"Da" Region Sports Cards and Collectibles Expo, Sunday, March 25, Villa Cesare Hall, Schererville, Indiana

After skipping the Sun-Times show, I was itching to set up somewhere. Originally, I had planned to set up in Bloomingdale, Illinois, on March 25 but I kept seeing Facebook postings for this new show in Schererville, Indiana. Once Baseball Card Exchange posted the show on their Facebook page, I was sold. I cancelled Bloomingdale. Sorry Fred! 

Leading up to the show, there was a tremendous amount of chatter on Facebook regarding this Indiana show. There even was an article in the local Northwest Indiana newspaper about the show and promoter Mitch LaRock.

When I spoke to Mitch on the phone I really appreciated his enthusiasm for the hobby and his new show. Usually, I am reluctant to set up at a new show but Mitch did an outstanding job promoting his event.

I have done quite a few Indiana shows over the years but never one is Schererville. I had never been to Schererville before even though, one of these days, I want to go to Baseball Card Exchange, which is located in this quaint Indiana town that sits just over the border from Illinois.

That morning my GPS took me to a familiar exit from I94, the Indiana Route 41 exit. This is where I exit for the Highland, Indiana, show. Lo and behold, Schererville is just down the road from Highland. My first thought was I hope Mark Smith is setting up so we can hit our Highland spot for steak after the show. Unfortunately, no Mark Smith at this show. However, I was happy to see Jim from the Orland show had set  up. I also saw Juan, who is a dealer from Indiana that I have known for years. I recognized a few other dealers from the Highland show.

The room at Villa Cesare Hall is huge and there were a ton of tables and a ton of dealers. Most of the dealers I did not know. I was lucky to be set up next to Luke "Skywalker," who was setting up at his first show ever. Luke is a super nice guy with an incredible collection of cards. Luke brought out just two display cases of cards. One had cards for sale, the other was just for show, and wow, he had some stuff to show including a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth and a 1948 Leaf Satchell Paige.

Mitch said about 300 people attended the show. I had a steady flow of customers at my table all day long. It was great to see old buddy Dave F., who has been very busy with work and family. I haven't seen Dave in over a year or so. He spent a long time going through my newly reloaded 1972-73 Topps basketball. I think he purchased most of the cards. Thanks Dave!

Dave was the only customer I had that day that I knew previously. I thought it was awesome all the new customers that came to my table with their vintage card lists. One new customer bought a tremendous amount of vintage basketball cards. He came by twice. On the first run, he purchased a bunch of '69-70 and '70-71s. On the second run he purchased my entire late 1970's basketball binder. Thank you!

Another new customer found a bunch of cards for his '72 Topps baseball set. I had a guy find a bunch of '73 Topps baseball high numbers for his set. A young guy purchased my 1960 Fleer Ted Williams and my 1958 Topps Yogi Berra. A dealer, who was set up with his young son, purchased my 1950 and 1951 Bowman Frankie Frisch cards. The dealer said he attended Fordham University where Frisch starred close to 100 years ago.

Another new customer purchased my 1956 Topps Nellie Fox. I had quite a few other guys dink around my binders. I was pleased with my sales.

On the buying front, I struck out. I had a few guys offer me their grand collections of 1988 Topps. I politely declined. Nobody brought anything decent to my table and none of the dealers had any cards priced low enough for me to buy for resale. Instead, I went home with cash in my pocket, which is not such a bad thing.

I was very impressed with this show, it was amazing for a first effort. Mitch's next show is slated for May 6th. I am going to skip that one because I have my Four Points Sheraton show on May 5 and need the 6th to chill out before the busy work week begins on May 7th. Though, I definitely am going to set up there again down the road. Below are a bunch of photos of the show I swiped off Mitch's Facebook page. You can click on the photos for a larger view.

Don't forget to come out to my show on April 7th at the Four Points Sheraton, 5311 S. Howell, in Milwaukee!!

Sunday, March 11, 2018, Gonzaga Hall, Milwaukee

Thankfully, no snow! Turned out to be a really nice day. Though, I thought attendance was a little light for a Gonzaga show. That being said, my sales were excellent! Definitely an uptick in sales from the January show. I missed the February show due to the aforementioned snow.

