MMarch
One Man Wolfpack, ,
It's a long read, fair warning...
Well, it was a fast and furious 48 hours at the show. Joe and I set out Friday afternoon, made it to the border quick, and then got stopped at the border. I don't care what anyone says, I was "profiled".
When we got inside and talked to the border agent (a French one at that, in Vancouver????), he did not like the word "profiled" when I brought it up, he actually got really nervous when I said that word. :devil: But, he really couldn't argue that the "gut feeling" the lady at entry had was anything other then profiling. They didn't search the car or anything, just asked a few questions, and sent us on our way.
Anyways, we got to the show where Randy (orca pod) was waiting for us. We handed him his non-alcoholic half racks of frost pops, the DVD set he requested, and he politely jumped right in and helped us unload.
We didn't get there as early as we would have liked due to the "profiling", and I didn't have a chance to even get my table set up before other dealers were crowded around wanting to buy stuff. I think I sold $300-400 before the show even opened Friday night. I learned a valuable lesson, I was told by multiple "Vancouver show veterans" to just have shoe boxes marked $1, $2, $3, $4, $5 each but I didn't listen.... Also, Dale had told me our tables would be on the first row against the wall right when you walk in the door, but that didn't happen. We ended up on a corner in the middle of the room so I had no room to hang my game worn jerseys and sticks. Was quite disappointed as I knew they would draw interest, but in the end, I didn't really need them as I was busy from the minute we got there until the last minute of the show Saturday night. I did however take their advice, and Saturday morning I made up my $1-$5 boxes and I sold at least 5 or 6 shoe boxes full of cards. I was shocked, happy shocked though.
OK, so every time I go to a show up there I tell myself to write everyones name down so I don't forget (I have a terrible memory, probably from "stuff" I did in my younger years but we won't go there), but of course, like usual, I didn't. So, With the help of Joe & Kevin I remembered everyone I could, and I apologize if I missed your name here. I met so many HI members it was crazy, I apologize if I didn't get the proper time to chat with each of you. I really wanted to but I had at least 1-3 people at my table at all times. Here is who I do remember though:
Joe (timber09 - my carpooling 'Uhmurican compadre)
Randy (orca pod - where were you Saturday? Thanks for the freebie Kane for my son, much appreciated. DO I really need to say anything else about this hobby dinosaur.....)
Kevin (kmitchel - one of the nicest and most generous people you will ever meet in the hobby. I tried to get him to smell what a SC Champion game worn jersey smells like, but he "politely" declined......) :devil:
Chris (dogfoodsoup - Not to offend anyone, but Chris was someone I really was hoping to see again. Thanks for coming and hanging out, always enjoy your quick wit and humor, you make me laugh like crazy, have you thought about taking a shot on the comedy circuit? Congrats on getting out of the hobby, you will be missed but stay in touch, PLEASE)
JZ (canucksfan77 - this guy is a blast to hang with and has stories for days, thanks for spending time with us, and your nephew is one cool kid)
Lu (peulyen - HEY MAN, DEALERS ONLY BEHIND THE TABLES....
It was a pleasure meeting you and chatting, hope to see you again next year. All your Modano's, send them to Lu!)
Derek (burebuyer - thanks for raiding my cheap boxes and spending some time at the table. Really enjoyed talking to you, and I expect you should at least triple or quadruple your money....)
Gordon (shaboobala - All your Killorn belong to him! Super nice guy, if you get the chance, DEAL WITH HIM!)
Jon (bebop - also enjoyed talking with you. I think you were the one standing there when I was about to throat punch "Coach". That dude seriously makes my skin crawl, I know I had "that look" like I was going to explode and you just laughed cuz you've probably seen that same look on a dozen other peoples faces when that guy comes to their table)
Matt (chadsexington and his beautiful baby girl, congrats bud and sorry I couldn't find you that Seahawks onesie, I really did try and will keep trying. It is my mission to find one in pink)
Jourdan (Hyper23 - glad the quad went to a good home. Thanks for the freebies bud. If you get a chance, check out his Kesler PC, INSANE!!!),
Derek (OT Sports - thank you kindly for bringing the cards from Neil, greatly appreciated)
Dave (tiger_tiger - sorry I didn't know that was you, but glad your boy ended up with some freebies to take home and enjoy)
Jeff (Chinner - not sure we got to talk but I know I met you)
Kendrick (re-ac-tor - again, not sure if we talked much but I think you spent some time at Joe's table?)
