Show Report - First Time Setting Up

BobS

Well, yesterday was the day I tried to be a dealer. If you have been following my posts, I decided to give it a go with some 70's and 80's wax from BBExchange and a rather large (200 table) quarterly show here in Columbus. I spent two months spending 3K on boxes and graded packs. I started this venture because I've been going to this show for years, and have NEVER seen anyone with stuff like this. So, How did I do?

It didn't start out too great. As I pulled my ride up to unload at 8:00am, I noticed the guy right next to me open up the door on his mini-van and POW, it was LOADED with FULL CASES of 80's wax, rack, vending, etc. FULL FREAKIN' CASES. Four years at this show and I have never seen one single pack pre-2000, now this guy shows up with the motherload.

I got to talking to him and he said he used to set up a while ago, and decided to do this years national. Someone there told him about the Columbus show (and lack of wax), and he decided to give it a shot. I thought I was doomed, especially after I saw his pricing (ex. 1985 Topps Baseball wax boxes for $85, when I paid $125 for mine), but I'll get to him in a bit.

So, even though the air got taken away from my sails before the show started, I set everything up and the show began at 10:00.

My table looked great. All the Topps baseball boxes sitting there in neat rows. The 3'x4' tabletop display case loaded with colorfull graded packs from the 60's and 70's. My typed up neat little fliers with everything listed/priced out at the front of the table. I still though I was going to make a killing.

11:00 - a few folks passed by, no sales, I gave a 1987 Topps Baseball cello pack to a kid and he couldn't beleive it. He ran to his dad to show him. Dad didn't even come by to say thanks.

12:00 - Still no sales. I gave away a few more cheap packs to the kids. Some dads said thanks, but didn't buy anything from me afterwards.

12:30 - Tok a break for a hot-dog. Went over the the other guy with all the product. He said he sold one box of 1984 Donruss, that's it. We were both getting worried.

1:00 - Highlight of the show. A guy, his girlfried and his father hung out for a bit, and actually bought about $100 worth of stuff. 1978 FB wax tray, 1979 FB wax tray, 2 1980 FB racks. A few minutes later, another guy stopped by and bought a graded 1961 Nu-Card pack. Here I go I though. Now we're talking. Folks are buying.

1:30-3:00 - Show was like a ghost town. I bet 10 folks stopped by. No sales. Checked in with the other wax guy, and he was doing just as bad.

3:00-4:00 - Show picked up just a little, but still no sales. At this point, I still hadn't covered my table fee with profit.

4:30 - At last a few more sales. A guy bought an 89 UD baseball box, and a few other guys bought some rack packs.

5:00 - Show ended. I added everything up, and made about 22% over cost on the things I sold. However, after I paid for the table, I only made a few bucks profit.

So....what were my observations:

1) This show is not the placce to sell 1980's wax. Nobody cared. The dealers with the $0.20 boxes were busy all day. Also, the dealres with the VG-EX 1950's star cards seemed to be selling a lot.

2) No matter how well organized my display was, nobody cared because I didnt have what they wanted.

3) The best part of the show was giving stuff away to the little kids.

So.........., now what? I have all these boxes and doubt I'll set up next time. Here's what I'm offering. All you folks that encouraged me, and said I'd buy from you If you were at my local show, here is your chance. I want to get rid of some of this stuff before I start ripping it. I'll offer the same deal I offered at the show (and had no takers). 1 pack each of 1980-1987 Topps Baseball Wax (I sold the 1989 UD, sorry), for $27, plus $5 for shipping. Thats just a little tad over my direct cost from BBExchange. If you bought a run like this by packs from Steve, it would be $31, plus shipping. These are the exact same packs. Call Steve and he'll tell you he sold me all the boxes (Robert Smith in Ohio). These are not tampered with. If anyone is not satisfied for any reason, Money Back guarantee. You can also add a la carte packs: 1982 Topps Baseball cello - $6, 1983 Donruss Baseball wax - $3, 1986 Topps Baseball cello - $1, 1987 Topps Baseball rack or cello - $1, 1987 Donruss Baseball wax - $1, 1989 Fleer Baseball Rack - $2, 1987 Topps Football wax - $2, 1989 Fleer basketball Wax - $2, 1989 Topps Hockey wax - $1.50, 1990 or 1991 UD Hockey foil - $1, 2001 UD Golf - $1.

Sory for the spam, but I'd love to send some of this stuff out. PM me if interested.

Live and learn, eh?

ArnyVee

Bob, I'll take one of the lots. Gotta support a fellow collector/dealer!

Too bad about the show, but at least you gave it a very nice try. Did you take any pics of the setup?

