The National in Baltimore

[Northviewcats]

Phil,

Like you I wonder if the experience at Nationals is worth the expense. Especially, when you say that you could spend the $1000.00 on a nice card at auction. I don't own a card that is worth that much, so it sounds like a no-brainer. Stay at home and enjoy your new card.

BUT... Nationals is a collecting experience on steroids. I've only gone a couple of times, but I haven't regretted spending the money to get there. True the prices are higher than what you would spend at eBay. But you will see so many beautiful cards. I remember at my first Nationals that my jaw dropped when I saw a whole case of vintage Mantles. All the cards that I owned as a kid were there in any condition that a collector could afford. In my ignorance I thought that 1961 Mantle was really rare, but there were enough Mantles in that one vendor's case to wall paper my bathroom with them.

I also think that you can get some buys if you look carefully. My strategy is to look for small vendors who have accumulated a large collection throughout the years and just want to sell what they have collected for a fair price. I bought a raw T206 Cy Young in VG condition for $150.00 last year in Cleveland. I haven't seen one sell for under $250.00 on eBay this past year. I know there are several other collectors that I met in Cleveland last year and made some good deals.

This brings me up to the most important reason to go to Nationals. Its a great place to meet your fellow Net54 members. Hopefully there will be another Net54 dinner this year, but even meeting members on the floor was well worth the price I paid to attend the event.

Best wishes,

Joe

[Theoldprofessor]

My son and I attended Nationals regularly for more than a decade -- he was about ten when we started. Each year we took about $1k, but spent none of it the first day. Instead we wandered up an down the rows, making notes of who had what, and what might be needed to get it from him.

We stayed about four days each in Cleveland, St. Louis, Houston, Atlanta, Anaheim, Chicago. What did he get? A lot of T206s, some T205s, and a practical lesson in the old saying "It's worth what you can get for it." What did I get? Enough fun, enough laughs, enough good memories to last a lifetime.

He's off on his own now, and I'm collecting as much for him as for me.

If you have a kid, take him or her along. You'll never regret it. And you'll collect lots more than cardboard.

[cwazzy]

Originally Posted by Theoldprofessor

If you have a kid, take him or her along. You'll never regret it. And you'll collect lots more than cardboard.

I fully intend to take my sons along with me eventually. Just not this year. My oldest will be 4 by the time Nationals roles around and my youngest will be 1. I would not have any fun running after them the entire time. I figure when they hit 7 & 10 I'll take them along with me. And I'm REALLY excited about that.

[Abravefan11]

I have never been to a National and have two young sons that aren't ready for one yet. I have however worked out the details with my wife and we will be coming to Baltimore. She's agreed to the trip and the O's game, just not the show. That's good enough for me.

I look forward to the opportunity to meet a lot of the board members.

[Jewish-collector]

Tim,
You will love the National !!! See you in Baltimore.
Alan

[4815162342]

My wife refused to go, so I convinced a buddy to come along.

[ChrisStufflestreet]

I'm still on the fence about whether I'll be able to get to Baltimore. I want to (and it's a straight shot up I-95 for me), but it might not be an option for me financially.

I have been to several in Cleveland and Chicago. Each time, I've made it a family trip and my daughter has been treated very well. What's funny...as an 11 year-old kid I had a totally different treatment by card sellers than what my little girl has received. Back then, dealers really seemed to want kids to just stay away, because the parents were the ones holding the cash. Now, people enjoy seeing kids come in with their parents, a common practice 25 years ago.

Here we on on the National floor last year:



And here she is with Dolly Konwinski, who played in the AAGBPL from '49-'52 and appeared during the "old-timers" game scene and HOF scene in A League of Their Own, one of her favorite movies.



She had a blast last year. At one point, a gentleman stopped by and asked if he could give my daughter some tickets for free autographs. I bought a cheap baseball, and she enjoyed meeting the retired stars. At the end of the show, I stopped by at the end of Bob Feller's appearance. I didn't buy an autograph ticket, but as a fellow veteran, I just wanted to let him know how much I appreciate the way he dropped his glove and joined the Navy as soon as he could when he heard about Pearl Harbor. He looked over to my little girl and said, "Would you like me to sign that ball, sweetheart?" All he asked was to see her smile. And she did.



Rich Klein and I talked about this at the show last year and I'll say it again here...but I really like the way some sellers are with kids. I think a lot really understand the effect of getting them acclimated to the hobby, because we need the new blood to survive.

Long ramble over...but I'd absolutely recommend visiting the National, even if it's only to actually meet some of the people you've known through avatars and nicknames in hobby forums or as eBay sellers.