Klein’s Korner: Card Show Check-In – Recently, I set up at my first show in nearly nine months with my normal card show stock at Kyle Robertson’s October Show in Fort Worth, Texas.
When I first moved to Texas back in the day, I was always a bit freaked to see a “Welcome to Fort Worth” sign on the way to Arlington; but after that quick lesson on Dallas-Fort Worth area geography you all would probably rather hear how the show was.
Personally I did very well as sales were good. What I sold was a nice mix of wholesale items, showcase items and a few older cards. Since I don’t sell on any way other than in person, I had nine months of new material to add to my show inventory. And yes there was enough new inventory.
The show was described by hobby friend Brad Berthune (aka TXCardDude on Twitter) as “Hobby Hotline” come to life. The show was very similar to what Dr. Jim Beckett referred to in one of his podcasts after the last big show in Allen, TX. There was a preponderance of vendors selling new wax and many of them were reselling the wax one would find in the big box retail stores.
A few other notes about the show. These are just random observations and not a detailed report:
- In negotiating with customers/dealers there is always a way of doing things. One man pulled a couple of cards from one of my myriad boxes said “I’ll give you X” for these cards. I was so put off by how he offered I just refused. I want to say that the way I responded to him was not as courteous as I should have been and he was the only person I fell back into my New York dealing habits with. The other person asked kindly: “Would you take X“? Although that percent was too low I felt comfortable countering and the number in the middle was acceptable to both of us. Sometimes it’s how you ask that makes a difference.
- Almost everyone wore a mask and the couple of people who did not wear masks willingly complied when asked to put them on whilst shopping at my table.
- Attendance was good on Saturday as many of my regular customers stopped by. Sunday was understandably slow as the Dallas Cowboys game began at Noon here.
Now there are so many new “hot” cards that I started to lose count between the cards and the unopened boxes. But as always there were deals to be had. Early Sunday morning while visiting good hobby friend Raymond Jones at the front table a fairly young man came in. Raymond explained how he had walked around the room buying and selling cards and making money by knowing who needed or wanted what and at what price. If you are good at knowing those things within the hobby you can make a lot of money. And in case, you think that’s hyperbole, that’s exactly what Alan “Mr. Mint” Rosen would do at the major shows. He’d buy a deal at “X” thousand and then sell it to one of his dealer contacts for “X+Y” thousand. So I applaud anyone with the knowledge and ability to do that on any show floor. Knowledge is, as they say, power.
There were a couple of shows I intended to attend in the next week after the show but time and work got in the way. There was a sneaker show the following Sunday I intended to visit but was doing my regular job instead. You know, the one I make a salary from. And the Saturday after the show there was a card show I wanted to go to in Arlington but ran into a double whammy. The first part was I picked up a very nice donation from one of my fellow Adat Chaverim members who was moving into a new house and then after that was voluntold that my youngest niece and her soon-to-be fiance wanted to have dinner with us. Well so much for that planned venture the following week.
Thus the next show I will probably set up at and/or attend is Kyle’s November show which is conveniently located within walking distance of my DFW COMC office. Stop by and visit me at the show if you have topics you want to see covered or even just to say hello; However, we will not have our fall Adat Chaverim show as the final stumbling block about poor ventilation in our social hall was just too large of an obstacle to overcome. We’re hoping we can be ready by spring of 2021 as I have nearly a half million cards in my office which can be used for our giveaways. Thanks to the aforementioned donation, we now have a nice group of prizes as well so I’m excited for out next charity show.
Rich’s vast experience and knowledge of the hobby has been well documented through the years. GTS is happy to feature his thoughts on collecting in Klein’s Korner. The opinions expressed are his and do not necessarily reflect those of GTS Distribution.
Klein’s Korner: Card Show Check-In
- Klein’s Korner: The World is Not Ending - December 8, 2021
- Klein’s Korner: The Hobby is Truly the People - July 12, 2021
- Klein’s Korner: Record hobby history - April 6, 2021