The expo, then and now......

[theslurpee]

With young kids and being busy at work, I hadn't been to the expo in 5 or 6 years. I just finished a couple of days at this year's event and thought I would share the differences I noticed between my last and most recent expo.

1. Lots more graded vintage. I love this stuff and saw waaayyy more of it this time than 6 years ago. From watching things at various booths, it seemed to be selling as much as the new stuff.

2. Very reasonably priced non-card stuff. I found the shirts, hats, jerseys, figurines and bobblehead type stuff were a lot cheaper this time around. Keychains and licence plate covers from your favourite team are cool but not when they cost 50 bux each. I bought lots of cool stocking stuffers and other gifts at great prices.

3. Very clean, selective, and organized dealers and booths. This was a breath of fresh air......literally. There were only a handful of those booths filled with old display cases so yellow and dirty you can hardly see through them only to find stacks of cards which have been hauled from show to show for years without being sold.

Most dealers were friendly, knowledgable, and focused on something wether it was new or old, high end, or low end, autos, patches or whatever. You could tell they tried to focus more on one type of collecting to do it well as opposed to trying to have a bit of everything with limited knowledge or inventory.

The booths and cases were clean, labeled and organized for the most part. Sure, all collectors like to do some digging, but not through 5000 random cards stacked on a table for a maybe.

The best part about this and any expo is hanging out with fellow collectors. During my times being eye candy (just kidding) while minding Gomaz's booth as he walked around spending squillions of dollars on amazing stuff, I enjoyed meeting fellow HI'ers and other collectors and hearing stories of the stuff they collect.

All in all, this year's edition was a big improvement over the ones I attended in years past, but I'm curious for all of your thoughts, what did you think?

 

[Triple B]

There has been an incredible turnover in dealers. It seems like a lot of the old guard has been replaced with newer and more driven people. Graded cards seem to be picking up some major steam. So far it's been a pretty decent Expo.

 

[allstarcollectors]

As a vendor, I found this expo had way more tire kickers than past. The majority wouldn't let me know what they were looking for. A lot of vendors had a poor show. I sold a lot less items than in past. Rates are going up again for the spring show. Probably will be my last one.

 

[theblindtiger]

This was my first Expo. I had fun. I was there on Friday and it was far less busy than what I had anticipated.

Perhaps people in Toronto are worried about the economy and maybe discretionary spending is down. I live in downtown Toronto and it's all anyone talks about.

 

[Stadium Sports]

As a vendor, I found this expo had way more tire kickers than past. The majority wouldn't let me know what they were looking for. A lot of vendors had a poor show. I sold a lot less items than in past. Rates are going up again for the spring show. Probably will be my last one.

I have heard back from 5 dealers so far saying the same thing. Slow and attendance was also down. Although a few said they were blowing out UD1 below cost at the end of the show ($840 a case).

 

[Craig2]

I was at the show on Saturday afternoon, here are my thoughts:

1) I agree that there was a lot of vintage compared to past shows. I also saw lots of new stuff, but what I didn't see was the "old-ish" stuff from the early 2000s. As someone who collects a lot of sets from early this century, there really wasn't a lot for me in terms of filling sets.

2) The vendors as a whole were very friendly. Some good discussions, and very helpful in answering questions. I mostly laid low and just browsed, but it was good to chat with a few people.

3) My only negative comment - Most of the prices I saw (or asked about) were very high, in many cases outrageously so. I know these are often just a starting point for negotiation, but in several cases they were so out there that it didn't seem worthwhile countering. I don't expect Ebay or below-Ebay pricing on everything at a show, but it certainly turned me off from some possible high-end purchases.

Overall, it was fun. Didn't spend much, but it was a great way to kill an afternoon before my daughter's hockey game.

 

[shams99]

I come and go in the hobby but I do not buy much. I have had a booth at the expo before. Here was my thoughts.

1. Hard to move older cards from 2002- 2013. Too many patch autos, not enough variation or new stuff.

2. Vintage seems to be what people whom want to spend some serious money are looking into.

3. North as much of this year’s cup. Only saw 1 Mathews arp.

4. Gambled with my UD box and a framework box. WOn a Connor Mcdavid auto stick and Tavares auto jersey. :dance::veryhappy:

It was nice to see some familiar faces. I did here from a few dealers that they wont be back as too expensive. My conclusion is the hockey care portion is shrinking but the memorabilia and corporate side is increasing.

