Friday July 30, 2021, Donald Stephens Center, Rosemont, IL

I think I needed an easy night after the first two days of the National. It was great to chill at home Thursday evening. I had a tough time falling asleep. I woke up well before my alarm clock. Grump went smoothly.

I was out of the house fairly early, around 8 a.m. I decided to hit the Chicago Bagel and Bialy Deli in Wheeling, Illinois, on my way into Rosemont. I picked up a couple of corned beef sandwiches for Dave and I.

Traffic was slow getting to Rosemont. I headed straight for the CTA lot this time, I did not want to fool with the crowds at the Convention Center parking garage. As I entered the show, I thought I might be late but was actually early. The other dealers were just starting to arrive. Scott, Jim and Danielle must of gotten there just before my arrival. I was surprised Dave was not there already.

As I removed the tarps from my display cases, folks were already coming around to take a look. One of the OBC guys who purchased cards on Thursday, purchased some more before I could take off both tarps. It sure was nice to have such an early sale.

I followed my routine of rearranging the display cases. They are always messed up at the end of the day. I like to have them nice and organized in the morning. My pal Tony Schaefer came by to check out our booth and started pulling cards. Tony regularly purchases cards when are set up at the same show and his purchases are greatly appreciated. We miss Tony at the Orland show. He has one of the best vintage inventories around. He is set up at the National  in his usual spot near the Wallateria.

The crowds started to pour in while Tony was at the booth and he could not stay as he was called back to his booth to help out some customers. Fixing up my display cases was difficult with the rush of customers.

It was great to see Bruce from Milwaukee. He, like many others, was shell shocked at the enormity and the massive crowd at this year's National. Bruce purchased some 1967 Topps for his set. Thanks Bruce! Another guy, in from California, purchased my 1965 Topps Frank Robinson. He appreciated my price and said I was one of the most reasonable vintage dealers in the building.

Sales came fast and furious once again as an even larger crowd than Thursday filled up the Stephens Center. I was working it on Friday morning helping many people at once. I sold a graded 1915 Cracker Jack common to an older collector. A collector from Louisville swooped up my 1968 Mantle PSA 4. Another collector purchased my 1948 Leaf Luke Appling PSA 4.

I sold a bunch of T206 commons and a handful of T205 commons. One guy bought my 1941 Double Play Arky Vaughan. I also sold a large number of 1940 Play Ball cards to a collector who flew in from Salt Lake City. Another older collector purchased a bunch of 1950 Bowmans, including a Ralph Kiner. Another collector purchased my 1969 Topps Johnny Bench.

A younger collector who lives in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood purchased my 1953 Bowman Minnie Minoso. Another younger collector purchased my 1954 Tommy Lasorda. Another collector purchased my 1954 Johnston Cookies Warren Spahn, A father and son team from Nebraska purchased my 1953 Topps Yogi Berra. Another collector purchased a 1966 Topps Fergie Jenkins rookie.

I had one guy buy some cards and he was kind of looking at me side ways. Later he came back and asked a question and addressed me by name. Apparently he knows me but I do not have any recollection of him, which happens often because I set up at card shows most every weekend and regularly meet a large number of people. Please don't get offended if I forget your name... or forget ever meeting you. My memory is terrible and I am not intentionally trying to snub you. Many people at the National talk to me like they know me. I try to fake it in our conversations that I know them. Sometimes, the memory comes back and I might recall a previous conversation. It is just so hard to remember everyone but I do appreciate you all!

A collector working on the 1956 set purchased my '56 Don Zimmer. Another collector purchased a 1960 Topps Nellie Fox All Star. I sold my 1964 Topps Bob Gibson. I also sold a 1961 Topps Hank Aaron. I sold my 1965 Topps Pete Rose.

These are just the sales I remember. There were many, many more. Sales were strong in the morning. There seemed to be a noon lull then sales picked up in the afternoon. Overall it was quite a day. Better than Thursday. I am also close to doubling my sales total from the 2019 National.

During that noon lull, I took a walk and observed that they added dealer tables next to the autograph pavilion and pushed the Box Breakers back to another room. So this year's National had more dealer tables than any in recent memory.

Dave and I had been wondering about our friend Sandy, who made an appearance today. Sandy is a long-time customer of Dave's and a professor at the John Marshall Law School where I obtained my law degree. It is always great to see Sandy and I was glad he found us. The only other person I have been wondering about is Craig from Akron. Craig! Where are you? Stop by and say hello!

I gotta say something about the crowd. Wow! I did not think is was possible to draw a larger crowd than Thursday but that Friday crowd was just massive. I was a little annoyed when a line formed at Ebay's booth and stretched in front off our booth, blocking access to my little corner. I also cannot stand the Topps booth, pictured above. Year after year it is sooooo loud and annoying.

