Quote:
Originally Posted by Snowman
I don't understand how table fees, hotel fees, airfare, etc. enter someone's calculation on whether or not they would want to engage in a trade with a customer or in how much they sell a card for. I also don't understand how the amount you paid for a card would come into the equation either. Those factors have no bearing on the value of cards incoming or outgoing. The market dictates what every card is worth; buy, sell, or trade. If the amount you pay to set up at the National affects your decisions at the table with customers, perhaps you might benefit from changing your approach?
I get that your time as a dealer is valuable though. I fully understand not wanting to lose a potential customer because someone else just handed you a stack of random low-end cards to go through that he hopes to trade up for a Mickey Mantle. Clearly that's a waste of your time. But it's so easy to convey this message in way that eliminates 95% of the garbage trade offers while letting through 100% of the good ones. Just reply with something like, "I only accept trades of graded blue chip cards of all-time greats or high demand cards that are easy to sell, and I offer 70% of comps for trades". Something along those lines. I would think you wouldn't want to push away the guy who has a Gretzky RC, Aaron RC, and a 53 Mantle to trade. Most people I know who bring cards to shows are pretty selective about what they put into their backpacks or Pelican cases. They're not carrying around a case full of junk cards at big shows hoping to find a sucker. Surely there are some, but my guess is the majority of those interactions occur at the local card shops, not at the National.
I've heard a few dealers recently saying things like, "I just say no to traders" or "Don't say the word 'comps' at my booth". Then they sit there and look up how much they paid for a card before determining whether or not they'll accept someone's offer on it as if that has any relevance to the card's current value whatsoever, or they'll put 95% of their net worth into cardboard, always desperate for cash and wonder why they're struggling to profit after paying $5k in dealer fees to set up a booth at the National. Why not give yourselves more buffer room and keep a larger portion of your assets in cash so that you can take advantage of opportunities as they arrive rather than handcuffing yourself financially to your inventory?
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As a dealer, you have to make a profit or you won't be a dealer for very long. So you must consider your expenses and the amount of money you spent on your inventory to make a determination as to whether you had a profitable show. If a show is not profitable, I need to change my inventory and pricing or just maybe find a different show where I might have better luck.
Again, as a dealer, you must make a profit so you can't solely consider the value of the card (which has so many variables), you must take into consideration what you paid for your inventory. You can't trade a card that you initially paid $75 for a card you know you can only sell for $50, even though the supposed value for each card is $100.
Unlike "Trade," "Comps" is not a dirty word at my booth or tables. I welcome folks to look up recent sales. I have and I know I won't make a sale if I'm priced over comps.
I don't know how other dealers operate but I don't put any of my personal funds into buying cards. I fund my purchases through my sales.
I am not a full-time dealer. I do it for fun. I have a good day job and get paid well. Setting up at card shows each weekend is my form of stress release. I don't need the money I earn at shows other than to use it to purchase more cards which is more fun than selling cards. I have a steady stream of sales so I always have cash to purchase cards.
One last thing that I would like to stress is that I don't need any cards. So whatever you are offering to trade, I don't need it. Most long-time dealers are just like me and we each have massive inventories. I also have an endless stream of folks that want to sell me cards, which is my preferred route. The only thing handcuffing me is time. It takes a great deal of time to organize and price inventory. I'm paying employees to post cards on eBay because I just don't have the time to do it myself. I am contemplating hiring folks to price my inventory for the shows. Time is the biggest problem and the major handcuff.