Saturday, May 7, 2022, Salvation Army Community Center, Oak Creek, WI
The night before the show, I received a text from my friend Andy who volunteered to help me set up the show. I responded that I get there at 5:45 a.m. He said he would set his alarm.
On Saturday morning, I arrived as promised at 5:45 a.m. and there was Andy! Wow! What a huge help! Andy moved tables around for me while I figured out where to place all the dealers and taped name plates to each table.
Without Andy, I'm usually running around, sweating, moving those tables. Andy did all the grunt work and I did not break a sweat. It was just awesome! We finished by 7 a.m. and opened the doors to all the dealers.
Quick word to the dealers, don't expect to be let in regularly at 7 a.m. It usually takes much longer to organize the space and I usually don't open the doors until 8 a.m.
My problem for next month is that Andy will be back home in Florida for the June 4th show. So who wants to volunteer and help me at 5:45 a.m. on June 4th?
Thank you Andy!!!!
I brought out display cases for this show. Quite a few guys were disappointed I did not bring out the binders. Well, I like to reload a binder or two before I bring them out. I was unable to complete my reload of my 1975 Topps binder so I brought out the display cases. I haven't done an all-display-case set up since Strongsville in March so it was nice to do something a little different. I'll probably bring the binders out to the June 4th show.
The display case set up takes a little longer. I did not finish filling all the display cases until after 9 a.m. Business was brisk at my tables early on. One regular purchased a pile of 1954 Bowman baseball cards. Dave, who stopped by my office last week, purchased some 1954 Topps. Thanks Dave! I sold quite a few other star cards before my relief, Rachel and Jason, arrived.
The relief came while I was munching down a Sloppy Joe. The joyous scent of the sloppies wafted over my tables as early as 8:30 a.m. I finally got one around 10:30 a.m. Great batch this month!
With a satisfied tummy, I left Rachel and Jason at the tables and went out to collect table fee from 77 dealers. My first observation was a number of empty tables due to some dealers reserving the tables and not bothering to show up. After everyone showing up the past two months, it was real disappointing to have a bunch of no-shows. Only one of the no-shows bothered to contact me that morning. The others, not a peep. With a waiting list of 60 people, those no-shows won't be setting up at my show again. I'll add a bunch of new guys for the June 4th show. You book it, you gotta show up or don't plan on ever setting up again!
I was able to fill a couple of the tables that morning. Most of the n0-shows were guys that were required to bring their own tables, so their absences were not as noticeable, but still very disappointing.
I know many of my dealers read this blog and quite a few had notified me prior that they were unable to attend. So to those folks, your absence was excused and you are all good for the June 4th show. It is the guys who specifically reserved tables for the May show then did not inform me that they were not coming that have earned my ire.
In walking the building, I could see that attendance was down from the previous few months. We still had 430 people through the door which is nothing to sneeze at. Most dealers reported excellent sales.
Other than those lame asses who did not bother to show up, I have a pretty incredible roster of dealers. I can count on them for showing up and providing excellent inventory and customer service.
I always enjoy chatting with all the dealers. Noticeably absent was Alex's partner Dave. In Dave's stead was Alex's lovely wife Jazmyn. She was a good sport filling in for Dave and is a pleasure to talk to. I also got to meet dealer Craig's wife today.
Another dealer, Eric, told me he played hooky from the youth baseball team he coaches to attend the show today. Thanks Eric!
It was great to see dealer Brett Comincioli back after a two-month absence during which time Brett became a bit of a celebrity in the sports card world by pulling a 1/1 Wander Franco rookie. Check out this interview with Brett: (4) Underground Runaround Episode 13! Brett Pulled The 1/1 Wander Franco 1st Edition Platinum Parallel!! - YouTube
Brett normally sets up with his buddy Jake, who brought out his brother, a young attorney in the Chicago area. We talked a little shop.
I was real happy to have my long-time friend Chris Thill set up today in the gym. I normally see Chris at the Orland Park show. It was great to have him in Oak Creek and I think he sold a few cards.
I also enjoyed having Curtis Payne at the show. Curtis runs the Woodstock show. This was his first visit to the Oak Creek show where he was trying to sell some bobbleheads. I had him set up at one of the no-show dealer tables. I also got to meet his lovely wife Marta.
Other new dealers included Vicki and Frank Pemper, long-time Milwaukee dealers but this was their first time set up in Oak Creek. Thanks guys and welcome!
I was sad to learn that long-time wax dealer Mike Davis is dropping out. He got a new job at a car dealership in McHenry, Illinois, and has to work Saturdays for now on. Mike will be missed. He has been a real asset to the show. Good luck Mike!
I was set up next to new dealer Anthony Olivera this month. Anthony brought out his son, Anthony Jr. So if you walked up to my table and said "Hey Tony!" Three heads turned every time. Anthony also brought out his little girl who was as cute as can be.
