190. Vendor Rules Are Made to be Broken!

<p>This week on <em>Special Conditions</em>, Adam, Justin, and special guest Lane from <em>Good Morning Johto</em> dive deep into the highs, lows, and downright strange moments from Collect-A-Con Cleveland. From overpriced cards and Wi-Fi woes to epic deals and Final Fantasy box flips, we cover it all — both from the customer and vendor sides. We also talk about variety at shows, the rising popularity of One Piece cards, and those elusive cards that make our collector hearts race.</p><p>Plus: TGA raw grading fun, Mega Pokémon card reveals, and a few spicy hobby hot takes. Whether you’re a buyer, seller, or just love a good con story, this one’s for you.</p><p>00:00 – A warm welcome (and warmer convention halls)<br>00:30 – Meet Lane from <em>Good Morning Johto</em><br>02:00 – Setting the scene for Cleveland’s Collect-A-Con<br>04:00 – Why Cleveland almost didn’t make the cut<br>05:00 – Hunting deals and dodging scalpers<br>08:00 – The Wi-Fi desert and card show survival<br>10:30 – When price checks fail you<br>14:00 – “Market value” vs. “what I’m charging”<br>15:30 – The $200 booster pack pitch<br>18:00 – A floor full of variety… and a few surprises<br>21:00 – The vendor with the untouchable showcase<br>24:00 – Cash-only lines and an ATM apocalypse<br>28:00 – One Piece takes over the trading floor<br>29:00 – Cleveland’s last Collect-A-Con?<br>30:00 – Vendor life: rules, deadlines, and setup drama<br>33:00 – Racing the clock (and the load-in line)<br>36:00 – Whatnot buyers on the prowl<br>39:00 – Slabs worth cracking open<br>42:00 – The $7,200 Final Fantasy surprise sale<br>45:00 – Buying at shows: tips from the trenches<br>49:00 – Pokémon, Magic, and One Piece sales showdown<br>50:00 – Shoutout to the New England Cardhouse crew<br>51:00 – Patreon thanks and TGA partnership<br>53:00 – Peel to Reveal: a shiny Growlithe moment<br>56:00 – How raw grading really works<br>58:00 – The odd charm of a graded Celebrations coin<br>59:00 – First looks at the new Mega EX cards<br></p><p><a href="mailto:SpecialConditions@PokemonProfessor.com"><u>SpecialConditions@PokemonProfessor.com</u></a> </p><p>Voicemail, Text, and Picture Line - 732-835-8639</p><p><a href="https://linktr.ee/PokemonProfessorNetwork"><u>https://linktr.ee/PokemonProfessorNetwork</u></a> </p><p>Music provided by GameChops and licensed through Creative Commons</p><p>▾ FOLLOW GAMECHOPS ▾</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?redir_token=UYy8W1pnKoaYU-P0gTM3miC3rNd8MTU3MTkzMDc5MEAxNTcxODQ0Mzkw&event=video_description&v=2DVpys50LVE&q=http%3A%2F%2Finstagram.com%2FGameChops">http://instagram.com/GameChops</a></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?redir_token=UYy8W1pnKoaYU-P0gTM3miC3rNd8MTU3MTkzMDc5MEAxNTcxODQ0Mzkw&event=video_description&v=2DVpys50LVE&q=http%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FGameChops">http://twitter.com/GameChops</a></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?redir_token=UYy8W1pnKoaYU-P0gTM3miC3rNd8MTU3MTkzMDc5MEAxNTcxODQ0Mzkw&event=video_description&v=2DVpys50LVE&q=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2FGameChops">http://soundcloud.com/GameChops</a></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?redir_token=UYy8W1pnKoaYU-P0gTM3miC3rNd8MTU3MTkzMDc5MEAxNTcxODQ0Mzkw&event=video_description&v=2DVpys50LVE&q=http%3A%2F%2Ffacebook.com%2FGameChops">http://facebook.com/GameChops</a></p><p><a href="http://youtube.com/GameChops">http://youtube.com/GameChops</a></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?redir_token=UYy8W1pnKoaYU-P0gTM3miC3rNd8MTU3MTkzMDc5MEAxNTcxODQ0Mzkw&event=video_description&v=2DVpys50LVE&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamechops.com">http://www.gamechops.com</a></p><p>Intro Music</p><p>Trapped In A Pokéball</p><p>Dj CUTMAN and Belthesar</p><p>GameChops - Ultraball</p><p><a href="http://gamechops.com/ultraball/">http://gamechops.com/ultraball/</a> </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2FDjCUTMAN&v=USD8zGDeh2w&redir_token=1HeORnXWxg4rZ-E9BrEYJTKwFP98MTU3MzkxODI5MEAxNTczODMxODkw&event=video_description">http://soundcloud.com/DjCUTMAN</a></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fbelthesar&v=USD8zGDeh2w&redir_token=1HeORnXWxg4rZ-E9BrEYJTKwFP98MTU3MzkxODI5MEAxNTczODMxODkw&event=video_description">http://soundcloud.com/belthesar</a></p><p>Break Music</p><p>He Walk - Furret / Accumula Town Remix </p><p>Dj Cutman</p><p><a href="http://soundcloud.com/djcutman">http://soundcloud.com/djcutman</a> </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?v=75CqMc5Lbic&redir_token=U09E1kS_fIr_scHSonnd7F9YI7l8MTU3OTM2NjE0NUAxNTc5Mjc5NzQ1&event=video_description&q=http%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fvideogamedj">http://twitter.com/videogamedj</a> </p><p><a href="http://youtube.com/djcutman">http://youtube.com/djcutman</a></p><p>Outro Music</p><p>Kanto Trainer Battle</p><p>Mykah</p><p>GameChops - Ultraball</p><p><a href="http://gamechops.com/ultraball/">http://gamechops.com/ultraball/</a> </p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fmykah&redir_token=AAzew78d237-HZM7ZGJt5dRIFuV8MTU3MzkxODU1N0AxNTczODMyMTU3&event=video_description&v=xqBHNLuoO1E">https://soundcloud.com/mykah</a></p><p>Hosts</p><p>Adam Tuttle</p><p>Justin Keller</p><p>Executive Producer</p><p>Tish Smith</p><p>Pokémon And All Respective Names are Trademark and © of Nintendo 1996-2024Pokémon Professor and Special Conditions are not affiliated with Niantic Inc., The Pokémon Company, Game Freak or Nintendo</p><p>#pokemon #pokemontcg #podcast</p><p><br></p>