Don't be this dealer

[Bowman1951]

I had an excellent time at the National and met up with some really great people from all over the country, every single experience was awesome over two days EXCEPT one. I think it terms of prices, at least on the lower end stuff, in general they weren't too far off from what you could get online and just like making offers on eBay for items if the seller allows it, this is exactly what I did when making purchases with every single dealer I spoke to.

I was respectful, I don't think I ever asked for more than 15% off of something that was listed and everything I wanted was already somewhat fairly priced. I also always bought in bulk because I didn't purchase one high end card to negotiate for, every time I riffled through items for a lot. It's not like any table for the stuff I was looking at was asking $100 for a card you could get on eBay for $40. But man, this one guy who was in his 50's and wearing a really ugly fedora warrants his own thread...

On Saturday, I noticed a case of 1952 and 1953 Topps commons, mostly graded PSA 2 - 4 and these can be what I tend to collect, commons in the $15 - $25 range from those sets so I can built up my collection. There was a row marked "all cards $15" and there are probably close to 200 of them available in a locked case. I asked a young kid if I can start to shuffle through them so he comes over and opens it up for me and I ended up picking out five cards that I'm ready to purchase, cash in hand. I mention it's a young kid who didn't look a day over 18 because when I asked him if he could do $70 on the $75 of cards I was holding, he wasn't authorized to make the decision. It took a few minutes but the owner of the table who I mentioned previously finally comes over to me...

"All of these are already competitively priced from eBay, no I can't give you those for $70", he snaps back after seeming annoyed I would even dare ask him for 6.6% off of his asking price. Frankly, I just didn't want to deal with change when I found three $20's and a $10 in my wallet but no smaller bills. With a befuddled look on my face I told him, "ok thanks, I'll be back later" and never even wandered down his aisle again because I didn't want to see him or that hat ever again. I was kind of mortified at the time tbh.

I simply don't understand this mentality, instead of "losing" $5 on one sale, you lost the full $70. If he even did take credit cards, he would have lost a few bucks on a full priced sale due to the card fees but I was offering greenbacks. I can't imagine every single card there was sold to someone else unless he got bought out or that he actually sat down to make sure all of those cards were listed at exactly the lowest priced card to ever sell on eBay and everyone else was a sucker who paid more. This is simply bad business practice, it makes zero sense and if that $70 didn't mean a lot to him that's cool with me, I ended up taking my business elsewhere and dealt with someone for some 1952 Topps that was willing to negotiate. I also stuck around and chatted with this guy for 10 minutes afterwards and it all but made up for my one weird experience on the day.

tl:dr If you don't like my money, why are you dealing cards in the first place?

[byronscott4ever]

I wonder how many dealers complain about their results and never question their behavior as a possible cause.

[ernieren]

Had same problem with a dealer on low end inserts . Didn't want to budge on prices

[mcpheely]

I'm on the dealer's side. His cards, his prices. You don't like it, walk. You did, but you didn't have to stones to even tell him why. Heaven forbid the guy makes a few extra bucks. Graded cards no less, PSA fees are, at the cheapest, $7 per card, not including shipping and insurance both ways.

I have no idea of the tone of the verbal exchange between the 2 parties, so I can't comment on the actual interaction, but it sounds like OP just wanted the guy to come off his price. I'm not familiar with the vintage card market to even know if these were priced competitively or not, but the question is, if he had them marked at $14/card, would you have tried to talk him down to $13/card, then come on here and post if he didn't come down?

I'm very much not the kind of guy to come on here and comment when not involved, but I there's 2 sides to every story. Sometimes, the price is the price.

[bravesfan#1]

My biggest pet peeve about dealers was not having prices on cards, either on the front or the back. At two separate tables, I pulled aside a small stack of cards and handed them to the dealer for a price. Each one proceeded to walk to the back of their booth, boot up eBay, and start looking each one up individually. On both instances, I waited for a couple minutes and then just left them looking up the cards. I have hundreds of tables to see in a short amount of time and I just don't have time to wait on a price for something that should already be priced.

[Bowman1951]

Originally Posted by mcpheely

I'm not familiar with the vintage card market to even know if these were priced competitively or not, but the question is, if he had them marked at $14/card, would you have tried to talk him down to $13/card, then come on here and post if he didn't come down?

