Dealer changing the price

[vaillant]

I Don't mind if the dealers get the best deals, they usually rely on comics to eat and take care of their family. Does that mean I won't try to get the best price I can? of course not, but I won't begrudge them for doing the same.

 

That’s just fair – but I think it was a general discourse on how often at conventions deals are done by those who can manage to enter a bit before the opening: this happens constantly in Italy as well, I guess it’s a pretty universal thing!

[Dale Roberts]

I Don't mind if the dealers get the best deals, they usually rely on comics to eat and take care of their family. Does that mean I won't try to get the best price I can? of course not, but I won't begrudge them for doing the same.

 

That’s just fair – but I think it was a general discourse on how often at conventions deals are done by those who can manage to enter a bit before the opening: this happens constantly in Italy as well, I guess it’s a pretty universal thing!

 

In general, there are more NON dealers searching the boxes before the shows than dealers anymore.

[white_rushin]

 

You are right, most of the time there is no point in going to a booth after a few of the usual suspects have hit it. Big cons are picked relatively clean of good flipping material well before the doors open to the public.

 

Hearing this makes me feel really sad

 

Still tons of awesome stuff, just not keys at 50% of market value, so don't be too sad!

 

My favorite con purchase of the past year or so came on Friday of WWC from Dale, days after setup was over. It wasn't a "steal", it was just an awesome book I have wanted for a long time at a price that was fair.

 

True, just further validates the importance of the boards with awesome members here!

 

I really find it awesome when some dealers throw in a few books into the $5 boxes that they know are more valuable to make some of their customers feel like they got a stealth buy.

 

That's true. I sold a Flash Annual #1 out of one of my $5.00 boxes at Chicago and the guy couldn't believe it was in there.

 

Kudos to you good sir!

 

Are you attending Comikaze this year??

[Ares]

I've read a lot of threads on here how it's uncool to buy comics for dirt cheap from an "old lady" or similar. But there are so many flippers and dealers running around early on trying to scoop hot books at a con.

 

Is it ethical to buy a book from a dealer's dollar bin knowing you can get big bucks for it. There's the "dealer should know better" argument but what's the difference between the dealer and old lady? It hurts the dealer more because the bruises he gets from kicking himself.

 

Oh Hell yes.

Are we responsible to hand hold everyone?

As a seller if I fark up its my responsibility to properly list everythign and eat loss

[Heronext]

I Don't mind if the dealers get the best deals, they usually rely on comics to eat and take care of their family. Does that mean I won't try to get the best price I can? of course not, but I won't begrudge them for doing the same.

 

That’s just fair – but I think it was a general discourse on how often at conventions deals are done by those who can manage to enter a bit before the opening: this happens constantly in Italy as well, I guess it’s a pretty universal thing!

 

In general, there are more NON dealers searching the boxes before the shows than dealers anymore.

 

How do non-dealers get in before the shows?

 

(infrequent con attendee here)

[Ares]

I Don't mind if the dealers get the best deals, they usually rely on comics to eat and take care of their family. Does that mean I won't try to get the best price I can? of course not, but I won't begrudge them for doing the same.

 

That’s just fair – but I think it was a general discourse on how often at conventions deals are done by those who can manage to enter a bit before the opening: this happens constantly in Italy as well, I guess it’s a pretty universal thing!

 

In general, there are more NON dealers searching the boxes before the shows than dealers anymore.

 

How do non-dealers get in before the shows?

 

(infrequent con attendee here)

 

Volunteers? Friends?

[vaillant]

I Don't mind if the dealers get the best deals, they usually rely on comics to eat and take care of their family. Does that mean I won't try to get the best price I can? of course not, but I won't begrudge them for doing the same.

 

That’s just fair – but I think it was a general discourse on how often at conventions deals are done by those who can manage to enter a bit before the opening: this happens constantly in Italy as well, I guess it’s a pretty universal thing!

 

In general, there are more NON dealers searching the boxes before the shows than dealers anymore.

 

How do non-dealers get in before the shows?

 

(infrequent con attendee here)

 

Volunteers? Friends?

 

That. At least here in Italy. Helpers, friends, people involved with the organization, acquaintances… etc. Dale is right. Dealers if needed have all the time to negotiate among them to find books for clients when they want, they don’t need to be at conventions.

[Dale Roberts]

 

You are right, most of the time there is no point in going to a booth after a few of the usual suspects have hit it. Big cons are picked relatively clean of good flipping material well before the doors open to the public.

 

Hearing this makes me feel really sad

 

Still tons of awesome stuff, just not keys at 50% of market value, so don't be too sad!

 

My favorite con purchase of the past year or so came on Friday of WWC from Dale, days after setup was over. It wasn't a "steal", it was just an awesome book I have wanted for a long time at a price that was fair.