My 2 cents.

 

[dudical]

I thought the show had some a good mix of things - but agree that prices were too high to even begin countering. McDavid PSA 10 Young Guns for $650-750 Canadian? They sell for $500ish. I quickly divide what dealers to even say hi to based on their sticker (museum) prices. They don't want to sell - just want to show

 

[GoalieFan89]

Yes, I agree I am really happy to see more selection of vintage. For a while I'd say only 10% of dealers were mainly vintage. Before it was a lot of overpriced 80s rookies at the shows.

Was pleasantly impressed with the friendliness (completely ignored platinum promotions after my experience with them before) of dealers and organization for most. Some dealers were not prepared and had to look up prices on ebay when I asked for a price. A few dealers had to call someone for pricing. But that only happened about 3-4 times.

Overpricing at the EXPO does not surprise me and like you said "they are looking to show the card off and not necessarily sell it".

With that being said a lot of dealers were willing to negotiate within reason, which was a pleasant surprise.

Overall for me it was a very positive expo! I feel bad for the dealers sprinkled in the back of the room usually reserved for the bigger companies showcasing products. The only reason I found them was when I went to buy a drink in the back and saw them.

 

[junyab]

Here are my thoughts and a couple stories:

Overall Thoughts:
- great show overall, my son and I had lots of fun...we broke several boxes of S1 and my son was able to gets a few more PKs for his PC...all the vendors were so friendly and a lot of them even had cards or gifts to give out to kids...my son cleaned up in that regard lol...all in all, such a fun experience again this year...wish we could have made it to sunday to take advantage of the cheap prices people are speaking of though!

Great Story
- while my son and I were breaking a couple S1 boxes in the grosnor pit a group of 4 guys were splitting/breaking a case of 14-15 S1 (they said they paid $800 for it). when they started to rip open the packs they witnessed a crazy surprise...an insane number of YGs. there were packs with 3 and sometimes 4 YGs. one pack had a Draisaitl, Ekblad, TT and ?...not one box, one PACK had 4 YGs including the 3 I mentioned...when all was said and done 6 of their boxes had the normal 6 YGs each, but the other 6 boxes had 12-28 YGs. not to mention YGC's, a couple YGE's and 2 printing plates (both plates in one box)...when they told UD about this ridiculous case they received a reaction of "meh"...I figured UD would be happy to hear about a great luck story rather than the bad stories people brought to them all day...oh well

Bad Story
- one of the most fun things for my 7 yr old son to do is visit all the UD authorized "yellow balloon" vendors and collect the beckett cards so he can trade them in for the very cool 3 metal card set. Beckett was also nice enough to have a draw for additional prizes with 1 entry for every 1 set completed. about 2hrs into saturday's show half of the yellow balloon vendors were out of cards to give out, my son (and other kids) were heartbroken that they couldn't get a prize...I took him to beckett anyway and mentioned the vendors being out of cards and we couldn't complete the set. they had already heard that news and decided to give out the prizes anyway, my son was ecstatic. fast forward to the additional prize draw where the controversy happened. the grand prize was a 16-17 tin of The Cup, wow! we were pumped at the chance of getting one. when they pulled the name, the winner wasn't there to claim the prize...the winner's nephew was there and said his uncle was one of the vendors and was at his booth (WHAT?! everyone thought)...well the beckett guys were just about to draw another name, as the gentleman wasn't there to claim the prize, and he showed up and snagged the free cup tin...considering they ran out of the cards you needed to collect (probably reducing the number of people who claimed their prize and entry), and this vendor was able to get a set and enter, then ended up winning such a huge prize didn't sit well me, or anyone else for that matter. someone said something to beckett and then vendor while he opened the tin (got a crosby auto and 1 RPA) but neither seemed to mind.

 

[will-411]

I thought the Beckett promotion was supposed to be for kids. That's unfortunate.

