Sorry for such a late blog post this week. I did not have a very good show in Mason City, Iowa, last weekend and lost my motivation to blog about it. The baseball card business is like a roller coaster ride where you have ups and downs. When sales are rocking and the crowds are out at the shows, I am extra-enthused to blog, buy, sell, and prep for the shows. On the other hand, when few people attend the shows and sales are down, I turn into a sloth. Except for the Smith & Gordon show, April was a lousy month at the card shows. There was a decline in attendance for each and every show. Mason City had the worst attendance of any show I attended this year. Though, I have been setting up at shows long enough to know to avoid making any assumptions about a show after just one visit. I assume the Mason City show is generally better than what I experienced last weekend.
First off, the promoter Rick Larson is awesome! When I called to reserve some tables, Rick offered to reserve a motel room for me. I have never had a promoter reserve a motel room for me in the past. I can't say how much I appreciate that kind of service. On top of that, Rick is a real personable guy. He owns an excellent card shop in the mall that houses the card show. He is very active on social media promoting the show. He said he has been running the show for eight years. There were a good number of dealers with excellent inventory. We just did not get much of a turn out. Saturday was actually okay but Sunday was abysmal. I would set up at this show again but just on a Saturday and try and find something in nearby Minnesota for Sunday.
So I had some time to explore Mason City. It is an old Victorian town with a nice Downtown highlighted by a beautiful old hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. There is quite a bit of housing in Mason City from beautiful Victorian mansions to small ranch houses. The outskirts of town are pocketed with various manufacturing and farms. This is a town that has maintained the status quo and has not suffered the decay of so many other Midwest manufacturing towns. The Southbridge Mall, where the card show was held, unfortunately, is only half filled with stores -- which does not make a whole lot of sense because I did not see many other shopping options other than the typical big box stores like Walmart and Target.
Rick said the town is going to build a sports complex where a vacant JC Penney sits and also take over the area where his store is located. He is going to move to another part of the mall. A lot of folks seem excited about the sports complex that will have a hockey rink and basketball courts. I hope it works out and breaths new life into the mall.
With time to spare, I took a bunch of photos of Mason City, posted below. Click on the photo for a larger view.
First off, the promoter Rick Larson is awesome! When I called to reserve some tables, Rick offered to reserve a motel room for me. I have never had a promoter reserve a motel room for me in the past. I can't say how much I appreciate that kind of service. On top of that, Rick is a real personable guy. He owns an excellent card shop in the mall that houses the card show. He is very active on social media promoting the show. He said he has been running the show for eight years. There were a good number of dealers with excellent inventory. We just did not get much of a turn out. Saturday was actually okay but Sunday was abysmal. I would set up at this show again but just on a Saturday and try and find something in nearby Minnesota for Sunday.
So I had some time to explore Mason City. It is an old Victorian town with a nice Downtown highlighted by a beautiful old hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. There is quite a bit of housing in Mason City from beautiful Victorian mansions to small ranch houses. The outskirts of town are pocketed with various manufacturing and farms. This is a town that has maintained the status quo and has not suffered the decay of so many other Midwest manufacturing towns. The Southbridge Mall, where the card show was held, unfortunately, is only half filled with stores -- which does not make a whole lot of sense because I did not see many other shopping options other than the typical big box stores like Walmart and Target.
Rick said the town is going to build a sports complex where a vacant JC Penney sits and also take over the area where his store is located. He is going to move to another part of the mall. A lot of folks seem excited about the sports complex that will have a hockey rink and basketball courts. I hope it works out and breaths new life into the mall.
With time to spare, I took a bunch of photos of Mason City, posted below. Click on the photo for a larger view.
Well, good riddance to April. I am sure happy to see May. I am heading to Indianapolis today where I will set up tomorrow, May 2, 2015, at the La Quinta Inn. I was hoping to have a new 1976 Topps baseball binder ready to go but I did not finish it. I should have the '76 binder ready for the Smith & Gordon show next weekend. I am setting up at the Wyndham Garden on Sunday, May 3, 2015, in Schaumburg, Illinois. I always enjoy seeing dealers Fred, Willie, Ted and the Woj. There are some great customers at the Schaumburg show like Randy and Larry. It sure would be nice to see some additional folks in Schaumburg on Sunday. Where are you guys? Come on out to the show!!!
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