Card Show Review 11/23/13

I attended the Chicago Sun-Times Sports Collectors Show in Rosemont, IL over the weekend.  It is a three day show filled with dealers from all over the US and Canada, featuring autograph guests, card auction houses, authenticators, and more.  I wish I would have taken some photos but my phone battery isn't what it used to be and after about 10 minutes of walking around, I kind of forgot about doing it.

I have been going to these shows each year (twice a year in March and November) for the past 5-6 years and can generally anticipate what I am going to see there.  Most of the shows take place in the smaller convention hall at the Convention Center, leaving the larger hall for shows like the NSCC or whatever comic book convention is currently taking place.  Somehow though, they always find ways to cram a lot of things to see in that space.  But for some reason, this years fall show seemed a bit off.

The first thing I noticed as I traversed the convention floor was how well we were able to maneuver up and down the aisles.  It seemed the interior aisles had been widened to accommodate more traffic, or at least that's the way it appeared.  With enough mapped out space to fit over 300 dealers, I was amazed at how much underutilized space there was on the main floor area.  Usually the dealer tables line each aisle from end to end.  This weekend (or at least on Saturday) I counted at least 17 empty dealer spaces.  I'm not sure what to pin this one on.  Could be a number of things like cost, timing, or even the pending weather in the Eastern part of the US.  Regardless, there was much less to see as we made our rounds.

The autograph lineup was still top-notch as Mounted Memories had guests signing throughout the three day event.  You can check out their lineup here if you want to see what you missed out on.  But something I noticed on Saturday was the sheer turnout in the autograph pavilion.  While most shows of this kind draw thousands of people to the auto lines, this one seemed a bit flat.  I'm not sure if the guest list on Saturday wasn't up to snuff for the auto seekers out there in the Chicagoland area but the lines for people like Brian Urlacher, Len Dawson, and Gordie Howe were smaller than I ever expected.  Maybe it was the price tag on having items signed, I don't know.  Also, I noticed that after 3PM, announcements for guests stopped completely.  At about 3:30, the auto pavilion was a ghost town.  That was also weird for a show that ended at 5PM.  Not even the "meanderers", as I call them, were left hanging around.  I didn't partake in any auto hounding, as is customary for my show attendance.  While I'd love to get things signed by all the guests, I tend to get nervous with the price tags the show promoters put on some of these players.

My third beef with the show, and this is probably not the shows fault by any means, was the lack of new hockey product available from many of the box dealers, and for that matter, the number of box dealers that were even there was minimal.  These shows usually boast about 7-10 large volume "retail" dealers of unopened product.  These dealers sometimes include folks like Dave & Adams, Baseball Card King, Blowout, Atlanta Sportscards, Steel City Sports, etc.  D&A was there, the King was there...the rest, not so much.  There were two other dealers that had any significant amount of product available that I found.  Only one of those had any hockey product.  Even D&A was sort of a disappointment because they only had their main box table.  Their "discount" table was no where to be found this time.  Maybe everyone is ramping up for Black Friday.  Yeah, that's it.  I will blame Black Friday.

Finally, I was actually disappointed with the amount of "Discount box" tables at the show.  There were tons.  TONS!  In fact, this time it was actually rare to see anyone that didn't have countless 3500-5000 count boxes full of $.10, $.25, $.50 or $1-3 cards.  Ask and you shall receive (as I have after previous shows) is how the old line goes, but this was kind of overkill.  When you consider that many dealers simply got into these on a whim, it was a little off-putting.  You could tell by the preparation they put into them.  Most dealers with discount boxes have done them for years, have them sorted, have them priced accordingly and have them stocked with manageable inventory so the collector's can peruse without dropping handfuls of cards onto the concrete floor.  There were a large number of guys with boxes set up this way, but when you took a closer look, nothing had a label.

