Sunday, May 23, 2021, Orland Park Civic Center, Orland Park, IL

The old saying lightning cannot strike the same spot twice is apropos for this past Sunday's Orland show. After having my best show ever at the April Orland show, I was back to my pre-pandemic average Orland show. I can't help but be disappointed.

The show was jam-packed but it seemed like it was a modern-card crowd. I had brought out just about all of my binders but the legions of set-builders were noticeably absent. Though, I did have a few nice sales and appreciate Will, Chuck, Rich, Derek, Andy, and the others guys, whose names escape me, and who bought cards. There were several new customers as well.

Once again, I brought out one display case. I thought it would be fun to fill the case with vintage White Sox. I recently purchased a White Sox collection and spent weeks pricing the cards. Unfortunately, the White Sox case did not do as well as I had planned. I only sold a handful of cards out of the display case

So it is back to the drawing board as I prepare for the June 27th Orland show. I did not sell much football, so I am not going to bring those binders out next month. I also did not sell a single card out of my dime box -- which has never happened before. So, no dime box in June.

I had a lot of requests for star cards, mostly stars from the 1970's, so I will definitely bring out my 1970's stars on June 27th. Maybe I'll bring 1970's football stars as well. There was one guy at the show looking for some Bears from the 1970's. He said he works for the Bears but I did not believe him. I am probably jaded from my real job and really don't believe anything anybody says without seeing some evidence to back it up.

I also had a lot of requests for baseball inserts and oddballs. I have been working on a new insert/oddball binder and will hustle to get it done for the June show.

I keep forgetting to bring some cards that a long-time customer has requested repeatedly. I just have a terrible memory. I really need you guys to text, email or message me before the show with a reminder.  

On the buying front, I went hog wild. I have not seen Jim since February of 2020 and he had all sorts of stuff for me. Thanks Jim! I purchased some old White Sox scorecards from Pat Quinn. I bought a bunch of stuff from Junior, as usual. Terry had some cards for me. I also bought some stuff from Tom and Walt. Thanks guys! I really need to stop buying cards. I don't need any more cards and am running out of room to store them. This addiction is a terrible thing!

Late in the show, three young guys came by with two large binders filled with 1956 Topps baseball and 1955 Bowman baseball. I took a good look at the '56 Topps. Unfortunately, most of the cards had water damage. I really couldn't offer much for cards in that kind of condition. Maybe we can make a deal down the road.

Even though I was disappointed with my sales, I was pretty happy with my purchases and ended up having a really good time. After the show, me, Will, Joe and Derek went to the sub shop. I love hanging out with these guys.

Next up is a double-bill weekend with my Salvation Army Show on Saturday, June 5, and the Wisconsin Sports Collectors Show on Sunday, June 6. I am leaning towards spending the entire weekend in Milwaukee, seems silly to drive all the way home on Saturday then back up on Sunday. The only reason I may head home on Saturday is that I would like to bring out an entirely different inventory for the show Sunday. I am bringing out my baseball binders on Saturday and am thinking of bringing the football, basketball, and hockey binders on Sunday along with three or four display cases. Though, if I spend the night, the easiest thing might be just to bring display cases both days. I need to figure this one out.

I am getting a lot of phone calls, texts, and messages about the Salvation Army show which is a sign that it is going to be a very good show. Once again, there will be 100 tables. My waiting list for dealer tables is heading back into the stratosphere. Please be patient with me, I will eventually return all these calls, texts and messages.

I really enjoyed seeing everybody on Sunday in Orland. It is nice that things are getting back to normal. I am fully vaccinated and did not wear a mask on Sunday. I need to check with the Sal to see if we still need masks. It will probably be very difficult to enforce. Anyway, it is nice to start putting this pandemic in the rearview mirror. Below are some photos from the show.

It is never a good sign when when there are a bunch of people in front of your tables and they are all looking the other way!

I may have had a slow day selling cards but I had an excellent day buying cards. These are just some of my purchases from the May Orland show. 