BobaFett72

I really think you got your expectations up too high for your first show. It's good to have old stuff, but you need to balance it with some new product. You also paid PREMIUM prices for your old wax, correct? Your price point puts you at an immediate disadvantage with folks who paid a lot less and are more flexible with their pricing on vintage stuff.

You spent a TON of money! $3,000 bucks. I think you could have gotten the same experience for HALF what you paid lol.

Don't give your stuff away, do some Ebay auctions, do some BST on here. You obviously have good product from a reputable and reliable source. Sadly the good ol' days of card shows have come and gone.

I set up at shows from 1987-1990 and did a flea market from 1990-1994 on the weekends. The glory days, wax packs for 50 cents, until Upper Deck stormed the market in 1989, I bought 3 cases from them direct, tripled my money over the course of three shows; Of course I also bought 5 cases of 1991 score (one is still sitting in storage) You win some you lose some, but the key was getting the product at cost.

You might try seeking out old collections, selling them on commission, or outright purchase then resell the choice pieces.

best of luck.

leo

vintagetoppsguy

Bob,

I would give it one more shot before giving up. Since there were obviously two sources for wax at the show, you and the other guy probably split the sales. Let him be the one to give up. Maybe if he's not there next time, you could double your sales!

I say stick with it and maybe buy the other guy out. He may be frustrated and sell it to you at a really good price!

If you do decide to sell off, you didn't mention anything about your graded material. Would you keep that, re-sell it or bust it open?

mtcards

I used to set up at shows in the "glory days" before ebay started up. I can remember shows where I paid $40 for a table and sold $400 worth of cheap stuff, not bad for a guy making $6 hour at the time at my regular job. I can also remember shows like the one you were talking about, where I set up and sold only a enough to cover my expenses with a little profit. It sometimes can be hit or miss.

The biggest problem can be attributed to ebay and the proliferation of online sales. Honestly, would you go to a show to buy packs from someone you dont know or would you buy them from someone online from someone you dont know for less? Plus many people also know about bbcexchange and others who sell reputable stuff.

cuse

I'll start by saying, I never dealt much on your side of the hobby(unopened modern stuff). However, when shows are slow, look to buy. Chances are other dealers are slow too. Like sports , exploit the weaknesses of your opponents. That's my spin on how to make a positive on a slow show.

TheCARDKid

The only time I set up at a show was when I was 12 (back in those glory days).

Little dinky 25 table show set up in a gym, at a park 5 minutes from my house. I split the $20 or $30 table fee with a friend. We layed out a bunch of doubles and duplicates (the hot stuff being 88 Donruss Mark Grace's). I dont even remember what we sold (if anything).

Your advantage at a show (vs online)...

-Walk in material. Someone may come in with material they want to sell right now, that they need the cash for.
-Leads for collections.
-Maybe get email addresses or work with collectors in some way, developing a relationship.
-Or you need really low costs.

I wouldnt give up too quickly. It can take awhile to build up a following.

BobS

A few things.

Yes, I did pay a premium for the boxes from BBExchange. But I wanted legit stuff. Even with the premium, I "would have" cleared 10-20% by selling packs. I didn't buy full boxes to flip.

Thanks for all the other ideas, but I'm not looking to become a full time show dealer. I have a nice job already, and was just doing this for fun. Of coarse I set my expectations too high, but come on - $30 for a run of every 80's topps baseball pack an an 89UD pack. I saw plenty of folks spending three times that on 1 new product box, get nothing, and do it all over again. THAT, I do not understand.

Anyway, I have no intentions of buying the other guy out. He's a pretty serious wax dealer (set up at the national), and like I said, I just don't think the market is in our favor for this kind of stuff.

I did spend a ton of money, but over half is in graded packs that I researched for a while and bought on the low end of the going rate. To answer one of the questions, maybe I'll hold on to them, maybe I'll make a post on the BST.

All in all, it was fun and if I still have the stuff sitting around by the next show, chances are I may set up (a table is $50). It only takes a few hundred in sales to clear a little profit after the table fee like what happened yesterday), and It sure was a lot more fun than doing yard work for the wife. Also, maybe the folks I did sell to will be back next time, with more $$.

God, I have a problem.

drewsef

if you had fun doing it, I think you should keep doing them as you want to. Look at it this way, you paid for your table and learned alot of lessons in the process. My next step would be to get in good with the local dealers doing the shows and try to find the best hookups on some quantity insert and star player cards that will sell for 5 for a buck and use those to draw in even more people to check out your wax deals.

Stone193

Bob

I'm sorry about the way it worked out - but as other's have said - it's an experience.

