Questions About National Sports Collectors Convention 2017

Cubbies1416

I'm planning to attend the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago coming up at the end of this month, and have a few questions. I haven't been to a sports convention since the early 90s, when I was around 12 or 13, so I have no idea how much they have changed in that time. Being born in 1980, I grew up in the heart of the junk era. When I was around 13 or 14, I got turned off of collecting modern players because of the huge flood of different brands and types of cards that flooded the market, and switched to collecting vintage cards instead. As I got older, I slowed down on collecting, and pretty much stopped completely around the age of 20. Over the last couple of years, I have slowly gotten back into collecting, getting most of my vintage cards graded, and I have decided to only purchase graded cards from now on (unless I see a ridiculously good deal on a card that would grade very high).

1. Will there likely be a lot of dealers selling graded cards? Graded cards have become much more popular since my young collecting days, so I have no idea how many sellers of graded cards to expect.

2. What's the selection usually like? Will a lot of dealers be selling their good stuff, or do most tend to sell their lesser quality stuff? I've seen people complain on the Facebook PSA page that card shows/conventions they have attended have been full of dealers selling their less desirable stuff out of their stock. Not sure if that's something that tends to happen at smaller conventions, or if conventions in general are like that.

3. Will there likely be a lot of vintage cards being sold, or do most dealers focus on modern era cards? I'm a born and raised Cubs fan, so I'm looking to complete my Ernie Banks and Ron Santo collections, and I also enjoy collecting cards of Cubs players that aren't Hall of Famers, but have been fan favorites through the years (Jose Cardenal, Randy Hundley, Mark Grace, etc.).

4. How much does it cost to get a card graded by PSA at the National? I have a few cards I would prefer to just get graded there than deal with shipping and insurance (Walter Payton rookie, 1957 Mickey Mantle, 1956 Ted Williams, Bob Gibson rookie).

Sorry to write such a long post. Just trying to get an idea of what to expect. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Stone193

Hi and welcome.

I'll let the card guys answer your question.

There will be plenty of graded cards and dealers - the price may be something else. I found some charging righteous bucks.

I'm a game board collector and found prices to be on the high side for the condition.

I will be attending again this year and wouldn't miss it for anything. Where else can one see around 1000 vendors in one place. And see some really great stuff.

Good luck - have a great time!

epatmythes

1) Yes
2) Both. The old saying is true, if you can't find it at the National, you can't find it!
3) No shortage of vintage. Somewhere between 50/50 and 70/30, swayed toward vintage
4) Until PSA posts, can't tell you exactly... but it's not cheap. Mail in, regular base rate is normally $18... at the show, at least $35-50

judgebuck

To answer your questions generally, yes, there will be many graded cards (as well as ungraded or raw) at the National, and I personally think you are wise to purchase graded cards. You will be able to find about any card you would want. I would not get several cards graded at the PSA booth, but i would join PSA and get the six free grades for joining. The wait in line at PSA and the higher cost is a good reason to bypass that and just join PSA. See their website for details.