G.A.tor

No union or teamsters here in the se. It is a lot of work. Ask dale Roberts or Greg Reece etc.

Depends on venue Orlando we stay with my father in law. So no additional hotel costs. In sdcc it costs $2000+ just in hotel costs. As does NYcc. Heroes con in nc runs us about $500 in hotels. We drive to se shows but fly to all others. Some shows we have to ship our books. Every shows costs are different.

I use bubble wrap to fill air space. Like folks to have room to shop!

It's standard for us

Great thread, Rick. Thank you. In this pic, you have raw books facing into the booth on the far left, do you put anything behind them facing other direction such as store signage, cheap books or do people just see the backs of the books facing in? Is the PVC holding your banner just zip tied to the gridwall? We actually clip animated cels on the exposed grid. That way we utilize the display space Yep, just 3 zip ties per pvc pole

Would also like to know this Sorry. Missed this. 1-I don't really. Most of what I sell I don't have the margins to discount to allow a dealer to resell. There are always exceptions but I don't really sell much to other resellers. 2-I do alter my material based on venue. This is generally learned from experience...no real "data" out there other than experience setting up 3-our store is there for our customers. We are happy breaking even. Cons are fun...my wife likes to travel, I really enjoy meeting with and see new and old friends, and yes, I generally make a fair profit

I don't sell on line via our site and I doubt setting up at a con generates any business for my store... its just an avenue to meet new people, visit diff cities and sell some books!

afraid not...

or that two (or was it three+) men drank all of it and only needed a single bathroom break during the day? that sounds a little like torture for your bladder. Price one pays.

Since my avg wall book is 2k and my avg raw is $75, it's probably 50:1

So I clicked on it and apparently I'm the video still

given my sometimes limited margins, I need my expenses to be less than 5% of sales, or I am doomed... other dealers recommendation were my initial factor and then results determine whether I return...

I don't use either, really...I buy a bigger book and mark up 7-10% if the market will bear...a lot of times my purchase price is the gpa recorded sale ( I bought at auction, etc) but I have decided this year I'm going with the "book is priced to sell" mentality... in other words, my bottom line price is already on the book, no negotiations nec... I realize that some folks like the "win" scenario, but I'm ok leaving some meat off the bone to realize "my" needed price...and don't have to waste time bartering back and forth... a couple of examples from last week that was indicative... I was attractively priced on an AF15....there was another in the room, same grade, that wasn't as visually appealing and was priced 15% more... the customer offered me 15% less on my copy, even though I had told him "that's the price I will sell it for"....he walked away, came back an hour later, and purchased at my sticker...quoting that the other dealer was willing to give him a 10% discount.... but, after some discovery, as mentioned ,the other dealer was 15% priced higher, and copy wasn't as nice, so I was still considerably the better deal... I told him I could mark my copy up 10% and then discount 10%, but that seems like a waste of time to me... ultimately he understood and was happy... another customer purchased a $75 book from me...there were multiples in the room priced no lower than $100.... he proceeded to ask me what I could do for him...I told him it is $75... he was like, "no discount"? and again, as he was aware, I told him I am already 25% cheaper than everyone else, how much more did he want me to discount... he then proceeded to hand me $75 so I think my pricing model is going to take some time for folks to get used to, but it is a good model for me that's a great model. Haggling is over rated. Do you have any signage letting customers know that the price marked is the best price? also-- what about people who try to bundle fa few books to see if they can get a little break? I'm assuming you say no to that. yes, I had some small signs on my raw that price is firm/as marked (just on the $500 and under books, as 7-10% is not enough margin to "negotiate"... now, on the bigger $ books, a single purchase is at sticker...if someone bundles multiple books together that it makes sense to work a little on the price, and I have the margin, then of course, I will try... that actually did happen with one customer...he bought more than 25K worth of books, and a few of them I did have more than my normal 7-10% margin so I reduced for him... ultimately, my goal is that in any sale, if both parties are not happy, then it is not a sale worth doing...

it is approx. 200 yards, give or take...and it is 8-10 loads there and back, depending...takes about 2 man hours just to unload and walk and another 1-2 hours at least to set up... Have you ever tried using interns to help? Not college credit types-- but other potential dealers who are trying to get a feel for how it all works etc? Maybe throw them a decent book for the effort if they bust arse. (not that I am trying to get this type of situation-- that looks somewhat painful). we always have at least 3 folks helping us at each con....that's no issue...it's just logistically only way we can do what we do...