My friend Carl was set up for the first time. I know Carl from the Orland Park show and was real happy to have him and his grandson at the show. They had a good time and are coming back in June.
I hope everyone got a chance to talk with Troy from Mears Online Auctions. He has been setting up with his son Troy Jr. and is accepting consignments at the show.
Did everyone get an autograph? We had former Packers Dorsey Levens, Craig Newsome and Shannon Clavelle signing autographs in the Chapel. My good friend John Gehring drew a portrait of all three players and had each one sign. John gave me a copy as well. Thanks John! I love that guy!!
Then I saw Greenie Sports from Ohio walking through the show with a video camera. I have been following Greenie on Facebook for years. His card business is located inside a former bank and regularly has a "vault" sale. One of these days I'm going to make it out to Ohio for his vault sale. Thanks Greenie for attending the show!
I had a really enjoyable day despite the no-show dealers, which is what it is all about. This is supposed to be fun! I had a really good time Saturday.
I bought a few things on Saturday. I picked up a 1954 Milwaukee Braves yearbook from my pal Jeremy. I also purchased a 1964 Topps AL Bombers with Mickey Mantle from Jeff. Thanks guys!
I turned down a few cards as well. One guy came around with some 1990's cards that I passed on. Another guy had some 1965 Topps baseball but was too high on his prices. While I was at Gary's table, a guy showed up with binders of 1971, 1972 and 1976 Topps football sets. He was just a tad bit too high on his prices, so both Gary and I passed.
My good friend Scott Ziegert told me about some really nice pick-ups at the most recent Oconomowoc show. Scott was able to purchase complete sets of 1969-70 Topps basketball and 1970-71 Topps basketball. I have never been out to that show and need to check it out! Nice pick-ups Scott!
Next Oak Creek show is Saturday, June 4, 2022. Once again I will have 77 dealers and 122 tables. Expect a bunch of new blood at the June 4th show. Hope you can make it!
In the meantime, I have a busy weekend coming up with the Rockford show on Saturday and Orland Park on Sunday. I'm hoping to get that 1975 Topps baseball binder reloaded by Saturday.
Have a great week everybody and thanks again to everyone that came out to Oak Creek on Saturday.
Below are some more photos from the May 7th Oak Creek show:
The night before the show, I received a text from my friend Andy who volunteered to help me set up the show. I responded that I get there at 5:45 a.m. He said he would set his alarm.
On Saturday morning, I arrived as promised at 5:45 a.m. and there was Andy! Wow! What a huge help! Andy moved tables around for me while I figured out where to place all the dealers and taped name plates to each table.
Without Andy, I'm usually running around, sweating, moving those tables. Andy did all the grunt work and I did not break a sweat. It was just awesome! We finished by 7 a.m. and opened the doors to all the dealers.
Quick word to the dealers, don't expect to be let in regularly at 7 a.m. It usually takes much longer to organize the space and I usually don't open the doors until 8 a.m.
My problem for next month is that Andy will be back home in Florida for the June 4th show. So who wants to volunteer and help me at 5:45 a.m. on June 4th?
Thank you Andy!!!!
I brought out display cases for this show. Quite a few guys were disappointed I did not bring out the binders. Well, I like to reload a binder or two before I bring them out. I was unable to complete my reload of my 1975 Topps binder so I brought out the display cases. I haven't done an all-display-case set up since Strongsville in March so it was nice to do something a little different. I'll probably bring the binders out to the June 4th show.
The display case set up takes a little longer. I did not finish filling all the display cases until after 9 a.m. Business was brisk at my tables early on. One regular purchased a pile of 1954 Bowman baseball cards. Dave, who stopped by my office last week, purchased some 1954 Topps. Thanks Dave! I sold quite a few other star cards before my relief, Rachel and Jason, arrived.
The relief came while I was munching down a Sloppy Joe. The joyous scent of the sloppies wafted over my tables as early as 8:30 a.m. I finally got one around 10:30 a.m. Great batch this month!
With a satisfied tummy, I left Rachel and Jason at the tables and went out to collect table fee from 77 dealers. My first observation was a number of empty tables due to some dealers reserving the tables and not bothering to show up. After everyone showing up the past two months, it was real disappointing to have a bunch of no-shows. Only one of the no-shows bothered to contact me that morning. The others, not a peep. With a waiting list of 60 people, those no-shows won't be setting up at my show again. I'll add a bunch of new guys for the June 4th show. You book it, you gotta show up or don't plan on ever setting up again!
I was able to fill a couple of the tables that morning. Most of the n0-shows were guys that were required to bring their own tables, so their absences were not as noticeable, but still very disappointing.