When I first started to attend card shows in the late 1970's, the shows were always held in hotels. As the hobby began to boom in the 1980's, card show locations expanded to include shopping malls, VFW Posts, schools, convention centers, banquet halls, flea markets, bowling alleys, community centers, colleges, churches, synagogues, taverns... just about any place where a dozen or so tables could be set up and people could roam.

I have set up at them all. My favorite locations have always been old schools. There is just something so right about a show at an old-time school. Maybe it is because of my affection for vintage cards that I like to be at a show in a vintage school, or maybe it is because I am old school (see what I did there?).

My all-time favorite show and my all-time favorite location has been the Wisconsin Sports Collectors Association's show at Gonzaga Hall, located in the basement of an old Catholic school.

Gonzaga Hall felt like my grandmother's basement. I think grandma had the same tile, walls and windows in her basement. I loved being in grandma's basement. She was a hoarder and there was lots to explore down there. Gonzaga, like grandma's basement, always had a lot to explore. It felt like home.

I loved how the sound system for the auction never seemed to work. I loved how the hall was hot in both summer and winter. Then there was poor Keith always struggling to try and get the air conditioning to work. I never minded the heat because it was part of the the atmosphere. 

Then there is the concession stand with the smallish window leading into a large kitchen with huge sinks. That kitchen reminded me of the one I had to clean at my first job in 1979 as a janitor at a day camp.

I must mention the bathrooms with the urinals that go down to the floor and the air dryers that never really dry anything.

Put Gonzaga Hall together with the Wisconsin Sports Collectors Association, a non-profit group that began in 1975, and you have a match made in heaven. I love the fact that original members of the WSCA still set up and visit the show. I was lucky enough to meet and to get to know some of the founders like Leroy Kilps and Mike Rodell, who were such great characters and gone way too soon.

These guys, and now Leroy's son Keith, have made the Gonzaga Hall show feel like a family event. Keith treats me so well. His mom used to bake the most wonderful cake and sell slices at the concession stand. I miss her too. Another gone too soon.

The guys who run the auction do a tremendous job and nobody gets paid. The purpose of the WSCA show is to raise money for charity. These good folks have been doing good deeds for a long, long time.

While the WSCA is in good hands with Keith, turns out the last Gonzaga Hall show was the one held in February of 2020, as the WSCA show shut down in March of 2020 because of the pandemic and is finally reopening on May 23, 2021, at Buenavista Banquets & Restaurant, 7507 W. Oklahoma Ave., Milwaukee. The church that owns Gonzaga Hall sold the building.

Man, am I going to miss Gonzaga Hall! I have so many good memories and have had so many good times and so many good shows at Gonzaga Hall. I first learned about the Gonzaga Hall show about 20-something years ago while setting up at some Chicago area shows. People were always talking about it, so I decided to give it a shot, having never been there and with no idea on how to even get there.

I found Leroy's phone number in Beckett, called and booked a table. I wanted two but he only had one available. I don't remember if I used Mapquest or a GPS to get to that first show. Being from Illinois, I don't know my way around Milwaukee, even though I have been regularly going to Milwaukee my whole life. My folks always took me to the Zoo and Brewers games growing up. In high school, I could drink legally in Wisconsin while I was underage in Illinois. I ended up driving to Milwaukee every weekend during my senior year of high school. I have a long history of having good times in Milwaukee.

That first table at my very first Gonzaga show some 20 years ago was located in the back, near the men's restroom. You would have thought I had the plague or something that day. Practically nobody came to my table while the room was jam packed with customers. I think I brought out one display case and some of my baseball binders for that first show. I did not have a whole lot of space, just one six-foot table. I remember feeling handicapped with such a small amount of space.

Just three people stopped at my table during my first Gonzaga show 20 years ago. PJ was the first one. He made some offers on some of my cards that I turned down. I was setting up every weekend in the Chicago area at the time and did not want to dump my inventory. PJ and I have since become friends and we set up together at the National.

