December 10, 2017, Gonzaga Hall, Milwaukee, WI

There is a simple formula to dealer success at a show when setting up regularly at a show -- just bring out new items for each show. Unfortunately for me, work, family and my health make it difficult to spend the time needed to price new stuff each week. I tried to designate the Saturday before the Gonzaga show to sit in the card bunker and work on my 1973 Topps baseball binder but, as they say in the old country, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Complicating matters are the new medications my doc prescribed for my diabetes and newly diagnosed high blood pressure. The new meds are difficult to deal with. As a result, I am not sure if it is my ailments or the meds making me feel ill these days. So Friday night, I did not feel good. I slept deep into the morning on Saturday and got a late, groggy start on the '73 binder. Once work began, the daughter interrupted stating she wanted me to take her to a comic book shop. That kid melts my heart and I'm just putty around her. I wanted to tell her I needed to work on the '73 binder but I just couldn't pass an opportunity to hang out with the girl, especially when she wanted to hang out with me!

So after just a few hours of pricing cards, the work came to a screeching halt. I'm building a '73 binder from scratch because I sold the last one. It is going to take a while to finish the new one.

I was hoping that the daughter and I could make a quick trip the nearest comic book store, about a 10- or 15-minute drive. The daughter had scoped out a shop in Palatine, Illinois, closer to a 25-minute drive and one we had never visited. Our destination was a place called Beyond Tomorrow Comics. I plugged the address, 327 N. Northwest Hwy., into my GPS. When Siri told me I had arrived at my destination, I did not see the shop. We ended up driving around until the daughter plugged the address into some App on her phone that only teenagers know about. We drove up and down a small radius of Northwest Highway until I spotted the shop. 

The problem was that every other business in the strip mall, where the shop is located, had a large sign above their entrance. Beyond Tomorrow Comics just has a small sign in the window.

Upon entering the shop, I was hit with the sensation of being on an episode of "Hoarders" because this little shop is packed to the gills, floor to ceiling, with stuff. There is so much stuff that walking through the space is really difficult, especially when there are other customers in the place.

So, upon entry, we were hit with this massive amount of stuff and serenaded with the sound of the owner and a customer discussing the profitability of certain new comic books. I couldn't really see the owner. I am also assuming he was the owner. He was sitting behind a tall counter surrounded with comic books and related items stacked in front, in back and on top of the counter. I had to peer down a slight opening between a $1 box of comics and some figurines to see the guy. 

My daughter and I attempted to maneuver around the store. A lot of the displays were blocked off with unopened cases of comics. This place is really a sight to see. I saw quite a few Batman, Spiderman and Superman comics along with all sorts of stuff I had never heard of. While perusing, I could not help but hear the conversation between the owner and the customer. The owner was pretty straight-laced and seemed to be trying to figure out what the customer was looking for and if he was looking for comics that had not yet been released or were soon to be released. The customer was a little off. At one point he started talking about how he was recently married to a stripper and she ran off with his comic collection. 

Now I have never personally known a stripper. I actually had a classmate in college that worked as a stripper but I did not know her that well. But I sort of feel like it is safe to assume that strippers are not interested in comic books and I found the veracity of the guy's story lacking. But I was stuck listening to the guy because I was in this comic book hoarder hell and could not escape the conversation. There was no place to hide, just boxes and boxes and shelves and shelves of comic books. I kept hoping the guy would shut up. 

At one point, he purchased a few comic books and left. Relief! But as I plodded from one end of the shop, more like a closet, to the other, he came back in! I couldn't take it anymore, I tried to get the daughter to move along. 

She finally picked out a few comic books and I attempted to pay for them. The owner started to tell me about some holiday sales at the store and some sort of subscription where purchases would count toward a free comic. I started to feel my blood sugar drop and the owner's voice sounded like the adults on Charlie Brown, "Wa, wa, wah waaaa." I looked around the crowded counter to see if there were any sugary items I could purchase. None. But I did notice new packs of Wacky Packages stickers. Those things came with bubble gum when I was a kid but now, like sports cards, they are collectibles and gum ruins collectibles so the manufacturers no longer insert sticks of gum. 

I did not comprehend the sales spiel nor the subscription deal. I needed sugar. I did seem to understand that we were getting a bunch of free comics to go with our purchases.  I could not see his hands through all the boxes of stuff that engulfed the counter but the owner was seemingly pulling comic books from space and placing them in a bag for us. I love free stuff! Even with the annoying guy, I would come back to this shop. Free stuff trumps annoying guy in overly cluttered shop.

