Should Con dealers beat/match online prices? 3 3

[Jeffro.]

2 minutes ago, ParamagicFF said:

 

I have found in the past 2 years that "hot moderns" are priced very aggressively at cons. It's almost like the dealer is more afraid of not totally maximizing profit than of not selling the books at all. These books also tend to have real condition problems.

That's not a new phenomenon. I've seen that in play since I started going to comic cons in the mid to late 80s.

[1Cool]

2 minutes ago, ParamagicFF said:

Ebay prices are certainly a factor for both parties, as are all sales venues. All of the factors discussed previously are reasons it is advantageous to both parties to try to close a deal at a con, rather than use online transactions. 

For some reason both buyers and sellers get butthurt when either side quotes "I can get a better deal on ebay". It almost instantly sours the transaction. Both sides should have a price range in mind, and when those ranges overlap, we have a deal!

I have found in the past 2 years that "hot moderns" are priced very aggressively at cons. It's almost like the dealer is more afraid of not totally maximizing profit than of not selling the books at all. These books also tend to have real condition problems.

The booth fees have also skyrocketed over the last 2-3 years so the dealer may be less inclined to discount books that have a good chance of selling to the typical Con buyer knowing how much he/she has invested in the booth.  You can always find ultra cheap filler issues at a Con but almost no one is looking for those issues anymore.

[ParamagicFF]

7 minutes ago, 1Cool said:

The booth fees have also skyrocketed over the last 2-3 years so the dealer may be less inclined to discount books that have a good chance of selling to the typical Con buyer knowing how much he/she has invested in the booth.  You can always find ultra cheap filler issues at a Con but almost no one is looking for those issues anymore.

I think that is very reasonable. I spent some time in comics retail, but never did conventions as a seller. I like to try to make deals where both sides are happy, and I suppose more times than not I am surprised to find that the sticker price is non-negotiable. 

[1Cool]

Just now, ParamagicFF said:

I think that is very reasonable. I spent some time in comics retail, but never did conventions as a seller. I like to try to make deals where both sides are happy, and I suppose more times than not I am surprised to find that the sticker price is non-negotiable. 

Everything is negotiable but it may take buying a small stack of books before a dealer will want to discount a ultra hot book.  He may even not really want the hot books to sell since they bring in buyers.

[blazingbob]

The idea of a "con tax" always comes back to some customers complaining about not seeing a price.  Put a "sticky note" on the book which I think looks unprofessional would just scream out that it could or could not be his website price.  I am not even sure every dealer at a show even has a website or ebay store.  As I alluded to I do not have the time to reprice books for shows.  

[aka Rick1]

18 hours ago, Knightsofold said:

As buyers, should we expect dealers at cons to beat or at least match ebay auction house buy it nows?  

Do the table/travel fees = about the same as the % from ebay/paypal, auction houses etc?

I'm fine negotiating, but I don't like pointing out I can buy the same graded book cheaper online.  

EXPECT... No

DEMAND... Most Certainly Not

INQUIRE BY ASKING POLITELY... Sure

Pointing out price differentials without any tact can easily come across as classless, rude and insulting.

It  can result in a retort "Then why don't you go ahead and buy that over there then?" as, if communicated poorly (as many poeple do lack social graces at times, being awkwardly tactless), it can come across as accusing the dealer/seller of overpricing or price gauging.

Many offer comparisons of online vs in-person don't factor in

a) true grading comparisons

b) shipping or sales tax fees the buyer would endure buying online

c) immediacy of ownership

d) accuracy in description vs ability to inspect in-person

e) legitimacy of the transaction. i.e., I would feel more comfortable buying an Amazing Fantasy #15 or a $1,000 priced book in person VS rolling the dice for potential mail fraud or a bad experience.

 

Never discuss and point out a person's perceived profit margins and overhead savings or expenses, as rationale for negotiating a discount, it always comes across like a busy body / knit picking a55hole.  The only aspect of this that is commonplace is the cash vs credit card payment discounts which is acceptable.

