National prices?

[HRBAKER]

I just rolled in from my tenth National this afternoon. Had a great time, picked up a few things and probably overpaid for some of them. My choice.

I don't think that the National is, was or will be the place for bargain hunting or even market-reflective pricing. The prices are high generally and to me it functions more as a seller's marketplace rather than a buyers. By and large most people who aren't selling junk know that most of us don't want to go home empty handed.

To me the National has become more of a planned vacation where I pick up a few things, meet up with the crew I have attended all ten with and also renew hobby acquaintances on an annual basis.

[tbob]

As usual prices were high but any buyer who pays the listed price just doesn't get it. Dealers mark up their cards because they can then come down some and sell the cards for prices they actually want.
As predicted, you could hear crickets at the 707 tables. Ebay too high prices, Convention too high prices. I looked at ebay a couple of times and the same guys with ridiculous BINs were at it again during the Show.
Now, that said, there were bargains. I managed to score a very nice E90-1 Cobb, a sharp E102 Matty and the best looking T207 Weaver PSA 2 in existence (formerly in a PSA 7 holder but that's a story for another day). Beckett bumped the Weaver to a 3 and it still looks undergraded but I understand the grade and it is a killer card. Thanks to Richard Masson for that one.
To me the key was to buy from 54ers you knew. They were reasonable and I bought a beautiful T213-3 PSA 7 Kelley from Ed Hans for a nice price.
I managed to find a PSA 6 "thin" Matty Domino Disc for $100 which is a real bargain. Pete Calderon sold me an E94 gold Cobb for my master set, thanks Pete! I understand he had a higher offer after he agreed by email to sell it to me. Pete is head of consignments for Heritage and I recommend people consider contacting him for future consignments as he is great to work with and a solid guy in the hobby.
On the other hand, some dealers refused to budge on their prices and I paid almost full sticker price for some Series 5 and 6 T210s. They just aren't out there anymore in nice shape, so you have to somtimes bite the bullet.
A mixed bag, but I had fun. I sold some duplicate M116s to 54ers and one made its way in to an 80 holder so I was happy about that. I sold some Home Run Kisses (non Portland guys) and helped pay for some cards.
Now back to the ebay wars

[Bosox Blair]

Originally Posted by tbob

To me the key was to buy from 54ers you knew. They were reasonable...

Hi Bob,

I agree with this...I'd guess that about 65% of my card budget was spent at the tables of active N54 participants.

I guess that begs the question whether we need to be going to the National? Not trying to cause trouble or anything, but just stating one angle. It was my first National and it was great to meet as many N54 people as I did. I admit that the time I spent talking to people was definitely more in depth than any e-mails or PMs I exchanged previously. I definitely value that.

But as much as you get bashed over the head by dealers complaining about their costs of the National...what about ours? I paid pretty close to $1500 to fly to Chicago return, rent a room for 6 nights and get a pass for all the show days. As a collector, I'm certainly not making that back on any great below-market buys at the show...

Cheers,
Blair

[tbob]

Hi Blair. Sorry I didn't get a chance to meet you at the National.
One of the things I really enjoy at the National and which I forgot to mention was going to a baseball game. I am stuck in the middle of no man's land as far as MLB teams go, the nearest place is the Rangers (7 hours) or the Royals or Cardinals (7 hours+). To be able to ride the train to Wrigley and see the Cubs was a great experience. I went with Tim, Mike, Jeremy and Mark and we had a great time and I really enjoyed grabbing a cold one at one of the many bars/restaurants right outside the stadium. There is so much to do at the National which doesn't involve cards although cards are always the main topic of conversation.
One odd note is that Todd S. went to the game Thursday night to see the White Sox on the south side of town (not really recommended) and no one saw him again! Hopefully he just had to leave Friday morning and is not MIA. Todd! If you are out there are you ok?

[quinnsryche]

Originally Posted by tbob

One odd note is that Todd S. went to the game Thursday night to see the White Sox on the south side of town (not really recommended) and no one saw him again! Hopefully he just had to leave Friday morning and is not MIA. Todd! If you are out there are you ok?

Good Lord, it's not that bad! I've been going there for 40 years and NOTHING has ever happened to me or my family (and I have 2 young children). For crying out loud, at least we've never had a fan beat to death outside the park (Dodgers/Giants ring a bell?). Wrigley is a MUCH more dangerous place considering the weirdos that hang out/live in the accompanying areas.

I named what I was willing to pay for cards and didn't budge. I walked away with 90% of the deals. But I did feel like it was a good comedy show with some of the prices being laughable. A SGC 4 Suggs for $350 LMFAO. I offered $185 which is $65 more than the last ebay card and he said the price was firm. See you in 5 yrs for a good deal There were a lot of good prices if you were straight with the dealers. I didn't give the excuses of "well this says this and that says that". I went in educated to my buys and bought based on knowledge and walked with a lot of good stuff. There were 3 cards I can't live without but will have to wait A BL, Hindu, and my SGC 7 Johnson

[ullmandds]

One of the only cards I was interested in was an e98 red background Jennings...ungraded...in g condition. The guy had a price of $2000 on it...but said he could give me 20% off!!!! How about more like 80%?!?!

[Exhibitman]

I am always a bit surprised at how many people complain about the lack of decent items at good prices at the show, as my experience has always been that there is plenty of good stuff at good, even great, prices. However, to find the deals you have to actively work the show. I spend a full day, every day, on the convention floor to ferret out the underpriced cards and I tend to find a lot of stuff as a result. If I was to spend my convention time socializing, seeing sights, etc., I would likely also conclude that the show has little to offer. You have to be a "picker" to get the best deals at the show--you have to dig in the messy displays and dusty boxes of junk if you want to avoid paying top dollar. Case in point: I am working a postwar exhibit set and I needed the SP Yaz card. it is one of the most expensive SPs and the ones I saw on display were $200 or more [got at good laugh at the $350 one]. But by digging and scraping I eventually found a seller blowing out a whole album of exhibits, including the SPs, and got a nice Yaz for $3. Most deals weren't that extreme, of course [wish they were], but had I simply given up and gone swimming I'd never even have seen that album. I even went picking in the Olympics room and came away with a boxing-related ticket from the 1936 Olympic trials here in L.A. And timing can be everything at the show. Dealers buy stuff and put out new cards all during the show; if you aren't there you tend to miss new stuff as it comes out. I stumbled across some great cards that a dealer had just added to his table from an earlier purchase, and I got them only because I was there instead of at lunch, at Wrigley, at the museum, sleeping off a hangover, etc.

[Jewish-collector]

Originally Posted by HRBAKER

I just rolled in from my tenth National this afternoon. Had a great time, picked up a few things and probably overpaid for some of them. My choice.

I don't think that the National is, was or will be the place for bargain hunting or even market-reflective pricing. The prices are high generally and to me it functions more as a seller's marketplace rather than a buyers. By and large most people who aren't selling junk know that most of us don't want to go home empty handed.

To me the National has become more of a planned vacation where I pick up a few things, meet up with the crew I have attended all ten with and also renew hobby acquaintances on an annual basis.

I completely agree with Jeff's statements and could not have said it better myself. This was my 5th straight National and 7th overall. Had a fantastic time as usual. There was a memorabilia item that I didn't buy last year, but the dealer still had it, so I pulled the trigger and bought it this year. I actually saw 3 concerts on this planned vacation. It was a pleasure meeting some guys from Net54 (Hi Blair !!!!!, etc,...) that I haven't met before.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Jewish-collector

I actually saw 3 concerts on this planned vacation.

Just curious....were they all free w/free parking?