What makes shows awesome?

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Mack

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We are under 4 weeks out from the Toronto Sports Card Expo and 6 weeks from the Summit Show and with the thread about upcoming changes to the Expo I ask what makes the big shows great?

Me personally I think these few things are very important

Great vendors and a great mix of vendors
Awesome autograph guests
Great lighting
 
A mixed bag of tricks. While I get that we're in Toronto and hockey is king, nothing makes the Expo more stale than going table to table seeing the same **** being sold. Dealers that bring baseball, football and other sports are the ones that I tend to stop and look at the most, simply because of the variety.

Food...I bring my own or I'll go to Wendy's but I REFUSE to eat the crap at the food section simply because I do not enjoy self inflicted mud butt.

Other collectors are also what make a show great. It's nice to walk the floor and catch a high five from another collector or even a hug from a longtime friend.
 
Agree 100% with the above statement! I just want to add the I think promotions add a lot to a shows "personality". I probably spent more time in "in the game land" more than anywhere else, simpler because they had games, great promotions, friendly workers, and always a spine tingling jersey collection set up.


~SYP
 
1. Happy chatty vendors
2. Happy chatty collectors
3. Happy chatty autograph guests
 
For me, the following makes or breaks a show.

1) Friendly, reasonable vendors. Online, it's easy to be stubborn and rude, but when that transfers over in person, it can be a bit of a sour point on a show. Luckily it doesn't pop up too often, but there is always the one person bitter with the world who's scared of talking to real life humans. People who are outgoing, knowledgeable of the stuff in their booth, and who also seem to care more about the hobby than about getting top dollar for everything are the tops in my book. Plus, looking at other booths and vendors, not as competition (which so many people do), but as friends in the hobby.

2) Autograph guests. As a fan of hockey, I obviously love them, but as a sometime vendor as well, they also bring fans to the show who normally wouldn't go, and then they spend some money as well.

3) Browsing of selection. No I don't mean those booths where a person slams down a million toploaded cards into a pile and you have to go through it...*shudders*. No, I mean people with well organized boxes or binders sorted by team or player, it is an Indiana Jones esque adventure as you look for that hidden gem or card you've been looking for, for a lifetime. Or to find that one booth which sells actually game worn goalie memorabilia...*drool*.

4) Stuff to see. Sometimes I like to get my break from cards within the show, so I like to also look at stuff and learn about hockey some more. I model my museum exhibit to be as such every year. I sell stuff, I have several fun promotions, free cards for kids, and also my museum exhibit which gets countless compliments year in and year out. This year's idea is something special I have going...

5) Good conversations as mentioned by many before. I love talking, get me going and I never stop.

6) Actual attendees at the show. Even though I don't organize a show, I always love to see a huge crowd at a show. Why? Because I love seeing an event being a success. I love seeing kids, teenagers, adults, seniors, etc. there because it shows how the hobby goes through all generations and gives hope for its future.

I'm sure there's more I missed, but these always stand out to me.
 
1. Good selection of cards of all sports
2. Diverse collectibles (figures, pucks, balls, holders, photos, memorabilia, etc)
3. Kid-friendly. I have two sons. They like sports. Someone needs to keep them happy and engaged so I can browse.
4. Autograph guests. Always fun to meet someone that appears on items you buy.

And here's my final one:

Dealers who will deal reasonably. People that actually care about this hobby, business or not, and want to HELP a collector get a card they want or need and "sacrifice" by selling them the card they want $600 for and letting it go for $590. :rolleyes:

That is is the one thing that has kept me from coming back to the Expo in TO after attending a few. GREED. I don't need to make a big trip to Canada to hear chuckleheads tell me the same stuff they can online via email. ;)
 
i enjoy chatting with with other collectors and reacquainting with long time friends on the hobby, and of course the autograph signers, this years summit is going to be epic, Mack you have put together a great weekend, I took the weekend off work so I can go both days and my wife will be with me, the venue is also a plus, the summit has a great location, great for kids and the facility is an all round success
 
After attending many shows for many years, the people are what keep driving me back. I know all of our vendors and with the exception of a small handful (the Dereks, Kevin, Trevor, etc) they don't influence my decision to go anymore.

That being said, the thing that impacts me a lot more from the showrunner's perspective is organization and professionalism. A show that isn't organized well (or at all) drives me mad.

Tables all over the place, no security, a ridiculous venue, not enough room to walk around, etc.

The vendors do make a difference too, but the more I see this, the less I realize that the show runners can control this besides a pre-screen. If you've got someone paying for your tables and they pass the pre-screen (ie. they're selling relevant stuff) it is really hard to vette them out as being a "selling a $600 card for $590" guy unless you're a long time promoter and know this is their business practice time and again. Even then, they're better than an empty row of tables. At least they're helping the show look full :laugh:
 

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