Genuine question, what is with the National staying in Chicago

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

I am going to have to disagree with you on these points.

The target audience of the show is not people with modest collecting budgets, it is collectors who are going to the show with thousands of dollars to spend, and they really don't care if the travel expenses are a thousand dollars more or less in any given year.

Also, the show is not the same as another card show. There is no economic argument that justifies the show in bargain shopping terms. If that is the focus, stay at home and buy on eBay. The National has bargains but is not the right show for bargain and budget-conscious collecting. It is the place for hunting down rare and obscure issues, finishing sets when you can see the cards in hand, finding crazy memorabilia, seeing insane eye candy on display, getting autographs, etc.

For me, at least, the most significant aspect of the National is that everyone goes. It is a great social week for me, a party to celebrate collecting with all the other at-heart ten-year-old boys and girls, a place to have hours-long conversations about cards like we did when we were kids. I dunno about most people but my wife and daughter have no interest at all in discussing which 1933 Goudey Ruth pose is the best one.

I agree with all of this. When I first started attending Nationals a couple decades ago there was a good chance I'd find a great, rare card to buy. As time went on, the Nationals became dominated by corporate sponsors/auction houses and the best cards I saw displayed were to be auctioned off in the near future. While I sometimes can still find a decent card to buy, I've adjusted my expectations and now really just go to walk around cards for a couple days, at least until I'm called back early for some kind of work emergency. The lower budget collector may still be able to find cards to buy but the powers that run the National aren't focusing on you. Which to me makes it a less necessary show to attend -- but if I can go I do go. I just don't feel as if I'm missing out as much if I don't.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by calvindog

I agree with all of this. When I first started attending Nationals a couple decades ago there was a good chance I'd find a great, rare card to buy. As time went on, the Nationals became dominated by corporate sponsors/auction houses and the best cards I saw displayed were to be auctioned off in the near future. While I sometimes can still find a decent card to buy, I've adjusted my expectations and now really just go to walk around cards for a couple days, at least until I'm called back early for some kind of work emergency. The lower budget collector may still be able to find cards to buy but the powers that run the National aren't focusing on you. Which to me makes it a less necessary show to attend -- but if I can go I do go. I just don't feel as if I'm missing out as much if I don't.

Ditto. I haven't been since 2019, the last few years due to work and family issues (a trial in 2023 and a family thing last year), and I am very much looking forward to hanging with my fellow card fiends. As for cards, I will be happy if I can knock off the last several cards in some condition-sensitive pet projects that aren't rare but that I am picky about and would like to see in hand before I buy. But I am also not adverse to finding a great, rare card.