Perfect example...one table I stopped because something shiny must have caught my eye.  I began looking through a rare box of hockey singles.  There were three rows in about 100 present on the table with hockey cards.  The lid was proudly displayed behind the box as if to say "look at me if you want to know the price".  I did.  There was no price.  I asked the dealer, who reluctantly looked up from his phone for a minute, how much were the hockey cards.  He says, "That depends.  Most of the goalie cards are a buck.  The rest, it just depends."  Frustrated by that answer, I begin to quickly sift as I didn't want to spend more than another minute here.  Seeing my frustration, he exclaims, "Just hold a card up that you'd like and I will give you a price."  Ok, cardboard merchant, I will.  So I begin with a small stack and hold up one, after another, after another.  Five prices in and the dealer says, "How about you make a pile and I will quote you a price when I'm done."  But I liked your first way.  I don't find enough to justify a pile so I say, "Will you take $10 for these here?"  He says, "How about $12?"  "$11 and you got a deal", I retort.  I leave the table $11 bucks poorer....but wait till you see what was in that pile in my next post.  5 Lesson's learned from this joker and others...

1. If you are selling cards at a show/online/store etc., price your merchandise.  It helps you as a seller and prevents you from having to look everything up or haggle with people.  If there is one thing collector's don't like, it's having to stand and wait for a dealer to look up a price in Beckett.  It's unprofessional.  Who is running your business?  You? Or the price guide?  It's called a guide for a reason...not a law.

2. Know what you have.  If you know nothing about the product you are selling, why bother?  Don't ask me what it is or what I think it is worth.  There were too many guys with hockey offerings at this show that had no idea what they were selling.  They didn't know who the players were (unless they were Hawks), they didn't know anything about the sets they came from, they didn't care to know either.  Just because a card has an autograph or a piece of memorabilia doesn't make it immediately a minimum $15 card.  At least make an effort.

3.   Pay attention to your customers.  I know of the 500 people you see in a day at a show, only 20-30 might make a purchase.  But every one of those other 470 people is a potential customer.  When you are chowing down on a gyro with cucumber sauce running down your face or buried in your iPhone or laptop computer and can't look up for fear that you will miss a Facebook alert, you have no business being there.  People want engagement, they want interaction (except the 400lb greasy, sweaty guys at the $.25 vintage baseball table), they want to know that you are interested in whether or not they make a purchase.  I walked away from two tables that I planned on spending at least $10 at but couldn't get either dealer's attention to ask a question.

4.  Have fun.  Too many frowns.  Too many scowls.  Too many folded arms with pouty looks on their faces.  That prevailed all day long.  It seemed the only people having fun at this show were my kids, the people at the PSA booth, and that guy that yells at people for touching his cards.  Card collecting is supposed to be fun.  You aren't going to make a ton of money in this business and you definitely won't if people think you are angry and bitter about it.  You got into this business because you love the hobby and love sports.  Try to show a little bit of that passion you once had.

5.  Act professional.  Immaturity, rudeness, and a generally condescending attitude don't help anyone.  You are running a business, we are patronizing your business.  If you had a storefront and we came in, I highly doubt you would ignore us, scoff at our inquiries, or act as though we are inconveniencing you buy spending money on your products.  I deal with business people all day with attitudes and grudges against humanity.  I certainly don't want to spend my free time involved with my hobby dealing with the same types of people.

As a side note, I'm all for using "hype-men" or models to promote a product.  I understand why it's done and generally, I think most people get it.  But having half-clothed models standing next to your table, not giving things out, not trying to offer something or get you to sign up for something, not even promoting anything noticeable, but just standing there making googly eyes at everyone doesn't make much sense to me.  No I don't want to take a picture with you.  No I don't want a hug from you.  Just move out of the way so I can look through that box over there.  Because when my kids ask me "what happened to that girls' pants", I'm no longer amused. (I know it's probably hypocritical but this is my rant)

But it wasn't all bad.  In fact, despite my criticisms (of which there are always many) I had a great time with the kids, got to see a couple friends in the hobby, traded some cards, and picked up a few needs along the way.  I always enjoy these events because it gives me an opportunity to meet with other collector's and exchange cards, stories, and sometimes ideas.  I will be posting some of the stuff I got at the show a little later.  There were some interesting things I was able to find.

