+/- of the expo

B

brettyd

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well, heres my list

(+)
+lots of cool cards to see
+some good prices on boxes
+mike from allstarcollectors being a great guy
+pepperettes
+some good bargains

(-)
-"half off" boxes only to be found as jacked up prices with a 50% off label
-the smell
-lots of the patrons.... they know who they are.
-not finding much for my PC
-not chatting with marcel dionne

overall, not a bad day, but first time i ever left with $$ in my pocket.
 
I was a bit dissappointed with this show. I don't know if it is because all of the good stuff was gone on Friday or Saturday or what. I found that most of the dealers wouldn't budge on their stuff. I just didn't find as many good deals as I had in the past. I take it from the low number of people there yesterday, that it was a rough weekend for the dealers overall. I can sympathize with that I guess. Its still alot of fun to look around at stuff, but I too left with money in my pocket.
 
(+) was able to find a few bryan little's that i needed
Mike at allstar was his ever charmig self

(-) Smug collectors who think they are gods gift to the hobby

overall a good time
 
Plus:
Managed to find some nice deals on a few Spezza cards for myself.
Lots of cheap ITG boxes.
Lots of amazing cards on the floor.

Minus:
Very little Foligno cards for me to pick up.
Friday, dealers were less willing to deal than they have been in the past on Friday's.
Wasn't able to work out a deal for the bigger card I had my eye on.
Got my hand slammed in a car door...
Our GPS got us lost...Twice.


..Still, always fun to go.
 
iggyfan said:
(+)

(-) Smug collectors who think they are gods gift to the hobby
Click to expand...

Was not able to make it this time, but the above does not just have to do with the expo. I see this at even the local show by me and it is one of the most ANNOYING thing about going to a show.... along with the fact that some showgoers forget to shower and use deodorant.

Michael
 
really the only minus I had was the freakin' heat of the place on Friday, and to some extent on Saturday. Like an old Harold Ballard trick to boost the sales of water.... oh and another minus.... the lack of quality Aki Berg singles... ;)
 
"Lots of the patrons.... they know who they are."
"Smug collectors who think they are gods gift to the hobby."

Yikes, these could be concerning. I'm hopeful the folks you refer to truly deserve these comments, and further, I hope they aren't here :whatthehell:

I was only there Friday and Sunday, and as much as there were no deals on Friday, Sunday proved very beneficial for deals. I was actually amazed at some of the grabs I got.

Glenn
 
Last edited:
Different kind of answer since we never attended... but

(+) It generates interest.
(+) They are always our businest weekends.

I think we are just far enough away (2.5 hours) that many people gear up for it and then either don't go because something comes up or they just don't want to spend the time on the road. We always do 5 figures on those weekends. This past Thursday to Sunday were our best yet (although a M.Richard RC was in that).

Anything that generates interest in the hobby is a great thing in my books.
 
+
Lots of cool cards
Pretty good prices on wax
the people selling the meat
Putting names to faces and seeing some truly awful wardrobes (I'm looking at you, Q)

-
Not much in the way of singles for small-time guys like me
Jacked up prices
Most dealers ignored you unless you asked about a card
 
(+)
+ largest hockey card event in the world
+ great/themed autograph signings by AJ Sports World
+ In The Game Redemption Program
+ Hobby Insider presence... bit by bit and more and more I'm getting to know more HI members... I'm terrible at putting names to faces let alone names to usernames! :P
+ awesome selection of singles and wax
+ Toronto Card Show booth - not to toot our own horn, but this was our best Expo to date. We gave team bags with "redemption cards" to almost every kid that walked by our booth. We're slowly becoming more visible and people have donated cards, sets, and prizes more so than ever before! We had an Expo Mail Order Special for those who can't make the Allan Bester signing on June 27 and it was more successful than we expected.

(-)
- collectors/patrons with body odour -- a recurring theme... SLOBS!
- collectors/patrons with bad breath -- another recurring theme... brushing your teeth should be a part of daily life!
- concrete floors -- killer on the legs no matter how old or young you are after 3 days (my night on the dance floor on Saturday didn't contribute :P )
- dealers who are impolite when offers are made... you can have your price and I can have mine - that's OK. A deal doesn't need to be made in order for common courtesy to be maintained.
- on the same token, collectors who are impolite when they don't like the price that they hear... it's ok, either we work towards win-win or we can honourably pass on making a deal. Meanwhile, I've sold cards for less than I would normally accept to collectors because they handle themselves very admirably. Sometimes I WANT to get the card into a collectors hand at the expense of my own pocket.


iggyfan said:
(-) Smug collectors who think they are gods gift to the hobby
Click to expand...