Ed (87sluggo - I know we did talk briefly, it was very nice to meet you IP)
Matt (Yipper - I saw you but don't think we got to chat, sorry!)
Richard (sbangayan86 - pretty sure you were at Joe's table for a bit, sorry I didn't get to say hello)
Trevor (Force - I believe Kevin introduced us but don't think we got to chat, sorry!)
Elliot (echoi69 - once again, I know I saw you but don't think we got to chat. Next time.)
If I forgot anyone I am truly sorry, next year I will write down everyone's name. To all HI people that stopped by and said hello, it was great meeting each and every one of you.
OK, so Friday night was 4 hours of fast and frenzy selling. Afterwards a 8 of us met up for some pizza and chat. Let me see if I get this right, across from me was JZ (canucksfan77), to his left was Joe (timber09), to Joe's left was Jon (bebop), and to Jon's left was Kevin (kmitchel). To my right was Lu (peulyen), to Lu's right was Gordon (shaboobala), and to Gord's right was Derek (burebuyer). Did I get that right? If not, I apologize. Some great conversations to be shared for sure, the whole metric convo was classic! I couldn't have asked for a better group to have dinner with, although I wish Randy was there to be the honorary whipping boy..... I haven't laughed that hard in quite some time, I wish I could make it up there for shows more often. Class group of peeps to hang with, thanks for inviting Joe and I. Oh yeah, I ended up driving Joe's car back to the hotel, he had a few fuzzy pops and I didn't, so I was DD. 
Saturday was another fast and frenzied day of selling, the show vets were correct, I couldn't put the cards in the cheap boxes fast enough. There were people lined up reaching over each other to grab stacks to buy. It was GREAT! I will bullet point a few things to hopefully make this easy, my fingers are getting tired:
Start with the NEGATIVES:
1. I was "profiled" at the border
2. Didn't get much sleep Friday night, maybe 3 hours at best
3. I was sick as a dog Saturday morning which is why we didn't make breakfast with the gang (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). Seriously though, Joe could not drive fast enough from the hotel to the show, it hit me about 2 minutes in to the car ride and I literally ran to the bathroom once we hit the parking lot. I was contemplating having Joe pull over somewhere along the way, it was that bad. I spent a good 30 minutes on the throne, and kept feeling like I was going to pass out. Even the guy in the stall next to me chimed in with a "Damn dude, are you OK in there". I'm thinking the combination of Haggen sushi on the drive up and the Croatian hot dog at the show was one volatile food cocktail......
4. I got robbed at my table, not once, 3 friggin times. One of them I saw it, I had a few Canuck cards on my table and every time I sold a card I will fill the whole. This one younger kid maybe in his late teens/early twenties kept coming to the table and I looked away for just a second or two, looked back, he was putting his hand in his pocket and there was a empty spot where a nice Kesler card was sitting. I made eye contact and he immediately turned and walked away. Someone at the table said they knew who he was and he had a table with either his dad or brother, but I decided to just let it go. If I had confronted him he probably would have denied it, and it would have ticked me off even more. Didn't feel like going to jail in Vancouver so..... I think the same kid hit me the other two times as well, once on a card in my higher end showcase, and another time for half a row of "any card for $3" cards in one of the shoe boxes. I literally looked away for 5 seconds to talk to another buyer, looked back, the kid was gone and so was probably 30-40 cards from my $3 box. I was PISSED, but what could I really do. I'm in another country, and if you accuse someone of stealing you better be 100% sure right?
5. On a bathroom run, one of only a couple times I got to leave the table for a minute, there was a guy right at the entrance with some super nice vintage hockey. He had a complete set of 1958-59 Topps with the Bobby Hull RC. Not the greatest condition overall, but there aren't many Hull RC's left in good shape it seems. His price was very fair, and he wouldn't break it up. I would have bought it at his posted price if he wouldn't budge as how often do you come across a complete set in one shot right? I pointed out my table and asked if he wouldn't mind coming by later on Saturday, I was interested in buying the set but I needed to get back to the table as there were a number of people standing there. He said he would come by for sure, but never did. I had planned on offering him a price for the set, if he took it or countered for anything less then his asking price I would have bought it. I even told Joe that if he said he couldn't move at all on the price, I still would have bought it and been happy. Maybe he thought I wasn't serious, I don't know, but he left the show without coming by and cost himself a $1000-1200 sale.