Then came Mark Skladowski (I'm probably misspelling your name, Mark, sorry!) showed up as my very first customer. Mark treated me like an old friend on that very first day and has done so ever since. Thank you Mark!

Then came Jim Ziegert who also treated me like an old friend on that first day. The thing I love about Jim is that he always looks out for me. Over the next few shows, Jim hooked me up with all sorts of people selling cards. I owe Jim for life for all the great deals he set me up with over the years.

I might not have made many sales at that first show but I made life-long friends in Mark, Jim and PJ.

I never had the same table location at the first several Gonzaga shows I attended. Leroy would give me spot when a regular dealer could not make it. There were many times where I could not get a table at all because none of the regular dealers cancelled. I thought Leroy was joking when he told me I couldn't get a table until someone died. I learned he wasn't joking when he had no table for me during the next four shows. 

I was about to give up when Leroy called and said he had a permanent spot for me. Then my sales really picked up. Folks got to know me and I had quite a few regulars before long. At the same time, I was also setting up in Orland Park and the Fred Copp shows in Illinois. Gonzaga soon became my best show for both buying and selling.

With Jim, Mike Rodell and Keith regularly sending sellers my way, I took home a huge haul after each Gonzaga show. I started to find cards for Mike. If you remember, Mike used to sell Brewers team sets. He always needed 1972 high number Brewers. I would pick them up at the other shows and sell them to Mike for about what I paid for them. Mike was appreciative and sent many vintage customers my way.

Then there was this one time Mike wanted me to pull out all of my Ken Aspromonte cards. Mike was close friends with all the old Milwaukee Braves players and his buddy Ken had just lost all of his cards in a fire. I regret not digging up the cards for Mike. At the time, I knew it would take me a while to find all of the cards and I was pressed for time pricing my new inventory for the shows between setting up every weekend, working all week and keeping my wife and kids happy. I am actually the worst when people want me to dig out cards for them, I just never seem to have the time to get it done. I should have done that for Mike and I feel bad about it to this day. 

Then there is Keith, an absolute superstar. No show promoter has taken better care of me than Keith.  First off, Keith let me move from my one table in the back of the room to four tables by the front door.  I have been in that location for years now and it has been so great to have all that space and to be one of the first dealers customers see when they come in the door.

Keith also has sent so many sellers over to me over the years that I am forever in his debt. A couple of note include the lady who was rehabbing her kitchen and found 40 or 50 1955 Bowman baseball card wrappers in the wall. I think I sold most of those wrappers as soon as I got them to Mark Skladowski. Then there was the lady who inherited complete sets from her father of 1933, 1934 and 1938 Goudey. I drove out to Madison to see the cards -- one of the best card experiences of my life. I had so much fun going through those cards. The lady, Erica, was very patient with me. I think she got bored after a while and left me alone with those cards as I spent hours marveling at the Ruths, Gehrigs and Dimaggios.

I did not have the money to purchase the cards myself but offered to help Erica sell them. I contacted one of the large auction houses on her behalf and set up a meeting between Erica and a rep from the auction house. The auction house had some of the cards graded and placed the sets individually up for auction. Erica took home a nice sum of money. After the auction, Erica offered to pay me for setting her up with the auction house. I declined because the auction house paid me a finder's fee and I just had so much fun handling the cards. Plus, Erica is a super nice person and I am still in contact with her. 

I have made so many friends at the Gonzaga show, too many to mention. I am so disappointed that we cannot have another show there. I am sure the new location will be great but nothing can replace Gonzaga Hall. I am going to miss that place terribly.

I can't make the first show at the new location because I already committed to the Orland Park show but I should be at all of the rest of them this year. I do look forward to this new chapter of the WSCA show and am glad to be a part of it. I am also looking forward to shoveling tacos and burritos down my gullet at each show. I absolutely love Mexican food and plan to gain a few pounds from the new location.

In the meantime, I would love to hear your memories of the Gonzaga show. I know there were many great finds at the show. Please use the comment section below. Let's take a walk down memory lane.  

