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2018 Cleveland National Report - Sneak, Day2, Day 3, Day 4 and WRAP UP is LIVE!

bouncebounce Posts: 1,094 ✭✭✭

And here...we...go.

I booked my trip to the National this year pretty late - literally just less than two weeks ago. I have to confess, Cleveland just didn't sound or feel like a great place to attend. I've never been here before, so I had no real basis for the feeling, but the thought of Cleveland did absolutely nothing to get me excited about the show this year. However, a couple consecutive rough weeks at work and it was clear I needed a break. I really enjoy the cards and memorabilia, even if just looking, so I decided to book the trip.

I arrived early Tuesday night so I could get settled in, and saw this at the airport.
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Gotta be a great sign of how awesome and lucky this show is going to be, right? I mean this was at a freaking AIRPORT!

I goofed around Wednesday morning and early afternoon, as the show was officially open 4-8pm today so no real hurry to start standing in line for no good reason. VIPs get in 30 minutes early each day. Speaking of VIPs...I was fortunate this year to get a VIP pass from a friend of mine who ended up not being able to attend. I've gotten the VIP pass myself the past three years, but at this point I have to completely honest with you - I doubt there are many other times when you'd feel like LESS of a VIP than at the National. When you break it down, the daily admission is $19 in advance, so $95 for the week. I think the VIP passes start at $140 or so. Primary benefits appear to me to be the 30 minute early admission, and access to some free autographs and the VIP lounge. While those are nice, in four years I've never gotten a single one of the autographs and I've visited the lounge sparingly. That 30 minutes is about enough to visit maybe a couple rows of tables, so unless you know there's something that you've got to get to (I'm sure many would say the BBCE booth), I don't really think it's worth the extra money. My view is that the VIP tickets are just a way to squeeze an extra $50 out of you to attend the show - there is no real tangible benefit. Yes, I got some cards, too, but there's nothing in there that's rare and the free autographs are not anyone you'd much care about. I guess I can post pictures of the cards tomorrow.

Here's the view of the front of the show and the VIP lounge access. It was so packed in the VIP lounge, only a few tables to sit at (which were all filled) and long lines for the autographs (I think most people were there for Mike Hargrove?), I walked in and turned and walked back out.

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The hall itself is nice and big and spacious. Seems to me it is actually nicer than Chicago, and food/drink amenities are definitely better which should come in handy tomorrow. The layout seems a little different than Chicago, but I only made it halfway through today so don't that for a fact just yet. Unlike Chicago, there weren't stairs anywhere I saw to get more of an aerial view of the show, so these will just have to do.

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I did not make it to the BBCE booth until right before show close, so unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that share today.
The bit I did see looked pretty good, though, and I'm sure there are plenty of great items still available so check back in tomorrow for that. There was an $80,000 case of something, and looks like they were running daily specials as well.

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Comments

  • bouncebounce Posts: 1,094 ✭✭✭
    edited August 1, 2018 9:31PM

    In terms of cool stuff I saw, the following is what caught my eye. In the half of the show I got through today, I'd say the biggest volume was modern stuff, mostly baseball and basketball. Virtually everything was autographs, almost to the point where if I didn't know any better I would think the everything modern was signed.

    That said, here was a pretty impressive unsigned card - Trout superfractor. Ask is $200,000 - WHAT?!?!?
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    Nice looking Mantle I thought. Ask is $45,000.
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    For you unopened fiends, I did run across a table that had what looked like to some solid unopened. I didn't really pay attention to prices, just thought they looked cool.
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    I also saw this display, although I must admit one item in here seemed awfully out of place. Pretty "official" looking authentication, no? :wink:

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    I also ran across this, and instantly knew what and who it was.
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    Yes, today I got to meet the junk wax card cutting artist, Tim. I have to say, his stuff is even more impressive in person and he's a really interesting and nice guy. Again, these creations are unlike anything else you've ever seen, and it's kind of fun to watch him cut some of the cards up and put the pieces in place. Really unique, and again a super nice guy. He answered basically every question I asked about how he did it, how he picks the colors from the cards for the pieces, etc. Just check these out, if you've seen the other threads you now how cool some of the others are as well.
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    In the art theme, I saw these late in the day, too. While I'm not really an art collector, I could easily see how some people would be drawn to these types of items. Again, in person they are so much better than in pictures.
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  • bouncebounce Posts: 1,094 ✭✭✭
    edited August 1, 2018 9:03PM