I know many of my dealers read this blog and quite a few had notified me prior that they were unable to attend. So to those folks, your absence was excused and you are all good for the June 4th show. It is the guys who specifically reserved tables for the May show then did not inform me that they were not coming that have earned my ire.
In walking the building, I could see that attendance was down from the previous few months. We still had 430 people through the door which is nothing to sneeze at. Most dealers reported excellent sales.
Other than those lame asses who did not bother to show up, I have a pretty incredible roster of dealers. I can count on them for showing up and providing excellent inventory and customer service.
I always enjoy chatting with all the dealers. Noticeably absent was Alex's partner Dave. In Dave's stead was Alex's lovely wife Jazmyn. She was a good sport filling in for Dave and is a pleasure to talk to. I also got to meet dealer Craig's wife today.
Another dealer, Eric, told me he played hooky from the youth baseball team he coaches to attend the show today. Thanks Eric!
It was great to see dealer Brett Comincioli back after a two-month absence during which time Brett became a bit of a celebrity in the sports card world by pulling a 1/1 Wander Franco rookie. Check out this interview with Brett: (4) Underground Runaround Episode 13! Brett Pulled The 1/1 Wander Franco 1st Edition Platinum Parallel!! - YouTube
Brett normally sets up with his buddy Jake, who brought out his brother, a young attorney in the Chicago area. We talked a little shop.
I was real happy to have my long-time friend Chris Thill set up today in the gym. I normally see Chris at the Orland Park show. It was great to have him in Oak Creek and I think he sold a few cards.
I also enjoyed having Curtis Payne at the show. Curtis runs the Woodstock show. This was his first visit to the Oak Creek show where he was trying to sell some bobbleheads. I had him set up at one of the no-show dealer tables. I also got to meet his lovely wife Marta.
Other new dealers included Vicki and Frank Pemper, long-time Milwaukee dealers but this was their first time set up in Oak Creek. Thanks guys and welcome!
I was sad to learn that long-time wax dealer Mike Davis is dropping out. He got a new job at a car dealership in McHenry, Illinois, and has to work Saturdays for now on. Mike will be missed. He has been a real asset to the show. Good luck Mike!
I was set up next to new dealer Anthony Olivera this month. Anthony brought out his son, Anthony Jr. So if you walked up to my table and said "Hey Tony!" Three heads turned every time. Anthony also brought out his little girl who was as cute as can be.
My friend Carl was set up for the first time. I know Carl from the Orland Park show and was real happy to have him and his grandson at the show. They had a good time and are coming back in June.
I hope everyone got a chance to talk with Troy from Mears Online Auctions. He has been setting up with his son Troy Jr. and is accepting consignments at the show.
Did everyone get an autograph? We had former Packers Dorsey Levens, Craig Newsome and Shannon Clavelle signing autographs in the Chapel. My good friend John Gehring drew a portrait of all three players and had each one sign. John gave me a copy as well. Thanks John! I love that guy!!
Then I saw Greenie Sports from Ohio walking through the show with a video camera. I have been following Greenie on Facebook for years. His card business is located inside a former bank and regularly has a "vault" sale. One of these days I'm going to make it out to Ohio for his vault sale. Thanks Greenie for attending the show!
I had a really enjoyable day despite the no-show dealers, which is what it is all about. This is supposed to be fun! I had a really good time Saturday.
I bought a few things on Saturday. I picked up a 1954 Milwaukee Braves yearbook from my pal Jeremy. I also purchased a 1964 Topps AL Bombers with Mickey Mantle from Jeff. Thanks guys!
I turned down a few cards as well. One guy came around with some 1990's cards that I passed on. Another guy had some 1965 Topps baseball but was too high on his prices. While I was at Gary's table, a guy showed up with binders of 1971, 1972 and 1976 Topps football sets. He was just a tad bit too high on his prices, so both Gary and I passed.
My good friend Scott Ziegert told me about some really nice pick-ups at the most recent Oconomowoc show. Scott was able to purchase complete sets of 1969-70 Topps basketball and 1970-71 Topps basketball. I have never been out to that show and need to check it out! Nice pick-ups Scott!
Next Oak Creek show is Saturday, June 4, 2022. Once again I will have 77 dealers and 122 tables. Expect a bunch of new blood at the June 4th show. Hope you can make it!
In the meantime, I have a busy weekend coming up with the Rockford show on Saturday and Orland Park on Sunday. I'm hoping to get that 1975 Topps baseball binder reloaded by Saturday.
Have a great week everybody and thanks again to everyone that came out to Oak Creek on Saturday.
Below are some more photos from the May 7th Oak Creek show:
These amazing cards were on dealer Mike Slinkman's table. Hope you got a chance to see them! Mike is taking the summer off and we won't get to see his great collection until the fall. Thanks for coming out Mike!
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