Ep.307 w/ Andrew Crossett of NNY Promotions

Transcript

sports card Nation the hobby is the people Weekly News and interviews It's

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[Music] people Sports

Nation what is up everybody Welcome to episode 307 of sports card Nation going to keep

the intro short and sweet I'll tell you who this week's guest is he goes by the

name of Andrew Crosset he is from Northern New York he is the proprietor

of Northern New York promotions and he has built a successful show in Watertown

New York but he has expanded to other locations and we're going to talk about

uh all that we're going to talk about promoting shows and he makes it look easy but as those in the in the hobby no

you know promoting a show uh is is a lot of work and a lot of responsibility so

we're going to we're going to pick Andrew's brain about how he built a

small show into what's become a juggernaut and how he's expanded what he

does as well so quick 30 second break and we'll be right back with Andrew

cross hobby hotline is the Hobby's only live interactive call-in show join join

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[Applause] all right happy to have my next guest on

the sports card shop guest line he is a man uh like me wears some different hats

uh in in the hobby he's a collector a dealer and now a promoter and as someone

uh who's set up at his shows as a dealer he does a great job with his shows we're

going to talk about all three of those hats uh he wears but uh uh happy to have Andrew Crossett on on Sports carard

Nation for the first time well welcome it's a pleasure to be here John all right so let's start you know it's the

standard Andrew kind of first time on the Pod kind of Where it All Began like

where did that you know when and and and how did the hobby start for you so as a

kid I definitely loved baseball was my thing I loved it my parents my grandparents all were Yankee fans so I

quickly became a Yankees fan and it evolved into being an everything baseball uh definitely was a baseball

card collector starting probably age five and you know the average teenager I

thought it was you know boring I got out of it and about preco a couple years before covid I got back into it heavy on

the dealer side of things yeah and and I like I you know you're wearing my you're wearing my uh my Mets Jersey not my

jersey but my my favorite team uh Jersey uh there so uh they just at the time of

this recording uh they just tied the series up one game a piece with the with the Dodgers in the in the NLCS now um

you can correct me you're you're in the ogdenburg area is that is that right New York that is correct yeah yeah have you

are you originally from there like are you born and raised and still there type of deal yeah so my entire life I've

actually been from ogdenburg so okay because I I want to focus I want to

focus on Northern New York and when we get into like the shows you youve brought shows to an area that really

needed it I believe and I'm sure you agree with me but even when you got into collecting as a kid during those during

that era was there a was there where did where could you go to buy Cards was were

there lcss then or was it kind of for me like even in New York City it was kind

of the uh corner store but again I'm older than you too so it's a different

error yeah so when I was a collector yeah there was Walmart but that was

about it unless you wanted to drive 45 minutes to an hour to an actual hot store and the closest one was in

Watertown so you yeah so so you had to like you said you had to Walmart but LCS

is weren't in the same vein we're starting to see them now where you're seeing more uh you know put the open

sign on the door and more accessible maybe a closer proximity that wasn't uh

the case and uh now we're seeing that how about shows do you did you attend

any shows at a kid or really there wasn't any to 10 so when I was growing up there actually was I think it

happened twice a year there was a show in here in ogdenburg and as well as there were a few ones that were in

mesina about 40 minutes north of me uh nothing ever large so I never my first

show was actually as a vendor I set up at a small 18 vendor show in mesina and

fell in love with it and now it's everything we travel anywhere up 10 hours to a show yeah it's uh it's crazy

I I know you you you definitely dedicated and again when we get into the

more of the promotion side of what you do we'll talk about the work that goes in there and how You' expanded uh you

know expanded your shows and what you do um and that but you know when it comes

to being a dealer I mean what well let's get into a little bit of the shows you know I I do your monthly Watertown one

uh I was to full disclosure I wasn't in there on on in your first one

but credit to you that that buzz got real louder and then in talking to you and doing the the bulk subing as I do

for SGC you're like hey man you wanna you want to do this in Watertown and at the time I remember telling you like not

knowing you obviously like I do now I said listen we I'll try it once we'll see how it goes I can't promise you and