 

True, just further validates the importance of the boards with awesome members here!

 

I really find it awesome when some dealers throw in a few books into the $5 boxes that they know are more valuable to make some of their customers feel like they got a stealth buy.

 

That's true. I sold a Flash Annual #1 out of one of my $5.00 boxes at Chicago and the guy couldn't believe it was in there.

 

Kudos to you good sir!

 

Are you attending Comikaze this year??

 

Can't make it. For now SDCC will remain my only west coast show. I would do Wonder Con, but not on easter weekend.

[white_rushin]

 

You are right, most of the time there is no point in going to a booth after a few of the usual suspects have hit it. Big cons are picked relatively clean of good flipping material well before the doors open to the public.

 

Hearing this makes me feel really sad

 

Still tons of awesome stuff, just not keys at 50% of market value, so don't be too sad!

 

My favorite con purchase of the past year or so came on Friday of WWC from Dale, days after setup was over. It wasn't a "steal", it was just an awesome book I have wanted for a long time at a price that was fair.

 

True, just further validates the importance of the boards with awesome members here!

 

I really find it awesome when some dealers throw in a few books into the $5 boxes that they know are more valuable to make some of their customers feel like they got a stealth buy.

 

That's true. I sold a Flash Annual #1 out of one of my $5.00 boxes at Chicago and the guy couldn't believe it was in there.

 

Kudos to you good sir!

 

Are you attending Comikaze this year??

 

Can't make it. For now SDCC will remain my only west coast show. I would do Wonder Con, but not on easter weekend.

 

Drats. If fortune smile upon me, I'll find a way to get to SDCC next year and finally see what the legendary Dale has to offer at his booth

[mysterio]

 

You are right, most of the time there is no point in going to a booth after a few of the usual suspects have hit it. Big cons are picked relatively clean of good flipping material well before the doors open to the public.

 

Hearing this makes me feel really sad

 

Still tons of awesome stuff, just not keys at 50% of market value, so don't be too sad!

 

My favorite con purchase of the past year or so came on Friday of WWC from Dale, days after setup was over. It wasn't a "steal", it was just an awesome book I have wanted for a long time at a price that was fair.

 

Dale is always an early stop for me for the same reason.

[Sqeggs]

I had a long talk with Richie Muchin a few months ago at a show, and the point of the conversation was that basically most sharks are always looking to buy dealer's mistakes.

 

It's interesting to see the other side of the perspective, and kind of funny to view anyone buying from a dealer as a shark. Isn't a person trying to find deals on comic books just a customer?

 

To me a Shark would be one dealer trying to get stock from another dealer because he knows a book has got hot, and not being honest. Dealers scooping dealers is shark like to me (didnt that happen with Walking Dead and dollar boxes a few years back). Customers looking for good prices is just shopping

 

 

With so many folks flipping books to support their habit, or just "part-time dealing" there is no real bright line between collector and dealer. I am a pretty hardcore collector of certain stuff, but at shows, I buy a lot of stuff that I have no intention of doing anything with except flipping.

 

 

There is a new animal in town, not sure I would call them sharks but maybe mercenary entrepreneurs

 

Possibly.

 

When I called them 'sharks' I just mean they know a bargain (ie easy prey) when they see it and won't miss the opportunity.

 

(thumbs u

 

 

Roy is right. There is a huge difference between a guy looking for a deal and a guy who doesn't miss mistakes. There is really very little reason to even go to a table after a few of these guys have hit it. And its not about just the hot books. Its anything as most of these guys are indiscriminate about what they buy, as long as it is at the right price.

 

to quote one of my favorite movies...

 

"Listen, here's the thing. If you can't spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker. "

 

 

Hasn't this been going on forever, though? Dealer X sells a lot of Marvel pre-heros, Dealer Y doesn't but bought a collection with some in it. Dealer X cleans those out from Dealer Y and sells them to his customers. Or someone has asked Dealer X to look out for a nice mid-grade FF 1 with good pq. He doesn't have one but picks one up from from Dealer Y, marks it up and sells it to his customer.

 

I thought this was SOP with you guys.

 

Edited to add: Nothing wrong with it; connecting buyers with the books they want is a valuable service. (thumbs u

[Dale Roberts]

 

You are right, most of the time there is no point in going to a booth after a few of the usual suspects have hit it. Big cons are picked relatively clean of good flipping material well before the doors open to the public.

 

Hearing this makes me feel really sad

 

Still tons of awesome stuff, just not keys at 50% of market value, so don't be too sad!

 

My favorite con purchase of the past year or so came on Friday of WWC from Dale, days after setup was over. It wasn't a "steal", it was just an awesome book I have wanted for a long time at a price that was fair.

 

True, just further validates the importance of the boards with awesome members here!