I don't use either, really...I buy a bigger book and mark up 7-10% if the market will bear...a lot of times my purchase price is the gpa recorded sale ( I bought at auction, etc) but I have decided this year I'm going with the "book is priced to sell" mentality... in other words, my bottom line price is already on the book, no negotiations nec... I realize that some folks like the "win" scenario, but I'm ok leaving some meat off the bone to realize "my" needed price...and don't have to waste time bartering back and forth... a couple of examples from last week that was indicative... I was attractively priced on an AF15....there was another in the room, same grade, that wasn't as visually appealing and was priced 15% more... the customer offered me 15% less on my copy, even though I had told him "that's the price I will sell it for"....he walked away, came back an hour later, and purchased at my sticker...quoting that the other dealer was willing to give him a 10% discount.... but, after some discovery, as mentioned ,the other dealer was 15% priced higher, and copy wasn't as nice, so I was still considerably the better deal... I told him I could mark my copy up 10% and then discount 10%, but that seems like a waste of time to me... ultimately he understood and was happy... another customer purchased a $75 book from me...there were multiples in the room priced no lower than $100.... he proceeded to ask me what I could do for him...I told him it is $75... he was like, "no discount"? and again, as he was aware, I told him I am already 25% cheaper than everyone else, how much more did he want me to discount... he then proceeded to hand me $75 so I think my pricing model is going to take some time for folks to get used to, but it is a good model for me

it is approx. 200 yards, give or take...and it is 8-10 loads there and back, depending...takes about 2 man hours just to unload and walk and another 1-2 hours at least to set up...

we bought a double endcap...10x20

I bought the heavy duty van...can carry 5000 pounds... the gridwall set up is 800 pounds...we usually have 400 pounds of passengers...cgc boxes are about 800 pounds so I can take about 3000 pounds of long boxes, or 51-60 depending...I can fit 3x6 rows, 3 high (or 56) and a few on the side for support... I wasn't very clear. I meant the weight you had stacked on top of the longboxes. we have long boxes stacked 6+ high in our warehouse... 3 high is nothing

I borrow the cheaper pvc racks from folks and fedex CGC books to my hotel and fly in...

I bought the heavy duty van...can carry 5000 pounds... the gridwall set up is 800 pounds...we usually have 400 pounds of passengers...cgc boxes are about 800 pounds so I can take about 3000 pounds of long boxes, or 51-60 depending...I can fit 3x6 rows, 3 high (or 56) and a few on the side for support...

our goal is to sell 20% of our long boxes...we usually hit 15% or so

virtually none...at megacon, I got 1 break a day to use restroom, and only got a brief walk around room...no time for shopping at all

It's so much easier going to shows to buy! indeed

it is done that way intentionally...for a couple of reasons if you notice on the cheaper books, I price on the left, where prices can readily be seen..they are "cheap"...but, on the higher end , I cover up so that: 1)folks that have no clue, have no clue of $ amount I have there (and that is, unfortunately, the majority of folks that attend cons) 2)folks that do have a clue, are invited into the booth to peruse and it "forces" them to look at the books versus just the pricing... most folks know I pride myself on stocking sa and ga they are visually more appealing than the avg book for a grade (like no marvel chipping ,etc).... so, I might be priced higher than "gpa" or whatever, but for good reason... when one looks at the book, they can then see that the price is warranted for that particular copy

Boing! Great stuff. Do you think it's better to display 10 copies of Strange Tales 110 or just a couple grades? If I wanted one I would post-it note your booth for later on since you're probably not selling them all. Rather than thinking I better buy-it-now or lose out since you only have 2 copies... Your way is super impressive looking though I actually sold multiple copies...they are all different grades and diff prices, so I like to have multiples on display to let folks know I can accommodate their needs...I have boxes under the tables with many more copies than what is displayed... but if I were to only display 2, for example, a 4.0 and a 8.0 and someone was looking for a 6.0, they might not inquire if I have more and that could be a lost sale...