Any issue with bring up comps when buying or selling a card?

[JustinD]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

When I was set up at the MPls show this past spring...and this was my first time ever set up at a show...customers would routinely stand at my table with their phone in front of them looking up comps. In fact this was the norm. It didn't really bother me as i was there to try to sell...not gouge. There was still a negotiation after being presented with this info.

This is the way it is now.

Oh, definitely.

I meant much like what Adam mentioned, do the homework first. I do it off to the side or quietly after a quick excuse me, to avoid seeming rude. I also think the people that jam phones with comps in peoples faces seem like a tool.

I don't pretend that the dealer has no clue what the card is worth, it's a very rare day in which something is underpriced vs over. That's not a coincidence.

I just expect the usual each time: Dealer sets original price at highest ever plus 10% as a beginning. I do my research, if there are comps I may set a mental price around the average range of purchase prices with the newest most weighted. If the comps are zero, that's out the window and it's set on how much I really want it. My error card purchases seem to always fall in this bucket, lol.

We chat and hopefully come to a happy spot for everyone, if not...no hard feelings. I don't discuss comps, I often just say a general statement of "based on what I have seen sold lately, I would be comfortable here. I hope that works with you." As said before, I seldom meet a clueless vintage dealer that has no idea of what they have. My experiences walking with my son and dealing with the modern dealers that just started during the pandemic and have discussions about what "Market Movers" has as hot cards...not so much.

[JollyElm]

Here are a couple of things pertinent to the topic from my 'Collectorisms' thread...

885. Phonaticism
Surging headlong into negotiation battles at card shows with your cell phone - and the vast amount of past-sales data and other effective ammunition it holds - leading the charge.

973. The Blind Leading the Deaf (derogative)
An assessment of dealers whose pricing is not only a refusal to see what cards actually sell for, but who also won’t listen no matter how much documented proof of recent sales prices is presented to them.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by JustinD

Oh, definitely.

it's a very rare day in which something is underpriced vs over. That's not a coincidence.

Mainly because anything underpriced was purchased by another dealer during set-up.