March 16, 2019, Raleigh Card Show Recap

I hadn't been to a card show since last year's National, and I really wasn't planning on going to the Raleigh show this past weekend.  I received a message from my friend, Jackson, who wanted to go, and he asked me if I would go with him to the show.  I figured it would be nice to spend time with him, so I decided to go ahead and attend.

I had some Christmas money that I hadn't spent, so I had a little bit of a budget.  I bought mostly stuff for other people, which is usually the case.  I did, however, find a few things for myself.  Most of what I bought was vintage stuff for TTMs and cirrent prospect stuff for graphing.  I did grab a few things for the collection, like the above 1949 Bowman Ralph Kiner.

The Kiner is really rough, but I liked it, and it was part of a bulk vintage deal with one of my favorite vendors.  I paid $20 for this card and a stack of lower grad vintage for TTMs.

This blue wave Riley Pint auto was part of the last deal I made.  The guy had a ton of nice Bowman parallels and autos.  I got a decent stack from him for $50.

I picked up a bunch of current and former Wood Ducks autos, as well.  I got this Eric Jenkins as part of a 2/$5.00 or 5/$10.00 deal.

Kyle Cody is a case of "buy low" at this point.  He has been out with arm injuries, but when he was on the Wood Ducks, he was pretty much "lights out".  I'm hoping he can bounce back and also spend a little more time in Kinston before he moves up (for selfish reasons, of course).

 I loved this green shimmer Cody auto, and this was the card that started that bulk $50 deal.  Jackson found it for me, and I made sure to take it home.

 This Jairo Beras auto was a steal.  He is a really cool guy, and even if he doesn't make the Show, I will hold onto this, since we met him several times.

I guess I have a small bit of a PC for guys that I have met, so adding this Jose Trevino made sense.  He was an awesome guy, even though he wasn't a Wood Duck.

This Ryan Ripken auto was a throw in on the bulk deal, and I was glad to grab it.  I was also glad I have finally learned not to wear Orioles gear to a show.  I got hosed back in the day when Ripken was first drafted, since I had an Orioles shirt on.

Finally, my big ticket item was this graded 10/10 Leody Taveras auto.  I paid $50 for it, and I think it will only go up.  I expect to see him again in Kinston this summer, but probably for not very long.

I had a great time at the show.  I was happy with everything I picked up, and I really appreciate Jackson inviting me.

Card Show Pickup - Another Orioles Quad

I didn't really make many purchases for the PC at the most recent card show I attended.  The show was on February 11 and I went mostly to pick up some bulk Topps cards for more TTMs, but I did find this quad relic Orioles card that I thought would go nicely in my Davis PC.  The seller wanted WAY too much for the card, but as I was about to leave at closing time, I made him a reasonable offer, and he accepted.  Yeah, the patches are great, but there's no way I would pay the sticker price he had on the card ($100).  No way at all.

Luckily, I got it for a LOT less than that.  I also got it for exactly what I had left in my wallet, which worked out nicely.  I had a great time at the show, Chris came with me and actually helped me this time.  He didn't get too bored, and actually picked up a few things for himself.  One of which was a really sweet Matt Cain patch card for an absolute steal.  He may have done better than I did!

Card Show Gift From Dugan

I'm working on catching up on a lot of posts.  So much so, I haven't sent off too many TTMs lately so I can get some other stuff posted.  I had something I had gotten from my buddy, Dugan, at the last card show that I wanted to post.  He gave me this DJ Stewart relic from Stars and Stripes baseball that I really liked.  Stewart hasn't done nearly as well as I had liked, but I am hoping he picks it up and can contribute to the O's in the future.

Regardless of how Stewart is doing, I really appreciate Dugan thinking of me and hooking me up with this card.  Dugan is a great guy and I'm happy that we have been able to meet up at shows.

Card Show Gifts From Ryu

I got a couple cards from my buddy, Ryu at the last two card shows that I have gone to.  The above 2014 Topps Chrome sepia parallel Adam Jones was from the January show.  I didn't get to talk to Ryu as much at that show as I would have liked, but he was very busy, and seemed to be pressed for time.

I like the sepia parallels.  I think, if they are in this year's chrome, they will look really nice with the borderless design.