Now for some pictures....

First photo up top is my tables at the November 2011 show.

Pictured above is my regular view of the auction from my table. This photo is from November 2011.

Pictured above are the guys who were set up behind me in December of 2011.

Pictured above is the live auction from January of 2012.

Pictured here is my son Kolby at the January 2012 show. That picture brings a tear to my eye, Kolby is a man now. I miss that little boy!

Pictured here is the crowd at my tables at the January 2012 show.

Here is the auction at the October 2012 show.

Pictured here is smiling Dave Horshack at the December 2012 show. I have been lucky enough to have Dave as my neighbor at the Gonzaga show for years.

Pictured here is the Cobb I purchased at the December 2012 show. I should have NEVER sold that card!!!

There I am with hair at the December 2012 Gonzaga show. Please post your memories of the Gonzaga show below!

Mike Rodell's table at the February 2011 show.

l was very busy at the February 2011 show. Pictured here is my good friend Jim Kaiser on the left, the guy next to him flew in from Phoenix for the show and purchased my 1952 Bowman Mickey Mantle. The guy, third from left, was a great customer and I forget his name but sadly he died quite a while ago. The guy at the end, wearing the blue coat, is Jeff who was at one time my best customer. I haven't seen Jeff in years. Come back Jeff!

These are my pals Jim and Scott Ziegert at the October 2012 show.

Saturday, May 1, 2021, Salvation Army Community Center, Oak Creek, WI

As my waiting list for dealer tables has grown, I have been looking for options to get more dealers into the show. I thought maybe I could do a second show at a larger venue but was unable to get any response from the venues I contacted. My guy at the Sal,  Mark, has been offering more space in the Salvation Army Community Center but the venue is out of tables and dealers would have to bring in their own tables. I saw a lot of problems with this option but after seeing the Game Room last month and having my waiting list top out at 70 people, I decided to give the new room a shot.

I was surprised at the number of people I contacted on the waiting list who did not bother to respond to me. It took much longer than I figured to line up the new dealers. Mark and I estimated we could fit 24 tables in the Game Room. I initially had 17 new dealers but there was one numbnut who would throw things off. When I contacted numbnut and told him he would have to bring his own table, he wanted to negotiate the table fee. Problem is, I had to pay full price for the room, thus, I had to charge full price for the table -- a measly 25 bucks. I am probably the only 100-table show in the country that charges just $25 for table space. If you can't pay $25 for space at a card show, you probably should not set up.

Initially, numbnut told me he could not set up at the May 1 show because he was going to set up at a flea market. Now, I know from experience, that flea markets do not provide you with tables and charge more than $25 for the space. So I was a little aggravated when he asked for a reduced table fee. I told him I was going to move on down my wait list and offer the space to someone else willing to pay the $25 and who won't be a hassle. He responded that he would pay the $25. Fine, I thought we were good.

Then he texts the morning before the show stating he can't make it because he has a doctor's appointment Saturday morning and he forgot about. Ugh! I contacted four more people from the waiting list, but none could do the show with such short notice. So I am pissed off at numbnut.

Luckily, it worked out because 23 tables in the Game Room proved to be awfully tight. I knew it was going to be a crazy morning in the Game Room with 16 dealers bringing in their own tables. As I predicted, some took too much space and others took too little space. One of my new dealers didn't bring a table. Prior to the show, I told him that he could only set up if he brought his own table. Ugh!

Luckily, the Sal put out more than the 73 tables I requested and I was able to put this new guy in the hallway. He sold all of his cards around 10 a.m., paid me and left. Then another dealer, who arrived way late, took the table in the hallway. I also screwed up in the gym and forgot to print a nameplate for a couple of long-time dealers. Luckily, they arrived early enough and we were able to switch things around and get them their regular spot in the gym. Sorry guys!

It was a crazy morning. I got there around 6:15 a.m. and saw that my guys at the Sal did a tremendous job setting up the rooms the day before. I just had to get those name plates out as soon as I could because the dealers were starting to arrive. Once again, no one pays attention to my official set up time of 8 a.m.