I've never looked back I'm there uh you know weather permitting which we haven't had any issues making a show but uh

everyone uh since and you do a terrific job what what led to you throwing your

hat into the promotion ring was it something you always had in the back of

your mind or you just said hey there's a need for this or was it both so it was a little bit of both so before I did the

promoter side of things for about four years uh my partner Skip and I we were traveling together on the show circuit

and it got to the point we were you know going to a show every weekend in a different town and we'd go to a show our

first time we'd walk in and say wow that was that was something we we probably

won't go back but give them credit for what they're doing and then finally about two years after doing the show

circuit we're like why don't we just do this we know what the vendors want we know what's needed in the Hobby and

where where is a good community and where's not so we decided let's just let's just do it and the rest is history

here um let me ask you this I'll get into the difficulties of being a prom

Moor because every you know everyone thinks it's easy right but it's it's not as easy as sometimes it looks but I I'll

ask you this I I promoted a couple shows in the 90s so wait you know 30 late 90s

so almost 30 years ago um obviously the hobby was a different hobby then too I

did them at the Rada uh a small hotel um you know uh comparatively speaking but

you know when when we when you think about being a dealer too like being a dealer first and setting up at shows I

think it probably gives you an advantage because I I know it helped me out when I started promoting shows for the first

time again 30 years ago so it's a different hobby but being on that side

of the table first and then being getting into the promotion of shows do

you think that helps you and gives you an advantage and and how do you see that oh definitely uh by being on the vendor

side of things first you got to see customers non-stop you met every customer at a show where on the promoter

side you don't get to talk to every customer you don't know what they're looking for but by doing a vendor side for two years I knew exactly what

everyone came in for and if you didn't have the right stuff at a show you're getting walked by so that's why when now

that we do these it's we need 50% Pokemon 50% non sports with the 50% of

sports cards but you can't just have you know the '90s wax vendor you got to have someone to meet all the criteria of

these vendors that I never would have known if I didn't have the vendor side of things yeah and I I I also I think

you agree with this too Andrew also as a vendor right you know kind of what you

want to see at a show or or what your needs are or accommodations right so now

as the promoter of such you you're already in that mindset you're you're in kind of both mindsets you agree with

that yes for sure yeah and and you know you know anytime you have 30 or 40

different people that you're involved with and that's what show promotion is you got different personalities you'll

have someone like myself that's kind of a jokester pretty laidback even if something like bothered me I kind of

come at with a with a decent approach and then you have others right maybe are a little different or a little more

feisty um right right out the b yeah talk talk about like dealing with like

vendor personalities because we're not all obviously we're not all Cookie Cutters we have you know while some of

our thoughts may be similar in many cases uh they're different as well talk about sort of finding that balance right

to try to please as many people as you can and and not displease uh as little

as as you can yeah it definitely that was probably the biggest struggle we had starting at is we wanted to please every

person that came and talked to us to want to be a vendor and probably about two or three shows in I had to sit down

with the other promoter and we're like that we just can't have some of these personalities here some people just are

not meant to be a vendor and that's kind of what's the problem with is now is every person that comes into a show

thinks they are a vendor it's it's the problem of covid everyone became an online seller so these personalities

that we get I probably spend about a hundred hours a week working on show stuff and it's talking to a 100 to 200

different vendors that want to do shows and I've learned you have to interview a person before you even let him into a

show to figure out are you a good fit do you have something that's going to sell and if a vendor starts with you and a

with an attitude you don't want that at the show because they're going to be the same way with a customer and I've seen that at other shows I've been to and

it's just it gives the whole show a bad Vibe yeah that's a great Point too almost like sort of a pre-show interview

just to see what someone's about and you know even though they're representing

themselves right in their brand and their their business at your show they're also representing the show

you're putting on I've never heard a promoter say that not at least not in in the terms you did but it's a it's a

great point right uh because you know even if they if they if you if you let them set up and you and you and your gut

is telling you no and then something happens right you're going to be sort of Guilty By Association even though you

technically didn't say what they did said or did what they did um it it

happened on your watch so to speak and uh it kind of falls back on you so I

actually appreciate you you know hearing you say that because I don't think promoter you know speak I don't want to

speak for all promoters but I think I'm sure there's some promoters that don't really even think about that and yet you

sort of have done your due diligence and and you have you want to kind of extend

on on that yeah like there's I've done so many shows and there's been shows I've never even met the promoter in

person and I I just didn't want to have that be on our end I wanted to be a personal experience every single vendor

that walks in I know them by their first name we have a conversation in the morning and it's just a good vibe to

