Pricing cards at shows

[TheGoatOfLife]

I usually pay $5 for all cards not priced.

[jkampis]

Originally Posted by hammertime

Haha that's exactly what I always do. 99% of the time I get crickets...

It doesn’t matter. They weren’t serious buyers anyway. It’s for self-satisfaction purposes.

[Sonnys88]

Dealers who visually price their cards have a huge advantage over those that do not. Many buyers just do not feel like having to ask for pricing - even if they might be interested in the card - they will pass and look for it elsewhere at the show.

And I never understood why a dealer would want to be asked "how much is this?" hundreds of times throughout the day. It has to be exhausting.

I'd recommend for some who say it is too much work to price every card - to at least visually price some of your inventory to give buyers an idea of how you price things. If buyers can see that your displayed prices are fair, they might be inclined to ask about a few unpriced cards.

[Bosoxfan5990]

Originally Posted by clsports

Inventory all singles/graded cards over a certain price in an Excel spreadsheet and update the prices every day/week/show or as needed. If someone wants a price it is quick and easy to find it or allow them to view your Excel file or print a list each show for updated prices. No stickers needed.

If you have multiple ungraded singles just give them a sticker with an ID# for lookup.

Just makes more work for the dealer, but you also have an inventory completed. It also helps me to remember what I paid for the card and note anything unique I need to know about it.

I do this and I don't even sell at shows anymore.

I think someone had previously mentioned this strategy in a different thread, while also including a QR Code on their table could be scanned to take interested buyers to a live Google Doc with pricing information.

[hermanotarjeta]

If I was a dealer, I would price cards just below eBay so I could actually sell stuff.

Giving people deals is the best advertisement for repeat customers.

[Crosby 87]

Originally Posted by Bosoxfan5990

I think someone had previously mentioned this strategy in a different thread, while also including a QR Code on their table could be scanned to take interested buyers to a live Google Doc with pricing information.

I would never scan a random QR code speaking from a security standpoint.

[Allen Ginter 99]

Originally Posted by Sonnys88

Dealers who visually price their cards have a huge advantage over those that do not. Many buyers just do not feel like having to ask for pricing - even if they might be interested in the card - they will pass and look for it elsewhere at the show.

And I never understood why a dealer would want to be asked "how much is this?" hundreds of times throughout the day. It has to be exhausting.

I'd recommend for some who say it is too much work to price every card - to at least visually price some of your inventory to give buyers an idea of how you price things. If buyers can see that your displayed prices are fair, they might be inclined to ask about a few unpriced cards.

They do this because they are looking for suckers who are paying 300 percent comps

I’ve seen some slobs at the Shriners card show have the same cards 3 years In a row . They just hope for dummies to come along and pay way too much for cardboard


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

If I was a dealer, I would price cards just below eBay so I could actually sell stuff.

Giving people deals is the best advertisement for repeat customers.

A lot of dealers who have tables at shows aren’t actively looking to sell. The cards they bring are just museum pieces. They are there to build inventory… but they’ll take the occasional sale to those willing to go over comps.

[asujbl]

Card shows are for kids. Which is great. They need it to go through boxes and add to their collections

I haven’t bought a card at a show in like 20 years. I can get everything I want cheaper somewhere else

Shows are just for fun to wander around and people watch

I’m like 50% kidding

[imbluestreak23]

Originally Posted by Allen Ginter 99

They do this because they are looking for suckers who are paying 300 percent comps

I’ve seen some slobs at the Shriners card show have the same cards 3 years In a row . They just hope for dummies to come along and pay way too much for cardboard


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Conversely, buyers are continuously trying to find diamonds in the rough, priced or not priced. Priced....they will go through all of your inventory and find the < 1% that is magically undervalued because the seller didn't update the price in time.

Not priced, the buyers will annoyingly ask prices on every card, first price you give if it's in the ballpark around comps, gives them the info they need to keep asking and finally catch you in a gotcha.

I think it's odd to view whether or not cards are priced or not by the seller through the angle that the seller is trying to play "gotcha" to the buyer. That simply is just not the case.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by imbluestreak23

Conversely, buyers are continuously trying to find diamonds in the rough, priced or not priced. Priced....they will go through all of your inventory and find the < 1% that is magically undervalued because the seller didn't update the price in time.

