National: Any Seller's perspectives?

[Michael Peich]

Guy at the table selection area told me "we would rather you not sign up for two; there are hundreds of people who still need tables". I told him to save that story for the next corporate booth that wants to buy in.

I concur with Chris. We both told the selection guy that corporate is squeezing out the little guys like us.

Our booth (Chris, Tim Newcomb, and I) was totally hidden by a huge 20 foot high wall of some corporate entity. No one looking at that monstrosity would have known there were small dealers behind it.

If Joe D., Jimmy Ryan and their partner are reading these posts they need to consider a few changes.
1. Move corporate to an area all its own, one that will not hide the small guys like us.
2. Put booth numbers at each booth.
3. Insure that air conditioning works. It was brutally hot the first three days.

I did sell a fair amount despite being hidden, but felt we all might have sold more if people had known we were there.

The corporate part of Chicago is out of control, but I suspect the Broggi cabal didn't give a damn since it appears that they wanted to go out with a financial windfall.

Cheers,
Mike

[Snapolit1]

Separating the modern era corporate sideshows blasting music from the dealers with one or two small tables of vintage seems like such a ridiculous no-brainer and in everyone's best interests.. Hell, have a "Vintage Pavillion" or some demarcation like that steering people towards what they are coming for.

Originally Posted by Michael Peich

I concur with Chris. We both told the selection guy that corporate is squeezing out the little guys like us.

Our booth (Chris, Tim Newcomb, and I) was totally hidden by a huge 20 foot high wall of some corporate entity. No one looking at that monstrosity would have known there were small dealers behind it.

If Joe D., Jimmy Ryan and their partner are reading these posts they need to consider a few changes.
1. Move corporate to an area all its own, one that will not hide the small guys like us.
2. Put booth numbers at each booth.
3. Insure that air conditioning works. It was brutally hot the first three days.

I did sell a fair amount despite being hidden, but felt we all might have sold more if people had known we were there.

The corporate part of Chicago is out of control, but I suspect the Broggi cabal didn't give a damn since it appears that they wanted to go out with a financial windfall.

Cheers,
Mike

[Jewish-collector]

This new National committee will need to figure out what they actually want the show to be going forward (ie more fan experience, more corporate, more dealers, trade nights, etc,...)

[Seven]

Originally Posted by Jewish-collector

This new National committee will need to figure out what they actually want the show to be going forward (ie more fan experience, more corporate, more dealers, trade nights, etc,...)

It's going to be interesting to see how they compete with the new Fanatics National Show, that inevitably gets set up/

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

have a "Vintage Pavillion" or some demarcation like that steering people towards what they are coming for.

Ding ding ding! Wonderful idea. Keep all that corporate and modern nonsense far away from me.

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

Ding ding ding! Wonderful idea. Keep all that corporate and modern nonsense far away from me.

That would be great it is better laid out with like things together and shouted out better
Overall These experiences are driving in more new Money and Youth into the hobby.
And Social Media they use and do Live events etc on helps get the message out about the Hobby

[The Detroit Collector]

I heard Clemente was one of the best sellers this year

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

I only deal in autographs. If I was setting up at a National, if there were separate sections for vintage cards and autographs/memorabilia, I'd rather have my autograph booth in the vintage card section. There obviously wouldn't be call for separate vintage and modern autographs/memorabilia sections, so I'd rather be found among the prewar cards! Not to mention it's just a nicer feeling being around that side of the hobby.

Perhaps to expand on Steve's Vintage Pavilion idea, how about having it for ALL things vintage, not just cards?

How great would it be if everything was segregated by category? A "Supply Corner" would be awesome, too. One time in Cleveland, I chanced upon a great dealer of supplies, The Baseball Card King out of Chicagoland. I bought some much-needed top loaders and soft sleeves for index cards--the kind that are a snug fit as opposed to having too much extra room. Both of these supplies are really difficult to come by. The next day, I decided that I should stock up more than I did, but do you think I could find the booth again? I'm not sure what happened, as I knew exactly where they were. Having a dedicated hobby supplies area would have avoided this.

[jethrod3]

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

How great would it be if everything was segregated by category? A "Supply Corner" would be awesome, too. One time in Cleveland, I chanced upon a great dealer of supplies, ....The next day, I decided that I should stock up more than I did, but do you think I could find the booth again? ... Having a dedicated hobby supplies area would have avoided this.

I would LOVE to see this!! If you've been to Nationals you know that booth numbers are difficult to spot and when there are several folks working a booth, some of them may not even be able to tell you a booth number so you can write it down for easy return. I always stock up on supplies myself---amazingly there are a couple of booths that sell at or slightly even below the best deals I can get on the internet. However, I always wait until the end of the show day to stock up so that I'm not carrying tons of heavy plastic with me...and inevitably, I spend more time than I care to admit just looking for their booth again when I try to do that last-minute shopping!

[Exhibitman]

I'm not saying lose them, Dean, I am saying fix the floor plan so guys like Chris don't get walled off behind a corporate display and card collectors don't have to run all over the place dodging stuff they don't want to see.