6. No one brought anything to the table to trade. Maybe the times have changed but you used to have people bringing cards to your table and asking if you trade. I love the haggling back and forth, it used to be a big and fun part of the hobby. But this weekend people didn't have anything to trade and just wanted to buy. I know that's really not a negative, but I love trading and just like on the hobby boards (even HI) lately, trading just doesn't seem to be that big in this hobby anymore.
7. This could be a positive and a negative really. I was so busy that I didn't get a chance to walk the floor and look for anything. I didn't want to leave Joe to man the table alone as we were both pretty busy, so I waited until 4:45pm Saturday to take a quick run around when it was already cleared out for the most part. Didn't find anything, I wish I had more time, but the positive is I was so busy that I made a good chunk of money and went home with all of it.
The POSITIVES:
1. I got to spend a couple days with a great guy, Joe - it was a blast. Looking forward to the next show, couldn't ask for a better partner to travel with and set up at the show.
2. It was a great seeing all the HI members again, and meeting new ones.
3. I sold a TON of cards and came home with a wad of cash. Momma was happy (even though half the money went "unreported" so dad can buy himself a couple more gamers for the collection, or maybe a Toews Cup RC if I can find one at a good price......) :devil:
4. Kids! There were a lot of kids at the show which I love to see. I probably gave away as many cards as I sold. I just can't bring myself to take money from kids, they pull out a $1-$5 jersey or autograph and fumble with their coins trying to count out enough money. I told them to keep their money and just take the card/cards. The smile on their faces are worth more then any money they could hand me. Seeing their faces light up in joy and show their parents what they got, that right there is what the hobby is (or should be) about. If I came home with no money and just had a table with free cards for kids, I would be just as happy as coming home with a bunch of cash.
5. The Friday night dinner was a blast.
6. The drive home once we got out of the suburbs was fast and uneventful. No line at the border, I think we spent 5 minutes in line at the most, and once we got to the front we were through it and on our way in 10 seconds at the most. No "profiling" on the way home.
7. Even though some people told me I wouldn't sell many Canuck cards, I actually sold a ton of them. High end - low end, if you price them right they will sell.
8. Early in the show Friday I sold a really nice Dustin Brown/Corey Perry Dal Patch /25 to a Canucks fan!!! HA, top that! Who would have thought that would be one of the first cards I sold at the show, and to a Nuck fan to boot!
9. How do you top selling a Brown fan to a Canuck fan? How about selling a GARY FREAKING BETTMAN autographed 8 X 10. Yes, I did have one and yes I sold it. Crazy right?
10. I didn't get to walk the floor but I did make 2 purchases from people who came to my table. I will show them below.
OK, on with the show, unfortunately it's not much.
