Saturday, June 24, 2023, Lansing Mall, Lansing, MI

I was able to convince my son to travel to Lansing with me by promising a visit to East Lansing and the campus of Michigan State University where he will attend college this fall. I worked all day Friday, came home, ate dinner, loaded up the car and hit the road for Lansing around 7 p.m.

We lucked out because traffic was not bad at all, unlike last week when drove out this way to visit my dad for Father's Day and traffic was brutal. We thought about spending the night with my folks but their house in New Buffalo, Michigan, is still a good two hours away from Lansing. We made it to New Buffalo in an hour and a half and decided to keep driving to Lansing.

We stopped for Taco Bell around 10 p.m. then drove another hour until we hit Charlotte, Michigan, which is nearby Lansing. We spent the night at an America's Best Inn which was a little pricey for the quality. Though, we had an easy drive to the mall in the morning.

When I drove into the mall parking lot, I spotted dealers loading in and followed them inside. I went over to Avery's Shoebox Cards, an amazing card shop located in the mall. The shop is huge and has everything, both sports and non-sports, memorabilia and more. The owner Dennis is the promoter of this show. I asked the kind lady behind the counter to direct me to Dennis, and she happily complied.

It was nice to meet Dennis, who told me his all-time favorite baseball player is Christy Mathewson. Dennis directed me to my tables and when he saw my pre-War cards, he asked if I had a Matty. Unfortunately, I have never had a Matty but would love one! Dennis said he really wants a 1915 Cracker Jack Matty but apparently they are selling for around $30K. I have seen T205 low grade Matty's go for around $1,000.00. Hopefully, I can pick one of those up some time.

Anyway, load in was easy but set up was a little aggravating. I was pleased that I had two eight-foot tables that could fit the eight display cases I brought along. I initially was going to bring out binders but chose to do display cases because they are much lighter than the bins of binders. I had some minor surgery on the Wednesday prior to the show and my doctor advised me to avoid heavy lifting for the next week.

Anyway, when I finished loading up my very first case and had seven more still to load, customers started coming around and asking to see cards in the lone case. I had to shoo them away. Let me set up!

The show does not officially open until 10 a.m. I started loading my cases around 9 a.m. and people came by one after another to see cards while I was filling the cases. This just drives me nuts because if I start showing cards, I will never finish loading all the cases. I need folks to stay away until I finish loading the cases. I prefer customers to come to my table when the show opens, not prior when I am setting up. This drives me absolutely crazy!

Also, I am not a morning person and just don't have my shite together in the a.m. So, I prefer to set up at my leisure but when people are in my face first thing, I feel pressure to set up as quickly as possible, which I did on this morning.

So I was slammed in the weeds early on with all these people that stopped by my tables two or three times prior to me setting up. To a man, none of them purchased any cards! WTF!! I think they just wanted to aggravate me and waste my time. I received a few low-ball offers. No thanks.

After the initial early-bird, a-hole, crowd left, the real customers stopped by and sales were brisk. I spent a lot of time with one collector who went through all eight display cases and pulled out a small pile of cards. He wanted a discount, of course, but was not outrageous, so we came to an agreement. Both parties happy.

I am always happy when I sell cards from the 1970's because they are so easy to obtain and my profit margin is the largest on that era. One customer took my 1968, 1978 and 1979 Pete Rose cards and did not ask for much of a discount. Woot!

Another customer purchased my 1960 Topps Frank Robinson and Eddie Mathews. I had a bunch of guys purchase Tigers. I was super happy when a customer purchased several Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts cards. As I have stated in previous blogs, I have the hardest time selling Ashburn and Roberts. Any sale of those guys is a huge bonus. Woot!

My tables were located near the main entrance which was much appreciated but the lighting was absolutely terrible. Also, whoever is in charge of the air conditioning must have woke up late because the first hour or so was extremely hot and stuffy. With the diabetes, I do not do well in heat. I was starting to fade.

The boy watched the tables while I went out on a search for food. I figured some sustenance might help give me an energy boost. I got a good view of the show and the mall while looking for food. The Lansing Mall is like most any mall these days, mostly empty of stores. I observed a few oddball shops worth mentioning, like the "Daily Dealz" discount store -- what a freaky place! It looked like they were selling stuff they garbage picked or stole some Amazon boxes off people's porches. No joke! Items were sitting out on display still in the Amazon box with the label peeled off. Hmmmm.