Well, it would all depend on what I think I could get it for elsewhere. Remember, cards RANGE in prices for sales, just because you price something doesn't mean every single card ever sold went for that. From what I was looking at, they have probably sold for $12 - 20 each on eBay as an example. Also, I wouldn't negotiate for one card.....but I was looking to grab a couple. If that dollar per card is more important to him, you're right, it's his prices and he could do whatever he wants. If he doesn't think cash is good enough and that he might be losing $1 per card, he actually potentially lost $14 per card from my perspective.

I'm just glad I didn't waste more time there putting a lot together of say 20 cards and spent far too much time looking at a group sale, only to be denied when asking if he could do better. That 15-20 minutes I spent was a waste of time but I still think it's stupid of him when I gave a respectable offer.

[silverandblack]

Originally Posted by bravesfan#1

My biggest pet peeve about dealers was not having prices on cards, either on the front or the back. At two separate tables, I pulled aside a small stack of cards and handed them to the dealer for a price. Each one proceeded to walk to the back of their booth, boot up eBay, and start looking each one up individually. On both instances, I waited for a couple minutes and then just left them looking up the cards. I have hundreds of tables to see in a short amount of time and I just don't have time to wait on a price for something that should already be priced.

I wasn't at the national but this drives me nuts even at smaller shows so it has to be infuriating at a massive show like the national.

[AnthonyCorona]

Seems like a lot of effort to get there, set up a table and mark everything. Why wouldn't a seller want to sell every single thing they brought? I've been to shows where a seller knocks off a few bucks on lots and that seller's table is usually very busy. Even my LCS owner cuts everyone deals, he's always busy the guy across town never sells anything because he asks 90% of Beckett high value.

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[AnthonyCorona]

Originally Posted by silverandblack

I wasn't at the national but this drives me nuts even at smaller shows so it has to be infuriating at a massive show like the national.

There a shop I went to like this. He had unorganized piles everywhere, I pulled 25 or so cards and he goes to look them up, I just walked out.

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[jmarascojr]

I think my two main pet peeves (outside of body odor) was that:

1. Cards weren't marked on the front, so you had to sometimes wait for someone to look up from their phone to unlock the case and give you a number (which was usually way too inflated).

2. Cards were SIGNIFICANTLY higher than eBay. I was looking for one card in particular and had printed out sold eBay sales for the last 2-3 years of many different grades.
Regularly the card was 500-1000 higher than eBay...
I can understand needing to make a couple hundred more maybe, but not 500-1000 more.

[byronscott4ever]

It’s like some dealers want to make back their table fees on one overpriced card

[bravesfan#1]

Originally Posted by jmarascojr

I think my two main pet peeves (outside of body odor) was that:

1. Cards weren't marked on the front, so you had to sometimes wait for someone to look up from their phone to unlock the case and give you a number (which was usually way too inflated).

2. Cards were SIGNIFICANTLY higher than eBay. I was looking for one card in particular and had printed out sold eBay sales for the last 2-3 years of many different grades.
Regularly the card was 500-1000 higher than eBay...
I can understand needing to make a couple hundred more maybe, but not 500-1000 more.

#2 was so true with all the high end cases. Wednesday morning I saw showcases upon showcases filled with Jordan autos, Trout autos, high-end BGS color prospects, and so on. Leaving on Saturday, I saw the same cards in the same showcases. I have no idea how these guys did sales wise or what clientele they were selling to, so I would be interested to know if anybody has input. I just cannot fathom paying 20-30% more for a card just because I can see it in hand. Is it a measuring contest among these guys to see how many high-end cards they can stuff in those showcases? To each their own, but I dug through all the bargain bins and found so many gems.

[rmw10]

Originally Posted by jmarascojr

I think my two main pet peeves (outside of body odor) was that:

1. Cards weren't marked on the front, so you had to sometimes wait for someone to look up from their phone to unlock the case and give you a number (which was usually way too inflated).

2. Cards were SIGNIFICANTLY higher than eBay. I was looking for one card in particular and had printed out sold eBay sales for the last 2-3 years of many different grades.
Regularly the card was 500-1000 higher than eBay...
I can understand needing to make a couple hundred more maybe, but not 500-1000 more.