    Most of you know Jeff and the Card Country crew, as well as Brady who sets up in their same pod. If you know them, you don't need me to tell you how nice they are or how great their cards are, so I'm not going to do that. I will share one photo form their pod, just because I think the Lajoie Goudey is a super cool card.
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    Couple of other interesting cases that I saw. The first is full of turn of the century tobacco cards of various people. I don't know much about the issue, etc. but there were all kinds of subjects like Mark Twain, various Presidents and other famous people from the era. I had not seen a lot of these types of cards before, and considering many were from 1901 or so, it was just impressive they were still around in decent condition like this. The old tobacco packs were also pretty cool.
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    And finally, some pretty impressive cardboard and a turn of the century Cracker Jack box. According to this dealer, this box slightly pre-dates the cards, but again just not something you see very often and it caught my eye.
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    Before I comment on what seemed like the overall tone of the "market" today...I did actually get on the board today with a purchase. As some of you know, I collect almost everything - modern and vintage cards, autographs and memorabilia, I have a little bit of everything. I do have a list of what I'm primarily looking for, and didn't see much of it today, but because I hit a lot of different areas there's always something for me to find. Last year it took me almost two days to finally get on the board, but today it only took about 90 minutes. This is a Calvin Coolidge autographed White House card. I've always liked his signature, and this one is pretty clean. Nice addition to my Presidents autograph collection.
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  • Stone193Stone193 Posts: 24,351 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I'll add some context and get more pic tomorrow.

    I've had a great time this year - have me some people that I've know for as much as 30 yrs and now have a face to got with a name.

    I did nail a really nice Willie Mays board game and an upgrade Mantle Hartland that's just pristine!

    Have seen so many of you so far - it's been a pleasure!

    Mike
  • StingrayStingray Posts: 8,843 ✭✭✭

    That is Levi with the top hat?? I met him at the last Cleveland show that I went to when some asked me to take a picture of him with Levi.

  • KendallCatKendallCat Posts: 2,966 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Thanks for the pics boys. I recognized a famous person in one of the photos (Stone) but the other guy just looked like he was trying to photobomb Mike with a selfie ;) happens all the time to Mike!

  • dan89dan89 Posts: 484 ✭✭✭✭✭

    General admission line to get in. Has tripled in 20 minutes. Getting pumped and jacked. As Pete Carroll would say

  • Dpeck100Dpeck100 Posts: 10,910 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2, 2018 6:42AM

    Keep the pics coming guys!

  • stwainfanstwainfan Posts: 1,510 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Did the Mark LeBron cards down since he left Cleveland?

    I collect hall of fame rookie cards, https://www.instagram.com/stwainfan/

  • lahmejoonlahmejoon Posts: 1,666 ✭✭✭

    Wow, thanks for the recap and pictures!

  • bouncebounce Posts: 1,094 ✭✭✭

    Okay, Round 2 in the books.

    Apologize for not getting this posted last night, but the Surgeon General has indicated that walking around in this body for 8 hours a day with very little sitting is not good for your health. I passed out watching the Goldin auction last night, I think there were a couple nice deals in those lots but I was only half coherent during most of it.

    Anyway, let's start with PICTURES! Here you go, you BBCE fan boys! :smile: FYI - as of yesterday the 1986 Fleer box break HAD NOT SOLD OUT, but it's close and Reed said they're soon going to open it to the multi-pack buyers so it will happen.
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    Overall, seems to me their best offering were probably the football boxes. They also have an impressive number of rack packs, and they've got tons of singles and sets. There's a little bit of something for everyone. Really great display, as they have every year. I will show you a few of those singles a little later in this update.

    Oh, and one more quick thing. I spent about 10-15 minutes talking to Reed today. I usually do not jump into the fray on the board non-sense and fights, but anyone who rips on these guys for their opinions on forums without having actually spoken to them or gotten to know them is just so wrong. Reed and Steve are top notch, every interaction I have ever had with them has been good. They are booth genuinely good dudes who care about the hobby, collectors and especially their customers. The written word can be a strange thing sometimes, and can easily be taken out of context, especially if you don't have the full context. Rant over.

    As just small proof of the above, I brought this rack back to them to re-wrap because the logo was over Earl's face originally. Steve re-did it overnight for me, no charge. I'm not a great customer of theirs, but he took it no questions asked. Thanks, men.

