My take on the Orlando Show
Virtualizard
Posts: 1,936 ✭✭
I spent about 5 hours at the show today. I had hoped to meet a few of the members of the message boards, and figured Tipem would take care of that, considering he provided a phone number, but I was stood up! I really wanted to meet the real Vic - not sure what he really looks like since he is always changing his image:
Seriously, I talked to Vic several times today, and he was unable to make it to the show but offered to meet me there in the morning if I would stay. Well, I decided not to stay for another day. 5 hours was almost enough. I'm sure I could have found a few more deals, but I really didn't see that much worth buying and I didn't want Vic to waste a full day just to have breakfast me (although that probably would have been worth the trip
).
On to the show:
Of course, the first thing you see when you walk in the door is this:
A few minutes later, I found myself in the midst of some of the nicest PSA 8 and PSA 9 stars of the '50s and '60s. I stopped at Mile High's table and briefly talked to Brian Drent - a really nice guy. Other dealers with the same high grade PSA 8 and PSA 9 stars included: Andy Madec, Triple SSS, Louis Bollman, Quality Cards (not Jay - the one from the midwest), Clean Sweep Auctions (talked to Verkman for a few minutes but his raw Venezuelans were way overpriced), Shoeless Joe's (actually a ton of PSA 5-7 cards??? from the '50s and '60s with no noticeable higher graded cards), and The Ninth Inning. Oh, and of course, Levi had the largest display of graded cards. No deals to be had here, so it was on to the raw card dealers...
There weren't that many, but here are my highlights:
I have purchased cards via their website in the past and I highly recommend them - McAvoy Sportcards out of Omaha, Nebraska. Bill McAvoy and his family are really nice and have a ton of oddball stuff (mainly Topps coins, a huge selection of Post Cereal cards, and Topps Venezuelans from the '60s), as well as a large inventory of mid - high grade Topps cards. I got a '67 Venezuelan Stargell that I needed, just wish it was in better condition, but you can't be too picky with these cards.
The booth that I spent the most time at was Georgia Vintage Sports (I believe that's the name - he ran out of business cards). I had never heard of them before, but "Uncle Dick" was very nice and had a great selection of raw '50s and '60s baseball cards. I spent about 2 hours going through his 1960 Topps binders and picked out 20 cards that I thought had a nice shot at a PSA 8. Upon later inspection, I missed a wrinkle on one card, but the other 19 will be headed to Newport Beach in the near future. While talking to Vic on the phone after the show, he mentioned that he knew the owner, Dick. Maybe he can provide some more information. I'd like to spend more time going through his cards some day.
I only saw one booth that catered to the modern card collectors - Never Enough Cards. I stopped briefly, before I realized what they had. There were a lot of people at the booth, though.
I stopped by the PSA booth briefly. I picked up a copy of the 2004 calendar that caused such a big stink recently on another thread (and led to the unveiling of Vic's January 2004 calendar photo ). Peter Ma was busy with several people and I never got back to talk to him. I believe Joe Orlando was there, but I didn't see him. James Spence was also busy with several people.
As for unopened material, I only saw a handful of GAI graded packs at a few dealers. Dave and Adam's Cards was there, but had almost nothing available as far as I could see, except for some of the more recent stuff - I think they may have been there more as buyers.
Other observations -
It seemed like a lot of transactions were taking place between dealers. One example - while at 707's booth, I overheard Levi telling someone to "write a check for $2,100 to ... (one of the other dealers - I forget which one).
Steve Verkman seemed really upset when he found out that he had passed on some legitimate '64 Venezuelans that someone had tried to sell him because "the back wasn't in Spanish". I thought that was pretty funny - I just wish that I had been able to find the guy that had the cards. 
Very few younger people. I don't think I saw many under the age of 30. Does anyone else worry about this for the future of the hobby?
It's getting late. I'll add more if I think of it in the morning. Sorry if I missed anyone at the show.
JEB.