There was another shop that sold souped up golf carts. Yes, you read that right, souped up golf carts. They were cool. I wish I had more time to explore that store a little longer.

The card show seemed to cover most of the mall. My area had the most dealers but there were dealers along the whole walk to the food court. I observed that the dealers by the food court had much better lighting.

The food court only had two restaurants -- a Mexican restaurant and a pizza place. I try to avoid pizza due to my lactose issues, so I went with the Mexican. I am a huge fan of Mexican food. I ordered a steak taco dinner for me and chicken enchiladas for the boy. My tacos were Mexican street style and delicious! The boy did not seem to like the chicken enchiladas. They looked good to me but he was disappointed that they were not covered in mole' sauce.

Sales continued when I returned to the tables with the food. I sold a 1955 Bowman Pee Wee Reese. I was surprised at the number of Cubs and White Sox fans I met in Lansing. I had figured that everyone was a Tigers fan. I sold a bunch of Billy Williams and Ron Santo cards. A few guys looked at my Nellie Fox cards but did not pull the trigger.

The crowd at my tables died down and I was able to eat my tacos in relative peace. I fell into a food coma after ingesting those tacos along with some rice and refried beans. I almost went under the tables to snooze a few times. I then found a pop machine and downed some diet Mountain Dew with much-needed caffein to stay awake.

Sales slowed up in the afternoon where I had a lot of lookers but few buyers. Nice crowd for most of the day. One of my afternoon customers was a regular at the Rosemont shows who I met years ago. He purchased a nice stack of 1957 Topps baseball. Of course, I have forgetton his name but it was really nice to see a familiar face. I also ran into one of the guys I regularly see in Orland who trucks in from this part of Michigan. He stopped to say hello.

Then I saw the Cardboard Brothers, Andrew and Jesse, who I know from my Oak Creek show. They saw my post on my Fat Daddy's Facebook Page and booked the Lansing Mall show as well. While I had a four-hour drive, theirs was five, coming from Wisconsin! They drove in Friday night as well. The Cardboard Brothers sell Pokémon and are two of the nicest guys you will ever meet. It was great to see them!

On the buying front, nothing, nada, nope, not going to do it, sorry. The only cards arriving at my tables for sale were seemingly endless Wander Franco cards brought by kids. One kid had a 1990 Topps Griffey Jr. that he thought was vintage. I tried to explain to him that I consider the '90 Griffey a new card and it is outside my purview. All I did was confuse him. Sorry kid!

There were a number of vintage dealers at the show. Most of their pricing was reasonable but not quite low enough where I could purchase a card then sell it for a profit -- which is generally the only method of purchase for me.

I do not know what time the show officially closed. I started to see a few dealers pack up around 2 p.m. and I followed suit as well as I had not had a sale in a while. We were out the door around 2:30 p.m. Most dealers were still set up but the crowd had thinned greatly. 

Overall, sales were okay, better than the previous three shows I had attended combined. So no complaints there. My only complaint is the heat! The mall started to heat up again in the afternoon and man, it was also hot outside! It was a relief to finish loading the car and crank the A/C. 

We decided to explore Lansing. The mall is on a street called Saginaw. I figured if I continued east on Saginaw I would hit East Lansing and the campus of Michigan State University. 

The area of Saginaw by the mall is filled with strip malls and big-box stores. There were also a lot of restaurants. As we continued east, the terrain became more urban, somewhat ghetto with houses boarded up and the only shops seemed to be liquor stores.

Soon we were back into strip mall land and the town of East Lansing. I saw a sign stating Downtown East Lansing to the right, I took a right and before I knew it, I was driving through the leafy campus of Michigan State University. What a beautiful campus! I love this place!

We parked in a parking garage on the north end of the campus and set out to find the Student Union where we planned to purchase some MSU swag. The union happened to be located right next to the parking garage. Easy peasy! I bought the boy a Spartan shirt while purchasing a Spartan baseball cap for myself. The gift shop in the union is really expensive. Next time, I need to find an off-campus shop for my swag.

We then tried to find the art museum but after walking around for a while in 90-degree heat, we decided to return to the parking garage and crank the A/C in the car. We drove around the campus for a while in the comfort of the air-conditioned car. This is a huge campus. They boy is going to have quite a lot of walking from the dorm to his classes this fall. Hope he is ready!

