So exactly what do you want from a show?

[bbcard1]

Originally Posted by Zan

If Net54 members were to get in early, how would we prove our membership here?

You show your tattoo, silly. I thought everyone had one. Leon said it was a condition of registering on the board....

[rdixon1208]

Originally Posted by bbcard1

You show your tattoo, silly. I thought everyone had one. Leon said it was a condition of registering on the board....

I had mine put on the small of my back

[Zan]

Originally Posted by bbcard1

You show your tattoo, silly. I thought everyone had one. Leon said it was a condition of registering on the board....

Must have missed the memo

[insidethewrapper]

Were there any posted attendance figures on the 2010 National in Baltimore ?

[scottglevy]

I think that it makes all the sense in the world to group "like dealers" together. So have a section for dealer that primarily have 1800s (OJ, Mayos, etc), one for T-cards, goudeys/exhibits etc, 1950/60, 70s-modern bball, other sports, -- very similar to how the BST is organized.

[Jewish-collector]

I have known Marco for about 15 years. He used to have a show in Richmond as well as in Chantilly, but dropped the one in Richmond to concentrate all his efforts for Chantilly.

A show has different purposes for the different types of collectors. Some collectors (like the guys on signingshotline.com) are mainly interested in the in-person autograph signings, so they don't care what dealers are setting up and what they are bringing to sell. There are, of course, the "shiny stuff" collectors, who don't care about the autograph signings nor vintage. The members of Net54 are, obviously, interested in vintage cards & memorabilia, so again it doesn't matter who is signing.

I think Marco has decided that the autograph signings are more important, so therefore a lot of the national dealers have stopped setting up because a lot of collectors of vintage cards were not attending. There may be other reasons, but that's a large part for it. If Marco truly wants a Net54 presence, he would have to put much less emphasis on the autograph signings to try to get the vintage dealers back. Perhaps he could partner with an auction house to have a live auction one evening during that weekend.

Alan

[Robextend]

Originally Posted by scottglevy

I think that it makes all the sense in the world to group "like dealers" together. So have a section for dealer that primarily have 1800s (OJ, Mayos, etc), one for T-cards, goudeys/exhibits etc, 1950/60, 70s-modern bball, other sports, -- very similar to how the BST is organized.

I think that is a great idea, it would definitely maximize the potential of a collector acquiring more needs for their respective collections.

Also can we minimize the amount of dealers that use “book price” for everything?

[David W]

Originally Posted by Robextend

I think that is a great idea, it would definitely maximize the potential of a collector acquiring more needs for their respective collections.

Also can we minimize the amount of dealers that use “book price” for everything?

Or even worse, have nothing priced, and have to look each and every card up to tell you what they want for it.

[autograf]

hmmm....Net54 tramp stamp.....very disturbing.

realistic pricing would be a plus

[docpatlv]

Originally Posted by Pup6913

realistic pricing would be a plus

This is the answer for me. An example would be, at the last Philly show a dealer had a cabinet card I was interested in. He had listed it on e-bay with a BIN of $1200 which I thought was a little much given the condition. At the show I asked how much he was selling it for, thinking maybe if he reduced the price I might purchase it. Well, he said he was asking $1800. I said thanks and moved on.

I understand that dealers have costs (i.e. overhead, etc.) but at the end of the day, consumers want to pay the least amount possible. Whether your shopping for a new PC, large screen TV, or car, most people are going to shop around and when it comes down to purchasing, they're going to go with the cheapest option (assuming said merchandise is of equal quality and value). People aren't going to pay $1000 for a TV at a local Hi-Fi store if they can get the exact same TV at Best Buy for $800.

Unless you're holding something rare and can realize the price you're asking, I think that dealers have to be realistic in pricing their merchandise. Who's going to pay $500 for a card, when a similar card could be had any day of the week on ebay for $300?

As I said in another post, I've made more purchases at smaller local card shows and even "non-sports" shows than I have at the Philly show.