I used to set up in the early 90s when ya could sell modern and vintage singles to people trying to complete parallel sets like the 92L black card set and popular sets from the 70s and 80s.

I did it with my son - so we had a great time and met a lot of nice people.

I know with ebay it's a tougher thing to do - but if ya had a good time and can afford it? It's a great way to spend an afternoon and talk sports cards and stuff.

Good luck in the future if ya decide to give it go again?
mike

lilmule

I went to the show today, actually I was talking to a couple of dealers if they were message board members and they were not I was looking for you. I knew you were part of the message boards and it was your first time doing this, So I was going to have some fun. Were you there today and where were you set up at?

TomGshotput

Take a lesson from the people who did move stuff a whole lot of stuff

The quarter and under boxes are always great, because no matter what you care about you can almost always find something for the right price. Every collector has found cheap cards that they look at for a few minutes twice a year. For a few coins, that's better spent money than anything. So why should people move into the dollar levels?

For the 50s and 60s mid-grade cards most people see that even a hall-of-fame player from those years costs as much as a pack of cards with contents similar to the dime box (having the price sticker for close to full book value then put in a box for 70% off usually helps too)

You can take solace in the fact that to price cards to move often comes with a negative return on investment. But you weren't doing this as an investment were you?

alnavman

Sorry you didn't have much success Bob. I wanted to stop down but as I told ya my mother had her hip replaced and there were some complications and I couldn't come down.....she's gotten better but I just didn't want to make the drive down on Saturday. I'll help you out and buy one of the 80's pack packages. PM me with your paypal id and the total amount with shipping and I'll purchase one. Or send me your address if you don't accept paypal.

al.

BobS

Mule - nope, I only set up on Saturday. Sorry I missed ya.

Al and Arny - PM's sent.

Everyone else, I posted on the BST board if anyone is interested.

Linky-do

ArnyVee

PM back 'atcha

muchuckwagon

I did pass by on Saturday and looked at your table....it was a nice set-up with the sell sheets outlining the key pulls from each year. You were well organized.....I was hoping you would do well.

In general, I thought it was a good idea....but I had some doubts since product from the 80's is not very desirable today. I have been going to that show for 3 - 4 years and it always seems like people buy cards at $1 or under.....and some wax of current releases. It really is a nickle and dime type of show.

I was surprised to see the dealer with all the wax cases....his prices were ok but he did admit to being "stuck" with some of those late 80's cases....never to recoup his investment.

I plan to do the next show....selling graded cards and a side box with $1-2 game used / $3-5 autographs.

I would think a "run" of 80's wax packs would sell well around the holidays on eBay. I would sit on the cards until November and start running auctions. You might consider some special holiday "box".....something as simple as printing a label from your home printer for the box to give it a holiday gift look rather than just being a handful of loose packs.

Good luck!

BobS

Muck -

You should have stopped by and said hi. Oh well.

Good luck setting up next time. If I decide to do it, we can probably get two tables next to each other. A note of interest. I have talked to a few dealers over the years at this show and some of them have a pretty good litlle thing going. They buy nice vintage HOF PSA 5's off EBAY, crack em' out and sell them raw at the show for about 1/2 book price. For instance, I saw one guy who had a nice EX Banks from the 50's (can't remember which one). He said he paid $55 for it on E-bay, cracked it out, listed it as a $250 book price and was selling it for $100. He sold it in the first hour. May want to try this if your going to have any raw HOF'ers too.

bifff257

Hey Bob,

Sorry your first go around did not go very well... I think you did learn a great deal from the experience I am sure.




<< <i> They buy nice vintage HOF PSA 5's off EBAY, crack em' out and sell them raw at the show for about 1/2 book price. >>




Oh yes, there are also a number of sellers on Ebay with this Business practice. They just fail to mention the flaw that got the card in a PSA 3-4-5 holder the first time around.

BobS

Biff - The PSA 5 to raw business model is perfect for this show. There are still an aweful lot of folks that can't imagine spending the premium for graded cards around here, so everyone is looking for the nice raw ones. If you're building a nice EX-NM raw set, those broken out PSA 5's do fit in very nicely. In fact, some of my 50's sets have several cards purchased from this show. I wonder how many were at one time graded?

thedutymon

Bob,
PM me and I'll take a lot. Can I just Paypal ya? I'll also take 2 each 87 Football wax, so figure total $36.00 Yes?
Thanks
Neil

nduty@cordillerametro.org

BobS

Neil - your PM function isn't turned on, so I sent ya' an e-mail

To everyone else that showed an interest in a lot, thanks guys. Hopefully a few nice pulls will come your way (and maybe a few "bonus" items also).