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  • bouncebounce Posts: 1,094 ✭✭✭

    Next up, how about a few "big guns"? I've searched for a Wagner, but didn't see one. However, these aren't too shabby.

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    Pretty solid pair of balls here, no? They're leather, not brass, but they might be gold.

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    This is probably the most impressive thing I've seen in a while. These are going to be in the upcoming REA auction, there are honestly no words so I'm not even going to try. I'm only showing you the truly awesome, but this collection of autographs spanned all the way to modern day. It's a jaw dropping collection, event the REA guys had trouble describing it.

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    Speaking of auction houses, I'm honestly a little disappointed in Heritage for having this on display. The Vice President of Common Sense obviously did not get a chance to chime in on this one.
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    But let's swing this back the right direction with a hunka-hunka burnin' love! Who doesn't love Elvis?!?!
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  • bouncebounce Posts: 1,094 ✭✭✭
    edited August 3, 2018 6:03AM

    Did you know there's a ferris wheel in this place? I do now!

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    And I also found this guy - if you notice my shirt celebrates his world championship. My son thought this was absolutely hilarious!
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    Oh - and one more star sighting. I won't give this one away yet, let's see if you guys can figure it out.
    One hint - he's SEXY!
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    Few more things that interest me. I really do like the old stuff. Autographs, cards, Presidential items especially - I just think they're absolutely fascinating. And the old tobacco packs are so cool - they're much smaller than I expected, but makes sense when you see them why the cards are so small. Can you just imagine people standing around on the corner trading their cards while having a smoke? It had to have happened, right?
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    This case is incredible.
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  • bouncebounce Posts: 1,094 ✭✭✭
    edited August 3, 2018 6:19AM

    Market commentary for today is a little better. Seems to me that some of the dealers started loosening up a bit. Some of the cards I was watching disappeared on return, but a few others were still there. The most action by far is on the modern stuff, which may be somewhat of a commentary on the different dealers. I think this younger bunch may "get it" a little more, just in terms of willingness to move things around. The "old guard" can be so difficult to work with.

    There's one guy in particular, he's got some really nice stuff. But good grief he is so gruff, and I saw all these same cards in his case last year - and the year before that - and the year before that. And he's still the same unlikable fellow he's been every time. Here's an example. A guy walks up with a 1955 Ted Williams PSA 5, nice looking card, asks if they might be interested in it. Guy doesn't even get out of his chair, his "assistant" walks it over to him. And he says, just about as disgustedly as he could, "I've got a low grade one of those in my case already for $425, why would I be interested in that?". OK, good information. Except, the one in the case is a PSA 6, with a VCP of $376, and last two sales are $350 or less. Just saying. How about just be nice, hey that's a great card but I have one, however keep shopping it - people are always interested in nice looking HOFers. I mean he never even got to the part of whether the guy was selling or trading.

    Saw this sign at another table, just so inviting isn't it? I'm thinking about making one for my buddy above.
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    Anyway, enough complaining. Here's my haul for the day.

    BBCE and their singles helped me out on my set. 1957 Football, all 8s.
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    Also snagged these beauties, so nice for the grades. Corners are rounded which is the only thing holding these back.
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    I love Walter Johnson. Wasn't really looking for this, but got a pretty good deal I thought so went ahead and picked it up.
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    Always love the autographs, this is one of my favorite items. Just can't get enough of them.
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    And ran across these walking around. Told them "I'm really your only shot at selling these." They tried to tell me how Tiger was having a resurgence, but I reminded them that David wasn't. Masters flags are always cool, but the US Open flag is a 2008, which is his last major...so far. I've got several Tigers, but these were just too cool to pass up.
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    That's it for Thursday. I'm headed out for Round 3!

  • galaxy27galaxy27 Posts: 7,113 ✭✭✭✭✭

    appreciate you guys allowing us to live vicariously

    to david or not, those eldrick flags are sweet

  • dan89dan89 Posts: 484 ✭✭✭✭✭

    It is a cargo short convention

  • GilbeyGilbey Posts: 201 ✭✭✭

    The one chick in that picture has a giant frown.

  • maddux69maddux69 Posts: 2,130 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @dan89 said:
    It is a cargo short convention

    Someone made the joke that a Guinness world record was set...largest accumulation of old men in cargo shorts. :D

  • maddux69maddux69 Posts: 2,130 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @bounce said:
    Next up, how about a few "big guns"? I've searched for a Wagner, but didn't see one. However, these aren't too shabby.

