Saturday February 4, 2017, Clarion Hotel, Milwaukee

No plug on the TV news this time around and attendance was decidedly smaller than January. Regardless, my sales were very strong. As usual, Jerome was the first customer in the door and spent a lot of time with my newly reloaded 1964 Topps baseball binder. It was nice to see Gary E., who has not been around for a while. Gary and I made some nice trades. I sold quite a few cards out of my binders and display cases to various customers.

On the buying front, I picked up a complete set of 1972 Icee Bear Basketball cards. I have actually never seen these cards before. They are cool! Glossy post-card size with all the stars from '72 like Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Pete Maravich, Jerry West and more.

I had two dealer no-shows which always pisses me off. If you book the show, you gotta be there!

Besides the no shows it was a pretty good day. We did not get the walk-ins like January, so I bought cards from the dealers. In order to keep my inventory fresh, I need to buy some cards every weekend, whether it be from customers or dealers, I'm coming home with a pile of newly purchased cards.

Sunday, February 5, 2017, Wyndham Garden, Schaumburg, Illinois

Monster show in Schaumburg, pictured above. Sales were tremendous. I sold a TON of cards. I sold piles of cards from both the binders and display cases. I then went on a buying spree. That was fun! All the dealers reported excellent ​sales.

Sunday, February 12, 2017, Gonzaga Hall, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

About 400 people came through the door on this day that featured an autograph signing by former Packer Robert Brooks. Dealer Dave Horshack asked me to take his photo with Robert Brooks. I also had Dave take my photo with Mr. Brooks, who couldn't have been more gracious. I got a cool 8 x 10 photo for my autograph collection.

Once again, I sold quite a few cards. A big thank you to everyone who bought cards from me at the February 12th Gonzaga show. I also sold quite a few publications. I made a trade for a 1948 Leaf Stan Musial in Fair Condition. I probably gave a little more than I should have. I wasn't quite sure of the value of the Musial. I knew it was an expensive card and I am a sucker for '48 Leaf. 

Speaking of awesome cards, a random customer pulled out of his pocket a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, a 1934 Goudey Lou Gehrig and a 1933 Tattoo Orbit Jimmie Foxx. All of the cards looked legit to me. He said he inherited the cards from his uncle who was the original owner of the cards. The customer said his uncle purchased the cards as a kid in the 1930s. A local store owner would allow the kids to search the packs for the cards they needed then resealed the packs.  Interesting stuff.

I made some nice purchases at the show including large lots of 1965 Topps and 1955 Bowman baseball. What a fun day!!

Sunday, February 19, 2017, Orland Park, Illinois

Back at Orland. I am getting used to my new spot along the left-side wall. I noticed attendance was down. Chris T. told me he came out after seeing my post about the show on Facebook. I still had a decent show but nothing like the monster show I had in January.

A bunch of guys bought cards from me like Rick, Dan, Will, Paul, Chris, Neil, Joe G. and others. I had a few hours where I was extremely busy then the show seemed to die around noon which gave me time to walk around. So as you know, it has been a few years since I have been setting up at Orland. I remember many more vintage dealers. The only dealers with any quantity of vintage were me and Jim C. Where did everybody go?

Someone told me that Gary, a modern dealer, who used to have two front tables by the door, moved to Florida. I saw a lot of unfamiliar faces behind the tables. There was no shortage of dealers. Though it seemed like there was a lot more shiny stuff than in years past.

My folks stopped in which was kind of cool. My dad has a booth of sports stuff at an antique shop in Portage, Indiana. He was on the hunt for new inventory. I saw that he bought a binder of stuff from the dealer next to me. It was nice to hang out and chat with my mom for a while. They only stayed for an hour or so.

On the buying front, I picked up a bunch of stuff, as usual. I purchased a box of 1973 football commons. I also picked up a box of 1975 Topps baseball minis. The buy of the day was a 1958 Topps Roger Maris rookie. I haven't had one of those in a while.

It is really nice to be back at the Orland show. A big thank you to everyone who bought cards from me. See you at the next one!

Reminder... my next show at the Clarion Hotel, 5311 S. Howell, in Milwaukee, is set for Saturday, April 1, 2017. If you like viewing my stuff at Gonzaga, Orland, Schaumburg and the other shows, you will want to head over to the Clarion where I break into the Fat Daddy Archives and bring out 10 tables filled with stuff. There is all sorts of stuff that I do not bring out to any other show, so check it out!

In the meantime, I am setting up at Gonzaga Hall on Sunday, March 12, 2017. See you there!

Pictured below is the Orland show from February​ 19.

Saturday, January 7, 2017, Clarion Hotel, Milwaukee

As I stated in my last blog, I felt sales were down in 2016. The year 2017, on the other hand, has started off with a bang. I had my best show ever at the Clarion Hotel in Milwaukee on January 7, 2017, pictured above. Milwaukee television channel 12 mentioned the show on its morning program and we ended up with our best attended show to date. There was a steady flow of customers from the opening bell to the closing whistle.

I had a monster day selling cards. A huge thank you to Jerome who about knocked out my newly reloaded 1963 Topps baseball binder. I had quite a few sales to new customers. Sales were continuous all day long. 

On the buying front, wow, just wow! We had more people than ever before bring in cards to sell to the dealers. I picked up a pile of stuff including some old publications. One guy brought in a huge suitcase of junk, which I turned down. Gary had the buy of the day from a customer that brought in cards from the 1950s including quite a few Mantles and Clementes. It was incredibly cool to see so much stuff walk in the door. Just about all the dealers reported great sales and great buys. Man, if I could just copy the January 7th show and rerun it every month, life would be perfect!!