We did eventually find the art museum but it was closed, so we decided to find a place to get some dinner. We drove back toward the mall and onto Saginaw and found a Chinese buffet which both the boy and I enjoy. As much as I love my wife, we were thankful she was not with us because she does not share our love for the Chinese buffet. This was a good one. I could only put down three plates. Normally, I do five or six plates but I think the heat kind of killed my ability to suck down my normal number of plates.

We were on the highway heading home around 5 p.m. Traffic pretty much sucked the whole way. We thought about stopping to see my folks when we finally hit New Buffalo but agreed we were both too tired to stop and wanted to get home. We made it home around 9 p.m.

Looking back, I really enjoyed the show. The drive there was easy but the drive home seemed long and arduous. The next show at the Lansing Mall is on July 22 but I do not think I am ready for the four-hour drive again just yet. I will definitely set up at this show again, I just need to recover from the drive before I book another.

Next up for me is the mighty Oak Creek show coming up on July 1. I have a large number of new dealers scheduled to set up at the July 1 show. I can't wait to see what they bring out. Hope to see you July 1 at the Salvation Army Community Center, 8853 S. Howell, in beautiful Oak Creek, Wisconsin!

Pictured below is a shot from the darkness that was my tables at the Lansing Mall show.

Pictured below is the newest Michigan State Spartan! Look at the hair on that boy! I don't think he is going to go bald like his old man. Lucky kid!

Saturday, June 17, 2023, Cornerstone Pub, Oconomowoc, WI

This was my first time setting up at the Oconomowoc show, sponsored by Lake Country Cards. Unique to this show is its late start time of 1 p.m. which allowed me to take a leisurely morning. My wife cooked up eggs, bacon and some coffee. I chilled at home until about 10:30 a.m. then hit the road for Oconomowoc. It took about an hour and twenty minutes to get there from my house in northern Illinois.

This was my first time in Oconomowoc. I have passed by Oconomowoc while driving on I94 but never stopped before -- big mistake! What a beautiful town!

Oconomowoc sits on a large lake and is filled with old Victorian buildings and a great old-timey Downtown. I definitely took notes because I am coming back to wander around. I saw quite a few restaurants I want to try.

The Cornerstone Pub is huge with three floors. There is a great shaded side patio along the alley that was filled with customers the minute I arrived and when I departed.

The card show is on the second floor. There was an elevator to take my stuff up and down. The second floor has two rooms and a hallway full of dealers. Lorena, who operates Lake County Cards with her husband Tim, treated me so well! She gave me Tim's usual spot next to the main staircase where most people arrived. This was an excellent location and included two six-footers and a four-footer. I had more than enough space! 

I placed out six display cases and all of my basketball binders. With still more space available, I placed out a bunch of Exhibit cards. In the display cases, I placed out all of my 1970's baseball stars along with all of my football, basketball and hockey cards. I also had a little room left over so I placed out a few piles of graded cards.

Well, this was an absolutely beautiful summer day, so attendance was low with so many other activities going on. I observed that across the street and along the lakefront there were some bands playing and a bunch of food trucks -- looked like fun!

So, sales were down. I am not sure if this show attracts many vintage collectors. Looked like I was the only all-vintage dealer. My pal Scott Z. has quite a nice vintage inventory and he was set up in the main room. Ann Z. and her son were set up in the back room with a case or so of vintage.

It took a while to register a sale. I was getting nervous. My first sale was to a new customer who purchased a 1988-89 Fleer Michael Jordan. I have a ton of Jordan cards at home that I need to price and get out. I was regularly opening basketball wax during the late 1980's and throughout the 1990's, inspired by the success of Jordan and my hometown Chicago Bulls. However, for years afterwards, this stuff would not sell but there is definitely a demand for it now.

My next customer was Noah, who sets up at my show in Oak Creek, and he purchased my 1955 Bowman Chuck Badnarik. Then a long-time customer, whose name I always forget, sat down and pulled out a pile of 1971-72 Topps basketball. He told me he lives nearby in the town of Pewaukee which he said is very similar to Oconomowoc. So now I need to come back and check out both Pewaukee and Oconomowoc. He also told me he played basketball at Marquette in the early 1970's. I learn some neat stuff when shows are slow and there is time to chat! This was also my best sale of the day which I really appreciated.