start the day there's been shows where on the vendor side of things I walk in and I couldn't I can't find the promoter

if I had a problem so I couldn't tell them if something went wrong with their show or if something went well it I think the open communication is the

biggest thing you have to have when you're a promoter yeah no no doubt and um yeah I've been I've I've done that

too where especially on a a larger show where I've set up and like I might have spoke to the Promoter on the phone but I

don't know what he looks like where he is um and you got to find him and

sometimes it can be kind of a a wild goose chase right you're asking people Hey where's so and so oh I think he's

over there and then you go over whereever they tell you like no I think he's over there and so you you're trying

to find them you're losing time so it's it's a great point to like get to know

people and again that's a two-way street right you want them to know you too um because it's it's it's your guys's uh

event and you you want to have that uh open communication what do you find you

know you don't have to obviously mention names I I'll throw myself under the bus I know I I bug you about like trying to

set up as early as possible so you'll get a text from me like hey when can or

in person like Hey when's the earliest I can get in and that sort of thing you are listening to the sports card Nation

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prices we are back what sort of the number is maybe

that's it but what's sort of the number one like request I don't want to say complaint but number one like

accommodation like most dealers are sort of you know asked for I will say the big

my biggest complaint as a promoter that I complain to the other promoter that does it with me is the people that reach

out and they expect you to answer in 30 second uh like everyone like people that are doing this most of us have full-time

jobs like myself we sometimes we can't answer people seem to forget that these people running these large shows they're

human beings they're not just this robot that you know is a t marketer that's yep you texted me I'm getting back um the

biggest one's actually food I get hundreds of messages every show wondering hey is there a food truck is

there going to be a kitchen open is this I mean I guess that's something that we kind of I'm I'm I'm guilty that I

probably don't text you I ask you more once I'm there or the day before like if I see you the day before like I did uh

this past week um just to make you know I travel it's an hour uh from Syracuse

to wtown not a big deal um but you know I don't I brought Subs with me it's just

how to play for me it's more playing in the head uh type of thing and you do a good job you know with having like a

food truck there sometimes um but yeah that listen I'm a fat kid so I gotta keep this this gut up and so I gotta

plan I got a plan ahead but so so you would say that's number I get I get the

message at 3:00 in the morning hey do I need to bring my coffee in the morning that that's the one that gets me I'm

usually awake and I answer it and I have have to like delete the message two or three times before I finally hit send

and say yep bring your own coffee yeah C listen I'm a coffee guy like that I'm not if you have to rely on a show

promoter for your daily first coffee you got you know there's a Dunkin Donuts

every half block like and listen they're not a sponsor but I mean that's just the

that's just stayed in the obvious right and if you like other coffees you know gas stations make great coffee too

Speedways whatever your gas station of choice like get a coffee it's actually

one of the first things I do Andrew when I leave for the show is I'm packed but I

stop at the gas station um you know and and grab a coffee or I make one at home

I have a travel M I'll make one at home but to me sometimes I'm just trying to get out the door and so I'll just stop

real quick at you know for me it's Speedway which is like a block from my house go in uh grab a coffee and and on

you know up north I go so like you never hear me ask you about you won't get that isn't me Andrew's talking about folks so

that that that's someone else I I'll I'll bug them about May whether the food truck's going to be there or not but not

not the coffee I'm I can I can fend for myself I had a vendor once asked me five

times where you know how they were going to get coffee so I eventually just left and got him a coffee yeah there you go

well that listen that shows your your dedication and well maybe you should be selling coffee at the shows I don't know

it sounds like you you know maybe a side hustle there uh you they actually do

offer a coffee bar and a popcorn bar if I wanted to have it I just didn't want to have to deal with it yeah no you

you're your plates your plates are pretty full let's go back to your first event in in Watertown um for for those

listening uh say when it was and the one I wanted to ask you I never asked you this even off the Record in person like

how ner you know obviously the Watertown shows become very successful now but

looking back at that first one out the box how nervous were you like is this

going to be good are people going to come you know I know the news covered it

but as a pro at a pro as a promoter and you're kind of going into the unknown at that point like what was your mindset

were were you on pins and needles were you pretty confident right out the box where where was your mind at so we 100%

expected to fail I'm not going to lie we we started advertising four months in advance to our first show which was in