Another thing I would like to address is the bathroom near the eBay booth. Ugh! Gross! Why can't people flush the toilet? Also, dudes, wash your hands please! Don't touch your ding-a-ling then touch my cards! Is it that big of a deal to wash your hands after you go to the bathroom? Also, that bathroom needs some ventilation. It is hard to breath in there.

Quite a lot of attendees to the show are concerned about COVID. Seemed there were more folks wearing masks on Friday than on the previous days. I don't have a problem with folks wearing masks but it is hard to hear someone through their mask. As the Delta Variant cases spike, I should probably wear a mask as well but I just hate them. They are so uncomfortable but if the masks are mandated again, I will wear one. I hopeful I am protected with my Moderna vaccine that I received back in April.

I bought some cards today. Not a whole lot of stuff making its way to my table but I have been making some purchases each day. I picked up a Red Heart Nellie Fox today. I love the Red Hearts and have sold a bunch of them the past few days. It was nice to pick one up.

The air conditioning seemed to work better today than the previous days but I started to feel hot in the late afternoon. I noticed that my neighbor PWCC set up some fans. What is the deal with the AC? I don't recall there ever being an issue with the AC at the Stephens Center at previous shows. 

I have been wanting to go to the casino after the show but was uncomfortable with the thought of going there with my pockets filled with cash and opted to head straight home after the show. I took my wife and kids to DQ and had a nice evening at home. Overall, Day 3 was absolutely tremendous. Woot!

Pictured above is the stupid bar the RES placed next to our space, cutting our usual space in half.

Pictured here are the crowds across from our booth. Check out the two dudes in the middle with the man bun hair on top and shaved on the sides. I saw this hairdo all week. I'm guessing this is the latest trend for young dudes. 

Pictured here are the crowds at the dealer booths next to the autographs and breakers. This area is new for 2021. It was jammed in there! It was hard to walk around.

Thursday, July 29, 2021, Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, IL

Sometimes my alarm clock is pure pain. This was one of those painful mornings. I hit snooze but knew I could not dose off again. I needed to get ready for the show.

I don't know about you, but I cannot start my day until I have that morning grump. It took a while to loosen things up and my morning procedure took longer than expected. We were hoping to leave the house by 8:30 a.m. at the latest. I think I was on the road around 8:50 a.m. I had wanted to rearrange the cards in my display cases before the customers started to arrive. No such luck.

When I exited the highway onto River Road South, there was a line of cars stopped in the turn lane for the parking garage. I did a U-ee and headed north to the CTA lot. I am pretty sure Rosemont has traffic light cameras and I am expecting a ticket to show up in the mail for that U-ee. The CTA lot was easy-peasy. I am parking there the rest of the week.

I think I got into the show minutes before the doors opened to the public. Many dealer tables were still covered. I tried to rearrange the cards in my display cases but it was difficult as people were on top of me almost immediately. 

People. That was the theme for Thursday. Lot's of people. Man, lot's of people. I have been attending the National since 1993 and I have never seen such a crowd. The place was packed... and hot, again. Ugh! Though, this time there were pockets in the building that were well air-conditioned but not Booth 1070 next to the shuttered concession stand featuring a temporary bar.

I think I may have been too quick to send my brother Jon away because I was busy all day long. Sales were fast, furious and frequent. Yesterday became a distant memory. Unlike Nationals in the past, most every customer was beating me up on price. The problem is that I have been spending a TON of time on eBay the last several months and have my cards priced exactly at the rate the cards are actually selling for on eBay. So every and any discount is a loss of money for me. I could have stayed home, placed the cards on eBay and made more money.

Yet, I was appreciative of all the sales after such a lousy day on Wednesday. I am not even sure what I sold, it was so much. I think I sold all of my slabbed T206's. Tommy, who has the best collection/inventory out of anybody I know or have ever met, purchased one. Thanks Tommy.

A guy from Detroit purchased my 1933 Goudey Mickey Cochrane. He was so happy I knocked a few bucks off my listed price that he came back at the end of the show to thank me again. A guy from Alabama purchased my 1941 Play Ball Hank Greenberg. Another guy from Alabama purchased my 1933 Goudey slabbed Joe Sewell. I learned on Wednesday from another Alabamian that Sewell was a member of the Crimson Tide and there is a field named in his honor.

I sold some 1935 Goudeys to a Reds fan. A handful of OBC guys came around and purchased some cards including some 1938 Goudeys. I am surprised the OBC guys have not discovered my Oak Creek Show because there is a ton of reasonably priced vintage at that show.

I sold a bunch of Minnie Minoso cards, including a 1952 Bowman rookie, to a guy wearing an Alabama shirt. Lot's of Alabama guys at the show on Thursday. Scott purchased my 1955 Bowman Elston Howard. Another guy purchased my 1954 Topps Ted Williams. A young guy purchased my 1954 Topps Billy Martin. George and Christy came down from Wisconsin and purchased some cards. Thanks guys!