Long-time customer Barry U. made an appearance and purchased my 1974 Topps O.J. Simpson. Barry told me he has completed all of the vintage Topps baseball sets and most of the vintage football sets. He just started working on 1970's football. It is always great to see Barry, who usually has an entertaining story for me. Thanks Barry!

Then my last sale of the day was to a customer I have seen elsewhere and he purchased a handful of 1971-72 basketball commons. Just not much doing on this day. I was hoping more of my regular Wisconsin customers would have attended the show, but no such luck.

I had a few guys low-ball me on some cards -- I was not interested in giving my cards away. One guy offered $300 for my 1956 Topps Jackie Robinson PSA 4. I had it priced at $600. One sold on eBay on June 19, 2023, for $679. I think my price is fair. I politely declined the awfully low offer.

I thought it was cool how dealer Eric U. set up earlier in the day in Madison then made it to Oconomowoc around 1 p.m. and set up here as well. I have always thought that this would be a great option for this show.

Another cool thing about this show is that the pub has waitresses working the second floor. It was awesome! I ordered a diet Coke early on and the pretty waitress kept it refilled all afternoon. I also ordered a burger that arrived lightning fast and was delicious. The burger and four or five Cokes only cost $13. 

On the buying front, I picked up a small box of vintage cards from a guy I have known forever, but, of course, cannot remember his name. The best card in the box was a 1974-75 Topps Julius Irving.

Another guy stopped by with a box of 1952 Topps. I started to drool until he told me he brought them out for Tim. I directed him to Tim's table and told him I would be interested in them all if Tim did not want them. Apparently, Tim took them because the guy did not return. Bummer!

Speaking of Tim, I enjoyed chatting with him along with several others like Scotty P., who said the COVID boom is over and we are back to the old days. I could not agree more as three out of the four shows I have set up at during June have been very slow.

It was tough leaving Oconomowoc after the show. I really wanted to kick back, eat some BBQ from the food trucks and watch some bands as the sun dropped down over the lake. But duty calls and I had to head home to pick up my daughter who has been working in the mall by my house. With BBQ on my mind, the wife and I went over to City Barbecue near the mall and dined on smoked brisket until it was time to go pick up the girl.

On Sunday we trucked out to New Buffalo, Michigan, to spend Father's Day with my dad. We had more BBQ at one of my all-time favorite places -- Smokin' Woodies in Sawyer, Michigan. Woody used to have a couple of restaurants in Chicago. I've known him for a good 30 years or so and he is still as entertaining as ever!

Great weekend! Hope everyone had an excellent Father's Day!!

Next up for me is the show at the Lansing Mall, in Lansing, Michigan, on Saturday, June 24, 2023. I cannot remember the last time I was set up in Michigan. I used to truck out there regularly back in the day and set up in Holland, Grand Rapids and Jackson. This will be my first show in Lansing. It is a large show and I am hoping there will be some vintage collectors there, otherwise, it could be another long day. 

Don't forget that the Oak Creek show is coming up on July 1, 2023. It is a rare occasion when I have dealer space available. Send me an email at [email protected] to reserve your space now!

Have a great week everybody!

Sunday, June 11, 2023, Roma Lodge, Racine, WI

I am surprised at how many people do not realize that the Roma Lodge show is the old Gonzaga Hall show run by the Wisconsin Sports Collectors Association (WSCA) -- an amazing group of guys and gals.

Keith, the prez of the WSCA, posted in his monthly newsletter that a breakfast buffet would be available during the show. Woot! I love breakfast buffets and was looking forward to this one all week. It did not disappoint! For 20 bucks, I was able to get all I could eat scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, boiled potatoes, hash browns, toast, and some amazingly delicious fried chicken. I also received bottomless coffee. Later in the day they added more lunch items. Apparently the breakfast buffet is available every Sunday at the Roma Lodge. Woot!

Man, it was cold, rainy and windy on Sunday. I was not prepared because the previous day was sunny and hot. So load in and load out was unpleasant. I brought all of my binders except for my older football along with four display cases.

Sales were disappointing. I think we lost some customers to the shows occurring in Schaumburg and Orland Park, Illinois. I sold a handful of cards. Robert purchased some cards. Donny purchased some 1971-72 Topps basketball. Several other guys made some purchases and that was about it. I sold nothing out of my display cases. 