I have to wonder how much longer they are going to call this the Sport Card Expo. While that is what everyone knows it as traditionally, it is definitely becoming more and more the Sport Collectible Expo or the Sport Fan Expo. I'm not saying that is good or bad, just that it seems to be changing with the times. We live in an era of unprecedented openness from athletes - meeting or getting a signed piece from an athlete is no longer a unique event. That proliferation of in person signings, sightings, meet and greets, etc has demystified a lot of the appeal that got focused toward cards, which used to be as close as many had the chance to ever get.

I still enjoy the hobby, but it's evolving, and some of the changes noted and concerns above, are part of those changes. Just continue to find and do what makes you happy in it - because if you aren't having fun, you shouldn't be doing it.

Cory

 

[junyab]

I thought the Beckett promotion was supposed to be for kids. That's unfortunate.

Thought so too. :dislike:

 

[gomaz]

I didn’t see anywhere that the Beckett promo was for kids. Sunday morning I made my way around searching for the 10 cards needed so I could go get the metal Beckett Cover plate set to go along with the ones I got last fall expo. I really like these cards and collect them in my PC as Expo mementos. It was actually one of the things I was hoping would be happening at Expo and was stoked when I found out that they were continuing the metal plate set.

Guess I’m glad it isn’t meant for kids, or if it is, that I didn’t realize cuz really I’m just a big arse kid anyway lol.

While I was on my mission to get the 10 different cards from vendors with yellow balloons, I noticed that all of these vendors were happy to help me out if they had a card I needed....except one older gent up the aisle from grizzly who seemed tortured when I asked him if he was part of the promo.

But one dealer did mention he already had three sets and was gonna try to get the ten cards again so he could go get another. My instinct was that I’d see them on eBay today. We’ll see.

 

[Triple B]

I wish dealers would offer more baseball. I realize I'm in Canada and hockey is king up here, but it kinda sucks going table to table seeing pretty much the same thing at each one. It's like groundhog day. I'm fortunate where I can go to the National to enjoy seeing all of the baseball cards I want...but MAN would it be something to see more baseball there.

And for those dealers that are against it...the few dealers I have talked into stocking baseball are MORE than pleasantly surprised at the sales they are realizing that supplements the sales they get from the hockey end of things.

 

[theslurpee]

I thought the show had some a good mix of things - but agree that prices were too high to even begin countering. McDavid PSA 10 Young Guns for $650-750 Canadian? They sell for $500ish. I quickly divide what dealers to even say hi to based on their sticker (museum) prices. They don't want to sell - just want to show

This, unfortunately, I saw a lot. I was on the hunt for a PSA 10 Mcdavid YG and had researched the dozen or so which had recently sold around the $500 CDN mark on ebay. One dealer refused to believe me and refused to do the research. He went on to berate me as I walked by again asking "did you find one for $500?"

Fortunately, I did find a reasonable dealer and did buy one for around $500 but this was not the norm. In fact, I flew across the country with a fist full of money ready to pull the trigger on some big PC cards, but the cards I wanted were trending around $1700 CDN and had $3300 price tags, not to mention the "double what theyre selling for" prices on many Gretzky RC's.

As another poster noted, collectors are more savvy. In times past, there may have been the opportunity for a dealer to put a crazy number on a card and have someone walk up and buy it, but in the age of smartphones most people looking at a $5000 purchase will do some quick research.

Ebay is a true gauge of the market (especially with multiple sales in recent months). True, shipping is extra, but a dealer saves the 12% fees by taking my cash in person. I don't mind paying a bit more for the convenience of taking a card home immediately and supporting the dealer to make coming to the show worthwhile, but not at double the price on a $1700 card.

What I don't understand, and what is the saddest part, is that I didnt come home with the PC cards I wanted, and the dealer likely went home with the cards and not the cash, we both lose.

 

[weasel-king]

Are there ever any non-sport cards at these shows?

 

[whonos]

Are there ever any non-sport cards at these shows?