February of 23 so we were advertising in 22 trying to get this show going and

we're a week away from the show and we don't even have half of the tables sold and at the time we only had 28 vendor

tables we're like this is going to be a one-time thing we're this is never going to take off we were trying to get

there's some local stores in Watertown we're trying to get them to get on board join in so we can use their social media

contacts and starting a show not in a town you're from you don't know anyone

we're trying to find places we'll let us put flyers up and the mall doesn't want it you know these all these large box

stores have this anti-advertising policy in them so you're trying to find the mom and pop stores that want to help the

local businesses and we we were struggling and we got to the first day

we got there luckily the business complex that we're in they were they were great for us they set us help us

set up they were helping us advertise they were helping us find vendors that were reaching out to them and luckily we

filled it I think we filled it the day before and we got there that morning and

we were like we don't have enough help we we don't know what we're doing this is our first time ever doing it we were

trying to be you know the help all of all you know here we'll help you bring your boxes in we we'll help you carry

everything to your table and then we got the show started and in for the first five minutes there was a line of 30

people and we looked at each other and we said how did this happen we didn't do any online promotion it was all just

flyers and Word of Mouth yeah or the organic way you know what though Andrew sometimes that's the best way at least

in the beginning right is is because you get that buzz going it's something new

and uh first thing I saw was uh a news I mean the news uh came and and and

covered it and Watertown is not a small town I mean it's a a military town for

those that that don't know there's a a base uh Fort Drum that's there so you

have a military uh presence which Fort Drum is is not new it's been there a

while so it's it's you know I lived in Watertown a couple years uh back in uh

the the 80s and uh it was a it was a military town uh then as well so uh it's

it's been a military town a long time but you know it's it has a small it has a smaller town feel than it it probably

actually is is and the News came out and covered it that was you know the first I had heard of it uh I think I saw it on

Facebook kind of a a news uh blip and and then I got to meet you at at the

Syracuse show here and uh then my friend Chad who you know uh attended before me

and he's like hey man you really should think about uh doing a show but it was really you know uh you after talking to

you at you know hey like why don't you do what you're doing here and bring it to water town and like I said earlier on

during our conversation at at the time I just said yeah I'll try it you know I can't I don't want to lock in and and

promise you I'll be there every month let's try and see how it goes and going back to my first Watertown show uh that

you promoted I was presently surprised at how well I did how many Subs uh we

wound up getting through the book right off the bat right and and the rest is history and I've been there each month

uh uh ever since and uh you know that's a kudos to you for for like you said you

you know you're kind of we're bracing for impact thinking like you know this might not be good or we might not be

successful and you've you've obviously that's not the case now all you know

over a year later and and year and months right and uh it's become uh you

know for a small show where you know 40 tables or what 40 dealers it it feels

bigger than it probably actually is and now you you know you went from like you said like hey we we have a tables

available to now you have a waiting list I mean talk about the growth of your own

show does are you surprised or not necessarily so we plateaued pretty much

in the beginning we had the first show we had the 28 tables it was roughly about 20 vendors and we were averaging

100 to 125 customers that went on for probably 6 months and then out of nowhere it just took off we had vendors

calling that wanted to have tables we were having extra customers and we just needed to expand and we now are up to

where we have 65 tables and we have a contact list of over 150 venders that

tried to get into our show it's unbelievable how fast it took off but I really think it's just it like you said

it's a small show but it has that large show feel you can't find another show

where you get you know a room full of this many people and every one of the vendors knows each other on a personal

level we all talk we joke of each other and we have a good time yeah no doubt and you know I I'll tell I'll speak from

a dealer's perspective you know going to that first Watertown show my first Watertown show not the very one and not

being nervous but like hey I'm going in here open-minded but I'm not expecting like any break any records by you know

that sort of thing and like I said I was pleasantly surprised I been there everyone since every Watertown show

since and like you said it's it's you I've gotten to know a lot of the other dealers we we joke around have a good

time and and regardless of what the final money tally is at the end of the day and I'm not saying that's not

important you know we we've had a fun day uh in the very least at least with

the camaraderie and and joking and and and talking and and being in that same

fraternity as as hobbyists and vendors and and that sort of thing and so it

it's it feels bigger than it actually is and in many respects like you know

someone who's done bigger shows before I've I've had days there where I've done

numbers that are comparable to a bigger Show Fairgrounds or out of state shows

that I've done in the past and so that's impressive that you brought it uh or you

