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#1
08-09-2010, 09:12 AM
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National
Great show, Baltimore harbor is an excellent location. And, it was really great meeting, talking, and exchanging vintage BB cards
for other cards (or Ben Franklin's and U. S. Grant's) with Net54er's. Mark Macrae, Sal Dischera, Jay and I caught the Thurs nite game at Camden Yards (Angels vs Orioles). Fellow Greek (Markakis) hit a long HR to CF to give the Orioles an early lead. The Angels tied the score in the late innings. And, in the bottom of the 9th the Angels pulled a shift that is not often seen to prevent the Orioles from scoring. The Orioles loaded up the bases with 2 outs. A left batter was at bat. The Angels' pitcher was throwing "heat" (near 100 MPH). So, the Angels brought their RFer into the in- field dirt. They stationed 3 fielders between 1st & 2nd base. The lefty batter hit the ball straight down the middle to drive in the winning Run. You would of thought that the Angels, with 5 guys playing between 1st & 3rd bases, would have stationed one of them right at 2nd base ? Anyhow, we got our money's worth for our $54 (excellent field level seats between Home and 3rd base). I'm looking forward to future shows at the Baltimore Convention Center....it's an easy 2 hour train ride for me. TED Z 
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#2
08-09-2010, 09:18 AM
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Groucho and Me:
"Some years ago, after considerable urging, I consented to join a prominent theatrical organization. By an odd coincidence, it was called the Delaney Club.... The first night I went there, I found thirty-two fellows playing gin rummy with marked cards, five members shooting loaded dice on a suspiciously bumpy carpet and four members in separate phone booths calling women who were other members' wives. A few nights later the club had a banquet.... That particular night I was sitting next to a barber who had cut me many times., both socially and with a razor. At one point he looked slowly around the room, then turned to me and said, "Groucho, we're certainly getting a lousy batch of new members!" I chose to ignore this remark and tried talking to him about Chaucer, Ruskin and Shakespeare, but he had switched to denouncing electric razors as a death blow to the tonsorial arts, so I dried up and resumed drinking, The following morning I sent the club a wire stating, PLEASE ACCEPT MY RESIGNATION. I DON'T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT ME AS A MEMBER." Lovely Day...
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#3
08-09-2010, 10:00 AM
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Although I had a great time, there were a couple of things which bugged me about the National. Nothing specific to the National, since they happen at all shows, but it seemed to be a constant.
- Some dealers really need to learn some customer service skills. I could count on my fingers the number of dealers who would greet me as I looked at their items at the table. Do they realize people are more likely to look a bit more if you have a smile or a welcoming remark? - Can dealers learn to put prices on a card that is visible? Even if it is 3x what I want to pay, I honestly am more apt to look twice at the card with a price. On the front. - For dealers who leave the table for extended periods, leaving a wife or someone who is unfamiliar with prices of items, you NEED to mark items with prices, rather than having the person tell the customer to come back later. This happened several times to me – I saw something of interest, asked how much it was, the person looked and saw no price, and told me to come back later when so-and-so was back at the table. At a venue like the National, there is a Blutarsky-esque 0.0% chance of me finding or wanting to return to that table later.
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#4
08-09-2010, 10:09 AM
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dunno
Quote:
 Another short, sort of amusing story. I was in a hotel lobby watching 4 guys opening newer packs of cards...from the 70's to 90's. I am interested in all facets of the hobby so walked up and asked them several questions about what they were doing and why. They said they liked opening packs they opened as kids and were looking to pull 8's and better to help pay/offset their costs. It looked like they were having fun so what's not to like? One of the guys asked, "aren't you Leon?" from Net54. I said yes and then every one of the four said they know of me and read the board. Most of them read it daily. I think more people read the board than we even know.....
__________________
Leon Luckey www.luckeycards.com
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#5
08-09-2010, 10:38 AM
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Great first national for me
I had a great time at my first national. Got to meet several Net54ers (Leon, Ted, Josh, Bill, Dave), met Brian Cataquet, went to the PSA luncheon, picked up a few T206s, went to the Thursday night Orioles game, and ate some fine crab cakes at Phillips.
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#6
08-09-2010, 07:44 PM
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I'm from Cleveland, so I'm partial to having it in the rotation. Baltimore was great in every aspect, except the lighting inside the center seemed a bit rough to me. The location was perfect, with the hotel proximity, ballpark, and surrounding attractions. Mike
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#7
08-10-2010, 09:51 AM
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hey....
