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National Card Show-Anaheim attendee's Official thread start here
kingraider75
Posts: 1,500 ✭✭
Well I showed up at the National at 5:30pm tonight and stayed until about 8:45pm. Since the show ended at 9pm, most were packing up anyways. I walked hard and fast so I saw almost all of the 950 booths( probably 910 out of 950). There was a lot of vintage at the show. Tobacco cards were more prevalent than I thought. Only a few booths were trying to flip any new wax, maybe 10-15 booths. PSA was the most common graded card by far, almost 70% of the graded cards were PSA by non-scientific method. The prices were across the board, but I got a couple of "deals", so they can still be had.
I would estimate that about 10% of the dealers did not have any cards are at all, but bats, gloves, pennants, etc. Another 10-15% had high end new graded and auto cards. Another 10-15% had some mixture of low end 50's, 60's and 70's trays along with new higher end singles or sets, etc. About 30% of the show was higher end vintage, guys with PSA 7, 8, or 9's with cards from the 50-70's. The last 20% of the show was guys with low and mid grade vintage, both raw and graded. Of course, I am not counting the mega millions auctions houses, consignment houses and the card company booths.
Benchwarmers was there and giving out free autos to people, including me! lol The show had a decent line of people waiting for sports autos. Since, I don't collect autos, I have no idea how long the wait was.
The food line was pretty short, maybe a 5 minute wait, but essentially the same menu as baseball game.
Total cost to attend, minus the gas from work to the convention center was $27(18 at the door and 9 to park).
I liked the show and saw some good dealers from the greater LA that I know fairly well. I would say it's worth the trip for those within driving distance. If you are not super picky about the grade or the price, then I think you can complete almost any set from the late 40's through the 70's at the show. Many dealers were also looking to flip complete sets. I will make a trip back on Friday and/or Sat.
Overall a positive experience in my book.
I would estimate that about 10% of the dealers did not have any cards are at all, but bats, gloves, pennants, etc. Another 10-15% had high end new graded and auto cards. Another 10-15% had some mixture of low end 50's, 60's and 70's trays along with new higher end singles or sets, etc. About 30% of the show was higher end vintage, guys with PSA 7, 8, or 9's with cards from the 50-70's. The last 20% of the show was guys with low and mid grade vintage, both raw and graded. Of course, I am not counting the mega millions auctions houses, consignment houses and the card company booths.
Benchwarmers was there and giving out free autos to people, including me! lol The show had a decent line of people waiting for sports autos. Since, I don't collect autos, I have no idea how long the wait was.
The food line was pretty short, maybe a 5 minute wait, but essentially the same menu as baseball game.
Total cost to attend, minus the gas from work to the convention center was $27(18 at the door and 9 to park).
I liked the show and saw some good dealers from the greater LA that I know fairly well. I would say it's worth the trip for those within driving distance. If you are not super picky about the grade or the price, then I think you can complete almost any set from the late 40's through the 70's at the show. Many dealers were also looking to flip complete sets. I will make a trip back on Friday and/or Sat.
Overall a positive experience in my book.
Running an Ebay store sure takes a lot more time than a person would think!
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My impression :
Weak show compared to the Cleveland and Chicago Nationals, but the place to be if you love sports cards!
Nothing like being in a giant complex with nothing but cards, sports stuff and all the people who love it all so very much ...
"How about a little fire Scarecrow ?"
SportsCollectorsDaily.com
Spent all day yesterday (Tuesday, a total waste of time) and today at the show. Lots of good stuff this morning, but it was gone by about 2-3pm. Huge line for the general public to get in, but as usual their focus seemed to be on the free autographs and pizza.
edited to add-
definitely quality over quantity at this show- Cleveland and Chicago seemed to look like Sanford and Son's front yard. Something to be said for having it away from the east coast junk dealers.
Always looking for Topps Salesman Samples, pre '51 unopened packs, E90-2, E91a, N690 Kalamazoo Bats, and T204 Square Frame Ramly's
Have fun at the Luncheon!
Collector of Vintage Golf cards! Let me know what you might have.
<< <i>Any vintage Golf Cards? I couldnt make it this year but hope to be there next year!
Have fun at the Luncheon! >>
Yeah, I second the luncheon sentiments. Please give my regards; I was supposed to make a surprise appearance in Anaheim but a motorcycle accident changed all of my plans around.
Mark Mulder rookies
Chipper Jones rookies
Orlando Cabrera rookies
Lawrence Taylor
Sam Huff
Lavar Arrington
NY Giants
NY Yankees
NJ Nets
NJ Devils
1950s-1960s Topps NY Giants Team cards
Looking for Topps rookies as well.
References:
GregM13
VintageJeff
-BMW had a tremendous display of cards. Their retail prices are optimistic to say the least, but it must have been at least $1-1.5 million worth of stuff (PSA 2 T206 Wagner, and every high grade SGC card known to man).
-The BBC Exchange had a huge selection of stuff as you would expect. Some of you guys would have passed out over the unopened cases he brought (imagine ripping open his '78 Topps wax case).