Milwaukee Channel 12 is the best!! Thank you for the plug!!!

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Sunday, January 15, 2017, Gonzaga Hall, Milwaukee

It was nice being back at Gonzaga, pictured above, after missing December due to a snow storm. Once again we had an excellent crowd at Gonzaga. I bought and sold quite a few cards. A big thank you to everyone who purchased cards from me at the January Gonzaga show!

​Sunday, January 22, 2017, Orland Park, Illinois

As many folks told me, it was sad that it took the death of John Leary, the former promoter of the Orland show, for me to return as a dealer. As you all know, John got angry at me when I started my Milwaukee show at the Clarion. Words were said and I stopped setting up at Orland. More than two years later, John died, just before the January 22, 2017 show. I never wish ill will on anyone and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

In late 2016, John sold the show to Rich Troy, who was kind enough to give me a call and invite me back to the show. I requested my old spot, the one I occupied for 15 years or so. Unfortunately, the dealer that used to be next to me took over my spot and I am out of luck. My new spot is in the middle of the left-side wall. I think I will be just fine with this new spot.

Anyway, I was welcomed back with open arms. My tables were mobbed all day long. I had a phenomenal show. The old crew was there and they purchased a ton of cards. A big thank you to Rick, Will, Joe, Joel, Dan, Paul, Chris, Mike, Larry, Tony S., Neil and everyone else who purchased cards. Wow! What a day!!

I also bought a pile of stuff including a nice grouping of 1957 Topps baseball and a few Mantles from the 1960s. One customer came by with a binder of T206s which is very unusual for a one-day show. He was kind enough to let me take a photo.

Man, I had a great time. I hustled the whole day, buying and selling. I did not get a chance to walk around. The room was filled with dealers and there was tremendous attendance. All I can say is that it was really nice to be back at the Orland Park show.

Now I understand that in 2016 John cut the show down to once a month. Rich has brought the show back to twice a month. With my job commitments, family and other shows, I can only set up in Orland once a month. So I am planning to do the second show of every month.

Rich Troy seems like a great guy and he has instituted all sorts of new things for the show. For one, he has several drawings throughout the day where customers can win some sort of sports memorabilia. He also has a website and a Facebook page. Rich seems to be vigorously promoting the show, which is so nice to see. My only hope is that he adds food sometime in the near future. It has been years now since food has been served at that show and it is something that is desperately needed.

A big thank you to everyone at the January 15 Orland show for such a warm welcome back. I had a great day and a great time! I'm back!!!

Next up is my Clarion show on March 4, 2017, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 5311 S. Howell in Milwaukee. See you at the Clarion!!

Pictured below are more photos from the Orland show, including a customers collection of T206 cards and some of my​ purchases.

Saturday, December 3, 2016, Clarion Hotel, Milwaukee

I had a real nice dealer turn out for my monthly Clarion show. Customer attendance was a little down but my sales were still good. I also purchased quite a few cards. 

Sunday, December 4, 2016, Wyndham Garden, Schaumburg, Illinois

One of my better Schaumburg shows in a while. Nice day of both selling and buying. 

Sunday, December 11, 2017, Gonzaga Hall, Milwaukee

There was a snow storm and I opted to stay home. My little car does not do well in the snow. I probably could have made it to the show in the morning but the afternoon snow would have made it difficult to drive home. I considered going up for the show then staying at a hotel afterwards but I had to work the next day and couldn't do it. I feel bad about missing the show. I rarely miss a show. Kudos to those that braved the weather and made it to the show!

2016 Review

Sales and purchases were steady all year long at both Gonzaga and the Clarion. The Schaumburg, Bloomingdale and Hoffman Estates, Illinois, shows varied greatly. I had some tremendous days at some of those shows and some unmemorable days. My Fanatics shows were dismal for sales. It is not often that I have two bad Fanatics shows in a row. I am scheduled for the March 2017 Fanatics show but I have some concerns. If I lay another egg, I may skip the November show.

Egg Yokers

I ventured out a little further for my out of down shows last year. I went to Pittsburgh in May, layed an egg there. I went to Minneapolis in March where sales were once again slow. I went down to St. Louis and layed some more eggs. Also, Madison, Wisconsin, show sales took a nosedive in 2016. On the upside, my Highland, Indiana, shows were very good, as was the one show I did in Strongsville, Ohio. I did not do any Indianapolis or Fort Wayne shows in 2016. I just could not get motivated for the long drive when sales were poor in 2015. I do miss Indy and Fort Wayne and may stop in during 2017. I also did not make it out to a Michigan show in 2016. I would like to hit Michigan at least once or twice in 2017.

It is just so hard to guage a show. I never know beforehand if sales will be good or bad. I just set up and hope for the best.

With work and family taking up much of my time, I am probably going to limit travel in 2017 and pretty much stick close to home with shows at Gonzaga, Clarion Milwaukee, Orland, and Fred Copp shows. I may sneak some other stuff in because I do get that travel bug and it is fun to set up in a new town.

Overall, I feel like sales took a downward tilt in 2016. I don't keep track of sales or purchases. I am just not that organized. I just try to sell and buy as much as I can every weekend. I felt like purchases were strong in 2016. I have a very good inventory right now and am hoping for much improved sales for 2017. I have already done several shows and will report on those soon.

In the meantime, my Clarion show is coming up Saturday. March 4, 2017.