July 14, 2012, Orland Park, IL -- Kind of a slow day at the office today. Summer can be tough at the card show with so many other competing things going on. Yet, prior to today, I had three excellent weeks in a row, along with a nice string of Orland shows going back several months. I guess I was due for a slow show. My sales weren't terrible, just a little off. The thing that was most notable today was the small crowd. There is usually a much larger crowd at this show. Needless to say, I still had a good time.
My day got off to a soggy start with a severe downpour here in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Though, once on the highway, the skies cleared up and it was bright, sunny and hot when I arrived in Orland Park. Load in went smoothly. The room was practically empty at 8:15 a.m. Though most of the tables eventually filled up. Show number two without the hot dog lady. I was hungry all day. The front area is starting to look like someone's basement. One table had a bunch of cans of tennis balls. The other tables had odd assortments of junk. It's weird not seeing Eddie and his lovely lady or Tom the memorabilia guy.
I noticed quite a few new memorabilia dealers today. There was a new guy set up next to me with memorabilia. I don't think he sold much and he was out the door pretty quick around 1 p.m. A couple around the corner had some tables filled with memorabilia. I don't think they sold much either. The room was strong on vintage today with me, Jim, Mike, Bill, Steve, and Mark. We had quite a selection of old cards today.
A regular customer got things going for me today with a purchase of some 1970 Topps baseball. Another regular picked up some 1971 Topps and informed me about our friend Lenny who is recovering from a heart attack. I'm hoping Lenny has a speedy recovery and is back at the card show soon! Another regular purchased some 1975 Topps. Aaron found some 1961s and 1960s. Larry picked up my 1955 Topps Jackie Jensen. A semi-regular customer picked up some 1961s to send out for signatures.
A regular customer purchased a group of oddball/insert cards. Another regular found some 1972s. A new customer purchased a bunch of 1970's football. Another new customer picked up some 1965 Topps baseball. Rick bought some 61s, 59 baseball, some 1972-73 Topps basketball, and my 1955 Bowman Willie Mays and Yogi Berra cards. Those puppies were nice. TJ made an appearance today and bought some 1952 Bowmans, which was much appreciated. A new customer bought my 1958 Topps Yogi Berra. Another new customer purchased my 1961 Topps Billy Williams rookie. Thanks to Jim for directing that customer my way! I saw Chuck again today. That's two weeks in a row. Today he had his son with him, who I'm dubbing "Too Tall." Chuck picked up my 1954 Bowman Gil Hodges and some 1968 Topps football. A new customer purchased some 1957 Topps baseball, some 1962 Topps football, and some 1970-71 Topps basketball. Will rounded out my day with some 1957s, 1966s and some 1961s.
On the buying front, I picked up some 1962 Topps baseball and a binder of Cubs cards including seven Ernie Banks cards. A dealer came by with some Red Man tobacco cards but I didn't have the funds on me. Another dealer offered me some 1981 baseball, which I declined. Not much else doing on the buying side.
I got out of the show pretty quick today because I was so hungry. Me, Will and Joe went straight to Burger King. That double Whopper really hit the spot. With the diabetes, I can't eat French fries any more. Man, do I miss French fries. Once home, I priced some 1961 Post baseball for the Gonzaga show tomorrow. I also reloaded my cheapie boxes. I'm hoping for a nice show tomorrow. My last Gonzaga show was slow. I don't think I've ever had two slow Gonzaga shows in a row. Though with today's light turn out in Orland, I'm a little worried about tomorrow. Yet, one thing I know is a fact, I can't predict how a card show will go. I truly never know. I could have my worst show ever or my best show tomorrow. Each show is different, which is probably why I enjoy it so much. I've got some great friends in Orland and had a real good time today. I've also made some nice friends up in Milwaukee and am looking forward to the show.
Next week I'm trucking out to Canton, Ohio, for the monthly show out there. I did this show in March and it was terrific. I'm hoping for more of the same next week. I'm also debating on driving out to Cooperstown, NY, for the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. There's a card show that runs at the VFW Post in town during the ceremonies and there are some good dealers there that I'd like to see. I'm going to play that one by ear and see if I'm up for that drive next weekend. Either way, I'm looking forward to Canton. I'm planning on loading up on some football cards for that show. There are some serious football card collectors in that town. It's pretty cool to see. As Will said today, I'm truly a vintage sports card addict. I can't deny it, I love this stuff!
