So I walked into a card store today, and was puzzled by...

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by luciobar1980

I totally get that. It seems lately some cards can change in price from week to week! So I'm sure some of these dealers aren't informed up to the last sale.

Some don't help themselves though by not staying up to date on the latest pricing tools. My current LCS owner has no idea what VCP is; he still looks things up in the online version of Beckett along with sometimes checking ebay prices. I'm like Oh kaaaay.... Vintage is not his main business by a long shot, but he has dealt in enough of it to where I wouldn't want to be guesstimating what certain things were really worth. With his Mantles at least, he seems to follow the standard card shop practice of horribly overpricing them for the masses, but he would come down / be willing to make deals with collectors like me who are more in tune to their real value if I was interested in something.

[Knoxy24]

Im amazed at the number of dealers I have spoken to that had very little knowledge of the card market or just cards in general. For an example I typically go to card shows in search of specific items. When I ask dealers if they have these items they typically have no idea what im looking for. Granted I collect non mainstream stuff but they have never even heard of it. One show I was looking for a 47 sports exchange Ted Williams and a 1950 prest-o-lite Ted Williams, no one knew what the hell I was talking about or even what those cards were.

[conor912]

Originally Posted by Knoxy24

Im amazed at the number of dealers I have spoken to that had very little knowledge of the card market or just cards in general. For an example I typically go to card shows in search of specific items. When I ask dealers if they have these items they typically have no idea what im looking for. Granted I collect non mainstream stuff but they have never even heard of it. One show I was looking for a 47 sports exchange Ted Williams and a 1950 prest-o-lite Ted Williams, no one knew what the hell I was talking about or even what those cards were.

Neither do I.

[jchcollins]

One of my favorite lines from dealers at shows or shops is "(Uh...) I can't do eBay prices." Ok maybe not, but you realize online basically IS the market for vintage right now? If you can't give me a price that's competitive, then at least be prepared to tell me about the bells and whistles your card has that makes it so much better than those online.

[Exhibitman]

We do tend to be experts in our niches, so it is natural that generalist sellers might not know the nuances, but 'professional' sellers who live in ignorance of the basics despite the incredible tools available right now online, well, that is just bad business. A fool and his money...