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I doubt I could pick you out from the 3 other guys you were sitting with but that's ok. I am poor on remembering names but pretty good on remembering faces. I do enjoy the hobby a lot and enjoy watching others enjoy it, in their own way. Who cares if it's shiney stuff, old stuff, plastic, non-slabbed etc...? As long as you aren't hurting anyone and having fun with friends it's all good. It brings me back to the days of the late 60's and early 70's when I collected as a kid. Those were the days. So carefree and innocent.....listening to the Astros on the radio, with the next door neighbor gentleman, in the front yard, spitting out sunflower seed shells..... And Joe D- that is what makes the National great. I go there for the cards and friends and show......MOST others are sort of like yourself in that they like to take in some other things. One small thing is that you mentioned you go there to meet up with friends....well, that is just about as important to me as the cards. So we do have that in common. It was nice hanging out with you and downing a few. Hope to do it again next year!!! regards
__________________
Leon Luckey www.luckeycards.com
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#8
08-09-2010, 10:10 AM
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It's funny...I think you have to go organized or totally not. I don't know how many of you guys know Chandy Greenholt, one of my favorite guys in the hobby...but the man basically pulls in a dumptruck load of stuff and has collectors go at it...and they seem to love it...
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#9
08-09-2010, 10:40 AM
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Bill
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#10
08-09-2010, 10:49 AM
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When It Was A Hobby
When It Was A Hobby
This was our 16th National Convention. However, it was our first convention in nearly five years. During that time, we had two major battles with a life-threatening illness, a personal family tragedy, and a key employee who stole a great of money from one of the firm’s accounts. Thanks to a group of incredible doctors and nurses, and the support our friends, we are well on the road to recovery. The employee is under investigation, and is likely to be “out of touch for several years to come. We always enjoy the NATIONAL because it provides us with the opportunity to catch up with dealers and collectors with whom we have corresponded or worked over the past three decades. Without going into all the old stories when one could buy 100 T202’s in excellent to mint to near mint condition for $400 or THE NATIONAL where we purchased a Just So (now graded 6) from Bill Mastro for $1000, we recognize that skyrocketing prices, highly visible public auctions and the transparency provided by the Internet and services like Vintage Card Prices make it unlikely that an exceptionally rare, graded baseball card would be sold rather than auctioned. We did manage to acquire three cards for America’s Toughest Want List as well as two extraordinary pieces of memorabilia. We enjoyed the show because it reminded us of the days when it was a hobby. While Goody Goldfaden, Frank Nagy, Buck Barker and others are only distant memories, it was great to see a few legendary collectors like John Rumeriz. We have loved this hobby for more than three decades. Although we collect a old cardboard, we appreciate that the market will continue to evolve. We accept and embrace that fact. However, two days at the NATIONAL did remind us of how much fun we had when “it was a hobby.” Bruce Dorskind bdorskind@dorskindgroup.com America's Toughest Want List
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#11
08-09-2010, 10:57 AM
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I thought the National was Great! Been to 5, 93,94,95,03, and this year and I feel as far as location and proximity to other things, Camden Yards, Food, Aquarium, Museums, etc. This was the best. If you took your family like I did, there was plenty to keep them as occupied as I was at the Show, and then we all went to the O's games every night. Show was great and if you looked around you could find real bargains. It was also nice to see Boog Powell walking around and looking at some of the tables. I hope it returns to Baltimore in the future.
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#12
08-09-2010, 11:42 AM
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#13
08-09-2010, 11:59 AM
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__________________
Looking for Nebraska Indians memorabilia, photos and postcards
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#14
08-09-2010, 12:47 PM
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Dad (Hank) and I both agreed that this was probably the most fun that we've had collecting and sharing our cards in years.
While my primary motivation was simply to share our collection with whomever would spend a few moments to look, there were so many collectors looking for raw vintage cards that it was virtually impossible not to make quite a few sales. I also found quite a few great cards floating around and couldn't resist picking up of couple of them. Thanks to everyone that stopped by to say hi. I hope that another National comes to the East Coast in the near future. Best Regards, Scott
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#15
08-09-2010, 03:31 PM
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Anyone else see any cards that remain on eBay even though you bought them at the National?
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#16
08-09-2010, 10:12 AM
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I thought the show was a blast. Great selection of vintage cards and autos. Picked up a bunch of key pieces to the sets I was working on at fair prices. My wife and i got to meet some new folks from the board and also catch up with old friends. I too would vote for Baltimore as the permanent East Coast location in the rotation with Cleveland and Chicago. I was totally bummed when I heard they were even considering Atlantic City again.
