A Sad Day at the Card Show

Card show posts are meant to be shared, not buried.  But if I postpone writing this post any longer, that's exactly what's gonna happen.

So here goes nothing...

Three weekends ago, I attended my first card show in more than six months and it was pretty awesome.    The show takes place three times a year and there's around twelve to fifteen card dealers scattered throughout the mall.  Most of the remaining vendors sell toys, comic books, or video games, which is why it's considered more of a collectibles show, than a card show.

But that's okay, because I find all of those kinds of things entertaining when I'm finished digging through dime boxes.  The rest of the time I just enjoy hanging out with my friends and talking shop.

One of the first guys I ran into was Brady who runs St. Louis Cardinals' Cardboard.  After chatting for a few minutes, we headed over to one of the regular venders who is known for having a huge selection of cards.  The first we dove into were the $3 "hits" bin.


Purchase #1:  Three Dollar Box $9

I pulled out a small stack of stuff, while keeping an eye out for Cardinals cards for Brady.  When it came down to pulling out my wallet, I ended up putting most of the cards back and grabbed these three:

I'm a sucker for these late 90's/early 2000's Fleer Greats of the Game autographs.  They're on-card and feature some of the franchise fan favorites you don't see too often.  I came close to throwing them back into the bin, but figured I might not see these again at this price.


Purchase #2:  Craig's Bargain Bin (Part 1)  $2

Afterwards, I immediately walked over to Craig's other tables, which must had been a collection he recently purchased.  There were ten to fifteen super monster boxes filled with stuff he was trying to dump.  To help speed up the process he was selling everything 90% off the sticker price.  Plus he was willing to round down, so if a card was marked $15, he'd sell it to you for a buck.

Unfortunately most of the stuff was outrageously priced, but I did manage to find these bargains:

These eight cards weren't marked, so he sold them to me for a quarter each.  How often do you find a vintage Frank Robinson for 25¢?

1962 Post #122

I was also happy to grab this serial numbered card (#'d 01/15) of Greg Maddux for a shiny quarter:

2004 Diamond Kings Hawaii Trade Conference Parallel #156

Purchase #3:  Craig's Bargain Bin (Part 2) $5

Technically I purchased all thirteen cards from Craig at the same time, but I figured it was easier to explain the prices by separating it into two purchases.  These five cards were all in top loaders with prices ranging from $10 to $17, which essentially meant they were a buck each.

1995 Leaf Gold Leaf Stars #9 (#'d 00370/10000)

1996 Select Certified Interleague Preview #2

2003 Topps Gallery Currency Connection #KS

1997 Topps Team Timber #TT5

And finally the biggie...

1974 Topps #456

Have we really gotten to the point where Dave Winfield rookie cards sell for a buck?

Obviously I was pretty pumped to obtain this card for 100 pennies.  But seriously... even in this poor condition, I kinda feel like it's a sad day in our hobby's history.

By the way... if you're thinking that this might be a fluke... wait until you see my Flea Market Find post on Thursday.

Purchase #4: Dollar Bin $9

I don't really follow basketball anymore, but it's hard for me to walk away from dollar relic cards of guys who may one day find their way into The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Well there you have it.  I feel like I'm a new and improved collector.  It's not often I'm able to walk into a card show and leave with most of my cash still in my pocket.  But that's what happens when you have a plan and stick to it.  I'm a little disappointed to not find a 1984 Fleer Update Clemens or a 1973 Topps baseball set, but I think there's a good chance I'll be able to find at least one of them at the TriStar Collectors Show in April.

Until then...

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!