 

 

[blazingbob]

I think but then again I may have not said this out loud.  I am not a mind reader when it comes to "the buyers personal buying makeup".  If a potential buyer is standing across from me I will try the best I can to ask them if there is anything I can help them with or find.  Now depending on the person that may trigger an immediate "OMG he is pressuring me", "No,  just looking",  "Yes,  I'm looking for such and such".  From there it gets dicey.  When they lean in and squint I try and help by stating is there a book you are looking for.  Again,  "OMG he is pressuring me",  "If something jumps out at me I'll let you know",  "No,  just looking".  Followed by "How much is that",  "OMG I have a better copy",  "WOW,  can I hold it or take a picture".   Negotiations can be dicey because again unless I've become Spock and doing a Vulcan mind meld how do I know if you are the "Negotiator", "Low Baller", "Champagne taste/beer wallet", "Hates to negotiate and wishes you would just tell me your best price", "Dealer in Disguise".  

 

[ParamagicFF]

5 minutes ago, blazingbob said:

I think but then again I may have not said this out loud.  I am not a mind reader when it comes to "the buyers personal buying makeup".  If a potential buyer is standing across from me I will try the best I can to ask them if there is anything I can help them with or find.  Now depending on the person that may trigger an immediate "OMG he is pressuring me", "No,  just looking",  "Yes,  I'm looking for such and such".  From there it gets dicey.  When they lean in and squint I try and help by stating is there a book you are looking for.  Again,  "OMG he is pressuring me",  "If something jumps out at me I'll let you know",  "No,  just looking".  Followed by "How much is that",  "OMG I have a better copy",  "WOW,  can I hold it or take a picture".   Negotiations can be dicey because again unless I've become Spock and doing a Vulcan mind meld how do I know if you are the "Negotiator", "Low Baller", "Champagne taste/beer wallet", "Hates to negotiate and wishes you would just tell me your best price", "Dealer in Disguise".  

 

Serious buyers will make themselves known, and you won't lose them by offering help. 

[gregreece]

I am with Bob on this and am amazed that anyone could have the time to reprice inventory for cons. Every book on our website is available at any con at the exact same price. Hard enough keeping up with processing new material. 

53 minutes ago, blazingbob said:

The idea of a "con tax" always comes back to some customers complaining about not seeing a price.  Put a "sticky note" on the book which I think looks unprofessional would just scream out that it could or could not be his website price.  I am not even sure every dealer at a show even has a website or ebay store.  As I alluded to I do not have the time to reprice books for shows.  

 

[revat]

I'm ok with anyone's rationale for selling at certain price, or buying at a certain price, and I'm comfortable with the 'market' ultimately deciding.   I generally do not care for the negotiation tactic (or comment) of 'I can get it cheaper at/on XXXXX'.  Just ask if you can get it at X price, and move along.  Of course, I feel a bit differently if you have a relationship with the dealer, and you're honestly give him feedback rather than trying to snag a cheaper comic (even if that's like a side goal).  And even in that context, it should be brought up with some tact.

[the blob]

14 hours ago, blazingbob said:

How many different places should a seller go to figure out what to price a book?  Seriously?  Wow?  Pricing by Ebay, online sellers, OSPG,  GPA and anywhere else.  Do those lookups and I'm thinking it might take me 10-15 mins a book to price it out.   Good luck with that.  

I take an average of the top 3 or so SALES prices for similar copies (ok, it's a guestimate of the average) and make that my price and take best offers.  I'm not really interested in factoring in the fluke $1.25 sale on a book that regularly sells for $15-$20. 

 

6 hours ago, 1Cool said:

Dealers now have to not only compete with every other dealer in the building but have to compete with every BIN book on E-Bay.  No thanks - at least on E-Bay you don't usually have to  compete with Con book prices and it's so much easier to sell from behind a computer.

Well..if they have to compete with asking prices for BINs on ebay then those are usually not such hard numbers to compete with.  Anything decent with a well priced BIN is generally scooped up pretty quickly, so what's left are high numbers usually waiting for a good "best offer"

Edited February 27, 2017 by the blob

[blazingbob]

Maybe this thread should have had a title

" Should Con dealers beat/match THEIR online prices?"