Card Show Recap - - Sun Times Sports Spectacular

Every trip to a card show should be accompanied by some collecting goals.  Otherwise, it becomes just a melee of ridiculous purchases and time spent ogling things you have no intention of ever acquiring for you collection.  A couple weeks ago now, I made my bi-annual trek out to Rosemont, Ill. to take in the sites at the (eh, em) 46th Annual Chicago Sun-Times Sports Collectibles Convention.  Considering this happens twice a year, I'm not sure you can call this an "annual" event.  Bi-annual maybe?  What do I know?  I'm not a marketing guy.  At any rate, I picked Saturday to hit the show floor as there is never enough time on a Friday and Sunday just seems too rushed.

(Check out this link from the Herald to see a few pictures of the show)

As I said, you need a game plan at these shows.  The sheer amount of dealer tables, merch vendors, industry businesses, and memorabilia peddlers can be overwhelming when you consider the 220,000 square feet of show floor these things take up (and that was the small hall).  The National will be here too this year but we will save that for later.

So my goals on this trek...

1. Pick up some set needs to try and knock out an incomplete set or two.  Never an easy task considering many of the "common" tables have very large men parked two deep in chairs, actively engaged in a feeding frenzy over all the $.10 cards they can get their greasy fingers on.  This will require strategy and cunning unlike has ever been seen (not really but you have to have some flare for the dramatic otherwise it isn't interesting).

2.  Find some cards for my Player PCs (Guerin, Lemieux, Jagr, Tangradi [I doubt it] perhaps a footballer or two).  This is usually an easy one considering they guys I collect have a plethora of cards out there that I have been unable to acquire over the years.  I don't really think I will ever complete a comprehensive player list of any of these guys but as long as I keep collecting, I'm sure gonna try.

3.  Pick up some autographs for my Penguins project I started last year.  This is something that has always kind of just happened but was never a priority.  This time that changes as I have an extensive list of guys I need to cross off my roster. 

4.  Do some trading.  What fun would a show be without the aspect of the hobby we all love?  Not very.  That's why I spent the better part of my free time over the few days before the show, digging through wantlists of the collectors/bloggers I knew would be there.  Trading is my favorite part of the show.

5.  Pick up some cards for my Team PCs.  Again, this is usually an easy one as my teams of choice tend to be popular ones.  I try to get at least one cool card from each sport (hockey, baseball, and football) that I don't already have.  Keep in mind, cool is in the eye of the beholder.

6.  Bust some wax.  Usually I have a list of boxes that I am targeting, whether for set building or otherwise.  This time around, with many popular hockey releases cancelled, I don't really have a certain type in mind.  I will just see what has the best bang for my buck and go from there.

Let's see how we fared this time around.

1. Pick up some set needs to try and knock out an incomplete set or two.

In typical fashion, the cattle were a grazing.  Big Time!!  There wasn't space to be had at many tables, even just to take a peek at what was on them.  That makes for a long day when you are a set building on a quest for completion.  So instead, I stuck to the quarter, three for a dollar, and other discounted bins, hoping to find something, anything that will fill my goals.  As luck would have it, I was able to pick up quite a few cards from my Parkhurst Champions set I'm working on as well as a few Victory Rookies I still needed.

But the big score came during trading.  Guys knocked out my 4th complete base set for this years Upper Deck Series I and also contributed to numerous other sets.  I can successfully say that I completed a set (albeit a duplicate one).

2.  Find some cards for my Player PCs (Guerin, Lemieux, Jagr, Tangradi [I doubt it] perhaps a footballer or two). 

No brainer here.  I got a handful of Lemieux's, a handful of Jagr's, a couple Guerin's and one Bettis card for my secret, unpublished "Bus" collection.  I already showed every one the Jagr's the other day after he got his 1,000 career assist and the Lemieux cards too.  Here were the other's in case anyone wanted to see...oh, no?  No scans?  Ok, then.  Moving on.

3.  Pick up some autographs for my Penguins project I started last year.

Surprisingly, this came easy too.  I found two tables with cheap auto cards, mostly certified, and they had plenty o'Pens.  In fact, there was one table that I even put some back from my stack that I pulled because I felt like I was going overboard.  These will all be posted over on my Auto Project blog that you can get to from this link or over on the side panel.  I will say this though, I have 12 more players crossed off the master list.

