On Thursday, August 2nd I had my second opportunity to attend the National Sports Card Convention in Baltimore, MD. The NSCC came to Baltimore back in 2010, my first time attending the Convention but I had such a bad sinus infection that I couldn't enjoy my time there as much as I would have liked.
This year I promised it would be different. Originally I had planned to go for the full weekend, get the full experience and look into doing a video documentary of the whole thing. Alas plans changed and I ended up only going one day. I had been planning to attend on Friday but some unexpected events took place leading up and after checking the weather forecast I decided that it may be better to hit the show on Thursday.
My mother and I went up to the show and enjoyed every minute of it. Now some of you may be thinking, "you went with your mom?" and sometimes that can be a bit embarrassing since I am 30 years old but my mom enjoys these shows just about as much as I do. Being that I'm her only child and that she had to raise me on her own its nice that she is willing to still support me in my passion of the hobby and she likes to look at all the different items that are there. Plus its always good to have a second pair of eyes or someone to assist in carrying your stuff when walking around the show. She actually was a hit with a bunch of the people there as she was wearing her Big Bang Theory "Bazinga" shirt and when people wanted to get her attention they'd just yell out "HEY BAZINGA!" It was quite amusing honestly and I heard more positives about that than some of the items at the show.
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| Courtesy - laichitis.blogspot.com |
We got there right at 10am and I bought my tickets it was time to buy a commemorative shirt and get a picture by the big "Welcome to the National" sign before heading in. I had taken the time in the week prior to make a list of all the singles I was looking for, the different boxes I wanted to bust and the prices they were going for online. When you first walk in its aisles upon aisles of singles dealers. You have a choice to make, do I go through all the singles now or run back to the far end of the show where the wax is set up and the manufacturers are doing wrapper redemptions? I looked at 2 or 3 singles tables, one of which had a card I wanted and a card that another HobbyKings.com member was looking for but the seller wasn't at his table and according to his buddies hadn't been there most of the time Wednesday eventing either. So I decided it was then time to be headed back to the wax because I had to see one dealer in particular, Marty from Marty's Sports Card Exchange. I owed him $10 from back in March so I had to make sure I paid my bill, even if he had forgotten. I'm a man of my word. After chatting with him and telling him to hold me a case of Bowman Platinum I decided to go check out the other dealers (BlowoutCards, Dave & Adam's Card World, and Pittsburgh Sports Wholesale) all of whom I've bought from in the past. As I went from one dealer to the next I glanced at the Topps and Upper Deck booths. Seeing the Topps booth reminded me that I needed to bust a box of Platinum to take advantage of their wrapper redemption.
So back over to Marty's I go because he had the cheapest prices on boxes. I quickly scurry over to Topps who is set up no less than 100 feet from Marty and am told that the wrapper redemption is being done on the other side of their display but that I may want to hurry because they started at 9:30am. So I get around to the other side, wait in line, watch some douche teen just cut in front of us to get some of the Gypsy Queen wrapper redemptions, finally get up to the table and I'm told they're out of the Platinum redemptions and that I can bust it for the Gypsy Queen, but they have no Bryce Harper cards left or just come back tomorrow. Now let's go back to the "started at 9:30am" line that I got from one of their employees. The show starts at 10am except for dealers and I think VIP ticket holders. Why they would start a promotion before 10am is beyond me and then on Friday Topps puts out a tweet saying their wrapper redemptions were sold out by 11:30am and how can they do a better job of keeping them in stock...well I've got a few ideas...but I digress.
I then took out my "frustrations" at Pittsburgh by purchasing a box of the 2012 BenchWarmer National Special (I dropped the box right after paying for it), which would allow me to also get a card that would be autographed by three of the BenchWarmer models. I went over to the BenchWarmer booth and the only person there was Candace Kita who was talking to some old guy and some 20-something twerp. As I went up to ask when the triple autos would be available two other models showed up...or as my mother so politely put it "the boobs are here." They were very pleasant as Candace and Ryan Shamrock each signed the card, but Cassandra Lynn, the last remaining signer wouldn't be at the show until Friday so I was going to have to leave with two, and I never found out who the other blonde was that showed up. Candace did give me an extra card of her, which I'm sure that they were doing for anyone that came up to the table. After getting photos of Candace and Ryan with the cards, though not with me (odd), it was time to start hitting the singles tables.
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com | | | | | | |
Box Results
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
Within 5 minutes I had found a table with a card that I hadn't seen before and of a player I didn't think I'd be able to get for "relatively" cheap. Now granted its not a true rookie card but it was an on-card autograph which as we all know does carry a little more weight to collector's than autographed cards that have stickers. I saw the price tag ($125) and thought it over with that damn YOLO motto churning through my head, EFF YOU DRAKE, and I figured get it now before the season or risk pulling one from a box. So I gladly paid for the 2012 Prestige Draft City Destination, which as of that night had only sold twice on ebay and confirmed to me that it was a relatively solid puchase.