The correct term is "LOSERS"... we've got a great hobby with lots of great folks. But then there are the few oddballs out there who have nothing else going on for themselves other than their collections and their... "knowledge" of the industry.
 
Looks like the expo this time around reflects the hobby as a whole and this is why when I go to and show I only associate with dealers that have a large crowd around them or those I have dealt with in the past. Kind of sad that prices were hiked up at the show as well with the state of the hobby the way it is and what not.
 
FrankToronto said:
That's a tough one. Often I think a collector would rather browse without feeling preyed upon. I often try to make myself look available without getting in anyone's way.
Click to expand...

Good point; I didn't really think of that. There were a few really friendly guys who'd ask what you were looking for and chat for a minute. That was one of the nice parts.
 
+ Great Expo, my best ever $wise. Mainly due to the release of Superlative II and all the books I sold. Thanks to JoelCarry, trekrun and card_collector_007 for your purchases (hope I didn't miss any). Thanks to all the HIers that bought from me. I really appreciate it
+ Pink Hat Charity - Thanks to the many purchases made by HIers at my table, the 5% added up to a $280 donation total for the weekend
+ Meeting HIers - I met even more this weekend, and enjoy greatly meeting fellow collectors. One of the best parts of the hobby (if not the best) I had 32 sign-up to my contest, and I know there were several that I saw that didn't sign up (we just forgot)
+ Kids - to my recollection there seemed to be more kids at the Expo this year, which is a good sign for the future
+ Going to dinner with HI community on Thursday night. First Expo I could convince my wife that I could go. I had a good time chatting with HIers, and had a decent dinner to boot.

- a Toronto Card show regular who after hearing BTP was $100, "yelled" at me something to the effect "ahh man that was $70 at the last Toronto card show and will be $40 in 2 weeks what a rip off" First his $70 pricing was way off, I'm sure it was at least $85. Also, that somehow I'm the sole one responsible for setting the price. The fact the price has gone up at my distributor, and I'm only make a few dollars, meant nothing to this collector.
- Collectors with no sense of humour! I said to one guy who was holding the card out far to try to read it (and couldn't), I said "Your arm isn't longer enough" I had to repeat 3X and he still didn't get it. Good thing I didn't become a comedian! :)
- The heat in the building. Friday was bad. Never felt like that before. Saturday and Sunday were better as I was in my shorts
- The total lack of sales from boxes that weren't 09-10. Seriously, I couldn't believe how little I sold of my older boxes. Even at a loss.
- The one 10 to 12 year old kid who had a Superlative box in his hands with a really cheap price tag that was walking the aisles. I assume, some dealer sent him around. That is about the lowest I've seen in tactics to sell product.
- Seeing iggyfan without a shirt on, when I went to drop off his free tickets on Saturday morning. Please dress yourself before answering the door! :)
- I didn't have any product stolen that I know of (unlike last Expo when $1,000 went missing) but I was the one who handed a fellow vendor a price tag of a Lebron James Auto'd Full Jersey that was laying on the ground around the corner from his booth. He looked at me with shock as he realized the jersey had been stolen. Sucks that such low lifes are at each and every Expo. I felt really bad for him.

Overall, another enjoyable, successful show. Thanks again to the HI community for making shows that much better.
 
+ dealers looking to make deals. Not all of them, but more than usual.
+ ITG's redemptions. Good God.
+ The HI booth. Always good to stop for a breather and chat with people whose usernames you know and now have faces to go with them.
+ seeing those schmenges from Fastball sitting there counting the minutes from 1pm Friday to 6pm Sunday. That show is a loss leader for them FOR SURE.
+ being able to buy from one dealer and sell to another for a profit again.
+ pepperoni guy selling pepperoni sticks. Saved me from getting mudbutt from eating Pizza Pizza.
+ dealers undercutting each other's box prices. Bad for other dealers, good for me and you.

