Shorts

A rant and a card show report

Don’t Mess With My Fun, You Bastards!

For Festivus I bitched it up about the idiotic booth allocation system at the National.  Today, will whine about another stupid change the new pack of morons made that seems designed to remedy a non-existent problem:  The new management limited dealer passes to three per booth. 

Before you ask, yeah, I will cop right up front to a big dose of self-interest in the dealer pass changes.  For me, personally, the end of my ability to cadge a dealer pass from a friend makes the show a whole lot less interesting to attend and is a big reason why I am skipping Cleveland this summer.  Going to the Cleveland is an expensive and time-consuming proposition for us West Coasters.  Cleveland has only one one-way flight from LA and it is in the middle of the day, which basically chews up an entire day on both ends of the show.  I have to rent a car because the IX Center is in the middle of nowhere.  Finally, there is no walkable central cluster of hotels, restaurants and bars, like there is in Rosemont.  Staying somewhere in suburban Cleveland and commuting to the show and to and from any bar for evening is not the ideal situation but getting into the show on Tuesday and Wednesday made it all worthwhile because I found great stuff every Tuesday during set-up and before the VIP opening Wednesday.  All that stuff will now go to dealers for either their PCs or into their inventories to be marked up 5x overnight.  It makes the effort to go to the show a whole lot less attractive for me, and many other collectors too.   I also don’t believe for a minute that the dealer pass rule will be applied uniformly and neutrally: don’t tell me that Levi Bleam or the other mega-dealers aren’t going to get as many dealers’ passes as they want.

If the promoters are worried about the ‘abuse’ of dealer passes, which is silly since it doesn’t cause any real-world problems, or if they are thinking that every dealer pass costs them an admission, just jack up the price of the pass.  VIP admission costs $149 (and sell out every year); make each extra dealers’ pass over the free three a $500 item.  That will self-limit it to people who really, really care.  In other words, use the market, stupids. 

Oh, and while I am at it, how about we step out of the 1990s and into the digital era?  It is an embarrassment in 2024 to go to the major show in the hobby and find myself without enough free bandwidth to check my email or look up a price, to have a web site that isn’t updated (still has 2023 info on most pages) and no app, and to not have the floor maps and show information integrated into an app and updated in real time.  Really?  The Burbank Show not only puts out an interactive map that features each dealer’s logo and a self-generated summary of their wares, they have now partnered with an app that allows the dealers to upload graded cards for everyone to view, so the attendees can see the inventory and visit dealers with what they want right off the bat.  Yet the Natty board can’t even get the wifi working properly.  These aren’t big asks; in this day and age they are mandatory for running a good show.  But when the “flashing 12:00 on the VCR and still using landlines” people are running the show, the digital infrastructure is an afterthought. 

Front Row Card Show Pasadena

I set up again in Pasadena.  Just got home after the first day. 

I arrived at the center on Friday shortly after 4:00  to set up.  Only one car ahead of me in line for load-in.  It was smooth as can be, although it appeared that only 20% of the dealers took advantage of the opportunity.  I decided to get my booth completely organized and stocked, then locked up in a body bag, so that my morning would be leisurely, and I could perhaps look for some cards.

When I pulled up Saturday morning around 8, the place was mobbed: hundreds outside, a block long conga line to park.  I started to get excited…until I took a good look at the crowd.  They looked off.  There were large groups all dressed similarly, all young girls.  I then saw a sign and a lightbulb went on: the crowd was for a cheerleading seminar.  D’oh!  The card show area was empty.

I went inside, found my table, and dropped off my lunch and expensive showcase cards I did not want to leave overnight, relocked the body bag, and went hunting.  I found a few cards, mostly miscut 1970s, which I get a kick out of, and it was time to open for VIPs.  The line outside the center was again out the door and down the block, so that was good. 

I can honestly say that the show is getting better.  I’d say there were more people than last time.  The material has gotten better; more vintage, less shiny crap.  There was some turnover of dealers.  I noticed that the number of people selling the same boxes of unopened shiny crap was down substantially.  Quite a bit of postwar vintage. Prewar remains pretty scarce at the show.

My sales were average.  What was fun was the mix of stuff I sold, specifically because I guessed right about what to bring.  That never happens, or at least has never happened before, but this time literally everything I grabbed at the last minute was something that I had a request for.  I decided to blow out magazines and programs.  I’ve amassed a large box of them over the years and they are a royal PITA to move around, so I offered them up at a few bucks each and sold about half of them.  Hopefully, I can sell more tomorrow and not have to lug that stuff back home. 

After the show they had a trade night.  I did not go.  I have mixed feelings about trade nights.  It was a great idea at first, when it was for kids.  Now, unfortunately, adults have taken over, and it is a de facto second card show.  I resent that development.  I paid a substantial sum for my table and some schmuck with a briefcase can set up and sell for free at the trade night.  Show promoters are going to have to rethink their plans, or give us a cut.

One thing for sure is that working a show is exhausting.  I get home just wrung out every time.