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

Started by 1Cool,

127 posts in this topic

Omegadepot

Omegadepot

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I'm wondering if there are any unwritten rules when it comes to buying at a Con. For example - I walked up to a booth today and a guy beside me is looking over a MP 1 and the book was sweet. I obviously did not have it in hand but from looking over his shoulder it looked 9.0 or possible 9.2! The dealer put the book back in the bag for the guy and told me his books were 25% off the marked price and pointed to the MP 1 and said this one would be $75 rather then $100. I couldn't believe the guy was still thinking about buying it at that price and I was considering offering the guy $125 for it but I thought it broke some rule.

 

I checked out the dealers other books but kept an eye on the MP 1 which the potential buyer kept in his hands while he looked at other books. I ended up getting impatient and told the dealer that I'd like to put the MP 1 on hold if the other guy declined on the book. The buyer kind of gave me a stop stepping on my toes look. Did I break a unwritten code by asking to hold the book if he said no since the dealer now knew he had a sale at full price? I always see deals going down that if love to offer a higher price but never do. What's your thoughts on the matter?

 

 

i would have just waited until the guy decided to purchase or not. If the book was purchased then go on your way and try to find another score instead. I am sure you didn't mean anything by it trying to create a bid war. Sometimes it gets the better of us when there is a sale around.

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1Cool

1Cool

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Slightly off topic but I saw the coolest exchange yesterday. A guy was trying to sell a small stack of CGC books to a small local "dealer" when I was looking over his booth. The dealer was concentrating on a ASM 300 CGC 9.4 and was teaching the guy about GPA and trying to validate why he couldn't give the guy what he wanted. They must have talked for 15 minutes about the ASM 300 and then they glossed over a couple of the other books like a TMNT 3 CGC 9.6. I moved on and it looked like they were close to a deal.

 

I made it around the room and came back to that area of the room and I noticed the slabs were all on the top shelf of the larger more well known dealer across the aisle. I walked up to him and he pulled the TMNT 3 off the top and asked if I wanted to see a cool book. Turns out the book was a variant edition that was signed by both creators on the inside cover and worth about 5 times what the seller was offering it to the other dealer. I bet the dealer who bought them was praying the smaller dealer said no so he could grab the books with the unknown gem. He was a lot smoother then I was I'm sure.

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1Cool

1Cool

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Another story came to mind while writing the other one. I saw a Suicide Squad 1 on the wall of the dealer who was teaching the guy about GPA. I asked to see it and it looked NM-ish to me so I asked him how much. He glanced up from the GPA screen and said "$10". I of course put it in the "buy" stack and kept flipping thru his boxes. I got to the end of his booth which abutted against the guy with the Marvel Premiere 1 and that guy asked me how much the other guy was selling it for in a shocked tone. I told him $10 and he kind of shook his head and I thought he was going to say something to ruin the deal but he didn't. I should have learned my lesson and kept my mouth shut while at his booth but I'm not as smart (or patient) as he was obviously.

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Dr Chaos

Dr Chaos

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If potential buyer has a book in their hand or is standing in front of a long box it is a move for another buyer to make an offer on the book or grab something out of the box until they are done looking at it.

 

It is up there with moving someone else's pile of books from a box you want to look through instead of asking them if they could move it.

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Dale Roberts

Dale Roberts

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I would say go by the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. How would you feel if you clicked the I'll Take It on the boards and someone else posted I'll Take It plus $100.00.

 

You know whether something is right or wrong. Its not necessary to make some big drama out of it. Its just a comic book.

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oakman29

oakman29

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I would say go by the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. How would you feel if you clicked the I'll Take It on the boards and someone else posted I'll Take It plus $100.00.

 

You know whether something is right or wrong. Its not necessary to make some big drama out of it. Its just a comic book.

 

Truer words were never spoken. Dale you are wise beyond your years.

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1Cool

1Cool

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I would say go by the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. How would you feel if you clicked the I'll Take It on the boards and someone else posted I'll Take It plus $100.00.

 

You know whether something is right or wrong. Its not necessary to make some big drama out of it. Its just a comic book.

 

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. 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.

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