Does Expertise/Experience no longer matter to be a dealer? 8 8

[joeypost]

Whoever has cool books is now a dealer.

[chrisco37]

I kinda see your point (ie he wasn’t willing to come down in price at all).  Move on.  
What I don’t understand is you thinking he should come down to 9.0-9.2 price because you thought it was soft.

If you had a book graded and it came back 9.6, would you “sticker” it at a 9.2 price?  Or would you sticker it at 9.6?  Pretty sure 99.9% of us here would start at the 9.6 range.  If you’re in that other .01%, let me know when your next sales thread is coming up.

[Krydel4]

On 4/16/2022 at 3:15 PM, shadroch said:

In a decade plus in the bar business, I never had a single customer offer me 20% off for his first drink.  If a business, large or small chooses not to haggle, it is their choice and I don't see how it calls their expertise into account.

The idea of slabs was to end grading disputes. Somebody dropped $50 or more to get the book slabbed so he wouldn't have to dicker over what to deduct for this tick and for that non-visable fault.

He has a 9.6 slab and wants GPA for it.  You want it for a discount.  Keep looking and hopefully you'll find a book you are happy with.  If the book turns out to be overpriced today, the dealer will have to adapt.

The economics of a primary market like the food and beverage industry and secondary market like comic book back issues is not an apples to apples comparison. No one comes into your establishment and asks for a 30% discount on the half drunk Martini missing a quarter of an olive. It comes down to customer service and part of that is knowing who you're selling too and what you are selling. It was neither in this case.

[wombat]

I don't get the attitude to always offer less than asking. So if the person has it listed at what you would consider a very good price you will still try and haggle over the price?

[Krydel4]

On 4/16/2022 at 3:30 PM, Lord Gemini said:

No skin off your nose? Here you are complaining. I'm sure he was fine not dealing with an annoying customer.

The point of the thread was to start a discussion to my question heading. I'm not sure how asking if there was wiggle room in the price based upon the knowledge that I had for what the book was selling for is out of line and annoying? That's how cons used to work, I guess it's changed. Which was what my question was asking.

[Krydel4]

On 4/16/2022 at 3:43 PM, wombat said:

I don't get the attitude to always offer less than asking. So if the person has it listed at what you would consider a very good price you will still try and haggle over the price?

Nope. I've bought books before right off the wall that have been priced at a fair price. No negotiation. 

[Lightning55]

Maybe it's called a CON for a reason....

[JollyComics]

On 4/16/2022 at 5:00 PM, Lord Gemini said:

He had knowledge of his product. It was a 9.6. He has no obligation to barter with you.

Also, he paid and waited for the graded book at the expensive rate.  He tried to protect his investment rather than losing money on the grade.

[Pat Thomas]

Since "used" comics aren't regulated, dealers are not restricted to any type of price range. No, they aren't required to discount, but it pays to be flexible. If you want to set up at a con and deal with people directly, you need to be pleasant in your interactions with potential customers. You can say no without sounding like a jerk. This one person who had a bad experience with this dealer will ultimately affect the dealer's bottom line more in the long run now than if he had left happy. Every time he hears or sees this dealer's name, he's going to reference his encounter to whoever will listen, making it sound a little worse every time. A dealer can run their business however they want, but a comic dealer unwilling to even discuss alternatives is only hurting themself. Thank God there are some "people person" comic dealers out there. With the back issue market exploding, the last thing the hobby needs is a bunch of "Comic Book Guy" tropes on the front line dealing with people.

[blazingbob]

On 4/16/2022 at 6:45 PM, Krydel4 said:

The point of the thread was to start a discussion to my question heading. I'm not sure how asking if there was wiggle room in the price based upon the knowledge that I had for what the book was selling for is out of line and annoying? That's how cons used to work, I guess it's changed. Which was what my question was asking.

"Also the 9.6 GPA price he had the book at was an outlier price as there were 3 other 9.6 sales within 30 days that were significantly less"

So this dealer knew that you the buyer was not using the last GPA sale but the other 3?

He also knew that because you felt it was over graded he should discount it 15%?

I've been doing comic cons for a very long time and I still don't know this the first time I meet a buyer.   They could be a last GPA guy,  a 90 or 12 month buyer.  They could be a OSPG type buyer.  

