by Ryan Friedman
It’s one of the longest-running and largest shows in the hobby and this past weekend at the Chicago Sun-Times Convention, many of the biggest dealers and auction houses in the industry were once again on hand for the three-day run at the Stephens Convention Center.
While the overall attendance at the show seemed to be down a bit from the November event (chilly, rainy weather probably was a factor) and the show floor itself a little smaller than before, dealer-to-dealer business seemed to be OK.
It’s always a big show for vintage sports card sales and collectors, who also had a unique chance to get an in person preview of the upcoming auctions being conducted by Mile High Card Co., Memory Lane Inc., Goodwin & Co, and Andy Madec.
Opinions throughout the convention seem to reflect a somewhat flat market for sales with an eye toward the National Sports Collectors Convention and beyond when business could pick up as economic conditions improve.
However, most everyone seems to be in agreement that the rare/unique sports cards and memorabilia are still in high demand and pulling great prices.
News & Notes:
- Goodwin and Company has just announced their tentative auction schedule for 2010 with a total of six auctions taking place this year. The April auction will be special as the entire auction will consist of one T206 set auctioned off as single cards, much like the company did a couple of years ago with its high grade 1952 Topps set.
- Rich Albersheim of Albersheims.com, one of the most trusted names in the vintage sports autograph business, is working on launching a new web store that will feature a larger on-line inventory complete with images and more. The official launch date is expected within the next 30 days.
- Andy Madec Sportscards, Inc showcased a few previews for his upcoming May auction at this past weekends Chicago Sum Times Convention with the highlighted piece being the finest PSA/DNA graded Abraham Lincoln Document on record (Graded signature is a 9).
- Just Collect has kicked off one of its biggest sales with over 240 high grade, low pop PSA & SGC cards this week via their ebay style auctions including: 1963 Topps Baseball, 1965 Topps Baseball, 1961 Golden Press Baseball, 1955 Golden Stamps Dodgers Baseball, 1956 Topps U.S. Presidents, 1969 Topps Football and much more.
Ryan Friedman is the editor of Auction Report (www.auctionreport.com),
a premier web site for news coverage and information on the top
auction companies, dealers, and authentication services in the sports
memorabilia and sports card business. Look for his column here each
week.
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