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May Card Show Roundup

5/25/2016

1 Comment

 
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Sunday, May 8, 2016, Wilmot Flea Market, Wilmot, WI 
This was my first visit to the new location of the Wilmot Flea Market, which moved from the Wilmot Mountain Ski Resort to the Kenosha County Fairgrounds.  I plugged the address into my GPS and it took me to the back entrance. I had a tough time finding the actual entrance. I observed other cars having the same difficulties.

Once through the proper gate, it was slow going in the dealer line. Eventually, I was directed to my spot. The layout for the flea market does not make a whole lot of sense and I heard many vendors and customers complain. Vendors are spread out all over the fairgrounds. It would be much smarter and easier for everyone if there was one concentrated area of vendors.

One of the things I did like about the new location is that the vendor spaces are deeper than the old location. I can easily fit four or more card tables. I'm going to try and pick up some more tables before my next venture to the flea market. 

I had a pretty nice set up, pictured above, with sports publications, 1980's-1990's wax, all of my baseball binders from the 1970's, my basketball binders, a few display cases of low-priced vintage, a few posters, along with my regular flea market junk like comic books, jewelry, knick-knacks, children's books and toys. I had a tent over the display cases and binders to block them from the sun.
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The morning was cold but it quickly warmed up into a beautiful day. There was a tremendous crowd. I arrived at the flea market around 6 a.m. and was set up around 7:30 a.m. I had a nice steady flow of people walking by my space until 2 p.m.

One customer spent a few hours at my table pulling cards from my binders. He had to go to an ATM to pay me. Quite a few kids purchased packs of cheap 1980's wax. I sold a few publications and posters. I sold some cards out of the display cases.

I was thankful when Donny came by and watched my table for me while I took a bathroom break. Bill brought me some cards to trade. Thanks Bill! It was nice to meet Bill's daughter. I sold some jewelry. I sold quite a few children's books. I did quite well with the toys. Sales were steady throughout the day. The only drawback was that most sales were only for a dollar or two. I went home with a huge wad of singles (no stripper jokes please!).

Set up next to me was an artist who built these neat wind chimes from thrift store material, pictured above. Being Mother's Day, I purchased a chime for my wife and one for my mother. The ladies were pleased with their gifts.

I really enjoyed myself. I just love the flea market. I plan on returning on Sunday, May 29, 2016, weather permitting.
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Saturday, May 14, 2016 -- Lincoln Center -- Highland, Indiana
If you recall my previous blogs on Highland, this is the show (pictured above) that is located in an indoor flea market. I complained last time that the promoter did not promote the show. He was on top of things this time around because I saw the show listed in both Beckett and SCD.

This is the closest show I do to Orland  Park and I get some of my old Orland regulars here. It is always great to see Jim Colias. I met his lovely wife as well. It was also great to see Rick, who I have not seen since I was chased out of the Orland show. Rick found a few cards. I sold a 1963 Topps Mickey Mantle to Terry. I sold some 1960 Topps commons to an Highland regular. My pal Dave Frazier stopped by and picked up a few 1975 Topps Minis. Another good pal, Paul P. found some cards at my table. Overall, I had a decent day.

On the buying front, I picked up a few cards from Jim then purchased a couple of Tattoo Orbits and a Delong from a random customer. He also had a 1969 Topps Roberto Clemente checklist autographed in green pen, pictured below. I showed the auto to Willie, he thought it looked good. I was just hesitant to buy it without any certification. I might have made a mistake. I also purchased some '75-76 Topps Hockey and some '74-75 Topps Basketball.
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Along with Willie from the Fred Copp Shows, Larry B. made the trip to Highland. Mark came in from Michigan to set up. Mark is a regular dealer at the Highland show. Though, when I really think about, Mark is a regular dealer at every show in the country. Mark is the only dealer I know that attends more shows than I do. It sure is fun running into him all over the place.

