Pricing cards at shows

[griffan15]

Originally Posted by MiamiMarlinsFan

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!

Yes and most of my regulars know to come to me. 10% over comps is fair at a show. Otherwise, dealers wouldn’t bother with shows and just sell on eBay full time. The buyer and seller are comfortable with this, so what’s the issue?

[LVDan]

Originally Posted by griffan15

Yes and most of my regulars know to come to me. 10% over comps is fair at a show. Otherwise, dealers wouldn’t bother with shows and just sell on eBay full time. The buyer and seller are comfortable with this, so what’s the issue?

Agree 100% here. 10-20% over eBay comps is certainly a fair ask at a show. The expenses involved with setting up can be significant. The benefits of evaluating condition in person and ability to take the card home instantly are worth it IMO. No going off an eBay photo and waiting a week for it to arrive. A small premium is justified to me.

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by griffan15

Yes and most of my regulars know to come to me. 10% over comps is fair at a show. Otherwise, dealers wouldn’t bother with shows and just sell on eBay full time. The buyer and seller are comfortable with this, so what’s the issue?

Nothing. Free market, baby. Party on.

I just find it odd that you only consider true collectors to be the people who are willing to pay over comps. Doesn’t seem like you think too highly of people who are looking for the best deal possible.

[MoreToppsPlease]

Hobby doesn’t need dealers/flippers/investors trying to bump up prices in any hobby market.

[yanksfan1]

I'd never pay over comps at a show unless it was a low numbered card you may not find elsewhere. Sure, they have costs in setting up, but they're also getting cash so they avoid ebay fees while also avoiding shipping costs.

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by yanksfan1

I'd never pay over comps at a show unless it was a low numbered card you may not find elsewhere. Sure, they have costs in setting up, but they're also getting cash so they avoid ebay fees while also avoiding shipping costs.

A seller’s costs are of no concern to me as the buyer. They set a price, I either buy, or don’t. I’m one of those weird buyers who doesn’t like paying more than I have to.

[hxcmilkshake]

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.

Who cares about interactions? Half the time its some fatty chatting you up blocking your table and you're losing sales.

If I interact with you I'm serious about your card. I could care less if we chat about your favorite shirt.

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[hermanotarjeta]

A major problem with dealers at card shows is that they are always short on cash, but won’t sell cards to have a larger wad of bills.

[ThoseBackPages]

i love interactions

[LVDan]

Originally Posted by MiamiMarlinsFan

A seller’s costs are of no concern to me as the buyer. They set a price, I either buy, or don’t. I’m one of those weird buyers who doesn’t like paying more than I have to.

As someone who has spent significant time and money on both sides of the table I understand and respect this stance also.
Always looking for the best possible price as a buyer and not afraid to ask a little more than the last one sold for as a seller. In both instances dealing with people respectfully and and in a friendly manner always helps deals get done both ways.

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by LVDan

As someone who has spent significant time and money on both sides of the table I understand and respect this stance also.
Always looking for the best possible price as a buyer and not afraid to ask a little more than the last one sold for as a seller. In both instances dealing with people respectfully and and in a friendly manner always helps deals get done both ways.

Definitely.

[griffan15]

A lot of people on this forum are very informed on the current market and current prices/comps. However, at a show, blowout members are in the minority when it comes to potential buyers. When I’m on that side of the table, I’m the same way. I’m not overspending for something I know I can get cheaper on eBay or on the forums.

As a dealer however, we deal with joe public most of the time. They don’t haggle, they don’t fight prices, they are there for enjoyment. While I don’t exploit this or don’t take advantage of it, I’m also aware that I don’t need to haggle or negotiate as much as you would like since I know the majority of the customers aren’t blowout members. They are the same people who shop without comparing prices in Target/walmart or don’t clip the coupons from the Sunday paper.

Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t haggle or try to negotiate, but just know that experienced dealers don’t necessarily need to deal with it.

[MavsRChamps]

Originally Posted by griffan15

A lot of people on this forum are very informed on the current market and current prices/comps. However, at a show, blowout members are in the minority when it comes to potential buyers. When I’m on that side of the table, I’m the same way. I’m not overspending for something I know I can get cheaper on eBay or on the forums.

As a dealer however, we deal with joe public most of the time. They don’t haggle, they don’t fight prices, they are there for enjoyment. While I don’t exploit this or don’t take advantage of it, I’m also aware that I don’t need to haggle or negotiate as much as you would like since I know the majority of the customers aren’t blowout members. They are the same people who shop without comparing prices in Target/walmart or don’t clip the coupons from the Sunday paper.

Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t haggle or try to negotiate, but just know that experienced dealers don’t necessarily need to deal with it.

Interesting perspective. I've been setting up at shows for about 6 months now - At least 60/70% of buyers tend to try to negotiate with me, which seems different than your experience. May be a location difference or do you set up at malls? I find more of the truer collectors may look in my $1-$5 stuff, but honestly for my $10 and up stuff I'd say 10% or less of customers do NOT ask for a lower price.

You have any tips or unique insights to attract the collectors you talk about? is it how you present your table or organize things? I keep it pretty simple - $1, $2, $5, and $10/up box basically. All separated by sport. Not separated within the sport though.

[griffan15]

Originally Posted by MavsRChamps

Interesting perspective. I've been setting up at shows for about 6 months now - At least 60/70% of buyers tend to try to negotiate with me, which seems different than your experience. May be a location difference or do you set up at malls? I find more of the truer collectors may look in my $1-$5 stuff, but honestly for my $10 and up stuff I'd say 10% or less of customers do NOT ask for a lower price.

You have any tips or unique insights to attract the collectors you talk about? is it how you present your table or organize things? I keep it pretty simple - $1, $2, $5, and $10/up box basically. All separated by sport. Not separated within the sport though.

It probably has to be attributed to growing your base. I’ve done local shows and larger shows like the Chantilly show for a long time. Started small and yes, had to go through some growing pains. I sold to dealers, sold entire showcases, etc, thinking I needed to move product to be relevant. But the more shows you do, the more people recognize you, know what you’re all about and know what you’re willing to do for them.

Stick to your guns when negotiating, don’t worry about missing one potential sale because you didn’t go low enough. Instead, focus on establishing repeat business as much as possible. Tell them where you will be next, remember what they bought from you, etc. You will not meet the expectations of everyone who comes to your table and that’s ok.

Eventually, the flippers and lowballers learn who you are as well and they will spend their time at other tables and not yours. Take someone like cardcollector2, his videos are fun and he’s doing what most people want to do when they walk in the door. But if you pay attention to the dealers, he’s focusing on inexperienced dealers and newcomers. He’s not dealing with known guys who don’t need to take an L on a stack of cards.

When those guys bypass your tables and you still end a show with a stack of cash, you’re doing it right.

[jkampis]

Originally Posted by MiamiMarlinsFan

A seller’s costs are of no concern to me as the buyer. They set a price, I either buy, or don’t. I’m one of those weird buyers who doesn’t like paying more than I have to.

Reasonable, but if everyone had that mindset there would be no card shows because it wouldn’t be worth the dealers’ time.

[notfast]

Originally Posted by griffan15

A lot of people on this forum are very informed on the current market and current prices/comps. However, at a show, blowout members are in the minority when it comes to potential buyers. When I’m on that side of the table, I’m the same way. I’m not overspending for something I know I can get cheaper on eBay or on the forums.

As a dealer however, we deal with joe public most of the time. They don’t haggle, they don’t fight prices, they are there for enjoyment. While I don’t exploit this or don’t take advantage of it, I’m also aware that I don’t need to haggle or negotiate as much as you would like since I know the majority of the customers aren’t blowout members. They are the same people who shop without comparing prices in Target/walmart or don’t clip the coupons from the Sunday paper.

Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t haggle or try to negotiate, but just know that experienced dealers don’t necessarily need to deal with it.

I don’t really agree with this.

Depends on the show. Depends on what you sell.

[MiamiMarlinsFan]

Originally Posted by jkampis

Reasonable, but if everyone had that mindset there would be no card shows because it wouldn’t be worth the dealers’ time.

I don’t mean this to sound too cold-hearted, but again, that’s not my concern. It’s not my job to over pay for something just to ensure sellers continue to be there, so they can continue to overcharge. I’m a big free market guy. The market always finds a balance. If shows aren’t worth going to for the sellers, they shouldn’t go. As of now, it seems like business is good for sellers at shows. Which is great! I’m happy to hear that’s it’s organically working out for them. The free market is saying that there’s a desire for them. But if you told me I had to subsidize their presence just for the sake of their presence, well, for me that means that the market isn’t supporting them, and there’s no need for them to be there. I don’t mean to sound like jerk, and I’m happy shows are doing strong sales these days… but in the end, it’s survival of the fittest for me when it comes to business.

[solt0131]

When I set up at The Philly Show or Chantilly, I usually price my better cards at eBay and end up selling them at 80%. Usually there will be repack guys there buying at that number.