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    Do you recall where the Plank was? I am on the lookout for one for somebody.

  • bouncebounce Posts: 1,094 ✭✭✭

    Just get back from part of the Indians/Angels, but will post another update tonight

    Really excited to share my pickups from today, sorry for the suspense but I'm meeting another collector for a potential trade tonight - stay tuned

  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,480 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Great posts, David! Thanks for taking the time to share the pics!



    Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
  • bouncebounce Posts: 1,094 ✭✭✭

    Okay - Round 3 is in the books and what a day it was!

    First off, I knew today was going to be a short one for me, as one of my buddies had tickets for the Indians/Angels game tonight, including ON FIELD PASSES for batting practice. As you can tell from some of my previous posts, I'm an autograph collector, too, so the chance to get Trout, Ohtani, Pujols and/or Lindor was exciting. I've gotten Pujols before, but he'd still be a nice score.

    I mean we were right there, I could not quite spit on them but it would still be close.
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    To get ready for the potential, I bought a 2014 All Star ball (Trout MVP), a 2016 All Star ball (first time Lindor was an All Star) and a regular MLB baseball (could use for anyone). I was ready to rock!

    Well, as terrible luck would have it...Lindor had finished BP before they let us down on the field. Strike one.
    Trout is hurt with a right wrist injury and apparently hasn't swung a bat in two days, so he didn't participate today. Strike two.
    Ohtani doesn't pay attention to anyone, including the Angels family folks. Strike three.
    Pujols actually walked over right next to us to talk to someone he knew. By that time, it was one little kid and me and my buddy - 3 total autographs - but when we asked he says "Not right now, Papi" to my friend and walks off. Strike four. Thanks, Albert.

    COMPLETE DISASTER! My buddy said that has never happened to him before, and he travels the country and does this frequently in many different cities thanks to his job. To borrow a phrase from someone on Instagram who was disappointed that Trout wasn't in the lineup after they planned their trip including a 7 hour drive - "I'm getting a good taste of the Cleveland fan experience." UGH, really disappointing but still cool to hang out on the field. I'd been to BP many times before, but never that close so it was neat. The stadium is pretty cool as well. Tough to really complain, and yes I understand no one is crying for me. First world problems - I get it.

    Speaking of All Stars, I located this board All Star first thing at the show this morning. For those who don't know him by any other name, this is the one and only CPA Mike!
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    For the second time in this series of posts, I'm going to defend someone who has been harshly criticized in the past, and I feel for no good reason at all. As this series of photos demonstrates...
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    CPA Mike absolutely DID NOT have the highest socks at the show this year. So once and for all, there is undeniable visual evidence that this claim against him is utterly false and completely without merit. Now, if he were to pull his socks up to their maximum length...but he did not do so, and thus hopefully this urban legend can finally die. Similar to all the unopened boxes and packs he has, never to be opened again.

  • bouncebounce Posts: 1,094 ✭✭✭

    Moving along to the action, today I did something I rarely do. I just sorta wandered through the aisles, hoping that the cards that wanted me to own them today would somehow draw me near. And sure enough, they did!

    I'm sometimes a set collector, so when I saw this on top of a stack at a good price I just knew my 57 set was going to make another leap forward. Of course, foreshadowing things to come, it was literally the only card I needed in a stack of 8s and 9s that was probably 50 cards total. But still, you take them when you can get them.
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    I'm also a set collector of the 2012 Topps Chrome football refractor sets. I had put them together in raw form, but had decided in the last few months to go ahead and upgrade my Lucks and Wilsons to BGS 9.5s. So this one was a great add for me at a great price. Got it form a guy who only does baseball, but it took it in on a trade yesterday and it was the only non-baseball card in his case. He was excited to sell it, and I was excited to own it. WIN WIN!
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    My wandering then led me to this. Certainly one of the more interesting items I've seen at the show, and I feel like maybe this is one of those odd collections that just about anyone could start - signed coasters? That's a Wilt Chamberlain in case you don't know, and someone actually paid PSA to slab the thing. To each their own.
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    This might be one of the coolest booths at the show, not sure my picture does it justice at all. The Card Bar is pretty cool, I'm sure the man-cavers can latch onto some version of this in the future.
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    Dumbest thing I heard today...
    Me - What are you asking for the PSA 4?
    Dealer - These are only available as a pair.
    Me - Fine, how much for the pair?
    Dealer - $16,000
    Me - Ok, but I really only want the PSA 4.
    Dealer - I need to keep it so people can see the comparison to the other one.
    Me - I'm not sure they need to see both to understand, but good luck to you.