- THE SMELL. What the hell? $1,000 cards and you can't buy some effing soap? Axe is like a shower in a can for crying out loud. "Oh, but soap agitates my skin." BULL****. That agitation is what we who shower call "CLEAN".
- Fastball is still in business? Wasted my damn time last year and got right back in my bad books. And shave that damn soul patch, you look like you're dying to play a clarinet or something (and I don't mean that nicely).
- How many Joel Schmuckheimers were there selling the same turds that they were selling back in 1995? Too many. Leave, you're no longer wanted in the hobby.
- The Toronto Card Show balloons. Guys fill those things up, dammit! I don't want to tell you what they looked like...
- Ice cream for $4? What the hell?
 
Triple B said:
+ dealers looking to make deals. Not all of them, but more than usual.
+ ITG's redemptions. Good God.
+ The HI booth. Always good to stop for a breather and chat with people whose usernames you know and now have faces to go with them.
+ seeing those schmenges from Fastball sitting there counting the minutes from 1pm Friday to 6pm Sunday. That show is a loss leader for them FOR SURE.
+ being able to buy from one dealer and sell to another for a profit again.
+ pepperoni guy selling pepperoni sticks. Saved me from getting mudbutt from eating Pizza Pizza.
+ dealers undercutting each other's box prices. Bad for other dealers, good for me and you.

- THE SMELL. What the hell? $1,000 cards and you can't buy some effing soap? Axe is like a shower in a can for crying out loud. "Oh, but soap agitates my skin." BULL****. That agitation is what we who shower call "CLEAN".
- Fastball is still in business? Wasted my damn time last year and got right back in my bad books. And shave that damn soul patch, you look like you're dying to play a clarinet or something (and I don't mean that nicely).
- How many Joel Schmuckheimers were there selling the same turds that they were selling back in 1995? Too many. Leave, you're no longer wanted in the hobby.
- The Toronto Card Show balloons. Guys fill those things up, dammit! I don't want to tell you what they looked like...
- Ice cream for $4? What the hell?
Click to expand...


I couldn't even get past "mud butt". LOL
 
+
>Donated some stuff to Frank for the Toronto Hockey Show. Met him as well.
>Met some guy in a pink hat haha
>Lots of awesome lookin cards.
>Was able to convince a guy I work with to head out. He has never been.
>The hot dog vendor outside the door telling everyone "You tha best". Found it hilarious.
>No strippers in the parking lot handing out free tickets to the club they work at in the parking lot like at last years spring expo.(tickets were expired too)

-
>Lots of rude people. I dont know how many times my bum was touched or bumped into while looking at cards. It wasnt that crowded.
>Some of the prices on boxes seemed pretty high. I seen a couple people selling 90/91 UD for $40 a box. Same with the "special show price".
>ATM ran out of money, all 3 of them the first day. I wanted to get more money out to buy a box but wasnt able to. The guy said I could use interac but he would have to charge me taxes.
 
+ ITG Superlative
+ Partying with the crew on Saturday night
+ Great deals and trades. I managed to grab a ton of cool stuff

- The dude who had arse cleavage half way up his back while standing up straight!!! Not pretty
 
allstarcollectors said:
+ Meeting HIers - I met even more this weekend, and enjoy greatly meeting fellow collectors. One of the best parts of the hobby (if not the best) I had 32 sign-up to my contest, and I know there were several that I saw that didn't sign up (we just forgot)
Click to expand...

Seeing as I won previously, I thought I'd be a nice guy and not sign up this time. :)

allstarcollectors said:
+ Kids - to my recollection there seemed to be more kids at the Expo this year, which is a good sign for the future
Click to expand...

I noticed the same thing... maybe the Toronto Card Show has been doing something right and the Expo is benefiting from it. ;)


allstarcollectors said:
- a Toronto Card show regular who after hearing BTP was $100, "yelled" at me something to the effect "ahh man that was $70 at the last Toronto card show and will be $40 in 2 weeks what a rip off" First his $70 pricing was way off, I'm sure it was at least $85.
Click to expand...

At least. I never paid less than $90.


allstarcollectors said:
- The one 10 to 12 year old kid who had a Superlative box in his hands with a really cheap price tag that was walking the aisles. I assume, some dealer sent him around. That is about the lowest I've seen in tactics to sell product.
Click to expand...

Couldn't believe it when you told me that one!

Glad you had a great Expo, Mike! See ya at your usual spot on May 23rd! ;)
 

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