Look, I know, I know.
This is the DAILY Grindstone. It’s not the every three weeks Grindstone.
February has been tough on the time demands. Between my kids being sick, schedules being disrupted by parent-teacher conferences, so having to figure out childcare logistics. And then suddenly it’s time to get ready to go to Louisville for the GAMA Expo.
So I’m here to catch you up real quick =]
Still trying to catch up to the listings goals I have, since I didn’t get much listed in January. Currently at about 6k listed on TCGplayer, 1400+ on Ebay. The work of listing these things has already started paying off, as the increase in listings has definitely led to an increase in sales.
I can report that even down to the bulk level, Pokemon is on fire. Stuff that was rotting on my shelves before moving, sitting around for months, as soon as I get it relisted it’s flying out the door. This isn’t just a sealed bubble – this is real demand from new people entering the market and filling out their master sets of SWSH and SV sets.
So, the GAMA Expo was a lot of fun. I mean, the actual expo part. Not so much the travelling. I’ve never had flights get cancelled or delayed before, but did twice on this trip. On the way out, my flight from Tucson to Dallas was fine, but when we landed, I got an email saying my flight to Louisville was cancelled, and that I’d been rescheduled for a new flight – 12 hours later.
That goes to Charlotte instead. And the connecting flight from Charlotte to Louisville didn’t leave till 9a the next morning.
I was able to make it out on a 6p flight to Louisville, and spent a few hours hanging out in the airport with Rocky and Andrew from Baxter’s Castle, an LGS in Queen Creek, AZ. They’ve got a lot of great ideas and are even coming out with their own store-centric TCG, so that’s really fun. I’m excited to work with them more in the future.
The next morning, after a stone-like sleep, I had a great breakfast, and then freaked out for a bit ahead of giving my presentation. I know, I make videos, but that’s a whole lot different than standing up in front of what turned out to be 150+ people and delivering a speech. All that said, the presentation seems to have gone really well, lots of positive feedback and great interactions and networking.
Had a lot of fun with the guys from Card Castle, and went to TCGplayer’s presentation as well. Got to see Mason from CNA Games (unfortunately we both forgot that we ought to take a picture for proof). Got to meet a lot of people whose names I recognize from TCGplayer official emails. Apparently they like sharing out my videos for new sellers to learn how to do things, which is super humbling and flattering. Lots of validation that I’m not just screaming into the void.
Travelling back gave me flashbacks as my connecting flight back to Tucson was delayed for a couple hours. But I made it home and things have started to settle back to normal for this week.
Stay tuned, as I’ll be releasing my recording of the presentation either this evening or tomorrow (depending on how quickly I can add the slides to the video), and I’ve got a lot more stuff to talk about going forward.
Cheers! And keep on grinding!