Getting Started as a Dealer

[rob_allan]

Forgive me if this is obvious, but I've always been curious how dealers get started. How much startup capital is required? Do they start with stores first or just travel doing conventions? Where do all those books come from? And finally, what books would you need to have now to be successful?

 

Is there a formula or is a lot of it luck?

 

Would appreciate from hearing back from people that have traveled this path with some success. Unless of course answering it would be bad for business or something, in which case I can understand that too.

[THE_BEYONDER]

Buy a nice size collection on the cheap.......and start selling. Instant dealer status. (thumbs u

 

I've got 12 longboxes of $2 books to get you started....

[rob_allan]

Buy a nice size collection on the cheap.......and start selling. Instant dealer status. (thumbs u

 

Truth. Now, for the part that eludes me somewhat.

 

1. Where do you buy the collection?

2. What constitutes a "nice size"

3. Where do you sell?

 

I'm talking the path to being a dealer as your primary job.

[THE_BEYONDER]

Buy a nice size collection on the cheap.......and start selling. Instant dealer status. (thumbs u

 

Truth. Now, for the part that eludes me somewhat.

 

1. Where do you buy the collection?

2. What constitutes a "nice size"

3. Where do you sell?

 

I'm talking the path to being a dealer as your primary job.

 

 

You should talk to Pete. He may be able to get you started. (thumbs u

[thirdgreenham]

Hey Rob,

 

When I was younger, I did many conventions. I started setting up and selling when I was 17.

 

A dealer needs to have some kind of business sense. He needs to know how to bargain, getting the price he wants to pay as well as getting the price he wants to sell.

 

"Buy low, sell high" is heard over and over again, but it's true. I'll state the obvious here, in order to make money, you have to sell your products at more than what you paid for them. Keep in mind your overhead and any expenses you may incur.

 

It's nice and helps to get lucky and find a collection that you can purchase at a decent price. They don't come along very often, but with some luck, one may come your way.

 

You have to have an eye for what sells. Doing a few shows will give you this eye. Having a bit of foresight as to where the market is going would be nice as well. I'm not saying predicting the future, I'm just saying try to look ahead and guess the next hot area of collecting. I did this with Valiants and ended up making thousands.

 

There's no need to wholesale your good books as they will always be good. However, if there's something you can use the money for better than sitting in your long box, then sell it. You should have an idea of what you paid for any select item, if someone is offering more than that price, you should at least consider it. If you have any chance to move your lower-end items, do it. The is what sits and never sells. If you've figured a way to sell it, milk it for as much as you can.

 

Probably the most important part of being a dealer is to replace your sold stock with more books. Not any books, but decent books bought at a decent price. Stuff you know you will make money on. Hot titles, etc... If you're not looking long term and you just want to sell off your collection at shows, then don't worry about replacing your stock. If you're thinking to keep doing this for some time, you must reinvest most of your money into more books.

 

Often, a great amount of books and money is traded before the doors to the show even open. This is your time to run around and find the deals. You find the books that you know you can sell and you buy them for less than what the dealer's asking. This is also the time that Harley wants to cherry pick your collection for the best books at half price. Be strong and sell only the ones you feel you cannot retail for more money.

 

That's all I can think of right now, Rob. Best of luck to you! (thumbs u

 

Andy

[rob_allan]

Buy a nice size collection on the cheap.......and start selling. Instant dealer status. (thumbs u

 

Truth. Now, for the part that eludes me somewhat.

 

1. Where do you buy the collection?

2. What constitutes a "nice size"

3. Where do you sell?

 

I'm talking the path to being a dealer as your primary job.

 

 

You should talk to Pete. He may be able to get you started. (thumbs u

 

Truth. Maybe he'll be around today. SOMEONE has left me a beautiful book there I need to pick up.

 

-Rob-

[rob_allan]

Hey Rob,

 

When I was younger, I did many conventions. I started setting up and selling when I was 17.

 

A dealer needs to have some kind of business sense. He needs to know how to bargain, getting the price he wants to pay as well as getting the price he wants to sell.

 

"Buy low, sell high" is heard over and over again, but it's true. I'll state the obvious here, in order to make money, you have to sell your products at more than what you paid for them. Keep in mind your overhead and any expenses you may incur.

 

It's nice and helps to get lucky and find a collection that you can purchase at a decent price. They don't come along very often, but with some luck, one may come your way.

 

You have to have an eye for what sells. Doing a few shows will give you this eye. Having a bit of foresight as to where the market is going would be nice as well. I'm not saying predicting the future, I'm just saying try to look ahead and guess the next hot area of collecting. I did this with Valiants and ended up making thousands.

 

There's no need to wholesale your good books as they will always be good. However, if there's something you can use the money for better than sitting in your long box, then sell it. You should have an idea of what you paid for any select item, if someone is offering more than that price, you should at least consider it. If you have any chance to move your lower-end items, do it. The is what sits and never sells. If you've figured a way to sell it, milk it for as much as you can.