At the February show, I got to see Ryu for a big longer and he had this 2014 Heritage chrome of Nelson Cruz for me.  He also had a few cards for my son, Chris, which was really nice.

This Cruz is numbered 774/999.

I was really happy to see Ryu, like always, at each show.  He is a really good kid, and always fun to talk to.  I wish we had more time to chat, but I understand.  At the last show, I was able to sell him a nice Ichiro pin card from 2016 Topps.  I hope it has a nice spot in his collection, because that card looked pretty cool.

Thank you for the cards, Ryu!  See you at the Easter show!

Card Show Pickup - 1956 Topps Luis Aparicio RC

Ok, I know I said yesterday that I was done buying cards at the show,  but we all as collectors know that when we see something we have been looking for at a great price, we had better jump on it.  I was looking around today (I wish you all had come, because it sure was dead there today) and stopped by my favorite vendor, Kurt, and saw that he had two of the Aparicio rookies in his display case.  He had this one, which is in really good shape, for $20.  I had to do it.

So, I have knocked off three cards from my Top Ten Wishlist so far this year, and we are only halfway through February.  Not bad!  I have been wanting this Aparicio for a long time, and now I have it.  I have quite a few big names from 1956 Topps.  I might have a decent shot at putting this set together at some point, and would definitely consider this one as my next 1950s set to do.

Card Show Pickup - 1949 Bowman Robin Roberts RC

So far, this has been a pretty decent card show,  I have sold some stuff that I had been lugging around for a while, which is always nice, and so far, I have only bought one card for myself.

I knocked a card off of my Top Ten Wishlist pretty easily today when I had gotten up to stretch my legs and saw that Mr. Dean from Dean's House of Cards (not to be confused with Deans Cards) had some albums of lower grade vintage at really good prices.

I immediately saw his 1949 Bowman Robin Roberts, and while it had a nice price, I didn't have enough cash on me (on purpose so I wouldn't spend a lot), but when Mr. Dean said "I'll give you a better price on that." I had to see what he had in mind.

The price he mentioned was JUST below what I had on me, and I figured that I should go ahead and take the deal, which would serve two purposes, I wouldn't spend anything else throughout the show (not a bad thing, mind you) and I wouldn't be tempted to get up and walk around.

So, I picked this Roberts RC up to add to the collection, and I am really pleased.  This is a rookie card of one of the more underrated Hall of Famers around.  He was said to have been the best pitcher that Virgil Trucks saw pitch, so that carries a lot of weight with me.  This is also a really cool-looking card.  I love 1949 Bowman, and have a couple of them now.  I have Trucks, of course, Bob Feller, Roberts and a couple others.  The rookies in this set are really reasonable, so I might look to grab a few more in the future.

Card Show Pickup - 1949 M. P. and Co. Ralph Kiner

I think this would be a good candidate for the POBC blog (Poor Old Baseball Cards) blog.  We all know how much I enjoy a "well loved" card.  This one is a card that I picked up from the card show this past weekend from the same seller where I got my Kaline RC.

This is a 1949 M. P. & Co. (R3202-2) Ralph Kiner.  As you can see, it is beat up pretty bad, but still looks really cool.  According to oldcardboard.com, this set was released as a strip of 8 cards.  I got it for $3.00 because I like Kiner, and also because the card looked really cool.

I'm happy I picked it up.  I'll probably look around and see if I can find one in better condition at some point, and I will also see who else is on the checklist as well (ok, I cheated and looked a few up on Ebay... THERES A BOB FELLER!!).

Gift From Brian - 2015 Gypsy Queen Kevin Gausman Auto

A good thing that happened at this past weekend's card show was that I got to talk to my friend, Brian and his dad again.  I had met them at the previous show in July, and chatted with them for quite a while.  Brian and his dad are huge Orioles fans, and I made sure that I thought of them when I was at the National.

Brian surprised me at this show with the above Kevin Gausman auto from 2015 Gypsy Queen.  The card looks really nice, and Gausman's auto is on card.

Thanks so much for the awesome card, Brian!  I really appreciate it and I am glad you and your dad came by my tables again.

September 2015 Raleigh Card Show Recap

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.

