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Philly Show Report!
MisterE
Posts: 45
So I went to the Philly show on Sunday and I brought my three boys (ages 8,6 and 6). Little did I realize how they would affect my experience at the show.
We got there early, when the doors opened, and right away the old-timers were excited to see actual kids at the show. They dumped a bunch of free stuff on us at the admission table (which, sadly, was almost completely inappropriate for them. I mean, Vampirella, really?).
Even the dealers couldn't contain their excitement, and gave my boys big discounts on their purchases (albiet on common junk, but still). Pretty much what ended up happening is that for the whole show I helped them find cards, and barely had any time to look for myself!
We picked up some Batman, Star Wars, a few random airplanes & helicopters (from the Wings set, I think), some Marvel superheroes, etc. They saw a few expensive chase sketch cards they liked, but I put my foot down on those!
(There was a very nice Star Wars sketch card my oldest son liked, it was sort of oblong, with a picture of Han Solo on Hoth done in ink and maybe blue ink wash. But the dealer was asking $200,so that was the end of that.)
What struck me was how few slabbed/graded cards there were. I asked a dealer about it and he said they were essentially money-sinks. Too much to ship, grade and slab, and too few customers looking to buy them. That certainly was a surprise to me.
We met a very nice woman named Roxanne who co-publishers the Non-Sport Update Magazine. She was so excited to see my boys she let them each pick out a complete set from her discount table for free. (More airplanes and some astronauts.) It was neat and yet sort of depressing at the same time, because so many people were commenting on how great it was to see kids involved in the hobby again.
I won a door prize -- a sketch card by some dude named Mike Sosnowski from a company named Studio E. It sort of looks like an orc, done in blue pencil. Ever heard of this guy/company?
In the end I bought nothing for myself, but that's OK. I'm really trying to stay focused on PSA graded Topps Batman cards. My boys had a good time, and everyone we met was very friendly and generous. And my boys were still playing with their cards this morning.
So I got a bunch of these promo cards and the little devil on my shoulder says flip them on the 'Bay for a few bucks. There's six of each: a Wacky Package (Mr. Babble), Vampirella, Grimm fairy tales (some sort of GGA?), Red Sonja, a few other odds and ends.
Is it worth the effort? Should I sell them in lots? How about the sketch card?
(Please note: this is not an offer to sell, just a question. I don't want to break any rules here.)
We got there early, when the doors opened, and right away the old-timers were excited to see actual kids at the show. They dumped a bunch of free stuff on us at the admission table (which, sadly, was almost completely inappropriate for them. I mean, Vampirella, really?).
Even the dealers couldn't contain their excitement, and gave my boys big discounts on their purchases (albiet on common junk, but still). Pretty much what ended up happening is that for the whole show I helped them find cards, and barely had any time to look for myself!
We picked up some Batman, Star Wars, a few random airplanes & helicopters (from the Wings set, I think), some Marvel superheroes, etc. They saw a few expensive chase sketch cards they liked, but I put my foot down on those!
(There was a very nice Star Wars sketch card my oldest son liked, it was sort of oblong, with a picture of Han Solo on Hoth done in ink and maybe blue ink wash. But the dealer was asking $200,so that was the end of that.)
What struck me was how few slabbed/graded cards there were. I asked a dealer about it and he said they were essentially money-sinks. Too much to ship, grade and slab, and too few customers looking to buy them. That certainly was a surprise to me.
We met a very nice woman named Roxanne who co-publishers the Non-Sport Update Magazine. She was so excited to see my boys she let them each pick out a complete set from her discount table for free. (More airplanes and some astronauts.) It was neat and yet sort of depressing at the same time, because so many people were commenting on how great it was to see kids involved in the hobby again.
I won a door prize -- a sketch card by some dude named Mike Sosnowski from a company named Studio E. It sort of looks like an orc, done in blue pencil. Ever heard of this guy/company?
In the end I bought nothing for myself, but that's OK. I'm really trying to stay focused on PSA graded Topps Batman cards. My boys had a good time, and everyone we met was very friendly and generous. And my boys were still playing with their cards this morning.
So I got a bunch of these promo cards and the little devil on my shoulder says flip them on the 'Bay for a few bucks. There's six of each: a Wacky Package (Mr. Babble), Vampirella, Grimm fairy tales (some sort of GGA?), Red Sonja, a few other odds and ends.
Is it worth the effort? Should I sell them in lots? How about the sketch card?
(Please note: this is not an offer to sell, just a question. I don't want to break any rules here.)
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