Toronto Expo and Chicago Sports Spectacular Team Up

[Jim F]

From an email -

SPORT CARD EXPO & CHICAGO SPORTS SPECTACULAR to co-produce the next VIRTUAL EXPO



COVID-19 has forced the cancellation of 2 more shows: the Chicago Sports Spectacular and the Sport Card & Memorabilia Expo have now officially canceled their in-person shows originally scheduled for November. Despite that, show owners Mitch Adelstein (Chicago) and Steve Menzie (Toronto) today announced their intention to co-produce the next Virtual Sport Card Expo this November!



Menzie and Adelstein have now joined forces to create the first and biggest multi-country virtual sports collectibles show that the hobby has ever seen:

THE VIRTUAL SPORT CARD EXPO 2.0 will take place on November 21& 22 and will allow dealers and collectors to buy and sell in real time. In addition, collectors and fans will enjoy Q&A’s with Sports Celebrities & Hobby personalities on the Main Stage, Breakers, Auctions, giveaways and much more. Some 4,400 people attended the first Virtual Expo this past June and spent a total of >500,000 minutes exploring all that the Expo had to offer.

[Exhibitman]

Will it be Superman and Batman or Laverne and Shirley? Inquiring minds want to know.

[68Hawk]

I tried to participate in the first iteration of this virtual show.
Was a complete failure.
Paid for a 'ticket' to participate, tried signing in multiple times over the weekend and was never able to access the online site.

There will be quite a ways to go to make this functional and popular.
Reviews by participants who WERE able to somehow have access were mixed at best.

[Jim F]

Originally Posted by 68Hawk

I tried to participate in the first iteration of this virtual show.
Was a complete failure.
Paid for a 'ticket' to participate, tried signing in multiple times over the weekend and was never able to access the online site.

There will be quite a ways to go to make this functional and popular.
Reviews by participants who WERE able to somehow have access were mixed at best.

Not sure what you are referring to when you say complete failure.
Entry to the virtual expo was free and the only people who had trouble with the platform were trying to use their phones. People were told when they signed up that phones do not work well with that platform.
The complaint most people had was dealers telling them to go to their ebay store. A lot of dealers couldnt wrap their heads around selling in this format, ebay offered significant incentive so they took the path of least resistance. That was a fail and hopefully a lesson learned.

[maniac_73]

Virtual shows are not for me. I'll be back when the event is hosted in person again

[Leon]

Isn't the internet already a virtual show? Not sure about this venture but good luck to those trying it. I don't think it would be for me.

Every thread needs a card

.

[68Hawk]

Originally Posted by Jim F

Not sure what you are referring to when you say complete failure.
Entry to the virtual expo was free and the only people who had trouble with the platform were trying to use their phones. People were told when they signed up that phones do not work well with that platform.
The complaint most people had was dealers telling them to go to their ebay store. A lot of dealers couldnt wrap their heads around selling in this format, ebay offered significant incentive so they took the path of least resistance. That was a fail and hopefully a lesson learned.

You're wrong on every level.
I used my computer only and NEVER was able to gain access to the site.
After getting knocked back multiple times I 'purchased' multiple 'free' tickets over the first and second days in the hope of gaining access, and was NEVER able to be admitted to whatever was going on.
Please don't speak out of your ass when you don't know other people's experiences.
There was no ONE complaint.
In fact, I spoke to a number of fellow hobbyists and read afterwards and complaints ran from:
There was not much material available for actual sale.
Most of what was available was hockey.
Alot of 'dealers' weren't available when you tried to contact them.
The 'discussion' series of speakers were mostly boring as hell.
You needed to come with an idea of what you were looking for and search out dealers asking for specific items as there was limited stock being advertised.
A number of dealers were not impressed with the overall experience and unsure whether it was a profitable use of their time.

Do you need me to go on?

[Jim F]

Not in the mood for this. You have a nice day sir!!

[boysblue]

I tried it in the Spring but don't think I will bother this time. I assume it will be improved the second time 'round, but to me it is a poor substitute for a 'live' show (although I do acknowledge the effort of those who are trying to offer collectors an alternative at this time).