I was a frequent visitor to the concession stand where I dined on fresh baked cookies and some hot dogs. I remembered that the sloppy Joe is Manwich and avoided it this time around. There seemed to be way more card dealers at this show than the one held in February. Overall, I had a pretty good show.

Afterwards, Mark and I went over to the Top-Notch Restaurant, which is one of those great Greek diners with a huge menu. We both had T-bone steaks which were awesome. With a full belly, I bid Mark Adieu, and drove to the Stephens Center in Rosemont, Illinois, for the seemingly spur of the moment and small Fanatics show. Rosemont is on my way home from Highland. I parked at the CTA lot for five bucks. I then paid the $10 admission fee. The show was held in a small room next to the Starbucks in the lobby. Most of the stars from the Cubs were there signing autographs. It seemed like a mini-Cubs fest (see picture below). I was the only one wearing a White Sox cap. 
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I was really surprised at just how small the show was. I think there were only four rows and the dealers was jammed packed, they had practically no space behind their tables. I spotted five or six vintage dealers including Mike & Dennis, Wayne, and JD, amongst the group. There were only two or three new card dealers. There were three or four supply guys. Two wax dealers, including Les and Marc, with large displays. The rest of the dealers were selling memorabilia and autographs. 

I ran into Willie and Larry there. Seems like I was not the only one doing the Highland-Rosemont gauntlet. Honestly, I thought the Highland show was the better of the two. I was able to find quite a bit to buy in Highland. I saw nothing I wanted to buy in Rosemont. Most of all, I was struck with the small space of the Rosemont show. I have never been to such a small show in Rosemont. Even the old Skyline shows were bigger than this one. It also seemed like all the customers were there for the autographs. I don't think the card dealers did very well. I spent only 40 minutes or so at the Rosemont show then went home and prepared for the Gonzaga show set for the following day.
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Sunday, May 15, 2016, Gonzaga Hall, Milwaukee 
A real nice crowd as usual at Gonzaga. Pictured above are a couple of items from the Gonzaga live auction. I had a bunch of pre-War cards priced new for this show. Ray picked up one of my T201 Mecca Double Folders. Thanks Ray! Quite a few guys dug into my binders. A new customer pulled out a nice pile of 1975 Topps baseball.

I got a little ticked off at a guy who was selling vintage Packers. He was at the last show and I bought a few but felt he was priced too high. This time around, he stood behind a customer at my table who was flipping through one of MY football binders, then tapped him on the shoulder and told him he is selling football cards. It is one thing to show some cards to a dealer but to pull a paying customer away from a dealer table is a serious crime. I paid for the right to place my binders on that table and sell cards to customers. This guy needs to purchase his own table and avoid pulling paying customers away from my table. I had to walk away, I really wanted to punch that guy. Later on, when the crowd died down, he came back and tried to sell me cards. I coldly told him that I saw his cards last month. If he shows up at the next show, I'm sending him on his way with a few choice words.

Then I had another situation involving a random showgoer trying to sell me some cards. I made a rookie mistake when I purchased what I thought were a legit 1956 Mantle, 1956 Clemente and a 1958 Maris. I noticed that the cards looked off but I thought it was just some age wear. Andy from Orlando saved my tail. Andy told me right away I made a mistake. So I matched up the cards with some 1956s and some 1958s from my display case. Andy was right, the cards were fake. The ink on the back did not look right. There was also a light film on the cards and they did not feel right. The biggy, which Andy pointed out, was that each card had the same exact wear on the surface and corners. Someone tampered with the cards to make them look old.

Luckily, the seller was still in the room and I asked for my money back. I told him the cards were fake. He hesitated and wanted Mark Smith's advice. Mark said he thought the cards looked suspicious. The seller gave me my money back but was not happy. He stared me down for a while. I ignored him. 

I was blinded by the good price on some high-end cards. Like I said, I made a rookie mistake and need to be more careful when purchasing cards. I owe Andy big time. Thanks Andy!

