Any rules while buying at Cons? Is it ok to create a bidding war?

[the blob]

I would have flipped through everything else at the dealers table while they were waiting and eying the situation. If the book is that important to you then you can wait it out while the guy tosses and turns.

 

1 - If the guy buys the book then even if you spoke up you weren't getting it.

2 - If you speak up, as was mentioned, it might spark the guy into buying the book.

3 - The minute the guy says, "I'll come back, I need to think about it." or something that is not a definite purchase short of a, "Please put this on hold so I can go to the ATM", you hold up your sign.

 

Which is exactly what the guy did. I came back to claim the book and the first guy had placed it on hold while he ran to the bank to get cash. Oh well - guess I should have stood there and waited but I got impatient.

 

Sneaking in and making an offer on a book that has been put on hold is a whole other story. For some reason i have less of an issue with that then making an offer on a book that is in someone's hands. Lack of face-to-face confrontation I guess. Just get the heck out of there before the other guy comes back if he looks like he might be trouble!

 

And, of course, the sneak-in is the most unethical, but i guess you leave it up to the dealer to breach their agreement. of course, in some states doing this might actually be actionable.

[the blob]

I don't do cons anymore, but the thing that bugged me back in the day were box hogs, the guys ( and it was always guys) who body blocked or put their backpack on top of the next box or two they wanted to go through. Sorry, just because you got to the table before me, doesn't mean you get to look at every book in boxes before me.

 

I once had a guy tell me he was going to look at "that box next" when I started checking out the one to his right. My response was along the lines of "'Sure, when I'm done." I got a grumpy frown, but that was it.

 

this is my excuse for not losing that 150 pounds i should really loose. i automatically take up at least three boxes just standing there. no need for backpack blocking or any other nonsense.

 

well, that and i really love to eat, drink beer and don't feel like exercising.

[InvstmntComcSuply]

I'd have been shocked if anyone had said it was ok it start a bidding war but I didn't think asking the seller to put a book on hold if a deal fell thru was over the top.

 

These are essentially the same, as you are effectively diminishing the first buyers negotiating position by stating if he doesn't.

 

I've seen it done plenty of times on the boards were someone says they will take a book if a deal falls thru to prevent a third party from stepping in.

 

In these cases, the contract price has been agreed upon. The only variable is whether or not the buyer approves pending scans, fails to perform, etc. The equivalent for doing this at a show, would be telling a dealer who was holding a book if the guy does not return.

[the blob]

I remember before guardians of the galaxy came out i sold a gotg #1(2008) to a comic dealer at a con for credit and he immediately put it on the rack for $100, well this guy came up and he was debating on buying it so i told the guy, its a hot book and that the movie is coming out really soon and its only going to heat up and after about 5 minutes of me telling this kid this stuff he bought it. After the kid paid and he walked away the owner of the stand said do you want a job. i just laughed. I did buy a vf nm #98 he knocked off 20 on the price for me. It was a cool experience. but do what ever makes you happy 1cool. And don't sweat the small stuff.

 

i am more than happy to talk up books for dealers who have been decent with me particularly when i am not in the market for that book. i do it all the time.

[the blob]

is it rude at a restaurant to ask the guy at the next table if they're gonna finish their fries?

 

Why ask them? Just do whatever makes you happy!

 

i think the better analogy is if you are tired of waiting for your food and you see something you like being delivered to the next table, making an offer on the food

[divad]

I don't do cons anymore, but the thing that bugged me back in the day were box hogs, the guys ( and it was always guys) who body blocked or put their backpack on top of the next box or two they wanted to go through. Sorry, just because you got to the table before me, doesn't mean you get to look at every book in boxes before me.

 

I once had a guy tell me he was going to look at "that box next" when I started checking out the one to his right. My response was along the lines of "'Sure, when I'm done." I got a grumpy frown, but that was it.

 

this is my excuse for not losing that 150 pounds i should really loose. i automatically take up at least three boxes just standing there. no need for backpack blocking or any other nonsense.

 

well, that and i really love to eat, drink beer and don't feel like exercising.

 

[divad]

I don't do cons, but I did buy one book at Wondercon the one time I went. Didn't really feel like pawing through books competively, but I did manage to find a nice Cerebus 2 without anyone jumping on my back. I was able to negotiate quite a fair price too, as the dealer (from Berkeley) had had the book for a long time and wondered what "he actually had into it". Turns out his name was printed on the back cover (ha-ha), so he absolutely nothing into it at all. Apparently he was one of the first distributors of the book.

[fmaz]

To the people who don't understand the harm it causes to the buyer to express interest in a book they're considering, let me put it into eBay terms:

 

If you're an eBay seller with a BO book for sale, how willing are you to negotiate when you've been waiting around and you finally get a single offer? Pretty willing, yes? But what about when you have multiple offers at the same time? Heck even if you just have a lot of "watchers" on an item it impacts how likely you are to reduce your price, right?

 

My point is that ANY in-person expression of interest from another buyer is 100 percent working against the potential buyer - so you're basically taking money out of that guy's pocket for no reason. And most likely you're not befitting yourself either. You're just screwing that guy.

 

Just wait your turn. You wouldn't want it to be done to you.

[Robot Man]

All good advice. Nice to see there are a lot of honorable people here. It's the old "do unto others" addage that goes a long way in life.