Luckily for me, the shop was next to a place called Fotos Hot Dogs. I figured the carbs in the hot dog bun would raise my sugar up to a comfortable level. Did not work. I quickly sucked down my diet Coke and replaced it with a sugary regular Coke. Didn't work, my sugar was still low. I then started to drink the daughter's Oreo Milk Shake which tasted amazing, by the way. Sugar started to rise and the place came into focus. I saw a sign that said free ice cream. I got a free ice cream cone. Low sugar problem resolved.

I then realized I was sitting inside a crummy camera graveyard. The place had shelves and shelves of old crappy cameras from the 1950s through the 1970s. I love kitchy stuff. It was kind of cool. I saw many crappy cameras that I had back in the day. Anyway, by the time I got back to the card bunker, I had lost three hours or so. I worked a little while on the '73 binder then decided to price some cards for my display cases. I was unable to finish the '73 binder. I did have some new stuff for the display cases, but not enough to have a good show at Gonzaga.

There was a really nice crowd on Sunday, even with a noon Packers game looming. My sales stunk up the place. Not Sun-Times show bad but unusually bad for a Gonzaga show. My fault, I probably would have had a lot more sales if I had the '73 binder out and some other stuff.

On the buying front, I blew it. Flat out blew it. It normally doesn't happen. I can't remember it ever happening but I just blew it. A guy came by with his childhood collection of 1951 Bowman baseball and football. Some of the cards were minty while others were creased and dinged up. My problem was that I undervalued the football. I thought they were worth much less than they are actually worth. I made an offer on the cards which was too low. The seller said he wanted to shop them around a little and he might be back. I said okay, thinking my offers are usually the highest in the room. The guy never came back. I learned that he sold the cards to another dealer who initially offered a few hundred dollars less than I offered. The seller allowed that dealer to bring his offer up to mine. The seller then told him he had to beat my offer. The buyer got the cards for a measly $100 more than I offered. I was not given a chance to increase my offer. The buyer immediately sold the football cards to another dealer for double what he paid for both the football and the baseball. I screwed up.

However, when one deal flies away another flies in. After the show, I met with another seller looking to move several baseball sets from the 1950s. I looked over the cards. The stars are off-grade. Some of the commons are nice. I just need to raise some funds and I hope to have these sets shortly.

On the diabetes front, I felt fine which was a huge relief after dealing with low sugar at the comic shop the day before. Upward and onward!

In regards to my Clarion show, the hotel changed its name to the Four Points Sheraton. Next show is scheduled on February 3. I hope to have a new blog out before then. - Tony

Another year is in the books at the Clarion Hotel in Milwaukee, the monthly show I promote. Mark Smith and I started this show in September of 2014. I've been running the show on my own since June of 2015. This year, 2017, has been the most successful year to date. Both dealer and customer response has been tremendous. I can't say how much I appreciate everyone who has supported the show.

Prior to starting up the Clarion show, I had never run a card show, although I have been setting up at shows for decades. I have learned that there is much more to running a show than I ever imagined. Just dealing with the venue, the Clarion in my case, is a full time job. The hotel never gets the number of tables and chairs correct. I spend the morning prior to every show hunting down extra tables and chairs. Also, this year was a real hassle negotiating the 2018 contract. The Clarion wanted more money from me and they no longer will allow me to bring in food. Instead, they require I purchase the food from them which would quadruple my costs. Thus, I will no longer be able to provide food at the show.

So this may be a moot point, but I'd like to talk a little about the food. I find it frustrating that a couple of guys take more than their fair share. Come on now! Just because I provide free food, doesn't mean that just a handful of guys can come in and eat most of it. I bought about 100 sandwiches for the December show and I'm pretty sure two, maybe three guys ate most of them. These are the same guys that stole my Halloween-themed napkins in October. Really?

I think one way I can provide food again and avoid the guys who exhibit bad behavior is to charge an admission fee. In general, I hate admission fees because I think they detour some customers from attending the show. Admission fees, in my opinion, are only valid if the customer receives something in return or if the money is going to charity. So I'll gauge interest in the coming year of an admission fee in exchange for food.

