2024 Strongsville Sports Collectors Convention

[Jstottlemire1]

I really enjoyed meeting and hanging out with many members from net54 and the YouTube vintage sector. The venue was better laid out and more spacious than previous, the show was solid but I felt a little underwhelmed this year. I always enjoy my time catching up with Joe T from Memory Lane and fellow collectors the most.

[Jewish-collector]

Why was the show just OK and/or underwhelmed ? Not enough vintage ? Too much of the shiny stuff ?

[Jstottlemire1]

Originally Posted by Jewish-collector

Why was the show just OK and/or underwhelmed ? Not enough vintage ? Too much of the shiny stuff ?

It wasn’t bad by any means. It’s a vintage only show so I didn’t have to see the shiny stuff thankfully. Some of the personal collections I saw there were museumesque and hard to top by the dealers inventory.

[conor912]

I came home with several goodies, but I agree the material was, as a whole, slightly underwhelming. It felt very 50’s/60’s heavy to me. I’d say maybe only a dozen or so tables focused on prewar, and prices were robust for the most part. There are several things I’ll be pulling the trigger on on ebay this week because even with tax and shipping it’s still significantly cheaper. There were also many tables that were Cleveland-focused which didn’t appeal to me at all.

As mentioned, the conversations and hang-outs were the best part. I saw some old friends and made a couple more, so in that regard it was great. I just wish I hadn’t come home with all this money.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by conor912

I came home with several goodies, but I agree the material was, as a whole, slightly underwhelming. It felt very 50’s/60’s heavy to me. I’d say maybe only a dozen or so tables focused on prewar, and prices were robust for the most part. There are several things I’ll be pulling the trigger on on ebay this week because even with tax and shipping it’s still significantly cheaper. There were also many tables that were Cleveland-focused which didn’t appeal to me at all.

As mentioned, the conversations and hang-outs were the best part. I saw some old friends and made a couple more, so in that regard it was great. I just wish I hadn’t come home with all this money.

Hopefully you visited our tables and know where to spend some of that next month!

[notfast]

Originally Posted by conor912

I came home with several goodies, but I agree the material was, as a whole, slightly underwhelming. It felt very 50’s/60’s heavy to me. I’d say maybe only a dozen or so tables focused on prewar, and prices were robust for the most part. There are several things I’ll be pulling the trigger on on ebay this week because even with tax and shipping it’s still significantly cheaper. There were also many tables that were Cleveland-focused which didn’t appeal to me at all.

As mentioned, the conversations and hang-outs were the best part. I saw some old friends and made a couple more, so in that regard it was great. I just wish I hadn’t come home with all this money.

This is pretty much how I feel as well. If you were a post war raw set collector, you were in heaven. I do pre war non sports as well as pre war baseball. I didn’t see a single n76 card in the room. That’s an extremely popular and hot set so seeing none was disappointing. I also was trying to track down another t205 Cobb. I saw 3 (besides the 3-4 that Ash had and I saw at Chantilly two weeks ago.) Maybe my expectations were higher but I figured I’d see more t205 cobbs at the “premier vintage show”

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

Hopefully you visited our tables and know where to spend some of that next month!

I’m ready for pre war and non sports!

[parkplace33]

Originally Posted by notfast

This is pretty much how I feel as well. If you were a post war raw set collector, you were in heaven. I do pre war non sports as well as pre war baseball. I didn’t see a single n76 card in the room. That’s an extremely popular and hot set so seeing none was disappointing. I also was trying to track down another t205 Cobb. I saw 3 (besides the 3-4 that Ash had and I saw at Chantilly two weeks ago.) Maybe my expectations were higher but I figured I’d see more t205 cobbs at the “premier vintage show”



I’m ready for pre war and non sports!

N76s are hot. You might have better luck at the Philly Non Sports show in May.

[parkplace33]

Originally Posted by Jstottlemire1

It wasn’t bad by any means. It’s a vintage only show so I didn’t have to see the shiny stuff thankfully. Some of the personal collections I saw there were museumesque and hard to top by the dealers inventory.

Raw cards were definitely in demand at the show. Graded cards, well, not so much. Are raws coming back in favor now?

[theshowandme]

Originally Posted by parkplace33

Raw cards were definitely in demand at the show. Graded cards, well, not so much. Are raws coming back in favor now?

Buying raw to grade and flip is where the $ is at

[Snapolit1]

90%+ of those folks will not be happy with the grades they get. Yesterdays 5 is now a 3. Or maybe a 2.5 with some graders.

[parkplace33]

Originally Posted by theshowandme

Buying raw to grade and flip is where the $ is at

True, but I doubt you are getting high grades from dealers at Strongsville. The cards have been cherry picked to hell.

I think guys see the graded prices, don't like them, then gamble with raw. Its all fine and good, just don't expect many 8s or so coming back.

[conor912]

Originally Posted by parkplace33

The cards have been cherry picked to hell.

I got that feeling as well. Lots of stuff there I recognized from Chicago last summer, which will also presumably make it's way back to the Natty this year as well. It's getting harder to justify traveling for shows when I see the same inventory at all of them. Something will have to give at some point, as the sunk-cost fallacy is alive and well in the hobby.

That said, kudos to the organizers. The show seemed to run smooth, entry was a breeze, and the rink was a great venue with space to move. I'd probably go back, but maybe not for a few years to try and let some inventory turn over.