I placed myself in the Game Room so I could monitor the placement of the dealer tables as they arrived. However, I found myself running all over the building dealing with my goof ups and dealers who wanted to switch around so I could not keep track of the Game Room. One dealer in the Game Room took up way too much space and created a bottleneck in the room. Thankfully there was the numbnut who cancelled because there wasn't any space for him. I now know I can only fit 23 tables in the Game Room. Mark worked with several of the dealers to clear up the bottleneck. Afterwards, I thought the Game Room looked pretty cool. I loved having all those new dealers in there! 100 tables! My largest show to date!

Mark said we could even expand to another room. I still have a ton of people on the waiting list but I want to get that Game Room under control before I add another room where dealers have to bring in their own tables. This is becoming the labyrinth show with all these rooms. I just need some knights and dwarfs roaming around for full labyrinth effect.

So the Game Room is a fairly large room and I think it sucked out customers from the other rooms. Some dealers commented that they thought there were less customers than last month. I disagree, there is just a lot more space for the customers to roam. Look at that photo up top. Sure looks like a lot of customers came out to the show!

Business was brisk at my tables in the Game Room early on. I brought out one display case that I filled mostly with 1951 Bowman baseball. I also brought out all of my football, basketball and hockey binders. I know some regular customers were disappointed that I did not bring out the baseball binders but with just two tables, I have to rotate my inventory each month. Last month, quite a few guys were disappointed I did not bring out the football and basketball.

Mark S. was one of my early customers and he picked up a bunch of stuff including some 1965 Topps tall-boy football. Robin was there as well, filling in some basketball sets and 1978 Topps football. Robin sold me some cards as well. Thanks Robin. I actually had a bit of a buying frenzy early on. Todd was there with some football binders to sell. We negotiated a deal and I took the binders. Thanks for working with me Todd. Then Tom came by with two amazingly cool posters from the early 1950s that were essentially schedules for the White Sox and Cubs. I paid more than I would have liked but I have never seen these items before. Looks like they were posted on passenger trains. Normally, I buy for resale but these puppies are going up in the card bunker. To top out my buying was a new guy who had a variety of stuff including five or six Johnny Unitas cards and a 1960 Topps Duke Snider. He came by twice with cards to sell and I bought them all each time. I ended up with a nice haul and dropped a pretty penny in the first hour of the show!

I am so thankful for Craig and Doreen. Craig always buys a pile of cards from me and Doreen snags me a sloppy Joe sandwich. Nothing better than one of Ken's Sloppy Joe's for breakfast. Thank you Doreen!! I actually was able to get away from my table late in the show to snag a second sloppy Joe. I also took some home and dined happily on it all weekend. My wife is a big fan of the sloppy Joe as well. My kids are picky and missed out!

Some other regulars purchased cards like George and Kristy. We hope to get together soon and take in a White Sox game. I had a bunch more regulars purchase cards whose names escape me. Then I had a ton of new customers. One guy complained that I had my 1970 Len Dawson cards priced at 10 bucks a pop. Well, the cards are Minty, book at $20 and would probably go for $40-plus once graded. I just let the guy talk. I know my cards are priced reasonably. He did buy a few cards.

I had two autograph hounds that I had not seen before. One of them told me he was just a few cards away from completing an entire autographed set of 1958 Topps. Pretty cool I thought.

I chatted with quite a few folks at my table which is one of the aspects I love about the show. I sell vintage cards because I flat out love them. I love the history of sports and the history of collecting. I also love hearing stories. One guy was telling me about buying 1958 Topps at the store when he was a kid. He said he pulled so many Mantles that he got sick of them and threw most of them away. Wow!

My helpers Jason and Rachel arrived at 11 a.m. so I could get out there and collect table fees from the dealers. I started my rounds with Harry by the front door in the gym. When I got there, I observed a guy at the corner of the stage with boxes of cards spread out and selling them. I kind of felt that he should pay me a table fee! I asked Harry if he had a problem with the guy basically selling cards right in front of his table. Harry seemed to be okay with it and didn't want me to tell the guy to move on. I still didn't like it and asked a few other nearby dealers what they thought about this guy setting up  on the corner of the stage and selling cards.

