Is it still possible to become a part time dealer?

smtjoy · #1 10-19-2015, 02:57 PM

I have helped build my collection for years doing this. 10 years ago I found that many times cards I desired were in lots with many cards I didnt need or want. I decided to bid aggressively but always had a max amount on anything. These lots started in the $100-500 range but over time and added savings these have been up to 10k+. I can say that 80% after selloff have ended at breakeven or above, most of the negatives were when I bid above my max chasing that hard to get card lol should have know better. These have come from most auction houses, my best deals have come from ebay, REA and H&S.

Some tips that really helped me-

Have a niche- an area where you are the expert and because of this knowledge you can separate the good deals from the bad.

Know sales values- You have to know what a card will sell for at auction as well as from BIN's, past eBay sales and VCP are very important, also know to cancel out the sketchy sales from Probstein, PWCC, etc that can inflate a true price.

Learn to maximize value- Learn the best way to sell your cards to maximize the value- eBay, AH's, eBay BIN's, Private Sale. This one is tough as each has their upsides. On hot cards or highest graded, 1/1 type I like to .99 auction on ebay the lower value (less than $200) and the more valuable to an AH. On scarce cards with few to none for sale on ebay, I like to first list card on ebay as an auction at the price I feel the value is at based on my bidding value I used to purchase said card (I get a chance for a bidding war but will not lose if no bidders). If it sells great, if not then I list as a BIN and let it ride in my store, I find they will sell over time you just have to have patience 3-5 years worth. On scarce cards where im not sure there will be two bidders I try to avoid AH's, I find they will sell low mainly because the one collector bidding will win them one bid increment above the dealer floor (most dealers bid on good lots, this is where having your niche pays off as you have a better idea on value vs a dealer that sells everything and is not an expert). I have had great luck on private sales, most of these came from buyers reaching out to me, either thru ebay, net54 or registries.

Set a max and stick to it- since you are doing this to grow your collection, you must take a business approach vs a personal "I got to have this card" approach. Passing on bad deals is a must and will happen a lot more than good buys, for me I always took it as a challenge to make good decisions.

PolarBear · #2 10-19-2015, 06:16 PM

No, I'm sorry. It is no longer possible.

Republicaninmass · #3 10-19-2015, 06:23 PM

It takes A LOT of time and effort. Listing, shipping, posting, scanning, etc. It takes dedication, just like any other job.

insccollectibles · #4 10-19-2015, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Republicaninmass

It takes A LOT of time and effort. Listing, shipping, posting, scanning, etc. It takes dedication, just like any other job.

great comment.

swarmee · #5 10-19-2015, 09:21 PM

Hence my suggestion for COMC. Pay them a fee, they do it for you and it gets crosslisted on Amazon and they take care of the shipping.

Luke · #6 10-20-2015, 12:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swarmee

Hence my suggestion for COMC. Pay them a fee, they do it for you and it gets crosslisted on Amazon and they take care of the shipping.

John, do you know of anyone who has had success doing this? I've only searched comc.com a few times, but the vintage prices were so ridiculous that I couldn't imagine anyone selling anything. I haven't seen even 1 t206 that was priced close enough to make me stop and think about it. Is it a site that might work if you're selling post-war, but not so much for pre-war?

GehrigFan · #7 10-20-2015, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LukeLyon

John, do you know of anyone who has had success doing this? I've only searched comc.com a few times, but the vintage prices were so ridiculous that I couldn't imagine anyone selling anything. I haven't seen even 1 t206 that was priced close enough to make me stop and think about it. Is it a site that might work if you're selling post-war, but not so much for pre-war?

This is true for pre-war cards on COMC (post-war vintage tends to *usually* be priced better). However, this also can work to your advantage if you price your cards fairly. Because so many of the sellers on there overprice their vintage cards, the fairly priced vintage cards tend to sell fairly quickly. Their service is extremely valuable if you just don't have the time to scan, list and ship your cards.

Mark

Jantz · #8 10-19-2015, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Republicaninmass

It takes A LOT of time and effort. Listing, shipping, posting, scanning, etc. It takes dedication, just like any other job.

+1

It also takes A LOT of people skills.

