New England Card Show/Springfield,Mass Review E238

0:01 Hobby Quick Hits. Delivering that breaking hobby news. Directly to your earlobes. You want to know those hot drops from the car shop? We've got you covered. With your host, John Newman. Hello everyone, welcome to episode 238. of Hobby Quick Hits, and yes, it's going to be a card show review, our second in a row. Last week we did, you know, the fairgrounds here in Syracuse, and then I added in kind of like the chronological, the timeline of finding out that SGC was raising their prices, as I do bulk sub for them, and sort of tied that to show review and the SGC decision Today we're doing just a strict show review to a bigger show, 400 Tables in a smaller state, Springfield, Massachusetts, home of the National Basketball Hall of Fame, but did not attend the Hall of Fame. I've been there already, but I got to interview 10 different people, two athletes, one retired, one still playing, Danielle Marshall. former NBA player, UConn legend, Cam Spencer,

1:32 UConn legend, and current Memphis Grizzly. And along with eight other hobbyists that were at the show. So that was a cool thing. I generally do not do content at shows I'm set up at. Sometimes it's just tough. A lot of times I'm there solo. But I did that on this trip. And so that's what this episode is going to talk about and involve. So, with that being said, let's keep the intro as short as we can and start the show. And now, our feature presentation. You know, on our last Hobby Quick Hits episode, we did a show review for the Fairgrounds show, but I also baked in there the SGC Decision to raise their prices. This is going to be a complete show review on a show I just did and came back from. I traveled out of state to Springfield, Massachusetts, home of the National Basketball Hall of Fame. And the promoter, John, asked me if I would come out and do some interviews. And I'd have a table for my podcast and interview some of the dealers that were set up there. for significant reasons, and the two autograph guests, with one being Danielle Marshall,

3:04 UConn legend, NBA star for many years, and 1994 Big East Player of the Year, and also Cam Spencer, UConn legend, NCAA champion, tournament champion, Cam Spencer, and interviewed both of those gentlemen after they were done signing autographs for the folks in attendance at the show. Both were great gentlemen. I thought the interviews went very well. And I'll also let you be the judge of that. That UConn Legends episode will air on SportsCard Nation on November 6th. So you'll hear Danielle Marshall, Cam Spencer on November 6th. And I interviewed six other people. People on that episode will air on November 13th. The six other people were Shamrock Cards, Dana and his son Cam, Chuck Bird and Vincent Gentile, who are longtime dealers and hobbyists. Craig, the card bookie, he is a deaf gentleman. It was the first time I've ever interviewed a deaf person as part of the podcast. And, you know, you know, needless to say, I was very, I don't want to say nervous, but concerned. I wanted to make sure, uh, we could do it and do it right. And, and, uh, came out, uh, pretty good.

4:34 If I must, if I can say, and then Joe, the card locker, uh, Joe is 16 years old and making some big high end deals and, uh, doing very well, uh, for himself. So I interviewed those six, uh, people. And that will air, like I said, November 13th. And so let's talk about the show. You know, it was about three and a half hour ride. I came up on Saturday, stayed at a hotel, didn't get to bed as early as I'd like to, but that's usually the case with me being a night owl. Show, the doors opened as far as bringing your stuff in to set up at 5 a.m. I got there about 5.30, 5.45. Got my stuff set up. It took me a little less time than normal because I had just one card table along with one podcast table. So it didn't take me as long as it usually does. And I like to come early, even if I know it's not going to take me until the door is open. I like just to settle in and get set up and take the whole scene in.

5:47 You know, I had to ask where my tables were. They weren't really labeled, but they were laid out. I found out, you know, where they were and started bringing my stuff in, setting up. And if you know me, you know I don't do a ton of content on the road, if you will. You know, I like to do it at, you know, in a home setting. It's not that I never have, but, you know, this was a rare case where I would be doing interviews during a show I was set up at. And the interviews were scheduled from 12 noon to 1 o'clock in about 10-minute segments. As what usually happens, right, you go past the allotted time, which was okay. So I think we kind of wrapped up between 1.30 and 1.40. The only negative, and it's no one's fault, right? If I'm talking with someone and it's going well, I'm not necessarily watching the clock.

