blazingbob

Anybody with a Ron Jeremy Logo is never in the shallow end of the pool

Didn't you just quote this above? "Besides, based on what I have seen personally over the past decade or so, Canadian collectors/dealers will pay more than US dealers do........." Yet the Local stores are offering 30-40% OSPG? Maybe this quote should have been I pay more then most collector/dealers.

Former owners of Wizard. Same business model. If you want to start something new at least pick a successful promoter business model.

Really? Did you just post that Canadian dealers pay more then US dealers?

Wow, Quite the response, Bolded, king size fonts. I heard that all the way out in Commack

This is right up there with "I'm just curious". I'm always worried that the one time they ask the question they might actually buy it

I hide them, I don't want my customers to see them unless they ask if I have any.

The S might be cool if it were Superman. Relax john, it is a nice copy

Nice

I am not really sure what the younger generation dealer is thinking and I'm not trying to come off as the elder statesman. If you want to make money in the hobby you can go it alone or you can partner with somebody who brings something to the table YOU don't. You don't have to be the BIGGEST or the CHEAPEST to make money. Your reputation is everything, it can take 5 minutes to ruin years of a good reputation. This hobby is very small and frankly you really don't want a bad reputation. I have a few partners I do deals with. They all bring something to the table. If you don't bring something to the table why would I partner with you? Put your fragile little ego aside. If you a one of those prima donna's who thinks he doesn't need anybody, think again. There is always a deal bigger then you. There is nothing more satisfying or gives you self confidence then knowing you have the capital to buy any deal. Doesn't mean you win them all but at least you get to play.

Just an fyi but I didn't exactly start out with the inventory I have now. Took years of paying my dues, buying and selling and learning. There are a number of guys out there moaning that they can't make money because all they want are home runs and think that buying keys is the way to go. Home run's are nice to have but that is not how you make money in the comic business. I was told years ago by a dealer that "I'm not in business to make you money". So if you want to build your business buying from auction houses and other dealers you should have a lot of money and work on thin margins. You also need to be right a lot more times then you can be wrong. And everyone will make mistakes.

I would have just mentioned that the higher grade was a pedigree. He could also be of the feeling that even though his copy wasn't a pedigree it still was worthy of a "premium". Which is why I also check OSPG for a pricing reference.

Grab tends to mean to me that the guy was giving them away. I don't "grab" books, I buy them and hope that the transaction is "fair" to the both of us where in the future he will sell me more books.

Wasn't exactly what I saw when I went through Glen's inventory. He has some nice books where with the discount you could make some money selling them. I didn't buy keys from him, I bought some very nice inventory stock and some cool CGC books. Grade well, price fairly and don't be afraid to discount and you can make money. Not directed at you but If you cannot make money in today's market you really don't know what you are doing.

I believe Glen had a very good show, could be the other guy he had in the booth wasn't there this year

I bought 3 magazine boxes of books.

They knew he was in the room. Claims that he spoke to Mark Fitch but Reed had enough issues then to deal with Carbo.

They will lose a lot of the national dealers if this date stands. Not sure I would recommend somebody doing "both".

Great Eastern used to run Feb/march Philly shows. Two blizzards didn't exactly go over very well as far as selling and attendance goes. Would not recommend a Philly show in that timeslot.

I've sold two 9.6 copies. I would have said that it is hard to find in 9.4 or better.

Before the piling on begins and the bad word of mouth goes lets put this show into perspective. It was the FIRST one. Reed took the date from the convention center to get their foot in the door. They are NOT that stupid to make a decision to directly compete with two major shows in 3 weeks. Their goal is to get this show into a May/June Time slot. That takes time. If you are thinking about doing this show as a dealer your business model better lean heavy towards dealer to dealer sales the first couple of years. If you business model relies on heavy traffic maybe you need to look and see where the show dates fall and if there are major shows anywhere in the region that may impact your business model. C2E2 took a few years before it became larger then Wizard Chicago. The philly market has lost a lot of comic promoters over the years, collectors just don't start running back just because a new promoter shows up. I made more money at this show then the Wizard Philly show I did last year. I won't do Wizard Philly again. If Reed doesn't schedule this show on the same weekend as another show I will do it again. I fully expect that Reed will get this show into the right time slot. When that time comes they will strongly promote the show. For this years show why would you promote a show when your flagship show is 3 weeks away? There were definitely issues with commercial vehicle load-in and load outs. Lots of angry dealers who drove that type of vehicle. Because this is a new show the convention center plays a little harder with the show then with a established show. While that would have been nice to know as a dealer you should be careful with what type of vehicle you drive to certain shows. If there is one weakness in Reed shows it is their loadouts. Consistently one of the worst when it comes to getting out. Customer attendance was not good. Show date one week after labor day and when the kids go back to school and back to college doesn't exactly put people in the "Lets buy comics mode". Traditionally this is one of the slowest months of the year for me selling wise. I had VERY LOW expectations for this show based on it being a first show and the time of the year. If you came into the show thinking that this was going to be NY Comicon or C2E2 your expectations were too high. It will take some time to build this show.

When the carrier scans the package using their handheld scanner it is recording the GPS coordinates. The post office is generally not very forthcoming with those coordinates if they lose something. Took me awhile on one package for them to admit that there was none even though the package was scanned "delivered" from a "missed you note". Seems that they left the package at another work location (Same company) a few miles away. After this incident I complete changed my shipping rules as far as work locations go since mail rooms can sign for multiple packages without the individual item being scanned. Or your package and other shippers items can be left for a person under the same "missed you" note. You also need to be very careful about signatures. Most carriers take signatures to mean "anybody". They can leave and get your package signed by a doorman, stranger on the street. The only carrier that has a "Restricted Adult" signature is the post office and they hate it. It means the only person that can sign for it is the person it is addressed to. The bottom line to ALL the carriers is to get the package out of the truck. Multiple attempts cost money, space and time. For those out there who want their packages delivered to work with a mail room. If your mail room loses it paypal considers it delivered if signed for. Especially if that is the address in the paypal payment.

You're a mean one Mr. Grinch

Actually they could qualify that part of the business as a REIT (Real estate investment trust). Create a little box of units where customers can go pick up their orders when they feel like. Much like a PO Box. Which they pay for. Air conditioning might be optional, imagine how fast those pickups would be if customers knew the books were out in the heat.

How long is CGC holding books for you when you drop them off? Would you be upset if they were charging you storage/insurance fees, additional employee costs since these are outside of the regular process?