Here is one example:

Customer stacks up close to 30 HOF autographed cards (from packs) and asks for a price.
My answer - How about $475
Customer reply - How am I supposed to make money selling them on Ebay at those prices?
My reply - (censored)

glchen · #9 10-20-2015, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smtjoy

I have helped build my collection for years doing this. 10 years ago I found that many times cards I desired were in lots with many cards I didnt need or want. I decided to bid aggressively but always had a max amount on anything. These lots started in the $100-500 range but over time and added savings these have been up to 10k+. I can say that 80% after selloff have ended at breakeven or above, most of the negatives were when I bid above my max chasing that hard to get card lol should have know better. These have come from most auction houses, my best deals have come from ebay, REA and H&S.

Some tips that really helped me-

Have a niche- an area where you are the expert and because of this knowledge you can separate the good deals from the bad.

Know sales values- You have to know what a card will sell for at auction as well as from BIN's, past eBay sales and VCP are very important, also know to cancel out the sketchy sales from Probstein, PWCC, etc that can inflate a true price.

Learn to maximize value- Learn the best way to sell your cards to maximize the value- eBay, AH's, eBay BIN's, Private Sale. This one is tough as each has their upsides. On hot cards or highest graded, 1/1 type I like to .99 auction on ebay the lower value (less than $200) and the more valuable to an AH. On scarce cards with few to none for sale on ebay, I like to first list card on ebay as an auction at the price I feel the value is at based on my bidding value I used to purchase said card (I get a chance for a bidding war but will not lose if no bidders). If it sells great, if not then I list as a BIN and let it ride in my store, I find they will sell over time you just have to have patience 3-5 years worth. On scarce cards where im not sure there will be two bidders I try to avoid AH's, I find they will sell low mainly because the one collector bidding will win them one bid increment above the dealer floor (most dealers bid on good lots, this is where having your niche pays off as you have a better idea on value vs a dealer that sells everything and is not an expert). I have had great luck on private sales, most of these came from buyers reaching out to me, either thru ebay, net54 or registries.

Set a max and stick to it- since you are doing this to grow your collection, you must take a business approach vs a personal "I got to have this card" approach. Passing on bad deals is a must and will happen a lot more than good buys, for me I always took it as a challenge to make good decisions.

I think this is really good advice here. Scott also had good advice on this topic from a similar thread a few years ago: Link

1952boyntoncollector · #10 10-20-2015, 07:35 AM

Buy every 1952 Topps Baritrome .................

Rich Klein · #11 10-20-2015, 10:41 AM

Simple Answer is of course you can do this. Long answer is dependent on what you want to do as a dealer and why

vintagetoppsguy · #12 10-20-2015, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

Simple Answer is of course you can do this. Long answer is dependent on what you want to do as a dealer and why

Finally, some good advice.

In the initial post the OP says he wants to "earn a little extra money" and everybody chimed in with ideas, but nobody asked any questions. The first question I would have asked is, "What is a 'little extra money' to you"? $100 a month? $500 a month? $1000 a month?

For example, if you only want to earn an extra $100 a month, then you don't need to put in 3-4 hours a day as previously suggested. Then again, if you want to make an extra $2000 a month, 3-4 hours a day is probably about right.

As Richard stated, the first thing you need to do is determine what you want to do as a dealer ($) and go from there.

batkidiii · #13 10-20-2015, 10:06 PM

You know? I have no expectations right now about how much extra I would like to earn. I want to start slow and see where it takes me. I love vintage and would like to be more involved in the hobby. I think any profit I could possibly make would be small at first, and I would simply roll it back into another batch of cards. I really just want to get my wet feet and take it easy.
Everyone here has been so helpful. I cannot express my gratitude enough.

Byron

Leon · #14 10-22-2015, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by batkidiii

You know? I have no expectations right now about how much extra I would like to earn. I want to start slow and see where it takes me. I love vintage and would like to be more involved in the hobby. I think any profit I could possibly make would be small at first, and I would simply roll it back into another batch of cards. I really just want to get my wet feet and take it easy.
Everyone here has been so helpful. I cannot express my gratitude enough.

Byron

Hey Byron
Good luck with it. Most of us started smaller and got more into it. The great thing about this hobby is you can do what makes you happy with respect to all aspects of it, collecting or dare I say "investing"? It's usually best to go into things slowly and surely. We look forward to some updates..

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