Sunday, April 14, 2024, Timber Rattlers Stadium, Appleton, WI This was my second time setting up at this show. The first time was during Super Bowl Sunday when I brought out display cases and had an excellent show. Today, I brought out binders because I am saving my display case stuff for Strongsville. I also brought along some discount boxes, some publications and two display cases of overflow cards. I really need set builders to carry me through the show when I bring out the binders. I was not sure there would be any set builders today. Thankfully, there were quite a few! Woot! Rant aler ..read more

Saturday, April 13, 2024, Holiday Inn Express, Janesville, WI I can't remember the last time I set up in Janesville. This show seems to regularly conflict with Orland. Luckily, no conflict today! Even though it has been a while since I was in Janesville, I have done enough of these shows to know what works and what does not work there. My display case stuff works best in Janesville; the binders not so much. Unfortunately, I had to bring out the binders today because I am saving the display case stuff for Strongsville next weekend. So I expected slow sales today and it was slow sales I recei ..read more

Saturday, March 30, 2024, Sheraton Hotel, Madison, WI What do you do when there are two shows on the same day and you want to set up at both of them? Both the Madison and Rockford shows were scheduled today. I chose Madison over Rockford because my sales in Madison have been strong and consistent while my Rockford sales seem to be fading. Though, I'll be back in Rockford eventually. I have had many good shows in Rockford over these past several years. I seem to get a lot more set builders in Madison than I do in Rockford lately. As usual, the set builders were out in force today. I was busy ..read more

Saturday, March 23, 2024, Peru Mall, Peru, IL I had a rough week after the Sports Spectacular. I think it was due to some new meds. I always struggle when I am placed on new meds. I am actually starting to feel better today. So this was my first time at the show in Peru. I tried to book it once before, maybe seven or eight years ago but it was sold out. Thankfully, they had a spot for me this weekend. Setting up at card shows every weekend is not only great fun, but therapy for me. It gives me a chance to focus on something else other than my ailing health. The only show I could find for th ..read more

Friday through Sunday, March 15-17, 2024, Chicago Sports Spectacular, Rosemont, IL I cannot remember exactly when I first started setting up at this show, it may have been in the 1990's -- it has definitely been between 25 and 30 years. Over this time I have developed a routine. I set up my extra tables and display cases on Thursday, including cleaning all the display cases, then bring my cards in on Friday morning and fill my display cases. This time around I was considering bringing my cards and opening up for business on Thursday after viewing my neighbors, Elite Sports Cards from Schaum ..read more

Saturday, March 9, 2024, Kane County Fairgrounds, St. Charles, IL Mornings are my kryptonite. I am a night person, always have been, always will. My brain is foggy in the morning. I can't really see in the morning. I just can't function in the morning. I had hoped to be on the road to St. Charles around 7 a.m. but after I woke up around 6 a.m., I languished around my house. It sort of felt like I was swimming in quick sand. I did not get on the road until around 8 a.m. and did not arrive at the show until close to 9 a.m. when the show opened. Ugh. Thankfully load in and set up went smoothly ..read more

Saturday, March 2, 2024, Salvation Army Community Center, Oak Creek, WI Years ago, I created and operated a small publishing company in Chicago. My main publication was a free newspaper called Barfly, a Guide To Chicago's Drinking Establishments. With a very small staff, we printed 24,000 copies of Barfly every two weeks and distributed them to more than 600 bars and restaurants across the city.  Each issue of Barfly was between 24 and 36 pages, depending on how many ads we sold. Usually, we had around 100 different advertisements. Barfly featured articles about drinking in a current an ..read more

Sunday, February 25, 2024, WSCA, Roma Lodge, Racine, WI I cannot remember the last time I was set up at the Roma Lodge. Seems like I have a conflict for most every Roma show. I sure was happy to finally make a show. There are so many old friends at this show, being the most recent incarnation of the old Gonzaga Hall show operated by the Wisconsin Sports Collectors Association. Man, do I miss Gonzaga Hall -- the greatest show ever in the history of card shows! Lots of kind familiar faces like the Kilps family, John G., who was manning the bar, the great guys running the auction. So awesome to ..read more

Saturday, February 24, 2024, Sheraton Hotel, Madison, WI Messy ride home from work Friday night in a wet snow storm. Thankfully the snow did not stick to the roads but there was some ice out there Saturday morning. This has been some crazy weather. It was 48 degrees and sunny around noon Friday. Then temps dropped to the teens when I was loading my car early Saturday morning. I was on the road to Madison around 6:30 a.m. and made it to Rockford around 7:30 a.m. where I stopped off at an Amoco just off the highway on State Street. I was the only customer filling up when some guy came out of ..read more

Saturday, February 17, 2024, Woodstock North High School, Woodstock, Il The cold weather this morning was a shock to my system as I had grown comfortable with our mild winter. It was not fun loading in and out today with that cold and wind. I brought out binders, my quarter box and one display case that I filled with graded vintage cards. I think I finally built a nice following of regular customers at this show which has been my goal since I first started setting up in Woodstock. Smaller shows like Woodstock only work for me when I have regular and dedicated customers. While larger shows ..read more