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Buying rituals at Cons - How do you go about buying at Cons?

Started by 1Cool,

66 posts in this topic

revat

revat

Posted
Posted
step 1: Cut a hole in a box.

 

For what?

 

It's always Step 1.

 

+1

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zosocane

zosocane

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Going to a con with a certain budget is like a fantasy football draft -- you can get only so many players with so many picks, so you need to do your research and make the most of your picks. You want to get home at the end of the con weekend with your haul and feel good about your choices.

 

My M.O. for cons (since my first one as a little kid in '78) is walk in order around the floor plan and get a sense for what dealers are where, and look at pricing on wall books to get a sense of which dealers are pricing within reason and which are in the stratosphere. Stay away from the stratosphere dealers and focus on those with reasonable pricing. Some people are there to move merchandise; others are there to get the highest possible price (nothing wrong with that) -- so do your initial "no-spend" reconnaisance walk-through to get your bearings and take mental note of which dealers to focus on. After you do enough cons you get a sense of which dealers are "right-priced."

 

Do your maket research (GPA; eBay sales; OPG) and bring your want list and stay focused on your want list and know what's the most you will pay for a particular book at a particular grade. There will be a lot of "wall candy" that can easily take your eye off the ball. But be opportunistic. If there's a great book available at the right price that is not necessarily on your want list, pull the trigger.

 

 

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Agent 007

Agent 007

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Posted

I always look at every booth for what I want. If I find the same book/same grade I haggle. I go with the cheaper costs. I also use CASH as motivation and tell them lets deal now or I walk. I always end up getting the price at a better price. They also get a return customer. If they don't deal to me, I ban them at all future shows.

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Ken Aldred

Ken Aldred

Posted
Posted
step 1: Cut a hole in a box.

 

For what?

 

It's always Step 1.

 

I know that when I go to a convention I tend to put a lot of overpriced junk in my storage box.

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maloney414

maloney414

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Posted
If you attend a 3 day Con, how do you go about buying your books? Do you walk the room doing a quick compare of key books and then pick the booth with the best initial prices and then spend a ton of time digging thru boxes and haggling on prices at a few booths?

 

Do you start on one side of the room and work your way thru each booth knowing you may not see the back area until the third day? I've never spent more then 1 day at a Con so I'm curious how you go about your buying spree over the extend period.

 

Side question - If you had $15,000 to spend at a Con would you space out the buying to $4,000 - $6,000 a day at a ton of booths or find a few booth and use your money to hopefully leverage better deals since you are spending $7,000 at one booth in one day?

 

 

1st Day:

 

- If I have a dealer pass: I get there before they open and drop off my onsite grading books. Then walk around just looking at wall books. I usually have a good amount of $ to spend, but I also keep myself on a budget. I'd rather buy 1 or 2 really nice comics, than blow my $ on smaller stuff only to find an expensive book later that I now can't afford. Then I hit artist alley to be 1st in line for my most wanted commission. ;)

 

- If I don't have a pass: It's off to artist alley 1st. Guilty pleasure, but I like getting sketch covers or 11 by 17 commissions. But the popular artists fill up quickly. I usually have my homework done and know ballpark prices, and know specifically who's table I'm going to and in what order. I don't spend a ton of time, just quickly get to the artists on my wantlist. Afterwards, I drop off any onsite grading books, then do the walkthrough looking at expensive wall books.

 

- After my important commission(s) is booked, and/or I've purchased an expensive book I reevaluate how much $ I have left to spend.

 

- Then I usually walk through artist alley looking at stuff deciding if I want to get another commission from someone I didn't know about or seen before. (The Governor of Woodbury sketch cover in my sig line came from doing this.) Sometimes you get lucky. (thumbs u

 

- Then I start looking through dealers stock looking for comics on my wantlist. Usually sticking to dealers with alphabetized stock so I can cherry pick for stuff I want.

 

- I'll also go back and talk to artists, boardies, and friends I run into at the con.

 

 

2nd day:

 

The important stuff on my wantlist I've cherry picked on the 1st day. The last day is when possible discounts happen. Saturdays are usually the most crowded day, so I usually skip the 2nd day. 2c

 

 

Last day:

 

Back to pick up commissions, decide if I want anything Signature Series graded, and then shop some more for comics. This is the day I look for dealers offering discounts because they don't want to take stuff home. I'll also dig through dealer stock more patiently. Instead of just looking for stuff on my list, I'll look through every box of particular dealers.

 

 

 

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shortboxed

shortboxed

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Everyone has a different strategy. I personally don't buy big keys at cons (yet), most of my purchases fall between dollar bin books and $20-50 keys, with the occasional $100-200 book if 1) the price is too good to pass up 2) it's a book I rarely see for sale and 3) I want it.

 

My goal is to get the best value, and a lot of those types of book are gone by mid-day on day 1, so I arrive super early so I can attempt to find those hidden gems before the general attendees get to them. This is how I've come across gems like a VF Marvel Feature 47 for $2, F New Mutants 98 for $18 and a bunch of Frank Miller Daredevils for $1-2.

 

I also come very prepared with a detailed list of all the issues I need, organized by condition and current fair market value (with data from eBay sales and other databases) which I use to negotiate with. Can't get good value if you don't know what a book is currently selling for.

