Card Show Rant

[jedijohnson]

Remember though...my advice is based from the 1990s...lol.
Before GU, autos.....and EBAY took control.
Good luck.

[vikingfan101]

Haha, thanks man. Maybe Ill give it one more try.

[chibearsrule]

its worth it to trade with some of the dealers. like i said there is 3 good ones in denver. the key is to find ones who collect as they are more willing to pick up stuff.

[6boyds]

Hmm...I went to a show yesterday and had no problems. Of course, I'm a $3 bin searcher, but i found some sweet deals....

[chibearsrule]

as far as what to take, it just depends for me. i live in denver so i always bring my bronco stuff. dealers will always trade out what they have for broncos. its easier for them to sell. thats the key. bring what you dont want, but they can sell. take your time too. i usually spend hours at shows with just a few tables. but you'll find cards you really want that you over looked the first pass, and meet new customers who want to trade. I also hide my high end in my pocket unless i'm trading for high end. to many daelers will be stuck on picking up that 200 $ cutler auto and nothing else when all i want is a $20 urlacher. if they dont see it, i can usually pawn off a $20 brandon marshall or something. adding a $20 bill always helps. as dude said before me , they always want to make table. Have fun.

[ross9013]

I went to my first show about 3 months ago, and didn't buy much either.
I'm only 16 but most of the dealers thought i didn't have a brain. One guy had a nice 4 color Reggie Brown SPA that i had some interest in, and at the time they were going for like $40 at most on ebay and i asked him and he's like $75. I told him i already had one then he then he kinda knew that i wasn't an idiot.
There was this other guy that i went up to and he was way overpriced, i asked him if he had some nice eagles and then he starts sorting through a pile of base cards, argh. There was one nice dealer that I bought a couple cards from who was super nice and had some good deals. But 90% of the show was all Hockey.

[Dengar]

I think you have to look at it from a different perspective, and this is just an observation on my part and not a rant against anyone.

I think ebay has spoiled a part of the collecting poulation. This is neither a good nor a bad thing. In the first quarter of 2007 eBay had a registered user base of 233 million (check the stock yahoo messgae boards). I would guess that about 50 million of them are card collectors.

I read on a Topps Stock press release that they estimate that 650 million people collect cards worldwide.

So you have to figure that about 600 million people out there don't buy their cards from ebay and buy them from shows, shops and other places etc. that's why a cards book value isn't what it is on ebay. Think about it, most jersey cards would be $1-4 BV.

That being said, while there is a majority of us that won't buy a card from a dealer that is close to BV, there are people out there that will. There are people that buy a beckett and use it as a bible, if they can get an $80 for $65 bucks then thats a steal, even though it can be bought on ebay for $20. Also look at the people that casually visit shows with their kids and buy those kids cards of their favorite player. Imagine being a kid getting a local sports star jersey card. If you were a kid when you started collecting then you can understand....opening a pack and pulling a card of your favorite player...it was priceless.

Why do you think there are collectors that buy stars from their area online for pennies? They then flip them for a bunch of bucks at shops and shows in their area.

What I do not agree with is sellers that intentionally lie about the BV of a card and/or try to pull a fast one on collectors. I also don't like dealers that won't haggle, especially when you are buying a bunch of stuff. I see that at times at shows and shops.

Sometimes though shows can be fun and you can get some real bargains and gems that dealers miss or just want to move. Don't rate your show experience on one show, go out to more and you will get stuff you want/need at a great price.

ALF

Man, I went to my first card show in years today. Was pretty excited to see what I may find. Right when I walk in I can just see the prices, all high, all rip off's. Guy has like 40 Randy Moss Jerseys. I go up, ask some prices. Hes like, Ill take half of whatever I have written on the back of the card. I flip it, $100? I go, the card books 30. Oh, well it sells higher. The card was a normal jersey card. Nothing special.

Ended up getting a Moss Patch for $15, probably overpaid but I needed it. Ended up only spending $30 at the show, and probably wont go back.

No one would haggle, made some fair offers on some cards and then the BV came into play. "Well it books $80, Im already asking $35, this is a steal", said one of the dealers.

Now, if it was a steal, wouldnt it be gone almost 3 hours into the show? I think so. I offered $30 for it, and $25 for a card he was asking $30 for, and he wouldnt budge. And its not like they were spectacular cards.

End of rant, just kinda disappointing. Very few deals to be found anymore :icon_evil