Seriously, I talked to Vic several times today, and he was unable to make it to the show but offered to meet me there in the morning if I would stay. Well, I decided not to stay for another day. 5 hours was almost enough. I'm sure I could have found a few more deals, but I really didn't see that much worth buying and I didn't want Vic to waste a full day just to have breakfast me (although that probably would have been worth the trip
).On to the show:
Of course, the first thing you see when you walk in the door is this:
A few minutes later, I found myself in the midst of some of the nicest PSA 8 and PSA 9 stars of the '50s and '60s. I stopped at Mile High's table and briefly talked to Brian Drent - a really nice guy. Other dealers with the same high grade PSA 8 and PSA 9 stars included: Andy Madec, Triple SSS, Louis Bollman, Quality Cards (not Jay - the one from the midwest), Clean Sweep Auctions (talked to Verkman for a few minutes but his raw Venezuelans were way overpriced), Shoeless Joe's (actually a ton of PSA 5-7 cards??? from the '50s and '60s with no noticeable higher graded cards), and The Ninth Inning. Oh, and of course, Levi had the largest display of graded cards. No deals to be had here, so it was on to the raw card dealers...
There weren't that many, but here are my highlights:
I have purchased cards via their website in the past and I highly recommend them - McAvoy Sportcards out of Omaha, Nebraska. Bill McAvoy and his family are really nice and have a ton of oddball stuff (mainly Topps coins, a huge selection of Post Cereal cards, and Topps Venezuelans from the '60s), as well as a large inventory of mid - high grade Topps cards. I got a '67 Venezuelan Stargell that I needed, just wish it was in better condition, but you can't be too picky with these cards.
The booth that I spent the most time at was Georgia Vintage Sports (I believe that's the name - he ran out of business cards). I had never heard of them before, but "Uncle Dick" was very nice and had a great selection of raw '50s and '60s baseball cards. I spent about 2 hours going through his 1960 Topps binders and picked out 20 cards that I thought had a nice shot at a PSA 8. Upon later inspection, I missed a wrinkle on one card, but the other 19 will be headed to Newport Beach in the near future. While talking to Vic on the phone after the show, he mentioned that he knew the owner, Dick. Maybe he can provide some more information. I'd like to spend more time going through his cards some day.
I only saw one booth that catered to the modern card collectors - Never Enough Cards. I stopped briefly, before I realized what they had. There were a lot of people at the booth, though.
I stopped by the PSA booth briefly. I picked up a copy of the 2004 calendar that caused such a big stink recently on another thread (and led to the unveiling of Vic's January 2004 calendar photo
). Peter Ma was busy with several people and I never got back to talk to him. I believe Joe Orlando was there, but I didn't see him. James Spence was also busy with several people.As for unopened material, I only saw a handful of GAI graded packs at a few dealers. Dave and Adam's Cards was there, but had almost nothing available as far as I could see, except for some of the more recent stuff - I think they may have been there more as buyers.
Other observations -
It seemed like a lot of transactions were taking place between dealers. One example - while at 707's booth, I overheard Levi telling someone to "write a check for $2,100 to ... (one of the other dealers - I forget which one).
Steve Verkman seemed really upset when he found out that he had passed on some legitimate '64 Venezuelans that someone had tried to sell him because "the back wasn't in Spanish".
I thought that was pretty funny - I just wish that I had been able to find the guy that had the cards. Very few younger people. I don't think I saw many under the age of 30. Does anyone else worry about this for the future of the hobby?
It's getting late. I'll add more if I think of it in the morning. Sorry if I missed anyone at the show.
JEB.
0
Comments
Virturalized ... err ... I mean Virtual Lizard,
Thanks for the great post ! Just like being there, only without the tired legs.
How does it get any better than going through vintage binders, and actually finding potential 8's ?
As to the lack of young people,
most young people don't buy stocks, fine art, or vintage wine WHEN they're young, but they do later on.
By the way, if breakfast with Vic is at Denny's, it's on me ...
"How about a little fire Scarecrow ?"
<< <i>The booth that I spent the most time at was Georgia Vintage Sports (I believe that's the name - he ran out of business cards). I had never heard of them before, but "Uncle Dick" was very nice and had a great selection of raw '50s and '60s baseball cards. I spent about 2 hours going through his 1960 Topps binders and picked out 20 cards that I thought had a nice shot at a PSA 8. Upon later inspection, I missed a wrinkle on one card, but the other 19 will be headed to Newport Beach in the near future. While talking to Vic on the phone after the show, he mentioned that he knew the owner, Dick. Maybe he can provide some more information. I'd like to spend more time going through his cards some day. >>
JEB- The gentlemen's name is Dick DeCourcey and he was with Mr. Mint during the Oct 1987 Paris, TN. find of 1954 & 1955 Topps and Bowman unopened material.
I met him in Cleveland last Spring...nice guy to chat with.