First some pickups from Neil which I got from Derek at the show. I forgot I even grabbed them and didn't realize it until the end of the show Saturday, so I only had them out for sale for an hour at the most. All are available:
Crosby & Maatta are both the gold version /25
Next up are some card I bought from a guy walking around, he did pretty good in a group break and I saw them in his hand not even in sleeves or anything. Paid a tad more then I would have liked, but it's all good. I helped him recoup some of his group break spending, and came away with a couple of decent cards. The Sedin Emerald /5 actually came from a different lot I bought before leaving for the show, just scanned it for the heck of it I guess. All are available, the Retro PMG /10 cards are just stunning in person:
Lastly, my best pickup of the weekend. Early Saturday morning a guy walks up (the only person the whole show) and asked if I was interested in buying some cards. I don't know if it was blind luck or good karma, but I'm convinced I was the first table he came to for reasons below. He had a stack of maybe 9 or 10 ITG Ultimate cards. He said he does not deal in modern cards at all, he has no idea what they even are, he only deals in vintage but a guy really wanted to do a part trade/cash deal with him on some vintage and he got them in trade for dirt cheap in his opinion. He asked what I would pay (they had price stickers on them from the previous owner but they were all very high except for one) and I told him they were his cards, I couldn't pay the sticker prices, and was really only interested in 4 or 5 that I pulled out. I said just tell me what you need out of them. He named a price and I stopped for a second. I think there are plenty of people out there who would have just said, "Well, I don't really need them but I will buy them if it helps you out" as I had seen this happen way to many times in person, and the guy would have walked away not knowing any better. This is why I had to be the first table he approached, otherwise someone would have bought them instantly at his asking price I couldn't do that, and I told him he really didn't know what he had and I couldn't morally pay him what he was asking. I told him what I thought they were worth and gave him more then his asking price. He was very grateful, shook my hand, and insisted that I take the rest of the cards for free since I was honest with him. I flipped him another $25 even though I didn't really want the others, but I didn't want to take them for nothing. In the end he got more then he was expecting and I got some nice cards so we both made out fine on the deal. I think I gave one to Joe (maybe not, can't remember), I gave one to a kid who was looking at it, one was STOLEN, sold 2, and here are the cards I actually wanted in the deal and came home with. All again are available:
Nice 05/06 George Hainsworth/Terry Sawchuk Dual Jersey /25
Beauty 05/06 Roy Worters/Ed Giacomin/Mike Richter Triple Jersey /25
REALLY nice 02/03 Martin Brodeur/Frank Brimsek Dual Jersey /40
This one caught my eye immediately and was one I really wanted in the deal:
05/06 Clint Benedict Blades of Steel Skate /25!!
And the one that of course got my attention, and why he obviously didn't know what he had when he named his price. Don't see these pop up very often, a real head turner in my opinion:
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05/06 Georges Vezina Vintage Lumber /25 :whatthehell:
Well, that's the show weekend for me. I didn't have time to walk the floor and find any PC stuff, but a couple of great members sent me home with a few cards for the kid. I was looking forward to it for a couple months and it went by way too fast. I am already looking forward to next year, thank you to everyone who made this weekend very special for me (even if it was a bunch of darn Nuck fans......) :devil:
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Well, it was a fast and furious 48 hours at the show. Joe and I set out Friday afternoon, made it to the border quick, and then got stopped at the border. I don't care what anyone says, I was "profiled".
When we got inside and talked to the border agent (a French one at that, in Vancouver????), he did not like the word "profiled" when I brought it up, he actually got really nervous when I said that word. :devil: But, he really couldn't argue that the "gut feeling" the lady at entry had was anything other then profiling. They didn't search the car or anything, just asked a few questions, and sent us on our way.Anyways, we got to the show where Randy (orca pod) was waiting for us. We handed him his non-alcoholic half racks of frost pops, the DVD set he requested, and he politely jumped right in and helped us unload.
We didn't get there as early as we would have liked due to the "profiling", and I didn't have a chance to even get my table set up before other dealers were crowded around wanting to buy stuff. I think I sold $300-400 before the show even opened Friday night. I learned a valuable lesson, I was told by multiple "Vancouver show veterans" to just have shoe boxes marked $1, $2, $3, $4, $5 each but I didn't listen.... Also, Dale had told me our tables would be on the first row against the wall right when you walk in the door, but that didn't happen. We ended up on a corner in the middle of the room so I had no room to hang my game worn jerseys and sticks. Was quite disappointed as I knew they would draw interest, but in the end, I didn't really need them as I was busy from the minute we got there until the last minute of the show Saturday night. I did however take their advice, and Saturday morning I made up my $1-$5 boxes and I sold at least 5 or 6 shoe boxes full of cards. I was shocked, happy shocked though.
OK, so every time I go to a show up there I tell myself to write everyones name down so I don't forget (I have a terrible memory, probably from "stuff" I did in my younger years but we won't go there), but of course, like usual, I didn't. So, With the help of Joe & Kevin I remembered everyone I could, and I apologize if I missed your name here. I met so many HI members it was crazy, I apologize if I didn't get the proper time to chat with each of you. I really wanted to but I had at least 1-3 people at my table at all times. Here is who I do remember though:
Joe (timber09 - my carpooling 'Uhmurican compadre)
Randy (orca pod - where were you Saturday? Thanks for the freebie Kane for my son, much appreciated. DO I really need to say anything else about this hobby dinosaur.....)