Andy was in town from Orlando and purchased a bunch of cards. Thanks Andy! I sold my PSA 4 1966 Mantle to a random guy. Nice sale! My "intern" Paul helped me sell a bunch of cards to a young guy. Paul the Intern also watched my table so I could get some food at the Esoterica. Only four or five things on the menu. Craig from Milwaukee recommended the chicken tenders and I took his advice and found them surprisingly tasty.

On Wednesday I was too tired, too hot, too disappointed to break out any cards I was storing away during the show. On Thursday, however, I was in a much better mood and pulled out a bunch of cards for guys. One guy needed just a Banks and a John Matlock to complete his '71 set. I had the Banks. Another guy needed a '71 Brewers team and he was happy I found one buried in a box. I dug deep for other stuff guys needed but came up empty a few times.

So many guys looking for specific cards or specific oddball sets. I did not have a lot of the stuff they wanted. As good as I might think my inventory is, there are always cards I do not have but I appreciate all the guys stopping by to check in with me. It is always fun to chat with collectors from all over the country. I like hearing all of the different accents. Whenever I hear a New York accent I immediately think of Howard Cosell. It does not matter what these New York folks look like, my crazy brain is transferring Howard Cosell's head to theirs and we're talking about the Thrilla in Manila.

All these guys had tales to tell. I love hearing the stories, learning about their collections and their collecting adventures. Did I say I love the National? This is where my people are!

On the buying front, all sorts of stuff came to my table on Thursday. One guy had a bunch of Venezuelan cards. I have never had any Venezuelan cards. I know they are hard to come by and valuable. However, I had no idea as to what to offer or what I would sell them for so I passed -- a mistake, I should have bought some of the cards.

Another guy had a small box of pretty good cards but the condition was way bad. He wanted half book. I can't sell creased and worn out cards for half book. I offered 25% of book. He thanked me and walked away. There is no way any dealer in the building is going to over pay for those beaters.

Then there was a guy who showed up with a gym bag. He pulled out a ball with a Mickey Mantle signature and a Roger Maris signature. I thought it odd that the signatures were in ball point pen on a new ball. I should have checked which baseball commissioner was on the ball. The more I think about it, it was probably Rob Manfred the current commissioner which would be a sure sign the sigs were fake, as Mantle and Maris died long before Manfred became commissioner. I also found it odd that both signatures were on the sides of the ball and neither was in the sweet spot. Another oddity was that the style of the sigs were similar. I have a few Mantle sigs and used to have a Maris, these sigs were unlike my Mantles or my Maris.

My suspicions that this guy was pushing fakes were confirmed when he pulled out three slabs by an outfit called "SBA" featuring a 1952 Topps Mantle, a 1951 Bowman Mantle and a 1933 Goudey Ruth. It took just a millisecond for me to blurt "These cards are fakes."

"What about the Ruth?" he asked.

"Fake," I replied.

He grabbed his fakes in a huff, stuffed them back into his gym bag and stormed off.

I don't need to even talk about these cards because they were so incredibly obvious. I'm guessing he used old PSA slabs and printed out his own "SBA" labels on his home printer. Really amature stuff. As he stormed off, I started to think what kind of guy brings obvious fake vintage cards to a vintage card expert, moreover, brings fake cards into the largest gathering of vintage card experts in the world?

I think I have said this before... I have represented many clients over the years in criminal court and the one thing they ALL share in common is that they are ALL stupid as can be. Just once I would like to meet a criminal with a semblance of intelligence, maybe like the Penguin or the Joker, not the utter dumb-ass failure who brought me the fake slabs.

A couple of examples of some of my former clients. I once represented two ladies who filled up their grocery carts with food at a grocery store and walked out and began loading the unpaid grocery items into their car. I am not sure why they were surprised when they were arrested. I tried to explain to them that they cannot leave the store with the items until they have paid for them.

Another client had recently turned 21, bought beer for his underage buddies, drove around Chicago drinking the beer in the car and was surprised when police lights appeared in his rearview mirror. To top it off, he did not pull over and lead the police on a 10 mile chase... while driving just 20 miles an hour! It turned into a scene from the "Blues Brothers" with my guy leading a dozen or so Chicago cop cars down a busy city street at just 20 MPH. I tried to explain to the judge that my client is not a criminal, just stupid. The judge didn't buy it. 

I was able to get probation for the two ladies but Elwood Blues had to spend the weekend in jail. I think Fake Slab Guy is looking for some jail time.

Speaking of jail, my boothmate Dave thought he saw Bill Mastro at the show. I thought I read that as part of Mastro's sentence for criminal fraud, he could no longer participate in the sports card hobby? Mastro might be the exception to my stupid criminal rule. I don't think Mastro is a dummy, just greedy. I guess greed as well as stupidity plays into a lot of criminal enterprises. 