With not much doing, I found myself talking about this new requirement from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, which is demanding that all show promoters file a report with the agency. One guy even tried to grab me while I was setting up to go discuss it with some random guy I did not know. First of all, don't expect me to do much of anything prior to the show because I NEED TO SET UP! Secondly, I really don't know much about this new requirement. I started filling out the paperwork after my Oak Creek show but I have a lot more to go! I am not an expert and I do not fully understand it. I recommend you direct all of your questions to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, especially if you are not a dealer at my show or any other show!!

In Darien, the day before, I was discussing this thing with Mike from the Janesville show who advised that I view the video that accompanied the email from the Department of Revenue. Keith reviewed the video as well and told me it is an hour long. I need to find some time to watch this thing. In the meantime, all I can do is turn over all the forms that dealers provided me in Oak Creek and turn over a list of all my vendors, as is required under this law.

I would really like to see officials from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue hold a town hall meeting on this thing because everyone has questions. Some are freaking out about it. I recommend everyone chill out. We will figure it out eventually and move on.

While my sales were non-existent Sunday, the Roma Lodge show serves more as a place to buy. I have made excellent buys at the last several Roma shows I attended and this one was no exception. I went home with four more slabbed T206 commons. Woot!

Next Roma Lodge show is August 20. I can't attend that one as it conflicts with Orland again. I am rotating between Orland and Roma when they conflict. So I skipped the June Orland for Roma and will in turn skip the August Roma for Orland. I'll next be back for the October 22 show at Roma Lodge. I hope the breakfast buffet is still happening in October and I hope my T206 guys are there!

Anyway, I did have a nice day and enjoyed myself. I was set up behind Nelson, one of my favorites. Nelson thinks the Wisconsin Department of Revenue is coming down on us because one if its employees could not obtain a table at my show, Roma, Madison or Janesville. In the grand scheme of things, it does not make a whole lot of sense. There is not much money being made at these shows lately. I hardly made a thing all weekend and spent 10 times the amount I took in from sales. I think most of us spend more than we make because this is a hobby... not a business! I, for one, do it for fun and really enjoy it. It is a shame that the State of Wisconsin is trying to throw a wrench into a great social event and wonderful hobby.

They won't stop me! Next up for me is the Oconomowoc show on Saturday, June 17. This will be my first time setting up at this one. I plan on bringing out all of my baseball binders. I should have 1953 Topps reloaded by then. I also plan on bringing three display cases. Let me know if you want me to bring something special.

Next Oak Creek show is coming up fast on July 1. I still have some dealer spots available. Send me an email if you are interested in setting up in Oak Creek.

Thanks for following along!

Pictured below are some of the goodies I brought out Sunday to Roma Lodge. I am not bringing this stuff out again until the National. I plan on bulking it up for the National as well. I think next week I will bring out 1970's baseball along with football.

Sorry for the glare. I could not seem to get a good shot without the glare.

Saturday, June 10, 2023, The Perfect Swing, Darien, IL

I was last in Darien in 1985 when my first college roommate hosted a massive keg party at his childhood home while his parents were in Europe for the summer. Three bands played in the basement. It was a rager… until the police came and broke it up.

Anytime I hear anything about the town of Darien, I always think of that keg party back in ‘85. Back to the present, I had June 10 open, so I booked the show at the Perfect Swing, excited to return to Darien after all these years, as my vice is no longer beer, instead, it is sports cards... which has greatly reduced my number of hangovers.

Upon my return, I was a little curious about the town which I really know nothing about as I was a little blurry-eyed last time I was there.  Thanks to Wiki, I learned that Darien was settled in 1835 by several families that came from New England. I did not come from quite as far as New England, but I had a bit of a ride from Lake County, Illinois. I took the I294 Tollway down to I55 and exited at Lemont Road. Apparently, this highway exit is where one of the town’s founders ran an Inn/Stagecoach stop. Along with the innkeeper, there were all sorts of interesting folks in Darien during mid-1800's.

In approximately 1849, one of the town’s original settlers, Elisha Smart, joined the Gold Rush in California, and returned to Darien years later, actually called Cass at the time, a wealthy man. Another family, the Oldfields, arrived in Cass in 1850 and raised cattle on 2,000 acres.

