My first National experience
dberk12
Posts: 399 ✭✭
I don't want to take away from the hard work of Bounce and KC by hijacking their thread. I thought I would start my own thread documenting my first trip to the National and what I observed.
I was fortunate enough to receive a dealer badge from a friend that allowed me to enter the show when I arrived on Wednesday morning. Dealers were setting up and there were some tables that weren't ready yet. I first checked in with Jeff Foy (Card Country) and Brady Hill (Luckiest Man Sportscards) to meet two very good collecting friends for the first time. Spoiler alert - Jeff had the best post-war table and Brady had the best pre-war table.
At first the room seemed overwhelming and I didn't know where to start. It was advised to me to pick a corner and systematically weave my way through. My excitement and collecting ADHD kicked in and it was difficult to focus on taking it all in. BBCE is usually one of the highlights of previous shows so I went over to see what they had to offer. I am not an unopened collector but I understand that the early/mid 70s product is becoming scarce. This didn't seem to be a problem for BBCE. The first wax boxes that I noticed were from the early 70s flanked by a '59 Fleer Ted Williams wax box. If I won $17.5K I would give this box to Dan Bessette as his Secret Santa.
[
The word "rip" is is not in the vocabulary of an unopened collector but I would love to bring this rack box home from my birth year and allow these 41 year old beauties to see the light of day.
The Great One:
BBCE had equally impressive early football but growing up in the 80's it was all about getting Marino/Elway/Dickerson/Rice/R.White/S.Young/Esiason.
I made the rounds to some of the AHs that showed upcoming auction previews. The cards in their display cases did not disappoint.
Not bad for the "average" Mantle collector:
The '39 Play Ball Ted Williams PSA 9 (POP 10) looked perfect in hand. The Banks was also very impressive.
1934 Goudey set all in PSA 8. The cards looked crystal clear.
A high grade 1932 US Caramel set. Ruth/Gehrig PSA 8.
There were a lot of Jordan RCs around but I thought this was impressive:
Steve (Slum22) made me realize how underrated the Star hoops cards are. Here were a few interesting displays:
As stated previously, Jeff Foy and Brady Hill had neighboring booths that were absolutely top notch. I thought just about every table set up at the National was interesting even if it wasn't something that I collect. Each dealer came strong with what they presented to the show. However, these two had the best pre/post war vintage material. There were a ton of pics posted already about these two tables but I just wanted to confirm the hype. I spent a fair amount of time with them and met several board members during my two days at their tables.
I have to post one of Luckiest Man Sportcards' Cobbs for my last picture. I can't comprehend what it would be like to find one of these beauties in a brown paper bag:
I am not very good at taking pictures so this was the best I could do. All of them were taken on the first day. The second day I was with my 9 year old son and he led the charge. Taking pictures became a little more difficult.
In conclusion, I have a few takeaways and observations from my first National.
-Every dealer was engaging to some degree. Some were friendly enough and others went the extra mile with customer service. Several dealers gave my son free stuff and included him in the card talk. Discussing the hobby and cards with them was enlightening and I didn't have one bad experience.
-Meeting and talking with collectors was nothing but a positive experience. It was fun meeting some board members. Everyone went out of their way to have conversations with fellow collectors and it was a great vibe all around. I want to single out KendallCat (Keith). He heard my son say that he wants a LeBron James card. Keith immediately offered him a LeBron card from his collection. This came moments after Brady gave him an PSA 10 '85 Donruss commemorative Gehrig. My son was on top of the world.
-There were a lot of young dealers AND buyers at the show. What was more surprising was that some of the young dealers sold vintage and not just the shiny stuff. There definitely is a next generation out there to take the torch from the old guard.
-Business was good. I saw a lot of money exchanging hands and almost every dealer was happy with what they sold. I was only there on Wednesday and Thursday primarily. I have to think that the weekend will bring continuing success.
-Prices were marked high but every dealer was willing to negotiate. It was recommended to me that I bring cash to the show. I was planning on using paypal FF or credit card which would have been bad planning. If you were paying with cash and wanted more than one card on a dealer's table you were in the driver's seat. With the exception of one card, I found the dealer's were more than willing to negotiate a reasonable deal.
-With all the speculation about market manipulation and flipping schemes, I was expecting to find high grade 50s and 60s RCs all over the place. If recent auctions were manipulated and investors are planning to get rid of these cards I would think that the National would be the place to do it. However, with the exception of 4-5 tables, high grade cards from the 50s/60s with good eye appeal were few and far between. To be honest, I am not sure what to think about what is going on with the overall market recently but from my observations there are a lot of collectors parking these cards into their collections. Just like anything else the truth is probably in the middle. I am not naive enough to think that our hobby is completely pure without any any shenanigans going on. However, it was eye opening to me to see the lack of quality high grade vintage 50s/60s cards available this weekend.