I turned down some free tickets to see James Taylor and Jackson Brown, I was just too tired after the show and went home with a pile of cash. What a great day! 

So I had a chance to walk around a little bit on Thursday. Pictured above are the crowds at the autograph pavilion. Something like 125 athletes signed autographs during the show.

Hunt Auctions had a pretty great display of Bill Russell items including this warm up jacket pictured above.

The bigger shows always have vendors that sell these framed autograph items. The vendor next to PWCC had a whole booth of this stuff. I took this photo of the Tiger King auto on Thursday and noticed it was sold by Sunday.

Wednesday, July 28, 2021, Donald Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, IL

I think I gave the wrong impression with my last blog entry where I aired my frustration with setting up at the National. I need to clear the air. I do not hate the National, to the contrary, I love the National. To me, it is heaven on Earth. But there are a few aspects I dislike -- loading in and loading out of the Stephens Center -- it just plain sucks.

In that last blog, I described my usual situation when loading in. Guess what? Wednesday morning went exactly how I predicted it would go with a few wrinkles. First off, I was not expecting such intense heat and humidity from Mother Nature. Ugh!

My wife said I looked like I was hurting after I loaded up the car early Wednesday morning.... and I was. I chugged some coffee, hoping it would bring me back to life. It helped.

I made it to the Stephens Center around 11:30 a.m. and as I predicted, I could not get in, and had to wait quite a while to get my badge. Once I began loading my wares into the convention center, I was shocked to see I was about the only person loading in, most every other dealer/vendor was already set up and conducting business. Usually, there are still a large number of vendors loading in on Wednesday morning. Seems like my group needs to start paying that extra fee to set up on Tuesday morning. I think if we load in and set up on Tuesday it will alleviate a lot of the Wednesday morning stress. 

Not only were just about all the other booths set up on this Wednesday morning, there was a large number of customers in the building well before the VIP entry-time of 3 p.m. When I wheeled my cart up to my booth, Dave was already set up and making deals. I think Dave got in real early and was able to pick up our badges. Next time I need to coordinate with Dave!

Anyway, the place was hopping. I think I have set up now at seven or eight Nationals and the place has never been so active on a Wednesday morning.

So load in was its usual headache but I was not prepared for the next headache which PJ tried to tell me about when he brought out my badge. You see, we get the same booth every time the National is in Chicago. It is located at the back of the show in front of a shuttered concession stand. The booth is out of the way and NOT a prime location but we like it because we usually have a lot of extra space enabling us to spread out. 

This year, however, the Rosemont Exposition Service, RES for short, decided to place  a bar in front of the concession stand cutting off half of our space. Ugh! PJ tried to convince the RES, along with the folks that run the National, and just about anybody who might have some authority, to move the bar. Kudos to PJ. Your efforts were greatly appreciated! Unfortunately, the RES was not concerned that they swiped our space and refused to move the bar. They did not open the bar on Wednesday and said we could temporarily place tables in front of the bar for Wednesday only. We did not bother and spent some time brainstorming to come up with a solution for the layout of our booth for the five-day show.

Essentially we had half of the space we normally receive and divided it up fairly between the troops. I had brought out 15 display cases but was only able to place out seven of them. I had also been hustling like mad during the weeks leading up to the show to price cards and was only able to place out half of my newly priced cards.

It was disappointing to say the least but I freakin' love the National and was just happy to be there. Sure it would have been great to have 15 display cases like I planned but life does not always go according to plan and you have to be able to adapt or you will just go crazy.

PJ initially was going to bail but thankfully he stayed. Me and Scott took it in stride. The shortened booth did not effect Dave because he just needs eight to ten feet of space and he was good either way. Though, we did give Dave some good-natured ribbing which I don't think Dave liked. Sorry Dave. Love you brother!

Another problem that happens every year is that the venue provides each booth with three tables. Someone swiped two of our tables before we arrived. All we have to do is complain to the promoters and they will find us some tables but it is always a hassle. I also brought nine extra tables thinking we were going to have this huge space. I was only able to place out three of them.

Once the booth was set up, I had to store six extra tables and eight extra display cases under the tables I had previously set up. It sure was a tight squeeze. I normally have a few bins under the tables that I use to store cards, paper, pens, tape, post-it notes and all sorts of stuff that I will need during the show. Unfortunately, I did not have this useful cubby-hole type space to utilize because I had to jam the extra tables and display cases there. I now realize how important it is to have this cubby-hole type space during the show. We're practically living in the convention center for five days and need a certain organization to make it flow properly. We were definitely handicapped this go around. I kept telling myself to just suck it up.

I probably was not fully set up until well after 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Once open for business, I was beat. It was crazy hot and humid in the building. I brought a little cooler and had some water but I was fried.

