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09-12-2011 If it's possible to be upbeat with a defeatist attitude, that's what I had going on yesterday morning as I readied myself for the show at the Two Hearts Convention Center in St Louis. Football, America's #1 sport, had already hit the ground running with an exciting Saints-Packers matchup on Thursday night. I was positive this would only help keep people home on Sunday instead of coming to a show. The Rams were pegged to be contenders in a wide open NFC West race. And even the Cardinals had re-emerged to be on the fringe of the MLB playoff race again. Piling on to all that sporty goodness was the fact that the weather promised to be wonderful - sunny and 70s. None of that equaled a good recipe for big attendance at a card show. But despite that forecast, I was in a chipper mood. For some reason, I had also decided that this would be a show where I would try to get rid of some old movies, CDs, and books, in addition to blowing out some cheaper PSA cards, card holders, and insert cards. I had an extra table to display all these items. However, selling them would require more casual walk-in traffic as this was outside the inventory that usually sold to my regular customers. These items would have made for good Christmas presents, so maybe my timing was a little off. However, my tiredness of the clutter in my office won out. At 9AM, the doors open to the public, and as that time approached, there was very little activity in the room. Some tables had gone unsold, which is discouraging to the public as well. It's best to have a room loaded with dealers, customers, and "buzz." Already having low expectations, I cracked open my laptop with the thought that sales would be slow enough to allow me to have a live chat with friends. This would allow me to connect with some family, friends, and fellow competitors in football fantasy leagues. Thus, the following: Now, you may notice a couple things... 1) No one else joined in. That's my bad. I don't know why, but although I've used Cover It Live (hey, try it; it's fun and free!) probably a dozen times, I never manage to send out the correct link for people to join. 2) This chat doesn't last for very long. Of course, this is a good thing. You'll notice that not long after 9AM, the room (well, at least my group of tables) was jumping. While there weren't a lot of random walk-ins, most all of my regular customers showed up. To all them: Mike, Mike, Dennis, Kris, Gary, Don, Brian, Wally, Ken, Dan, Randy, Todd and Bryan, and probably a couple more I'm forgetting, I'm very appreciative of you coming out show after show and allowing me to help you with your collections. I do become frustrated and antsy sitting at a show with nothing going on. If there is nothing to buy and no customers to sell to, time drags. Thank you to the customers who left their houses, couches, and TVs - even if for a short while - and walked through those show doors. You made my show not only profitable, but enjoyable as well. Despite selling a Pete Rose rookie (SGC 84) and agreeing via e-mail to sell a T206 Ty Cobb (bat off - PSA 4) on Saturday, my inventory is at an all-time high. But that never has and won't stop me from continuing to pick up more for future shows. Oh, and to the gentleman who told me he enjoyed my website (and whose name I should have asked for) - thank you! That's an easy way to get a discount on a purchase! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again on October 2nd! Have fun! -T You can now find me all over the web:  Like Monster Cards on Facebook
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Inside My Brain