Saturday, March 3, 2018, Four Points Sheraton, Milwaukee
First observations as I pulled up to the Sheraton at 6:45 a.m.: (1) the seagulls are back, (2) there are a ton of cars in the parking lot, (3) the back door is locked, (4) there are literally mounds of cigarette butts in front of the doors to the hotel, and (5) one of Larry Larsen's customers is already at the hotel waiting for Larry.
We were in the larger Mitchell Room for this show. I invited Larry's customer to come in and wait. I don't mind if customers show up early but 6:45 a.m. is a new record. I had ordered 34 tables and chairs and received 34 tables and chairs. So often, I don't get what I ordered and have to scramble to find tables and chairs before the show opens. The crew set up the room in an unusual manner but I liked it and kept it.
This was a great day for a card show. I had a couple of dealers cancel and added one new dealer last minute, who had that pretty cool Frank Kaminsky autographed photo, pictured below. By 9 a.m., all 34 tables were filled with dealers and cards. We had a steady flow of customers all day long.
We shared the hotel this morning with a large dart tournament. I remember the tournament from last year when people were hanging out in the parking lot drinking vodka at 7 a.m. I didn't see anyone drink in the parking lot this time around. Though, I did notice that the hotel had strategically placed a bar in front of the ball room where the tourney was being held. There were also many signs posted stating that outside alcohol was forbidden. The manager came by early on and introduced me to his extra security for the tourney. He told me he was stuck at the hotel with the tourney until 2 a.m. the night before and arrived back at 7 a.m.
I know all too well that some folks can't handle their alcohol and can get out of hand after a few shots. This crowd, although loud a times, was pretty well behaved. I also appreciate a good party where people are having a great time. That dart tourney is a good party where people have a great time. A few tourney people stumbled into the card show as well. All are welcome at the Fat Daddy's Sports Card show. I have had some of my best sales at hotel shows where people stumbled in from the bar.
Attendance was up from February. I gave out almost all the packs of cards I brought, including a box of 2018 Topps baseball. My sales were exceptional. I had a customer purchase a large stack of 1969 Topps baseball. Jerome purchased a larger pile from my newly reloaded 1975 Topps baseball binder. Quite a few guys came up from Illinois, including Tim, who purchased my 1983 and 1984 Fleer baseball sets. Another Illinois customer purchased a large pile of 1961 Topps baseball. I was busy all day long. I sold a lot of cards out of my binders and my display cases.
Flush with cash, I went on a buying spree. I bought a stack of 1964 Topps baseball commons from a customer, a 1956 Topps Hank Aaron PSA 4, an autographed Bill Buckner baseball, some 1953 Bowman football, some 1936 Goudeys including Hank Greenberg and Kiki Cuyler, some 1941 Play Ball and a few T206s. A really nice haul!
This was a really great show. I love these sorts of shows where I sell and buy a ton of stuff. I had a great time. A big thank you to all the customers and dealers who attended the show.
My next Four Points Sheraton show is on Saturday, April 7, 2018. I've picked up a box of Wacky Packages stickers to give away. I will get a bunch more stuff for giveaways before the show. See you April 7th!
First observations as I pulled up to the Sheraton at 6:45 a.m.: (1) the seagulls are back, (2) there are a ton of cars in the parking lot, (3) the back door is locked, (4) there are literally mounds of cigarette butts in front of the doors to the hotel, and (5) one of Larry Larsen's customers is already at the hotel waiting for Larry.
We were in the larger Mitchell Room for this show. I invited Larry's customer to come in and wait. I don't mind if customers show up early but 6:45 a.m. is a new record. I had ordered 34 tables and chairs and received 34 tables and chairs. So often, I don't get what I ordered and have to scramble to find tables and chairs before the show opens. The crew set up the room in an unusual manner but I liked it and kept it.
This was a great day for a card show. I had a couple of dealers cancel and added one new dealer last minute, who had that pretty cool Frank Kaminsky autographed photo, pictured below. By 9 a.m., all 34 tables were filled with dealers and cards. We had a steady flow of customers all day long.
We shared the hotel this morning with a large dart tournament. I remember the tournament from last year when people were hanging out in the parking lot drinking vodka at 7 a.m. I didn't see anyone drink in the parking lot this time around. Though, I did notice that the hotel had strategically placed a bar in front of the ball room where the tourney was being held. There were also many signs posted stating that outside alcohol was forbidden. The manager came by early on and introduced me to his extra security for the tourney. He told me he was stuck at the hotel with the tourney until 2 a.m. the night before and arrived back at 7 a.m.
I know all too well that some folks can't handle their alcohol and can get out of hand after a few shots. This crowd, although loud a times, was pretty well behaved. I also appreciate a good party where people are having a great time. That dart tourney is a good party where people have a great time. A few tourney people stumbled into the card show as well. All are welcome at the Fat Daddy's Sports Card show. I have had some of my best sales at hotel shows where people stumbled in from the bar.
Attendance was up from February. I gave out almost all the packs of cards I brought, including a box of 2018 Topps baseball. My sales were exceptional. I had a customer purchase a large stack of 1969 Topps baseball. Jerome purchased a larger pile from my newly reloaded 1975 Topps baseball binder. Quite a few guys came up from Illinois, including Tim, who purchased my 1983 and 1984 Fleer baseball sets. Another Illinois customer purchased a large pile of 1961 Topps baseball. I was busy all day long. I sold a lot of cards out of my binders and my display cases.
Flush with cash, I went on a buying spree. I bought a stack of 1964 Topps baseball commons from a customer, a 1956 Topps Hank Aaron PSA 4, an autographed Bill Buckner baseball, some 1953 Bowman football, some 1936 Goudeys including Hank Greenberg and Kiki Cuyler, some 1941 Play Ball and a few T206s. A really nice haul!
This was a really great show. I love these sorts of shows where I sell and buy a ton of stuff. I had a great time. A big thank you to all the customers and dealers who attended the show.
My next Four Points Sheraton show is on Saturday, April 7, 2018. I've picked up a box of Wacky Packages stickers to give away. I will get a bunch more stuff for giveaways before the show. See you April 7th!
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