Question for dealers at small shows
handyman
Posts: 5,394 ✭✭✭✭✭
HI, I was wondering what type of stories people have from working at small local shows. What was the best buy you had from dealing at a small show. And how often do you actualy have someone offering decent product for sale. And around at what percent do you pay?
Thanks guys
Derek
Thanks guys
Derek
0
Comments
Eyebone
What about any buys? I mean you bought from someone who walked in with items for sale.
shows and see some nice cards and would be able to talk to a dealer about cards, now I get guys looking to buy for nothing and
who know NOTHING about the hobby.
I brought in a box of nice modern stuff. I had some nice cards..A Reggie Bush auto and plenty of nice stuff. I had all of it
priced out. The first guy asks me if he can take a look.....of course the first thing out of his mouth is how much for the box....
I shoot a number out 1300...thats third book...then he gets all shy...ahhh.;..ahhh well how many cards in the box...I don't freaking
know, count them! He then wants to give me 20% book....I ask him after he rapes me if he wants me to go out and sell the cards
for him! Another guy, after asking me how much Im selling for (thrid book), actually asks me if I had any Lebron Autos.....oh year
I have a few here, how about third book on those.....are you such a freaking moron that you can't only make a profit screwing
people on Lebron autos? Are you afraid that you know so little about this hobby that making a "big" buy might lose you money and
you might not be able to buy that 6 pack of beer you were planning on splurging on after the weekend?
Why even buy a table and load up a case full of 80's inserts,grungy dollar boxes and pack searched cards? Just put out a sign that reads:
"Buying: at a stupidly low price, because Im not sure I can make a profit"
Beckett used to run a column on a guy who started with 10 bucks and turned it into thousands. Every once in a while he would
gloat how he bought a Willie Mays signed ball for 10 bucks off of some old lady and sold it back to some chump for 200. Is this
how sleezy this hobby really is?
Or where is the line between "a good buy" and "a good ripoff"
out
JS
But don't forget...if you are going to get a table, slick your hair back, wear a gold chain and have a nice deep tan.
I go to my local about once a month...you figure out real quickly who's there to screw you...and who's there just to be around the hobby.
<< <i>This must be a new thing. A bunch of "dealers" with a wad of cash trying to rip off little kids or grandmas off. Man I used to go to
shows and see some nice cards and would be able to talk to a dealer about cards, now I get guys looking to buy for nothing and
who know NOTHING about the hobby.
I brought in a box of nice modern stuff. I had some nice cards..A Reggie Bush auto and plenty of nice stuff. I had all of it
priced out. The first guy asks me if he can take a look.....of course the first thing out of his mouth is how much for the box....
I shoot a number out 1300...thats third book...then he gets all shy...ahhh.;..ahhh well how many cards in the box...I don't freaking
know, count them! He then wants to give me 20% book....I ask him after he rapes me if he wants me to go out and sell the cards
for him! Another guy, after asking me how much Im selling for (thrid book), actually asks me if I had any Lebron Autos.....oh year
I have a few here, how about third book on those.....are you such a freaking moron that you can't only make a profit screwing
people on Lebron autos? Are you afraid that you know so little about this hobby that making a "big" buy might lose you money and
you might not be able to buy that 6 pack of beer you were planning on splurging on after the weekend?
Why even buy a table and load up a case full of 80's inserts,grungy dollar boxes and pack searched cards? Just put out a sign that reads:
"Buying: at a stupidly low price, because Im not sure I can make a profit"
Beckett used to run a column on a guy who started with 10 bucks and turned it into thousands. Every once in a while he would
gloat how he bought a Willie Mays signed ball for 10 bucks off of some old lady and sold it back to some chump for 200. Is this
how sleezy this hobby really is?
Or where is the line between "a good buy" and "a good ripoff"
out
JS >>
I don't know what all you were selling, but as a rule 20% of book isn't all that bad. Figure they can sell it at 50% book, and making 30% on slow moving stuff is a pretty standard profit margin. If it was all decent RC autos then yeah, that's a scam. But if it's inserts of second tier players I think that's an OK price.
same for out local shows....people will spend hours ripping through junk boxes for 50 cent cards and $1 cards...
IF they do want the good stuff out of the case..alot of the customers come with the "I have money right now, so IF you want to sell it to me..it will be at my price!!" These guys want the best of the best for 25-35 percent of book.......but when they buy in bulk...they want it for 10-15%....
AND they make it seem like they're doing you a favor!! lol
I have 2 '78 Topps football sets at todays show...FRESH from vending. Customer walks up and asks how much for the sets....I tell him $200 for the pair.
His reply was.."are you &^%$ kidding me, I can get those sets on Ebay for $60 each."
As for buying and discounting, my general rule of thumb is easy....I always have my eye open for vintage and pay well for it. New stuff...I'll look and see if there's anything I can use..but for the most part..I direct them to the modern guys.
As for selling at a discount....if I can sell a card on ebay for $40....there's NO chance in heck that these discount buyers will get it for less...unless I really like them....or they are a whale buyer and spend BIG $$ all the time.
I had a box of '05-'06 hockey rookies today (lots of short prints)...Ultra..Upper Deck..SPx..Black Diamond. There were 235 cards total..each booked anywhere from $6 to $20. So $10-$12 was an average. A guy asked me what I would take for the box. $200 was my reply...less than a buck each!! This was EASILY 10% of BK....
He counter offered me $120.....^%%$## is THAT????