I mentioned it in another thread, but this was a big issue I noticed. I saw one dealer had a card that I have been watching on eBay for awhile. Nothing super expensive - it's been listed for $50. I inquired about the price, because of course it wasn't on the front. I was told $100. Showed the dealer the eBay listing and his response was "I can do $80." I had 2 other cards in my hand totaling up to $15. I put them down and walked away.

[Grid]

Rarely do I ever get butt hurt for not getting a better deal. But it all depends on the sellers attitude.

I've asked for a discount on something that was already a good deal, and been told "I really cant I'm already taking a hit on this one" And I back off and say "Doesn't hurt to try LOL"

If the same scenario played out, and the dealer said "No, its already too cheap" and acted annoyed for me asking, then I might walk away.

Point is, it doesnt bother me when someone wont budge. But if they make me feel small for even asking, they can pound sand.

[auctionjmm]

As a dealer who was also setup at the show, I would never lose a sale over $5 or one card. I look at the total package. If I sell 500 cards I am okay losing money on 40 of them if it means earning a customer and potentially making more deals. Too many dealers micromanage their collections. If they paid $2 for a card they won't sell for a penny less because they don't want to lose money, and that just doesn't make sense to me. All retailers lose money on X% of their inventory. You need to learn to take an "L" when it is for the greater good of your business and so many dealers just do not understand this concept.

[Jazzer540]

Originally Posted by bravesfan#1

My biggest pet peeve about dealers was not having prices on cards, either on the front or the back. At two separate tables, I pulled aside a small stack of cards and handed them to the dealer for a price. Each one proceeded to walk to the back of their booth, boot up eBay, and start looking each one up individually. On both instances, I waited for a couple minutes and then just left them looking up the cards. I have hundreds of tables to see in a short amount of time and I just don't have time to wait on a price for something that should already be priced.

I understand the market value=what people are willing to pay... BUT, I still do not like having eBay be the standard.

Sometimes a card or 2 slips through the cracks and it sells for low (let's say $15)... but the NORM selling is $25.

Too many people think that they need to get that card for less than $15 and that bugs me. I always go for the AVERAGE price when selling and I am prepared to pay the AVERAGE when buying.

[Bowman1951]

Originally Posted by auctionjmm

As a dealer who was also setup at the show, I would never lose a sale over $5 or one card. I look at the total package. If I sell 500 cards I am okay losing money on 40 of them if it means earning a customer and potentially making more deals. Too many dealers micromanage their collections. If they paid $2 for a card they won't sell for a penny less because they don't want to lose money, and that just doesn't make sense to me. All retailers lose money on X% of their inventory. You need to learn to take an "L" when it is for the greater good of your business and so many dealers just do not understand this concept.

This is the correct answer, thank you for your feedback.

[scottagibson]

Originally Posted by Bowman1951

I had an excellent time at the National and met up with some really great people from all over the country, every single experience was awesome over two days EXCEPT one. I think it terms of prices, at least on the lower end stuff, in general they weren't too far off from what you could get online and just like making offers on eBay for items if the seller allows it, this is exactly what I did when making purchases with every single dealer I spoke to.

I was respectful, I don't think I ever asked for more than 15% off of something that was listed and everything I wanted was already somewhat fairly priced. I also always bought in bulk because I didn't purchase one high end card to negotiate for, every time I riffled through items for a lot. It's not like any table for the stuff I was looking at was asking $100 for a card you could get on eBay for $40. But man, this one guy who was in his 50's and wearing a really ugly fedora warrants his own thread...

On Saturday, I noticed a case of 1952 and 1953 Topps commons, mostly graded PSA 2 - 4 and these can be what I tend to collect, commons in the $15 - $25 range from those sets so I can built up my collection. There was a row marked "all cards $15" and there are probably close to 200 of them available in a locked case. I asked a young kid if I can start to shuffle through them so he comes over and opens it up for me and I ended up picking out five cards that I'm ready to purchase, cash in hand. I mention it's a young kid who didn't look a day over 18 because when I asked him if he could do $70 on the $75 of cards I was holding, he wasn't authorized to make the decision. It took a few minutes but the owner of the table who I mentioned previously finally comes over to me...

"All of these are already competitively priced from eBay, no I can't give you those for $70", he snaps back after seeming annoyed I would even dare ask him for 6.6% off of his asking price. Frankly, I just didn't want to deal with change when I found three $20's and a $10 in my wallet but no smaller bills. With a befuddled look on my face I told him, "ok thanks, I'll be back later" and never even wandered down his aisle again because I didn't want to see him or that hat ever again. I was kind of mortified at the time tbh.

