Deal or No Deal?

Recently, the hobby has been all in a tizzy about the news that some show promoters and managers are chucking people out of the building for doing deals outside of those folks who paid for tables and set up at these shows.

Well, let’s discuss this a little bit, okay?

As someone who has been doing card shows, both attending and setting up, for going on four decades, I’m here to applaud these folks for taking a stand against something that is simply out of hand lately.

Tell me, in what other industry would this be acceptable?

Do you think Walmart would be okay with a couple of folks from Krogers or Publix or wherever, selling eggs, milk and boxes of Captain Crunch in Aisle 10 to folks pushing carts?

Could you ever envision shopping for a car and someone coming up from the street, nudging their way between you and the salesperson, and saying to you they’ll sell you their car right now for 10% less?

Believe me, this kind of thing has been going on for a very long time at local card shows, trust me.

However, when this happened before, it was usually when someone came up to your table and tried to sell you cards, you passed, and a guy standing right beside him at the time saw a few that piqued their interest and a conversation started.

Nowadays, there are folks who literally walk into shows with cases full of cards looking to move them — no other reason to be there other than that.

This infuriates me, honestly.

Good, reputable dealers spend their hard-earned money to set up at these shows, buying tables, paying for the insurance, and business licenses and every other expense that comes with owning a small business, and these folks take a chance folks like you and I will like what they’re selling and make a purchase or two.

You have to understand, too, most of the dealers at these local shows have been setting up beside each other for a very long time (heck, I had a table of people I knew through card shows at my own wedding!), they’re competitors in business, sure, but they’re also friends and colleagues first and foremost, who share a real love for the hobby.

I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve seen these people help one another out at shows, watching tables, grabbing lunch or even loaning money so the deal can get done. Local card shows are the pulse of the hobby still, and will continue to be.

Some jack-hole who wakes up and decides to lug a Zion case into the show and peddle his crap without any scruples or morals or care, oftentimes barging right into conversations between dealers and collectors at a table, just isn’t right, and something should be done about it.

Get some class, dig down in that dark pit of a soul and conjure up a shred of decency and buy a table if you want to sell your cards so badly. Do something the right way for a change.

Or better yet, just stay at home and hide behind your keyboard, sell stuff online, troll streamers on Whatnot while you dine on Pop Tarts and Mountain Dew in your mom’s basement.

Quite frankly, we don’t want you at our local card shows or shops.

I love this hobby and have for a really long time now, and I can tolerate some of the bad actors that litter YouTube and TikTok, but when these clowns bring the circus to my local card shows — that’s gone too far.

So kudos to the folks taking a stand. It’s about time someone did. I suggest you and I take one as well.