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
I took the next 20 or so minutes going through tables upon tables of singles or glancing at items that I really had no interest in. One must remember this show isn't all sports stuff but some of the things looked like a yard sale and while it may not have appealed to me someone was most likely going to pay a pretty penny for something. I then came to a table that had one card that was on my list of cards I wanted to knock off my "wish list," a 2010 Topps Triple Threads Stephen Strasburg RC auto. The seller wanted $160, I got it for $150 and left with a card I wanted at a price I was comfortable with.
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
For the better part of the next hour I or so I went around to all the different tables looking for singles. Outside of my main PC players I was looking for a PSA Graded 1959 Fleer 3 Stooges Curly, alas I never found one. I did see some beautiful cards both new and old and a lot of pins, pennants and other miscellaneous items, all a part of collecting history but not all part of my collecting mindset. Of all the tables I checked out I only came across three sellers that I knew from the Chantilly Shows that I regularly attend, one being a Caps/Hockey seller, another being a big guy that sells singles by the box load; unfortunately I lack the patience to sit for minutes or hours going through boxes upon boxes of singles; the final guy was some Indian dude that has boxes of singles to search through and about 5 glass display cases that he carelessly displays his singles in...that really pisses me off so I try not to give him my business unless in a glance something catches my eye. I also went back to that first singles table that I hit on the way in and the seller still was not at his table but "he'd be back soon." Finally the third time was the charm and I was able to score myself a Trevor Booker Preferred Silhouette Prime Patch Auto /25.
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All of the above purchased for $15 total -
Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
These two purchased from the Caps seller - Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
That also became my cue to start wrapping it up. I wanted to beat the traffic out of Baltimore, and not pay $30+ for parking, so I headed back to the wax area and gave Marty's Sports Cards Exchange the majority of the rest of the money I brought with me. On the way back we overheard a story one dealer was telling another about how you have to be careful because cards are just flying off the table when you aren't looking (more later). I found this a little surprising since the first thing I noticed upon entering the show and being back where the manufacturers were was a heavy security presence, in fact I don't even remember seeing any two years ago or any at any show I've ever attended. In the end I get to Marty's and end up purchasing:
one box of 2012 Press Pass Showcase Racing (and got one free Press Pass Promotional Pack) - SOLID
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Wrapper Redemption - Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Wrapper Redemption - Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
one box 11-12 SP Authentic Hockey - WEAK
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
one box 2012 Topps Inception Football - MEH...but I do like the name of the Patch Auto Player
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
one case of 2012 Bowman Platinum Baseball (plus the one box purchased at start of show) - I did break 5 boxes from the case on my webcam but they were pretty bad. May upload later...best cards came in box 7 and may have saved the case...its the Purely Platinum
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| /199 - Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| /50 - Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| 1/1 - Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
one box 11-12 Limited Basketball - Lovely Patches
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
one box 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen - Yuck
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
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| /99 - Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
one box of 2012 Topps Archives - UGH
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at HobbyKings.com |
one box 2012 Legends of the Hall - OUCH
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
one box 2012 Pop Century - Meh
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| /25 - Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
one box 2012 Topps Olympics - SOLID
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| A week late - Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| /30 - Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
one box 11-12 Panini Preferred Basketball - IFFY
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| 1/74 - Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| /199 - Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| /25 - Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Jsy # 9/49 - Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
one box Topps Tier One - BRUTAL
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
and one box 11-12 Elite Hockey - REALLY GOOD
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| /25 - Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
Marty gave me my Upper Deck wrapper redemption vouchers, plus five for a product my mom purchased and he let me leave my stuff there until I finished at the Upper Deck booth. After getting our 10 packs and admiring how good Upper Deck had their stuff together compared to Topps, who I really didn't find to be that great, and then heading over to the Panini booth one last time but not getting a chance to chat with Tracy Hackler or anyone else, I went back to Marty grabbed my stuff and went home where I would break about half the boxes and all 10 packs. Thursday packs consisted of Michael Jordan so I knew I'd get 10 Jordan base cards but two of the five card packs had six cards in them and those extra cards were
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com |
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| Courtesy - JuanDixonCollector at Hobbykings.com | | |
Well that ended up being VERY GOOD.
The stories of this show will not end there. So fast forward to Friday and Saturday. I wish I could have gone and I made sure to follow a bunch of accounts on Twitter to keep me up-to-date of the things going on at the show. At the least I figured besides getting some good information I could add a little more to the blog post experience.
