I don't use my total sales at my only gauge for how successful a card show was for me. If that were the case, this show would be measured as a failure. I didn't sell enough to break even at this show, but luckily, I sold some stuff to some of my friends online, and that put me back in the black. Some other things I was able to take away from this show was that I passed out some more of my blog business cards. I had a couple guys add me to their Instagram pages for future trades. I also had a bunch of return customers at this show, meaning that people liked me enough to come back by and say hello.
Another thing I look at is what was I able to find at the show? Well, I didn't really feel like a lot of things jumped out at me, but when I got home and looked through the cards I got, I was really happy to see what I had. I also used this show as a kickoff to Christmas shopping for some of my fellow collectors.
The above 1980 Exhibits Jimmie Foxx only set me back $2.00. It scanned really nice, and looks pretty cool in person. I have quite a few of these oversized cards, and I don't really know how I want to display or store them. They are wedged against the side of my desk, behind a case of CD-Rs. Gotta find a better spot for them, but at least they're safe.
Hey, look, I added a new Cal Ripken to my collection! This is a 2015 National exclusive from the Leaf VIP party. Apparently, my VIP pass didn't get me in. That may have been because we were starving at the end, and went to eat some Chicago pizza.
This card, which it's hard to tell, is an acetate. I really love these cards, and am so happy I was able to get this for $2.00.
I found a nice surprise in a bargain bin for relics and autos at the same place I got the acetate Ripken. This Tyler Wilson Team USA card cost me only $3.00 and is the first card I have seen of him. He has been shaky so far, but I see a lot of promise in this kid. I hope he can harness his talent and become a successful MLB pitcher. I needed to find some new Orioles to get behind, and I feel like Wilson may be the guy I can start to PC. It is also kind of cool starting a PC from nothing. I mean, there are NO base cards or anything laying around in my collection. I owned nothing of him, and now we start with this really cool relic auto.
I probably had this 1965 Topps Embossed Brooks Robinson somewhere, but for the price of $1.00, I added this one. It'll go in my Brooks box, and if I have another, I will likely see it when I look in there. Regardless, these are pretty cool cards. They don't hold up all that great over the years, but they still are a cool look at early insert cards from Topps.
This is another card that I might have in my collection somewhere. I picked it up anyway for $8.00 because the guy was nice enough to point it out to me and it is also ORANGE! I figured that he was having as rough a show as I was, so I went ahead and bought it. The card is numbered 70/99 and looks pretty awesome.
I had a few people offer up this Chris Davis relic card from 2015 Allen & Ginter, but I held out. I hoped that I could find one cheaper, and I did. I got this in a bulk relic deal, and am really pleased that I finally knocked it off the list.
Another part of the bulk relic deal was a card I didn't expect to find, and had I not had my glasses on, I may have missed it. This is a 2002 US SPX Team USA Winning Materials dual relic of Adam Everett and Brian Roberts.
I actually met a couple kids at the show today who knew Roberts's dad. That was a cool story to hear. My Roberts PC has been mothballed, so I will have to dig it out, and add this card to it. I don't anticipate too many more cards being added to it, so I probably ought to add him to my spreadsheet and go for a few rainbows.
So, in all, while my sales were the worst I have had, I would still call this a successful card show. I didn't blow my budget, I made a few new friends, kept some returning customers, and added some cool cards to the collection. Not too bad for two days work.
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