"Sauna" was the operative word today at the Gonzaga show. Reportedly, the hall has air conditioning but it sure didn't feel like it. The WSCA club president Keith Kilps was very apologetic about the heat, there wasn't anything he could do about it. Though, I wouldn't mind seeing some fans set up at the next show. I was dripping in sweat after bringing in my stuff. Other guys, the ones with much more girth, were worse off than me. Whooo boy did it stink in there. Reminded me of my high school football lockerroom after a few weeks of two-a-day practices.
Nice turn out today though, all the dealer tables were filled, a nice crowd attended the show. I made quite a few sales. Mark picked up some '63 Post and some '65 Topps Transfers, Jason purchased some '35 Diamond Stars and some '39 Goudeys along with some '72s and '73s. Mike picked up some '70s. I sold my '53 Bowman Color Gil Hodges to a new customer who said he sells on eBay under the name Cooperstown Sports. One of my regulars picked out a large stack of '64s. I sold a PSA 8 1959 Topps Felix Mantilla to another customer. I sold a bunch of '35 Goudeys to another regular. Gary picked up a '57 Don Drysdale rookie and a Roy Campanella. Another customer, who I normally see at the Serb Hall show, picked up quite a few Hispanic players for his collection of Hispanic players. Another semi-regular picked up some '62s though he was disappointed I didn't have more. I can't blame him, my commons from the '50s and '60s have been hit hard. I just can't keep up with the demand. Because of my day-job and family, I can only reload about one binder a week. I'm hoping to get '51 Bowman baseball reloaded this week.
I may have made a terrible mistake in accepting an out-of-state check from a customer I have never seen before. The customer, who claims to live in Georgia, said he grew up in Wisconsin and regularly visits and attends the Gonzaga show. He was decked out in Brewer gear and a little older, so I took a chance on accepting a check from him. Normally, I don't take out-of-state checks because I have been burned in the past. After I took the check, I wished I hadn't and have a real sinking suspicion about this one. Hopefully, the check is good. If not, it will teach me an important lesson -- Don't accept out-of-state checks! I feel like a real dumbass at the moment. I know better.
I have to pause this blog to point out that as I sit here, my wife is unloading my car for me. That woman totally rocks!
Okay, back to the blog. I made more purchases than usual at the Gonzaga show. I have one regular guy who I make a few small purchases from each show. I picked up my small group from him. I also spent a few hundred dollars for some high grade '50's through '70's baseball and football from another dealer. A random guy offered me some Michael Jordan cards and some Sports Illustrateds, which I turned down. A dealer across the way had a T206 Christy Mathewson for $150. The front was okay except for a dinged corner that was frayed. The back had paper and paste from being pasted into a scrapbook. The dealer wouldn't budge on his price. I would have bought the card if the dealer would have knocked something off. I never understand dealers who are not willing to negotiate. I always knock something off the price for my customers. I guess that is why my table was filled with people from start to finish while I hardly saw anyone at his table. The dealers behind me made a nice buy of vintage from a guy who has burned me in the past. Even witnessing this purchase, I'm not ready to buy from that guy again. There is just something real shady about him.
One of the coolest moments of the show was when a little boy, about six years old, came up to my table and asked me if Mickey Mantle played the violin. I told him I didn't know whether Mickey Mantle played the violin. He was quite sure that Mickey Mantle plays the violin. I love kids and love seeing them at the show. I met Scott Ziegert little girl today. Scott and I are sharing a booth at the National. Hopefully I can rustle my little girl out of bed and she and Scott's girl can hang out at the National. My daughter is like her old man and doesn't do mornings.
Anyway, the Gonzaga show is always solid and consistent and today was no exception. It was another great day in Milwaukee. Though traffic was lousy coming home. It took me an hour and a half. No shows for three weeks, which is unusual. There's no Serb Hall until August 22, which I'll probably skip because I'll be wiped out from the National and the Gonzaga/Orland gauntlet. I plan on hitting Serb in September. Next show is Orland and I hope to have many books refilled by that show. Now it's time to nap.
Nice turn out today though, all the dealer tables were filled, a nice crowd attended the show. I made quite a few sales. Mark picked up some '63 Post and some '65 Topps Transfers, Jason purchased some '35 Diamond Stars and some '39 Goudeys along with some '72s and '73s. Mike picked up some '70s. I sold my '53 Bowman Color Gil Hodges to a new customer who said he sells on eBay under the name Cooperstown Sports. One of my regulars picked out a large stack of '64s. I sold a PSA 8 1959 Topps Felix Mantilla to another customer. I sold a bunch of '35 Goudeys to another regular. Gary picked up a '57 Don Drysdale rookie and a Roy Campanella. Another customer, who I normally see at the Serb Hall show, picked up quite a few Hispanic players for his collection of Hispanic players. Another semi-regular picked up some '62s though he was disappointed I didn't have more. I can't blame him, my commons from the '50s and '60s have been hit hard. I just can't keep up with the demand. Because of my day-job and family, I can only reload about one binder a week. I'm hoping to get '51 Bowman baseball reloaded this week.
I may have made a terrible mistake in accepting an out-of-state check from a customer I have never seen before. The customer, who claims to live in Georgia, said he grew up in Wisconsin and regularly visits and attends the Gonzaga show. He was decked out in Brewer gear and a little older, so I took a chance on accepting a check from him. Normally, I don't take out-of-state checks because I have been burned in the past. After I took the check, I wished I hadn't and have a real sinking suspicion about this one. Hopefully, the check is good. If not, it will teach me an important lesson -- Don't accept out-of-state checks! I feel like a real dumbass at the moment. I know better.
I have to pause this blog to point out that as I sit here, my wife is unloading my car for me. That woman totally rocks!
Okay, back to the blog. I made more purchases than usual at the Gonzaga show. I have one regular guy who I make a few small purchases from each show. I picked up my small group from him. I also spent a few hundred dollars for some high grade '50's through '70's baseball and football from another dealer. A random guy offered me some Michael Jordan cards and some Sports Illustrateds, which I turned down. A dealer across the way had a T206 Christy Mathewson for $150. The front was okay except for a dinged corner that was frayed. The back had paper and paste from being pasted into a scrapbook. The dealer wouldn't budge on his price. I would have bought the card if the dealer would have knocked something off. I never understand dealers who are not willing to negotiate. I always knock something off the price for my customers. I guess that is why my table was filled with people from start to finish while I hardly saw anyone at his table. The dealers behind me made a nice buy of vintage from a guy who has burned me in the past. Even witnessing this purchase, I'm not ready to buy from that guy again. There is just something real shady about him.
One of the coolest moments of the show was when a little boy, about six years old, came up to my table and asked me if Mickey Mantle played the violin. I told him I didn't know whether Mickey Mantle played the violin. He was quite sure that Mickey Mantle plays the violin. I love kids and love seeing them at the show. I met Scott Ziegert little girl today. Scott and I are sharing a booth at the National. Hopefully I can rustle my little girl out of bed and she and Scott's girl can hang out at the National. My daughter is like her old man and doesn't do mornings.
Anyway, the Gonzaga show is always solid and consistent and today was no exception. It was another great day in Milwaukee. Though traffic was lousy coming home. It took me an hour and a half. No shows for three weeks, which is unusual. There's no Serb Hall until August 22, which I'll probably skip because I'll be wiped out from the National and the Gonzaga/Orland gauntlet. I plan on hitting Serb in September. Next show is Orland and I hope to have many books refilled by that show. Now it's time to nap.
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