Needless to say, I'll be listing them in my online store...lol
<< <i>
I don't know what all you were selling, but as a rule 20% of book isn't all that bad. Figure they can sell it at 50% book, and making 30% on slow moving stuff is a pretty standard profit margin. If it was all decent RC autos then yeah, that's a scam. But if it's inserts of second tier players I think that's an OK price. >>
They are making 150% buying at 20% and selling at 50%. I can't believe guys would pay 20% for a lot of stuff.
///////////////////////////////////////////
Pretty much. It's still not quite as bad as coin shows, but pretty bad
and getting worse.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
"....20% of book isn't all that bad. Figure they can sell it at 50% book,
and making 30% on slow moving stuff is a pretty standard profit margin."
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
I agree that 20% is about all most dealers would want to
pay for stuff they need.
But, if they bought it at 20% and sold it at 50%, they would make 150%
on their money. That kind of margin works ok for hobbies and EBAY, but
it does not work in B&M and constant shows.
Small/medium dealers have to hit homeruns on the buy side OFTEN, or
they quickly disappear.
I don't think your going to be approached to buy a lot of stuff at a local show. Most people know they can sell anything, including unwanted cards, on e-Bay.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////
That has changed EVERYTHING on the buy-side.
More and more, the vintage walk-ins will be carried
by seniors who do not play on EBAY.
<< <i>
<< <i>
I don't know what all you were selling, but as a rule 20% of book isn't all that bad. Figure they can sell it at 50% book, and making 30% on slow moving stuff is a pretty standard profit margin. If it was all decent RC autos then yeah, that's a scam. But if it's inserts of second tier players I think that's an OK price. >>
They are making 150% buying at 20% and selling at 50%. I can't believe guys would pay 20% for a lot of stuff. >>
LOL! Good catch. I screwed up the math.
Most of the modern guys I talk to at shows say that they can sell all the cards they want at $.50 each, but once they get more expensive than that the number of available buyers drops substantially. The business model a lot of them use is to buy those '50,000 card close outs' on Ebay for $1200 or so, put everything but the total commons in top loaders, then pack it all into 3200 count boxes and sell it all off at $.25 a card. A couple guys clear $800 a week just on this stuff alone, but have told me that they can go all weekend without selling more than five cards out of the case.
Bottom line: If you've got a stack of Troy Brown/ Pau Gasol/ Tim Hudson inserts and premium base cards you can't expect anything near book price if you're selling to a dealer, since those cards will just never move unless their in the $.25 boxes.
<< <i>Vintage packs...all the time especially 70's stuff. He wears a Big Dog t-shirt and looks like Uncle Fester.
I don't think your going to be approached to buy a lot of stuff at a local show. Most people know they can sell anything, including unwanted cards, on e-Bay. >>
It sounds funny to say, but there are still A LOT of people who either don't Ebay at all, or who don't have selling accounts. Every show I go I see at least 15 guys walking around with shoeboxes/binders looking for buyers. Of course, most of that is 1988 Topps, but I have seen quite a few deals go down involving vintage. One dealer I'm friendly with recently picked up a 6000 ct. box of 1956-1962 Topps Football for $300, and that included 4 Tarkenton RC's, so it still does happen.
One thing you need is a good sized sign that says 'ALWAYS BUYING'. If people don't see that they don't tend to approach you.
I am not into selling at shows, I think one of the reasons dealers try to buy for so little is because they may have the cards sit on the shelf or on the table for a 6 months to a year or more so thats money out of their pocket just sitting their Its kind of like a long term investment. I had a dealer tell me that once, they may pay more for cards they pick threw because they know that those cards may sell more quickley.
Collecting Jordan graded cards,
Jordan #d cards,
Wanted: Bill Quackenbush cards
looking for an HONEST DEALER...
can't - it's an oxymoron!
<< <i>I went to a card show...
looking for an HONEST DEALER...
can't - it's an oxymoron!
Hmmmmm.....
Every time there is a thread about card dealers I think myself fortunate. I know Stone's comment was made in jest, but the prevailing view on here is that card shows are filled with hucksters and pseudo-criminals looking to rip off grannies and little kids. These guys almost always seem to be have bad breath, poor hygiene and a three-day growth as well. Frankly, the guys who set up at my "regular" show are not like this stereotype at all; as a group they are bright, decent men who simply enjoy selling/buying/trading sports cards. I don't recall a customer or fellow dealer speaking ill of any of them.
Eyebone
Lee
Dave D.
<< <i>
<< <i>I went to a card show...
looking for an HONEST DEALER...
can't - it's an oxymoron!
Hmmmmm.....
Every time there is a thread about card dealers I think myself fortunate. I know Stone's comment was made in jest, but the prevailing view on here is that card shows are filled with hucksters and pseudo-criminals looking to rip off grannies and little kids. These guys almost always seem to be have bad breath, poor hygiene and a three-day growth as well. Frankly, the guys who set up at my "regular" show are not like this stereotype at all; as a group they are bright, decent men who simply enjoy selling/buying/trading sports cards. I don't recall a customer or fellow dealer speaking ill of any of them.
Eyebone >>
Eye
I haven't been to a small cardshow since the early 90s - it has good and bad.
Last show was in Houston - Tristar - most all of the sellers where friendly, courteous, helpful and attentive.
I think a lot of the sleeze went away with the "boom."
And, yes, I was just messin' around.
mike