I did end up purchasing some legit cards of the 1964 Topps variety. I also traded a bunch of stuff with Andy. 

Overall, sales were down from last month. The next Gonzaga show is approaching soon. I have been pricing a lot of stuff and should have a large amount of new material at the next one.
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Friday through Sunday, May 20-22, Robert Morris University, Pittsburgh, PA 
I have known about the Pittsburgh show for years, pictured above, and always wanted to attend. I finally got my act together to make this show. Though, attending a three-day show, eight hours away, would have some overhead. To keep costs down, I invited my friend Dave McDonald to join me at the show. Dave has been looking for big shows to add to his regular Fanatics show and the National. We purchased two tables, rented a car, and reserved a room at a Motel 6. I took Thursday, May 19, off of work and we hit the road for Pittsburgh around noon. 

It was a beautiful day and we had an easy ride. My GPS brought us to the Motel 6 in Coraopolis, PA. This is one of the nicest Motel 6's I have ever stayed at... and I have stayed at quite a few, some that were positively disgusting. Not this one, score!

This was my first time in the Pittsburgh area and I must say that it is absolutely beautiful with lush rolling hills, tall trees, random old towns along with lots of open space. The show was only a mile or so away from our hotel. We stopped off at Bob Evans each morning for breakfast. Robert Morris University has a real nice campus though very hilly. The show was located in the basketball arena. We could not figure out where to load in. Turned out that load in was at a tiny garage on the top of a tiny driveway. 

A few groups of students were loading in vendors for tips which made load in very easy. Though, we were concerned about loading out on Sunday because the load area was much too small to accomodate several hundred vendors. We discussed our escape all weekend long and determined that the best way out was through a side door, down a ramp, and into the parking lot... but I am getting ahead of myself.

We were set up and ready to go around 10 a.m. on Friday. The folks from Main Line Autographs, the promoters of the show, were very nice and provided free coffee and doughnuts to vendors each morning. I saw some familiar faces such as Wayne, JD, Mark and Greg. There were also some dealers I recognized from the Fanatics show and the Moeller show. Then there were a bunch of dealers I had not seen before and enjoyed perusing their setups.
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Dave had some early dealer action. He has high-grade post-War vintage that makes folks stop in their tracks. I often wonder that if I had a beautiful bikini model at my table, would customers stop to look at her while right next to me on Dave's table are stacks of perfectly centered 1953 Topps with razor sharp corners and edges? I really needed a bikini model this weekend because my set up was not generating any interest. For this show, I decided to put out four display cases, seven binders, a stack of publications and two 50-cent boxes.

With little action, I decided to go for a drive and grab some lunch around noon. Dave stayed behind because he had customers. I headed north on University Boulevard, drove along the Ohio River, then found a small town aged to perfection. I stopped off at a burger shack and ordered a couple of burgers. I sat down on a picnic bunch and enjoyed the scenery while I waited for my burgers. The burgers were made from scratch and took awhile. A creepy toothless guy showed up and was talking loudly on his cell phone and was uncomfortably demonstrative. I overheard him say his life was shit since he left prison. I sprung up and waited in front of the take-out window for my food. I grabbed my burgers and left the creepy guy talking to his parole officer.

I got a little lost heading back and found myself crossing the Ohio River. I eventually found Robert Morris University. Dave was a little concerned because I was gone for awhile. I dug into my burger and thought my burger was tasty. Dave did no care for his.

The show officially opened at 3 p.m. Our tables were located in the back of the gym, so it took customers till 4 p.m. to find us. I sold a few publications, a 1959 Topps Ernie Banks, some cards out of my 50-cent boxes. Kind of disappointing sales. Dave, on the other hand, had one of his best days ever. I'm thinking next time I set up with Dave, I need that bikini model. Maybe I need to replace Dave with a dealer who sells nothing but 1989 Topps.