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    Yes, I'm willing to concede I'm probably a jerk, as long as everyone else is willing to concede that neither one of those cards are actually for sale.

    Moving on to big guns, just know that there's always a bigger gun out there. I finally found them today.
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    This next one I think qualifies as a big gun? However, since we've been talking refractors earlier I think this one needs to be re-slabbed as a "Sepia Tone" variation. I'd much rather have the real one, but I know people like the weird T206 stuff and this one definitely qualifies on several levels.
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    Some incredible baseballs, a couple of these may just make my pursuit list for the 2019 National. That second Ruth is really a stunning ball.
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  • al032184al032184 Posts: 1,146 ✭✭✭

    Not trying to interrupt the thread, so if it's out of line I'll start a new thread, but I heard a dealer was arrested at the show for questionable autographs and was wondering if anyone had any information, like names or what he was selling? Thanks

  • bouncebounce Posts: 1,094 ✭✭✭
    edited August 3, 2018 9:36PM

    In terms of time line, this post is going to fast forward again to tonight after I got back from the game. I sat down at the hotel with one of the guys I met last year at the National, we saw each other Wednesday on the way out and talked, but didn't finally connect in the show until today and planned a meet up tonight. It just reminded me that I'm not doing a very good job of getting to know some of the other collectors as well as I should, not because I'm not interested but more because sometimes I'm not that outgoing. However, I really enjoy meeting with him tonight and talking cards, and jobs, and families and life and all kinds of things. And ultimately getting a nice sized trade done was just the icing on the cake. Anyway, I walked away with these.
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    Not a bad day, right? Well, let's rewind back to about 1:30pm this afternoon, when my WHOLE SHOW got made. Remember, I was just wandering aimlessly around, no direction, just zig-zagging my way across the floor. I turned the corner at a booth, and lo and behold...THERE IT WAS! Literally the ONE CARD that was at the VERY TOP of my want list. The National is the only place I would ever see this card, other than online auctions. I won't bore you with details, but it took about 45 minutes to close the deal, but I'm the proud new owner of this. Walter Johnson is my absolute favorite of the original Hall of Famers, and this my absolute favorite card of his. That's right, the T204 Ramly.
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    Short day the show for me today, but I bagged my whale this trip. My only other National experience that even compares to this is when I picked up an Abraham Lincoln autograph. If today isn't the best, it's runner up only to that, but I think it's probably 1A and 1B for me. I absolutely LOVE the Ramly design, I've wanted this card for two years now and finally was in position to get it done.

    Tomorrow will be my final day here, but who knows what might be in store? I've had my eye on a couple other things, here's hoping to some good fortune tomorrow and a couple dealers who are truly ready to make a deal? We shall see.

  • StingrayStingray Posts: 8,843 ✭✭✭

    @TomTim said:
    Once again, looks like a great place to pick up chicks.

    @dan89 said:
    General admission line to get in. Has tripled in 20 minutes. Getting pumped and jacked. As Pete Carroll would say

    There is on if you look close enough!! LOL

  • KendallCatKendallCat Posts: 2,966 ✭✭✭✭✭

    CPA Mike absolutely DID NOT have the highest socks at the show this year. So once and for all, there is undeniable visual evidence that this claim against him is utterly false and completely without merit. Now, if he were to pull his socks up to their maximum length...but he did not do so, and thus hopefully this urban legend can finally die. Similar to all the unopened boxes and packs he has, never to be opened again.

    Still crying from laughing about the comment above on the socks :D

    KC

  • coinspackscoinspacks Posts: 952 ✭✭✭✭

    I always look forward to the bounce report each national

  • judgebuckjudgebuck Posts: 989 ✭✭✭

    I've been to six or seven Nationals, but didn't go this year. Thanks for all the pictures and stories, and thanks to those who commented with their own experiences. Keep 'em coming!!! It's the next best thing to being there.

    Always looking for Mantle cards such as Stahl Meyer, 1954 Dan Dee, 1959 Bazooka, 1960 Post, 1952 Star Cal Decal, 1952 Tip Top Bread Labels, 1953-54 Briggs Meat, and other Topps, Bowman, and oddball Mantles.