Once the VIPs were let in at 3 p.m. the building quickly filled up with people. A big crowd for a Wednesday. A big crowd adding to the heat. It was nasty in there. I was lethargic. I did not move much from my chair over the next five hours.

Sales were SLOW! It felt like a Sun-Times show where I normally just sit back and watch hundreds, probably thousands, of people walk by and barely give my seven display cases a glance. Man, I had such good stuff in there. It was a little disheartening.

As the hobby has thrived during the past year or so, the crowds on the first day of the National were as large as I expected but no one was spending any money with me. Weird! As you know, after a six month hiatus last year due to the pandemic, I've been back at it since October with shows and my pop-up shops being pretty great. This first day of the 2021 National was well below expectations as far as sales were concerned.

On the buying front -- NOTHING, NADA, nobody tried to sell me anything. I could not believe it. Low sales, no buys. I suppose I could have wandered the show and bought stuff from dealers but I was so hot, so tired, and so disappointed that I just could not bring myself to leave my seat.

I paid my brother Jon to help me at the show but told him to go home around 6 p.m. and that I did not need him until Sunday. Man, alive! Expectations dashed! I was more than ready to leave when the show shut down at 8 p.m. However, I was absolutely starving and so were my mates Scott, Jim and Dannielle who were staying over at my house.

Scott parked in the CTA lot while I parked in the convention center parking garage. When I got to my car, I observed lines of cars, none moving. I feared the worse. I pulled into the line and sat there for about 15 minutes then pulled back into a parking spot and called Scott to come pick me up.

Initially, I wanted to go eat at the Omega Restaurant in Niles that is open 24 hours. On a Wednesday night near Rosemont there are not a lot of options for late-night dining. The Omega is one of my go-to places. But when Scott picked me up, I observed the "Murray Brother's Caddyshack Bar and Grill" nearby and urged to group to eat there. They agreed. Just our luck, it was closed for a private party.

I then suggested the Denny's down River Road near Lawrence. I hoped it was still open as the Denny's near my house closed down during the Pandemic. Our luck changed and Denny's was open. Unfortunately, they had a skeleton crew of employees and it took a while. My food was good. As we completed our meal, PJ walked in. He was spending the night at a hotel next to Denny's.

We made it to my house around 10 p.m. I think we were all a little wired and I showed off some cards and publications from the Fat Daddy vault. I don't think I fell asleep until 12:30 a.m. But sleep I did and failed to hear a major thunderstorm that took down quite a few tree branches in the neighborhood.

So, the first day of the National was kind of a crappy but I have to say there were some bright spots. It was really great to see old acquaintances. It was awesome to see Harry who I have known for years from the Orland show. Apparently, Harry moved to California which explains his absence from Orland. Harry is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet and shares my enthusiasm for vintage sports cards.

Then I saw Mike from Cleveland, who I met years ago at the Strongsville, Ohio, vintage show. Mike knew me before I knew him as he is a fan of this blog. Mike sets up near Dave and I at the Strongsville show. It is always great to see a friendly face when setting up out of town. Mike is another one of those great guys I have been lucky to meet in my sports card adventures.

I ran into quite a few people that I had not seen in a while and it was great to catch up which was the best part of the first day of the National. My Day 2 blog is coming soon.

Pictured above is a photo from my booth on Wednesday afternoon. Our neighbors, as in 2019, was PWCC. In 2019 they were a good neighbor, not so much in 2021 but more on that later.

Sunday, July 18, 2021, Civic Center, Orland Park, IL
 
Pretty easy morning drive down to Orland. Load in went smoothly. I brought out all of my binders and still had some space left over on my tables. I had figured I might have some extra space on my tables but the binders fill up nine heavy bins and I just did not want to bring anything else. It is getting harder and harder to move around those heavy bins. As it was, I was drenched in sweat after loading in. The heat in the Civic Center did not help as well. How about some AC?!

Jim and Tom hit me up with cards to sell while I was setting up. I ended up spending much more money than I wanted. I need to save some cash for the National. I also bought some cards from Jeff and Walt. So much for saving money!

The best part of bringing the binders is that set up is quick and easy. I was open for business by 9 a.m., however, there were not many customers in the room. The main room and the back hallway were filled with dealers, who outnumbered customers early on. Slowly folks started to trickle in and there was a steady flow of customers all day. Though, attendance was down from June when the place was jam packed all day long.

I had a much easier time managing my tables than last month when it was just a frenzy. It was nice to be able to chat with everyone. Last month, I was just running back and forth from one end of my tables to the other trying to take care of lines of people. It was much more leisurely this time around.

A bunch of my regulars showed up early on like the guy who has been purchasing early 1950’s Bowman cards. He complained that I had not reloaded the old Bowman binder. Once again, I am very behind on my binder reloads. Last fall, with shows suspended for the Pandemic, I was fairly caught up but since shows began in October, the binders have been wiped out.