While Dave made lots of sales, I decided to walk the room and shop a bit. I found two dealers with excellent inventories and really nice prices. I bought some cards!

After the show, we hooked up with a bunch of dealers and dined at Buford's, located across the street from RMU. Buford's is a Louisiana-styled place. I ordered a fried shrimp po' boy which was delicious. I also drank a few pints of Fat Tire Ale that were tasty. It is always fun trading war stories with dealers. We had a good time.

Dave, who doesn't drink, drove us back to the hotel. We watched some old movies on the Turner Classic Movie channel and passed out. We were back at the show by 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.  There was a much bigger crowd on Saturday.  The autograph line was steady all weekend long. Our tables were near the signers. I enjoyed seeing Gene Garber, pictured below, Gene Clines, also pictured below, Ron Hansen, Bob Shaw, Jerome Bettis and Tony Dorsett. All the athletes were friendly and interacting with fans.
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I had steady sales all day but did not get any big hitters. While my sales were better than Friday, they were still below expectations. After the show on Saturday, Dave and I decided to take a drive into Downtown Pittsburgh. One of the dealers located behind Mark, gave us excellent directions. Heading into Pittsburgh proper from the north takes drivers through a long tunnel where the city just pops out at you once you exit the tunnel. Wow, what a beautiful city. PNC Park (home of the Pirates) and Heinz Field (home of the Steelers) were in view across one of the rivers to our left. We drove around Downtown for a while and noted that it was very clean. We saw some interesting looking restaurants but could not find a place to park for under $20 and decided to eat elsewhere.

We hopped on Route 51 heading north and drove through some very old neighborhoods. I really enjoyed the Victorian and Gothic architecture. At one point, we found ourselves at the bridge over the Ohio River that I crossed while lost on Friday. This time, I knew where I was and directed Dave back to RMU. We stopped for dinner at Primanti Bros. Restaurant and saw the dealer gang at a table near the bar. Their table was filled with carnage from dinner, like remnants of nachos, burgers and sandwiches. They were drinking some extremely tall glasses of beer. There was no room for us so we got our own table. Dave ordered a burger while I ordered a meatball sandwich, pictured below, and a Sam Adams Summer Ale. Oh my, that meatball sandwich was awesome. After dinner, we sat with Mark and Greg, had a beer then called it a night. 

Sunday was slow going, though I made a little more money than Friday. Overall, my sales were disappointing but damn if I didn't have a good time. I slowly started to pack up around 11 a.m. I took my last load to the car around 2 p.m. and Mark honked at me as he drove off back to Michigan. Dave and I hit the road around 2:30 p.m. We made it to Dave's house around 10:30 p.m. I was home around 11 p.m.

I am not 100% sure I want to give Pittsburgh another try. With expenses, I about broke even. That is a lot of work to break even. Though, I have a little insight into the show and think I could change things up a bit and drum up some more sales next time around. I probably will give it another try next year.

In the meantime, I have already been pricing cards for my show set for Saturday, May 28, 2016, at the Clarion, 5311 S. Howell, in Milwaukee. I have landed two new dealers -- Pat from Joliet, Illinois, and Chad from Indiana. I am looking forward to seeing these guys along with all the regulars and Saturday. It will be nice to be back at my show. As Dorothy said, there's no place like home!

Pictured below my meatball sandwich, are few more photos from the Pittsburgh show. Click on them to enlarge.
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1 Comment

April Card Show Round Up

5/6/2016

0 Comments

 
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Sunday, April 10, 2016 -- Gonzaga Hall, Milwaukee, WI

This was my best Gonzaga show of the year. We had a real nice crowd and sales came early and often. Not a whole lot came my way to purchase. A guy came in with a binder filled with Packers from the 1950s. His prices were real high. I purchased a few 1952 Bowman small.
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​Saturday, April 16, 2016 -- Clarion Hotel, Milwaukee, WI

This was my 19th show at the Clarion. A few weeks before the show, I received a call from Mike, who works with quite a few professional athletes on the autograph circuit. He asked if I wanted former Packer Gilbert Brown to stop in for a quick autograph session in the morning. I couldn't say "yes" fast enough. Gilbert came in shortly after 9 a.m. and could not have been more gracious and kind. He signed some autographs, chatted with dealers and customers and even bought a few items from dealers. Thank you Gilbert Brown!