Comic cons really haven't changed much,  what has changed is the expectations that buyers and sellers have from both sides of the table.  Unfortunately it is still a "Us versus them" mentality.  

[badback83]

This is loosely related to the topic.  It drives me crazy when people want a discount but don’t want to make an offer.  A seller has a book at 1k, buyer comes up to the table and asks what the seller’s best price is.  Uh, the sellers best price is 1k!  Don’t just ask what the lowest they can go is.  Be an adult and make an offer of a specific dollar amount.  I’m sick and tired of these Johnny come lately, self-proclaimed comic wheeler dealers that sold one copy of New Mutants 98 once and think they’re gods gift to commerce.  

[Krydel4]

On 4/16/2022 at 4:08 PM, blazingbob said:

"Also the 9.6 GPA price he had the book at was an outlier price as there were 3 other 9.6 sales within 30 days that were significantly less"

So this dealer knew that you the buyer was not using the last GPA sale but the other 3?

He also knew that because you felt it was over graded he should discount it 15%?

I've been doing comic cons for a very long time and I still don't know this the first time I meet a buyer.   They could be a last GPA guy,  a 90 or 12 month buyer.  They could be a OSPG type buyer.  

Comic cons really haven't changed much,  what has changed is the expectations that buyers and sellers have from both sides of the table.  Unfortunately it is still a "Us versus them" mentality.  

GPA price he had was the highest not the latest (which was lower). I said I didn't think the book was a 9.6 based upon the defects present and if he could do a bit better and gave my offer based upon those 3 other books and his price.  My offer was 90% of his asking. He could have negotiated and ended up at 95% or I may have just bought  for his price. But 🤷‍♂️

Edited April 17, 2022 by Krydel4
Clarity

[Kramerica]

On 4/16/2022 at 12:55 PM, Krydel4 said:

Should we just have automated bot dealers?

Sounds like we do.

[Artboy99]

I recently sent in a book that I estimated would be a 9.0, my friend @joeypost worked his "magic" on it and it came back in a 9.6 slab. I looked up the price for the book in 9.6 and priced it at 9.6 current value and it sold within weeks of getting it back at my asking. 

Why do you want the book? Is it possible you see the most recent sale as an indicator that the book is on the rise?

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 4/16/2022 at 8:15 PM, Kramerica said:

On 4/16/2022 at 3:55 PM, Krydel4 said:

Should we just have automated bot dealers?

Sounds like we do.

CGC vending machines 

 

 

Free SCS with every purchase 

[Krydel4]

On 4/16/2022 at 5:28 PM, Artboy99 said:

I recently sent in a book that I estimated would be a 9.0, my friend @joeypost worked his "magic" on it and it came back in a 9.6 slab. I looked up the price for the book in 9.6 and priced it at 9.6 current value and it sold within weeks of getting it back at my asking. 

Why do you want the book? Is it possible you see the most recent sale as an indicator that the book is on the rise?

It would be nice to have in my collection. The cover is creative and looks cool. I'm a fan of the character and creative team and would like to read the story. What other reasons are there to purchase a comic book?

[Dr. Love]

And the book was?

 

[Ryan.]

So a buyer is annoyed at a dealer who has a 9.6 but won't sell it for the price of a 9.2? Cool thread.

[blazingbob]

On 4/16/2022 at 8:33 PM, Krydel4 said:

It would be nice to have in my collection. The cover is creative and looks cool. I'm a fan of the character and creative team and would like to read the story. What other reasons are there to purchase a comic book?

Ok,  but why buy an overgraded copy?

[Kramerica]

On 4/16/2022 at 3:43 PM, wombat said:

I don't get the attitude to always offer less than asking. So if the person has it listed at what you would consider a very good price you will still try and haggle over the price?

So true. When I go to a Con I don't transform into Haggle Man and barter at every table. That sounds exhausting and the opposite of fun - something I like to have at a Con. What's wrong with paying the asking price on a reasonably priced book? And I don't want every dealer thinking "Sh*t, here comes Haggle Man again - time to put up my defenses" every time I approach their booth. I'm already a stickler with my registration and presentation issues so I'm not going to add another OCD quirk to keep me from obtaining something that I'm supposed to be enjoying. No, if I see a book that is decently priced with good registration, no miswrap and rust free staples I'm going to pay the man and rejoice. Later on I will spend quality time with the book when we're all alone.