Saturday, August 20, 2022, Da Region Sports Card Expo, Merrillville, Indiana
I am so disappointed. I had such a nice streak going but it all came to a screeching halt today in Indiana. I just bombed.
On the plus side, this was promoter Mitch LaRock's first show at the venue which is absolutely awesome. May be the best venue I have ever set up at.
Mitch has been running this show for about four years. I set up at the very first one but have not been able to make it back due to scheduling conflicts. Initially, this was a one day show. It is now a two-day show with several autograph guests. Horace Grant and Al Weis were signing at the show today.
I contacted Mitch a few weeks ago to see if I could just set up on Saturday because I had Orland scheduled for Sunday and I hate to miss the Orland show which is one of my best. Mitch said several dealers were setting up on just Saturday and I could as well.
One mistake I made, which I regularly goof up on, is that I failed to ask the cost of tables. I just regularly book shows and show up and pay whatever the promoter asks me to pay. I have never paid more than $100 for two tables except for the big shows. I only charge 50 bucks for two tables at my Oak Creek show. I learned upon arrival this morning in Merrillville that my table fee was $200. Ouch! I was required to pay instanter. Oddly enough, some the other guys setting up for one day were only charged $150. Not sure why I got charged more than others.
So, I had quite a hole to dig out of from the get-go. I really love the venue, though. An absolutely huge room. Great lighting. Lots of dealers... customers, not so much. Without my old friend Dave Frazier, I probably would not have sold much at all. This turned out to be a total loss. Probably my worst show ever because of the huge table fee.
Terry D., who hates when I bring my binders, is going to say my poor sales were the result of my decision to bring out binders. Though Terry may not believe it, there are many shows where I do very well with the binders. I have bombed out in the past with showcases. I don't think it was an issue of my display, there just were not many vintage buyers.
It was nice to see Dave Frazier. I also found Dave's loupe when I was packing up which I am dropping in the mail. I also bought some non-sports cards from Dave, my only purchase of the day.
I did enjoy chatting with Tony Schaefer and his wife Kate, who went out and brought back lunch. Thank you, Kate! I also got to chat with Mike Johnson and Dennis Barrett, Jeff Talamantez, Dave Kania, Alex Rauter, Jim C., Terry, Mike Slinkman, Andrew Wipijewski, Derek, '86 Fleer Bill and Josh Brothers. So the day was not a total loss.
Oh well. This was not my first bad show and won't be the last. I am looking forward to rectifying the situation in Orland.
I am so disappointed. I had such a nice streak going but it all came to a screeching halt today in Indiana. I just bombed.
On the plus side, this was promoter Mitch LaRock's first show at the venue which is absolutely awesome. May be the best venue I have ever set up at.
Mitch has been running this show for about four years. I set up at the very first one but have not been able to make it back due to scheduling conflicts. Initially, this was a one day show. It is now a two-day show with several autograph guests. Horace Grant and Al Weis were signing at the show today.
I contacted Mitch a few weeks ago to see if I could just set up on Saturday because I had Orland scheduled for Sunday and I hate to miss the Orland show which is one of my best. Mitch said several dealers were setting up on just Saturday and I could as well.
One mistake I made, which I regularly goof up on, is that I failed to ask the cost of tables. I just regularly book shows and show up and pay whatever the promoter asks me to pay. I have never paid more than $100 for two tables except for the big shows. I only charge 50 bucks for two tables at my Oak Creek show. I learned upon arrival this morning in Merrillville that my table fee was $200. Ouch! I was required to pay instanter. Oddly enough, some the other guys setting up for one day were only charged $150. Not sure why I got charged more than others.
So, I had quite a hole to dig out of from the get-go. I really love the venue, though. An absolutely huge room. Great lighting. Lots of dealers... customers, not so much. Without my old friend Dave Frazier, I probably would not have sold much at all. This turned out to be a total loss. Probably my worst show ever because of the huge table fee.
Terry D., who hates when I bring my binders, is going to say my poor sales were the result of my decision to bring out binders. Though Terry may not believe it, there are many shows where I do very well with the binders. I have bombed out in the past with showcases. I don't think it was an issue of my display, there just were not many vintage buyers.
It was nice to see Dave Frazier. I also found Dave's loupe when I was packing up which I am dropping in the mail. I also bought some non-sports cards from Dave, my only purchase of the day.
I did enjoy chatting with Tony Schaefer and his wife Kate, who went out and brought back lunch. Thank you, Kate! I also got to chat with Mike Johnson and Dennis Barrett, Jeff Talamantez, Dave Kania, Alex Rauter, Jim C., Terry, Mike Slinkman, Andrew Wipijewski, Derek, '86 Fleer Bill and Josh Brothers. So the day was not a total loss.
Oh well. This was not my first bad show and won't be the last. I am looking forward to rectifying the situation in Orland.
Pretty great venue... just not a great amount of people.
So a guy brought this oddball program to me asking if I knew its value. Inside was Cappelletti's signature and several more from the '64 Patriots. The only other autograph I could decipher was Babe Parelli. I could not come up with a value on this item. I advised the guy to submit to one of the large auction houses. He told me as I was leaving that he sold it for $1,000.
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