We had a full house of dealers, including four new ones. I picked up a few magazines from Robin, a long-time collector and first-time dealer. I think Robin had a good time and I am hopeful he'll set up again. Dave, another new dealer at the show told me he used to have a card shop in the 1990s. He is a recently retired school teacher. Like Robin, Dave had some cool stuff on his table. I purchased two empty wax boxes, one from 1974 and the other from 1975. I've always thought vintage wax boxes were cool. These are the first vintage wax boxes I have owned. Another new dealer Alex, sold me some cards from the 1970s. Matt and his dad were also new dealers and had a nice display of autographs. I really appreciate all the new dealers for setting up. Thanks guys!

Attendance was slightly down. I think we lost some folks to a beautiful April day. My sales, however, were once again excellent. ​I sold my 1958 Topps Mickey Mantle to Tim. Thanks Tim! One customer, Chris, came down from Green Bay after reading about the show on the Net54 pre-war collectors website. Chris has an impressive pre-war collection including a near set of T206s. He brought along his doubles to sell. I purchased a few T205s and T201s. Some other dealers purchased some T206s. Thanks Chris!!

My next Clarion show is set for Saturday, May 28, 2016. I can't wait to see what walks through the door at that one!!

Sunday, April 17, 2016 -- Indian Lakes Resort, Bloomingdale, IL

Again, Mother Nature gave us a beautiful day. Those that attended found some pretty good cards. Scott from Dekalb was set up. I purchased some football cards from Scott, including a 1972 Jim Plunkett rookie. I had a customer purchase quite a few cards from my binders then he went to look at some other tables, then he came back. He pulled out a 1979 Topps Carl Yazstremski. I had the card marked at 1 00. The customer thought I had the card priced at $100. I think he was willing to pay upwards near $100. It was a little awkward when I told him the card only costs $1. He made the purchase. 

Another customer approached and was a little irate, stating I "got him" last month when he sold me some low-grade Goudeys. I took offense. I don't "get" anyone. I could have charged the Yaz customer $100 for a $1 card but I'm not out to "get" anyone. I really can't believe that guy accused me of cheating him. I have NEVER cheated anyone. NEVER "got" anyone and will never "get" anyone. I buy and sell vintage sports cards because I really enjoy it. I go out of my way to be fair with everyone. I don't make much money doing this, I do this for fun. To accuse me of cheating, taking advantage, really pisses me off. 

I have a simple formula for purchasing cards. I look the cards over, consider condition, book value, what I've sold the cards for in the past and figure out my sticker price. I then make an offer below my sticker price so I can make some sort of profit on the card. I freely admit that I sell cards to make a profit. Though, I don't need a big profit, just as long as I can sell the card above my purchase price. Having viewed eBay, auction houses, and card show prices on a regular basis, I know what amount of money customers are willing to pay for cards. As a result, I purchase cards just below the price customers are willing to pay. So for that customer to state that I "got" him is a real slap in the face.

In addition, I make a concerted effort to purchase cards at a price in which the seller is comfortable and happy. In fact, I always ask the seller for a price first because I want to know that they are comfortable an obtain their price. Often there is some negotiation and I'll try to make it work. I know I asked the "got" guy for a price and he told me a number so I can't understand how he can come back and say I "got" him. 