All in all I had a ton of fun and picked up some cool cards and autos.
__________________
e105 Mello Mint Set Want List (45/50): 1) Chase 2) Cobb 3) Crawford 4) Magee 5) O'Hara N172 Want List (all poses and variations) 1) Phenomenal Smith 2) King Kelly 3) Chicken Wolf 4) Frank Genins / Genius 5) STL Browns Champions Portraits
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#17
08-09-2010, 10:16 AM
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#18
08-09-2010, 10:32 AM
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I think it was a great National and Baltimore is very enjoyable location.
I am kind of amazed that there is so much in such a such small area. The hotel / the ball park / the convention center / the aquarium / inner harbor / etc.... all within steps of each other. Thats pretty cool - and I think that makes Baltimore a great place for any convention. Whoever plans those things out did a great job. Leon - we are on different sides of the fence on the 'its all about the show' opinion. For me, the stuff outside (dinner and drinks with friends / ballgame / etc.) is what makes the whole trip worthwhile. Its less about the show to me - and more about the time spent with friends. I very much enjoyed sharing a few drinks with you at the lounge. I look forward to the next time we get to belly up to the bar again. I met so many friends I only knew by name or handle or icon - and it was great to break bread with them and enjoy some laughs. As far as the cards - My collecting focus has changed a bit - - - so I didn't have much in the way of expectations. I was pleasantly surprised at the items offered and am very happy with the items I was able to pick up (mostly golf cards). I didn't run into any 'jerky' dealers. Actually quite the opposite - - - I thought most everyone behind the tables were very nice. I like Chicago a little bit better (just a bias / love for the city of Chicago).... but I have to give Baltimore an A + for venue.
__________________
Joe D.
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#19
08-09-2010, 10:52 AM
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All good here
VENUE
I was very impressed with Baltimore and the venue, having never seen either before. It was my favorite of the National venues I've visited thus far, and although as a city Chicago may have more going for it, Baltimore had so much right there within walking distance that you would have to make an effort to have a bad time. I stayed at the Sheraton, about a 50 yard catwalk to the Convention Center. It was about a block from the Inner Harbor, with plenty of restaurants (Morton's was in my hotel), bars and shops, where they had outdoor live music on Saturday and throngs of folks just strolling around---nice police presence too. A little more than a block the other way was Camden Yards (the Hilton is closer), where I took in a game Friday night and part of a game Thursday--we went on a whim and paid a $10 "late arrival" charge to see the game from the bottom of the 6th to the end. It was 0-0 when we were buying our tix and ended 5-4, so plenty of action. I spent about 20 hours at the Show throughout my stay, and wanted to do other things. Surely there is so much more in the surrounding area, but even the few square blocks where I went were well worthwhile. Also, there were at least a half dozen hotels within walking distance of the convention cnter. Bring it on back here again, I say. Board members I really enjoyed meeting several board members and reacquainting with others. Time was too short as always, but I got to knock back a few plus a few more and then some more at the Hilton after the Friday night game, where I shot the breeze with a dozen or so of you all. Wouldn't mind the return of the Net54 board dinner though, hint hint. Show/Dealers I thought the show was about the same as the other Nationals I've attended. There was a lot of ebay inventory present and not marked down. Prices were high to ridiculous for the most part, and haggling was expected. One guy actually raised his price on a Roush I wanted--on Sunday no less. Action built up every day until Sunday, by which time many dealers had left as is SOP. There were plenty of items to look at, and it's always cool to take a gander at the very high end stuff and full/near set lots that are part of the upcoming auctions. My purchases were not numerous and I bought no collection centerpiece, but I was pleased overall with what I snagged. One story that amused me. I found a stack of low-mid grade m101 blank and common backs, all slabbed. Only one card was not marked, a common player with Standard Biscuit back graded SGC 50. This card should go in the $100-$120 range, give or take. Anyway, when I asked the seller for a price, he looked it over and said $120. I took out the cash and paid him, then hovered around. The three "sellers" behind the table immediately huddled and whispered, then reached for a SCD big book. I stood nearby with a slight smirk on my face, as it appeared to me that they were worried they had been taken on some difficult variation that they let go cheap. One of them looked at me and then seemed even more troubled by my smile- I mean I hadn't asked for the obligatory 10-20% discount- and I don't think they could remember the player on the card to even look him up properly. Now that transaction probably cost me $10-15 by not haggling, but the experience itself was priceless. Last edited by nolemmings; 08-09-2010 at 10:56 AM.
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#20
08-09-2010, 11:14 AM
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Hybrid Mode