 

I've been in the same boat myself lots of times. The thing is, I have lots of patience. As long as it's in the other guy's hands it's his call. As soon as he puts it down and takes a step back though...

 

I was at a flea market just yesterday looking in a long box. A guy comes up and grabs the next hand full. I slapped his hand and told him politely to wait his turn. He didn't like it much. Some people just don't get it. I have no problem letting him look through what I have passed on if he asks nicely, but until I finish it the box it is all mine. Flea markets and estate sales can be a bit dog eat dog sometimes.

[kav]

good move!

[jaeldubyoo]

All good advice. Nice to see there are a lot of honorable people here. It's the old "do unto others" addage that goes a long way in life.

 

I've been in the same boat myself lots of times. The thing is, I have lots of patience. As long as it's in the other guy's hands it's his call. As soon as he puts it down and takes a step back though...

 

I was at a flea market just yesterday looking in a long box. A guy comes up and grabs the next hand full. I slapped his hand and told him politely to wait his turn. He didn't like it much. Some people just don't get it. I have no problem letting him look through what I have passed on if he asks nicely, but until I finish it the box it is all mine. Flea markets and estate sales can be a bit dog eat dog sometimes.

 

You better be able to back up your actions. Nerd fight!

[AKA Rick]

IMy response was along the lines of "'Sure, when I'm done." I got a grumpy frown, but that was it.

 

Some comic collectors have no etiquette, and backpacks should be banned as well, they're fashion faux pas and get in the way

 

Good answer... another one would be to ask the dealer/owner "I'm interested in looking at your books right now, can I look at these boxes, or do you want this other customer to have first dibs. I can't wait around so, if you want him to have first dibs at your inventory, I'll give first dibs at my money to another dealer, but will come back later."

 

[Bomber-Bob]

A bit of a tangent but I would like to comment on Con buyers pulling a stack and handing it to the dealer to put On Hold. IMO, this is only okay if the stack is a definite buy. Holding books while you shop around is rude to both the dealers and customers. I am curious if dealers still allow such practice.

[Robot Man]

The only way I would put books "on hold" is with a non-refundable deposit and a time limit. That always seperates the men from the boys.

[Robot Man]

All good advice. Nice to see there are a lot of honorable people here. It's the old "do unto others" addage that goes a long way in life.

 

I've been in the same boat myself lots of times. The thing is, I have lots of patience. As long as it's in the other guy's hands it's his call. As soon as he puts it down and takes a step back though...

 

I was at a flea market just yesterday looking in a long box. A guy comes up and grabs the next hand full. I slapped his hand and told him politely to wait his turn. He didn't like it much. Some people just don't get it. I have no problem letting him look through what I have passed on if he asks nicely, but until I finish it the box it is all mine. Flea markets and estate sales can be a bit dog eat dog sometimes.

 

You better be able to back up your actions. Nerd fight!

 

9 times out of 10 it shocks them so much they just go away. Often the dealer will back me up anyway.

[Fan Boy]

All good advice. Nice to see there are a lot of honorable people here. It's the old "do unto others" addage that goes a long way in life.

 

I've been in the same boat myself lots of times. The thing is, I have lots of patience. As long as it's in the other guy's hands it's his call. As soon as he puts it down and takes a step back though...

 

I was at a flea market just yesterday looking in a long box. A guy comes up and grabs the next hand full. I slapped his hand and told him politely to wait his turn. He didn't like it much. Some people just don't get it. I have no problem letting him look through what I have passed on if he asks nicely, but until I finish it the box it is all mine. Flea markets and estate sales can be a bit dog eat dog sometimes.

 

You better be able to back up your actions. Nerd fight!

 

9 times out of 10 it shocks them so much they just go away. Often the dealer will back me up anyway.

 

Happened to me a few months ago at a local con. I was browsing some long boxes under a dealer's table. I saw one title that a friend asked me to check. As I was texting a message to my buddy ... A guy come over my side with his hand grabbed a batch of this books out the box! I looked at the guy in face letting him I don't like that. But I moved on anyway. There are always others to find elsewhere.

[jaeldubyoo]

All good advice. Nice to see there are a lot of honorable people here. It's the old "do unto others" addage that goes a long way in life.

 

I've been in the same boat myself lots of times. The thing is, I have lots of patience. As long as it's in the other guy's hands it's his call. As soon as he puts it down and takes a step back though...

 

I was at a flea market just yesterday looking in a long box. A guy comes up and grabs the next hand full. I slapped his hand and told him politely to wait his turn. He didn't like it much. Some people just don't get it. I have no problem letting him look through what I have passed on if he asks nicely, but until I finish it the box it is all mine. Flea markets and estate sales can be a bit dog eat dog sometimes.

 

You better be able to back up your actions. Nerd fight!

 

9 times out of 10 it shocks them so much they just go away. Often the dealer will back me up anyway.

 

I would avoid any physical contact. A glare or a few words should be sufficient. Slap the hand of the wrong person and it could escalate into something much more.

[Robot Man]

I would wholeheartily agree with you. I'm a lover not a fighter. But, I will not be bullied or intimidated by some rude jerk whose momma didn't raise him right...

When I did the soft hand slap, I did it with a smile. He got the picture and slinked away.

[FineCollector]

...and no one wants to punch it out with an old dude...

[Robot Man]

Wise guy huh? Better keep you hand outta my box or I might run over your foot with my walker!