Space City Card Show
Fort Bend County Epicenter — 28505 Southwest Fwy, Rosenberg, TX 77471
I had tempered expectations heading into this weekend. The weather was supposed to be a factor — it turned out not to be — and the Courtside Show was happening in Miami, which was drawing local vendors and sales away.
I had debated going to Miami myself. That show caters more to high-end, and that's where we play now. Selling the Brady Kaboom at The Wood show made the decision to stay easier. Ahead of time, I let Grayson know that if the show was slow, he could take an Uber home early.
This was the second straight show where we ran Instagram ads to promote pre-show deals and point attendees to the booth. We did have a nice purchase lined up ahead of time — a Jordan Scoring Kings PSA 7 and a Kobe Topps rookie PSA 9 — and both cards were sold within an hour.
The show started off strong. An Ohtani lot seller came to our booth through the Instagram ad: his deal had fallen through with another vendor who didn't have the cash, and he needed it for another TCG show in Houston. We got him the liquidity he wanted, but at 2.5% lower than the other vendor had offered.
Buying deals of a $7,000 Ohtani rookie lot, a $7,000 Shaq, and nearly $2,000 in various Kobe rookies. Add the $3,150 pre-show deal and the cash was moving fast. While that was great, I was not anticipating that level of buying at a show that historically hasn't presented these levels of buys.
We declined an Ohtani deal with three high-end rookies that totalled about $30,000. Crazy to think that a few months ago we would have killed for a deal like that — his market has shifted to a place where I'm not willing to make that kind of investment.
A few hours later things had slowed, although we were able to pick up a PSA 9 Jordan Roundball Royalty Refractor and a nice Barry Bonds Black Refractor. The Jordan didn't last long, and while I really wanted that card, I was able to make a nice profit in a short time.
The show ended with a trade. I bought the Brady 2022 Super Bowl Downtown at The National, but it had not moved, and I was approached with an offer that I felt was the best I had received thus far. While a low pop, it was time to move it for more liquid pieces.
In summary, the buying and trading was better than anticipated. The selling was much slower. We did not sell a single baseball or football card. The only football movement came in the trade.
Back to the opening concerns. Grayson did leave at 1pm. The Saturday activity, and the Texans hosting the Cowboys on Sunday, had many vendors packing up early. Add that 50+ tables were already not sold, and there were going to be 100+ tables open to start Sunday. There have been many times in Conroe where I stuck it out, out of respect for the promoter. This time — the first time, and even as a sponsor — I left the show after just one day. I appreciate the buying, and while I can get some work done at the booth, the opportunity cost for me is too high for the anticipated return.