Adam
Jeb,
Thanks for the update and the personal plugs(as well as the photos
Wolfie,
I appreciate the gesture but since I had planned on meeting JEB asnd stood him up due to kid commitments,I will buy at the national(if you and JEB make it).I definately will be at the nationals this year.
Vic
for grading In Person at a show like this one?
If not, why not?
(it would just kinda tick me off if non-members
could get the services we pay to get, you know?)
As far as Mile High and Kurtz Kardz both of them have outstanding cards for sale and I have had nothing but good transactions with them over the years - very helpful in learning about cards as well. If you have a high-end Brooks Robinson card for sale Kurt will most likely buy it. Must be something in the water in Colorado since both of these guys live there along with Marshall Fogel - too many cards for one state!
I like the Mr Mint comment
"
" Go ahead and get your fancy barely visible cell phones that get the internet, play DVD's, and can speak 5 languages. As for me and my Atari cell phone it works, it weighs 7 pounds, it is 14 inches long, and it looks like I could call in an airstrike from a remote desert it is so large!"
You can also add the 1955 Topps Clemente PSA 10 RC to the list....
As far as the show, I was a little disappointed as to how few card dealers there actually were. There were a lot of bat, jersey, and photo dealers, but very few card dealers. I was hoping to pick up some supplies while I was there, but no one was selling pages or holders.
Jim
Chris
P.S. JEB, hope you enjoy the cards.
Thanks. I always enjoy receiving any cards.
JEB.
<< <i>do you have to be a "PSA Member" to submit cards
for grading In Person at a show like this one?
If not, why not?
(it would just kinda tick me off if non-members
could get the services we pay to get, you know?) >>
I'm not sure. I was at PSA Saturday on, umm, Saturday, and a couple of non-members walked in. At least one of them was told he could submit under the $10 10 day service without being a member.
Joe
Do you go to any of the shows in Omaha? Where do you find most of your stuff at? Doesn't seem like a lot of vintage stuff can be found there.
Adam
<< <i>JEB - I'm in Omaha. Be careful when dealing with McAvoy. The guy used to have a shop and had some high profile problems with customers, including one that had the cops shut his store down for awhile (something to do with a problematic gold transaction). He's not known around town for being the most ethical dealer around. >>
Please elaborate. I know appearances can be deceiving, but this guy just seems like the most calm, easy going guy and he's made me some great deals on two transactions that I've had with him. I believe I've purchased about $1,200 worth of cards from him (based on his listed prices, which I was willing to pay close to anyway) for about $700 total.
I haven't submitted any of the raw cards that I've purchased from him yet (from my purchase 6 months ago or my recent purchase at the show), but they look good to me. I'll keep you updated in the next month or so when I submit them to PSA.
JEB.
All I really wanted to do was buy a box or two of 70's football and/or basketball wax - but there was literally NONE to be found. Zilch. I also searched for 51 Topps Current All Stars - not one in the entire show. I saw some AMAZING cards.
52 Bowman Mantle grade GAI 10 - Perfect
57 Clemente PSA 10
All of 707's inventory - another good guy there it seems
Met a guy named Barry Sanders - a dealer out of Georgia. Wonderful guy who shared a lot about how he goes about the hobby.
Paid $35 to get Bill Buckner and Mookie Wilson's autograph on a big picture of "the play" - Buckner was real nice, Mookie was busy talking the whole time I was there
Plenty of stars there - tons of autographs and pictures.
Overall, I give the show a C. I hope it comes back next year because we never get shows of any quality in FL - ever!
Next year, let me know that you'll be there. I would have liked to have met anyone from the message boards.
Actually, you live pretty close to me if your profile is accurate (West Palm Beach). I'm in Lake Worth.
JEB.
I don't generally go to local shows, but interestingly, I happened to be at the Boynton Beach Mall in November, and stumbled across a card show outside the food court. I actually picked up a few 1964 Topps Coins in Mint condition for next to nothing. My quick stop for a $5 meal at Chic-Fil-A ended up taking about an hour and a half and cost me a little bit more.
There are shows at a bowling alley near me every month. I've never gone to one, but I may check it out some time. I can't imagine finding anything worthwhile, but hey, it's only about a mile from me. Let me know if you see a show that may be interesting ... I'd be happy to meet you there.
JEB.
I'm not telling you to not deal with McAvoy, just that you might want to make sure you're getting exactly what you are looking for. If everything turns out fine then great, but I know several people who won't deal with him here in town. Take it for what it's worth.