Tell me a story related to the National!

As a new attendee, I'm stoked for the 2011 National.

To all the veterans of this huge event, feel free to tell a story or pass on some advice about attending the National, in your experience.

Thanks!

my first "pre-war" nat'l was '03 in atlantic city. nice show picked up a few nice cards for real cheap, met people on n54 that i'd only spoken to on the board.

i had an early flight out early friday morning so decided to pull an all nighter. me and vorthian (of the old board) hit a couple casinos for some late night blackjack action. i think i either won $175 or $225 to cap it off so it was a good few days.

Blair,

I have been to the National every year since 2007 and a few times before that. I LOVE attending the show, even though I can't afford to buy much. I used to be there only 2 full days, but was feeling rushed, so lately I'm there the entire show, departing Sunday morning.

One of the most enjoyable things for me about the National is meeting/socializing with other collectors/dealers from the message boards. It's the one time a year where guys can meet up with each other.

Looking forward to saying hello to you in Chicago !!!
Alan
(Jewish-collector)

I won't be at this year's, but I'll be all over it next year in Baltimore (8/1 - 8/5). For those planning to attend who haven't ever been to Camden Yards, you've gotta score some tickets to coincide with your visit. (Not that the Orioles are a very tough ticket to score.) The team may stink, but the ballpark is beautiful. Hope they're at home that week.

I set up at the National in '87 in SF and had a blast. Bought a walk-in collection of 48 Bowman basketball that included Mikan and most of the high numbers. I figure it made it to me because they had little spots of paper loss from being removed from a scrapbook.

The last National I went to was the fiasco in LA in 1990 or 1991. What a nightmare.

I'll be at this years event with wife. Looking forward to having dinner with and meeting people from this board.

sabrjay wrote:
The last National I went to was the fiasco in LA in 1990 or 1991. What a nightmare.

I'll be at this years event with wife. Looking forward to having dinner with and meeting people from this board.

Thanks for the replies, guys...Jay, can you say what the fiasco/nightmare was?

It was the peak of the modern baseball card craze. There were all sorts of exclusives being handed out and it was a nightmare with all the people fighting to get cards from the various booths.

sabrjay wrote:It was the peak of the modern baseball card craze. There were all sorts of exclusives being handed out and it was a nightmare with all the people fighting to get cards from the various booths.

Ahhhh yes, I believe I heard about the frenzy this created. Also recall something about a lot of tarty eye-candy being used to flog new product... ...

They still use that tactic.

sabrjay wrote:They still use that tactic.

Yessssssss!!!

As a kid went to my first National in Arlington, TX. We spent all day, and every day of the show getting the free corporate promo cards and then selling them all to a dealer who wanted all he could get. Made a couple hundred bucks each day which for a kid was a fortune. Great memory!

Bicem wrote:As a kid went to my first National in Arlington, TX. We spent all day, and every day of the show getting the free corporate promo cards and then selling them all to a dealer who wanted all he could get. Made a couple hundred bucks each day which for a kid was a fortune. Great memory!

Nice work - sell high! LOL!

I hear this year they have a 3-D promo set of race car drivers with glasses to view them . Anyone interested in buying?

This is the card that we were getting a fortune for (1990 UD promo), and kept getting in the Upper Deck line over and over to get them. Just looked up the prices now, pretty much worthless. Wow, we did sell high!

I remember the 89-90 high number French boxes selling for over $1k a box. That set is loaded with great rookies, but the rumored scarcity and the actual quantity were two vary different stories. The popular rumor was that they only made 125 cases. I walked around the show and it seemed like every dealer had at least on their table. I had bought one for $150 when they first came out and managed to get $750 for it before people got wise.

sabrjay wrote:

The last National I went to was the fiasco in LA in 1990 or 1991. What a nightmare.

Jay, you were at the Chicago show a couple of years ago. I think you had 1 or 2 e104-3's with you.

Ahhh, that's right. Had those cards, the brown Recruit t207 and few other goodies with me. It was a good time meeting all the people I had only chatted with online and meeting old friends I knew from the 80s.

Note to self: Don't try to slip anything past Elliot. He remembers all.

The best part about the National is meeting and hanging out with hobby friends.

My National story

I have been looking for Baltimore players on Piedmont Art stamps for some time. Last one I saw was on ebay and I got outbid somewhere around 400.
I found Doolan at the Baltimore National for 325 and showed some of my hobby friends and one of my friends is a board member here. He told another member here about my pickup and it landed me another Baltimore player Quinn in trade.

To me that is a very cool National true story.

Jim Rivera cfc1909 wrote:The best part about the National is meeting and hanging out with hobby friends.

My National story

I have been looking for Baltimore players on Piedmont Art stamps for some time. Last one I saw was on ebay and I got outbid somewhere around 400.
I found Doolan at the Baltimore National for 325 and showed some of my hobby friends and one of my friends is a board member here. He told another member here about my pickup and it landed me another Baltimore player Quinn in trade.

To me that is a very cool National true story.

Great stuff! I look forward to meeting as many forum members as I can there.

my boy is turning one. if everything is settled i'll bring him next year when he turns two and buy him some shiny gu stuff

you guys have fun this year

I have been to 3 Nationals thus far, 2 Chicago's and Baltimore last year. You definately need to give yourself at least 2 days if you hope to take ot all in and look it all over. Definately the best part is meeting all the people we correspond with. I enjoy the Chicago shows because I like the city and usually spend a day just to check the city out.

The Baltimore show was great fun hanging out with Todd Schultz and Peter Fishman. The Orioles games were great fun. THe selection is always good and you can usually find something to your liking. Sometimes you have to dig for it and make sure you do the rounds at list twice because it seems like you always miss something.

Definately recommended, I won't be attending this year but Baltimore is high in my list for next year.

Lee