4.  Do some trading.

Again, no brainer.  There is always at least one trade going to go down at these shows, assuming another trader will be there.  This time, there were three.  Unfortunately, I didn't know about the third until it was too late so I had nothing available for them.  Next time, though.  Trades at these shows goes something like this...I find a small-to-large stack of things from a persons want list, they find find things off my list, and we swap.  Nothing fancy, no book values, no worrying about who gets the better deal.  No pressure.  That's the way I like it.  I ended up with a bunch of stuff for my set lists including the final UD cards I already mentioned up there.  I also ended up with some other really cool things which will be posted about later.  Thanks to Sal & Nick for all the goodies.

5.  Pick up some cards for my Team PCs.

I picked up 6 Steeler cards, 2 Pirates, and a bunch of Pens stuff.  I would say that this goal was met in spades.

6.  Bust some wax.

Wax is obviously a misnomer nowadays.  But I will still call it that probably forever.  I didn't really have a target product this time around.  I had an idea of some things I would have liked to see at certain price points but all of it was high-end and none of it was in my budget.  What I did wrestle with and finally compromise on was a box of 12-13 Panini Classics Signatures, which I already posted about, a box of 11-12 Panini Rookie Anthology, which I already posted about, and a box of 11-12 ITG Between the Pipes which I haven't posted about but will in the near future.  All the boxes yielded some really nice stuff as you can see if you check out the box break reviews.  I was very fortunate and the breaks were a lot of fun.  

New Mario's For The PC

I picked up some Mario Lemieux cards at the last Sun Times show in Chicago.  I think I may have already had a bunch of them.  In fact, I'm almost sure of it but I don't care.  You can't have too many Mario's. 

I don't really have much else to say other than enjoy the scans.

This is just a parallel version of the one above.  It's known as "full length".

Career Milestone: 1000 Assists

Last night, in front of the home crowd in Dallas, Jaromir Jagr got his 1,000th NHL assist.  With that helper, Jagr becomes only the 12 player in the league to ever reach that milestone in their careers.  (It also helped that Dallas won the game, snapping Minnesota's 7 game winning streak.)




It's been a long time between assist number 1 and number 1,000.  Jagr started his NHL career in Pittsburgh when he was 18 years old (subsequently, I was 12).  When he took to the ice on Oct. 19, 1990, he tallied his first assist of his career against Buffalo on a goal from "Double Z" Zarley Zalapski.  Now, almost 23 years later, he gets number 1,000.  Here's a quote from an interview he did after the game...

"I never thought about any assists and points, I was happy to be able to play here. When I came here, I didn't think I'd have a chance to play here. The League was too strong and too tough for me. I kept working hard and I've had so many good players around me, they showed me the way of how to get better. I really was pretty lucky. I always said you have to be lucky with who you play with and I had a chance to play with so many great players." 

Lucky indeed.  Of the other 11 guys who scored 1,000 career assists, he was teammates with four of them:  Ron Francis, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, and of course, Mario Lemieux.

I picked up a few more Jagr cards for my PC last weekend at the Sun Time Sports show.  Now would probably be as good a time as any to share. 

 Here he's saying "I wish I would have never left Pittsburgh."

What?  That could have been what he said.

This is a Refractor if you couldn't tell by the scan. 
It's #/300.

I saw this card and was puzzled at first.  The 1994 SP cards should have had Jagr in a Pens uni but here he was as a Capital.  Since I wasn't actively collecting, I was unaware that the 2002-03 SP set was a 10th Anniversary.  These were numbered out of the original year...1994, and there is that nifty "10" silver foil stamped in the corner.

Box Break - - 2008-09 ITG Heroes & Prospects Hobby

In the Game is a mainstay in my collection because of the quality of their products.  Somehow, I missed the entire 2008-09 year for their products.  I think the biggest reason was that my LCS didn't have their stuff on the shelf that year and I was still a bit reluctant to purchase online for a number of reasons that I won't get into here.  I did have a few singles that I picked up along the way but no boxes under my belt.

