Quote Originally Posted by cohibasmoker View Post
This past weekend I went to my first show in years. As I walked around, I noticed a few things:

1) Almost every major auction house was present looking for "consignments";
2) Some dealers were asking way too much for their items but offering way too little to buy stuff; and,
3) the ONLY people I saw looking for cards were collector's looking to complete their team sets and those collectors looked to be in the 40+ age group;
4) The majority of dealers all had "modern" insert cards displayed in display cases and none of those dealers seemed to be doing any business at all.

Of course all of the dealers were complaining about how bad business was but even when they are making money, they complain Right?

Here's a show tip: The best way to enjoy the show is to walk around and see what the dealers are offering. After that, just stand back and look for a collector carrying any sort of large bag. Follow that person around until he stops at a dealer's table and the dealer says, "let's see what you have". Walk beside them and pretend you're examining the dealer's table but pay attention to their conversations. If the collector has something you want but a deal isn't made, follow the collector until he/she goes down the next isle, stop them and make them a offer. Works for me.

Jim
you described to the T on how it was when i went to cards shows in the early 90s. i guess nothing has changed.

i too noticed collectors trying to sell stuff to dealers. just be discreet because at most shows i think its prohibited for collectors to try to sell to nondealers.