National prices?

[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.