Well, I kinda felt like Johnny Rivers today, just slow dancin' and swayin' to the music. Unfortunately, it wasn't just me and my girl, it was me in a room of a few thousand people where I spent nine hours watching them walk on by my table. My expectations for today were crushed. I usually do well on the Saturday at the Sun-Times show and I expected a great day today at the National. I can't remember if the Saturday at the 2010 National was a bomb. I do remember that Sunday was terrible, which doesn't bode well for tomorrow. Today was terrible.
The highlight of my day was an extremely odd fellow who came by early in the morning. He asked if I buy cards. I said yes and he handed me three cards. One was a fake 1953 Topps Mickey Mantle which he wanted $350. The other was a fake 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan that had a fake autograph. I didn't ask him for a price on the fake Jordan. He also had some sort of Curtis Granderson signed insert card that I had no interest in. When I gave him his cards back he offered to sell me some 2013 Detroit Tigers pocket schedules for 25 cents a piece. "The Tigers are going to win it all this year," he remarked, holding out the skeds like they were some sort of valuable artifact.
I had a tough time registering anything this guy said to me because his toupee was cockeyed and looked like it was going to fall off. I wanted to reach over, grab his head and straighten out that rug. I wonder if he lost that thing at some point during the show. A little bit about the fake '53 Mantle he tried to pass as real. He ran a reprint through the washer. It was so heavily water damaged to the point where the paper must have peeled right off. You could see where he peeled off the part of the paper on the back that should have read "Reprint." While I hate thieves and scam artists, I actually liked this guy because he was the best entertainment of the day. You should have seen that toupee! Too bad I wasn't on the ball enough to snap a photo.
I had a few sales. Chuck bought some cards. Thanks Chuck! A couple of the OBC guys purchased some cards. A few other guys dinked around and made some purchases. I spent most of the day just watching people walk on by. It was weird. This is the National. This is supposed to the place where the hardcore collectors congregate. I have many questions with very few answers.
I bought a couple of cards but I was too depressed to really shop. I picked up a 1939 Play Ball Bobby Doerr and a 1965 Topps Roger Maris. There really wasn't a whole lot of good stuff brought to my table. Most guys coming around today were overpriced.
I did take some time to walk around today because nothing else was doin'. The Topps, Upper Deck, Panini and Beckett booths were jammed packed. At the 2010 National, Beckett was selling their annual priceguides for 10 bucks a pop. Today, the books were between $25 to $35. I'm hoping they drop the price tomorrow and also that some of the dealers have some firesales. I'm not expecting much tomorrow. And, honestly, after four days, I'm sick of the place. It's a shame I gotta go back. I wish I could pack up early but the folks that run the show won't let you pull up and load until 5 p.m. Ugh! Oh well, if you're planning on coming out tomorrow stop by booth 305 and brighten my day!! Please!!!!! Below are some photos from today.
The highlight of my day was an extremely odd fellow who came by early in the morning. He asked if I buy cards. I said yes and he handed me three cards. One was a fake 1953 Topps Mickey Mantle which he wanted $350. The other was a fake 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan that had a fake autograph. I didn't ask him for a price on the fake Jordan. He also had some sort of Curtis Granderson signed insert card that I had no interest in. When I gave him his cards back he offered to sell me some 2013 Detroit Tigers pocket schedules for 25 cents a piece. "The Tigers are going to win it all this year," he remarked, holding out the skeds like they were some sort of valuable artifact.
I had a tough time registering anything this guy said to me because his toupee was cockeyed and looked like it was going to fall off. I wanted to reach over, grab his head and straighten out that rug. I wonder if he lost that thing at some point during the show. A little bit about the fake '53 Mantle he tried to pass as real. He ran a reprint through the washer. It was so heavily water damaged to the point where the paper must have peeled right off. You could see where he peeled off the part of the paper on the back that should have read "Reprint." While I hate thieves and scam artists, I actually liked this guy because he was the best entertainment of the day. You should have seen that toupee! Too bad I wasn't on the ball enough to snap a photo.
I had a few sales. Chuck bought some cards. Thanks Chuck! A couple of the OBC guys purchased some cards. A few other guys dinked around and made some purchases. I spent most of the day just watching people walk on by. It was weird. This is the National. This is supposed to the place where the hardcore collectors congregate. I have many questions with very few answers.
I bought a couple of cards but I was too depressed to really shop. I picked up a 1939 Play Ball Bobby Doerr and a 1965 Topps Roger Maris. There really wasn't a whole lot of good stuff brought to my table. Most guys coming around today were overpriced.
I did take some time to walk around today because nothing else was doin'. The Topps, Upper Deck, Panini and Beckett booths were jammed packed. At the 2010 National, Beckett was selling their annual priceguides for 10 bucks a pop. Today, the books were between $25 to $35. I'm hoping they drop the price tomorrow and also that some of the dealers have some firesales. I'm not expecting much tomorrow. And, honestly, after four days, I'm sick of the place. It's a shame I gotta go back. I wish I could pack up early but the folks that run the show won't let you pull up and load until 5 p.m. Ugh! Oh well, if you're planning on coming out tomorrow stop by booth 305 and brighten my day!! Please!!!!! Below are some photos from today.
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