Fall Expo - Questions from First Time Attendee

[BrookIsland]

Hi all

Planning to head to Fall Expo in Toronto this year and had a few questions on what to expect:

1. Payments. Should I have EMT ready to go before I attend? I'm assuming some vendors will not accept PayPal (and very few will accept Venmo) so having a CAD-based account would make a lot of sense as I'm not keen to walk around with cash if I can avoid it.

2. Hotel Options. I'd rather stay someplace close and nice but I don't need the Ritz/Four Seasons. DoubleTree/Crown Plaza all good as hotels go and close? Either one better than the other? Assume I should book sooner rather than later?

3. Tickets. Tickets are not yet available for the show. When do they usually go on sale? Is it worth getting the VIP tickets and/or paying up. I'd be going for Friday and Saturday and heading back to NYC on Sunday.

4. SPA Singles. As I'm sure will come as zero surprise, I'd be looking for mostly SPA singles from my want list and in general just to visit with the folks I know from FB, HI, CnC and from Upper Deck. I'm not looking for graded cards - should I expect much in the way of SPA singles or is it mostly graded cards?

5. Value. I've heard anecdotally that I shouldn't expect to get good value/deals at Expo and that therefore I should expect the market to be pretty "efficient" on that basis. Next part of this goes into the next question.

6. Buying Etiquette. I assume standard things like "don't be an ***hole" would apply but are there any landmines that I should avoid? I've seen people push back on "comps" and I thought the first time seller thread was excellent as presenting the "right" way to present from the seller's side. Any quick hits for buyers?

Anything I've missed?

Thanks and hope to meet many of you then!

 

[frankiefives]

1. Bring cash. While some dealers will accept PP, EMT or even debit/credit, cash is king at Expo.

2. Check the Sports Expo website. They always have good options for hotels.

3. VIP is worthwhile as you can get in early each day and avoid long lineups.

4. There is a lot more than just graded cards at Expo. Lots of variety.

5. There are good deals to be had. Just gotta find them.

6. As a seller, I have all of my cards priced. I have no problem with people negotiating but I hate the "What's your best price on this?" line. My reply is often "What's the highest you wanna pay?" which usually ends up with the buyer having a confused look and walking away.

Have fun and good luck!

 

[langway05]

1. Bring cash. While some dealers will accept PP, EMT or even debit/credit, cash is king at Expo.

2. Check the Sports Expo website. They always have good options for hotels.

3. VIP is worthwhile as you can get in early each day and avoid long lineups.

4. There is a lot more than just graded cards at Expo. Lots of variety.

5. There are good deals to be had. Just gotta find them.

6. As a seller, I have all of my cards priced. I have no problem with people negotiating but I hate the "What's your best price on this?" line. My reply is often "What's the highest you wanna pay?" which usually ends up with the buyer having a confused look and walking away.

Have fun and good luck!

Great info. One to add, wear comfortable shoes. Those concrete floors are a killer.

Oh yea, if you see quincy out and about. You may need to don sunglasses to lessen the effect upon your eyes of his most interestin' attire. :beer:

 

[mq13]

Both responses have you covered. If buying the VIP ticket I would recommend getting there on Thursday to be privy to the cards before the general public.

 

[quincy]

SHOES SHOES SHOES SHOES SHOES. Cannot stress that enough.

 

[Triple B]

I know you’re from Brooklyn, but if you have the ability to have options, that’s always good. As Frank said, cash is always king, but if you’re not comfortable carrying a large amount of cash on you (in 28 years of attending the expo, I have yet to hear of any attendees getting blatantly robbed of their cash), having EMT as a backup isn’t a bad idea.

Have supplies on hand. You never know if you’ll hit something big and need an immediate sleeve and loader on hand. I bring a 2-piece 100 ct box with Diamond corners. Also, a backpack or satchel is also very much needed.

 

[Tachyon]

Cash is King.

I stay at Four Seasons and always have breakfast at Perkins and then at the Expo I eat street meat (which I always do when I step foot in Toronto).

I sold an Yzerman auto that I had doubles of and found a vendor that really wanted it. He paid me cash. Then I noticed he had some Motown Madness autos and I knew for a fact the Lidstrom was an SP and limited to 10. So I purchased from him and basically made money and scored a great card in the same transaction.

I have seen people try to complete very low-end insert sets and I am absolutely positive you can find all the base and most of the inserts or rookies you need. It may take time.

Some vendors won't break out commons unless you ask.

I carry a box or two (so does my cousin) and keep in the trunk of the car just incase I need to grab something for a sale/trade.

As said earlier, a package of sleeves and some top-loaders on hand is always helpful. Yes, you can buy those supplies there from many vendors but if you pull a sweet card you do not want to weave through people to get to a vendor to sleeve and top-load the card. So... I bring a bag with supplies and a box of some of the higher-end cards I am looking to move.

I once tried selling a Lemieux Patch 1/1 (nasty patch). One vendor immediately went on to a tablet and I presume tried doing some research to see how much he could sell it for. No dice.

Same card one vendor said "I've seen that patch before". Impossible. I can show you the card, there is no way someone replicated a Dr. Price Patch.

So, some vendors are full of crap but most are friendly as it is a hobby for them and not just a business.

 

[BrookIsland]

Thanks all - really appreciate all of the insight so far. Will definitely get some good, comfy shoes and bring a backpack with toploaders/sleeves etc.