Kevin (kmitchel - one of the nicest and most generous people you will ever meet in the hobby. I tried to get him to smell what a SC Champion game worn jersey smells like, but he "politely" declined......) :devil:
Chris (dogfoodsoup - Not to offend anyone, but Chris was someone I really was hoping to see again. Thanks for coming and hanging out, always enjoy your quick wit and humor, you make me laugh like crazy, have you thought about taking a shot on the comedy circuit? Congrats on getting out of the hobby, you will be missed but stay in touch, PLEASE)
JZ (canucksfan77 - this guy is a blast to hang with and has stories for days, thanks for spending time with us, and your nephew is one cool kid)
Lu (peulyen - HEY MAN, DEALERS ONLY BEHIND THE TABLES....
It was a pleasure meeting you and chatting, hope to see you again next year. All your Modano's, send them to Lu!)Derek (burebuyer - thanks for raiding my cheap boxes and spending some time at the table. Really enjoyed talking to you, and I expect you should at least triple or quadruple your money....)
Gordon (shaboobala - All your Killorn belong to him! Super nice guy, if you get the chance, DEAL WITH HIM!)
Jon (bebop - also enjoyed talking with you. I think you were the one standing there when I was about to throat punch "Coach". That dude seriously makes my skin crawl, I know I had "that look" like I was going to explode and you just laughed cuz you've probably seen that same look on a dozen other peoples faces when that guy comes to their table)
Matt (chadsexington and his beautiful baby girl, congrats bud and sorry I couldn't find you that Seahawks onesie, I really did try and will keep trying. It is my mission to find one in pink)
Jourdan (Hyper23 - glad the quad went to a good home. Thanks for the freebies bud. If you get a chance, check out his Kesler PC, INSANE!!!),
Derek (OT Sports - thank you kindly for bringing the cards from Neil, greatly appreciated)
Dave (tiger_tiger - sorry I didn't know that was you, but glad your boy ended up with some freebies to take home and enjoy)
Jeff (Chinner - not sure we got to talk but I know I met you)
Kendrick (re-ac-tor - again, not sure if we talked much but I think you spent some time at Joe's table?)
Ed (87sluggo - I know we did talk briefly, it was very nice to meet you IP)
Matt (Yipper - I saw you but don't think we got to chat, sorry!)
Richard (sbangayan86 - pretty sure you were at Joe's table for a bit, sorry I didn't get to say hello)
Trevor (Force - I believe Kevin introduced us but don't think we got to chat, sorry!)
Elliot (echoi69 - once again, I know I saw you but don't think we got to chat. Next time.)
If I forgot anyone I am truly sorry, next year I will write down everyone's name. To all HI people that stopped by and said hello, it was great meeting each and every one of you.
OK, so Friday night was 4 hours of fast and frenzy selling. Afterwards a 8 of us met up for some pizza and chat. Let me see if I get this right, across from me was JZ (canucksfan77), to his left was Joe (timber09), to Joe's left was Jon (bebop), and to Jon's left was Kevin (kmitchel). To my right was Lu (peulyen), to Lu's right was Gordon (shaboobala), and to Gord's right was Derek (burebuyer). Did I get that right? If not, I apologize. Some great conversations to be shared for sure, the whole metric convo was classic! I couldn't have asked for a better group to have dinner with, although I wish Randy was there to be the honorary whipping boy.....
I haven't laughed that hard in quite some time, I wish I could make it up there for shows more often. Class group of peeps to hang with, thanks for inviting Joe and I. Oh yeah, I ended up driving Joe's car back to the hotel, he had a few fuzzy pops and I didn't, so I was DD. Saturday was another fast and frenzied day of selling, the show vets were correct, I couldn't put the cards in the cheap boxes fast enough. There were people lined up reaching over each other to grab stacks to buy. It was GREAT! I will bullet point a few things to hopefully make this easy, my fingers are getting tired:
Start with the NEGATIVES:
1. I was "profiled" at the border
2. Didn't get much sleep Friday night, maybe 3 hours at best
3. I was sick as a dog Saturday morning which is why we didn't make breakfast with the gang (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). Seriously though, Joe could not drive fast enough from the hotel to the show, it hit me about 2 minutes in to the car ride and I literally ran to the bathroom once we hit the parking lot. I was contemplating having Joe pull over somewhere along the way, it was that bad. I spent a good 30 minutes on the throne, and kept feeling like I was going to pass out. Even the guy in the stall next to me chimed in with a "Damn dude, are you OK in there". I'm thinking the combination of Haggen sushi on the drive up and the Croatian hot dog at the show was one volatile food cocktail......