I was able to reload the 1971 baseball binder before the show and it got a decent work out. One new customer said he was 12 cards away from finishing his set and found nine of them in my binder. I did not bring out the football binders last month and brought them all out this month and sold quite a few cards. I am working on reloading my 1976 Topps football binder and will have it out next month.

I sold a ton of basketball. Those binders must be getting low. There was a couple from Indiana that purchased a TON of cards. I think this was their first time at the Orland show but they remembered me from the 2019 National. Thanks for the purchases!

I also sold quite a bit of hockey. Pictured above are two new customers that had a blast going through my hockey binders. I had forgotten to bring the hockey out in June and made sure I brought them for the July show. Glad I did!

It was nice to the see Rick for the second month in a row after a long hiatus. Rick purchased a bunch of hockey. Gil showed up for the first time since the Pandemic began in March of 2020. He found quite a few 1971 baseball for his set. I sold a bunch of Exhibits to a collector from Milwaukee. Milan is working on upgrades and said he is having a tough time finding the cards he needs. He is working on 1960 and 1961 baseball and could not find much in my depleted binders. I hope to reload them soon.

Dennis found some 1960 Leaf baseball in my recently reloaded oddball binder and asked if I had any more. I have a tough time finding 1960 Leaf and they sell pretty quickly after I place them out. I am not sure when I will have more 1960 Leaf.

Many regular customers dinked around my binders. One customer asked for my quarter binder which I did not bring out. I need to remember to bring it for the August show. I had quite a few new customers dink around the binders as well. It is always great to have new customers. There were a lot of young folks in the room and a few stopped by to get some vintage cards. Though, it seems most of the younger guys like the modern cards. I also noticed that most of them seemed to carry brief cases. Donny came by and joked that he was going to get a brief case and walk around with it at the National with his hair slicked back.

For the second month in a row, Will was the big winner having purchased a large pile of 1958 Topps baseball and 1970 Topps baseball. Will also purchased my 1968 Topps Mickey Mantle. Thanks Will!!!

My pal Chris brought in his unique collection to share. He has a binder where there is a different theme every few pages like cards depicting players sliding into home, players making great catches, players from the Chicago area, pitchers batting, adult themes, players with names of the week and more. It was really fun to look at. Thanks Chris!

Overall, a pretty fun day. Sales were down from June but not too bad. I think next month I need to bring out some display cases to spur more sales. I was holding off on the display case stuff because I want to keep my inventory sharp for the National.

Speaking of the National, it will be my next show and runs from July 28 through August 1. I will be set up with my buddies Dave McDonald, PJ and Scott Zeigert in Booth 1070, our same spot from the last several Nationals. I plan on just bringing out display cases, no binders.

I am just starting to get excited for the National. I am never totally prepared and have a lot of work to do before the show starts up in a week. I am really strong on 1940 Play Ball, both raw and graded, and will have some good stuff to show off at the National.

While I am getting a little gitty for the show, I am dreading the first day which is always a bit rough. The Stephens Center is the absolute worst venue to load in and out. They could not make it any more difficult if they tried. They have an immense amount of security on that first day and seems like their only purpose is to harass dealers, i.e., you can’t park here, you can’t load in from this door, you have to go to that door, blah, blah, blah. I hate those @#$%@&ers!

Booth 1070 is not near any doors so we have to traverse a gauntlet to bring our stuff in from the street to the booth. My biggest problem early on is getting my dealer badge from PJ. Security will not let me load in my wares without a badge. They also won’t let me in to find PJ. Cell phone service is terrible inside the building so I usually call and text PJ dozens of times before he is able to receive my messages and respond. So I am always stuck standing by one of the outside doors with all my stuff waiting to get my badge.

Once I finally get my badge, loading in nine card tables, 15 display cases, and bins of cards is just a bear. It takes me three trips in and I have to traverse a maze of aisles to get to 1070. There are always dealers blocking the aisles during load in. Then there is the Stephens Center staff blocking aisles with huge machinery. Then it is quite a long walk from the side door to 1070. After one trip in I’m ready to die. After I load everything in, I have to go back out to move my car or it will get towed by the friendly Rosemont towing. The walk from the over-priced parking lot to 1070 seems to be miles long. I am always freaking dead tired after load in then, somehow, have to set up.

I did not feel well after load in at the 2019 National. Add in the expected huge crowds for this year's National and fear is settlings in. I decided to pay my brother to help me all five days. Hopefully will ease the strain and my diabetic body and I won’t feel as tired and sick.

I game plan before every show I do, especially the National. I usually bring both binders and display cases to the National but I currently have a large inventory of display case stuff while my binders are battered and in desperate need of reloads. So I decided to just bring display cases. Having never done a display-case-only set up at the National, I am not quite sure how this is going to go. We have a good-size booth and I am bringing nine card tables and am figuring I should be able to place out 15 to 18 display cases.

