I’ve been to many a card show in my youth, and a small spattering in my adult hood, but never in my 6 years back into the collecting fold have I been to the National Sports Card Convention.
It’s a shame, because it’s held in Chicago (where I live, for those that don’t know) every other year. There have been various reasons why it wasn’t feasible to go to the biggest show in the nation, but it’s been a dream of mine to finally make it out to one. Well, this year is the year. I, as a Cubs fan, may even be so inclined to say “Next year is here.” I’ve requested this Thursday and Friday off of work, and unless some major project comes up out of nowhere that demands my immediate attention, I intend to be there for at least part of those 4 days.
Now, with a show that large, I’m sure I’ll be overwhelmed and prone to overspending, so I’m going to try to set a few goals. Let’s review the battle plan:
—Fun and/or cheap boxes. While singles will be a major focus, I love box breaking. I’m hoping I can find up to 10 interesting and cheap older boxes to rip. I have a short list that I’ll be “eagle-eye”-ing, but I also have a feeling some of the newer Panini stuff will make it into the backpack. — Budget: no more than $100 on any one box, most likely, but hoping to avoid going over $50 in most instances.
—Oversize and odd-shaped cards. I’m very weary of having oddball and oversized cards shipped through ebay, and honestly, a lot are overpriced because of their size. So, I’m going to bring some 8×11 toploaders and hope I can fill a few with boxtoppers and the like that may not be easy transports otherwise. — Budget: varies
—Autographs. I currently technically collect 7 different players. I’m hoping I can score at least one auto for almost all of them. It all depends on how much dealers try to gouge the local Cubs contingent. The trickier spots will be Ryan Dempster and Carlos Marmol. Dempster didn’t sign many cards at all, and I have a lot of the Marmol ones already. If I only get the other 4 active collections, it’ll be a success. I’m also hoping to get a solid Maddux auto with a Cub uniform. — Budget: Maddux – $100; Frank Thomas – $40; Tony Gwynn – $25; Starlin Castro – still suspended (maybe abandoned, if traded); Kerry Wood – $5 (unless paired with a bigger name); Ryan Dempster & Carlos Marmol – $3 each
—Relics. Simply put, there are a butt-load of relics out there and most have lost a lot of value due to the over-saturation of the market. Considering I’d usually pay $1-2 bucks plus shipping for them, I’m going to try to score a mess of them for $5 or under.
—Marathon Sets. So, I’ve opened a case (actually 15 boxes) of UD Documentary, and I’ve opened several Moments & Milestones boxes in the past, but with the crazy scope of those products, I have a long way to go. I have special lists at the ready to help me quickly identify what I need. I’ll be really hunting for these multi-parallel, uber-chase sets: 1998 Pacific Prism, All Topps Tek, All Moments & Milestones, 2008 UD Documentary, all those 2005 DLP sets like Sportscasters, Studio Portraits, etc, Topps Co-signers. Really hoping to make some good progress on these, since online sellers have things like Tek priced at $3 per card. No way in hell.
—Basketball Inserts. Yup, you heard me right. When I was a teenager, I set a goal to collect all 1995-96 Series 1 inserts, and I’ve gotten really far. I’ll have another post detailing that more later (probably). They may be tough to find, but I’m hoping to plug a few holes in the remaining sets.
—Singles. No real focus here. I just want to hit the dime-to-dollar boxes hard and pad my binders like nobodies business. –Budget: Whatever’s left!
We’ll see how well things go, but hopefully I’ll have a comprehensive report on the blog in the days or weeks after the convention.
Go comprehensive report!
I probably have some inserts from 1995-96 you may need. That was the season I discovered the NBA and I’ve chased it significantly since then.