Dallas Card Show Review | September 8-11, 2022 | Ep. 309


Dallas Card Show | September 8-11, 2022
Dallas Card Show | September 8-11, 2022

The early September 2022 Dallas Card Show was more of what I’d expect from this fine event. I have noticed some changes in the landscape of this show, however. It appears the novel-investor crowd has mostly dissipated, which may be due to a variety of factors: minimal card chat from Gary Vaynerchuk, downturn in the crypto market, inflation, and post-COVID environments opening back up i.e., jobs, social events, etc. What this has done is redirect attention to other things, which if my evaluation is correct, has caused a market correction. Prices closing at stratosphere heights have mostly come back down to earth and there’s still room to drop. As a collector, this is nice to see. But also as a collector, I’m still in the minority. Gone are the days when I could share excitement with other collectors about small buys. While a lot of the new kids have left the industry, there’s still a large group of enterprising patrons who remain and I will always respect that. The hobby wouldn’t exist without these people.

Dallas Card Show | September 8-11, 2022 | Trade Night
Dallas Card Show | September 8-11, 2022 | Trade Night

Trade Night has really matured. Not only is the crowd in the Starlight Room much larger but there was spill-over into the hallway with dealer tables lining both sides all the way from the lobby to the garage doors. If you’ve attended this show previously, you know how much real estate that area covers; it’s a lot of space. Also, this time, someone setup a large flat screen TV so attendees could watch a football game. All this made for an entertaining night. When I got back from dinner, I stayed to take pics and catch up with friends until about 11:30p. Trade Night has become the card show after the card show.


Pickups:

Nolan Ryan 1992 Pinnacle #50 BGS 8. Over the past year or so, I’ve gained an interest in super low grade cards of star players but my purchasing threshold is very low for these cards. A lot of the interest comes from the fact that grading is expensive and these cards just sit there unsold. I’m always left wondering why on earth anyone ever bothers grading low value cards; it makes exactly zero sense. The card is worth $0.10 and grading starts at around $25/slab. It’s such an amateur move. Anyway, I usually get these cards as throw-ins when buying several cards at a time if I’m not paying $1 for them as singles. They’re not worth more than that to me. I decided to add this card to my stack because it’s likely not to be appreciated otherwise. Price paid: $0.

Todd Walker 1993 Topps Traded #79T BGS 9.5. This card was a nice surprise when I saw it at a table in the Starlight Room. I can remember learning about this Todd Walker card at a show back in 1997. It was that same show where I learned about the other three notable cards from the 1993 Topps Traded set: Todd Helton, Dustin Hermanson, and A.J. Hinch. All of this was learned in conversation with the same dealer at that show all those years ago. Here we are, 25 years later and I get a high grade example of the Todd Walker. Walker played for a number of teams but is mostly known for his time with the Minnesota Twins in the late 1990s. Price paid: $10.

Nolan Ryan 1992 Pinnacle #50 BGS 8
Nolan Ryan 1992 Pinnacle #50 BGS 8
Todd Walker 1993 Topps Traded #79T BGS 9.5
Todd Walker 1993 Topps Traded #79T BGS 9.5

To see what’s currently on eBay from 1993 Topps Traded, click here.

Bargain Bin Highlights:

Chipper Jones 1997 New Pinnacle Spellbound #CJ4 Promo. These are differentiated by the clipped corner and were made available exclusively through a Pinnacle Promo binder that contained a collection of Pinnacle cards all with the same clipped corner characteristic. Price paid: $0.10.

Fergie Jenkins 2001 Topps 50th Anniversary #3 SGA /30,000. I hadn’t seen this card before and didn’t have time to research it over the weekend so just brought it up with a friend in passing at the show to give us something to talk about and I learned this was a Stadium Giveaway (SGA). Given the packaging of this card, my preferred storage method is a 4-pocket page. Price paid: $5.

Gary Sanchez 2018 Panini Spectra #15 Neon Green /49. I normally wouldn’t be interested in something like this but it’s such a beautiful set and I thought it would make for a nice image if I ever decide to write about it. This is a thick card, which is why it’s scanned in a One-Touch. Price paid: $0.25.

Chipper Jones 1997 New Pinnacle Spellbound #CJ4 Promo
Chipper Jones 1997 New Pinnacle Spellbound #CJ4 Promo
Fergie Jenkins 2001 Topps 50th Anniversary #3 SGA /30,000
Fergie Jenkins 2001 Topps 50th Anniversary #3 SGA /30,000
Gary Sanchez 2018 Panini Spectra #15 Neon Green /49
Gary Sanchez 2018 Panini Spectra #15 Neon Green /49

To see what’s currently on eBay from 2018 Panini Spectra, click here.

Randy Johnson 2007 Artifacts Divisional Artifacts #DA-RJ Limited /130. I think Upper Deck did a great job with its Artifacts line from the mid-late 2000s. I normally don’t bother with random relic cards because it all looks pretty much the same to me but as a fan of both Upper Deck Artifacts and Randy Johnson, I set this one aside when I found it. I also thought it’d scan well, which it did. Price paid: $5.

Randy Johnson 2007 Artifacts Divisional Artifacts #DA-RJ Limited /130
Randy Johnson 2007 Artifacts Divisional Artifacts #DA-RJ Limited /130

To see what’s currently on eBay from Upper Deck Artifacts, click here.

Here’s a pic of the batch together. Price paid for everything: $20.35. I think I did pretty well. You don’t need big money to enjoy yourself at a card show.

Dallas Card Show Pickups
Dallas Card Show Pickups

In Conclusion:

Anther Dallas Card Show is in the books. As you might already know, I’m pretty picky with what I buy/collect but I always try to keep an open mind. No matter, I end up going back to the same stuff I’ve always ever collected and that’s fine. The strategy that comes natural for me is to zag when everyone else is zigging. This helps me keep costs down even though it’s somewhat lonely.

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