From: rjroos@athena.MIT.EDU (Rick Roos)
Newsgroups: rec.collecting
Subject: CARDS: Show Report (MA.)
Date: 16 Apr 92 23:30:20 GMT
Article-I.D.: athena.1992Apr16.233020.11593
Organization: Massachvsetts Institvte of Technology

Well, this weekend I made the show rounds in Massachusetts.  I went to  
about three or four shows and noticed some interesting things that I  
thought I'd share.  Some of this stuff is maybe already known, but some is  
surprising.

LEAF I 90 - This stuff is way, way cold.  I remember seeing this stuff for  
between 8 and 10 dollars around the new year.  Now the stuff is at an all  
time low (since Leaf went through the roof, that is) of about 5-6 dollars.   
I went to one show and marked that the guy had only three packs missing  
from his box.  Three hours later, three packs gone and the price fifty  
cents lower.  Ouch.  I guess that if people want high quality cards with  
few rookies, they are opting for Stadium club and......

1992 Fleer Ultra!!  Everybody knows about this stuff and how it is golden  
right now.  Here is some inside scoop.  First, the reason it is in fact so  
huge now is because it is high quality but also because dealers ordered  
short.  It is VERY likely that there will be more of this stuff around in  
a month or so at much less prices.  I took a poll, of the seven dealers  
that I knew from shows, two of them thought that this stuff will be like  
SC I from last year, the other five were very hedgey on the stuff's  
future.  One thing for sure, they look good!

People hotter than Georgia Asphalt (hope you all saw Wild at Heart)
-Dean Palmer
-Reggie Sanders
-Roger Salkeld (curious since he was sent down)
-Chuck Knoblauch (sp)
-Deion Sanders
-Mike Mussina
-Glen Rice
-Kendall Gill
-Larry "grammama" Johnson
-John Stockton
plus others, mainly baseball though

Stuff selling well
-92 Fleer Jumbos
-SC 1 1992, lord knows why, blech!
-Wild Card basketball stuff
-Dome set singles (people were trying to beat these cards listing in  
beckett)
-last years stadium club II (up fifty cents a pack and twenty-five bucks  
since last month, ouch!)
-1990 Fleer jumbo basketball.  Lots of guys willing to shell out seven  
bucks for a shot at Hardaway, Rice, Robinson and company

Stuff that was burrrgh cold
-fleer rack packs, this teem leader thing
-Score jumbo baseball, not really catching on
-1992 score baseball.  This is the worst stuff I've ever seen, EVER!!!!
-Stadium hockey.  There are smart people out there apparently who know  
what overproduced means
-Singles.  Shocking to me, but this weekend had a crowd that was walking  
out with boxes and sets by the armful.  Only hockey and baseball stuff  
sold at all.

Other things noticed....
-People now seem to be concerned with buying A LOT of a moderate player  
hoping he will be good instead of shelling out big bucks for established  
stars.  Case in point, I saw Leaf Thomas' all over the place while I heard  
someone asking for fifty Palmer UD rookies, ten Gilbert Dionnes, ten Shawn  
Van Allens and a whole buch of stuff like that.  Dealers were a tad miffed  
by this.  One even told a guy who asked for ten SC Palmers "do you see 'em  
here, what do I look like, a Palmer factory".  Dealer's in general seemed  
very frustrated, many commented on this hobby being a"crapshoot" and like  
"throwing darts".

-Kids were talking about stealing stuff and stuff they had stolen.  I  
alerted this to dealers and the guy running the show  Those of you who do  
set up at shows watch out for this and take necessary precautions.  Many  
dealers put things in locked cases and/or stand in front rather than in  
back of their tables.

-Stuff that looks like it is about to take off
1988 Topps traded, this stuff is brewing like a witches cauldron.  If you  
can find it, buy it all.

1989 Topps hockey.  Already hard to find, and the rookies are starting to  
establish themselves.

Pinnacle hockey.  People like this stuff, a lot.

-Stuff about to cool off big time
UD basketball.  Factory sets are not very conducive to big value

91 leaf.  Too much of it.  Rumor has it that Leaf Studio ended up with  
one-third of the production run of regular leaf.

Gotta go, hope this was informative.  Mail any questions or comments to me  
at rjroos@athena.mit.edu

Later, and happy collecting,
Rick Roos
rjroos@athena.mit.edu
Newsgroups: rec.collecting