"Should Con dealers beat/match every online price out there?"

"Where is the Trivago website of Comic Book prices that shows the lowest price for a book I want?"

 

 

[blazingbob]

Lastly I'm waiting for the Convention promoter that will have the functionality to allow dealers to list their top 5 books for sale at the show.  Customers would be able to search and see who has the book,  what the price is and see the booth number of where it is.  My gift to the promoter who is smart enough to implement this.  

[the blob]

40 minutes ago, blazingbob said:

Maybe this thread should have had a title

" Should Con dealers beat/match THEIR online prices?"

"Should Con dealers beat/match every online price out there?"

"Where is the Trivago website of Comic Book prices that shows the lowest price for a book I want?"

 

 

Not only that, but convention dealers should, by law, be expected to beat the lowest yard sale and flea market prices, while keeping every book triple bagged in mylar and triple boarded with the finest quality archival backs.

[Gaard]

I may be wrong (it happens quite frequently), but it appears that the answer to the question depends on which side of the table you're standing on.

[Buzzetta]

6 hours ago, gregreece said:

I am with Bob on this and am amazed that anyone could have the time to reprice inventory for cons. Every book on our website is available at any con at the exact same price. Hard enough keeping up with processing new material. 

 

They don't.  In the case I was talking about (High end Transformers) they simply stacked their merchandise and put a price tag in front of the pile.  

[pandahouse]

As buyers, should we expect dealers at cons to beat or at least match ebay auction house buy it nows?  

No, I never expect it as a buyer and I give a slight premium to being able to look at every page of the actual book. Ebay can be really dicey for certain books; I've had sellers try to send books other than pictured among other things, that can be a pain to deal with.

 

I'm fine negotiating, but I don't like pointing out I can buy the same graded book cheaper online.  

Just ask what their best price on x is? If it's close you know you're in the ballpark, if you're worlds apart just move on.

[Knightsofold]

I'm surprised by how many think buyers should not only pay the ebay price, but a premium on top of that.  

For me it depends on what I'm buying.  If it's a 2,000 common ebay book.  Priced higher and the owner won't come very close than I don't see the point of buying it.  

Nice grade cheapo stuff is ok if you buy a few.  But too much and you start entering cheap ebay lot territory.  

Since I mostly collect GA, I usually overpay at cons, and I'm ok with it because I like most the dealers, appeciate being able to browse a bunch of books, and know it's a tough living.  

I'm curious if most dealers have luck selling the more common key books at over ebay prices.  

I'd guess most buyers are used to price checking.  

 

On the flip side, if books can be so easily sold for higher prices at cons, it would be great to see it effect trades or books sold to dealers at cons.  My favorite is when I offer some graded Timelys for sale and a dealer gets out the overstreet.  

[Artboy99]

As a buyer I find lots of books are priced higher than they should be. I do feel the art of negotiation is becoming lost however. A book priced at $120 that should be priced at $100, I might offer $80, to give the seller the chance to meet in the middle.

As a seller I tend to price nearly all of my books at current market: IE Ebay prices. It amazes me how many potential buyers still lowball. I had 3 offers within 1 hour at a local convention for an Avengers 4 CGC 6.0 that were 30% or more lower than fair market value.  As a seller that is a complete waste of my time.

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryroom.asp?gsub=180716

See my latest pages  https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/167387-original-art-and-recreations/?page=4

Edited February 28, 2017 by Artboy99

[thehumantorch]

If you're set up at a show you're in a marketplace trying to sell your wares.  

You're in competition with other vendors at that show and with online sellers, LCS, auction sites, etc.

You set your prices and you design your business model and ultimately your success depends on how hard you work and how good your business model is.

 

I've never understood sellers who price items far beyond the current market but I support their right to do so.  It's their stuff and they can do what they want.

For me, if it's a silly price I move on and avoid them in the future.