My plea to Sellers at the National
 

Please add others. I know there are many.

1. Please have a price sticker on every card. I can't stand walking up to a display case and seeing cards without prices. Even stupid ones are better than no prices. And when I see you pull one out of your . . eh, hat . . . I'm not impressed. Tells me you are not a serious seller or trying to take advantage of people.

2. Don't get ticked off when I say "I'm just looking. . ." That's what potential buyers say sometimes. Doesn't mean I'm not also buying.

That price sticker should be on front too.
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or when they say let me check the latest comps lol

Automatic walk by for me. No price, I don't bother looking.

I don't mind not seeing a price. If I'm interested I will ask them.

My wife just doesn't get why I work so hard to get a price on everything -- it's so much easier to turn a deal around if you have a price on everything.

Unfortunately, thieves have a better target to try and steal the most expensive items.

When I walk around at shows, I rarely stop at booths/tables when the items carry no price, unless they are as rare as can be. Then I really want to know their price.

That being said, I may have two showcases where all of the items only have prices on their backs -- prices on their fronts detract from the visual beauty of these items. We will see. I haven't decided yet.

Steve
DynamicTwo@aol.com
National Booth 1100
6 Booths from main entrance

123. Fly-Over Greats (also The Overbook Hotel or Cases Loaded)
A show table full of beautiful Hall of Famer cards, but there’s not a single price tag anywhere to be seen, so you know everything is super-exorbitant and you decide to just pass it on by.

I price everything when I set up and I feel that it puts me in a much better position to negotiate. You'll almost always get the "What's your best price?" question, and my response is almost always, "What's your best offer?". Then they usually reply with something like, "It's your card, you tell me." That's when I say something like, "I don't mind negotiating, but it takes both people to negotiate. I've already thrown out the first number, it's right there on the card. It's your turn." They either counter or walk away, but I never throw out another price when there is a price already on the card.

To me, prices on front don't detract from our beauties....
The reason they are put on back is to drum up conversation but that can backfire too, as has been shown in this thread. When I do set up, I have prices on front.

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i would think that prices on the front would be easier for the sellers since if the price is not to the buyers liking they keep walking and frees up the seller to sell if the prices are right or reasonable to the buyers

For me I have no like or dislike if they are priced or not. But since I am seeking specific and rare cards. Anything I like will start with a conversation of some type anyway.

not sure if i am buying since many times the shows prices are on the high end since the seller has alot of overhead from this event to cover

I have been selling cards since 1978 and right from the beginning I always priced my cards--way back . some dealers gave me flack for pricing the cards but that is how I wanted to do it---I always like when I see another booth and prices are marked---I hate asking a dealer (who maybe I dont know) what is the price--many times you hear different prices to different people. I price my cards close to what price I want to get. But for me, it has worked for a long time. See you at the National., thanks, Don

Personally, no price limits what I'll look at. For stuff I'm really searching for, I'll ask for a price. But I'm generally not going to ask for the price on something I would consider buying, but that are not must haves. Could you imagine asking the price for each and every item in someone case? Even asking about just 4-5 cards would get tiresome real quick. On the plus side, this does help limit the impulse buys.

Leon,

Thank you!!! All of my ten showscases will have items with price tags on the front. Thanks for your input and I agree.

Collectors/Dealers can expect to pay 85 to 90% of the prices I place on my items. In fact, most of my sales are larger ones to collector/dealers who are going to resell their purchases after grading them. They do not even blink at paying my price -- maybe a little negotiations but not much.

I had many larger deals last year and some of the purchasers often spent anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours with me. In fact I would estimate that most of my sales -- probably 75 percent to 85 percent of my sales are made to dealers!!

I would be doing more on Net 54 if I could, but now that I am getting older, I just can't go to storage as frequently as in the past.

Stop by and say hello.

Steve
DynamicTwo@aol.com (914-522-3853)
6 Booths in the main entrance of the show (1100)

P.S. - I have now done 38 Nationals and there are only 24 sellers at this National with a higher priority than me. It's been fun, and I hope to continue doing the National forever -- well maybe until I am in my eighties.

Gee, I haven't been to a show in a long time. If I saw what I was looking for, then I asked to please see the card. If it passed my eyeball scrutiny, then the last thing was talk about price. Actually, if there wasn't a price sticker, I felt I could more easily offer what I was willing to pay. If i walked right by tables without price stickers, I would have missed some opportunity for what I was after.

Agree 110%. If I walk by a table with no pricing, I just keep walking.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

DJ, I agree with you 100%. If there is an unpriced must-have, of course I will ask, because its a must have and its a matter of how much I must pay to have it. But there are many items that I could want but will simply pass on because I don't feel like waiting to get the guy's attention and then asking (and often getting some snide reply).

Don, your booth is hands down always one of the best at any show. I just wish you would take credit cards!

I am on the flip side. I think you do yourself a disservice by just passing a table that doesn’t have prices.

What if they have a card you want at a fair price? You just missed a great opportunity. And it never hurts to engage and ask a price.

Ryan. I remember our first meeting years ago. It is so funny now. You must have thought, were is this guy from. But I always say cash is king. Always a pleasure talking with you. Your collection is so advanced, I can’t sell you anything. See you in Atlantic City.

I just love when dealers respond, "For you it's $ ______." Attachment 519341

Don't understand the problem with no price. Asking is easy.

In my experience, nothing strikes fear in collectors more than asking them to make an offer. They seem to lock up. Fear of negotiation. They rather walk away empty handed.

I believe, and this is only speculation, that a price on a card lets a buyer know if the seller is reasonable or curating a museum and should just be passed by.