know to that level and that you know I went from that first show that I did to being like not

knowing what to expect Andrew to like really counting the days down to the next one and really looking forward to

it and there's no nerves right it's just hey let's it's showtime and and you know

again a tip of a cap to you for bringing it to that level from that you know the

way you described the first one where you were scrambling to fill table space scrambling to get people to to work with

or help you and get the word out and and where you are to to today and now you've

expanded uh your show boundaries right you you I just did one with you you did

one in Fon the hometown of you know my best friend Chad Merritt who uh pretty

much peer pressured I'm not GNA lie I already told you this he peer pressured me into doing it and anyone you know

would all due respect to Fulton New York U you know anyone listening that either knows it or you know it's it's not a a

huge City it's not a Mecca when you you know in your mind you think of when

we're talking about Hobby or sports cards or non sports cards and you know I so I set up at that show kind of not not

expecting much quite frankly um and had a great show a great show and did very

very well and was St and was shocked I remember driving home I know I told you

this off off the off the air so to speak driving home saying that's crazy first

time show in a smaller City at least smaller when compared to Watertown and

yet to do that out right out of the gate in the first time and even though you're

experienced now that's the first you know going into a new city is not the

same as doing an established show and you you hit it out of the park at least if you ask me based on on how I felt you

know and you've expanded to you know you've done them in ogdenburg now itha

uh and I know you're still looking I you don't want I don't you don't have to give away any secrets but you've

expanded past Watertown now Andrew you know if it wasn't hard you built that

show up is it kind of hard again so to speak like to to expand out into cities

that you haven't done shows yet at even though the Watertown one's been very successful I don't I don't know if it's

hard I think the biggest you know asset that we have is being such a tight-nit

community of vendors I I know so many customers I know so many vendors and now

when we have a new show there's no struggle there was a wait list for fotland and it was the first time ever show our itha show had a weight list and

it was the first time we ever did one there um they had weight list because you know we couldn't the biggest struggle is being from ogdenburg

everything is at least two hours away uh Fon was two and a half hours itho was

three and a half hours so we don't get a good chance to go you know look at these centers first we go in one day we talk

to them we talk about hey can we get a contract what do you need from us these are what we're looking for but we never

get to see the room set up until the day of the show most of the time yeah and that's crazy and I know you know I won't

share my ear but we've talked about some of the the the difficulties you can run in when it comes to like cables and

setup and people not knowing like hey this needs to be done or or you were

supposed to do this U but again you make it look probably more Flawless than it actually is you know with the work you

do uh behind the scenes not a single customer would have known that you know

we had Fon on Saturday and no one would have known that you know Friday night at 9:30 I was freaking out wondering if the

tables were going to show up yeah that's yeah that's uh you know kind of crazy but uh like you said no one knew unless

you told them and it's easy to joke about it right after like everything's

okay but what during that process I'm sure you were you were uh sweating a little sweating some bullets there until

you knew that that wasn't going to be an issue you know you can always go BYO T

right bring your own tables uh but I mean there's been Watertown shows where we've shown up and you know you have

vendors show up that aren't even on the list and they say I'm here for my tables I talk to you and it's like well I

talked to you and I told you you were on the wait list but I guess you're here and I guess I'm very accommodating because I you know I'll run to Home

Depot I buy a table and here you go you're in the show now yeah that's funny that's funny and but again it shows that

you you try to accommodate as many people uh as you can uh you're probably

nicer not probably you're nicer than me I would have been probably more Hardline like hey you know what do I hope I don't

have to explain what a waiting list is like it's waiting is kind of self-explanatory wait till I tell you

that you actually have a table and you're not on a waiting list uh anymore but you know

uh and and in in your defense maybe that person knows and just says hey I'm going

to show up anyway and kind of just try that and see what happens and in that CA

in that person's case right it was it was fruitful uh for him and they they got to set up and um very cool having

Andrew on and uh part two of our conversation will be next Friday so this

was part one of two and uh man that guy's got to to be busy you know between

being a dealer himself and expanding and doing all these shows uh that he's doing

now and he he he does a great job right you know it's one thing to promote a show it's a whole another thing to

promote a very good show or an excellent show he does just that he cares it comes

through in what he does and uh so you'll hear more about that uh on next episode

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Ep.307 w/ Andrew Crossett of NNY Promotions

Andrew Crossett

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