  • KendallCatKendallCat Posts: 2,966 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @coinspacks said:
    I always look forward to the bounce report each national

    The report is even better in person. Great to finally meet him in person, and he had “the” best line of the show. We were standing discussing autos, Walter Johnson, and other aspects
    of the hobby with few board members in the group in the group (Mars Attacks, CPAMike, Maddux...) we don’t go by real names just board names - kind of like in Avengers Infinity Wars when Spiderman meets Steven Strange who introduces himself as Dr Strange so Peter Parker says “oh, we are using our made up names. In that case my name is Spider-Man.” :)

    We started talking about pickups, cards not girls, and the discussion turns to Cracker Jack cards. The subject comes up about the 1915’s, of which I own some, and bounce has the line of the week. Very politely he tells me “I don’t collect reprints” and I almost fall over laughing at the comment. Never heard that one before but I will be stealing it in the future.

    Great pickups at the show and even more fun seeing all of the great board members and fellow collectors. Have to give kudos to our ring leader Mike(Stone193) who is an incredible organizer and ambassador for the hobby. The man is everywhere and the board would not be the same without him. Can’t wait until next year!

    KC

  • BPorter26BPorter26 Posts: 3,499 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Bounce, fantastic write-up and sorry we didn't cross paths this week. I was only there from Wednesday afternoon to all day Thursday. We left first thing Friday morning.

    "EVERYBODY LOVE EVERYBODY IT SAYS IT RIGHT THERE ON THE WALL" - JACKIE MOON
  • mexpo75mexpo75 Posts: 1,912 ✭✭✭

    Thank you so much Bounce for all of these great reports!

    PackManInNC
  • saucywombatsaucywombat Posts: 1,221 ✭✭✭

    Dumbest thing I heard today...
    Me - What are you asking for the PSA 4?
    Dealer - These are only available as a pair.
    Me - Fine, how much for the pair?
    Dealer - $16,000
    Me - Ok, but I really only want the PSA 4.
    Dealer - I need to keep it so people can see the comparison to the other one.
    Me - I'm not sure they need to see both to understand, but good luck to you.

    [image]

    Yes, I'm willing to concede I'm probably a jerk, as long as everyone else is willing to concede that neither one of those cards are actually for sale.

    Looks like the "unique" Collins is a blackless version.

    Always looking for 1993-1999 Baseball Finest Refractors and1994 Football Finest Refractors.
    saucywombat@hotmail.com
  • cpamikecpamike Posts: 5,561 ✭✭✭

    @bounce said:
    Speaking of All Stars, I located this board All Star first thing at the show this morning. For those who don't know him by any other name, this is the one and only CPA Mike!
    [image]

    For the second time in this series of posts, I'm going to defend someone who has been harshly criticized in the past, and I feel for no good reason at all. As this series of photos demonstrates...
    [image][image][image]

    CPA Mike absolutely DID NOT have the highest socks at the show this year. So once and for all, there is undeniable visual evidence that this claim against him is utterly false and completely without merit. Now, if he were to pull his socks up to their maximum length...but he did not do so, and thus hopefully this urban legend can finally die. Similar to all the unopened boxes and packs he has, never to be opened again.

    I am so glad you were around to document this. #fakenews

    All kidding aside, it was great to see you and some really nice pickups. I bet you were glad you decide to go to Cleveland than another week at work.

    "The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep."

    "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

    Collecting:
    Any unopened Baseball cello and rack packs and boxes from the 1970's and early 1980s.
  • bouncebounce Posts: 1,094 ✭✭✭
    edited August 7, 2018 6:18PM

    OKAY GANG! Saturday was my last day at the show, so this will cover that and an overall wrap up.

    By Saturday morning, I have to be honest - I was pretty sick of baseball cards and memorabilia. I don't know if it's just my age, or possibly coming down off the high of acquiring the T204 Ramly Walter Johnson and thinking no way there's an encore to that, but upon entering the show Saturday there was literally nothing else I was particularly interested in chasing. As it was, that actually worked out pretty well for me because one of my buddies was at the show and had several autograph guests that he wanted to me to help him with.

