Prep work: November edition

Tonight is Card Show Eve for me.

I'll be waking up bright and early tomorrow morning in preparation for the big tri-annual show. My dad and I missed the last one back in June. It's the first one of these shows we've missed in a good five years.

Thanks to a few Ebay sales, I managed to scrape up enough money to hit tomorrow's gathering.

I used to go to shows with absolutely no plan in mind. While that's still mostly true now, I like to try and set at least a few goals for myself. One of the reasons I'm able to pinpoint specific hopes at every show is because the thing is so darn huge.

How big? Think National without all the sponsored stuff. Tables as far as the eye can see, and...

Hey, why don't I just show you this time? With my dad's help, I'm planning on snapping some photos tomorrow.

I'm hoping they'll help bring the show to life for readers of this blog.

As for the actual cards, well, I have a few things in mind.

Knocking out some current needs is always a must when it comes to shows. I still need a decent chunk of 2014 A&G, Archives, etc., and I'm sure I'll find a dealer or two unloading some on the cheap. The fact that this show is held so late in the year should help my chances.

A&G is a distant memory to a lot of people come November.

It seems like forever since I picked up a pre-1957 Topps card.

While they don't often come cheap, I can usually find a few in the discount bins. I'm going to make it a point to pick up at least one of these oversized beauties tomorrow.

Creased or not.

I've had pretty good luck finding '70s oddballs at the last couple of these shows.

Of course, I'm hoping my good fortune will continue tomorrow. The amount of Hostess and Kellogg's cards I still need is staggering. If I see these in the cheapies, you know I'm going to pounce.

How people can let these go for loose change is still a mystery.

I'm planning on embarking on a new oddball quest tomorrow.

Pre-1978ish OPCs have been almost impossible to come by at these shows. Now that I think of it, I don't think I've ever actually found one. Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough.

I'll be searching far and wide for OPC tomorrow. If the price is right, I'd love to give some of them a loving home.

The backs on those '71s are worth the price tag alone.

What originally began as kind of a tongue-in-cheek declaration has actually begun to gain some steam.

When I said I'd be trying to get EVERY AUTHENTIC PILOTS CARD EVER MADE a couple years ago, I never thought I'd have an actual shot at it. The more and more I find, though, the more and more realistic the goal seems to get.

Pulling all my 1969-70 Pilots cards in preparation for this post floored me. I haven't actually done the research, but I have to believe I'm getting close to what I thought was an impossible mission.

With any hope, I'll get even closer tomorrow.

I've found that hunting for specific cards at shows is a lot of fun.

I'm making Wilbur Wood the main focus of tomorrow's gathering. I've been trying to finish his Topps Set for a while now. I still need both his '65 and '68 issues. They're both high-numbers, so I doubt they'll come cheap, unfortunately.

I was also shocked to discover that I didn't yet own a copy of his common '78 Topps card. The Wood's '65 and '68 issues might be a longshot, but I'll bet there'll a couple dozen of '78s hiding in a show as big as this one.

I'll be darned if I don't walk away with one of them tomorrow.

As always, however, I'll mostly let the discount gods take me where they please.

Whether it be player collection hits, cheap vintage, goofy dime box finds, or whatever else, I'll take it as it comes. Oh, and don't think I've forgotten about my blogger buddies out there. I'll be doing some discount hunting for all of you tomorrow as well.

I'm already counting down the hours until I wake up tomorrow. As my dad says, it's always a fun time at the card show.

Wish me luck!