 

Probably the most important part of being a dealer is to replace your sold stock with more books. Not any books, but decent books bought at a decent price. Stuff you know you will make money on. Hot titles, etc... If you're not looking long term and you just want to sell off your collection at shows, then don't worry about replacing your stock. If you're thinking to keep doing this for some time, you must reinvest most of your money into more books.

 

Often, a great amount of books and money is traded before the doors to the show even open. This is your time to run around and find the deals. You find the books that you know you can sell and you buy them for less than what the dealer's asking. This is also the time that Harley wants to cherry pick your collection for the best books at half price. Be strong and sell only the ones you feel you cannot retail for more money.

 

That's all I can think of right now, Rob. Best of luck to you! (thumbs u

 

Andy

 

This is sound. Thanks very much. I've watched Harley do his thing a couple of times. He amazes me in some respects.

[THE_BEYONDER]

Buy a nice size collection on the cheap.......and start selling. Instant dealer status. (thumbs u

 

Truth. Now, for the part that eludes me somewhat.

 

1. Where do you buy the collection?

2. What constitutes a "nice size"

3. Where do you sell?

 

I'm talking the path to being a dealer as your primary job.

 

 

You should talk to Pete. He may be able to get you started. (thumbs u

 

Truth. Maybe he'll be around today. SOMEONE has left me a beautiful book there I need to pick up.

 

-Rob-

 

[THE_BEYONDER]

Keep in mind that putting your dealer hat on may very well change your views about collecting, and possibly spoil some of the fun that this hobby now offers you as a collector.

[ft88]

There's no such thing as "a dealer". IMO, that's a bad start in mindset. There are two things. How do you serve customers and how do you make a profit. One thing I would do is take 6 months to teach yourself everything required to get an MBA. Google: "30 books for an MBA" or something like that and read each one 2 or three times. You just gave yourself an otherwise $50,000 education that way.

 

There's too much to all this to answer in a quick post. You can be a dealer just by selling a few comics on ebay. But as my entrepreneur prof once said, there are two things to starting and running a business - fat margins and sales growth.

 

So basically you need to buy inventory for 50-60 cents on the dollar and be able to sell enough to support your time etc. So dealer in what? Manga, toys, statues, new books, old books, internet business, what? Who are your customers. High end, bulk buyers, individual collectors? What venue do you want to do and are capable of doing? Conventions, stores, ebay, flea markets? All can be successful to a certain degree. You laugh at the flea markets idea? It's viable if you can hire some high schoolers across the country and supply them with inventory and set up an incentive structure that makes sense.

That's only one idea of many.

 

Ed

[MR.COMICBOOK]

Keep in mind that putting your dealer hat on may very well change your views about collecting, and possibly spoil some of the fun that this hobby now offers you as a collector.

That is really quite true plus don`t fall in love with your stock. Some collectors/dealers fall in love with thier stock and then make bad business decisions.

[thirdgreenham]

I forgot to mention how important it is how you treat your customers, and treating them all equally. (thumbs u

 

Andy

[THE_BEYONDER]

Top notch grading & resto detection skills are also a must.

[G.A.tor]

the biggest factor i would think, would be the funds to make "the" purchase (any good deal that might approach you)...

 

nothing worse than someone offering you a book(s) that you know are a good/great deal, but not having the funds to purchase...so, my biggest recommendation, get a HUGE LOC (line of credit) if you don't have the cash...that will go a long way to assisting you

[THE_BEYONDER]

the biggest factor i would think, would be the funds to make "the" purchase (any good deal that might approach you)...

 

nothing worse than someone offering you a book(s) that you know are a good/great deal, but not having the funds to purchase...so, my biggest recommendation, get a HUGE LOC (line of credit) if you don't have the cash...that will go a long way to assisting you

 

(thumbs u

 

Purchase power is key. I've missed a few great opportunities because I didn't have the funds to pull the trigger.

[G.A.tor]

the biggest factor i would think, would be the funds to make "the" purchase (any good deal that might approach you)...

 

nothing worse than someone offering you a book(s) that you know are a good/great deal, but not having the funds to purchase...so, my biggest recommendation, get a HUGE LOC (line of credit) if you don't have the cash...that will go a long way to assisting you

 

(thumbs u

 

Purchase power is key. I've missed a few great opportunities because I didn't have the funds to pull the trigger.

Purchase Power, I like that (thumbs u

[Foolkiller]

the biggest factor i would think, would be the funds to make "the" purchase (any good deal that might approach you)...

 

nothing worse than someone offering you a book(s) that you know are a good/great deal, but not having the funds to purchase...so, my biggest recommendation, get a HUGE LOC (line of credit) if you don't have the cash...that will go a long way to assisting you

 

(thumbs u

 

Purchase power is key. I've missed a few great opportunities because I didn't have the funds to pull the trigger.