 

For the more expensive $100-200 books that I have my eye on, I'll make note of the vendor(s) and their price on Day 1 then I'll revisit during the last hour of the last day. This accomplishes a few things:

 

1) See if it hasn't sold yet. If it hasn't, then I know I'll have a better chance at negotiating a better price.

 

2) Gives me a couple days to think about how much I actually want it or if it just looked nice and attractive on the rack

 

3) If I blew my entire budget already then that makes the decision easy - I don't buy it because I can't afford it.

 

4) Allows me to take advantage of any last minute discounts that dealers are typically willing to make at the end of a show.

 

I actually wrote a pretty in-depth guide on buying comics at cons, including negotiating and putting together a detailed shopping list. If anyone's interested, you can read it here: The Complete Guide to Buying Comics at a Comic Cons

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1Cool

1Cool

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Everyone has a different strategy. I personally don't buy big keys at cons (yet), most of my purchases fall between dollar bin books and $20-50 keys, with the occasional $100-200 book if 1) the price is too good to pass up 2) it's a book I rarely see for sale and 3) I want it.

 

My goal is to get the best value, and a lot of those types of book are gone by mid-day on day 1, so I arrive super early so I can attempt to find those hidden gems before the general attendees get to them. This is how I've come across gems like a VF Marvel Feature 47 for $2, F New Mutants 98 for $18 and a bunch of Frank Miller Daredevils for $1-2.

 

I also come very prepared with a detailed list of all the issues I need, organized by condition and current fair market value (with data from eBay sales and other databases) which I use to negotiate with. Can't get good value if you don't know what a book is currently selling for.

 

For the more expensive $100-200 books that I have my eye on, I'll make note of the vendor(s) and their price on Day 1 then I'll revisit during the last hour of the last day. This accomplishes a few things:

 

1) See if it hasn't sold yet. If it hasn't, then I know I'll have a better chance at negotiating a better price.

 

2) Gives me a couple days to think about how much I actually want it or if it just looked nice and attractive on the rack

 

3) If I blew my entire budget already then that makes the decision easy - I don't buy it because I can't afford it.

 

4) Allows me to take advantage of any last minute discounts that dealers are typically willing to make at the end of a show.

 

I actually wrote a pretty in-depth guide on buying comics at cons, including negotiating and putting together a detailed shopping list. If anyone's interested, you can read it here: The Complete Guide to Buying Comics at a Comic Cons

 

Sweet. I'll read it over tomorrow.

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oakman29

oakman29

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Posted
If you attend a 3 day Con, how do you go about buying your books? Do you walk the room doing a quick compare of key books and then pick the booth with the best initial prices and then spend a ton of time digging thru boxes and haggling on prices at a few booths?

 

Do you start on one side of the room and work your way thru each booth knowing you may not see the back area until the third day? I've never spent more then 1 day at a Con so I'm curious how you go about your buying spree over the extend period.

 

Side question - If you had $15,000 to spend at a Con would you space out the buying to $4,000 - $6,000 a day at a ton of booths or find a few booth and use your money to hopefully leverage better deals since you are spending $7,000 at one booth in one day?

I almost always buy big books(2K or more) at a con,from dealers that I trust.I also go in knowing exactly what book I am buying,probably already having the deal done prior to the con.Once my big book is bought,I will also have a list of keys that I am looking for,the grades,the price I'm willing to spend.I almost never go through long boxes,unless it's from guys like Bob Storms,Harley or Dale,as most of the good stuff is already up on the wall.I stay focused on the books I pre arranged to buy.I bring a locked briefcase that I keep my cash,and the books I've bought in.You dealers must think I'm crazy when you see me carry a James Bond like case with me. I figure if I'm carrying 10K in comics,and 6-10K in cash(cash is all I use).I'm willing to protect my hard earned assets.I'm usually not one to haggle,unless it's Bob Storms and John(his sidekick).Just because it's fun,and I actually like to talk to Bob and his wife.So I hang out at Bobs table,and talk books,life etc.etc.

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slym2none

slym2none

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I bring a locked briefcase that I keep my cash,and the books I've bought in.You dealers must think I'm crazy when you see me carry a James Bond like case with me. I figure if I'm carrying 10K in comics,and 6-10K in cash(cash is all I use).I'm willing to protect my hard earned assets.

 

So, what kind of heat you packin' in there?

 

;)

 

 

 

-slym

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ChicksCosmiComics

ChicksCosmiComics

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I will go to all the dealers booths and check out books I'll never buy until I have seen just about everything I want to check out. Then I go back and buy what I was looking for. Some shows I make a list before hand but I don't do well with crowds and sometimes totally draw a blank.

 

My problem with shows is I can generally find everything easier from a couple clicks on the computer. But looking at books in hand has its advantages

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1Cool

1Cool

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I will go to all the dealers booths and check out books I'll never buy until I have seen just about everything I want to check out. Then I go back and buy what I was looking for. Some shows I make a list before hand but I don't do well with crowds and sometimes totally draw a blank.

 

My problem with shows is I can generally find everything easier from a couple clicks on the computer. But looking at books in hand has its advantages

 

With that technique aren't all the "steals" you saw on the first pass purchased already? I'd love to make a quick walk thru but with the big cons that could take a couple hours. But if you don't do a walk thru then you don't know if an even better deal isn't a couple booths over or not. Tricky tricky.

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