Jeremy didn't seem to mind and said the guy came to him first and offered him the cards, which is the right thing to do. I have no problem with folks offering cards to dealer but when they start selling to customers at the show, I feel they need to get on my waiting list for tables and wait to purchase a dealer table before selling cards at the show. It is not fair to me. I spend a great deal of time and money to bring these people to the show. It is also not fair to the dealers who pay me for the right to sell at the show. More and more, I think I need to hire someone, maybe a retired or off-duty police officer, to police the show.

Jeremy also commented that the guy selling cards, who was rather large, was rather stinky. I've noticed this for years, not just at my show, but all card shows. There seems to be some hygiene issues with a segment of the card show public. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for spending a day, sitting at home, watching TV, eating food, and not bathing or having a care in the world, but, when you are in public, I think it is a common courtesy that you bathe before leaving home and avoid stinking up the joint. 

Then Jeremy told me about another recent Sal show where someone either at his table or nearby had some gas issues. Jeremy learned of the gas when he took off his mask to take a drink and almost passed out when he inhaled a snout full of some heavy doody putrid magma. Jeremy said a customer at his table complained he could smell it through his mask. He also said that before the gas attack, his table was full of customers but when the putrid air encompassed the table, the folks viewing his cards fled for cleaner air. 

Attention all! Please do not fart in my show!! If you have some gas, take it outside! Nobody wants to deal with your farts!! Along those same lines, nobody wants to deal with your BO. Please bathe before attending the show!

Getting back to the guy set up on the edge of the stage, much later in the show, I saw that Jason's dad purchased all the cards. I warned Jason that the cards may be stinky.

As for the ongoing theft issue at the show, a dealer reported that he observed a kid, about 8 years old, shove a pack of cards into his coat pocket without paying. The dealer was kind of pissed off but figured he only lost about $4 and did not make a big deal about it. I think the dealer should have told the boy's parents what he witnessed.

As for the ongoing of issues of other show promoters preying upon my show, they were at it again. PJ asked if I was talking about him in last month's blog. No, I was not talking about PJ, who has been passing out flyers at my show for the past four years. I know PJ is going to pass out flyers at my show and I appreciate that he always offers to take some of my flyers and place them out at his shows -- which is the right thing to do. I handed my flyers to at least two show promoters who came up to me asking if I was going to attend their shows. You folks need to check in with me before you promote your show at my show. 

I have never walked around a show going table to table harassing people about my show. When I am set up at another show, I'll place some flyers on my table. I just don't think it is right to harass people at other shows with my flyers. This is another reason I need to start policing this show. I think the thing I am going to do is put out a table for other show promoters to place their flyers and forbid them from walking around. I hate when people try to take advantage of my good nature and my hard work.

Another thing that bugged me about these show promoters (not PJ), is that at the April show, I saw dealers with stacks of flyers for these other shows on their tables at MY show. Not cool! I sent a note to each dealer at my May show and asked them to come see me for flyers to place out at other shows where they set up. Only two guys bothered to see me -- Josh Brothers and Scotty P. I appreciate  you two guys, thank you!

Which leads me to another thing I want to talk about which is how to be a good dealer. Josh and Scotty are good dealers while many others are not. In my 40 years of setting up at shows, I've learned a thing or two. Every once in a while, I feel a need to share my experience with the general card dealer public. Especially, after the May show where I had so many new dealers.

Some dealers complained to me that their sales were not very good at the May show. On the other hand, most dealers reported excellent sales with one dealer running up to me to point out a guy who dropped $10,000 at his table. So this part of the blog is directed at those dealers who reported poor sales.

In those 40 years of setting up at shows and flea markets, I've rarely had poor sales because of the work I put in PRIOR to the show. You can't just put out your cards at a show and expect them all to sell. It takes work to sell cards and much of that work is done before the show.