My day got off to a soggy start with a severe downpour here in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Though, once on the highway, the skies cleared up and it was bright, sunny and hot when I arrived in Orland Park. Load in went smoothly. The room was practically empty at 8:15 a.m. Though most of the tables eventually filled up. Show number two without the hot dog lady. I was hungry all day. The front area is starting to look like someone's basement. One table had a bunch of cans of tennis balls. The other tables had odd assortments of junk. It's weird not seeing Eddie and his lovely lady or Tom the memorabilia guy.
I noticed quite a few new memorabilia dealers today. There was a new guy set up next to me with memorabilia. I don't think he sold much and he was out the door pretty quick around 1 p.m. A couple around the corner had some tables filled with memorabilia. I don't think they sold much either. The room was strong on vintage today with me, Jim, Mike, Bill, Steve, and Mark. We had quite a selection of old cards today.
A regular customer got things going for me today with a purchase of some 1970 Topps baseball. Another regular picked up some 1971 Topps and informed me about our friend Lenny who is recovering from a heart attack. I'm hoping Lenny has a speedy recovery and is back at the card show soon! Another regular purchased some 1975 Topps. Aaron found some 1961s and 1960s. Larry picked up my 1955 Topps Jackie Jensen. A semi-regular customer picked up some 1961s to send out for signatures.
A regular customer purchased a group of oddball/insert cards. Another regular found some 1972s. A new customer purchased a bunch of 1970's football. Another new customer picked up some 1965 Topps baseball. Rick bought some 61s, 59 baseball, some 1972-73 Topps basketball, and my 1955 Bowman Willie Mays and Yogi Berra cards. Those puppies were nice. TJ made an appearance today and bought some 1952 Bowmans, which was much appreciated. A new customer bought my 1958 Topps Yogi Berra. Another new customer purchased my 1961 Topps Billy Williams rookie. Thanks to Jim for directing that customer my way! I saw Chuck again today. That's two weeks in a row. Today he had his son with him, who I'm dubbing "Too Tall." Chuck picked up my 1954 Bowman Gil Hodges and some 1968 Topps football. A new customer purchased some 1957 Topps baseball, some 1962 Topps football, and some 1970-71 Topps basketball. Will rounded out my day with some 1957s, 1966s and some 1961s.
On the buying front, I picked up some 1962 Topps baseball and a binder of Cubs cards including seven Ernie Banks cards. A dealer came by with some Red Man tobacco cards but I didn't have the funds on me. Another dealer offered me some 1981 baseball, which I declined. Not much else doing on the buying side.
I got out of the show pretty quick today because I was so hungry. Me, Will and Joe went straight to Burger King. That double Whopper really hit the spot. With the diabetes, I can't eat French fries any more. Man, do I miss French fries. Once home, I priced some 1961 Post baseball for the Gonzaga show tomorrow. I also reloaded my cheapie boxes. I'm hoping for a nice show tomorrow. My last Gonzaga show was slow. I don't think I've ever had two slow Gonzaga shows in a row. Though with today's light turn out in Orland, I'm a little worried about tomorrow. Yet, one thing I know is a fact, I can't predict how a card show will go. I truly never know. I could have my worst show ever or my best show tomorrow. Each show is different, which is probably why I enjoy it so much. I've got some great friends in Orland and had a real good time today. I've also made some nice friends up in Milwaukee and am looking forward to the show.
Next week I'm trucking out to Canton, Ohio, for the monthly show out there. I did this show in March and it was terrific. I'm hoping for more of the same next week. I'm also debating on driving out to Cooperstown, NY, for the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. There's a card show that runs at the VFW Post in town during the ceremonies and there are some good dealers there that I'd like to see. I'm going to play that one by ear and see if I'm up for that drive next weekend. Either way, I'm looking forward to Canton. I'm planning on loading up on some football cards for that show. There are some serious football card collectors in that town. It's pretty cool to see. As Will said today, I'm truly a vintage sports card addict. I can't deny it, I love this stuff!
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