The Sun-Times show last weekend changed that when I found hobby boxes at the D&A Card World booth for under $30.  That price was awesome for an ITG release considering their history of a quality design, more than generous hits per box, and a jam packed lineup of, well...Heroes & Prospects.

Go here and check out the sell sheet for details and some nice screen-shots since I'm only going to post the "hits".

The box breakdown is 5 cards/pack, 24 packs/box.  Since the base set is only 100 cards, it should be easy to complete with only one box.  Game-Used Memorabilia fall about 1:20 packs, with Autos coming 1:16.  There are three different non-memorabilia insert sets including 2008 Draft Picks, a Calder Cup winner set featuring the Chicago Wolves, and the Memorial Cup winner set featuring the Spokane Chiefs.

The set that I was excited about pulling was the "How Swede It Is" set which features all Swedish players (duh).  There are six of these in all, featuring Victor Hedman, Peter Forsberg, Nicklas Lidstrom, Bjorn Salming, and Mats Sundin.  The cards look great and there are multiple versions including silver #/9, and the gold emblems #1/1.  I know it's a long shot but I hope there is one in here.

It would also be really cool to pull one of the Hero/Prospect GU combo card where a rookie/future star is paired up with a current NHL star. 

Here is what came out of my box.

Kyle DeCoste Game Used Jersey, 2 color.  Here was my memorabilia hit of Mr. DeCoste.  DeCoste came out of the 5th round of the 2008 Draft for the Tampa Bay Lightning.  He is currently on the London Knights after being moved from Belleville.  I don't know a whole lot about him other than he has yet to skate in an NHL game, as far as I know.

Boris Valabik 2008 Calder Cup Winner.  The Bruins picked him up from the Thrashers at the trade deadline but not for the reason you are thinking.  He was the "other" guy in the Rich Peverley trade.  He isn't a goal scorer;  he has none in 80 games.  But he is huge.  6'7", 255 lbs of fighting madness.  He met the Burins once back in 2008, picked a fight with Phil Kessel and was pounded by the only guy on the ice that could match his size...Chara.  Fun was had by all.

Jordan Eberle 2008 Draft Picks.  We all know about Eberle's talents.  He is actually now the leading scorer on the Oilers (because of all the injuries) I believe.  Sam Gagner, Ales Hemsky, and Taylor Hall are all out of the lineup.  And Dustin Penner, was traded away.  So by default, Jordan wins.  Oh, yeah, and he is a good hockey player.

Fabian Brunnstrom Autograph.  Brunnstrom had a lot of potential but just couldn't break through on Dallas.  He was traded to Toronto earlier this year.  This card isn't numbered but according to Beckett Online, it is a short-print.  Whatever that means. 

Thomas Hickey Autograph.  I'm not sure if this guy is still on Manchester but Hickey is a small size defenseman that was one of the most skilled skaters in the WHL.  The fact that he is so young makes for a bright future for TH as long as he can stay healthy and increase his durability.  His size may be a deterrent to getting him to the NHL level but he could be a mainstay in the AHL. 

So what did we learn?  2008 H&P is not as jam packed with inserts or memorabilia like many of the subsequent releases thereafter.  The design is very good, clean, and appealing.  The autos are very nice, especially with the chance of getting a plethora of young NHL star autos.  The GU cards, once again, feature huge swatches by comparison to other brands and are very well put together.  My box, while not the best, was very fun to open.  I ended up with a full base set and a few doubles.  Plus, I think I have a taker for this Brunnstrom auto already that is willing to give up a "king's ransom" to get it.  Only a slight exaggeration but it should be a trade heavily in my favor.

(2) Box Break - - 2008-09 ITG "1972 Year In Hockey" Hobby Boxes

One of my target goals for the Chicago Sun-Times show last weekend was to see if I could find a box of 2008-09 ITG "1972 Year In Hockey".  I wanted to pick one of these up when they came out but my LCS decided not to pick this one up and the prices online were a little higher than I wanted to pay for a retro set.  The last Sun-Times show I attended back in November had none.  This time it was different.  D&A Card World had a booth there (2 of them actually) and brought with them 7 boxes of this retro themed set by ITG.  The best part...price was under $60 per box.  There are 200 cards in the base set which includes a subset celebrating the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the USSR.  Since my goal was to build a set that I could display in a binder, the only option was to pick up a pair.

