There was some talk about the Orland show as soon as I entered the Hyatt. I had been setting up at Orland for years but I have been bad-mouthed by the Orland promoter once too many times so I'm taking my roadshow elsewhere. I have to admit, it felt strange not driving to Orland this morning but I really appreciate the much shorter drive to Hoffman Estates. I know quite a few guys in the south suburbs are lamenting on the fact that I will no longer be at John Leary's shows. Well, rest assured my friends, I will be back in the south suburbs soon when I promote a show with Mark Smith. We're working on finding a venue then we will start to pick some dates. I still have some things to do with our Milwaukee show before I begin work on the Mark and Tony Orland show. I will keep you posted.
Set up went smoothly in Hoffman Estates this morning. I had some extra space because Beanie Don had the sniffles and did not attend. My first customers were a father and son team. The father picked up a smattering of late 1970s baseball. The son did not spend much time at my table. He was interested in modern cards. I have only vintage.
I brought out my graded cards today which I don't normally do but I figured I would be seeing a lot of the same customers from last weekend in Bloomingdale and wanted to have some new items on my tables. I also brought out my newly reloaded 1970 Topps football binder and my 50-cent box. I put at least a 100 new cards in the 50-cent box. I also had a bunch of other new cards for my display cases.
Larry picked up a couple of PSA graded Goudeys. Thanks Larry! Bill and I did a cash and trade deal. Thanks Bill! George and Willie picked up some cards out of my 50-cent box. Thanks guys! New customers Bob and Evelyn picked up a nice stack of 1969 Topps baseball and 1961 Topps baseball. I really appreciate all the purchases everyone made today.
Bob said he has been following the Fred Copp Facebook page I set up several years ago to help promote Fred's shows. Ted Lee began helping me a couple of years ago as co-administrator and he puts in a lot of work on the Fred Copp Facebook which I appreciate. We are up to 73 likes. I think it is really cool every time we get another like or when someone posts a comment on there. Meanwhile, my lowly Fat Daddy Facebook page only has 15 likes! If you are not on Facebook, a "like" is the main activity there. You may "like" posts by your Facebook friends or you may "like" various Facebook pages such as the Fred Copp and the Fat Daddy pages. Once you like a page, whenever there is a new post on that page, it shows up in your "news feed." My Facebook newsfeed is largely baseball card related. There are a TON of baseball card Facebook pages. You can search through them to see which ones are worthy of a "like."
Ted and I were talking today about all the different baseball card pages on Facebook. I think social media has added another dimension to baseball card collecting. I "like" a dozen or so baseball card shops from around the country on Facebook. I enjoy the constant discussion of cards whether it is on Facebook or websites. I think this is a really great time to be a baseball card collector because with the internet there are more options than ever before to purchase cards, to trade cards, and to discuss cards. While I'm at work I regularly check my eBay auctions, read baseball-card related Facebook posts and check some internet forums. It is a nice break from my stressful and busy workday.
Back to the show report... I had a new customer come in who collects T206s. I rarely get T206 collectors at the Fred Copp shows, so it was nice to see someone into the old Tobacco cards. Sounds like this guy has an amazing collection. He told me he has a near set and is working on upgrades.
Minor rant... I had a guy who wanted to trade me a Brooks Robinson autographed card for my graded cards. First of all, I don't really like to trade. I spend a lot of time and money on my inventory and to keep the road show going, I need to bring home some cash. I am happy to trade with my regular customers but not with someone who rarely, if ever, purchases cards from me. Second of all, even if I was into trading, I would not trade for an autograph card that was not slabbed by PSA/DNA. How do I know the autograph is real? When I trade with my regular customers, the trades are always fair. It seems when some random guy wants to trade there is just something sketchy about the deal where he wants a good card from me in exchange for some worthless garbage -- I'm just not going to do it. End of rant.
On the buying front, I picked up some 1975 Topps football, some Man from Uncle non-sports cards from the 1960s, some 1978 Battlestar Galactica, some Topps baseball posters from the early 1970s, a 1961 Post Ken Boyer for my friend Andy, a 2014 Bowman Jose Abreu rookie, and a couple of packs of 2014 Topps Heritage baseball. I don't really buy a whole lot of modern cards but I have been wanting an Abreu rookie. I really enjoyed watching him play this past season. I also love the Heritage. I buy a bunch of packs every year.
Overall, a very good day. If you factor in the money I saved on table fee and gas, I think I brought home more money today than I would had I set up in Orland. So upward and onward we go.
Next week, I'm setting up at the Best Western Plus in Schaumburg. I should have my 1966 Topps baseball binder reloaded and ready to go. I even have high numbers which are really tough in the 1966 Topps set. If I have time, I will price some more stuff for my display cases. I'm looking forward to next Sunday... see you then! Have a great week everybody!!