personally, i would find it a bit of a turn off if you have it on a sign. and, particularly, as a new guy at the show, i wouldn't be trying to turn people away. sure, if all you have are 50 cent books I see your point, but I don't think that's what you're doing.
and i don't care if your prices are really fair, if I am picking up $208 "worth" of $2-$10 books, let's say, even if priced reasonably, the right thing for a dealer to do with a bulk purchaser is to knock off that extra $8 and make it an even $200.
i never understand the need to squeeze every last penny out of a guy dropping a couple of bills at your table. i won't name names, but there's a guy who does most of the shows around here and I admit, his prices are very good (although occasionally there's an internal or easy enough to miss defect that I catch later that I'm sure they didn't see in their quick pricing) and has some good $2 books, etc, but he gets so frigging upset looking when I ask to round down a couple of bucks..and seriously, I'm talking $4-$8 on a $200-300 total purchase...sure, he does it, but he really looks like I'm yanking the heart out of his chest sometimes. honestly, wouldn't he rather sell them to me all at once rather than deal with 10 or 15 separate $20-$30 purchases?
#5492968 - 03/02/1207:02 PMRe: Can you run comicbook booth like a Saturn Dealership?
[Re: the blob]
boomtownboomtown
Up 20 words per minute since I signed up
Registered: 01/14/06
Posts: 1316
Never underestimate the ignorance of your average comic collector. I constantly see buyers pass up tightly graded & discount priced books to run to the loud obnoxious used car salesman screaming that he is running a 60% off sale for the next hour. People don't seem to grasp the fact that paying 60% off of VG books priced at the NM price, is still overpaying. If you have ever set up at a show next to this type of a dealer it is an amazing thing to see. Watching the herd mentality of the collector as they rush to get the bargains.
I'm sure you can do well with your pricing structure, but nothing creates a frenzy at a convention like a carnival barker announcing his 60% off sale.
#5492986 - 03/02/1207:15 PMRe: Can you run comicbook booth like a Saturn Dealership?
[Re: boomtown]
gyro-1gyro-1
Up 20 words per minute since I signed up
Registered: 11/12/11
Posts: 1317
Loc: Alberta
Try this have a sign saying that all pricing negoshable ! Thats clear and should alow you to get in a conversation with those at the booth ! Also tell everyone that last hr of show everything 25% of sticker for that hr ! What will hapen every time is they will ask for the 25% all the time and zoom you got a sale !!! So price 15% - 20 % high to start and let everyone have FUN getting your books at a very fair price !
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From a buyer's perspective YES. I don't like to haggle either.
However, from a dealers point of view that's going to be really tough to pull off. For your 1st show you'll be ok, since you are pricing your books right now. The problem is when you have 1,000's of books and the market changes in the future. Will you update 1,000's of comics before each show? If yes, go for it.
Hypothetical example. Book is worth $20 right now, but 4 months from now it drops to $10 and you haven't updated the price. If that's the 1st book someone picks up at your show and you have a big sign saying no price drops, they may just up and leave your booth immediately.
I guess if the market changes too quickly, I could have a sale. I might have a sale anyway depending on the convention. I was considering bringing signs that say "5% off" and "10% off" and only use them when I'm desperate.
But FWIW, since I will only do shows on weekends, I think I'll see the market changing and sell through the stuff that is dropping in price. But I'm going to deal only with the better books which (hopefully) are more stable in price. That's part of the reason I'm considering this.
WC
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I would think a major snag would be if your prices are too fair, too attractive, all the other con dealers would just buy 'em up and take them to their tables. Or at least all the hot ones. Rest assured, you would be shopped heavily before the doors opened.
I would love this! I'd love it because I will be looking at my replacement cost. I'll try not to price a book so low that I can't get another one at a cheaper price. My prices will be set to keep those forces in balance. But again, I won't have pressure to bring books back with me to my daily customers because I won't have any....I can restock between shows (I hope).
WC
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Like my analysis on what drives the price of collectibles? Then do yourself a favor and read my blog and provide feedback: http://makingakillingwithcollectibles.com
No...I love it! I'll be haggling like a nutcase when I buy. Just not when I sell. I was also thinking I'd take trade-ins, and I'm sure some haggling will go on when people want to buy more than one book.
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Like my analysis on what drives the price of collectibles? Then do yourself a favor and read my blog and provide feedback: http://makingakillingwithcollectibles.com
I'd love it because I will be looking at my replacement cost. I'll try not to price a book so low that I can't get another one at a cheaper price. My prices will be set to keep those forces in balance. But again, I won't have pressure to bring books back with me to my daily customers because I won't have any....I can restock between shows (I hope).