4. I got robbed at my table, not once, 3 friggin times. One of them I saw it, I had a few Canuck cards on my table and every time I sold a card I will fill the whole. This one younger kid maybe in his late teens/early twenties kept coming to the table and I looked away for just a second or two, looked back, he was putting his hand in his pocket and there was a empty spot where a nice Kesler card was sitting. I made eye contact and he immediately turned and walked away. Someone at the table said they knew who he was and he had a table with either his dad or brother, but I decided to just let it go. If I had confronted him he probably would have denied it, and it would have ticked me off even more. Didn't feel like going to jail in Vancouver so..... I think the same kid hit me the other two times as well, once on a card in my higher end showcase, and another time for half a row of "any card for $3" cards in one of the shoe boxes. I literally looked away for 5 seconds to talk to another buyer, looked back, the kid was gone and so was probably 30-40 cards from my $3 box. I was PISSED, but what could I really do. I'm in another country, and if you accuse someone of stealing you better be 100% sure right?
5. On a bathroom run, one of only a couple times I got to leave the table for a minute, there was a guy right at the entrance with some super nice vintage hockey. He had a complete set of 1958-59 Topps with the Bobby Hull RC. Not the greatest condition overall, but there aren't many Hull RC's left in good shape it seems. His price was very fair, and he wouldn't break it up. I would have bought it at his posted price if he wouldn't budge as how often do you come across a complete set in one shot right? I pointed out my table and asked if he wouldn't mind coming by later on Saturday, I was interested in buying the set but I needed to get back to the table as there were a number of people standing there. He said he would come by for sure, but never did. I had planned on offering him a price for the set, if he took it or countered for anything less then his asking price I would have bought it. I even told Joe that if he said he couldn't move at all on the price, I still would have bought it and been happy. Maybe he thought I wasn't serious, I don't know, but he left the show without coming by and cost himself a $1000-1200 sale.
6. No one brought anything to the table to trade. Maybe the times have changed but you used to have people bringing cards to your table and asking if you trade. I love the haggling back and forth, it used to be a big and fun part of the hobby. But this weekend people didn't have anything to trade and just wanted to buy. I know that's really not a negative, but I love trading and just like on the hobby boards (even HI) lately, trading just doesn't seem to be that big in this hobby anymore.
7. This could be a positive and a negative really. I was so busy that I didn't get a chance to walk the floor and look for anything. I didn't want to leave Joe to man the table alone as we were both pretty busy, so I waited until 4:45pm Saturday to take a quick run around when it was already cleared out for the most part. Didn't find anything, I wish I had more time, but the positive is I was so busy that I made a good chunk of money and went home with all of it.
The POSITIVES:
1. I got to spend a couple days with a great guy, Joe - it was a blast. Looking forward to the next show, couldn't ask for a better partner to travel with and set up at the show.
2. It was a great seeing all the HI members again, and meeting new ones.
3. I sold a TON of cards and came home with a wad of cash. Momma was happy (even though half the money went "unreported" so dad can buy himself a couple more gamers for the collection, or maybe a Toews Cup RC if I can find one at a good price......) :devil:
4. Kids! There were a lot of kids at the show which I love to see. I probably gave away as many cards as I sold. I just can't bring myself to take money from kids, they pull out a $1-$5 jersey or autograph and fumble with their coins trying to count out enough money. I told them to keep their money and just take the card/cards. The smile on their faces are worth more then any money they could hand me. Seeing their faces light up in joy and show their parents what they got, that right there is what the hobby is (or should be) about. If I came home with no money and just had a table with free cards for kids, I would be just as happy as coming home with a bunch of cash.