 

I really find it awesome when some dealers throw in a few books into the $5 boxes that they know are more valuable to make some of their customers feel like they got a stealth buy.

 

That's true. I sold a Flash Annual #1 out of one of my $5.00 boxes at Chicago and the guy couldn't believe it was in there.

 

Kudos to you good sir!

 

Are you attending Comikaze this year??

 

Can't make it. For now SDCC will remain my only west coast show. I would do Wonder Con, but not on easter weekend.

 

Drats. If fortune smile upon me, I'll find a way to get to SDCC next year and finally see what the legendary Dale has to offer at his booth

 

Hopefully in the coming months, I will have my own, fully functional, ultra cool, easily navigable website opened and loaded full of good stuff.....and there is always my holiday sales thread.

[Sqeggs]

 

...and a related side note...why is it that prices never come DOWN as quickly as they go UP?

 

 

especially at the gas station

 

Pricing can sometimes be attributed to a dealer or seller overpaying for a hot book and getting stuck with it once the book has cooled. Perfect example is a GL 76 I saw at a show recently. I personally love this book, the almost dripping green colors and iconic Adams cover make this a book I am always on the look out for. I asked about the price when I saw it on their wall, I was floored when they said over 8K, seeing that GPA had the last two sales under $3600. But the dealer paid a certain amount when GL76 was hot and now that it has cooled the price has stayed high because they are unwilling to take a 4-figure loss.

 

Why take a 4K loss today when you can take a 5k loss next month. Sounds like a well thought out business plan.

 

He's already taken the 4K loss but refuses to admit it.

[Chip Cataldo]

I wish I could attend conventions. I also wish I could collect like you guys do, but that's another story.

 

Peace,

 

Chip

[stanley1883]

Certainly the business practice is cheeky but

playing devil's advocate here.

 

It's acceptable to scoop the book from under the dealer when it was priced well below

fair market value?

 

Sure, it's the dealer's responsibility to know their product but with a large inventory and ever changing prices on books becoming hot in the blink of an eye it's hard to keep up.

 

At the end of the day, it sucks they did that. But who knows all the variables.

Maybe the OP annoyed the other dealer working the booth with his negotiation tactics and he just wanted to stick it to him.

 

While I COULD see your point, the fatal flaw is that this was a convention. No body approached out of the blue and "found" this for sale. These were his books he brought to a convention for the specific purpose of selling them. Poor planing on his part does mean anything. With regards to "sticking it to the OP" that would make it even MORE unethical in my opinion. At that point, I'd rather he say not for sale than deliberately try to rip him off because he didn't like him.

 

No other variable need to be considered, this was an expo the dealer chose to attend and chose to dell his merchandise at, period. Plan better next time, don't eBay every book you have an offer on. I have ZERO respect for this jerk.

[kav]

Plus the book was priced accurately. $300. $800 is way out of whack and just because some nutball on ebay is asking $800 does not mean a book is worth $800.

 

[michchan]

Plus the book was priced accurately. $300. $800 is way out of whack and just because some nutball on ebay is asking $800 does not mean a book is worth $800.

 

ITA, I recently was in talks with a dealer - through craigslist (which is a pretty big red flag that something will go afoul) - about a few books I wanted to pick up. 1st he keeps telling me it will take a week or two weeks to sort through his boxes to pull the books, then after 3 weeks he has yet to give me condition and prices. By end of week 3, he still hasn't given me any word on the books and when I mentioned photo/scans to make sure grades are correct and not inflated (since I wanted to use paypal and have the books shipped to me), he kept saying it would be a hassle and refused to do it. It was like 8 books total! On top of that the guy wanted me to pay current ebay prices (ie the jacked up prices some people put on items for "BIN') for all the books, even when I told him sold ebay listings give a FMV of the books in question. Then he goes on a rant on why he refuses to do that cause according to him buyers are taking advantage of some sellers who don't know the true 'worth' of what they're selling, etc.

 

Sucks that this kind of mentality is being done by dealers at cons right now.

[kav]

A dealer should know how ridiculous current BIN auctions are and not use that for pricing.

That's a rookie move.

[michchan]

Agreed. But hey if he wants to sit on the books till the end of time till the right prices comes along (along with the sucker to pay him that inflated cost of what he believed to the 'true' value of the book or whatever that even means) then by all means he can keep the books. Seems like the guy doesn't seem to recognize value of books change constantly with the market and times, and what was once a 1 dollar book can have a value over 1,000 at the right time. Same thing can happen conversely.

[Spidey-fan73]

 

You are right, most of the time there is no point in going to a booth after a few of the usual suspects have hit it. Big cons are picked relatively clean of good flipping material well before the doors open to the public.

 

Hearing this makes me feel really sad

 

x2 Guess I shouldn't go to Baltimore then, I can't make it until Sunday.