6:43 But the only negative to that was, you know, while I was recording, You know, my showcases are locked. I really didn't make any sales because I couldn't attend the tables. And, you know, you always hope people come back. And, you know, again, that's usually not the case because I don't do live content at shows. I tried to get my son to make the trip with me so he could run the table while I did the interviews. But he does not travel well. He got a third concussion playing college football. And so long travel distances are not his bag, and I fully understand that. Would have been nice to have him or anyone else, but it was just me. And again, not a pity party, just kind of laying the facts down as they were. So, you know, six interviews, 10 people, I believe, and went very well. You know, I used...

7:39 a DJI Rode mics, the mini mics, for the first time. My wife got them for me. And I have, you know, I've played around with them and tested them out. But this was really the first time I've ever used them to actually record something. And it went very well. And, you know, maybe it's something I do maybe more of during my, whether it be my travels or even at my home show, potentially. So, something maybe you'll see more of. And if you try to want to promise, so let's get back, you know, get back to show. I was set up. I was kind of done early. I was just sitting down, taking it easy, you know, kind of tired, not super tired. I probably should have been more tired than I was for the amount of sleep I got, but you know, you know how this goes, right? The adrenaline kicks in. Um, and it was a good size show.

8:30 I believe it was 400 tables. Um, my big Syracuse ones are 120. Um, but they were really spaced out. Like there was plenty of room to walk and stretch your arms. Like it was definitely airy, which I thought was really cool. It's held at the mass mutual center in Springfield where the Springfield, uh, Thunderbirds AHL team plays. I think a basketball team, uh, plays there as well. I don't know which one I apologize, uh, for that. Um, You know, the doors, there were some dealer deals. I made a couple of nice dealer deals early before the doors officially opened. And then the doors opened. It was a nice rush to start the day. I'd done pretty well in the early part of the day before probably 10, 11 o'clock, which was what I was hoping because I knew doing those on-site interviews, I was not probably, I was probably going to lose some sales or not, and definitely not make some. While I was doing it. So I was fully aware of that. It wasn't a secret.

9:36 So that nice early rush. Was nice. Anytime you travel. That far. You want to do pretty well. And I did early. But much like most Sunday shows. During football season. And I'm in Patriots country. And it was funny. I wasn't wearing any of my Steelers gear. But the Steelers were playing the Patriots. that day. They lost 20-3. A lot of problems in Pittsburgh. But, you know, a lot of Patriots. I saw a lot of Patriots gear, a lot of UConn gear for obvious reasons. I didn't wear any Steelers gear and I really didn't. You know, I'm not in a position to trash talk anyway. So I didn't have any Steelers stuff. A lot of Patriots and UConn fans. Talked to some people. Some people came up to the table who were familiar with Sports Card Nation podcast, which I thought was really cool. And so, you know, again, like what I was going with, there's a lot of Sunday shows, right? Around 12, 30, they sort of drop off, right?

10:43 Because people are going home to watch their favorite team, especially Patriots. if it's an early game. Here in Syracuse, you know, this is Bills country, and the best thing that could happen is if the Bills play on a Thursday or Sunday night. That way we don't get the big drop-off during a Sunday show during the football season. But this was not the case for this show. The Patriots and the Steelers game was at 1 p.m. Eastern. So about 12.15, 12.30, you know, the crowd thinned out. At that point, I was in full throw of doing these interviews, but I still, you know, you could see the crowd as I was talking to my guests. What did I sell? I sold a lot of graded cards, a lot of Jordan Raw, a lot of Griffey Raw as what is right now the current trend. Any surprises?

11:35 I would say I had, I didn't have any big, huge Otanis, but I had some, I don't even want to say mid-tiers. They weren't rookies, but there were some, you know, cards during his Angels years and during his Dodger years. They were, like, very affordable, but I didn't sell any Ohtanis, which, you know, he is back now at the time of this recording, but during that time of the show, he was on the I.L. So maybe people, and I think, as most know, Pete Crowe Armstrong is running away with the NL MVP. So Ohtani's not going to win the NL MVP this year, as Pete Crowe Armstrong, PCA, will.

12:16 So maybe that had something to do with it. Overall, I did pretty good. Thankfully, the nice start and some of the dealer-to-dealer deals, I think, sort of saved me, if you will. But talking about the show as a whole, right, I thought it was really great. Between some of the sales, I didn't buy any cards. I did look at some, but nothing that moved my meter. I'm sort of picky when it comes to buying cards. There was a few other deals where I was interested, but the person sort of wanted close to comps, which if, you know, it was a dealer, right, that's not going to work for me or work for most dealers as it leaves that, you know, tight quarters, right? So I didn't wind up buying anything, but did sell a decent amount of inventory.

