Anyone going to the Houston Tristar show?
stown
Posts: 11,321 ✭✭✭
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
So basically my kid won't be able to go to college, but at least I'll have a set where the three most expensive cards are of a player I despise ~ CDsNuts
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As for me, I did find about 15 cards that I hope will end up on my registry sets but nothing major.
I did spend a lot of time chatting with dealers and found out alot things going on. So for me its more of a social event rather than a card hunt.
<< <i>.... and found out alot things going on >>
What's the lowdown these days?
I haven't purchased any cards and after browing for a couple of hours, doubt I will
I don't think Roy lifted his head once and was the first to finish (by a looooooong mile).
Hunter, on the other hand, took time to talk and shake hands while the reps were trying to rush him.. Very nice and personal guy. I told him how much fun it was to watch him play. The dude is flat out a S.T.U.D.
Here's my newest addition to my collection. I plan on getting all of my favorite 'Stros to sign and yes, Hunter is up there because I've never seen his energy in an Astros uni. Ever.
Edited to add FYI: Roy's auto isn't smudged, it's from the flash.
Lee
<< <i>Jose Cruz had a lot of energy. Bob Watson, not so much.
Lee >>
Hey--Bob Watson had energy....after finishing off a box of ring-dings.
Forget blocking him; find out where he lives and go punch him in the nuts. --WalterSobchak 9/12/12
Looking for Al Hrabosky and any OPC Dave Campbells (the ESPN guy)
<< <i>Jose Cruz had a lot of energy. >>
I loved the Cruz stance; waving the bat like he was attempting to swat a fly. Every Houston little leaguer, including myself, always tried and failed miserably at it.
His sig will be on the bat too, eventually
Also, Tri-Star normally has a few athletes signing in Houston that I'm looking to get autographs from. Since this show only has Astros and Heisman Trophy winners, none of which I'm looking for autographs from, I decided to forego it.
Steve
What's the lowdown these days? >>
I probably spent more time visiting with old dealer friends that I know chatting about the hobby than finding cards. That pretty much sums up the usefulness of the shows these days. Some of the topics included:
The vintage pack scam
Also, I was told that theft at shows in now an epidemic. A dealer told me that unlike his practice was in the past, he now locks every showcased and only deals with one buyer at a time and only unlocks one case at a time. The past 12 months have been particularly bad, and mainly in the eastern part of the country where he has had numerous expensive cards stolen from him. He’s now convinced it’s a well organized scam involving two or more people where someone will call him over to the far end of his multi-table setup and distract him for several minutes while on the opposite end of his area some expensive cards suddenly disappear.
Then there was lengthy discussions regarding shows and how numerous factors such as raising table costs, higher gas prices and continued poor attendance is making them a thing of the past. A lot of dealers are cutting way back on setting up and as mentioned earlier, even Tri-Star is cutting back on their shows to four a year. One prominent dealer told me that now that he’s discovered the eBay Store phenomenon and eventually only setup for the National.
Of course there was a lot of talk about issues with the national auction houses, some more revealing information regarding a rogue eBay seller of graded cards, the fact that the hobby isn’t better regulated and the dealers perspective on sportscard message boards - that type of stuff.
Also, I have to laugh at how ridiculous some of the prices of raw cards has gotten for certain dealers. It was bad enough when some were charging SMR prices for ungraded cards, but now I see one dealer now checks the Pop Report on his raw NM-Mint cards, and if the pop is low for a certain card, he will charge as much as $239 for a NM-Mint ‘67 Topps common card! Another sad thing was that I was offered only 25% of Beckett Annual for some gorgeous ’71 Topps Supers and listened to every excuse regarding why they are worthless and a while later I found some in his in his inventory that were not as nice as mine for triple Beckett Annual.
The night ended by going to an excellent steakhouse Vic & Anthony’s, which is within walking distance of the George R. Brown. It doesn’t get any better than talking about sports cards over a superb filet mignon!
<< <i>Vic & Anthony’s >>
Now that's good eats
<< <i>
Of course there was a lot of talk about issues with the national auction houses, some more revealing information regarding a rogue eBay seller of graded cards, the fact that the hobby isn’t better regulated and the dealers perspective on sportscard message boards - that type of stuff. >>
TELL ME MORE! TELL ME MORE....TeLL me mORE MORE MORE!!!!
Think they are solid 6s and maybe (if the stars are aligned) a 7. Luckily, they weren't priced and the guy threw out $40 for the 3. Needless to say, I didn't think twice
Lee
95% of the cards were modern, which isn't an issue with me. It's my decision to collect vintage and have absolutely nothing against modern collectors. I actually took a long look at a card that was triple signed by Brett, Brooks Robinson, and Schmitty. Numbered 5/20 and was priced at $275 since, according to the dealer, it was really a 1/1
Brett and Brooks were both #5 and Mike was #20... I gave him props on the selling technique but I was going to pass.
Anyhoo, almost all of the vintage was in rough shape but at mint prices. If the cards were in at least decent shape, price was escalated beyond comprehension. For example, Dealer had a PSA 6 Koufax that was somewhat decently centered. Asking $1,200 and I poop you not
Which leads me into the dealers. Sigh... There are some really good guys but a few bad apples significantly outweighs it. Last couple of shows I've attended, it's all been the same guys with maybe 1 or 2 new ones.