We do the walk-in style booth where customers are invited into the booth unlike the vast majority of sellers who place their tables along the aisles. Usually, Dave will have a table in the aisle as is his preference. I always place my tables behind Dave and it has worked out well. Dave and I have been setting up at the Chicago Nationals together since 2008.

Anyway, I’m rambling now as I prepare for the National. I have a feeling this will be the biggest and best National to date. Should be fun!

A big thank you to everyone who bought cards from me at the July Orland show. I appreciate you and hope you come see me at the National!!

As always, I am available at the National for advice for dining and sight-seeing options as I lived a mile away from the Stephens Center for 10 years and am a fourth-generation Chicagoan. I am also a former Chicagoland newspaper reporter and have awritten a book about Chicago taverns. I have yet to meet anyone who knows Chicago as well as I do and I am always happy to share my knowledge.

See you in Rosemont!

​Woot!
 

Saturday, July 3, 2021, Salvation Army Community Center, Oak Creek, WI

While my sales are consistently strong at this show, it is such a huge headache to operate. I really enjoy the shows where I set up as a dealer and don't have any of the headaches associated with running a show.

​The month leading up to the July 3 show was one long headache which began at the June Sal show when some of my regular dealers were pissed off I scheduled the show for July 3. Many of my regular dealers cancelled for the July 3 show. 

Let me explain my reasoning for scheduling the show on July 3. The show is scheduled for the first Saturday of every month. The first Saturday in July fell on July 3 this year. In order to be consistent, I scheduled the show for July 3. I was a little hesitant but recall setting up at shows over many a Fourth-of-July weekend in the past and always had decent attendance. 

Even with all of the complaints and cancellations, I was confident I could fill the Sal with dealers and customers on July 3, which I did. However, I did not foresee the degree of difficulty I would have securing new dealers because I have this lengthy waiting list for dealers and expected folks to jump at the chance to set up. I started to contact folks on the waiting list in early June. Like May, when I opened the fourth room and started contacting dealers on the waiting list, many did not respond. I don't understand why anyone would submit their name for my waiting list and not give me a response after I contact them? So if I contacted you and you did not bother to respond, I have removed your name from the waiting list. I also removed the people I contacted for both the May and July shows who were unable to set up at either show. I am not going to spend the time getting in touch with these people only to have them tell me they can't make it. Going up and down the waiting list is incredibly time consuming. I contacted a good 50 people for this show.

Talk about headaches, I don't know how many guys I contacted on the waiting list who initially told me they could do the July 3 show only to cancel later on. Then there were the guys I contacted who refused to set up unless they could be placed in the gym. Sorry guys but the fairest way to do this is to place the folks that have been with me the longest in the gym. When someone drops out, I place the next in line in the gym. The guys who won't set up unless they are placed in the gym have been removed from the waiting list as well. Dealers with attitude stay away please.

The dealers in the back hallway were not happy at this past show. Even though attendance was very good on July 3, it seems like many folks skipped the dealers in the hallway. My guy at the Sal, Mark, who is an unbelievable superstar, came up with a plan starting at the September 4th show where the only entry and exit to the show will be the front doors by the hallway. There will no longer be any entry or exit in the gym. We're hoping this will ensure that customers visit all four rooms in the show, especially the dealers set up in the hallway. 

My ultimate goal with this show is to make it headache free. I am trying to alleviate complaints from dealers. The usual complaints are about location and sales. I think the new entryway should help the dealers outside of the gym. As for sales, that is on you, the dealer. If you are not happy with your sales, don't look at me. My job is to get customers through the door -- which I have done. It is your job to make the sale. I can't do that for you.

Most dealers reported very good sales at the July 3 show. We had a big crowd early on that thinned out as the day went on. My sales were excellent.

Getting back to the headaches, a bunch of dealers cancelled on me during the week leading up to the show. I plucked guys off the waiting list and was able to get space for first-time callers/texters. Then on the day of the show, a good seven or eight dealers did not bother to show up, including a few that talked to me the day before the show! Why book the space if you are not going to show up? No-shows are the worst. The easiest way to get on my shitlist is to book space and not show up.

I have one terrible repeat offender who I keep giving chances but will not do so again. As I have said before, I lose money when a dealer does not show up. Guys on the waiting list lose out when a dealer does not show up. I could have filled the space with someone who would do most anything to get into the show as a dealer. Guys on the waiting list regularly offer to pay me more money to get in. There are also guys who offer more money to be placed in the gym. If you haven't realized by now, I am not motivated by money. You can't buy me. What you can do is try and be an asset to the show. Those are the dealers I want, those that are hassle-free. 