There was a plan put in motion between myself and Sal from Puck Junk to complete at least two base sets, one for each of us.  We would trade any doubles either one needed if we had to.  Well, mission accomplished, but not by any of my doing. 

Sal picked two, and I picked two.  Mine were the last two on the pile on the left.  I think he mixed his up.  I should have followed suit because as far as the base cards are concerned, I pulled two boxes with the exact same collation.  The only difference were the "hits" and inserts.  So without further adieu, 1972 The Year In Hockey.

Box breakdown:  18 packs per box, 9 cards per pack, 200 card base set with 150 autographs at 1:8 packs, 5 non-memorabilia insert sets 1:8 packs, 1 GU card per box 1:18 on average.  You can check out a great selection of samples from this set on the ITG website's sell sheet section over here.  Here is what I pulled.

Box 1:

First, the autographs

Joe Daley - Goalie for the Winnipeg Jets.  Those of you in Canada may know Joe as the purveyor of the very cardboard he dons in this picture (as in Joe Daley's Sports Cards).  But there was a time way back in 1972 that Joe was the net minder for the Jets in the WHA.  He was a great goaltender, helping lead the Jets to three championships.  Prior to those days, he spent time with the Penguins, Sabres and Wings.  In fact, he was the first pick by the Sabres in the inter-League draft in 1970.  Many people remember Joe as one of the last players to pick up a goalie mask.

Norm Ferguson - Forward from the New York Raiders.  Norm was known as a Golden Seal for much of his career but in 1972, he was drafted by the Islanders in the NHL expansion draft.  So he did what any red blooded Ameri, er, rather Canadian would do and jumped to the WHA New York Raiders.  He spent much of the rest of his career bouncing around the WHA.

Al McDonough - Forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins (via trade for an Alton White auto).  I know, it was probably a lopsided trade on my part but I don't care.  It was a chance to add a Penguin auto to my collection and one of a player the is often forgotten when talking of the Pittsburgh greats.  He only spent the better part of three seasons on Pittsburgh and was subsequently traded to Atlanta in the midst of a career season...typical Penguins.

The Masked Men is a nice series that has been repeated many times.  These apparently show up once per box so they are somewhat scarce.  Here we have Ed Giacomin in his pre-Friday the 13th Jason Vorhees mask.  Can you imagine if they brought these back?  One shot from a player like Chara and the goalie wouldn't get up.  I guarantee that.

I scanned these for no apparent reason other than they are blank back parallels.  I could have done without these, myself.  I would have rather had a few base cards that were missing.

Number Black Guy Lafleur Game Used Number, 3-color, with some kind of stains on it.  The debate went back and forth as to what the stain was; sweat, blood, a combination of both?  Where is my do-it-yourself DNA test when I need it?  Frankly, though, I don't care because this card is EPIC!!  You can see the three colors all worn and beat down.  Players kept their jerseys, washing them after the game and wearing them the next time.  Not like today where players go through 100 jerseys a year or more.  The number patch is so thick, it sticks up out of the square cut out of the card to house it. 

How could it get any better than that?  Well it couldn't.  But I still have one more box to open and I don't have a base set.  So...

Box 2 "The Nickname" box:

Rookies: Denis Herron of the Penguins and Billy Smith of the Islanders.  Smith, as we all know, is the first goalie to officially score a goal.  He also won a few Stanley Cups...ie. FOUR!!  Denis was drafted 40th overall by the Pens in 1972 and he did three tours of duty with the team from 1972-1974, 1976-1979, and 1982-1986. 

Serge "The Senator" Savard - Defenseman for Team Canada in the '72 Summit Series.  Serge is one of the top 100 best players of all time.  They guy has a gold medal, 8 Stanley Cups, and is in the Hockey Hall of Fame.  There is a rumor out there that the Savardian Spin-o-rama was his invention and not Denis' since they both had that move as part of their repertoire.  How can this not be an awesome card?