Not priced, the buyers will annoyingly ask prices on every card, first price you give if it's in the ballpark around comps, gives them the info they need to keep asking and finally catch you in a gotcha.

I think it's odd to view whether or not cards are priced or not by the seller through the angle that the seller is trying to play "gotcha" to the buyer. That simply is just not the case.

The burden is on the dealer - after all, the dealer paid for a table to set up at the show to presumably sell cards. If you are there just to buy collections, don’t bring any cards and just put up a buying cards sign.

Most dealers give the impression that they are not motivated to sell, they are only interested in ripping uneducated people off. Sorry, but that’s how I feel.

[jjcan]

When I do local shows I have mostly have everything priced $5 or over, (3 price guns ready) and if I have not repriced old boxes in awhile (meaning in over a year, i have 25 4 row-Super monster boxes) I just throw a blanket post it note card that says 20-75% off cards.

If the cards are not priced they are usually $1 or $3.00 cards before the discount.

I like using the % signage since I can just negotiate down from my listed prices looks like a better deal, but might just be closer to market. If I really don't want to sell anything with a discount I just don't put it out for shows.

[Noles939913]

Originally Posted by asujbl

Card shows are for kids. Which is great. They need it to go through boxes and add to their collections

I haven’t bought a card at a show in like 20 years. I can get everything I want cheaper somewhere else

Shows are just for fun to wander around and people watch

I’m like 50% kidding

Pretty much this. This example is the majority of my experiences at card shows:

Guy has a Freddie Freeman patch auto from Topps Five Star #’d to 35 I think with a $125 sticker on it. This was around a $80-$85 card at the time according to eBay comps. I offer him $90 and he rudely says “No”. No counteroffer or anything. I would have even been willing to go up to $100.

[f2tornado]

I like to see prices. I rarely ask for a price on a specific card unless it's something I'm specifically looking for. I also don't have time at decent shows to dilly-dolly. Dollar box, $5 box, labels, whatever. Makes it easy to complete the transaction for both seller and buyer.

[notoriousrmb]

Why not just have a table with all cards priced, a sign that says "All Prices Firm" and then neither side has to worry?

I agree sellers should price their cards. I also think too many buyers always have to ask for a reduction in price, as if its their right to a discount on every card.

[imbluestreak23]

Originally Posted by Noles939913

Pretty much this. This example is the majority of my experiences at card shows:

Guy has a Freddie Freeman patch auto from Topps Five Star #’d to 35 I think with a $125 sticker on it. This was around a $80-$85 card at the time according to eBay comps. I offer him $90 and he rudely says “No”. No counteroffer or anything. I would have even been willing to go up to $100.

I think that's why dealers that state they struggle at shows in fact do struggle. The more reasonable you are, the better your selling experience.

[asujbl]

The National is the only “show” that matters

You might find something in person you won’t see on eBay. I’m OK with that

99% of dealers at shows? I can go to target also

[MavsRChamps]

I’ll add my perspective as a new dealer at shows last 6 months:

1. I price everything. Though this easier for me cause I typically deal with more stable cards (cards not from last couple years). A Kobe or Brady or random vet 2007 card isn’t really moving in price month to month.
2. Unfortunately I admit I do have to price cards a little over what I’m willing to take - this is just how it is. When I 1st started I priced everything pretty much what they were going for or what I wanted. But literally every customer wants it lower than sticker so I was forced to adapt. Just gonna be transparent - for example if I want to sell a card for $50, I’ll put $60 on a sticker because the buyer will most likely ask if I can do 40/45, and then we can settle at 50. If I price it at 50, they’ll offer 35/40. No shame in that, I love offers. But as a seller I need to be conscious of this when I price things.

[Bcr]

I am curious to see if Geoff Wilsons new store will actually succeed. No negotiating and if it doesn't sell in 30 days it goes on Ebay so they can continue to get new inventory.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iUPq7zCgOn4

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by Bcr

I am curious to see if Geoff Wilsons new store will actually succeed. No negotiating and if it doesn't sell in 30 days it goes on Ebay so they can continue to get new inventory.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iUPq7zCgOn4

I’m rooting for it to fail.

