The Line to This Card Show Was MILES Long
A content creator visits the Shriner Show, a massive regional card show in Massachusetts, and documents the massive crowds with a mile-and-a-half line in rainy weather. Despite concerns about TCG takeover, the show remains vintage sports card focused, with strong demand from both collectors and major industry players seeking inventory.
Summary
The speaker attended the Shriner Show (also known as the Greater Boston Collector's Club show), a large regional card show in Massachusetts with approximately 300-400 tables. The event took place over a weekend in November and demonstrated remarkable attendance despite poor weather conditions—rainy, 60-degree temperatures with a mile-and-a-half line of people waiting to enter, some using crutches and wheelchairs.
The creator went to the show with several objectives: to gauge activity levels, determine if Pokemon TCG was taking over the market at this show, and potentially capture content. He was surprised to find that the show remained primarily focused on vintage sports cards (baseball, basketball, and other sports) with only about two Pokemon tables present, suggesting this particular show has remained insulated from the broader TCG wave affecting the hobby.
Key observations included the extreme crowding—comparable to the National or Fanatics Fest—which made it difficult to move or create content. Major industry players like Sharps Four Corners and Goldin Auctions had significant presence, actively seeking inventory from what the speaker describes as 'attic stuff.' The show featured notable autograph guests (mentioning Mike Tyson in previous years and Dr. J) and attracted serious collectors willing to wait hours in poor conditions.
Personally, the speaker found value in the show for pursuing vintage basketball cards, having previously purchased a PSA 7/10 of the 1980 Bird-Irving-Dr. J card. He shared a nostalgic moment opening vintage Garbage Pail Kids cards with his son—cards from the same series he collected as a child in the 1980s. The speaker plans to attend a smaller regional show (Flippid Card show) the following weekend to attempt content creation that wasn't feasible at the crowded Shriner Show.
Key Insights
- The Shriner Show in Massachusetts maintained a mile-and-a-half line of attendees in rainy, 60-degree weather, demonstrating that demand for card shows remains extremely strong despite claims of market decline.
- The TCG Pokemon takeover has not materialized at this particular vintage-focused regional show, which had only about two Pokemon tables after eight years of consistent attendance, suggesting some shows remain protected from TCG market trends.
- Major grading and consignment companies like Goldin Auctions and Sharps Four Corners are actively targeting regional shows to source inventory from attic finds and old collections, indicating industry consolidation is occurring at the regional level, not just at major national shows.
- The crowding at the show reached unprecedented levels—with four people lined up at individual tables and wait times preventing normal browsing—despite occurring early on a Saturday, suggesting the show's popularity has fundamentally changed the collector experience.
- The speaker views the Shriner Show as a 'time machine' where collectors can find reasonably-priced vintage cards and upgrade their collections with cash transactions, avoiding eBay shipping hassles, which continues to drive attendance despite the market's overall evolution.
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] I just got back from the largest regional card show near me in Massachusetts, the Shriner Show. It's called something a little bit different now, like the Greater Boston Collector's Club or something like that, but everybody knows that at the Shriners, this thing's like three 400 tables. I went there uh over the weekend with my son for a couple of hours. I wanted to check out a few things. Number one, I wanted to see how active it was. I wanted to see if things were bumping or not, what the crowds were like. Number two, I wanted to see if this TCG Pokemon takeover was happening because this [0:30] show, this show is like a time…
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