Don "Elbows" Awrey - Defenseman for Boston.  Another former Penguin, although after Boston and not for very long.  The guy was known for his defensive play and is considered by many as one of the best at blocking shots and dishing out body checks.  He played in the league for 17 years, including 2 Stanley Cup teams, and also played for Team Canada in the Summit Series.

Wayne "Swoop" Carleton - Forward of the Ottawa Nationals. Named for his size and speed as a young prospect, Carleton had a ton of injuries that prevented him from having a long NHL career.  Carleton played for Boston when Bobby Orr scored the famous goal in Game 4 of the Finals.  He was traded to California a couple years later and struggled, quickly jumping to the WHA.  He became a monster scoring threat and signed one of the biggest contracts in WHA history.  One crazy story during his WHA days involves him suing Edmonton for moving expenses.  He won. 

Another Masked Men card featuring Doug Favell.  When I was a kid playing street hockey, I had my goalie mask decorated just like this one.  Only I used a black sharpie to make the design.  It was awesome and so was Doug Favell.

Here are two more of those blank back cards.  You gotta love those head shots though.

Quest For the Cup Quarter Final Dual Memorabilia Card - Featuring a jersey swatch of Noel Picard and a piece of Gump Worsley's glove.  I love ITG products.  Where else can you find stuff like this?  The answer is, NO WHERE!  Picard and the St. Louis Blues beat the Minnesota North Stars in their 1971-72 playoff game. 

So two boxes down, a couple of sick memorabilia cards, some great autos, and STILL, no base set.  As I said earlier, I got the exact same base collation in both boxes.  Luckily, Sal had better luck and completed a set with all the double being the ones I needed.  We traded, I got all I needed (or so I thought...I'm one short), and he got some great singles from my doubles, including both my Coach insert cards and a few Summit Series cards. 

This set looks phenomenal in an album.  I would recommend anyone pick this one up if you have any interest in a retro themed set with a chance for some great autos and memorabilia.  You can't lose with ITG products, in my opinion.

The Spoils of War - Card Show Review

It was a battle on Saturday at the 40th Annual Sports Collectibles Convention at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL.  Anytime you gear up for a card show it is like packing your bags for a long battle in the trenches.  I was armed with my Pittsburgh Steelers backpack filled with various lists, top loaders, and boxes so that I could hold my spoils.  After a quick breakfast and a shower, I headed out.  Here is my take on the show.

First, there were tons, and I mean tons, of autograph opportunities.  I think I listed many of the autograph guests in my last post.  The only problem I had with it is the fact that many of them were charging well over $50 for a single item.  Don't get me wrong, there were quite a few signors that were under $20, but $60 for Chris Johnson?  $90 for Derrick Rose?  $250 for Emmitt Smith?  If you wanted them to personalize it or sign something other than their name, it cost extra.  Not to mention the photo op session that they charged for before hand.  Where does all this money go to?  Once the event gets paid for, and then the promoter, and then the autograph sponsor, how much does the athlete get?

Second, with the popularity of Ebay, COMC.com, Sportslots, and a plethora of other sportscard marketplaces, it still amazes me that "book value" is clung to like Linus to his blanket.  There were so many people walking around with a Beckett in hand.  It was almost comical.  I lost count of the number of dealers that relied on the perceived "book value" for pricing their cards.  If not for charging the exact price that is listed in Beckett, the majority of them at least posted the prices on the card so the casual observer would feel like they were getting a deal.  The worst instance was in the buying category, though.  I listened to countless numbers of collectors talking with dealers about buying.  Many of the dealers claimed they were buying and even had signs posted but I really didn't see much going on.  The only deals I saw take place were for vintage, condition sensitive baseball cards and some memorabilia.  In these cases, most collectors wound up taking a bath for the sake of walking away with something in their hands. 