    Here are a few pictures, in all I got to meet Roger Clemens, Rickey Henderson, Daryl Strawberry and Cal Ripken Jr.

    image
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    Thanks to my efforts, my buddy gave me one of the Clemens autograph tickets. On short notice, I had to find something to get signed. Being from Houston, I actually have several items signed by him already but there was one in particular I've always wanted and this seemed to be the perfect setup to get it. The other one I've had in my collection for awhile, but this is the perfect complement to it. 1986 MLB All Star Programs - played right here in Houston, and Rocket was the MVP.
    image

    I did manage to look around some more, and ultimately decided I just couldn't pass up on a couple more items for my Presidential autograph collection. I got these from a dealer I've bought from now for the past four Nationals and done a couple other deals in between. He is someone I really have enjoyed getting to know because of these shows, and I can honestly say in the non-card and really non-sport space, he is one of the absolute best. He even said to me that he was disappointed that we hadn't actually done any business yet and was wondering if something was wrong. I told him of course not, I'd simply been noodling on several of the items trying to decide my course of action. We settled on prices on for these, and we will soon be discussing another couple items as well.

    These are signed by Grover and Frances Cleveland, and Zachary Taylor.
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    As was the case Friday, I was even more of a wanderer on Saturday especially considering I was wearing down. But my eye was still pretty sharp, and I saw this sitting on one dealer's table who obviously didn't deal in unopened. Pretty sure he took as part of a trade, and I got what I felt like was a smoking hot deal on it. 1981 Topps Football wax box, BBCE wrapped.
    image

    Shortly before heading to the airport, I took one last run by the BBCE booth. I wanted to see the results of the 86 Fleer box break, and also just wanted to see what might be left in the cases. This one caught my eye. Just WOW!
    image

    And finally, dumbest thing I saw today. My buddy and I literally stood here for AT LEAST 5 minutes, but to no avail. No one ever showed up, no one yelled from a short space away to say "coming". An empty booth, with a free phone and lunch. I could say a lot of different things here, but I'm just going to be quiet and let you decide the word or phrase you'd use to describe this scene.
    image

  • KendallCatKendallCat Posts: 2,966 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Great recap and WOW on the 1958 Topps FB Box! Thanks again for showing me the Calvin Coolidge auto - great pickup. Now back to my CJ reprint set :D

    KC

  • bouncebounce Posts: 1,094 ✭✭✭

    And now for the wrap up.

    THE LAND and THE SHOW
    I had never been to Cleveland before. In terms of the actual space and layout, I actually do prefer it over Chicago. The food choices are far superior inside the show, and I really preferred this layout versus Chicago where there are dealer tables on the side with all the corporate stuff in the middle. However, as others have noted the internet service was atrocious. Luckily for me, I didn't really experience the same issues as others (maybe my carrier was THE ONE that worked), but mine was still slow at times and in 2018 there's just no excuse for it being so bad. My hotel was a short Uber away, and there were some decent places to eat near me, but from the hotels and outside of show perspective I do prefer Chicago. I have a few more flight options to Chicago, Cleveland was somewhat limited but not terrible. Again, slight nod to Chicago if I had to choose. I have to believe Cleveland keeps it spot in the lineup because of economics somehow. I've heard that they give the space for free to get the show (and thus the hotels, etc.) - that would make sense to me if true but sounds almost too good to be true. Give me a choice, and I would vote Chicago, but that's mainly because of the non-show factors.

    THE DEALERS and THE DOUGH
    I've discussed the dealers a bit already, but I'll recap. Wednesday and Thursday felt like the dealers were trying to set a new record price for every graded card they had out to sell. That tactic is extremely irritating and I think very short sighted. As a guy who walks around with a fair amount of money to spend, and seemingly unlimited opportunities to spend it, pricing your cards more than 15-20% higher than going market as a starting ask costs you my business most of the time, because there's so much to see and I really don't want to waste time haggling when it's that far away. My REAL want list is pretty limited and those are the only things I'd even consider paying up that much for. However, I will buy just about anything that catches my eye and has a fair price. It took a couple days for dealers to loosen up IMO, but seemed like by Friday dealers were coming down to earth. Rare modern cards of Trout were the only real exception I saw, those were being feverishly sought and many were selling despite the jaw dropping prices. I do think money was flowing pretty freely every day I was there, although by Saturday it did feel like it had slowed down. I also haven't mentioned it in this post, but it's been discussed here before. I know there are a lot of people who feel like collecting is and will do very well, and I wouldn't necessarily dispute that. However, if you attend this show it's easy to see that there is a real lack of diversity in the attendees. I think there is definitely a demographic problem that will hold some of these markets back over time, but until the economy slows down I doubt we will see that impact.

