East Coast National: Part One

I spent the better part of last Sunday attending the East Coast National Card Show in White Plains, NY. Because I had a pretty busy week, I am spending this Sunday going through my loot, scanning cards, and posting about the show. Admission was $8.00 and Parking was $4.00. The free autograph signer was Roy White. I didn’t have anything to get signed so I skipped the autograph line. It’s a good thing that I did because I was still going through the 10 cent boxes as the show ended. I didn’t even have time to eat lunch. A few dealers had 10 cent boxes with some decent cards inside them. I will usually spend at least an hour going through these boxes looking for bargains. I am not a set builder. I just look for cards that I like and buy them. It’s that simple. I also bought a couple of game used jersey and rookie cards. However, I mostly bought certified autographs. I didn’t plan on that – it just happened. I overheard more than one dealer complain that they were not making too many sales. Of course, some dealers can blame that on their ridiculous asking prices. But I suppose the down economy has something to do with that. With this in mind, I was able to haggle with most dealers. Overall, I pretty satisfied with the experience. I just wish the show lasted a little longer. Over the next few days I will show off all of the cool stuff I picked up at the card show. For now, here’s a small purchase from a dealer I met on the stage. I picked up three 1999 Topps Traded rookies of C.C. Sabathia, Carl Crawford, and Alfonso Soriano. Soriano was a Yankee, Sabathia is a Yankee, and Crawford may become a Yankee at some point. These were the only base rookie cards that I bought. I paid a dollar each which seems pretty reasonable. I love the 1999 Topps Traded Set. I actually own two of the Chrome Sets. I never bought a base set though. Those are where the autographed cards are contained. For some reason, the Chrome Set does not have any autographs. I also own various singles, most of which are graded for some reason. Anyway, here is a photo of the cards.