When I purchased the cards, the "got" guy gave me a price, I figured out my sticker price and made an offer below my sticker price. The problem here is that this seller only sells cards to me. He does not sell on eBay. He does not set up at shows. He looks at the high book price and thinks that his cards should sell near the high price. I try to explain that cards with worn corners, edge and surface wear, creasing, do not sell at high book price. Only cards in pristine condition sell at high book price. NONE of his cards were pristine. Most were in the Fair Condition range. One was VG. I will sell these cards cheap, thus, I need to purchase them cheap. I can't pay more for a card than the amount I know I can sell them for. This is a very difficult point to get across to some people. I am not going to sell cards at a loss. So I won't buy cards at a price I know will result in a loss for me. I don't view this procedure at "getting" anyone. Seems like a standard business practice to me. If I sold my cards for less than I paid for him, my career as a dealer would have ended long ago.

He didn't ask but I am willing to give the "got" guy a complete refund on the cards. If he is reading this, all he has to do is show up and ask, return my cash and I'll return the cards. I need those cards like I need a hole in the head. Which brings me to another point. I don't need ANY cards. I purchase them because I enjoy them. When I make an offer on a card, the seller can say "no." I won't be offended. In reality, there are more sellers than buyers. I can always buy cards. There is no shortage on sellers. Regular readers know that I buy cards most every weekend. I prefer buying them from folks who are happy to transact with me... those that want high book price need to stay away. Do I really have to apologize for making some sort of profit? 

Sunday, April 24, 2016 -- Hyatt Place Hotel, Hoffman Estates, IL

A much better day at the Hyatt. Nobody accused me of "getting" them.  More importantly, the Hyatt has free breakfast and free coffee. I sold a few cards but did not buy anything. I had a real nice day. There is always a great group of people at this show. I was happy that we lured in some customers through our Facebook page. No issues with customers to report, thankfully!
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​Saturday, April 30 to Sunday, May 1, 2016 -- Valley West Mall, Bloomington, MN

I had originally tried to book the Moeller show in Cincinnati for this weekend but tables were sold out when I called in early March. I learned it is harder to get tables for the April show than the Thanksgiving show. 

My disappointment at not being able to attend Moeller quickly turned to joy when I learned tables were available at the Valley West show in Minnesota. This show is run by the Twin Cities Sports Collectors Club (TCSCC). I have being trying to get a table at this show for years. I finally got in!

I convinced my daughter to attend the show with me by promising a visit to the Mall of America. I worked Friday morning then hit the road after lunch. The drive up to the Minneapolis area was easy. We made it to our hotel around 8 p.m. then drove around looking for something to eat. We ended up at an African restaurant. It was a little creepy because there were some sketchy-looking customers. I'm a city kid so I can sniff out trouble. We ordered some funky chicken and beef dishes, got the food to go and raced to the car. I kept the eyes in back of my head open. I saw one guy come out after us and follow us to the car. I pulled away quickly. No issues. The food turned out being pretty good. 

We were up early Saturday for the show. I plugged the address into my trusty GPS and we arrived at Valley West in 15 minutes. Valley West is a strip mall. There is an alcove that separates the stores from the street. So you have to go through two doors to get into any of the stores. The card show was held in the alcove which is kind of a tight squeeze. One wall was lined with dealers. There were dozens of dealers. I was placed inside an empty storefront with three other dealers and had much more space than the folks set up in the alcove. This was also the staging area for autographs (Bud Grant and Ron Yary), a live auction and a club pizza party.

I met TCSCC president Dave Bonde who was warm and welcoming. In fact, everyone I met all weekend long was extremely pleasant. I had picked up some Brewers and White Sox pocket schedules for Dave, who collects them. I like skeds as well and Dave gave me some Twins skeds.

I had a steady flow of customers most of the day. A father and son team made my day by purchasing quite a few early Bowman baseball cards. My 25-cent box got a big work out. One guy sat down in front of it and spent a few hours going through the box. I sold a bunch of football cards. I was surprised I did not sell any hockey cards. Of course there were the obligatory Twins collectors who pulled Twins cards. You get these team-centric guys in every city. 

