- Thread starter
- #1
DaleMurphyCollector
New member
Seems like everyone else is doing it, so I figured I'd post my take on this year's National.
I flew out Wednesday afternoon and arrived in Baltimore around 4:30. I'd never been to Baltimore, so I drove to my hotel (Springhill Suites) first, just to make sure I could find it and I knew where it was in proximity to the show. Easy enough to figure out. More on the hotel later.
The show itself was decent, I suppose. Neither good or bad, really, if you like looking at cards and collectibles. The venue was nicer than some of the other venues (other than food prices). As has been mentioned in several other threads, the prices weren't great on singles and prospect stuff was limited to about 5 tables. I spent a decent amount of time at JVC's table, as he had some of the best prospect stuff. There were a few other dealers who had items I was interested in (Dale Murphy stuff), but all in all, it's pretty much the same stuff every year. It never ceases to amaze me that people are willing to shell out $1,000 for a booth and put out some of the stuff they do. There were a few tables that I would be willing to bet sold NOTHING all weekend. Seriously.
The corporate booths were cool, as always, and had nice giveaways/promos. It was nice to see Topps back this year, but the hysteria they created with the Heritage Strasburg was insane. If I weren't 6'4", I could have been trampled. People are insane sometimes to get a free card.
The best part of the weekend was taking in a few Oriole games. I'd never been to Camden, so that was AWESOME! The Springhill also had free happy hours all weekend and the quality of guests there was top notch. Best part of the entire weekend! A LOT of fun!
I ended up buying a few singles, nothing too earth shattering, and a few wax boxes from Atlanta and Blowout. I'll post the breaks when I get some sleep. I would have bought more wax if I didn't have to figure out a way to get them home on a plane.
I flew out Wednesday afternoon and arrived in Baltimore around 4:30. I'd never been to Baltimore, so I drove to my hotel (Springhill Suites) first, just to make sure I could find it and I knew where it was in proximity to the show. Easy enough to figure out. More on the hotel later.
The show itself was decent, I suppose. Neither good or bad, really, if you like looking at cards and collectibles. The venue was nicer than some of the other venues (other than food prices). As has been mentioned in several other threads, the prices weren't great on singles and prospect stuff was limited to about 5 tables. I spent a decent amount of time at JVC's table, as he had some of the best prospect stuff. There were a few other dealers who had items I was interested in (Dale Murphy stuff), but all in all, it's pretty much the same stuff every year. It never ceases to amaze me that people are willing to shell out $1,000 for a booth and put out some of the stuff they do. There were a few tables that I would be willing to bet sold NOTHING all weekend. Seriously.
The corporate booths were cool, as always, and had nice giveaways/promos. It was nice to see Topps back this year, but the hysteria they created with the Heritage Strasburg was insane. If I weren't 6'4", I could have been trampled. People are insane sometimes to get a free card.
The best part of the weekend was taking in a few Oriole games. I'd never been to Camden, so that was AWESOME! The Springhill also had free happy hours all weekend and the quality of guests there was top notch. Best part of the entire weekend! A LOT of fun!
I ended up buying a few singles, nothing too earth shattering, and a few wax boxes from Atlanta and Blowout. I'll post the breaks when I get some sleep. I would have bought more wax if I didn't have to figure out a way to get them home on a plane.
