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Thursday/Friday, March 16/17: It's no coincidence that I chose to highlight the number 23 in a title that also included Chicago. Although there will be no bronze statue of me placed outside the Donald E Stephens Center, I still consider myself one of the elite in this hobby. Let's have a little fun as I give you some insight into my experience at what I feel was the aspirationally-named Chicago Sports Spectacular. I was coming off of a pair of shows the previous weekend that were light on sales, but OK for buying. Yet I wanted to go up to Rosemont to see what else I could add to my inventory. Additionally, I had just acquired a case of 89 Topps Traded baseball sets that I wanted Steve Hart/BBCE to authenticate and wrap. So instead of driving to his shop to drop this off, I was able to kill two birds with one stone by dropping this off at his table at the show. I had been to a recent "Spectacular" and was able to pick up some good stuff on the Friday when the show opened. I thought buying would be even better on Thursday night when dealers could first get in and set up, and on Friday when there was additional dealer-only set-up time before the doors opened to the public. Although in e-mails prior to the show the promoters were cracking down on people getting dealer badges who weren't setting up, I knew a guy who could get me a badge. He'll remain unnamed for obvious reasons, but I appreciate him. Thanks, unnamed guy!! I'd also been really hampered by sinus trouble the few days before. Additional sleep and less travel would have done my body good, but you don't build your business by not pushing yourself. So, off I went. Turns out the badge was unnecessary on Thursday. It seems management had some snafu with those, and were just handing out stickers to vendors instead. I didn't receive a sticker, but nobody minded that I was walking the show floor. I arrived at 4PM, picked up a few handfuls of cards for a few hundred dollars (total) and before 5:30, there were announcements that everyone should be leaving the show floor soon. By 5:45, they wanted everyone to leave NOW. You tell me, what does this contract say the times will be on Thursday? I'm reading 3-8PM. 
Unspectacular! The good thing about the early, unceremonious kicking-out was that I would have more time to sleep Thursday night. One thing that aided my decision to head up to the show was finding an incredible deal at the Doubletree right across the street through Priceline. I knew I would be able to find a hotel somewhere in the area, but being able to park and walk right across the street seemed like a sign from above. I decided not to venture out for dinner and just had a decent burger and fries at the hotel. And while I did have "extra" time to sleep, I sure didn't. My body didn't care that this room had one of the quietest hotel HVAC units ever; my sniffles, cough and general headache left me without much sleep. Not ideal when you're trying to be mentally sharp to do various bits of math in your head, figure market prices based on condition, and negotiate with dealers. However, two cups of coffee and a McDonald's breakfast later, I was ready outside the show doors on Friday at 8:30AM. Since I had a dealer doing me a favor and meeting me at 9 with a badge, I didn't want to inconvenience him by being late! Plus, when you're looking for worms, be the early bird. Make your own luck! 
I was happy to be there before most dealers on Friday morning. This is my way. Before much was happening at the show, I fetched complimentary donuts for myself and my friendly badge-providing dealer, along with coffee #3 for myself. I wanted the donut, but I needed the coffee!! Armed with caffeine and a badge, I went shopping. I was happy to see a little gem of a vintage dealer I'd bought from at the previous show. Last time, I picked up raw 66 and 67 Hi#s and a couple graded cards including a Gibson RC (PSA 3 maybe?) that sold quickly. I spent some time sorting through the stars in his cases and found these, among others: 
I also found out my math skills were intact. I added up the pile I'd sorted out (over $2500 in his sticker price) in my head and hit the total on the nose while his first attempt with a calculator ended up being off. I needed that little confidence booster to know my mental faculties were on point. A little bit of a tangent... being an avid buyer at shows allows me to empathize with customers when I'm on the other side of the table. One of my pet peeves is when dealers don't have their cards priced, or even if prices are on the back. I want to know right away if a dealer is reasonable. If not, I keep walking. Well, there was one dealer who had stuff so good that I asked for the prices, even though the cards weren't marked. And here's what I ended up buying: 
Venezuelan Topps. He had 6-7 of them graded, and I just had to stop and ask for prices/admire them. Turns out, he was super-friendly and his prices were fair. We swapped info and now I have a new contact with some sweet inventory. And his partner already started following me on Facebook. Great experience. I had a dinner to get back for on Friday, so my plans for the show included a hard out by about 2:30PM, which I made. I was able to obtain some decent stuff on Friday, but I hoped for more. I have some random thoughts that I'll lay out below: **For fun, the Donald E Stephens can handle multiple conventions at once, and it's usually entertaining to see what's happening concurrently to the show. This time was a Tattoo Convention. I'll just say it was apparent when looking at someone to know which show they were attending. **The focus on centering is reaching a fever pitch. Looking through cases, it's becoming much tougher to find cards in Ex or better condition that are also centered. **Tables are expensive for this show, which is why I can't justify setting up there. $450 for the first, and $400 for each additional. Frankly, I saw way too many dealers who I think will have trouble making it a worthwhile weekend, based on their inventory. That said, the room and number of dealers was a big as ever. They even moved the location from upstairs to downstairs to accommodate. This is a mystery to me. **Good sign: There were a few tables that had graded cards at market prices. By "few," I mean a small percentage. But at least it's now a non-zero number. **Bad sign: Most ungraded cards are still way too high and haven't been adjusted as the market trends down. Beckett/book prices are still ungodly high for most star cards. **I noticed very few Jordan rookies in the room. I attribute that to the market dropping on them. People can't sell them for a profit. **I saw a lot of signed Nolan Ryan rookies encapsulated by PSA/DNA. I haven't researched this, but I heard he will sign with a donation to his foundation. Many people must be taking advantage of this. **One customer I know attended Friday evening and reported back to me that he left with money still in his pocket, which was not his intention. He said prices were just too high. Additional from my customer: "I look forward to this show. This is the first time I felt disappointed. While there were several vintage dealers, many of them are heavy on graded and not raw cards. And prices are still on the high side. ... It seemed to me there were a lot of newer dealers who got into the game since the COVID boom. I wonder how long they'll last?" **One dealer I know said he had "been low-balled" when I asked how the show was going. **I was there when the doors opened to the public on Friday, and it wasn't a mad rush of people. There weren't a lot of customers clustered around vintage dealer tables. One regular dealer who has a large expanse - maybe five tables - had either one or zero customers over that whole area when I looked down the aisle. But I was happy to see my hidden "gem" of a dealer very busy. As I was leaving, I gave him a smile and a fist-pump as I walked by. Overall, I enjoy bigger shows just because it's good to see the dealers I know from around the country. I'm able to pick up some market tidbits, but we also chat about our personal lives and catch up with each other. By now, I've known a lot of these guys for 20+ years. For an extremely capitalistic setting, it's refreshing to be a part of the camaraderie that most dealers have with each other. Have fun! -T |
Inside My Brain