I simply don't understand this mentality, instead of "losing" $5 on one sale, you lost the full $70. If he even did take credit cards, he would have lost a few bucks on a full priced sale due to the card fees but I was offering greenbacks. I can't imagine every single card there was sold to someone else unless he got bought out or that he actually sat down to make sure all of those cards were listed at exactly the lowest priced card to ever sell on eBay and everyone else was a sucker who paid more. This is simply bad business practice, it makes zero sense and if that $70 didn't mean a lot to him that's cool with me, I ended up taking my business elsewhere and dealt with someone for some 1952 Topps that was willing to negotiate. I also stuck around and chatted with this guy for 10 minutes afterwards and it all but made up for my one weird experience on the day.

tl:dr If you don't like my money, why are you dealing cards in the first place?

Bad business??? Maybe. But you mean to tell me your time is not worth $5? Pride is a funny thing to me. You spent time sifting through hundreds of cards only to walk away over a bad attitude and $5??? %^^+ that guy sure... but you were the loser here imo. Those were cards you wanted. Cards you collected. The very reason why you were there.

[Bowman1951]

Originally Posted by scottagibson

Bad business??? Maybe. But you mean to tell me your time is not worth $5? Pride is a funny thing to me. You spent time sifting through hundreds of cards only to walk away over a bad attitude and $5??? %^^+ that guy sure... but you were the loser here imo. Those were cards you wanted. Cards you collected. The very reason why you were there.

Did you miss the part where I said I got them elsewhere?

[scottagibson]

Originally Posted by auctionjmm

As a dealer who was also setup at the show, I would never lose a sale over $5 or one card. I look at the total package. If I sell 500 cards I am okay losing money on 40 of them if it means earning a customer and potentially making more deals. Too many dealers micromanage their collections. If they paid $2 for a card they won't sell for a penny less because they don't want to lose money, and that just doesn't make sense to me. All retailers lose money on X% of their inventory. You need to learn to take an "L" when it is for the greater good of your business and so many dealers just do not understand this concept.

I 100% agree with this. But as a buyer, not every dealer is so understanding. If I am in the same ballpark... I'll pay the extra money. I'll be damned though if anyone's bad attitude is going to keep me away if the prices are right. I'd rather buy from cheap card scrooge any day that over-priced mother Theresa.

[scottagibson]

Originally Posted by Bowman1951

Did you miss the part where I said I got them elsewhere?

Your time and energy... good for you.

[jr24ai3]

Maybe dealers overprice their cards because they know someone will always ask for a better price. If his prices were fair, which they seem to be, then I could see him being annoyed by an additional discount.

As a buyer, $5 wouldn't stop me from buying a group of cards that I wanted. He doesn't owe you any extra off. You were spending $75. It's not like you were dropping a grand.

[Magicman32]

Maybe this seems a little strange, but I always ask before hand if the dealer gives discounts if I buy multiple items when I see multiple cards I would be interested in. Too many times I've had my time wasted looking ( or on the dealer side holding cards)with no success.


Granted I would never lose a sale or not buy an item over $5 though

[mcgahee21nfl]

Wow, you made an offer at a card show and had CASH IN HAND?

Thats impressive. It's annoying enough to have to listen to people try to negotiate with you non stop, has to be even more annoying to watch them think they are allowed to get % off any item. What the?

Don't be him? No. Don't be you.

[jewcer2k5]

Originally Posted by mcpheely

I'm on the dealer's side. His cards, his prices. You don't like it, walk. You did, but you didn't have to stones to even tell him why. Heaven forbid the guy makes a few extra bucks. Graded cards no less, PSA fees are, at the cheapest, $7 per card, not including shipping and insurance both ways.

I have no idea of the tone of the verbal exchange between the 2 parties, so I can't comment on the actual interaction, but it sounds like OP just wanted the guy to come off his price. I'm not familiar with the vintage card market to even know if these were priced competitively or not, but the question is, if he had them marked at $14/card, would you have tried to talk him down to $13/card, then come on here and post if he didn't come down?

I'm very much not the kind of guy to come on here and comment when not involved, but I there's 2 sides to every story. Sometimes, the price is the price.

This.