(1) Market Yourself. You must get the word out about your inventory and where and when you are selling. Before the advent of social media, I used to make up small flyers that would list all the shows I was setting up at for the next several months. The flyers were great and helped me gain regular customers who would follow me around from show to show and buy cards from me at each show.

Now with social media and the internet, it is sooooo easy to market yourself. You are all sucked into my marketing right now by reading this blog. The main reason I write this blog regularly is to lure people to come see me at the show and buy some cards. It works! Every show, folks buy cards from me and discuss this blog. And not just at the Sal show. Folks from all over the country read this blog and when I set up in their town, they come out to see me and buy cards and discuss the blog.

Now you can't write just anything and expect folks to read the blog and visit you at shows. You must make it interesting. I have a journalism degree and am a former newspaper reporter and editor so I am able to incorporate the things I learned from my journalism career into this blog. Generally, I write a blog that I myself would like to read.

I also get customers from my social media posts. I post all over social media and get a tremendous response. Social media is the best! I don't know how the world functioned without it!!

It takes effort to do these things but if you want a regular cadre of customers, you must put in the work before the show.

(2) Inventory. All the marketing in the world won't do a thing if you have crappy inventory. One of my newer dealers at the show Saturday had nothing but late 1980's and early 1990's baseball out on his table. Well, this is about the worst inventory you could possibly have at a card show. Nobody wants this stuff! Everybody already has it... by the truckload. 

If you are not a collector of cards, it is going to be hard for you to be a dealer. I love vintage cards. I collect vintage cards, so I sell vintage cards. They sell well. They have always sold well, even back when I started out selling in the late 1970's.

That dealer who had the $10K sale at the show Saturday sells modern cards. He understands his cards and his customers. You must learn and know what is going to sell and what is not going to sell and bring out inventory that you KNOW will sell. If you do not collect, you are going to have to learn from trial and error and it may take awhile before you figure it out. 

(3) Pricing. If you have a good inventory and are still not selling any cards then you are priced too high. It is that simple. Lower your prices.

(4) Sourpuss. Don't be a sourpuss. Nobody wants to approach a table where the dealer looks stressed, upset, angry, or bored. Card shows are fun! Have some fun!!

(5) Don't Complain About Your Location In the Room. I prove it show after show, your location in the building means diddly poop. I purposely take the supposedly worst tables at the show. I had a pretty good show on Saturday in the Game Room. I didn't come near my record-breaking show in April but it was still one of my better Sal shows. I am not even at my tables most of the day and people are still buying cards from Jason and Rachel when I am not there. Why? Because I have properly marketed myself, I have excellent inventory, I am priced reasonably and Jason and Rachel are extremely pleasant people.

Several dealers complained that customers told them they were out of money. These dealers complained that since their tables weren't located in the first room, the gym, customers spent all their money before they arrived at these dealers' tables. 

Poppycock!

The statement "I don't have any more money" from a customer is code for "your prices are too high." If you lower your prices, you will no longer hear people say that they are out of money.

I know every dealer wants to be in the gym but, obviously, I cannot fit 100 tables in the gym. Frankly, it does not matter where you are in the building. My sales are pretty dang good and I am never in the gym. If your sales are bad in the gym, Fellowship Hall, the Game Room or the Hallway, YOU are the problem, not your location! Practice the above, and you will be amazed at how your sales increase.

End of sermon.

I had a great time at the show Saturday. It was great to see Eric S. and Rich who waited to get fully vaccinated before attending the show. I love seeing more and more regulars return to the show. Get vaccinated and get out to the show!

A big "Welcome Back" goes out to dealer Larry Larsen who returned to his rightful place behind a dealer table after more than a year out due to the pandemic.

Did you guys like the new room? I just loved the new room. It was so fun to be in a room of all new dealers. Set up across from me was a group of high school kids. I don't know if they made any money but they had a ball. They did some live breaks and cheered the breakers on. It was fun.