-The necessary supplies were: backpack, notepad to write down where I found cards on my radar, comfortable sneakers, water bottles and protein bars/snacks, and a cheat sheet with VCP prices in various grades of the cards I was looking for (cell service was spotty). The cheat sheet also helps to keep you on course to remember what cards you came to the show for. Seeing all of the eye candy matched with extreme excitement is usually not a good combination without a plan.
That just about wraps up my first National. My son and I had a blast. It seemed that everyone around us was also having a great time. Overall, it was a rare occasion where reality met the hype.
The hobby is definitely alive and well. Let's hope it continues.
Dave
I was fortunate enough to receive a dealer badge from a friend that allowed me to enter the show when I arrived on Wednesday morning. Dealers were setting up and there were some tables that weren't ready yet. I first checked in with Jeff Foy (Card Country) and Brady Hill (Luckiest Man Sportscards) to meet two very good collecting friends for the first time. Spoiler alert - Jeff had the best post-war table and Brady had the best pre-war table.
At first the room seemed overwhelming and I didn't know where to start. It was advised to me to pick a corner and systematically weave my way through. My excitement and collecting ADHD kicked in and it was difficult to focus on taking it all in. BBCE is usually one of the highlights of previous shows so I went over to see what they had to offer. I am not an unopened collector but I understand that the early/mid 70s product is becoming scarce. This didn't seem to be a problem for BBCE. The first wax boxes that I noticed were from the early 70s flanked by a '59 Fleer Ted Williams wax box. If I won $17.5K I would give this box to Dan Bessette as his Secret Santa.
[
The word "rip" is is not in the vocabulary of an unopened collector but I would love to bring this rack box home from my birth year and allow these 41 year old beauties to see the light of day.
The Great One:
BBCE had equally impressive early football but growing up in the 80's it was all about getting Marino/Elway/Dickerson/Rice/R.White/S.Young/Esiason.
I made the rounds to some of the AHs that showed upcoming auction previews. The cards in their display cases did not disappoint.
Not bad for the "average" Mantle collector:
The '39 Play Ball Ted Williams PSA 9 (POP 10) looked perfect in hand. The Banks was also very impressive.
1934 Goudey set all in PSA 8. The cards looked crystal clear.
A high grade 1932 US Caramel set. Ruth/Gehrig PSA 8.
There were a lot of Jordan RCs around but I thought this was impressive:
Steve (Slum22) made me realize how underrated the Star hoops cards are. Here were a few interesting displays:
As stated previously, Jeff Foy and Brady Hill had neighboring booths that were absolutely top notch. I thought just about every table set up at the National was interesting even if it wasn't something that I collect. Each dealer came strong with what they presented to the show. However, these two had the best pre/post war vintage material. There were a ton of pics posted already about these two tables but I just wanted to confirm the hype. I spent a fair amount of time with them and met several board members during my two days at their tables.
I have to post one of Luckiest Man Sportcards' Cobbs for my last picture. I can't comprehend what it would be like to find one of these beauties in a brown paper bag:
I am not very good at taking pictures so this was the best I could do. All of them were taken on the first day. The second day I was with my 9 year old son and he led the charge. Taking pictures became a little more difficult.
In conclusion, I have a few takeaways and observations from my first National.
-Every dealer was engaging to some degree. Some were friendly enough and others went the extra mile with customer service. Several dealers gave my son free stuff and included him in the card talk. Discussing the hobby and cards with them was enlightening and I didn't have one bad experience.
-Meeting and talking with collectors was nothing but a positive experience. It was fun meeting some board members. Everyone went out of their way to have conversations with fellow collectors and it was a great vibe all around. I want to single out KendallCat (Keith). He heard my son say that he wants a LeBron James card. Keith immediately offered him a LeBron card from his collection. This came moments after Brady gave him an PSA 10 '85 Donruss commemorative Gehrig. My son was on top of the world.
-There were a lot of young dealers AND buyers at the show. What was more surprising was that some of the young dealers sold vintage and not just the shiny stuff. There definitely is a next generation out there to take the torch from the old guard.
-Business was good. I saw a lot of money exchanging hands and almost every dealer was happy with what they sold. I was only there on Wednesday and Thursday primarily. I have to think that the weekend will bring continuing success.