The other dealers I met were super nice. One dealer used to set up at the old Chicagoland Sports Collectors Association shows at the Hillside Holiday Inn during the 1970s and 1980s. He had some signed programs from those shows that I thought were pretty cool. He also gave me a nice deal on some Goudeys and Diamond Stars.
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A big crowd showed up for Bud Grant and Ron Yary (See picture above with all the Vikings jerseys). Lines started forming hours before the signings. Ron Yary is a big guy. I'm guessing he is around 70 years old. He still looks like he can knock you to the ground.

The autograph session went from noon to 2 p.m. then a live auction took place. The only live auction I am familiar with is the one at Gonzaga in Milwaukee. At Gonzaga, the auctioneers hold up an item and take bids from anyone. Bidders at the TCSCC auction had get a bidding number then hold up a number card when they wanted to place a bid. There was a staging area behind the auction where club members had lined up grocery bags next to a number. When someone won an item, it was placed in their grocery bag. Bidders settled up after the auction, unlike Gonzaga, where you pay as soon as you win an item. It was interesting to watch.

My sales came to a halt once the auction started. Dave invited Tabitha and I to the club pizza party, which was much appreciated. We chose to close up early and head to the Mall of America, pictured below.

​The Mall of America was just a few minutes away from the card show. Oh my, the place was jammed. It took us a few minutes to find a parking spot. Once inside the mall, it was apparent that we were in the Grand Canyon of shopping malls. The Mall of America is four or five stories tall. There is an amusement park in the center of the mall and an aquarium on the lower, underground, level of the mall. The aquarium costs $25 per person. We decided to skip it and I took my daughter shopping. She found some things to her liking. We then went to the Lego store to get a gift for her brother. Then it was up to the third floor which houses the world's largest food court. Did I say food court, I think I should say nirvana. I did not want to leave. They were all there. Hooters, Chipotle, those funky little places that sell "bourbon chicken." So many choices and so little time!! We ended up getting pad thai. My daughter loves Thai food. I couldn't function after the huge potion of pad thai. We went back to the hotel and passed out. 
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We slept in a little on Sunday because the show did not start until 10 a.m. We got breakfast at Denny's which has a better breakfast than I remember. Back at the show, Dave had put out two boxes of some amazing-looking doughnuts. I was a good diabetic and did not eat any but I certainly looked at them and dreamed.

I observed that a few dealers did not return for Sunday. Traffic was way down. I sold a few things and had a lot of time to walk around. There were several vintage dealers with tremendous inventories. I purchased a 1915 Cracker Jack J.C. Delahanty from one dealer.

We were out the door by 1 p.m. It was a beautiful day and we had a nice drive until we got to the Wisconsin Dells area where traffic came to a halt. I got off the highway and tried to find some back roads heading south. I ended up sitting in traffic on the backroads. Wherever we went traffic was at a stand still. It took nearly four hours to get to Madison. Under normal circumstances it is probably a 45-minute drive. We stopped off for food in Madison then continued on our way home. We did not get home until after Midnight.

The next day, I learned there had been a shooting on the highway in the Dells right about the time we arrived. Some psycho, who killed someone earlier in the day in West Allis (right by the Gonzaga show), randomly shot into a van containing a family on their way home from the Dells. The mother was killed. The police were able to shoot and apprehend the scumbag. Apparently, Tabitha and I arrived at the scene shortly after it happened. Scary!

On a happier note, next up is Mother's Day. I plan on setting up at the Wilmot Flea Market on May 8. Please note that the flea market moved from the Wilmot Mountain Ski Resort to the Kenosha County Fairgrounds. I am looking forward to setting up at the flea market this weekend and all summer long. As always, I don't bring out my regular inventory to the flea market. So if you are planning to attend and want to see something in particular, let me know. See you Sunday!!
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    Tony Gordon

    Vintage Sports Cards Addict

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