Purchase Power, I like that (thumbs u

 

I totally agree with the purchasing power comment. I've picked up some sweet small collections (200-1000 books) recently through two major connections: local comic shops and dealers who are looking to move stock in bulk that they've long made money on.

 

In the first instance, I've left many cards at comic shops and made many successful deals on purchasing collections after they've bought the books for pennies on the dollar and I am able to then pay about 25 or 30 cents on the dollar and the store gets some quick needed cash and I get some nice collections. Once you "flash the cash" you start getting the calls immediately.

 

As for the second, I've spent thousands, in some cases tens of thousands of dollars with certain dealers and during that time, some have offered left over pieces of collections that they've never looked at or have no desire to process. In some cases, this has resulted in picking up some incredibly high grade bronze age collections of core Marvel/DC titles. Easy dealer stock there as well, with books to slab and a large quantity to put out and flip. Of course, in the instances where this happened, I have thus far held on to the books because they were too nice to part with... but if I was a "dealer" I could not do that

 

Either are the avenues I've had success with. Also though, you could advertise in a weekly circular etc., as I know other friends who have had some success finding decent inventory through that route.

[moonlite]

Given your other thread, I would think this would be difficult to do right now with the economy. However, I do not know where you live or the market there.

 

I started as a "dealer" as some may say at the age of 16. My father has been dealing in collectibles since the 60's or before. He started out in coins and transitioned to militaria (since he was in the military and traveled the world). He got me into the latter when I was a kid as a way to earn some dough. He gave me a bunch of stuff and then gave me a list of where to buy what from and said "have had it" (he was never home). I hit the flea markets selling. That was early 80's. I would usually do $1k a weekend. I put about half back in to the business and kept the rest to pay expenses and bills.

 

When I moved to MS, I bought a new little store for not much money, put a large chunk of my collection in it and ran it for 6 years until I had to move to KY for family reasons and sold it. I just rebought my newest store, about 5 years ago (with a loan). Thats a little history on how some things can start for you.

 

You can either use stuff you have to start and build up using flea markets, purchase a small struggling concern and build it up, or purchase a bigger operation that is ongoing. I had a friend here that did flea markets but he was overpriced and cantankerous so that probalby hurt his business. It was a large statewide market so it drew a lot of people but I don't think he ever did 1k that I know of. Remember he was OVERPRICED. I think fair pricing and customer service is the key.

 

As for what $$ you need to start....it depends on the above that you want to do. If you were near Georgia, you could go buy a ton of long boxes from that guy that is selling them in the Selling Forum and have a good start. Otherwise you will have to find them where you can. I know someone that travels around to stores and buys overstock stuff for 50 to 100 bucks a box. You also have to find what niche is right for you. Do you have a van to haul stuff to flea markets? Are there any near you? Do you want to deal in high grade books? So many questions. You can PM me for info if you want.

 

As far as money needed for a brick and mortar place. That depends on the size and what you want to carry. James Welborn just started his place I believe and may have current info you need. Again, for a small town, to have a brick and mortar, I would think 20-30k minimum to buy stock with and another 5 to 10K in the bank would be needed. A bigger city, I would say 50-100k for sure in stock and 20k in the bank at first. I would also say that in a smaller city you would need to start part time perhaps and both places you would still need to have a job to pay bills if you have any. You could start with less but more is recommended. Also, it would depend on what is there for competition already.

[gcstomp]

Just do a show, get on that hamster wheel. End of the show you can pick up long boxes from other struggling vendors at $20 or $25 each. I sat up next to my buddy Orlando at the show just a few days ago at the Tampa show, and you should have seen how he went from from dealer to dealer and managed to buy a few dozen long boxes at soo little money its crazy. So many dealers are so close to poverty level, that if you have 5k in cash in your pocket and a little nerve to make low ball offers, you will come away with tons of profit bearing fruit.

 

It is not a bad thing to pick a niche, I usually do trades, buy at 1/4th or less cover in bulk, sell at 1/2 cover, with some hard to find pieces selling at full cover or a multiple. I did not bring my trades at the last show because clearly I am a doofus, so I looked and felt like every other generic vendor out there.

 

Spoke to a wise beer chugger at the show (Hi Bill) who opened my eyes. I was asking about where one could buy a good wombat, and he cleared the fog in my head. "How large do you think the market is for a pro display rack?" His point is that being a comic dealer is existing in a tiny world, same "co-workers", lots of same product being passed around.

 

If you want to be a comic dealer, thats great, but man, keep it in perspective. It is like staring at a tarnished penny when you are standing in a beautiful park on a sunny day. There are better ways to spend you time and energy. And once you are on the hamster wheel with both feet, you get stuck on it, stuck to the wheel.

[G.A.tor]

Keep in mind that putting your dealer hat on may very well change your views about collecting, and possibly spoil some of the fun that this hobby now offers you as a collector.

That is really quite true plus don`t fall in love with your stock. Some collectors/dealers fall in love with thier stock and then make bad business decisions.

most definitely, you have to seperate the emotion from the financial aspect of the books