|
|
|
Home
View Inventory
"Do You Buy?"
About/FAQ
Show Schedule
Links
|
9-07-05 No, it's not rock n' roll. But few things energize me like going to a good card show. I know this isn't a foreign feeling to you. If you're here reading this, you're a card junkie too. I can still remember the excitement of being ten or twelve years old and anticipating the three shows each year that were held in my small hometown. These were great times. Times for big financial decisions to be made. Usually mom would kick an extra ten-spot my way, which was a nice addition to the part of my allowance not already spent on cheap fireworks or packs of cards. I specifically remember an occasion when she told me not to spend it all in one place. But I did. On a '66 Topps league leader card with Mays, Aaron and Clemente. What a great card; I still have it and I still love it. Maybe grandpa would pick out a brand new '87 Donruss factory set (don't laugh - you have one too) or dad would select a '60 Topps Ernie Banks for me to add to my collection so I would get to know the players he grew up with. Always something different. Always a 'carpe diem' atmosphere since the next show would be months into the future. Do I still get excited going to shows? You bet! They're generally more frequent and farther away than they used to be, but I still enjoy them. Of course, now I'm on the other side of the table. But when I'm not talking to customers, I'm itching to walk around and see cards the rest of the dealers have brought out to sell. I'm getting to the point where you may ask, "But isn't there a constant, 24-hour-a-day show out there now called eBay?" Sure. And I spend a considerable amount of time on eBay: selling, buying, or just researching. eBay is a great place for a card enthusiast...but it's still no show. Honestly, there's no atmosphere on eBay. There's no banter, no strong loyalty, no negotiating, no "Wanna come over and look at this deal?", no dealer hiding a lit cig under a table in a no-smoking room, no organizing a fast food run with your neighbor for the day, no hanging out afterwards talking about customers or purchases, no "I got a guy who needs...(fill in the blank)." And as good as eBay is, no matter how many innovations they make, buying or selling cards on their site will never be the same as interacting with actual people face-to-face. I'm afraid that too many people are willing to sacrifice all the random human potential for the convenience of staying at home. Attending a show from either side of the table is a challenge. You have to figure out which dealers or customers you can work with. (Bonus points for going around a show to see how many dealers will admit they are "easy to work with." My guess is that 98% will say that, but only for about 10% will it be true.) With any new person, you have to quickly assess what magic number will get a deal done, whether you're buying or selling, and then whether the number you throw out will be too harsh for the person to be a repeat customer. It's amazing what you can learn from talking to customers or dealers at a show. If you're perceptive to both what people are looking for and what cards you frequently have offered to you for sale, you can gain a big advantage by finding out what cards are 'tougher' than others, whether it's just a local phenomenon or something nationwide. From a buying standpoint, shows should win out easily compared to eBay. First of all, you will never get outbid! You won't have the misfortune of offering a dealer $40 for a card and then having another customer offer $42.50 and buying it right out from under you. Also, you are able to look directly at the card you want to buy. No more guessing if a corner is fuzzy or if it's just poor scanner quality. Are the borders that white, or has the photo been doctored? Hair on the scan, or scratch on the card? We've all been there. I even occasionally move my head like a dumbass to "get a better angle" on a card on eBay. Unless there is terrible lighting in the room, you should never be surprised at what you buy at a show. Another plus is that there is no shipping charge. This allows you to lose the frustration of paying $6 for what ends up being a bubble mailer with a 60-cent stamp (and no insurance). Not only that, it allows the true collector within to come out and play. If you find some random 2005 retro George Foster card for a quarter that you really like, would you be willing to pay for a shipping charge on top of that? No, it's an impulse buy anyway. So was that $3 Ichiro bobblehead that your nephew will love. But the only things you're going to find on eBay are exactly what you're searching for, either by keyword or within a specific category. What happens if a seller on eBay misspelled Johnny Benc, or guessed the wrong year on that insert? You may completely miss their listing. At a show, you have the potential to see every card in the room if your eyes, feet and back can take it. There's no reason you can't have some laugh-out-loud fun while you're at it either. I'm tempted to make a Card Show Bingo game with some of the following as squares:
So thank you to everyone who comes out to the shows; you are really the element that makes them fun. Whether you're asking whether I can fill any holes in your 1962 set, telling me about the good deal you got on a Pujols card, sharing how you met Bruce Springsteen after a concert, or just talking about the great throw you saw Vlad make on SportsCenter, I enjoy it all. As always - Have fun. -T |
Inside My Brain