13:07 I'm always buying. So I'm definitely going to have to reload some before my next show, which is Syracuse Fairgrounds in October. So really great. I got to hang out a little bit with Jake Roy, 90s basketball cards. Good friend of mine. Good guy. And we got to talk before the show, after the show, a little bit during the show. And it was his really first show. in some time himself, and he brought, you know, he brought some really great basketball cards, and he did really well from what I could tell and, you know, speak for him. But it was nice knowing some people. That's always a nice thing when you're, you know, a few hours from home or almost four hours in this case. So, you know, the show was to five, which is kind of long for a Sunday show. And then again, with people dropping off around 1230 for NFL football, a few people I saw, not me, but a few people packed up around three and headed out, which, you know, sometimes is, you know, not really sort of frowned upon. I don't know the rules here with that, but I started packing up a little after four, just starting to pack up. It takes me a while. I'm sort of methodical with how I pack up and load my, my kits up and my boxes and that sort of thing. So by, you know,

14:38 about 4, 45, 5 o'clock, I had been all packed up. But, you know, you got to wait for the cars to load that were in front of you before I could load my stuff. At that point, me and Jake were talking and, you know, comparing notes and talking shop. And, you know, so the wait probably didn't seem as long as it might have been because I was talking with Jake and vice versa. So I was hoping maybe for a couple late sales as I was packing up, but no such luck. And that's okay. I did well in the grand scheme of things. And then when you add in the content, it was very cool. So the show was nice. It didn't seem, I don't know what the numbers through the door were. I don't know, so I'm not going to even guess. I will say it seemed less, believe it or not. But again, there was a lot of space. So maybe my, you know, vision is off in terms of what it looked like, but I felt like there were more people at my Syracuse fairground shows, but I will say this, the people that were there, especially early on, um, spent money. Like it seemed like there was a lot of transaction, uh, going down. Um, there was one theft that came out later on, not from me. Um, But it was, for the most part, rectified.

16:02 They found out who did it. And a majority of the merchandise stolen was returned. So, you know, that's sort of par for the course. There was security there. So kudos to John, the promoter, for having that done. And I think it prevented that crime from, you know, going unsolved where it was solved. So good news on that front. But it's just really... Sort of, we're getting used to that, right? We're getting used to shows and thefts occurring at shows. Unfortunate. You know, what are you going to do, right? You just, I lock my cases. So that was a bit, you know, I've always done that. That's not a new thing. So when I was doing those interviews, I was close to my table. But again, I was sitting down with the guests and our guests and I made sure to lock my cases. I just didn't want someone to have free access to that potentially while I'm not, paying 100% attention, you know. So the cases were fine. You know, I do have some shoeboxes and that, you know, who's to say, right, that something doesn't get taken out of those. But you hope people do the right thing and don't commit crimes.

17:16 But again, it happens and hopefully it doesn't happen to you, right. So again, it was a great time. I want to thank promoter John for inviting me. You know, he does a whole plethora of shows in the Northeast. This was the New England Card Show, but he does them in Portland, Maine, and other parts of Massachusetts. And, you know, I've got pretty much like an open invitation to attend any one of them. I try to keep my travel when going to shows the three and a half, four hours, which is why I did this Springfield show. It's right on that cusp. A lot of his other shows for me, are going to be five, six, or even more than six hours of travel. So that becomes very difficult, especially if you're traveling solo. Most of the time, I'm going to be traveling solo. So that, you know, I'm not the spring chicken I once was for sure. So, you know, you do the best you can. But I wanted to sort of, you know, do a show review because it was a different kind of show for me. I got a new retractable banner, like it's twice the size of my original one, and made its debut at the Springfield show.

18:39 It was supposed to make its debut at my last show at the fairgrounds, but unable to do it. Well, I forgot it at home, and I wasn't going to go back home, even though I'm not far away. So that banner made its debut there. at the Springfield show. So to me, that's kind of cool. I know it's, you know, for those listening, I'd be like, okay. But I got to debut that at the show. And it was, to tell you the truth, it was bigger than I thought it was going to be. Kind of cumbersome to set up, but not that, not that true. So, all right, folks. So that is two show review hobby quick hits in a row. I guarantee you the next hobby quick hits I do will not be a show review. So I appreciate you listening and following us. And I was glad to meet some of you in Massachusetts that I've never met before and a couple of people I met again.

19:41 So that's always, always cool. So with that being said, we are going to wrap up this episode and we'll see you next time. Say goodnight Kane.