A conversation with a couple veteran dealers at a card show

clydepepper · #1 02-20-2017, 08:41 PM

It wasn't stated that he was a successful dealer for the last 30 years, just was a dealer for the last 30.

Now, you may say that he must be successful if he has lasted 30 years. Probably true, but don't discount the possibility that someone exists who deals for other reasons than making money.

He may have enjoyed your conversation more than you did.

Who's to say that on a particular day that he does not sell even one card, such an interaction may be his highlight and he's satisfied. Takes all kinds.
.

BearBailey · #2 02-20-2017, 09:41 PM

I think this is a perfect example of a generational gap, and for some people he is correct, but for just as many if not more people they would only buy off eBay and would never go to a show. There are also people like my self who go to the national or the philly show or chantilly 1-3 times total per year and buy the rest off of eBay or from scd or from dealers they have bought from for years. The only local Card show is at our mall every year, I go every year and haven't bought a single item from it in more than 5 years. In this great hobby it takes all kinds, we all take different paths but doesn't necessarily mean 1 is right and 1 is wrong, sometimes it's best to agree to disagree and move on.

Leon · #3 02-21-2017, 08:09 AM

No doubt ebay has taken away from shows and LCS's in general. I still set up at local shows and compete with Iphones on ebay as a normal situation. I usually do pretty good because I get my pricing from completed ebay sales. I know what I have and what can be had for more or less. Information is key.

And I agree about his success too. I am guessing the guy is successful in his own mind and that is all that matters to him. Good for him....we'll keep moving on now...

steve B · #4 02-21-2017, 12:00 PM

Having hung out at a lot of shops for different hobbies I've learned a little about what things look like from a dealers view.
So here's my take on things as a somewhat older collector. (Figure 40 years come September....I'll have to celebrate somehow!)

The time when they started was right during the big boom of the late 80's. Anyone starting then who survived has some idea what they're doing. I'd estimate that somewhere over 95% probably closer to 99% of stores and maybe 70-80% of dealers have folded up since then, Most of them in the mid -late 90's.

Inventory control in a hobby related business is really the key. Both control of how much is bought and what is bought, and in what's sold how quickly.

Some stuff is easily bought for very little, and should be moved along quickly.
Other things are harder to come by at a really good price, and those should be sold a bit more slowly.
A show dealer also has to have the right sort of stuff on display to attract buyers. Specializing is very helpful. I tried a couple times as a very generalized dealer and didn't do enough to keep trying. With no clear display of what I was about people were confused, and even if they stopped I didn't have a whole lot of whatever their particular interest was.
A shop has more overhead and has to be a bit more careful. The one local one that's still around doesn't do much really old stuff, and is really diverse, comics, pennants, whatever sells. They also move inventory very quickly once they see the demand shrink. One day I stopped in right after Curtis Martin went to the Jets. They were removing all of his cards from the showcase, plus packing up all the ones not in the case. Pre-Ebay they'd sold the whole inventory to a NY area dealer. Good move, they immediately moved what would soon be unsaleable inventory, and the NY guy got an instant inventory of what just became popular locally. (They're quite active on ebay now)

Small Ebay dealers can work more like that, buying stuff for nearly retail and moving it within a week or so with nearly no overhead. And since what they sell is searchable, there's no need to keep attractive inventory on hand to draw customers, just a constant stream of new stuff.

From the flip side, a good dealer either in a shop or at a show will usually have some knowledge about what they're selling. And a mindset that can take the answer to "Hi what do you collect" and pick out stuff from their inventory that might fit and that might not be on display or might be missed in a larger inventory.
They can -and should - also suggest other sort of related things to collect.
The really really good dealers can help guide a collectors collecting and collection to be a much better collection. Often by pointing out a special item that might not even be theirs.
They can also convey a lot more information about cards and sets that a buyer might not know.

When I was starting I wanted a T206, but was a bit too cheap to spring the 1.50 for a typical common. One day I went to the shop and they said "hey Steve we set a card aside for you" A T206! And horribly beat. but only .20!
A bit later they gave me a really beat P2 for free. After I moved away I came back to visit and shop while visiting friends. And was surprised they still had a box in the back room with my name on it. (Where a bit of interesting but largely unsaleable to anyone but me stuff ended up)

Sadly, not all dealers are like that. It's one reason so many washed out in the post 94 time period. Many of them were underfunded, and chasing product to have all the new stuff even if they lost money overall. And many of them didn't even know what something was if it wasn't in Beckett.

Steve B

1952boyntoncollector · #5 02-21-2017, 01:52 PM

Its a hobby to him, not a business. Some people will pay for something right there on the spot as an impulse for a higher price then wait for the mail and risk not liking the card and having to return it.

Ive seen sellers in this hobby get a first offer and argue with the potential buyer that the offer price was waaay to low and then when they decide to sell the card and cant find anyone to offer as much as the first offer guy just sell the card for less to the second guy because of pride.

Snapolit1 · #6 02-21-2017, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1952boyntoncollector

Its a hobby to him, not a business. Some people will pay for something right there on the spot as an impulse for a higher price then wait for the mail and risk not liking the card and having to return it.

Ive seen sellers in this hobby get a first offer and argue with the potential buyer that the offer price was waaay to low and then when they decide to sell the card and cant find anyone to offer as much as the first offer guy just sell the card for less to the second guy because of pride.

Yep. Card right now on eBay was $1800 BIN or make an offer. I offered $1500 and dude came back with $1750. I rejected it is seconds as a stupid move and was done with him. It's now discounted to $1350 and I refused to buy it.

packs · #7 02-22-2017, 07:13 AM

In my experience pretty much every dealer at a show is this guy. I honestly don't think they really want to sell their cards. The concept of a show price has always baffled me. Gone are the days of only being able to buy what's in front of you. I see these types of sellers as the same people with museum collections on eBay. I think there is a big dealer population who just like displaying cards.

SAllen2556 · #8 02-22-2017, 07:13 AM

One thing for sure: selling cards is a lot trickier than buying cards. Maybe that's why there's so many auction houses these days. The guys who couldn't make it as actual dealers figured out that it makes more sense to take a cut of an auction rather than try to directly buy and sell stuff.

1952boyntoncollector · #9 02-22-2017, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Yep. Card right now on eBay was $1800 BIN or make an offer. I offered $1500 and dude came back with $1750. I rejected it is seconds as a stupid move and was done with him. It's now discounted to $1350 and I refused to buy it.

Right thats only in this hobby. If there was an item for sale at Walmart for $1800 (in theory) and i was offended by that price and was willing to offer $1500 which was reasonable to me and 2 weeks later the item was $1350 and i still wanted the item and had the same financial means as i did 2 weeks before, i happily buy the item at that cheaper that i would of paid earlier price, but in the card buying and selling hobby, its a hobby not a business for most.

clydepepper · #10 02-22-2017, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Yep. Card right now on eBay was $1800 BIN or make an offer. I offered $1500 and dude came back with $1750. I rejected it is seconds as a stupid move and was done with him. It's now discounted to $1350 and I refused to buy it.

Sounds like someone I have dealt with or rather, tried to deal with, before.

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