How is the Philly Show?

orioles93

Just wondering how the Philly show is. It's this coming weekend right? Has anybody been there? I'm just looking for some info, its a 2 hour drive for me and i dont want to waste my time if its not worth it.

otwcards

<< <i>Just wondering how the Philly show is. It's this coming weekend right? Has anybody been there? I'm just looking for some info, its a 2 hour drive for me and i dont want to waste my time if its not worth it. >>



I'd probably pass if it was closer than the walk to my mailbox.

ABellPharmD

I went to my first Philly show last time around in December. I had a good time. There are generally a lot of vendors and they range the gammit of modern cards to Prewar Vintage. All of the major auction houses and grading companies are also set up so you'll see a lot of cool items in person that you'll never be able to afford (i'm guessing). With PSA and SGC on site, you can submit any raw purchases on location, which is a nice feature. I would have no problem driving 2 hours to attend this show again. I've heard it compared to a smaller "National", but I've never been to the National so it's tough for me to compare it to that. If you get there, check it all out and really see nothing of interest to you, it's also located at the Valley Forge Casino and 5 minutes from King of Prussia so there is plenty to do in the area. If you have any more specific questions, ask and I'll try to help.

Ironmanfan

Great show that I rarely miss

IMF

mountainsofcards

I've never attended one, but I have spoke to numerous friends and dealers who have went and enjoyed it.

orioles93

So it would be worth my time to drive there and make a day out of it? I would want to try to finish up some 70s sets while I'm there.

Francart

I attend just about every one & would say its definitely worth checking out. There is also a casino upstairs if you are into gambling. Autograph line up is a little weak this time around.

Sportsamerica

Dealer lineup is getting weaker... BBCE and 707 no longer attend, I looked at the signing list and the dealer list, and I am passing this weekend... Last few have been down hill, use to be a "Mini" national, now it is turning more to a "Upgraded" mall show...

msassin

Pretty sure alot of dealers stopped going because of the fued the promotors had with CSA promotors ("our show or theirs, not both")

Use to love making the 2+ hour drive to Ft. Washington. Only ever made 1 trip when they moved to Reading, 0 trips to King of Prussia.

rt1963

I just spoke to someone who is at the show right now. Only about half the vendors from the December show are back for this one. I was planning to drive out tomorrow (about 75 minutes from central NJ), but I think I'm going to pass.

AMERTZ

Any thoughts on the show this weekend? I took my 6 yo son on Sat, decent crowd for a Sat afternoon. He had a good time looking for some raw Willie Mays cards. The amount of vendors was noticeably less but it was still a good selection of items, just in a more compact grouping of tables. As mentioned before some vendors weren’t there, like 707, they were either offended or told not to return due to “no setting up at any other shows within 50 miles/ 60 day contract” Hunt instituted. That contract doesn’t sound healthy for the hobby, but whatever - Hunt knows best. Hunt is probably beginning to know that their show is getting smaller and smaller too.

It was still large enough to have my head spinning at the end of it all. I mean there is only so many locked up glass cases of slabbed vintage cards one can look at before its cardboard overload. In my opinion after coming up short searching for my mid-grade 1952s it just reminded me of how much easier and convenient it is to type in that certain card you want on eBay and have 15 of them instantly pop up. There are very few deals to be had at these shows, you can’t blame the vendors, a decent table runs them $600 in rent. I have to hand it to those who try to make a living in this hobby like Dragos, Verkman, Varner, Budnick, Chappell, Hom, the whole bunch. I kind of feel guilty to even ask for a better price or haggle at these shows knowing what they need to sell to turn a profit. I had a conversation with one persuasive vendor over a raw vg 1967 Mays card, which according to him books at $100. I learned a long time ago in this hobby that “it books at” is tantamount to a SMR near mint value. I kindly nodded and thought “yeah if it’s slabbed with a 7 on it”. I just paid him what he wanted, knowing I could have got it for probably half that online, at least my son was smiling from ear to ear.

At the end of the day, after the travel, gas, tolls, lunch, parking issues, admission cost, crowd fighting included dodging “that guy” in his favorite team hat-jersey-jacket regalia and the overpriced raw card box searches, I simply went back to the laptop and made some bin card purchases on ebay

blade35

I was at the show yesterday and I went this past Dec. It's a little under 2 hours drive and my wife enjoys going to the casino and the mall and the Raddison is a nice hotel.

There were fewer dealers at this show than Dec., but not by much. I mainly collect hockey nowadays and there isn't much hockey at this show. However, I like to see what's going on with the hobby. I'm amazed that any of the dealers there are making money. I saw cards that look like they were priced years ago and never changed. I agree with AMERTZ that there are no deals to be had at this show. Stuff is just overpriced and I didn't see many buyers, just a lot of autograph collectors when I was there.

When I went in Dec., I was there for all 3 days and if there wasn't a player there signing there wasn't much of a crowd. I noticed that yesterday, as well.

It's a nice show with a lot of interesting stuff to look at and it's nice seeing some old time collectors with their checklists and going through binders and boxes.

I picked up a Mars Attacks Heritage box because I always liked the original. I also picked a Artifacts Hockey box and pulled a 1/1 Tundra Trios of the Bruins.

My little rant of the show: OMG, doesn't anyone bathe anymore??? I was looking at dealers autograph box of cards and this guy comes up to go through the box when I was done. He was there for 20 seconds and I had to move on. It just wasn't him, but as I was walking around every now and than I got a whiff.

All in all, it's a nice show and we'll be back in Sept.

Paleoanthroman

Not much unopened material and very few teenagers which scares me. I like to go every year and support. I bring my 8 and 10 year old and I watch what they gravitate toward. It’s always the Pokemon type flashy playing card games. Maybe that’s what we should be buying up in cases.

Scottiec2288

I went Sunday and I thought it was ok. I got to finish all my football sets I was working on. I saw at least 5 dealers that had tons of commons both football and baseball. They also had the over-priced cards raw and graded but not many shows anymore so it is nice to actually see the card in hand then buying on ebay. I was hoping to buy a 70 or 71 complete set of football but no one had any so I just got some commons and just wait on the sets.

Probstein123

I heard good things