[therobertogato]

I know, 30 years old, semi-serious collector, how have you never been to a show? I just never had the chance, never saw one in my area, circumstances never landed just right. Saturday and Sunday there was a card show in Raleigh, NC at the Fair Grounds. It was a Toy/Cards/Collectables. So, you had to wade through the creepy baby dolls, paper dolls of Fonzie and boxes and boxes of army guys. I get it, people aren't all into sports cards and they have to open it up to other peoples trying to to make money.

First things first, I don't know the etiquette. Second, I went in early. I had a work meeting at 6 on sunday, so I had to kill time between 8 and them opening at 10. Walked in at like 10:30 and it was so quiet you could hear your shoes squeak. Maybe 40 or 50 customers and just as many people behind the tables. I made a quick loop around, just to get a sense of what was there. Lots of old, lots of baseball and football, but not a whole lot of basketball. There were some guys who were obsessive about pricing, a handful of completely unpriced except "everything this box: $.25." I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I wasn't intimidated, I just didn't want some neurotic sales dude freaking out on me.

I looked quietly, asked a few questions. "How much is this?" Oh, Ok, thanks. Found one guy who had some of those 09-10 Upper Deck inserts I've been looking for. He was like the mayor of the thing. People were asking if he wanted first look at their set or whatever. I searched through his one box of basketball stuff, picked out 7 cards and said "Ok, how much?" he looked and looked and looked again, and said "$20 bucks." I paid the man, he said "Oh I have another Henderson in his Duke uniform" so I looked he talked to a guy about the status of the hobby, found something else, asked the price, he talked again. It was just weird. And finally I said, So for the Henderson and the Cam Newton Chrome?" He said "20 bucks" again. I said "How about $15 for both?" He pondered and pondered and finally said no.

I realized I had cards in my hand I'd paid for, but no bag, nothing. What the hell do I do now? I wandered back to a couple other tables that caught my eye but felt like everyone was looking at me like I stole those damn cards so I stuck them in my pocket, checked out a few more things and left. $5 entry fee, $20 for my 7 cards (I'll post a pic later) and 2 hours and I completely hated it. What did I do wrong? Should I be more outgoing or what? I felt like I was social with the folks who seemed nice but the whole thing was bizarre. Is it me?

[xstreaminsanity]

You didn't do anything wrong. Card shows are no where near the same as they used to be. One, with the economy the way it is, people aren't willing to haggle on prices as much anymore, especially anything that books $10 and up. And basketball seems to be behind Baseball and Football in terms of what's available. It really sucks. But it all depends on many factors: What show? What day? What dealer? What cards? What brand? How old? Have you met this person before? And many other questions. The more you see someone, the more likely they are to give you a deal. The more you buy, the more likely they are to give you a deal. So you didn't do anything wrong (except for maybe putting the cards in your pocket, hopefully they were in top loaders at least), it's just a process you have to feel out.

[therobertogato]

Not so much if I ruined the day, but like to make it a good experience? Should I have taken some for trade? I thought there was going to be a grader there, but no. It was so weird, I'm wondering if they're all like that?

[xstreaminsanity]

They aren't all like that, and graders don't normally show up to regular shows. They show up at the bigger shows. And while there are some dealers that are willing to trade, they always prefer it to be in their favor. So it all depends on who you know and what they have. Up in Michigan they have two Trade Centers where they have shows about every 4-5 weeks and I hadn't been to one in over 7 years, but went to one last year and it was completely different from what I remember. Not much wax, most people not looking to buy (especially Basketball cards, everyone wanted vintage baseball), and had I not sold my MJ AU, I wouldn't have made booth rent. I was able to go through someone's common box and pull out Pistons I needed, so it was fun.

[jpleazme805]

I have not been to a good card show in about 15 years. I loved them as a kid. Lots of dealers (at least at most shows i went to).. lots of buyers, traders & wax busters...

times are different now.. not too many collectors. Everybody trying to make the big buck. people don't have the extra money to spend.. kids, at least in my area (San Diego, Ca) are not into collecting sports cards.. they'd rather play card games, buy clothes, pay for entertainment, or use their cash to try to win over the opposite sex... times are different compared to 15 years ago..

The last few card shows I went to in San Diego did not have any wax.. Paid $3-5 to get in. sometimes they have retired player (baseball or football) signing memorabilia, but it is expensive.. in my opinion..

I'd spend maybe $20, if that on singles.. mostly HOFers or A-List players (Lebron, Kobe, Wade, ect)... I'd search through the cheap bins.. cards under $5. Try to work a deal, usually I can get a few dollar discount, but not a lot.. unless it was the $1-3 dollar bin & the BV was $10 or so..

I would not feel bad if the card show was not what you expected... non of them are..

Most dealers/collectors sell their cards online instead of at card shows.. that way they can reach more potential buyers quicker.. & hopefully cash in on a bigger payday..

Card shows can be fun though... checking out the dealers, finding out if they have a card shop you can check out later (where are they located?)... where do they buy their wax from, ect? Maybe you can meet a new collector/friend that you can check out other card shops/shows with.. maybe make trades in the future... That was my biggest goal of going to my local card show... find new friends that collect basketball, since there are not many in San Diego..

problem with the card show in my local area.. is they have it the first thurs or fri (forgot what day, haven't been in a long time) of every month... same dealers, same people looking at the same old cards.. nothing new. no wax..

not having pack wars at a card show is no fun in my book. I always look for the cheapest packs/boxes... that is the whole reason I used to go to card shows as a kid.. spend my lunch money that I saved up for the last few weeks just to buy packs of cards.. that was in the early 90's... I miss those collecting days!!

now cards cost too much... people can hardly afford to buy one box a month... kids don't want to waist money on cardboard...

[therobertogato]

Here's what I got for $20. Just weird to me dude looked at the cards like 2-3 times and shot out that number. He had $15 on the Hendo-AU and $8 on the Okafor, $2 on each of the Masterpiece cards, so I felt like I got a deal.

[Vols-1]

Usually the first people there are looking for the undervalued type items. There is more incentive for the dealers to haggle close to closing time because they dont want to have to pack up as much stuff. The biggest crowd is probably going to be around lunch.

[rjcj2017]

Here's what I got for $20. Just weird to me dude looked at the cards like 2-3 times and shot out that number. He had $15 on the Hendo-AU and $8 on the Okafor, $2 on each of the Masterpiece cards, so I felt like I got a deal.

Seems pretty good for $20 to me, especially with the MJ.