In Person Care Package From Tim

At this past weekend's card show in Raleigh, I met another fellow blogger in person.  Tim, from the blog "I Love The Smell of Cardboard in The Morning" was kind enough to hang out with me for a while, and even delivered a care package to me.

In the package was a bunch of Orioles cards and three 2013 Topps Emerald Parallels that I needed for my set.  No, I haven't forgotten this set, I just have been wrapped up with other sets, so this one has gone on the shelf for now.  I do intend to pick up any loose ones I see at the National.  I'm not sure if I will see any there, but I will be looking.

Tim joins the list of folks who have been able to locate Cal cards that I need for my very huge PC.  This is a major feat, finding cards I need, as I have nothing posted showing what I have.  That would take forever.  Anyway, Tim came through and added three new Cals to the PC.

Thanks so much for coming by, and even more for the care package.  It was really nice to meet Tim, and I hope any other bloggers in the general vicinity of Raleigh, NC will come and see me at the next show in September.

Raleigh Card Show - Day 3 Recap

I have to say, I had one of my most successful card shows to date.  Not only with selling, but with the overall atmosphere of the show.  It was by no means busy, which would have been even better, but sales each day were pretty good for me.  I was able to meet up with several people throughout the show, and also got a couple new blog readers out of it.  That was really cool.  I hope it sticks.

I met up with a fellow blogger, Tim from I Love The Smell of Cardboard In The Morning.  He came by my tables at the end of the show and introduced himself.  We chatted for quite a while, and he was nice enough to hand deliver a care package.  I'll post that tomorrow.

Also, my buddy Tyler was able to have his own table today and did pretty decently selling.  Better yet, my son Chris got HIS own table, and actually sold a few cards himself so he would have a little spending money for the National.  In all, it was a really fun and successful day.

I did break my rule again (rules are made to be broken, right?  Or is it supposed to be records?  I forget) and buy a few "well loved" vintage cards from fellow dealer, Kurt.  I bought from him at the last show, and figured I would see what he was offering today.

The above Mike Cuellar rookie is a card that I already had in my collection, but I also needed one for my '59 set.  This one is in really good shape, and will fit nicely into the set.

I do quite enjoy the 1949 Bowman set, so when I saw this Dom DiMaggio for a couple bucks, I figured I would pick it up.  It is pretty rough, but still looks so cool.

The last of the vintage cards was this 1956 Topps Bob Feller for the Feller PC.  I will probably upgrade it at some point, but for now, this one will do just fine.

Something really cool that happened at this show started on Friday and continued into today.  I met a guy named Kevin on Friday evening.  He saw that I had a lot of Orioles stuff for sale, so he mentioned that his son would like what I had and would be back on Saturday.  They did, in fact, come back and his son, Brian, bought a couple cards from me.  They were really looking for some Chris Davis rookies, but I didn't bring any of the extras that I had with me.  So, I promised Kevin that I would send them a few in the mail since he didn't think that they would be back today.

Well, Kevin made a point to come back today, and was kind enough to give me a gift after he had checked out my blog.  He gave me the above 1983 Orioles World Series Champions Coke Bottle, which I really appreciated.

The bottle is something that Kevin has hung onto since it was produced, and now I have it.  That was really cool of him to hook me up.  In return, I will be hooking Brian up as well.  Pay it forward, as they say.

So, I would like to thank everyone who came by my tables this weekend, and I hope you know that the time I spent talking cards was something I truly enjoyed.

Card Show Recap From Days One and Two

I've been set up at the three-day card show in Raleigh this weekend, and so far, the first two days have gone pretty well.  I have already broken even with another day to go.  That is always good, so anything else I sell is bonus.  I met a lot of cool folks today, and even seemed to brighten a few kids' days.

There was a father and two sons who came by my tables today, and we talked at length on two separate occasions.  The boys actually spent quite a bit of money, which I was very appreciative.  I ended up cutting them some great deals on some autographed cards, and even gave them a few Orioles rally towels to try to help out the O's mojo and bring them back into the win column.  I think it worked, since the O's beat the Rays today.  I hope it holds up.  That family was really nice, and I was happy to chat baseball with them.  I hope they come back, and I also hope they read my blog.  You know, since I plugged it all day, to anyone who would listen.  Shameless plugs and all.

