If You Can Sell It Here, You Can Sell It Anywhere

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Posted By: Robert S

Speaking as someone who attends ALL the shows in the area -- the Park Ave Book Fair, The Pier Shows, the Lexington Ave Book Fair, The Greenwich Village PS Book Fair, The White Plains Card Shows, the Hofstra Card Shows -- I think most of us would go to any and every baseball card show in the city.

There are so few opportunities for baseball collecting-related gatherings, we're all starved for them.

However, what I think you're missing is that because the card show attendence base is so small (in general), a NYC show would do well to be more inclusive rather than more exclusive. Meaning: have the high-ticket options, but don't eliminate the mid-priced and low-priced ones.

Take the National for instance: you can have high ticket auctions held on-site (as has been done previously) and invitation-only dinner events (see Mastro, for instance) while still serving-up an event that actualy garners more of a mass audience.

I think what the people here are trying to tell you (Bruce, any alter-egos, and/or the entire Dorskind Group), is that they will gladly go to any NYC show that is served-up, but that they don't necessarily think it should be exclusive rather than inclusive.

For instance, a charity-only preview would be great (many antique shows, in fact, set different prices for different times within the same day/night), as would a big ticket auction. However, so would the ability to walk the floor and buy a card for under $500.

Take the Pier Show, for instance, it doesn't exclude small ticket items, but does include big tcket ones and all the high-end trappings.

As for your response to the Park Avenue Armory show comment -- even the Dorskind Group would be knowledgeable enough to hop on over to the Lexington Avenue show (which sometimes is held on the same weekend) to purchase its P.G. Wodehouse first editions for half the price. This doesn't mean the Park Avenue show isn't popular, successful, or even worth scouring for that special high-ticket item or even a bargain or two. However, for common items, why would anyone to whom money is any object pay more than is needed?

The same can be said for baseball cards. Sure the Boston Garter cards will garner high prices, as they should. But why would anyone on this board pay more for a T206 Rube Marquard just because it is being sold two avenues away from a more reasonably-priced alternative?

In sum: set the NY "high roller" show dates, Bruce, and every New Yorker on this board will likely come (maybe we all won't buy, but we probably all will come). Just don't be surprised when the bulk of New York card collectors don't appear... unless you give more of them reasons to show up, as do shows like the Pier Show for antique and collectible collectors.