-The Memory Lane booth girls made it hard to concentrate at their table (VERY hard).
-Most things could be found cheaper on Ebay, although it's not a suprise.
-Saw some familiar faces in Todd Crosner, and some other longtime LA dealers. I don't know his name, but there's an Asian dealer (mid 30's+) who was in the upper right corner of Hall D. I remember buying stuff from him in the early 90's when I was in middle school, time flies by.
-Loved the sets displayed at the PSA booth ('54 Topps and '58 Topps, the finest known sets). A never ending sea of Mint 9's.
I'd be interested to hear about any finds or overlooked gems people discovered. Or if anyone cracked any vintage wax.
<< <i>
<< <i>Any vintage Golf Cards? I couldnt make it this year but hope to be there next year!
Have fun at the Luncheon! >>
Yeah, I second the luncheon sentiments. Please give my regards; I was supposed to make a surprise appearance in Anaheim but a motorcycle accident changed all of my plans around. >>
Sorry to hear about this Ian.
I hope everything is OK?
All my best,
mike
I saw Dave Levin's amazing collection of ungraded Old Judge cards including the group recently discovered in Indianapolis. He had sold a few dozen already. In fact, there seems to be quite a lot of pre-War material at this show.
The # of show dealers is significantly less than were in Chicago last year. It's a tough one for those east of the Mississippi. However, you do see west coast guys who normally don't venture beyond the Pacific time zone.
Lots of booths that seem out of place for this show--and you have to weed through them to get to the good stuff.
Mark Mulder rookies
Chipper Jones rookies
Orlando Cabrera rookies
Lawrence Taylor
Sam Huff
Lavar Arrington
NY Giants
NY Yankees
NJ Nets
NJ Devils
1950s-1960s Topps NY Giants Team cards
Looking for Topps rookies as well.
References:
GregM13
VintageJeff
Ripken...maybe you could do an interview for your website.
<< <i>How is the unopened material? >>
Not bad, but the good stuff was gone before the show officially opened. Steve Hart, as usual, had the bulk of it. I bought a bunch of oddball topps test packs from him ('67 Pirates stickers, ''69 mini stamps, '74 comics test, etc) and he picked up a bunch of '50's penny packs at the show.
Always looking for Topps Salesman Samples, pre '51 unopened packs, E90-2, E91a, N690 Kalamazoo Bats, and T204 Square Frame Ramly's
bosko56@charter.net
Thanks, Stan/bosko56
Anyone plan to go on Sunday? It's about a 2 hour drive for me, so I am probably done for this year.
I went to the National today and got there at 12PM and stayed until 6PM. The Memory Lane girls were hot. The Benchwarmer girls even hotter, and then I saw Brande Roderick and a couple of Playboy models ... WOW!
Other than that, the prices were rediculous on graded. In some case charging PSA 9 prices on PSA 8's (3 dealers charging $175+ for a PSA 7 68 Clemente)... I just don't get it. Raw cards were just as bad. I had a dealer take out a stack of 68's that he said just came from a vending break ... apparently the vending had been broken back in 1968.
If you are a fan of cards and memorabilia (as well as beautiful women) as I am, you will still enjoy the show, just don't expect eBay prices or amazing finds.
Thanks for looking out for me,
-Ian
<< <i>I went again today, for about 10 minutes. Walked in with a ton of cash and purchased the one card I have been looking for years.
Anyone plan to go on Sunday? It's about a 2 hour drive for me, so I am probably done for this year. >>
King
My imagination can run wild!
What was the card? And do ya got a scan?
thanx
mike
<< <i>Everything is better on my front. Crashed my bike last week when my back tire blew out on me. Good news is that I was wearing a helmet and no broken bones, thankfully, so nothing to really impede my training for next season. Lost my front two teeth, however, so I had to cancel my plans to head out to the west coast and instead opt for oral surgery. It was quite the bummer; I was going to head out with my best friend Ashoke. His brother works on computers out near UCLA and we were going to stop by the show. Anyways, was released the day after my accident; I'm really thankful, things could have been much worse. Plan to start working out and throwing again on Monday. Coach doesn't need to know
Thanks for looking out for me,
-Ian >>
Sorry to hear about the teeth Ian.
I hope everything goes well.
Keep us posted.
mike
My Sandberg topps basic set
My Sandberg Topps Master set
Always looking for Topps Salesman Samples, pre '51 unopened packs, E90-2, E91a, N690 Kalamazoo Bats, and T204 Square Frame Ramly's
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.
I sent you the payment, thanks!
Mark Mulder rookies
Chipper Jones rookies
Orlando Cabrera rookies
Lawrence Taylor
Sam Huff
Lavar Arrington
NY Giants
NY Yankees
NJ Nets
NJ Devils
1950s-1960s Topps NY Giants Team cards
Looking for Topps rookies as well.
References:
GregM13
VintageJeff
Always looking for Topps Salesman Samples, pre '51 unopened packs, E90-2, E91a, N690 Kalamazoo Bats, and T204 Square Frame Ramly's
If he was my coach, the sono*****un would find out somehow.
To your health!