[soey10]

Went to a show yesterday and a guy had two 6 foot tables worth of space. He used one table for showcase cards which were not priced. Second table he used for boxes filled with top loader cards. He had cards organized by player. Each top loader had a piece of blue painters tape over the top so nobody could take cards out, I guess?

Anyways my 7 year old son goes to the section where Ohtani cards are and pulls out a 2023 base cosmic chrome card. No price, no signs, I get the sellers attention and ask him how much are the cards in this box? His response…” they are all different prices, just show me the card and I can tell you a price.” Keep in mind he had about 2,500 cards in these boxes. I told my son to put the card back and not even bother looking for more cards at that table.

This is just laziness. The card show was packed and to think I was going to spend any time asking him on each card or putting a stack together and have him decide the fate of each card price, obviously knowing that the stacked cards are ones that I wanted. So ridiculous.


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[jmarascojr]

Went to the local show today, within 5 minutes I overheard a dealer cuss someone out cause the guy said the card sold for 40 on eBay.

He wanted the same and the dealer got agitated trying to explain eBay fees and shipping and handling.

Literally ended with the dealer telling the guy to go f himself…

[Boo]

Originally Posted by MiamiMarlinsFan

A seller’s costs are of no concern to me as the buyer. They set a price, I either buy, or don’t. I’m one of those weird buyers who doesn’t like paying more than I have to.

This

Originally Posted by hxcmilkshake

Who cares about interactions? Half the time its some fatty chatting you up blocking your table and you're losing sales.

If I interact with you I'm serious about your card. I could care less if we chat about your favorite shirt.

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And this

[Bcr]

Originally Posted by soey10

Went to a show yesterday and a guy had two 6 foot tables worth of space. He used one table for showcase cards which were not priced. Second table he used for boxes filled with top loader cards. He had cards organized by player. Each top loader had a piece of blue painters tape over the top so nobody could take cards out, I guess?

Anyways my 7 year old son goes to the section where Ohtani cards are and pulls out a 2023 base cosmic chrome card. No price, no signs, I get the sellers attention and ask him how much are the cards in this box? His response…” they are all different prices, just show me the card and I can tell you a price.” Keep in mind he had about 2,500 cards in these boxes. I told my son to put the card back and not even bother looking for more cards at that table.

This is just laziness. The card show was packed and to think I was going to spend any time asking him on each card or putting a stack together and have him decide the fate of each card price, obviously knowing that the stacked cards are ones that I wanted. So ridiculous.


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Agree with everything said here

[Stifle]

Talked to one guy at a show, he asked me what I go after and I responded cards I can trade. I responded with the same question, and he responded with cards that can make him money online.

What makes me laugh is when anybody states that the last time this card was on EBay it went for X amount. As a 90’s - 00’s collector, is the response from a card that sold last week or a decade ago ? If a card hasn’t been listed in years, I would say it’s become a rather rare find. We see it on this site. Some members pay decently, others not so much.

I tend to ask this question to dealers and flippers. How many boxes or cases did you bust open risking to pull a high end card ? If a person responds with they never risk opening a box, than it’s best not to critique others on how they sell their cards when they take the risk’s. I’ve done far too much breaking and only do it to 90’s boxes I prefer when one is available.

[Philthy]

Originally Posted by MavsRChamps

Interesting perspective. I've been setting up at shows for about 6 months now - At least 60/70% of buyers tend to try to negotiate with me, which seems different than your experience. May be a location difference or do you set up at malls? I find more of the truer collectors may look in my $1-$5 stuff, but honestly for my $10 and up stuff I'd say 10% or less of customers do NOT ask for a lower price.

You have any tips or unique insights to attract the collectors you talk about? is it how you present your table or organize things? I keep it pretty simple - $1, $2, $5, and $10/up box basically. All separated by sport. Not separated within the sport though.

I started setting up in shows in 2023 and this is my experience as well. Outside of my dollar box, I'd say over 50% of my sales are people making offers on stuff. Some of these are slabs in a showcase and some are $5 bowman autos in a binder. For setup, I have a 4000 count dollar box, a showcase with cards from $50-$1000 and a binder with cards around $4-$20.

Unlike some other people in this thread, I love chatting with people at shows. Really enjoy talking about sports and the hobby even if we are unable to make a deal. I don't mind the haggling and most people I've intereacted with have been polite.

[Bosoxfan5990]

I was at a mall show this weekend and overheard the following conversation between a dealer and a potential buyer.

Buyer: Do you mind if I take a closer look at this card for the condition?
Dealer: Really? It's a $2 card.

It was in a team bag/toploader/sleeve.

I can see both sides of the conversation, but tend to side with the dealer.

Thoughts?