I think they should focus more on the autograph line-up and use it as their main draw. We had HOFers, Heisman winners, Texans draft picks and players, and several 'Stros. For me, that's pretty intense and well worth the weekend. Even though I spent a crud load of cash on autos, I was still willing to spend more on cards. They just weren't there
Oh well.. Maybe it's just me but that's my take.
What I want to know is who is going to shows and buying this overpriced crap, thereby justifying these guys spending their weekend and $500 to set up? The only tables I ever see money changing hands at are the ones covered with new wax. The only reason these guys can make money is because they're willing to markup only 10-15% and do quantity instead of the guys markup their singles 75-150% and don't sell a thing.
Lee
<< <i><<<< .... and found out alot things going on >>
What's the lowdown these days? >>
Then there was lengthy discussions regarding shows and how numerous factors such as raising table costs, higher gas prices and continued poor attendance is making them a thing of the past. A lot of dealers are cutting way back on setting up and as mentioned earlier, even Tri-Star is cutting back on their shows to four a year. One prominent dealer told me that now that he’s discovered the eBay Store phenomenon and eventually only setup for the National.
mignon! >>
Clearly a number of dealers have discovered the eBay Store phenomenon as I increasingly see the same thing in eBay stores that I used to see at shows and what many here have reported seeing at shows as well. That being low grade vintage stuff priced at a high grade premium. It seems many use their eBay stores as a dumping ground hoping for a particularly desparate or uninformed buyer to come along and pay more, often times far more, than they would in a traditional auction format. For what I am buying at least, eBay stores very rarely offer any real bargains and I typically opt to be patient and wait for the item to show up in future auctions instead. I am curious as to what other board members experiences have been in this regard... how many of your eBay purchases come from eBay stores compared to auctions?
Snorto~
'57 Topps Contest Card that has a great shot at a 7 - bought at less than a 6 price.
'61 Topps Warren Spahn All Star - great shot at an 8, bought at less than a 7 price.
Some really nice '62 and '71 Topps commons
Some really nice '57 and '67 Topps cards bought from Kyle Boetel, that are probably overpriced but they were simply gorgeous and I didn't buy that many. If a couple turn out to be 9's - and that has happened from Kyle's lots before - it'll more than work out for me.
Eddie George signature on my Buckeye Heisman winner helmet.
Lots of thoughts about the above comments from other attendees:
1) No doubt the show is smaller. The autograph lineup was not that great, thus traffic is smaller and the number of dealers is smaller. Tri Star does a horrible job of scheduling this show (right before Sportsfest in Chicago) and I'm willing to bet this show does not exist within 2-3 years. Sjolin and Stark were not there because of Sportsfest next week.
2) I can confirm the dealer talk about cutting back on shows and doing Ebay stores instead. This is sad. While some of this can be attributed to bad show promotion, the Ebay effect, high gas prices, blah blah blah......some of it goes back on the dealers themselves........used to be if dealers wanted a show they'd get together, plan one, and promote it. Now all they do is sit back and complain (in some cases, rightfully so).
3) A lot of comments above deal with dealer complaining about auction houses, theft, etc. etc. Again, a lot of these issues can be traced back to dealers themselves. If they truly love the hobby, do something about it. Clean up your own house and don't whine to me. If they don't care that much other than to complain, that is sad.
4) Yes, raw card prices are high. It's been that way for 15-20 years and isn't going to change.
5) The thing that tires me out the most is when you try to sell something and a dealer badmouths your stuff. I took some nice graded vintage with me, more out of curiosity to see what I'd be offered than anything else. It was a mixture of 50's and 60's stars, minors, even a couple of low pops, all 7's and 8's with one 9. Here's what I heard most of the time: "eh, there's a print dot here that might trouble somebody.....the centering on this one makes it a low end 8.......I've got tons of these.......blah blah blah and on and on and on, all the while they're thinking they want the cards, they're just badmouthing them to try and drive down my asking price. NOTE TO DEALERS: STOP THIS CRAP. DEAL PROFESSIONALLY WITH PEOPLE AND YOU'LL GET RESPECT IN RETURN. JUST SAY WHAT % YOU'RE WILLING TO PAY AND WE'LL GO FROM THERE. I did have one dealer tell me up front what he was willing to pay and it worked for me. Good grief, how hard is it for all or even the majority to do that?
Ron
Buying Vintage, all sports.
Buying Woody Hayes, Les Horvath, Vic Janowicz, and Jesse Owens autographed items
Lee
<<
Of course there was a lot of talk about issues with the national auction houses, some more revealing information regarding a rogue eBay seller of graded cards, the fact that the hobby isn’t better regulated and the dealers perspective on sportscard message boards - that type of stuff. >>
TELL ME MORE! TELL ME MORE....TeLL me mORE MORE MORE!!!!>>
Several of the auction house issues were at one time or another mentioned on this board, but were deleted, so there is no point in sabotaging this thread with those topics.
The same goes for this rogue eBay seller, but it was interesting to note that some before and after scans of cards are now surfacing that look very incriminating if they are the same card, but the question is, can it be proved they are the same card? Some dealers picked up on this guy quite a while ago, several months before it came up on this board, and it's really difficult to nail him dead to rights.
There was a good discussion about policing the hobby. The good guys are in effect helpless because no one wants to be a whistle blower and risk the headache of litigation, unjustified retaliation, and harrassment. That's the issue in a nutshell.