Card show etiquette

 

I don't expect this post to be anything more than venting. The collectors who need to see this aren't reading blogs. But sometimes I encounter something and I've got to write about it and that's why I'm laying down a few guidelines for the ridiculous idea of "card show etiquette."

 

I went to the monthly card show Saturday and was slightly surprised by how many people were attending. It's the summer time and usually dealers (if not the whole show) take the season off because it's not a very profitable time. But it was busy.

 

The show is in a medium-sized conference room in a small business complex. If you set up seven rows of tables inside that room, with another row of tables along the back wall and a couple tables along the front wall, there's not a lot of room to roam. That's the show promoter's fault more than the attendees, sure, but maybe take that into account before acting like you're the only one shopping.

 

I went to the main vintage table at the show -- always my first stop -- but it was dominated by people, an unusual site. A couple of older men -- think old hippie dudes who just stepped off their Harleys -- had commandeered the portion of the table with the glass display case. They had laid out their hand-written want lists, multiple pages, onto the table while they dug through cards.

 

"Fine" I thought. "I'll come back to this." And I found the table with the $2 discount box that I raved about the last time.

 

This time, it was a little picked over. But I found enough stuff for at least other collectors. There were just two Dodgers that I bought.

 

Not very exciting, I know. But Dodgers I needed.

 

I waited for the dealer to notice me. But he was commiserating with one of those kids that likes to talk up dealers about their favorite football teams. The kid wasn't buying anything, just chatting. The dealer spotted me and elbowed his helper -- his son, maybe? -- to take my order. The helper totaled up the cards and gave me a price. No discount. The main dealer had given me half off the last time.

 

I wandered past a few other tables, stopping briefly at the non-pokemon/non-slabbed ones. Then I went back to the vintage guy. The Harley dudes were still there. They were joined by a guy looking for '60s Mantles -- and his friend, a great big dude who was not looking at cards, just palling around and taking up a whole bunch of real estate in front of the cards.

 

I don't know if they're growing people bigger or if it's just where I live (there is an Army base nearby). But the size of dudes is almost alarming at this show. But I decided to stay this time and bang bodies.

 

Card show etiquette guideline 1:

 

If you're not shopping, GET OUT OF THE WAY. I'm not a big guy. I'm short and I also watch my weight, which is very much the opposite of a lot of collectors I encounter at shows. But I still am aware of how much space I take up, and if someone is interested in one of the rows of cards I'm looking at, I'll shift over so they can look at a row.

 

Because of all of the bodies, and all of the talking, at the table, I either could not get access or could not focus on what I needed. The cards seemed picked over, which I couldn't figure out if it was because of inventory or if the Harley dudes had pulled them all out and were looking at them over on the other side of the table.

 

Card show etiquette guideline 2:

 

You do not own the whole table. Be mindful of other shoppers. Make sure they can find stuff the way you did. Maybe put your want lists on your phone -- if you have one -- so you don't take up so much space!

 

So these are the relatively few cards I got at the table (the 1960 Topps Johnny Antonelli was one of them):

 

A couple of 1965 Topps Angels. I wanted to gather a few more 1965s but there didn't seem to be much this time.

 

 

A trio of 1968s. Since I've officially lifted my disinterest in 1968 Topps, there was more for me to choose. I still doubt I'm going to collect this set -- I find so many of the pictures unappealing -- but there's enough in there to grab cards here and there.

 

 

 One of the 1970 Topps scratch-off books that I needed. Having your want lists on TCDB is a wonderful thing when you're at a card show (listen up, Harley dudes!). But even though I checked them while I was at that table, for some reason I didn't do it for this card -- probably because I was so discombobulated. Fortunately this was an item I needed.

 

 

An unusual sight at this table -- O-Pee-Chee! Normally I ignore the 1980s row because I have just about everything from that decade. But with access being restricted I took a look and was rewarded! 

 

Then, finally I added this card:

 

Thiswas on the dealer's shelf display, clearly visible now that the big dude had left. This is an upgrade of my 1967 Ernie Banks, which looks like the top portion had met some sort of solvent. This is so much nicer.

 

I left the table fairly certain I was done for the day but took a brief tour around the rows, eluding the usual obstacles of shows these days.

 

Card show etiquette guideline 3:

 

Know how to walk. I can't believe I have to write this, but keep to the right of an aisle -- it's what separates us from the animals. Too many times I'm dodging giant dudes who are rumbling down the middle of the aisle.

 

Also if you must bring one of those grading suitcase things, make sure it's not swinging at someone's legs. They leave bruises!

 

I'm sure there are other things I could recommend -- for example, to the woman who let the baby cry in my ear while I was looking for cards -- but much of this, I have a sinking feeling, is part of being out in public in 2026. A lot of people just aren't up on the common decency guidelines.

 

There is also the well-chronicled plight of the collector who is not capable of keeping himself showered, etc., which I now just chalk up to being part of the "charm" of a card show.

 

I need to add that when I go to larger shows, for example the one at the state fairgrounds, I don't run into these issues nearly as often. So, much of this is related to the size of the venue and also the experience of some of the dealers. 

 

In all, none of this deters me from going to shows. The goods for sale are still better than anything I can find at any store. It's just that I could be more productive as a card show collector if some people were more productive at being decent human beings.