They weren't the only group that I had lengthy conversations with; There were other Oriole fans who came by and chatted with me.

My favorite part of doing these shows is the ability to sit and talk cards and baseball with people.  I sincerely enjoy it, and I hope it shows when folks come by.  I told a guy I met at the last show, who I now consider a friend (his name is Dilan), that I have gone to shows for a long time, and I have met several dealers who seem as if you are getting in their way when you want to look at a card.  I do my best to not be like that.

Speaking of Dilan, he came back and chatted with me for a bit.  He came to the last show I did in June, and actually followed up with me afterward, when I gave him one of my business cards.  They paid off.  It was really cool seeing Dilan again, and being able to chat with him for a while.

Also, a true highlight of the day, was being able to finally meet my friend, Ryu, in person.  Ryu, whom I met on Instagram, lives near Raleigh, but has always been busy with baseball when I would come up for shows.  He was finally free on a weekend, and was able to come to the show.  I was really happy to meet him and say hello.  That really made my day.  He's an awesome guy.

I have also had the pleasure of helping a good friend of mine break into selling at this show.  My buddy, Tyler, has been wanting to try to raise some funds to help with tuition, so he thought he could come to the show to sell some cards.  I lent him some space on my table and helped him price cards.  So far, he has sold a little bit, but still has tomorrow to help sell some more.

I had a rule for this weekend's show - Don't buy anything.  Yeah, that lasted a while.  I bought the above Chris Davis 2014 Panini National Treasures patch card for $7 from the dealer next to me.  I saw it yesterday, and he didn't want much for it, so I figured, "Why not?".  The card is numbered 24/25 and looks really cool.

Finally, after a little over a month, my son, Chris, came home from the Grandparents Tour 2015.  He has grown some since he left, and I sure missed him.

I had a really great show so far, and there is still tomorrow to go.  I hope it goes well!

June 2015 Raleigh Card Show - Day 2 Recap

I'm more tired tonight than I was last night, but I managed to get through today's card show without incident.  My wife wasn't able to come and help today, so, I was a one man show, but managed to work out just fine.  I ended up selling a decent amount of stuff today, even though the show itsle fwas pretty slow.

I had plenty of time to get up and move around, so I found a fellow dealer who had some low priced vintage, which I browsed a few times.  In his bargain bin, I found a good bit of well loved vintage that I needed for my collection.  The above Lou Brock is badly creased, but still a nice card.  I got it for a steal (can't remember the price).

You can see that this Yogi is pretty beat up, but one that I needed in my collection.  I like it, and got it for less than $10.

This is now only the second vintage football card that I have.  I never once saw Wahoo McDaniel play a game of football, but I did see him a lot in another venue.  I used to watch Chief Wahoo McDaniel on Mid Atlantic Championship wrestling take on the likes of Nikita Koloff, Tully Blanchard, Magnum T.A., and of course, the one and only Ric Flair.  I watched a lot of wrestling as a kid, and McDaniel was one of my favorites.  To be honest, I was really excited to get this card for $9.00.

I got this 1959 Topps card from the guy.  This is actually the same guy that I got yesterday's 1959 Topps set needs from, so I ended up with 6 from him.  The back of this Yankees team card is unmarked, so that's a plus.  Also, it is a high number.

An oddball Brooks Robinson card that I didn't have in my PC was this 1969 Nabisco Team Flakes card.  The guy (Kurt) told me that this was a tough find, and I believe him to be right.  I got this one for $10, and others in fat better shape, are commanding a much higher premium on Ebay.

Kurt was a really nice (and patient) guy, and I would find out later after he delivered my cards to my table (since I had to run to attend to a customer, then pay Kurt via PayPal).  I didn't even look through my stuff until a little while later, only to discover that Kurt had added free extras to my stack.  I said yesterday that I had no cards of Hall of Famer, Arky Vaughan; well, I now have TWO.  I have his 1933 and now 1934 Goudey cards.  Pretty cool!

This 1953 Bowman Color Duke Snider was a nice find in the stack as well, then I discovered why it was free...

