I had hoped to arrive at the Smith & Gordon Show on Saturday, April 4, 2015, in Milwaukee by 7 a.m. I knew that was not going to happen. Luckily, I had loaded up the car on Friday so I just needed to jump in the shower and get out the door. I made it to the show by 8 a.m. One again, I was one of the last dealers to arrive at my own show. Thankfully, my partner Mark Smith was there bright and early, had the room set up and name tags on each table. Mark is the best!
Earlier in the week, we bumped up the room from the small Rembrandt Room to the large Mitchell Room because several additional dealers wanted tables. Mark laid out the room with tables along the walls and a large rectangle of tables in the middle. I really liked the look of the room. We had our largest dealer turn out to date so the room looked especially cool. Though, it was an expensive venture because the Mitchell Room is pricey and we also dropped some coin on an ad in the Milwaukee Journal.
Last month, we had our best attendance to date. This month, however, I think we lost some folks to spring break and Easter. Attendance was not nearly as hearty as March. Though, I have to say that the folks that came out were all quality customers because I not only had my best day selling cards at any of the Smith & Gordon shows, I had my best day of the year!
I am not sure how this all worked out so well. I was still in a Nyquil haze. I had five tables to fill and once again packed my car floor to ceiling with stuff. It took three trips on the hotel cart to load in. It also took a long time to set up. I put out 10 display cases, all my binders (I am not sure how many I have, there are dozens), and assorted memorabilia items.
Jerome was there at 7 a.m. eager to purchase some vintage cards. Sorry for the wait Jerome! I gave him a seat behind one of my tables at 8:15 a.m. and he spent a while going through my 1972 Topps baseball binder. Jason was also an early attendee. I had priced five or six stars from the 1952 Berk Ross baseball set just prior to the show. Jason took them all. He also found a T205 and some cards in my newly reloaded 1953 Topps baseball binder. I gotta say, those binders from the 1950s look amazingly cool when they are newly reloaded.
A regular customer purchased a 1955 Bowman Andy Pafko. Jim found some 1953 Topps baseball. Mark took most of my new binder of 1970 Kellogg's baseball. Thanks Mark! I absolutely love the 1970 Kellogg's 3D baseball cards. There is just something about them that looks so cool. I also find that more than any other card, I seemed to get pulled right back to childhood when I look at those 3D cards. Mark also picked up a 1962 Topps Jim Taylor and some 1959 Fleer Ted Williams cards. Jeff also pulled some of the 1959 Fleers along with 1952 Topps and 1960 Leaf baseball.
Mark Smith has swammy-like skills for bringing buyers into the room. Today, he brought in Gizmo who spend quite a bit of money with many dealers, myself included. Thanks Mark and Gizmo!!
I was pretty busy most of the day and a little hazy. I forgot to write down many sales. I few other sales I remembered to note were some 1959s sold to an older collector, a new customer purchased some 1972-73 Topps hockey and some 1959 Topps baseball. Jack picked up some 1955 Bowmans. Rob pulled a punch of cards and an autograph hound rounded out my day with some cards from the 1960s.
In addition to a great day selling cards, I had a phenomenal day purchasing cards. A new customer sold me some Bowman baseball from 1949 through 1952, some 1954 Bowman baseball and some 1952 Topps baseball. Woot! Mark told me that another new customer walked through the room selling all sorts of vintage gems. I also purchased my first packs of 2015 Topps Heritage from Jim. I pulled a Mike Trout short print. Nelson told me that some of the variations include fake gum stains on the back of the cards. Come on! Really?
Scotty P. reported that the Nite Owl has opened for the season -- home of the best burgers in the world. I had to pass because the wife wanted me home. Oh well, next month, I'm hitting the Nite Owl after the show!!
Next weekend, I have two Wisconsin shows. I'm setting up at Northland Mall in Appleton on Saturday and then the Gonzaga show on Sunday. I have had a productive week and loaded up some 1969 Topps Deckle Edge baseball cards, 1954 Topps baseball cards, 1954 and 1955 Bowman football cards, and 1955 Topps All-American football cards. I am going to start work on 1954 Bowman baseball and plan on pricing more cards for my display cases before the weekend. I am looking forward to another weekend in the great state of Wisconsin.
My condolences to Wisconsin Badger fans for their heart-breaking loss to Duke in the NCAA Championship game. I watched quite a few Wisconsin games this year and the team just looked tired on Monday. That Duke team was deep and filled with so many money ballplayers. Wisconsin had them on the ropes but just could not finish. That was one great game. I'm looking forward to seeing Wisconsin star Frank Kaminsky in the NBA next year.
A big thank you to all the dealers and customers that came out to my show last weekend. It was so nice to have a stellar show after a couple of duds in Jackson and Canton. I completely forgot to take photos of the show so I scanned some of the 1949 Bowman baseball I picked up. Also, I found a garden glove with a Brewers logo on it in the Clarion parking lot. I am going to bring it to Appleton and Gonzaga this weekend to see if I can find the owner. Take care everybody!!