-Prices were marked high but every dealer was willing to negotiate. It was recommended to me that I bring cash to the show. I was planning on using paypal FF or credit card which would have been bad planning. If you were paying with cash and wanted more than one card on a dealer's table you were in the driver's seat. With the exception of one card, I found the dealer's were more than willing to negotiate a reasonable deal.
-With all the speculation about market manipulation and flipping schemes, I was expecting to find high grade 50s and 60s RCs all over the place. If recent auctions were manipulated and investors are planning to get rid of these cards I would think that the National would be the place to do it. However, with the exception of 4-5 tables, high grade cards from the 50s/60s with good eye appeal were few and far between. To be honest, I am not sure what to think about what is going on with the overall market recently but from my observations there are a lot of collectors parking these cards into their collections. Just like anything else the truth is probably in the middle. I am not naive enough to think that our hobby is completely pure without any any shenanigans going on. However, it was eye opening to me to see the lack of quality high grade vintage 50s/60s cards available this weekend.
-The necessary supplies were: backpack, notepad to write down where I found cards on my radar, comfortable sneakers, water bottles and protein bars/snacks, and a cheat sheet with VCP prices in various grades of the cards I was looking for (cell service was spotty). The cheat sheet also helps to keep you on course to remember what cards you came to the show for. Seeing all of the eye candy matched with extreme excitement is usually not a good combination without a plan.
That just about wraps up my first National. My son and I had a blast. It seemed that everyone around us was also having a great time. Overall, it was a rare occasion where reality met the hype.
The hobby is definitely alive and well. Let's hope it continues.
Dave
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona.
-George F. Will
0
Comments
glad you had a good time
Dave - Awesome write-up and thanks for posting. I enjoyed hearing from you while you were on the floor. It made me feel as if I was there too. Your pickups were great too and I know your son had to love his first National visit too!
Thanks Brent. My only regrets were that I couldn't track down the '48 Leaf cards you were looking for, the 4th card of the 1969 Eskimo Pie set for Dan- Gino Cappelletti/Dale Livingston, or a 1985 OPC wax box sealed with tape in tact for Jimmy.
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona.
-George F. Will
KC
Dave - Awesome write-up and thanks for posting. I enjoyed hearing from you while you were on the floor. It made me feel as if I was there too. Your pickups were great too and I know your son had to love his first National visit too!
Thanks Brent. My only regrets were that I couldn't track down the '48 Leaf cards you were looking for, the 4th card of the 1969 Eskimo Pie set for Dan- Gino Cappelletti/Dale Livingston, or a 1985 OPC wax box sealed with tape in tact for Jimmy.
Great thread and write up Dave and I appreciate you taking the time, like Bounce and KC to share your experiences. These last few days on the boards feels like the CU of a few years ago at least. Thanks again to you and CPAMike for taking the time out of your day to look for things for us. The fact that our items couldn't be found, we'll make it that much better when we finally do land them...it's a life long journey after all. Very glad your son had a great time and that everyone treated him nicely as well. It concerns me sometimes that there may not be enough "young blood" in the hobby to keep it going for the next generation, but when I read things like this, there may be hope. Awesome stuff all around and love the pictures. I cannot wait to attend my first National. Again, thank you!
eBay Store
Greg Maddux #1 Master SetGreg Maddux #2 Basic Set
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Hiya Dave
A coincidence - my son was born in 1983 - I took him to the National in 1992 in Atlanta - he was 9.
He still remembers it to this day!
Thanx for your perspective.
As a board game collector - I was lucky to find something on Tues nite - I will with cpamike - he's my good luck charm.
That was very nice that your son got a few gifts from a few very generous guys. Very nice of Keith and Brady.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
Collecting:
Any unopened Baseball cello and rack packs and boxes from the 1970's and early 1980s.
I collect: 80’s Rookies and 86 Fleer Basketball
P. S. I cannot help but think the sky high, and higher?!@#*$$$ prices for those unopened boxes cannot possibly yield enough PSA 10s to prove buying them was a good investment. Maybe this isn't a great comparison, but I remember the guy who bought a 1952 Topps baseball wax pack for what was then top dollar, and Joe Orlando was seriously cautioning him if he was sure he wanted to open it. I believe he didn't get one PSA 9 in the whole pack. I know he emphasized the thrill and the experience itself, but at the end of the experience there had to have been some despondency. The idea of paying that much money for a pack is that you'll have the best chance of pulling pristine cards. Didn't happen........
Jeff
Card Country
Graded stars 1950's-1980
Dave, Fanatastic write up! Thanks for sharing and adding so much detail. As an aside, I was looking at your CF page last night. Wonderful cards......Congrats
+1
Your CF page has some amazing cards - you have put together an awesome collection of cards in high grade.
KC