away all the corporate space, auction house advertising, box breaks, social media, games, etc and I'm not sure this show is that much bigger than the one at NRG in Houston. Ok...probably a little bigger but not as big as I expected. I was there Wed night and all day Thursday and I felt like I saw everything 5 times over. 2) Not a lot of memorabilia. If you're a card collector, I imagine it's paradise. If you're a memorabilia collector, not as much. If you're a football memorabilia collector, you get three or four guys. 3) Couldn't help noticing that attendance each day was comprised of about 15,000 nerds and maybe 5 hot girlfriends. (PS...I am counting myself among the 15,000 so lets all just relax) 4) Seeing the 4 and 5 digit prices on some PSA 5s and 6s immediately reminded me of a score I had 8-10 years ago. It was only about 20 cards but mostly rookies and all razor sharp. Bill Russell, Jerry West and Bob Cousy rookies. Musial and Koufax rookies. Mantle Red Heart. Unitas rookie. Jim Brown rookie are the ones I remember. I just wasn't into grading and sold them raw shortly after acquiring. Was happy with what I got for them at the time too. But I'd still like a do over. 5) Is there anything worse than a pompous, inflexible dealer? Probably, but they still generally suck. Unfortunately, one of the "three or four" football guys fell into this category. 6) The best part for me, without a doubt, is the people you meet...both at the show and around town. I found myself engaged in conversation with strangers only to realize a couple minutes in that I know this person...I had just never met them live. So that was fun. And then there's Jack Youngblood, my hero since I first discovered football. What a relaxed, no pressure meeting. Nice guy. Listened to my preamble about being a fan since I was "this tall" and very gracious. Thanked me for my story instead of brushing me off. It was a great experience. His wife was nice too. And he gives great autograph. Beautiful signature and inscription. What a relief. It sucks when your heroes turn out to be dicks. And of course my patron saint of pennants, who went out of his way to make my first National experience a great one. Not sure if he wants the attention so I'll leave him nameless but he knows who he is. Thank you! 7) If a clusterf*ck impregnated a birds nest and the birds nest proceeded to drink throughout the entire gestation period, it would give birth to the road/highway system of Atlantic City and the surrounding area. What a mess. Even Siri was like WTF? At one point she told me to do a U turn between a 10 foot gap in Jersey barriers on the highway. Likely would've ended in tragedy. Another time, leaving the convention center, I was driving to the hotel for 5-6 minutes and somehow ended up back at the convention center. And what does Absecon have against left turns? 8). White Horse Pike...the main drag between the Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City...which takes you right through Absecon...gives off a bit of zombie apocalypse vibe. Upon exiting the highway, you're immediately greeted by abandoned business after abandoned business. I must've passed five straight boarded up gas stations. Hotels too. A little creepy. It was a meth head Disney World. What happened here? How did this go? A little further down the road, things livened up and my hotel, the Holiday Inn Express, thankfully was still in business. 9) I didn't get as much experience with the food as I would've liked but what I did have was good. Really wanted a White House sub but couldn't make it work. Had a nice dinner with friends at LB One Steakhouse. A nice 1970s style experience replete with salad bar. Enjoyed the place and especially the company. Then I ate at Villa Refici right on White Horse Pike...twice. The first time it was a consolation prize. My Uber driver recommended another place but they had a live band and I just wasn't feeling it so I walked out. I wanted a quiet bar to sit at to contemplate my expenditures...and eat. Villa Refici was right down the street so I went there and I'm glad I did. This may have been Top 5 Italian food for me. I've been to Little Italy in NYC more times than I can count...Arthur Ave too. Franklin Ave in Hartford was practically my back yard... and I love them...but this place is right up there. The sauce was amongst the best I've tasted and the bread was so good I asked for seconds. I can't get bread like this in Houston and Italian food? Forget about it. It was a locals place which I love. Everyone at the bar was talking to each other and the staff and laughing. They were regulars. If I lived in the area, I would be too. 10) So...Atlantic City. It seems like the kind of place if you didn't leave your hotel you'd probably love it. The newer ones look very nice. I'm sure the restaurants and bars within are amazing. But old Atlantic City is still there and it's kind of a bummer. I don't know if I'd go back. Maybe after a little more gentrification. In the mean time, I'd head down a little farther to Cape May and look at the pretty houses. We'll see. Never say never.
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R0b G@@13t |
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Nice report though - thank you for that! Last edited by CJinPA; 07-31-2022 at 07:53 PM. |
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