Obligations to Comic Show dealers?

[Shadow]

Here's a question: Do any of you feel an obligation to buy something from certain dealers when you go to a Comic Show?

 

Are there particular dealers you've always bought from in the past and you'd feel guilty if you didn't buy something from them? For me, there are certain dealers at the Motor City Show that I almost always buy something from. I can't remember the last time I didn't buy something from Dale Roberts at the Motor City Show. I can think of 3 - 4 dealers that I tend to seek out at Motor City.

[Flaming_Telepath]

When I was still buying at shows...hell, when I was still buying through any medium...I would do what I could to give certain deserving dealers my business. I would also avoid certain dealers...no matter how sweet their stuff was...if I had problems with their business ethics. (thumbs u

[Shadow]

Agreed, FT.

 

Was there ever a time though that you didn't have enough money to go around? Did you feel "bad" that you weren't giving some of them your business?

[Mac Man]

When I was still buying at shows...hell, when I was still buying through any medium...I would do what I could to give certain deserving dealers my business. I would also avoid certain dealers...no matter how sweet their stuff was...if I had problems with their business ethics. (thumbs u

 

Exactly. There are a few places or dealers with whom I frequent (comic or otherwise) where I *know* I could get a better deal, but I find more satisfaction in helping the "little guy" than I do in a minor discount.

[Flaming_Telepath]

Agreed, FT.

 

Was there ever a time though that you didn't have enough money to go around? Did you feel "bad" that you weren't giving some of them your business?

 

To a degree.

 

But I was probably feeling worse that I couldn't feed myself.

[oakman29]

There are dealers I trust more than others,so I go to them knowing I will get a High grade book for a good price.Some dealers I just avoid no matter how many good books they have.

[JmC]

I look for certain dealers for trust reasons as well, such as Dale Roberts, If i have had past problems with a dealer i avoid them.

[Transplant]

There are people I avoid for sure. People I like I tend to want to shop with, but I don't feel any obligation to. I just bought my first book from Dale 2 weeks ago.

[VintageComics]

There are times when I feel bad not buying from a dealer but it all comes down to selection and price point. If they don't have a book I want at a price that I am willing to pay it's not my fault and it's not their fault. It's just business, nothing personal.

 

edited to say that yes, there are people that I won't buy from.

[Flaming_Telepath]

I'm quite happy to pay more than I have to to a certain dealer, simply to support him, rather than get $20 off by shopping with someone else.

 

It's actually something I do with other retail experiences, too. I live in a village and two miles down the road is a large market with stuff at (sometimes much) cheaper prices. Despite this, I'll support local commerce and the little guy even if it costs me more.

[PokerKid]

My LCS had a much stronger influence than a convention dealer. I would not walk away from Verzyl or either of the Fullerton comic shops without a purchase if I made a trip in. They also went out of their way to take care of me and my needs also. Of course the three LCSs I used to go to had some great stuff. Nowadays, I think the convention dealers are fulfilling that role so I can understand that level of loyalty if the dealer works on filling a customer's wants.

[VintageComics]

I'm quite happy to pay more than I have to to a certain dealer, simply to support him, rather than get $20 off by shopping with someone else.

 

It's actually something I do with other retail experiences, too. I live in a village and two miles down the road is a large market with stuff at (sometimes much) cheaper prices. Despite this, I'll support local commerce and the little guy even if it costs me more.

 

I agree. Price is not the only factor although when buying inventory it needs to be a primary consideration. For quality personal shopping I'm happy to support the good guy/little guy/etc.

 

 

[seank]

There are certain dealers I like to buy from based on reputation, selection, and past experience. There are other dealers I prefer to avoid. I also try to fill in runs (usually on his sale days) from my LCS before I hit ebay or conventions because I have a great LCS and I want it to stay in business.

 

Obligations we as buyers absolutely have to dealers at conventions:

 

Bathe.

Ask if you can remove a book from the bag before removing the book from the bag.

Keep that ^@$%& tape away from the book you just removed from the bag.

Remember that they are in business and while some haggling is acceptable, stupid lowball offers are a waste of everyone's time.

Don't bend/mangle books in boxes while looking through them.

[TheWatcher]

There are times when I feel bad not buying from a dealer but it all comes down to selection and price point. If they don't have a book I want at a price that I am willing to pay it's not my fault and it's not their fault. It's just business, nothing personal.

 

edited to say that yes, there are people that I won't buy from.

 

They won't sell to you, anyway

[Sal]

a three-part answer.

 

 

no, i don't feel "obligated" to buy. from anybody.

 

i do feel that if, say, Dale Roberts and Crazy Ed (to use an example of a dealer who I do not have any sort of "relationship" whatsoever good or bad with) had the same book in the same grade and Dale was 10% more expensive, I would buy from Dale.

 

i do feel "obligated" to never look in the inventory of certain dealers and wouldn't buy from them if they needed money to save their dog's life

[gaz973]

i do feel "obligated" to never look in the inventory of certain dealers and wouldn't buy from them if they needed money to save their dog's life

 

Poor Shep.

[VintageComics]

There are times when I feel bad not buying from a dealer but it all comes down to selection and price point. If they don't have a book I want at a price that I am willing to pay it's not my fault and it's not their fault. It's just business, nothing personal.

 

edited to say that yes, there are people that I won't buy from.

 

They won't sell to you, anyway

 

[Shadow]

a three-part answer.

 

 

no, i don't feel "obligated" to buy. from anybody.

 

i do feel that if, say, Dale Roberts and Crazy Ed (to use an example of a dealer who I do not have any sort of "relationship" whatsoever good or bad with) had the same book in the same grade and Dale was 10% more expensive, I would buy from Dale.

 

i do feel "obligated" to never look in the inventory of certain dealers and wouldn't buy from them if they needed money to save their dog's life

 

Sal, I agree with you on the 2nd point. There are some dealers I stay clear of. And there are some who are very nice but I rarely find the price point/grading I want. For instance, Harley Yee has always been very nice but I rarely buy anything from him. Heck, I almost want to not visit his booth as he'll probably just think "here he is again, browsing away". The stars rarely align for me to purchase from him.

[Comicopolis]

I'm quite happy to pay more than I have to to a certain dealer, simply to support him, rather than get $20 off by shopping with someone else.

 

It's actually something I do with other retail experiences, too. I live in a village and two miles down the road is a large market with stuff at (sometimes much) cheaper prices. Despite this, I'll support local commerce and the little guy even if it costs me more.

 

Those 'socialist' tendencies will get you a bad name on here you know

 

Yep - I like to give dealers I like/trust more of my money, even if I could get the same books slightly cheaper somewhere else - especially when I'm buying from these boards.

[Jeffro.]

I find myself shying away from those dealers whose prices are very high. It's really a shame when someone has deep stock and their pricing structure prevents me from buying anything from them. If their grading is inconsistent AND they have high prices, it's a negative double whammy. I'm getting a little tired of those people who feel the need to squeeze every dollar out of a sale. You can still make a profit without trying to get maximum price point on all your books.