In 1881, Franklin Blanchard opened up a cheese factory in town, now the current location of a McDonald’s. Not sure if Franklin is related in anyway to former Yankee Johnny Blanchard.

The Madden family arrived from jolly ole England in 1869. I'd like to think they are the ancestors of former Raiders coach John Madden but do not have any such info. The Madden's youngest son Martin married Elisha Smart's youngest daughter in 1878. Martin must have done pretty well for himself because in 1903, he built a mansion fashioned after the White House and called it Castle Eden. Castle Eden is still standing and is now part of the Aylesford Retreat Center of the Carmelite Fathers, pictured below.

​All sorts of churches and schools were built during the 1800's but it does not seem like any of these structures survived to the present day. In the 1900's, housing developments began to pop up, however, the area of present-day Darien did not incorporate until the 1960's and was unincorporated DuPage County prior. In 1969, residents established the Village of Darien, named after a town in Connecticut.

According to Wiki, about 22,000 people live in Darien today. For those readers that do not live in the Chicago area, Darien is a suburb of Chicago, located just southwest of the city. Someone needs to update the Wiki page to include info on my old roommate's keg party!

I actually had a little trouble finding the Perfect Swing. I thought my GPS instructed me to turn down a major street near the venue but quickly realized it did not. I pulled into a huge parking lot with four or five warehouses lined up in a row. I discovered that the Perfect Swing is located in the back warehouse. If I did not see other dealers loading in, I might not have found the place.

Load in was easy. Promoter Eddie Hernandez, a super nice guy, placed me up against one wall. Next to me was my pal Mike Slinkman. I brought out one display case for my graded cards and all my baseball, basketball, and hockey binders along with half of my football binders.

For the first time in my life, I forgot the key to my display case. Ugh! Luckily, I had more than enough binders to fill both of my 6-foot tables. Today felt like I had set up with my buddy Dave in the old days as I just watched Mike make sales all day. Not much action at my tables. Mike has really upped his game and has an incredible inventory of Ruths, a Gehrig, a Cobb, Mantles galore along with all the other big names. Oh my! I told Mike after the show that he needs to set up more often because he is a phenomenal dealer. The problem for Mike is that he is more of a collector and does not enjoy selling cards. I think if he ever wanted to, he could just kill it buying and selling cards.

I enjoyed spending the day with Mike. He even purchased a card from me. Thanks Mike! A few others stopped by to purchase cards. A father and his two sons were working on obtaining cards of all the hit leaders from every year, which I thought was a cool way to collect. Bonus for me is that they follow my blog. They purchased a few cards. Thanks guys! Another Eddie, not to be confused with Eddie the promoter, stopped by and said he only knew about this show from my website. Thanks Eddie!

A real nice lady and her daughter purchased a group of 1964 Topps coins. The daughter told me that mom has a huge collection, a shrine, as she called it. Thank you ladies! A young guy purchased a nice pile of Exhibit cards. All my other sales were of the $2 or $1 variety. Sales did not add up.

I thought the crowd was okay, just not enough vintage set builders for me. I saw quite a few people I knew and enjoyed chatting. 

On the buying front, I worked out a deal with Andy prior to the show to purchase his Philadelphia football card collection. We agreed on a cash and trade deal. Thanks Andy!

Overall, I really liked the venue. There was a nice number of dealers. Pizza was for sale. I purchased a slice of sausage. I also liked having turf under my feet. I could do without the sound of the ping of aluminum bats from the area adjacent to the show but what can you do? I have set up at shows with guys taking batting practice in adjoining rooms many times. I definitely will be back. I just need to figure out when I can fit this show into my schedule again.

A big thank you to everyone who purchased cards from me along with a thank you for everyone who stopped to chat, which is always enjoyable. Thanks to Eddie Hernandez and his family for putting on an excellent show!

Next Oak Creek show is coming up on July 1. I have a limited number of dealer spaces available. Send me an email at [email protected] if you want to set up at the July 1 show. 

In the meantime, I owe you a blog for the Roma Lodge show, which I'll try to get out soon.

​Have a great week!

Below is a photo of a customer looking at my binders at the Perfect Swing show in Darien. The dealer across the way is young Nick, also known as Stack 'n Sell on YouTube. Nick is a super great guy and always a joy to be around. I was lucky to be set up across from Nick and next to Mike.