I've only been to one national a couple years back, but as I recall if I skipped every table without price tags, I would have skipped most of them. I would prefer prices, but not a deal breaker. I do skip over listings on this site without prices though.

I can only imagine how many great deals are missed by assuming wrong.

Unfortunately A lot of collectors are set in their ways or introverts and don't want to deal with the social aspect of card shows. This is why ebay and Ah/s are so hot with sales.

looking forward to see many of you there.

Probably a dumb question but does this forum have something that members use to recognize each other (ie hat, pin, etc)

Very true.

I proposed the Net54 face tattoo a few years ago but unfortunately it didn't get much traction.

No, not always. My experience with cards that are not priced (admittedly, mostly from local shows) are when I ask for a price, the seller takes the card, examines it slowly, walks away slowly, looks it up in a guide slowly and comes back slowly with a very high price. I'll put up with this for a high value card or something rare I really need, but if its a stack of 52 Topps commons, I find it not worth the bother

Have you been to a National? When there are multiple customers at a booth and you want to see a stack of cards that aren't priced. It is not convenient at all.

This year will be my first. I'll see if it changes my tune.

As a buyer, and reading through this thread, a visible price on the card isn't a one-size-fits-all answer to me. If it's something rare (to me), or a priority card, I'll ask if no sticker. If it's a relatively commonly findable card with no sticker, I might ask on a specific card, and based on that answer I might ask on others, or not. Or I might just walk on by. For the National, it would also greatly depend on whether it's Wednesday or Saturday. :)

Regarding the "I'm just looking" type of question. When asked what am I looking for, I frequently respond by saying that I couldn't really say because a lot of times I end up buying things I'm not looking for. And it would be the truth.

On the one hand, from a dealer perspective, it's a major league hassle to price every single card every single time. The market is fluid, that's a lot of extra work to keep every card priced with a sticker reflecting the current market all the time.

On the other hand, as a buyer, it gets very old and tedious and to ask "how much for that one?" over and over and over and over.

....

Casey- we used to have Net54 t shirts for a few yrs. We had poll/thread on what design to use and had some color choices.

That sounds like fun, and a good way to meet each other. My suggestion for this years design...
_

actually that looks really get to get around the event in.

:D

plus it is eco friendly

Phil,
+1.

(Gives me time to secure one, for next year; I am in the Chi burbs.)

Ben

"I love baseball history backstory; especially when it involves cards."

Pricing Cards
 

If someone sees a card they truly want, they will discuss it with the dealer - priced or unpriced. Why not?

Exactly

It blows my mind how some people would pass up a card they may want simply because of the unknown. Please have to fear. It’s ok to ask if you don’t like the price you can just say no not for me.

I see so many people at shows lately that don’t engage patrons or other dealers through eye contact.. Is this a Post Covid thing ? So many heads down in phone’s how about you get off the pocket computer put your fancy pelican lock box away and engage/talk to the other person about the card and the price. I’m not angry about this it’s just some of my observations from the past few years.

Exactly

It blows my mind how some people would pass up a card they may want simply because of the unknown. Please have no fear. It’s ok to ask if you don’t like the price you can just say no not for me.

I see so many people at shows lately that don’t engage patrons or other dealers through eye contact.. Is this a Post Covid thing ? So many heads down in phone’s how about you get off the pocket computer put your fancy pelican lock box away and engage/talk to the other person about the card and the price. I’m not angry about this it’s just some of my observations from the past few years.

As a dealer for many years and dealing with mostly t206 cards, I always priced my cards on the front of the graded holder. However this year, I am pricing all cards on the back of the holder. Most buyers want to see the cards when I take them out of the showcase anyway. Besides, buyers were coming around and taking phone pictures on the cards with the prices on the front of the cards and a month later were trying to buy the cards at the same prices.

I think this is a great point that I did not consider. I am not a dealer, but I imagine this is a major pain in the ass, especially in the current market with prices changing so fast

Bill makes another great point (related to the rapidly changing market). Interesting to hear from the dealer’s perspective

My time at shows is usually limited. The National is a huge show. I don't waste my time at tables where things are not priced. I skip the tables without prices, just like I skip the tables with modern and Pokemon cards.

If I went to a grocery store and the items were not priced I would leave and go somewhere else.

More for us!

If you have not been to a national you just dont know! Some booths can be insanely crowded…there are so many tables just making 1 lab takes hours and hours and is tiring. And while I understand the fluidity of prices and the difficulty of pricing items… as has been stated it’s quite annoying asking for a number of prices on items with none priced and it takes the dealer forever to figure out what they want to charge you.

I also like when the dealers responds, "Let me look at my notes to see what I have into it". Funny as hell. Attachment 519441

It's also funny as hell when buyers think they're the only ones deserving of the best deal possible.

To me, posted prices tend to push me to consider cards I don’t need, but may want at the price point it’s priced at. Also, they tend to make “combo offers” easier.

When cards aren't priced, I consider the negotiation a blank slate meaning I can throw out what I want to pay without it seeming disrespectful at all. When a card is worth around $300 and a dealer has it priced on the front for $650, they aren't going to get a whole lot of offers because nobody wants to offend the guy and the gap is so large that any reasonable offer is way below asking price.

I get the dealers strategy, basically they want you to throw the first counter and maybe his target is 50% of the asking price but hoping you'll offer 75% of his absurd price.

Know your prices in your head without looking at your phone, take the time to study up before the show, review comps and even nice for the grade prices vs. avg. for the grade and pay with cash. This will get you the best deal possible. I often ignore asking prices, especially at the National when most cards are overpriced anyways and say for this example I can do $XXX. It's part of the experience, sometimes you have to pay up, sometimes you get a deal. Just know that when you find that perfect example of said card you've been seeking out for years, you'll never regret over paying.