Saturday morning, in fact by 9:15am, @SportsCardNews tweets that the Bowman Wrapper Redemption at the Topps Booth already has "a line of 35 people", show opens at 10am and at 10:04am @SportsCollector on Twitter mentions that there is a "Lot of grumbling over card company giveaway process. Dealers getting them." Topps pledges to do a better job on this next year. Well I'm sorry but beyond having a plan this year they should have said, much like Upper Deck that the Wrapper Redemption won't start until a certain time. Topps really disappointed me at the show this year with how they handled this mess. The collector was not the target at all.
Remember how I mentioned the cards disappearing from tables and the extra security? Well that didn't stop a baseball bat, valued at over $43k from walking away. Full story
a Mel Ott game used bat that goes missing weeks after purchase.
Now since I went on Thursday the crowd was pretty bare compared to what I saw on Friday last year as well as compared to what you would see on the weekend. In fact @SportsCollector mentioned on Twitter that "Pittsburgh Sports says this was their most lucrative National ever." Mind you this is mid-day Saturday. They still had a day to go. This also on the heels of rumors that Chicago could be a permanent home for the Convention and that dealers like it due to the proximity of the airport to the Convention Center. With Atlantic City and Houston being the names I heard in the mix for 2016 I don't have much faith that Baltimore will see the show any time in the near future, in fact they were lucky to get back this year because the Convention Center in Baltimore is booked but maybe something can be worked out. The fact that @CardBoardConnection tweeted to me that "Heard this one is outdoing 2010. Completely sold out of VIP ans Super VIP 1st time in history" and that @NatSportsShow tweeted out "Speaking on behalf of the NSCCSHOW, we do hope to return to Balt!" maybe just maybe we'll see a return, I'd be all for a smaller show much like they do with ComicCon or doing two major Nationals a year.
I think @yanxchick said it best on Twitter "As much as the NSCC is built for grown men, still met so many women and kid collectors." This couldn't be any more true and that's one thing that makes this show great.
Also because I was either so concentrated on what I wanted to look for and sticking to a time of getting out by or because I can be a bit flaky I did miss some things I'd have loved to have ogled over, again this is why you have to do the show for more than one day or a few hours. Luckily for me and those who didn't attend there were some pics that made their way to twitter from some of the people I follow. I'll also include some of mine in their, which apparently some were never supposed to be taken but I was never stopped soo...
I hope you enjoyed this recap and I want to thank the following, all of whom you can follow on Twitter:
@hobbykings @yanxchick @SportsCollector @BrwnEyedJrZGirl @natsportsshow @CardboardRadio @SportsCardRadio @SportsCardNews
without these people this show would not be nearly as memorable and this extra information would not have been possible
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| Panini, Topps, DACW, UD Booths - Courtesy - laichitis.blogspot.com |
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| Panini Booth, really wanted that RG3 Hat - Courtesy - laichitis.blogspot.com | |
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| Upper Deck Booth - Courtesy - laichitis.blogspot.com |
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| Mohamed Sanu 1/1 Sketch Card at the Panini Booth (courtesy: laichitis.blogspot.com) |
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| Ronnie Hillman 1/1 Sketch Card at Panini Booth (courtesy: laichitis.blogspot.com) |
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| RGIII Sketch Card (kinda phallic artist) at Panini Booth (courtesy: laichitis.blogspot.com) |
Above is some amazing artwork. Really wish I had gotten a shot of the Nolan Ryan/Robin Ventura brawl, and the company name. (courtesy: laichitis.blogspot.com)
How in the hell I missed these two women I will never know nor will I forgive myself but this is enough reason to go to the show...I'd never leave the FatHead Booth
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| Courtesy - @Fathead |
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| Courtesy - @fathead ...side note I need her name (seriously) |
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| A large variety of game used jerseys (courtesy: laichitis.blogspot.com |
Former athletes do paid signings at the show
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| My Man Brooks Robinson - Courtesy - @BrwnEyedJrZGirl on Twitter |
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| Mr. October - Courtesy - @BrwnEyedJrZGirl on Twitter |
You hear the story about the collection found in the attic a few weeks back? Well...
(courtesy: laichitis.blogspot.com)
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| Celtics Championship Ring - Courtesy - laichitis.blogspot.com |
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| Courtesy - @yanxchick on Twitter |
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| A pretty bad ass replica statue of The Babe (courtesy: laichitis.blogspot.com) |
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| Sending one of my many Tweets out about the show - Courtesy - laichitis.blogspot.com |
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| Back at the BenchWarmer booth - Courtesy - laichitis.blogspot.com | | | |
Hi, thought I'd drop you a comment here but did you ever redeem that 2012 Albert Belle redemption? Did Topps end up sending the card or did you ask for a replacement? I thought I'd ask and see if there was an update.
ReplyDeleteMac - Yes I redeemed it and Topps ended up sending it. I guess I was too dense at the time to realize it was for a buyback of an original for the set and ended up being numbered /5
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