This appears to have come from the same vendor who I got my Feller from.  I bet the Snider and Feller were part of the same collection, and Kurt must have picked it up yesterday, only to decide to hand it off to me.  I actually think it is really cool that this and the Feller resided a couple pages from each other for countless years, only to find themselves reunited in my collection.  Kind of cool, I think.

So, I had $15 left to spend from the budget that I had allotted for myself.  I saw this 2008 Bowman Chrome Chris Davis at the table across from me, so for $5, I picked it up.  Only thing was, the vendor didn't have $5 in change, so I asked him if he would sell me the below Andrew McCutchen for an additional $5, so I could just give him the $10 I had in my pocket.

He made the deal, and I got this McCutchen RC that I needed.  I probably had one before, but that was way back in 2005, and I probably let it go in an Ebay lot back then.  Who knows.  I'm just glad to have another.

Finally, as the show was winding down, and I was about to leave, I figured I would go ahead and burn the last $5 I had in my pocket.  I milled about until I saw this framed photo of Bob Feller.  As luck would have it, it belonged to Chandy, a guy that I have known since I was a kid, back when I first began collecting.  Chandy operated one of the two former shops that were in Winston-Salem when I was a kid.  He closed up back in 2005 and strictly does shows now.  I talk to Chandy every time I can when I am at shows, and he is always handy with advice and knowledge.  I asked him if he would take $5 for the Feller photo, and he said he would since it was a larger piece and he didn't was to lug it around.  Score for the Man Cave!!

So, I had a really successful card show, and I am seriously considering signing up for the three day show in July, right before the National.  That would continue to help me clear out room, and maybe raise just that much more money to take with me to Chicago.  We shall see, but I bet I do the July show.  I had so much fun this time, why pass it up?

June 2015 Raleigh Card Show - Day 1 Recap

I am wore out from a long day of selling stuff at the card show.  For a two-day show, I have already broken even, and still have tomorrow to go.  I was able to add to my inventory tonight when I busted my three jumbo boxes of Series 2 Topps, but those hits will come at a later time (the ones that don't sell, at least).

I was really happy with the turnout today, and I hope I can sell a few more things tomorrow.  I didn't take much money with me to spend, but I was still able to get a few deals.  The theme of today's show seemed to be "well loved vintage."

I didn't have a whole lot of time to browse, but I did stop by the Huggins Auction booth where he had some vintage cards for 50% off of his sticker price.  He had a bunch of Hall of Famers, so I figured I would take the opportunity to add to my collection, a few cards that I wouldn't be able to afford otherwise.

The above '52 Bowman Yogi Berra has a really nice front.  Pretty worn, and all, but it looks really nice.

The back, on the other hand, is rough.  The card would probably grade at less than a 1, but it is still a cool card.  I guess you could say that I have a soft spot for the "well loved" cards, and this one fits right in there. I paid $14 for the card, so I think I still did really well.

The next card I grabbed is actually a PC need.  This is a 1953 Bowman Color Bob Feller.  The front is kind of rough, as you can see many creases.

The back is blown all to crap, though.  It looks like the card was taped into an album.  I bet it was a kid from back in the 50's who was really proud showing off his collection.  I can use this card to fill a spot in my PC until I can find an upgrade.  I gor this one for $12.00.

The best of the three Hall of Famers, I got this Arky Vaughan for $24.00.  It is a 1933 Goudey, and the front is in really good shape.

The back has a little paper loss on the bottom right corner, as you can see.  It is still my first card of Vaughan, and I am glad I picked it up.

This 1976 All Star ballot was a really cool find.  That's exactly what it was, too, a find.  As my wife and I were walking out of the show for the evening, I saw this lying on the ground.  No one was around, and there was no way to tell whose it was, so it went home with me.  Check out all of the Hall of Famers on the ballot (you can click on it to enlarge, Mom).

Finally, I was able to pick up 5 high number cards for my 1959 Topps set for $3/each.  The above Stengel is probably the highlight of the bunch.

Anyway, I am really tired, so I am going to close this entry.  I would like it if any NC/SC/VA collectors were able to come by the show and say hello.  That would be really cool.  I will have some new 2015 Topps hits and inserts available in the morning.