Card Shows: Tech as a servant or master?

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

Adam,

As someone whose thought process I have usually found myself in agreement with, I do wonder if you will ultimately make the decision to not do shows. It feels as if the cons outweigh the pros. They certainly do for me, hence why I've been out of the show game forever.

What would be missed if you stopped? Obviously, the chance to buy/trade is the big thing. Making good, old fashioned face-to-face contacts would be #2. Doing bulkier deals which are easy in person but sometimes rendered moot when factoring in shipping cost have to be in there as well. Other than these positive factors, is there enough reason to sustain setting up? Do these good things happen with the needed amount of frequency? Your outlay and tension time are both tremendous in my mind. The dollar amount of product that has to be moved to pay for your trip is too much for me to fathom in this era where everything can be done from home if that's more preferable.

I've actually come to that conclusion and stopped setting up at shows I have to travel and stay in hotels to attend, partially because of increasing security concerns but also because eBay selling is so much more profitable. The time suckage for a show is huge. A weekend show takes me 4 days minimum to prep, attend and break down. Four days and I am looking at nearly a week of my time. I can list hundreds of cards on eBay in that same period.

I will still do local shows where my only cost is the table fee and maybe parking. There is some added benefit to setting up at a show, like making buys and trades, but making it up on buys has become increasingly difficult because of the ease of online selling and the trade nights. The quality Saturday walk-ins at shows go to the trade night instead, where they set up as dealers with no overhead costs. I've noticed that all of my walk-in buys in the last several shows have been on Sunday, after the trade night. I am tempted to put my thesis to the test. Next show I can make in Pasadena, I will not set up, I will take my stuff to the trade night and sell there. For free. My hunch is that I will make more money doing that, net net net, than inside the show.