So on the morning before the show, one of my regular dealers texted and said he had strep throat and could not set up. Fine. Not much I can do. A new dealer emailed shortly thereafter asking for a table. I offered the spot to him and informed him he would be set up in the back hallway. He asked to be in the gym and said he has high-end items, like I would be impressed or something with his inventory. I have seen it all in my 46 years in the hobby, you are not going to impress me.

On the day before the show, I was trying to get through a crazy busy day at work and deal with tons of calls, texts, messages and the like regarding the show. The worst time to contact me is the day before the show. Please contact me much sooner if you want a response. My goal on the day before is to make sure all of the dealer space is spoken for, not much else.

I am now up to more than 60 dealers, I cannot hold everybody's hand. You folks are adults and need to figure it out. Many dealers could not find their tables. This should not be a problem because there is a name on each table or in the Game Room there is a name on a chair. I try to put the regular dealers in the same spot so not everybody is looking for their tables at 8 a.m. Prior to the show, I inform many of the dealers as to where their tables will be located. You would not believe how many guys seek me out in the morning for assistance to find their table even when I told them the room they will be located in well before the show. I do not mind helping my elderly or handicap dealers find their spot. These young guys, however, need to read the name plates, Please!

Then I seem to always make a mistake and forget to print out a name plate for one dealer at most every show. The July 3 show was Dalton Lubeck's turn. Sorry Dalton! I don't have an excuse, that is on me. I really need to be better.

While all these things add up to give me a headache because I am just one person being pulled in a 100 different ways, the worst are the numbnuts and douchebags. I don't have the time to vet the new dealers, so I have no idea if any of the new guys are numbnuts or douchebags. I had a ton of new dealers at the July show and was hoping I would not have any numbnuts or douchebags. Turns out all of the new guys were awesome except for one new guy -- a complete numbnut and his buddy was a complete douchebag.

This is the guy who contacted me the day before the show and I gave him the strep throat guy's space and told him he would be located in the hallway. Well, while I was setting up in the Game Room, my guy at the Sal told me someone moved a table from the hallway to the gym and blocked the passage to the back three rooms with the table. 

Ugh!

I went into the gym and told numbnut to move the table back into the hallway. He initially refused. I told him again that he needed to move the table back into the hallway then I went back into the Game Room to finish setting up. Numbnut followed me into the Game Room and tried to negotiate a spot in the gym. I don't know how many times I told him that he needed to move the table back to the hallway. He refused. I lost my cool and called him a couple choice names and kicked him out of the show. Sorry everybody, I need to keep my cool and should not have lost it.

Then numbnut loaded his stuff out then tried to give me a hundred dollar bill. You recall when I said I am not motivated by money. The last thing I wanted was anything from this guy. I told him to leave the show and never come back. Apparently, he and his buddy changed their shirts and came back in and hid from me. The buddy, a complete douchebag, was hiding in the kitchen behind the concession stand.

I am debating on contacting the Oak Creek Police Department to have them arrested for trespassing if they show up at the September show. This little episode made me realize that I need a security guard more than ever. So if anyone has experience as a security guard please contact me and we can work out a fee and have you work security at future shows. It is a shame that I now need security at the show but between numbnuts, douchebags and thieves, I have to have some security.

Wow! What a headache! Once the rest of the dealers were settled and numbnut and douchebag left, the rest of the day went smoothly. Some of the new dealers made up for these two bad apples. I really enjoyed talking with the new folks and appreciate their enthusiasm. A couple of the new guys said they had a great day selling Pokemon cards.

Numbnut and douchebag are not welcome back to the show. Also, all the dealers that reserved tables and failed to show up are not welcome back to the show. I am so thankful I am taking August off and not having a show. I really need the break. I know it will hurt my consistency but after this past show, and with the National, I just can't physically do it in August. I am too old and infirm.

The next show at the Sal will be on September 4. With my regulars returning and all the new guys, tables are sold out. Thankfully, I am confident the September show will not include any numbnuts and douchebags.

In the meantime, I can't make the July 11th show at Buenavista. My next show where I am setting up is Orland on July 18. I will also be at the National from July 28 through August 1.

On a positive note, my pal Chuck found five twenty-dollar bills in the parking lot and came back in to let me know. Later that night, I received a frantic text from a guy who said he lost five twenties outside the show. He said his wife was tearing him a new one. Man, was he relieved when I told him Chuck found the money and will return it to him. Way to go Chuck! Like I said, most everyone who comes to the show and sets up at the show is awesome, like Chuck! 

One of the dealers left behind the keys to his or her display case. I have them. Please let me know who you are so I can return them to you.

A big thank you to all the dealers at the July show. I appreciate you! I also appreciate everyone who attended the July 3 show. I thought attendance was excellent. Thank you! I hope to see you all soon!

Below are a few more photos from the July 3 show where, despite the numbnut, was a really good show.