Toby,
I tend to agree with Jeff. I was a dealer for many years and having done that show many times starting a card at 950 then coming down to 450 and then to 250 to me is just trying to rip off the un educated public. What are you really looking for the home run idiot who is just that one time buyer. If your a dealer at any show your there to sell . Set a fair price lets say even a little higher than what you want for it and then if an offer comes on the card you dont look like a fool coming down from a offer that was probably fair in the first place. What is it with people is it that you just want to show you have a high priced card in your case? Especially even if its a piece of junk ? Then when someone challanges you that knows far more about the card then you start to come down? I would always walk by tables and laugh when all these BIG dealers would have thier cases filled with way over book cards and at the end of the day you would walk back and all the same cards were still there!
No holes in the cases. So your theory about table prices being high really doesnt hold water because if you made nothing the table still will cost you the same amount!