Yes there is, there a a handful that are non-sport only

 

[g-force]

I agree that it was a tough go for buying at this show. I found either the inventory was the same as the dealers have had at the last 3-4 shows for the same price it didn't sell for 2 years ago or the prices were 2-3x Ebay selling rates. I am not expecting to necessarily pay what an item sells for on Ebay but I'm not willing to pay double either. I only spent $100 on the floor at this show which is an all-time low for me at the Expo. Fortunately, I had a couple of nice cards brought to the booth which I was able to acquire (McDavid SPX Patch auto /50 which I got graded and came back as a BGS 9.5 and a McDavid Canvas YG BGS 10). My sales were about where I usually average but it was almost exclusively items from my discount buyers which I bulked out on Sunday to save the weight coming back home. It was still an enjoyable weekend all in all.

 

[junyab]

I didn’t see anywhere that the Beckett promo was for kids. Sunday morning I made my way around searching for the 10 cards needed so I could go get the metal Beckett Cover plate set to go along with the ones I got last fall expo. I really like these cards and collect them in my PC as Expo mementos. It was actually one of the things I was hoping would be happening at Expo and was stoked when I found out that they were continuing the metal plate set.

Guess I’m glad it isn’t meant for kids, or if it is, that I didn’t realize cuz really I’m just a big arse kid anyway lol.

While I was on my mission to get the 10 different cards from vendors with yellow balloons, I noticed that all of these vendors were happy to help me out if they had a card I needed....except one older gent up the aisle from grizzly who seemed tortured when I asked him if he was part of the promo.

But one dealer did mention he already had three sets and was gonna try to get the ten cards again so he could go get another. My instinct was that I’d see them on eBay today. We’ll see.

My first experience with this set was in the May show earlier this year. I went to one of the dealers to get a card and I was told by the vendor that the hunt was for the kids, so I had my son ask for them the rest of the day. It turned out to be a good thing anyway. He learned to be polite, say excuse me or wait until the vendors were free, and to thank them for helping him out. Well, it was good until one of the vendors said "sorry kid, you have to buy something". I gave the guy heck and got the card from someone else. I digress, I just assumed from that experience that it was for kids only, but I was obviously mistaken. Which is more than fine. However...

...from my experience this year, and from what you've told me about the one vendor mentioning to you he intended to get several sets, this really irks me. Especially when the vendors "ran out" of the cards needed to be collected. I can only imagine the number of parents/kids who gave up and didn't think to ask the Beckett guys. Then to see one of the vendors who "ran out" of the cards wind up getting the Cup tin and then having to explain to my son how this was an acceptable conclusion to the contest was more than a bit aggravating. Now I wonder how many ballots this guy had in the box.

 

[gomaz]

My first experience with this set was in the May show earlier this year. I went to one of the dealers to get a card and I was told by the vendor that the hunt was for the kids, so I had my son ask for them the rest of the day. It turned out to be a good thing anyway. He learned to be polite, say excuse me or wait until the vendors were free, and to thank them for helping him out. Well, it was good until one of the vendors said "sorry kid, you have to buy something". I gave the guy heck and got the card from someone else. I digress, I just assumed from that experience that it was for kids only, but I was obviously mistaken. Which is more than fine. However...

...from my experience this year, and from what you've told me about the one vendor mentioning to you he intended to get several sets, this really irks me. Especially when the vendors "ran out" of the cards needed to be collected. I can only imagine the number of parents/kids who gave up and didn't think to ask the Beckett guys. Then to see one of the vendors who "ran out" of the cards wind up getting the Cup tin and then having to explain to my son how this was an acceptable conclusion to the contest was more than a bit aggravating. Now I wonder how many ballots this guy had in the box.

I seem to remember hearing a story similar to the one you tell about what your son was told having to buy something. That is just brutal. :dislike:

I was able to get all 10 cards in about 20 minutes and I did encounter one who was out of "his" card but that just made me seek out the more respectable vendor :clap: who did still have a stack of that same card :yess:

Hopefully the occurrences of d-bagerie are few and far between.

Overall the Beckett hunt was fun for the kid in me and I really do love the cover plate cards for my PC.

Anyway...

Yeah slurp...it was interesting to hear your take on the show after 5 years. It's nice to hear that the place just seems cleaner and more organized as well. I agree and like the way the show is produced under the new management.

And the trend towards more vintage...yeah I've really noticed that too.

One of the best parts of the show was having you hanging out at the booth. And thanks for cardsitting for me here and there so I could go pee and window shop. :thanks: