2024 National Sports Collectors Convention: Honest Review of The Show and Venue

The 2024 National Sports Collectors Convention is in the books and the anticipation awaits for 2025. This year’s show attracted over 100,000 attendees for the largest gathering of sports collectors in the world. This year was our first time attending the convention and we’ll be giving an honest review of how the show itself went & the venue. 

The Show:

Trade Night

This was definitely where the best action was as people were trying to swing deals left & right. You got the best value on your cards being able to move closer to comps, people willing to bargain, & there was an abundance of people with a variety of wants / needs to deal with. This was one of the highlights of the entire show for us and where we made the most deals. 

Dealer Selection 

This was arguably the most vintage we’ve ever seen in one place. It was expected to see vintage on display as part of the show, but the amount of dealers that sold vintage was overwhelming. It felt like every other dealer had vintage cards at their table. 

Bargain Bin Inventory

Bargain bins were few and far between at the show as dealers were trying to showcase off their best inventory. A good chunk of the bargain bins we did find were overpriced as expected with either $1 cards going for upwards of $10 in them or just full of base cards. With bargain bin hunting being one of our specialties, we found some diamonds in the rough during our time spent here. We found a dealer offering 5-4-3-2-1 special with the price going down $1 each day of the show with $5 being the opening price and we were there on Saturday which was the $2 day and definitely some great deals to be made there. We found some more hidden gems like a $2 per patch/auto table or 6 for $10 and more savings if you bought in bulk. 

Prices

Normally at any card show, you can expect a markup on the price, but at the National, this was some of the most outrageous markups we’ve ever encountered. There were markups in all price ranges from $1 cards being marked up as high as $15, $20 cards being listed for over $100, & even cards that were over $1k, were being marked off by thousands compared to their values. The most common answer heard from dealers was “Comps don’t matter” which we can understand to an extent, but the markups at the show were much higher than what active eBay listings had cards for. 

The Venue:

Parking

The IX Center parking lot was very large. If you got there early in the day, you guaranteed yourself free parking and a spot closer to the door. If you showed up later in the day, you still weren’t too far away but had to pay $10 to park which is the IX Center rate and not the NSCC specific rate which is fair. 

Food & Seating

The food was near the front entry but there were limited overpriced options that were subpar at best. The lines for food stretched into the limited seating that they did have and many people were forced to eat standing up or sitting on the floor. There was room to add more seating in and wished they would’ve done that. Another request would have been to have either a grab and go type market or vending machines for those looking for just a quick snack or something like a bottle of water rather than having to wait in a line that also served alcohol which was usually rather long. 

Space

Despite how large the IX Center is, it still felt like it was too small for the National. That seems like a key factor in why the convention will be in Chicago for the next three years. In many areas, it felt like it was too cramped and people were always on top of each other. The space between dealers was better than what I’ve seen at local shows, but for a convention as large as this, we were hopeful that it would be a little more spacious.

Overall, our experience at the National was a positive one and our favorite part was connecting with other hobby members and making friends from the experience. There’s some areas from the National that could be improved, but for newer collectors or someone who’s never been to a convention like this before, it’s definitely worth going for the experience.