    WHAT TO KNOW and TIME TO GO
    I didn't book this trip until late this year, but obviously I was very pleased I went. Probably my 2nd favorite of the past four Nationals, but it's close. Getting your #1 wish list card obviously plays a big factor, but I was able to stay pretty steadily engaged this time which wasn't necessarily the case in previous Nationals. Maybe the experience of going to several is helping. This is really the ONLY PLACE you have the opportunity to see things you can't other places and might not ever again. If you've ever thought about going, I'm hopeful that my write-ups will help push you over the edge to attend. As far as I'm concerned, the more the merrier. I really did enjoy the people this time, and I'm looking forward to developing more of these relationships, and ultimately hoping to do more connecting with those folks in person next time around. Working the tables at the show is certainly fun, but I'm that much more interested in talking to folks I primarily know electronically, and I'd really like to be able to do more meet ups for trading outside the show, when the time pressure and surroundings aren't as distracting. Inevitably, there's a sense and element of "competition" inside the arena, but that's not really there after the show ends each day. So to Ryan, James, Kurt, Adam, Mike, a couple Keiths, Patrick, a couple more Joes, and everyone else I'm forgetting - thanks for a great time and another great experience. I hope everyone can enjoy their collecting as much as I have been, and here's to hopefully another bright future of it between now and National 2019.

    And thanks everyone for putting up with me this week. I'll try to behave as we move forward. :smile:

  • bouncebounce Posts: 1,094 ✭✭✭

    @KendallCat said:
    Great recap and WOW on the 1958 Topps FB Box! Thanks again for showing me the Calvin Coolidge auto - great pickup. Now back to my CJ reprint set :D

    KC

    :smile: You know I'm right! Another reason you know they're reprints is they screwed up the backs in 1915 and put them on UPSIDE DOWN! WHAT THE HECK!?!?!?

  • CooptownCooptown Posts: 397 ✭✭✭

    Great writeups. Thanks for sharing these; it is much appreciated.

  • KendallCatKendallCat Posts: 2,966 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @bounce said:

    @KendallCat said:
    Great recap and WOW on the 1958 Topps FB Box! Thanks again for showing me the Calvin Coolidge auto - great pickup. Now back to my CJ reprint set :D

    KC

    :smile: You know I'm right! Another reason you know they're reprints is they screwed up the backs in 1915 and put them on UPSIDE DOWN! WHAT THE HECK!?!?!?

    I have seen the light and now realize I should part with my reprint card - what was I thinking ;)

    Great meeting you and see you next year at the Natty!

    KC

  • lahmejoonlahmejoon Posts: 1,666 ✭✭✭

    Thanks for the write-ups and all of the pictures. I enjoyed it very much!

  • bouncebounce Posts: 1,094 ✭✭✭
    edited August 9, 2018 2:08PM

    @KendallCat said:

    @bounce said:

    @KendallCat said:
    Great recap and WOW on the 1958 Topps FB Box! Thanks again for showing me the Calvin Coolidge auto - great pickup. Now back to my CJ reprint set :D

    KC

    :smile: You know I'm right! Another reason you know they're reprints is they screwed up the backs in 1915 and put them on UPSIDE DOWN! WHAT THE HECK!?!?!?

    I have seen the light and now realize I should part with my reprint card - what was I thinking ;)

    Great meeting you and see you next year at the Natty!

    KC

    I agree - you need to a get a real one. Just wait for me to get mine first, please :smile:

  • bouncebounce Posts: 1,094 ✭✭✭
    edited August 9, 2018 2:11PM

    I think this got buried, anyone have a guess? It's not the Big Sexy wrestler guy that was previously guessed.

    Looks closely. SEXY _____

    Oh - and one more star sighting. I won't give this one away yet, let's see if you guys can figure it out.
    One hint - he's SEXY!
    [image]

  • BLUEJAYWAYBLUEJAYWAY Posts: 7,941 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Appreciated the pixs and commentary.

    Successful transactions:Tookybandit. "Everyone is equal, some are more equal than others".
  • BPorter26BPorter26 Posts: 3,499 ✭✭✭✭✭

    One of the better write ups that I’ve seen in years of the national. Thanks so much. Btw were you behind the curtains ?

    "EVERYBODY LOVE EVERYBODY IT SAYS IT RIGHT THERE ON THE WALL" - JACKIE MOON
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