Using Trade At Card Shows

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by 1954 topps

A dealer may be more willing to trade if your offering a big card for several smaller cards but not the other way around. Say you have a Jackie Robinson and your willing to trade it for an Ed Mathews, Warren Spahn, Whitey Ford, Phil Rizzuto, Preacher Roe, and Johnny Podres. Let's say book value works out fairly close for both parties.

From the dealers perspective, it's a lot easier to sell the Jackie than the six other cards to make the same money. Chances are he can move the Jackie at the same show, but he's probably unlikely to sell all 6 of the others. So if time is money you make that deal as the dealer and take your profit to reinvest elsewhere.

Best advise, sell your cards yourself or through consignment well before a large show so you have cash. That's how you'll get yourself the best deal.

Trades like this are the main way I've had success when trading with a dealer at a show. One even told me what you are saying, that it would be easier for him to sell the one card I was offering in trade than the multiple cards I was getting from him.

While it may seem to be poor customer relations to just flat out say no to trades, I'm guessing that so many offers that are made to dealers are so clearly not worth it, that it is just easier for them to just say no from the start. The advice to show the dealer what you have first makes sense to me since they then know if they even want to entertain a trade offer later.