[Dalston]

Things that matter to me in deciding whether to invest time in a table at a show (in order of importance):
- Does it look like the dealer has stuff that's interesting to me? If so, I'm going to spend some time looking. Half the joy of card shows is seeing things that you haven't seen or seen in person.
- How organized are the cards? I'm only interested in baseball, so all sports lumped together in a big jumble is a big turnoff for me, especially if the dealer is primarily a hoops, football, any other non-baseball seller. So a table not organized by sport needs to look attractive for other reasons. Conversely, tables that also organize within sports, whether by price, period, type of card, team, player, or (best of all) set are going to be attractive to me.
- Are the cards priced?

If I haven't walked straight on by, I'll then look to do a quick sanity check? if cards aren't priced, I'll look to quickly find a couple of cards that I have a good bead on market value, regardless of whether I'm interested in them. If I get unrealistic prices on those, I'll move on quickly.

With that said, experience tells me I'm much more likely to find both fair prices and outright deals at priced tables. With the exception of tables with only a small stack of baseball, where it looks like cards the dealer has picked up incidentally and isn't too fussed about establishing comps on.

[hanes1111]

I haven't did this but if I were to set up at a show now, I would try to price stuff a week before with a sharpie on the card saver or magnet. Isopropyl alcohol to remove it with a rag is really not that hard. Rare stuff with not many comps I can honestly admit id be fishing for offers that got my attention (high end rare stuff that barely surfaces)

[griffan15]

Here’s my take, I’ve set up at shows for 10+ years and have seen lots of different ways.

I price everything, for my sake and for the buyer. But I also price about 20% higher than eBay comps for the negotiators. 75% of potential buyers are not hagglers and will truly be interested in a card for their collection. They are genuine people and you can usually have good interactions with them. I’ll usually knock down my price about 10% to incentivize a return. This works wonders.

About 15% of potential customers are flippers or prospectors who are ready to show you the lowest comp they can find. These are not the customers a seller needs, so I’ll give them discounts on cards that I know might be hard to move. If it’s a top tier guy, pound sand. Those cards sell themselves, either at this show or the next one, or on eBay.

The rest of the potential customers are guys hoping you have priced something wrong. Easy to spot too. They will go up and down your showcase, phone in hand, looking up comps on each card. They don’t interact with you, just looking at prices and their phone. They take up space and annoy the other people.


So, like I said, everything is priced, but prices are on the back and not visible. This keeps the hagglers and phone guys moving along quickly. Let them go to the new guys or the guys who need to pay for their case breaks/table fees for the weekend. There are plenty of those dealers at every show.

I want the 75% who want to build a relationship and care about the cards. Not to try to get one over on me.

[NickyCards]

I usually ask a price on a card that I'm interested in when I see no prices, when I hear an insane percentage over the last sale, especially on a card you can easily find, I'm out. I just assume all the other cards are overpriced too. I will gladly pay a premium for stuff you cannot find. I try to do a big show twice a year, as all the local shows have the same high priced inventory each time.

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by griffan15

Here’s my take, I’ve set up at shows for 10+ years and have seen lots of different ways.

I price everything, for my sake and for the buyer. But I also price about 20% higher than eBay comps for the negotiators. 75% of potential buyers are not hagglers and will truly be interested in a card for their collection. They are genuine people and you can usually have good interactions with them. I’ll usually knock down my price about 10% to incentivize a return. This works wonders.

About 15% of potential customers are flippers or prospectors who are ready to show you the lowest comp they can find. These are not the customers a seller needs, so I’ll give them discounts on cards that I know might be hard to move. If it’s a top tier guy, pound sand. Those cards sell themselves, either at this show or the next one, or on eBay.

The rest of the potential customers are guys hoping you have priced something wrong. Easy to spot too. They will go up and down your showcase, phone in hand, looking up comps on each card. They don’t interact with you, just looking at prices and their phone. They take up space and annoy the other people.


So, like I said, everything is priced, but prices are on the back and not visible. This keeps the hagglers and phone guys moving along quickly. Let them go to the new guys or the guys who need to pay for their case breaks/table fees for the weekend. There are plenty of those dealers at every show.

I want the 75% who want to build a relationship and care about the cards. Not to try to get one over on me.

You usually only overcharge your “true collector” customers by 10%, but sometimes a full 20%? That’s so nice of you. You are a “true seller.” I hate those nasty fake collectors who won’t pay over comps!