Very Early National Talk

JasperLamarCrabb

Wondering what the mood is with the National just about a month away. Will there be some buying and selling or is it going to be the live version of free Ebay auction days? It seems like tobacco cards are really hot right now while everything else is just remaining steady. Of course, there will be some big dollar sets and top-end memoribilia popping up with buyers ready to pounce. I don't remember how Anaheim shows go. I guess everyone has to take the family to Disneyland and it will be at least 105 degrees, but, at my advanced age, I have no recollection of the success of Anaheim as the venue.

Anybody have any comments or opinions or is this topic way to premature (There's a word I'm familiar with).

Best,

JLC

80sJunkie

Well I will be going but hopefully it will be better than the last national in anaheim. Any one else remember that DISASTER . needless to say california is full of collectors and lots of money. I wont go into details but those that remeber I hope the promoters are better prepared this time. I honestly thought we would never see a national in anahiem again . Its been a long drought for the west coast. Can't wait to see how it goes and hopefully find everything i'm looking for.

Stump

80sJunkie

What happened last time. I was not at that one but am going this year.

Dave

wolfbear

Don't most dealers drive their inventories to the National each year?
Cleveland and Chicago are centrally located and the recent shows there have been successful.

Throw in the price of gas this year and having to spend a night or two in a motel each way
and for some East coast and Midwest dealers it's probably just not feasible to travel out to Anaheim.

Will the slack be taken up by West coast dealers? Doubt it.

Still, imagine being able to hold a card in your hand before buying it instead of just looking at a scan.
Throw in getting to meet with fellow collectors, and the National is the one show every year that is a can't miss.

ctsoxfan

I'm in agreement with that. It's disappointing to see the National all the way out on the West Coast, and I'll bet this one suffers from lack of attendance and fewer dealers than the past few Nationals. Part of me wants to attend, but unless I can combine the travel with a business trip, it doesn't seem worth it. And, as a collector, what if I make some substantial purchases? Do you carry them on the plane with you, or risk getting them beaten and abused in your checked baggage? I can just see the airport security now handling and dusting my cards as I pass through the checkpoints...

Wabittwax

I went to the last Anaheim show. I had a lot of fun but that was just because it was in Southern California. The show itself seemed kinda slow but the Chicago and Cleveland Nationals don't seem all that busy either. I would go if I was looking to go on vacation right now. LA and San Diego are my favorite places to vacation. Next year I'm planning to go to Carlsbad, CA to visit some relatives. Too bad this show wasn't next year.

80sJunkie

I'm sure there will be plenty of people and dealers. last time it was in anaheim the attendance broke records . lines were terrible and they did not expect the crowd they had. It was a logistical nightmare. lines for autographes were long and wound all over the building. and sat and sun the lines to get in were an hour wait or more just to get in the building. So i don't think attendance will be a problem. but parking and security were the other problems . like i said hopefully they learned from the mistakes and that was years ago. I'm sure all the major dealers will still be there. California is a hungry market and last time national was here it was huge. The numbers don't lie. OPlus it will be nice to drive an hour to national this year instead of flying. I'll have much more to spend on cards this year.

MorrellMan

I think Wolfie is probably right to an extent. A lot of the higher profile dealers feel they have to show up at the Nat'l, which is a good thing. On the other hand, the logistics just don't make sense for someone on the east coast to load up his van with beanie babies and shiny stuff and truck on out. That's a good thing too. The biggest attraction will be meeting old/new friends and gazing at a lot of material priced too high (to recoup overhead and losses from the obligatory stop-over in Vegas on the way out).

yankeeno7

CTSox
What I have done in the past is package my purchases real nice and send them via USPS back home. That way I dont have to take them on a plane ride! Just be sure to insure and get delivery confirmation!

Wabittwax

80sJunkie, I think you're thinking of the Anaheim show in 1991. I wasn't there but I was told that it got so busy that the fire marshall had to limit the crowd. That's probably the show that broke records. The last Anaheim show was a couple years ago and I doubt any attendance records were broken at that one. One of my dealer friends told me in 1991, that dealers were actually selling out their entire inventory and had to go to local shops to replentish for the rest of the show. Boy, I wish those days were still around.

ctsoxfan

<< <i>CTSox
What I have done in the past is package my purchases real nice and send them via USPS back home. That way I dont have to take them on a plane ride! Just be sure to insure and get delivery confirmation! >>



I was thinking about that - thanks for the tip! Now I have one less reason to not go this year...

Griffins

Why would this one suffer from attendance? There is a big collector base on the West Coast, and if you look at the set registry a good % are from SoCal and the West, and that is just the tip of the iceberg. I"d say that 3 of the top 6 card collections are in greater Los Angeles, and if you stretch as far as Colorado and Texas you'd be up to 5 of 6. There certainly is the economic base and there are a lot of dealers out here as well- and a few auction houses.
As far as general attendance, most people are travelling to the National anyway, so does it matter if you're on a plane for 2 hours or 4? And really, would you rather spend a week in Orange County or Cleveland?
I think it's good to move it around a bit, and while I think Chicago and somewhere on the west coast is a good idea, Cleveland so often certainly isn't. Moving it to other cities would create more publicity for the hobby and bring out more attic collections. But it's not about what's best for the hobby, it's about where the promoters get the best deal, and why the voting dealers just suck it up and going along every year I'll never know.

In my experience the National isn't as much about buying as it is about making contacts for the rest of the year. I often find more things on ebay the week of the National than at the show, but from the contacts made get offered cards the rest of the year before they go on ebay. It's also a good time to thank people for transactions gone in the past and catch up with friends with similiar interests.

I don't think Anaheim will be 105- more like 85-90, with little or no humidity. And the beach is just 15 minutes away. As far as buying strategy, don't buy anything you can find on ebay- eg. graded stars from the '50's and '60's. They'll be more expensive there. Shows are great for buying raw and for those items that will go nuts on ebay in a bidding war.

edited to add- UPS has been set up at the last 2 Nationals, you can ship from right there. And USPS is never far away.

1954

Anthony-
Hope to see you again this year. I was a little disappointed in the National in California last time only because there were so many tables filled with shinny cards. I wish they would separate the vintage from the modern to save time and energy. Nothing worse than finding a card that you want and then can't locate the aisle that it was on two hours later. I agree that I would much rather have the night life of California than Clev.
This excuse of travel keeping someone from not going does not make any sense. Traveling is half the fun. The anticipation, the sleepless night before you get up at 5:00am, the packing of trade bait, preparing the 12 page want lists, the crown and diet coke at 8:45am on the plane before you land. I could go on and on about that feeling of a school boy ready for Christmas.
Some may see the glass half empty, but when it comes to the National it is always full.

Looking forward to tearing it up again.

Shane