Saturday, June 3, 2023, Salvation Army Community Center, Oak Creek, WI

There was a ton of extra work for this one with dealers cancelling for graduations and their children's sporting events. I had to contact everyone on my waiting list. I am always amazed when waiting list dealers do not bother to respond. Why ask to be placed on the wait list then?

Then there is the ongoing problem of dealers cancelling the day before the show. As I said before, once a dealer reserves a spot, that spot belongs to the dealers and he or she has a responsibility to either show up or pay me for the spot. Nothing pisses me off more than dealers cancelling the day before the show.

Another wrinkle to this show was that a week prior I was contacted by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue who wants me to fill out some sort of form. Included in the form is space for information on every dealer setting up at the show.

Apparently, Wisconsin has a law that all flea market promoters and "like events" have to register with the Department of Revenue. The kind folks at the Department of Revenue did not give me a whole lot of instruction. So I looked up the law and found that it is legit, I must provide info. I also looked up the administrative rules -- which accompany every law and offer instructions for the state agency on how to administer the law. 

As a result, I copied a form off the department's website and included it in my dealer newsletter. Well, that did not go over very well. Dealers had questions for me of which I had no answers. I really think if the Department of Revenue is going to enforce this law, then they need to attend my show and explain it to the dealers. It is not really fair to dump this on me and expect compliance when I don't fully understand it and most of my dealers certainly do not understand it.

Some dealers walked out as soon as they saw that they had to submit this info to the Department of Revenue. Some dealers stayed and set up but they are not coming back because of this new requirement.

Other dealers just blew it off and did not fill out the form. So, under this law, I am required to submit a whole bunch of information about each dealer or face a fine of $200 for the first infraction and $500 for each subsequent infraction. Dealers can face a misdemeanor for not filling out the form.

I've got 10 days after the show to submit all this information -- which is a ton of extra work for me! Ugh! I am going to do the best I can and get as much info to the Department of Revenue as I can. 

Next, I have to look into obtaining a seller's permit from the Department of Revenue. Ugh!

I talked to several other promoters about it just prior to the show. We have all been contacted by the Department of Revenue, so it looks like this is a requirement for every show in Wisconsin.

As I told Keith from the Wisconsin's Sports Collectors Association and the Roma Lodge show, this is just another headache in a sea of headaches!

Bottom line is that the cost of operating a show in Wisconsin along with setting up at shows as a dealer has just gone up. We'll see how this unfolds.

Anyway, back to the June 3 show in Oak Creek, a town in the lovely State of Wisconsin. Earlier in the week, Mark informed me that the front parking lot would be blocked off for folks attending a Weight Watchers event upstairs in the community center. Ugh!

Not much I can do, so I put the word out on Facebook which freaked out several dealers who were concerned about loading in. I honestly did not have answers for them. I was not sure how this would go. I figured it would sort itself out in the morning.

Back to the night before the show, I went on Priceline to reserve a hotel room and observed that the price of my regular hotel had increased. Instead of paying the increase, I opted for a divey hotel which actually worked out just fine.

Lisa and I made it to the Salvation Army around 4:30 p.m. on June 2 to set up the show. Mark and his crew do the initial layout of the tables and chairs according to my map. This is a work in progress. I need to continue to improve this map. Lisa and I spent about three and a half hours rearranging the tables and chairs and placing out dealer name-plates and our newsletter. We are getting better and quicker. I think it took us four hours last month.

Around 9 p.m., we set out to find some food and settled on the Water Street Brewery, just down the road on Howell. The brewpub is a huge space and serves food until 11 p.m. on Friday nights.

Lisa ordered a veggie burger while I ordered a California Beef Burger which came with avocados. My burger was awesome. My only complaint was that it was sandwiched between too much bread. I may cut the bread down next time.

We also ordered some beers. Lisa had a raspberry Weiss Bier while I had a regular Weiss Bier. Lisa said her beer was excellent. Mine too! 

At the end of the meal, we could not find our waitress. She finally came by and said she was stuck with something going on elsewhere in the restaurant. I think we have an inkling of what was going on because we saw this Karen, who had a mean-looking bulldog on a leash, give it to the hostess. Apparently, some man was bothering her at the bar and staff did not help her like she wanted.

