Big crowd and big problems on Day 2 of the National Sports Collectors Convention

CLEVELAND—A huge crowd descended on the I-X Center on Day 2 of the National Sports Collectors Convention, doing brisk business and generating plenty of buzz for the steadily-growing sports collectibles hobby.

With a horde of collectors surging through the entrance when the doors opened, dealers had a steady flow of customers looking for cards and memorabilia, many carrying cases filled with valuable cards they were looking to deal or swap for new cardboard treasures.

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While the grading companies were busy with new submissions, the big-money auction houses were wheeling-and-dealing, taking in new consignments and flashing their high-dollar wares in sparkling cases that glittered like diamonds.

“It’s very crowded, it’s crowded to get in but people are telling me they are doing great traffic-wise. We’ll see later how some of the dealers did,” said Goldin founder and CEO Ken Goldin, who attracted a big crowd of fans and well-wishers on the heels of his successful “King of Collectibles” show on Netflix.

As big crowds flocked to card companies Topps, Panini and Upper Deck to pick up cards and redemptions, corporate giants like Fanatics and eBay entertained collectors and fans with pack wars, live breaks, and exclusive memorabilia.

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The show floor was well organized, making it easy for attendees to navigate the maze of tables and vendors and find an easy path to the autograph area or breaking pavilion. 

But the crowd estimated at 20,000-25,000 created logistical headaches for the show’s new management team. Wi-Fi was spotty at best, causing big problems for dealers trying to make transactions. Many lost business on the opening day on Wednesday and reported problems again on Thursday.

“I couldn’t take credit cards at all yesterday,” said Paul Furfaro, owner of PTF Sports of Parsippany, N.J. “The tech guys were nice enough to be here for about three hours to help me but we just couldn’t get my credit card machine to work no matter what.”

While the signal improved throughout the day on Thursday, many vendors had to use hotspot or alternative mobile devices to do business. Furfaro wound up using his son’s phone to make transactions on Thursday.

“It impacted it me yesterday, if it’s only yesterday, but I lost some sales,” he said. “It’s hard to say [how much] because a few did come back today, but we lost some.”

There were also long lines everywhere, from the parking lot to the bathrooms. Many collectors sat in traffic for an hour or more to get into overflowing parking lots. There were also long lines at restrooms and the new food trucks, which offered attendees a wide variety of food and beverage options, were packed from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“I think they got more than they expected when they shut down the parking lot,” said longtime dealer Levi Bleam of 707 Sportscards LTD. “And the lines to get in the bathroom are a half-hour long. … WiFi could be better, but it’s always a challenge, especially when you have all these people streaming.”

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But Bleam has been in the hobby for more than 40 years. Like most dealers and collectors, he was happy and content to just go with the flow and enjoy the experience.

“People are coming and going, buying and selling, and life goes on,” he said. “All the Nationals are great. You wait once a year for it. It’s a good time, and also a class reunion. You get to meet a lot of people. As long as everybody is healthy and we’re still here, it’s all good.”

While the $30 million Babe Ruth “Called Shot” jersey was attracting a lot of attention at Heritage Auctions, Goldin had one of the most unique items on the floor—Michael Jordan’s college application and acceptance letter from the University of North Carolina.

The signed documents from 1981 feature multiple signatures as well as Jordan’s home address, high school classes, sports teams and extracurricular activities, and even his SAT scores. Up for bid in the Goldin 100 Auction, it has an opening bid of $250,000, but Ken Goldin believes it will soar beyond six figures.

“I have not seen something like that since we had [his] original recruiting letter. It’s historic,” Goldin said. “To me, outside of game-used items, it’s one of the top two or three Jordan items in existence. … It’s incredibly unique and it’s where his legacy started.

One of the liveliest venues on the show floor was eBay, which was buzzing with live breaks and guest appearances from such sports legends as Dwight Gooden, Roger Clemens and Chad Ochocinco Johnson on eBay Live. 

Adam Ireland, eBay’s new Vice President and General Manager, Global Collectibles, was attending his first National and was in awe of the experience.

“The scale is incredible,” he said. “I have been to a bunch of local card shows where I live in California, and you cannot be prepared for the sheer scale of this thing. … I was planning to walk the floor and I think I made it around six tables before I ran out of time.”

Ireland has worked in Europe and the U.S. in his 13-year career with eBay. He is amazed at how the hobby has grown since he collected soccer stickers as a kid in England in the late-’80s and early-’90s.

“It’s a little bit of a different thing over in England where I grew up, but very happy memories of Panini World Cup Sticker Albums and being in the schoolyard and trading my spare stickers,” he said.

Now he enjoys sharing that same passion with his son.

“The thing I really love is it spans across generations,” he said. “One of the best things about my new role is my son has grown up in the U.S. and he is a big baseball player and he just loves ripping packs of cards with me. Whenever I am coming home with something my wife is yelling at me about there being more cards in his bedroom, but that is such a fun bonding experience.”

It was NFL day at the TRISTAR Autograph Pavilion Thursday, with such big names as Earl Campbell, Jim Kelly, Anthony Munoz, Lawrence Taylor, Mean Joe Greene, Thurman Thomas, Mike Singletary and John Stallworth signing.

Former Chicago Bears quarterback Mike Tomczak drew a big crowd, while 1970s and ’80s stars Jim Plunkett and Joe Theismann wrapped up the day along with popular Ohio State quarterback and local favorite Cardale Jones.

Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel made an appearance at eBay Live before his autograph session, while former Pittsburgh Steelers star Hines Ward ripped some packs and showed off some cards at Fanatics Collect. 

Nothing delights sports card makers and dealers more than seeing kids ripping open packs of new cards at a big card shows. 

As has been the case the past few years, kids flooded The National, buying and selling cards and ripping open packs all over the show floor. 

From the breaking pavilion to dealer tables and the booths of the card-making companies, kids and their parents were enjoying the hobby and making memories.