I love seeing that we get folks from all ages and all walks of life at this show. I am a big fan of people, ALL people, and I love to see everyone at the show getting along and having a good time. My show is the only show where I consistently see lots and lots of kids. I loved going to shows when I was a kid and find it so satisfying to see kids at my show.

One father contacted me prior to the show to see if there would be anything his young son could buy. I told him there would be plenty for him to buy and he would have fun. I saw quite a few 10-cent boxes out on dealers' tables on Saturday.

All in all, a great day. I sold a ton of cards. I bought a ton of cards. I ate sloppy Joe and talked about cards all day long. Thank you everybody for making this so much fun!

One final note on the show, someone left a bag of bobblesheads. Please contact me at [email protected].

                                                      Farewell Brian Mayne

As you know, I just love card shows. There was a time when I traveled the Midwest and would set up at a show or two every single weekend. One of the shows I regularly set up at was the Fort Wayne, Indiana, show run by Brian Mayne. Brian's show is monthly on a Saturday. Generally, all of the Indiana shows are on a Saturday.

Back in the day, I pretty much had to drive to Indiana if I wanted to set up on a Saturday because there were none in Wisconsin and very few in Illinois. I actually started my own show because I was tired of driving to Indiana or Ohio for a Saturday show.

Though, one of the Saturday shows I really enjoyed was the Fort Wayne show. I always meant to get back there but every time I thought about doing it, the drive was always a deterrent. When I was younger, I used to love to drive. In my old age, I hate driving and want to stick closer to home.

Man, I wish I made it to Fort Wayne one more time because my friend Brian Mayne just passed away from complications due to parkinson's disease. Brian was one of the best card show promoters in the country. He put on an excellent show and recently expanded to a larger venue and added a second show in Michigan.

One of the things I really liked about his shows was that a waitress from the hotel restaurant would walk around the room and take food orders from the dealers. As my regular readers know, I like to eat and I just loved having that waitress take my order and bring my food to my dealer table. Brian's show was the only one I ever set up at where a waitress would come around and take food orders.

Brian was a wax dealer and he was the first person I ever saw conduct a live break. It was always one of the high points of the show and drew customers in and created a lot of excitement in the room.

He also attracted a wide variety of dealers. There was always a nice mix of modern and vintage dealers at the show. I would often see my pal Mark Smith set up at this show and I made many other friends at the show.

Then there was the time I had to call Brian from the road to let him know I was going to be late because I got pulled over for speeding. I thought about driving back to Indiana to fight the ticket but ended up paying it off to save myself from wasting an entire day.

Brian was as friendly as can be. It was always a pleasure to chat with him. He almost lured me to moving to Indiana when he told me how cheap his property taxes are. Property taxes in Indiana are crazy cheap when compared to Illinois and Wisconsin. 

Then I learned so much from Brian on how to be a show promoter. He was the one that introduced me to promoting my show via social media. He explained to me how he created several card show pages and received a tremendous response and turn out from those pages. I copied him with my social media pages. If you like those pages, you have Brian Mayne to thank for them!

Even though, I haven't set up at his shows in years, he always checked in with me to see how I was doing. I am going to miss that and I am going to miss Brian Mayne. What a good guy and gone way too soon. RIP Brian.

Thankfully, Brian's brother Greg is going to continue on with the shows, so Brian's legacy will continue and his excellent shows will go on.

Next up for me is the Orland Park show on May 23. I had a great show in Orland last month and am looking forward to the May 23rd show. I'm thinking I am going to do a display case of 1950's White Sox cards and a second display case of White Sox memorabilia -- just to do something a little different. I am also going to bring out most of my binders. I have been feverishly working on my 1970 Topps baseball binder and hope to have that one done by May 23rd.

Again, thank you to every one who came at the Salvation Army Show on May 1. My next show at the Sal is June 5.

Hope to see you soon!
​Tony

Pictured below are some cards on dealer Nick K's table at the May 1 Salvation Army show.