Okay, I get it but the hostess, who is paid minimum wage, is not going to be able to help. Karen needed the manager and she needed to remove her beastly dog. It showed its teeth at me when I tried to walk past when leaving. Lisa asked her to move her dog so we could pass. I also observed that nobody was bothering Karen at the hostess stand and I felt she should have just left. I think she was a bit tipsy.

The divey hotel was noisy for a while but died down. That alarm hit me like a brick in the morning. I had trouble falling asleep and did not sleep all that great but someone has to bake the donuts!

Lisa and I arrived at the Salvation Army around 7:15 a.m. and saw that the Weight Watchers people had filled up the front parking lot. I had loaded in last night so I parked across the street in the Target parking lot. I was met by a dealer who pulls a trailer of stuff on his truck. He did not know where to park or load in. I did not have an answer for him. He figured it out.

All in all, load in went smoothly. No fights! I had a ton of new dealers and most seemed to be able to find their spot. Though, I was pulled in many different directions in the morning as I tried to set up. Dealers were freaking out over the state form. Some dealers wanted to switch spots. I had to show several new dealers where their spot was located. It was hectic. Thankfully, Lisa went across the street to get me some coffee. It is amazing how a little coffee can help one deal with a situation!

I brought out one display case and filled it with pre-war. I had enough space to get out all of my binders. I brought them all except for my 1950's and 1960's football binders. Those ones are in desperate need of reloads. I had reloaded 1951 Bowman baseball prior to the show.

Attendance was steady, though down from last month. We had about 600 people through the door which is more than we had at this time last year. I also don't think 600 people is something to sneeze at. None of the other shows I set up at bring in 600 people.

Some dealers were not happy and apparently their sales were not very good. I was amazed that one dealer, who I observed during the show being mobbed with customers, reported his sales were down. Though, other dealers reported excellent sales. For me, I had my best show of the year. Sales were excellent!

It was great to see Rod and his wife who have not come out since Covid hit. I've known these guys forever. Rod is working on a bunch of vintage sets. He purchased a large number of 1970 Topps at this show. Thanks Rod!

I also saw big Mike, who I have not seen in a while. I was so busy and did not get a chance to chat. Mike used to have a card shop in Lake Geneva. Then there is the other big Mike who is always so pleasant and entertaining. Mike purchased some cards as well. Thanks Mike!

Robert purchased some cards. Thanks Robert! A bunch of other guys purchased cards. Thanks guys! Craig and Doreen purchased some cards. Thanks guys! Scott R. found some cards. The big winner was big Scott, not to be confused with Scott R. Big Scott purchased my 1954 Bowman Willie Mays. Thanks Scott!

A couple of guys thought they had some cards stolen. One was a dealer and he was not totally sure if the card was stolen but he could not find it. The other was a customer who thought someone stole one of his cards but he later found it in his box of cards.

Another dealer thought he saw the guy we banned because he stole cards at either the Janesville or the Oconomowoc show, I can't remember exactly where. I did not see him and alerted our police officer who has his photo. We did not see him.

On the buying front, I purchased a near-set of 1955 Topps baseball. It will be a while before I have those cards out at a show. I actually already have a pretty great inventory of 1955 Topps. I plan on loading my binder within the next several months.

I had a tough time leaving the show at the end because I was enjoying chatting with Bronko, Rocky and Shannon. Great folks! We were the last three dealers left at the end. I was tired!! I passed out when I got home. Another Oak Creek show in the books!

Next one is July 1. Being a holiday weekend, many of my regular dealers have other plans. So once again, I have dealer space available. All new dealers must bring their own tables and must prepay for space. If you are interested in setting up at the July 1 show, contact me at [email protected]. 

Next up for me is a double bill weekend with the Darien show on Saturday and the Roma Lodge show on Sunday. I am looking forward to these shows! Not sure what I am going to bring out yet. Leaning towards display cases.

A big thank you to everyone who attended the Oak Creek show on Saturday! You guys rule!

​Below is a photos essay of the June 3 Oak Creek show.

You would be hard pressed finding a better group of guys than these pictured below. These guys volunteer to serve concessions at the show each month. All proceeds from sales of concessions go directly to the Salvation Army and the wonderful programs they provide. Thanks guys!!!

Next show is July 1. Don't miss it!!