5. The Friday night dinner was a blast.
6. The drive home once we got out of the suburbs was fast and uneventful. No line at the border, I think we spent 5 minutes in line at the most, and once we got to the front we were through it and on our way in 10 seconds at the most. No "profiling" on the way home.
7. Even though some people told me I wouldn't sell many Canuck cards, I actually sold a ton of them. High end - low end, if you price them right they will sell.
8. Early in the show Friday I sold a really nice Dustin Brown/Corey Perry Dal Patch /25 to a Canucks fan!!! HA, top that! Who would have thought that would be one of the first cards I sold at the show, and to a Nuck fan to boot!
9. How do you top selling a Brown fan to a Canuck fan? How about selling a GARY FREAKING BETTMAN autographed 8 X 10. Yes, I did have one and yes I sold it. Crazy right?
10. I didn't get to walk the floor but I did make 2 purchases from people who came to my table. I will show them below.
OK, on with the show, unfortunately it's not much.
First some pickups from Neil which I got from Derek at the show. I forgot I even grabbed them and didn't realize it until the end of the show Saturday, so I only had them out for sale for an hour at the most. All are available:
Crosby & Maatta are both the gold version /25
Next up are some card I bought from a guy walking around, he did pretty good in a group break and I saw them in his hand not even in sleeves or anything. Paid a tad more then I would have liked, but it's all good. I helped him recoup some of his group break spending, and came away with a couple of decent cards. The Sedin Emerald /5 actually came from a different lot I bought before leaving for the show, just scanned it for the heck of it I guess. All are available, the Retro PMG /10 cards are just stunning in person:
Lastly, my best pickup of the weekend. Early Saturday morning a guy walks up (the only person the whole show) and asked if I was interested in buying some cards. I don't know if it was blind luck or good karma, but I'm convinced I was the first table he came to for reasons below. He had a stack of maybe 9 or 10 ITG Ultimate cards. He said he does not deal in modern cards at all, he has no idea what they even are, he only deals in vintage but a guy really wanted to do a part trade/cash deal with him on some vintage and he got them in trade for dirt cheap in his opinion. He asked what I would pay (they had price stickers on them from the previous owner but they were all very high except for one) and I told him they were his cards, I couldn't pay the sticker prices, and was really only interested in 4 or 5 that I pulled out. I said just tell me what you need out of them. He named a price and I stopped for a second. I think there are plenty of people out there who would have just said, "Well, I don't really need them but I will buy them if it helps you out" as I had seen this happen way to many times in person, and the guy would have walked away not knowing any better. This is why I had to be the first table he approached, otherwise someone would have bought them instantly at his asking price I couldn't do that, and I told him he really didn't know what he had and I couldn't morally pay him what he was asking. I told him what I thought they were worth and gave him more then his asking price. He was very grateful, shook my hand, and insisted that I take the rest of the cards for free since I was honest with him. I flipped him another $25 even though I didn't really want the others, but I didn't want to take them for nothing. In the end he got more then he was expecting and I got some nice cards so we both made out fine on the deal. I think I gave one to Joe (maybe not, can't remember), I gave one to a kid who was looking at it, one was STOLEN, sold 2, and here are the cards I actually wanted in the deal and came home with. All again are available:
Nice 05/06 George Hainsworth/Terry Sawchuk Dual Jersey /25
Beauty 05/06 Roy Worters/Ed Giacomin/Mike Richter Triple Jersey /25
REALLY nice 02/03 Martin Brodeur/Frank Brimsek Dual Jersey /40
This one caught my eye immediately and was one I really wanted in the deal:
05/06 Clint Benedict Blades of Steel Skate /25!!
And the one that of course got my attention, and why he obviously didn't know what he had when he named his price. Don't see these pop up very often, a real head turner in my opinion:
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05/06 Georges Vezina Vintage Lumber /25 :whatthehell:
Well, that's the show weekend for me. I didn't have time to walk the floor and find any PC stuff, but a couple of great members sent me home with a few cards for the kid. I was looking forward to it for a couple months and it went by way too fast. I am already looking forward to next year, thank you to everyone who made this weekend very special for me (even if it was a bunch of darn Nuck fans......) :devil:
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