When Gary Vaynerchuk hustles, he goes all in.
The CEO of Vayner Media spoke twice at the National Sports Collectors Convention but it wasn’t a cameo visit and a trip to the airport.
The ever energetic entrepreneur spent all five days of the event buying and selling at his rented booth and on the show floor. With a huge base of followers, “Gary Vee” brought new and re-engaged collectors into the convention center through his pre-show social media efforts, a blog post and appearances on national talk shows over the past several months.
Not only did he bring his hustle game to the masses, but the 43-year-old self-professed “baseball card nerd” took countless photos with collectors and fans, some of whom weren’t avid collectors but saw an opportunity to meet him and maybe get a quick piece of advice on marketing, business or social media.
Had a chance to talk with @garyvee several times @nsccshow over the past 5 days. Truly humble guy who took the time to snap a pic for my boys as we all hunted for undervalued finds in the final hours of a great event. pic.twitter.com/CvVBA2owav
— Brian Weckman (@BrianWeckman) August 4, 2019
He’s created a garage sale flip video series in which he wakes up with the sun on Saturday and visits neighborhood sales, looking for cheap pop culture items or pieces with collector value that can be re-
sold at a profit, so the trading card business isn’t actually much of a stretch. It’s actually where he got his first taste of business as a youngster, buying and selling to schoolmates and adults.
“I learned to be an entrepreneur through baseball cards,” he says.
Several times during the show he discussed why he believes the hobby will continue its growth. On one occasion, he even expressed an interest in acquiring an interest in a major trading card manufacturer.
Vaynerchuk’s net worth has been estimated at $50 million but he seemed at home among young collectors who share his love of sports, enjoy his personable, energetic (and earthy) style…not to mention the ability to quickly and creatively turn $5 into $20 or $5,000 into $20,000.
Having best time pic.twitter.com/kin4Rr6r3w
— Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) August 4, 2019
Topps created a special NSCC-exclusive Gary V-branded baseball card product for the show which sold out by Sunday morning at $20 (they are available online here). Hidden inside one of them were various Golden Tickets, including one to have dinner with Vaynerchuk in New York City. It’s now on eBay with bidding at over $4,000 with three days left. Another offered a trip to watch a game at Yankee Stadium. Others remain inside boxes still to be discovered.
I just had the best 96 hours I can remember. That doesn’t even take into account the fact that I pulled a Golden Ticket Card to watch the @Yankees with @garyvee pic.twitter.com/g6JXceRaZk
— Sportrepreneur24 (@SteveHa03817503) August 4, 2019
He took a half hour out of his Sunday morning to break a box and talk about the product.
He also announced Sunday that he would continue to sell online through his new Edison Sports Cards business, which appears to be centered on vintage cards.
If you have old sports cards 1920-1970’s dm @EdisonSCC we are buying – it’s my company
— Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) August 4, 2019
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