Third, what recession?  I didn't arrive there until after 11:00 AM due to heavy amounts of traffic driving around downtown Chicago.  That coupled with the fact that it was blizzard like conditions.  I can't understand how it was in the 60s three days this week and then it snows...but that's another story.  The convention center was packed with people.  Considering the parking for the center was $13 and the admission was $10, this was not a cheap show.  Pair that with the cost of autos and you have a very pricey Saturday afternoon.  I didn't see money hampering anyone there, including myself.  Yes, I spent more than I care to share and I saw many more like myself doing the same.  It was good to see the hobby is still thriving, if not sometimes in spite of itself. 

My goals were to walk away with some player PC cards, a couple wax boxes, a set or two completed, and possibly an autograph.  Here is an idea of what I ended up with.

• Player Collection Cards:  20+ Jaromir Jagr cards, 50+ Mario Lemieux cards, 4 Bill Guerin cards
• Complete Sets: 7
• Partial Sets: 1
• Set Fill-ins:  70+ 2009-10 O-Pee-Chee Hockey cards, 15+ 2009-10 Upper Deck Hockey set (I am 1 card short!!)
• Wax Boxes:  2007-08 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Hobby Box, 2009-10 Champs Hockey Hobby Box
• Team Collections:  25+ Penguins cards
• Game Used:  15 Game Used cards
• Supplies:  1 box of 9-pocket pages

Overall, it was a great show.  I haven't been to this show in many years and it was definitely better than I remembered.  It was nice to see so many collector's actively involved in their hobby.  Despite the numbers of people there, I somehow managed to run into Sal from Puck Junk at one of the tables that featured a larger hockey selection.  It is always cool when you get to talk with a fellow collector about a hobby that you share in common.  That is another reason why I love this blog community.  Regardless of what or how we collect, we all share that common thread and the passion for our hobby. 

I should be posting some of what I ended up with over the next week or so.  I will also be posted my box breaks for the OPC and the Champs.  I am going on vacation from Wednesday until Sunday so my posting may be limited if not at all for those days. 

Saturday Card Show

As I already posted the other day, I am going to the Chicago Sun-Times show at the Convention Center in Rosemont today.  While I am not as bold as Sal over at Puck Junk as to Twitter the experience, I will be posting a recap of all the spoils of war after I return.  Hopefully triumphant...but my goal is to come back with 1 box (I have three on my mind), At least 1 completed set (I've got my lists fully loaded), At least 1 cool PC card for each of my player collections, and possibly a couple autographs.  I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl with anticipation right now.  It's like Christmas morning!!

Off I go!!

Chicago Sun-Times Sports Collectibles Convention

Well it's that time of year again when the Sun Times plays host to the Annual Sports Collectibles Convention.  For anyone not around the Chicagoland area, each year the Chicago Sun-Times, along with various other sponsors host a huge card and collectible show at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL.  This years show is from March 19-21 and is featuring autograph guests from all over the sports world.  Anyone interested in scoring some autos of some of your favorite players would be in heaven at this show. 

I have been to the National Show twice and this one three times.  I have to say that I have actually found more things that peaked my interest at this Rosemont show in the past.  I will definitely be going on Saturday.  I have already made out my shopping lists and have some specific goals in mind.  I'm also looking for some wax to bust so that should be fun.  While not a big autograph collector, there are a few guys I have my eye on.  I will definitely be showing off some of the things I pick up on the blog over the next week or so.

If you want to find out more about the show, you can go here to check it out.  Maybe I will see some of you there.  Although I probably wouldn't know it if I did.

For all you Graph hounds out there, here are some of the guests to temp your self-control:

Lou Brock, Johnny Lattner, Bobby Hull, Ernie Banks, Luis Aparicio, Len Dawson, Dick Williams, Adam West (yes, Batman or Mayor West of Quahog depending on how old you are), Don Larson, Andre Dawson, Bill Buckner, John Riggins, Whitey Ford, Juan Marichal, Roberto Duran, Tony Rice, Michael Oher, Chuck Bednarik, Chris Johnson, Ozzie Smith, Keith Hernandez, Denis Savard, Percy Harvin, Jared Allen, Emmitt Smith, Willie McCovey, Members of the '72 Dolphins, Negro League Legends

There are a ton more.  I didn't list them all.  Check out their site for a complete list.