It was nice to see Chuck who is always working on a new set. This month, Chuck chose 1963 Topps baseball and purchased quite a few cards. Thanks Chuck! A lot of my regulars made it out to the show and scoured my binders to fill their lists. New customer Ron found a bunch of stuff then came back later and sold me some stuff! Thanks Ron! See cards pictured below.

A shout out to regulars John, Jim, Terry, George, Barry and Matt, always great to see you guys! A new customer purchased my 1954 Bowman Red Schoendienst, PSA 6. One customer seemed a little miffed that I did not bring out my Braves binder. I only have so much room on my table and far too large an inventory so I have to rotate items in and out from show to show. It seemed like the Braves binder was not getting much action latelyl so I held it back this time. Figures the one time I don't bring it, someone wants it!

I brought out a new 1975 Topps Minis binder that, surprisingly, did not get much action. I have probably been doing a '75 Minis binder for the last five or six years and each time I put one out, someone buys the whole thing. I'm sure at some point, someone will buy this binder as well.

All and all I had a really terrific show with great sales and great buys. Unfortunately, I have to miss the April Gonzaga show because I am setting up at the Ohio Sports Collectors Convention. I will be back for the May show. In the meantime, come see me on Saturday, April 7, 2018, at the Four Points Sheraton, 5311 S. Howell, in Milwaukee, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free admission! Two free packs of cards for everyone who attends the show!!

Saturday, March 3, 2018, Four Points Sheraton, Milwaukee

First observations as I pulled up to the Sheraton at 6:45 a.m.: (1) the seagulls are back, (2) there are a ton of cars in the parking lot, (3) the back door is locked, (4) there are literally mounds of cigarette butts in front of the doors to the hotel, and (5) one of Larry Larsen's customers is already at the hotel waiting for Larry.

We were in the larger Mitchell Room for this show. I invited Larry's customer to come in and wait. I don't mind if customers show up early but 6:45 a.m. is a new record. I had ordered 34 tables and chairs and received 34 tables and chairs. So often, I don't get what I ordered and have to scramble to find tables and chairs before the show opens. The crew set up the room in an unusual manner but I liked it and kept it.

This was a great day for a card show. I had a couple of dealers cancel and added one new dealer last minute, who had that pretty cool Frank Kaminsky autographed photo, pictured below.  By 9 a.m., all 34 tables were filled with dealers and cards. We had a steady flow of customers all day long.

We shared the hotel this morning with a large dart tournament. I remember the tournament from last year when people were hanging out in the parking lot drinking vodka at 7 a.m. I didn't see anyone drink in the parking lot this time around. Though, I did notice that the hotel had strategically placed a bar in front of the ball room where the tourney was being held. There were also many signs posted stating that outside alcohol was forbidden. The manager came by early on and introduced me to his extra security for the tourney. He told me he was stuck at the hotel with the tourney until 2 a.m. the night before and arrived back at 7 a.m. 

I know all too well that some folks can't handle their alcohol and can get out of hand after a few shots. This crowd, although loud a times, was pretty well behaved. I also appreciate a good party where people are having a great time. That dart tourney is a good party where people have a great time. A few tourney people stumbled into the card show as well. All are welcome at the Fat Daddy's Sports Card show. I have had some of my best sales at hotel shows where people stumbled in from the bar.

Attendance was up from February. I gave out almost all the packs of cards I brought, including a box of 2018 Topps baseball. My sales were exceptional. I had a customer purchase a large stack of 1969 Topps baseball. Jerome purchased a larger pile from my newly reloaded 1975 Topps baseball binder. Quite a few guys came up from Illinois, including Tim, who purchased my 1983 and 1984 Fleer baseball sets. Another Illinois customer purchased a large pile of 1961 Topps baseball. I was busy all day long. I sold a lot of cards out of my binders and my display cases. 

Flush with cash, I went on a buying spree. I bought a stack of 1964 Topps baseball commons from a customer, a 1956 Topps Hank Aaron PSA 4, an autographed Bill Buckner baseball, some 1953 Bowman football, some 1936 Goudeys including Hank Greenberg and Kiki Cuyler, some 1941 Play Ball and a few T206s. A really nice haul!

This was a really great show. I love these sorts of shows where I sell and buy a ton of stuff. I had a great time. A big thank you to all the customers and dealers who attended the show. 

My next Four Points Sheraton show is on Saturday, April 7, 2018. I've picked up a box of Wacky Packages stickers to give away. I will get a bunch more stuff for giveaways before the show. See you April 7th!