My plea to Sellers at the National

[1954 topps]

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.