Sticker price at card shows

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

I was at Chantilly Saturday. In speaking with some dealers and watching the tables/traffic, it appears that it was a slow show for most pre-war and vintage dealers selling graded cards. One dealer-friend, who has an amazing assortment of 1950-60 key-cards, told me Chantilly was very slow, coming off a Philly show he thought was slow. He said he may take some shows off in this economy. I do think things at shows may indeed be slowing.

I collect exclusively prewar. Almost everything pre war I saw at Chantilly (and Philly before that) was overpriced to stupid-overpriced. No wonder dealers appear to be having slow shows. Sometimes I wonder if dealers are really actually trying to sell cards. Some are for sure, but others have sticker-prices that are so ludicrous that I wonder if they are just fishing for suckers. When I walk by the table and see a stupid price on a card, I don't even bother to ask. I imagine I am not alone.

Juxtapose card shows to AHs, which seem to be business and usual when it comes to solid prewar sales results. I dont think most things are still setting records with each new auction, but there are many bidders and prices are solid. Perhaps prewar collectors are deciding to forgo shows and obnoxious sticker/asking prices for acquisitions from the comfort of their homes.

Not having been at the show, it's hard for me to imagine. But you mentioned items being overpriced to stupid-overpriced. And then you talked about the AHs and their brisk business. My experience these days with the AHs is that final hammer prices tend to be overpriced to stupid-overpriced. I guess one clear difference is that stuff is actually selling for those prices at the AHs, instead of merely asking for it at the shows.

But maybe the asking prices at shows are even a step beyond the stupid-overpriced that we're seeing at AHs these days?