Another option, while I'm thinking aloud about this, is to just charge for the food. Maybe, I can order some sandwiches from the hotel and charge a reasonable fee for the sandwiches. I think the best shows have food. It can be a long day at a card show. I always get hungry. There is a restaurant on the other side of the hotel but, as a dealer, leaving my table for an extended period of time to walk down to the restaurant, order food, go back into the show, go back to the restaurant to pick up the food, just seems like a waste of time and keeps me out of the show for too long. I really like the idea of having a little food booth in the show where folks can buy something to eat.

My feedback on the free food this year has been great. Both dealers and customers have enjoyed the stuff I brought out from doughnuts, to pizza, to cupcakes, and to sandwiches. I really hate to lose that element of the show.

Let me know your thoughts on the food. Would you be willing to pay an admission fee in exchange for food? Or would you like me to provide food for purchase? 

Now back to the business of sports cards. The December 2nd show at the Clarion was one of the best vintage shows to date. I am not opposed to the shiny stuff but I prefer vintage. Oh my, there was an amazing vintage inventory in the room at this show. My usual guys Mike Mahan, Larry Larsen, Jerry Kvasnica, PJ, and Gary George were loaded with raw and graded vintage. I had my recently reloaded 1972 Topps baseball binder out. Alex and Dave had some vintage. Semi-regular dealers Mike Johnson, Scott Ziegert, and Pat and Barbara Lawrence were on hand with amazing selections of vintage. Then I had the return of Rick McQuillan, who drove in three hours from the western part of the state, with all sorts of vintage goodies like pre-War cards and team-issue photos from the 1940s. Bill S. showed me a Philadelphia Athletics photo pack that he purchased from Rick that had Nellie Fox in it. Photos of Fox in an Athletics uniform are rare. I purchased a 1943 Cubs photo pack from Rick. Hopefully, Rick comes back soon! Anyway, I think the December show had the largest vintage inventory I've ever seen at any Milwaukee show (three dealers with T206s!).

Conventional wisdom might be that with all this vintage in the room my sales would have been slow. However, there is a reason I never make such assumptions because my sales were strong. Jerome purchased quite a few 1972s. Eric and Josh picked up my PSA 4 1954 Bowman Pee-Wee Reese. Dave picked up my 1953 Topps Allie Reynolds. Barry found some cards in my binders. A regular customer pulled out quite a few 1967 Topps baseball from my binder. Bill took all of my 1963 Peel Offs. Rich picked up a bunch of 1970s basketball. Quite a few other guys found cards in my binders. I was really pleased with my sales.

On the buying front, I purchased 15 vintage baseball gloves, including two Harvey Kuenn models and a Bob Feller model. I am not an expert on gloves but I am pretty sure that one glove is from the 1910s and others are from the 1930s. 

Overall, I thought this was an excellent show. We had a really nice turn out early on. By noon, it seemed to clear out. By 1 p.m., many of the dealers had packed up. A few of the late-arriving customers were miffed at the empty tables. I encourage dealers to stick around. I was able to make some nice sales from the late arrivals. 

Dealer dash aside, I am hopeful that 2018 at the Clarion is as successful as 2017. I am still going to give out free wax. I have some other ideas for new promotions in the hopper. I think I've achieved what I set out to do back in 2014 which was to create a unique show. I want customers and dealers to feel like they're hanging out in their own living rooms without noisy distractions  It seems to me that everyone who comes to the show feels like they are at home. At my show, folks can relax, leisurely peruse a terrific selection of cards, talk with friends, laugh at Larry's jokes, and enjoy some free stuff.

Next Clarion Show is slated from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, January 20, 2018, at the hotel located at 5311 S. Howell, in Milwaukee. The Clarion is located across from Mitchell airport and near I94 (take the airport exit). Starting on February 3, 2018, the show will be held on the first Saturday of the month for the rest of the year. Other dates include March 3, April 7, May 5, June 2, July 7, August 4, September 1, October 6, November 3, and December 1.

​In the meantime, I am setting up Sunday, December 10, 2017, at Gonzaga Hall in Milwaukee; Sunday, December 17, 2017, at the Orland Park Civic Center. I am a maybe for the December 31st show at Indian Lakes in Bloomingdale, Illinois. I post down the road if I am able to make the Indian Lakes show.

​Once again, thanks everybody for making such a terrific year at the Clarion! I hope everyone has a great holiday season. See you soon! -- Tony Gordon