Using Trade At Card Shows

[JohnnyKilroy]

Originally Posted by Snowman

I think part of the disconnect is that the leverage dealers have over buyers in today's market is quite a bit different than it was back in the 80s, 90s, and even the 2000s. Back then, if you wanted to sell your cards, you either had to find a friend to sell it to or take it to your local card shop/show and take whatever you could get for it. They had a lot of leverage over you. They knew they could resell it for X, so they gave you some significantly lower percentage of its value in order to turn a profit. It's a business after all. But in today's market, collectors no longer need dealers or card shops to buy their cards. The only thing a dealer offers them today by buying their card is the convenience of not having to deal with eBay or a consignment company. We don't "need" a dealer to buy our cards nowadays, so that leverage is lost. But most of the dealers I've encountered don't acknowledge this. It's like they still think they have power over the market/buyers because they've somehow "earned" it with their decades of experience. I find most (not all) card shop owners that I've encountered to be extremely arrogant.

The only leverage they have now, in the case of a trade, comes from them having a particular card that you want, not from them being in the position of being a dealer. Sure, some people are desperate enough to acquire a particular card that they're willing to take a loss on their trade in value to get it, but it's not because the person on the other end of the transaction is a dealer, but rather because they have what the other person wants. I think most trades at shows nowadays probably occurs between collectors away from the tables. Trade night is a big deal at the larger shows.

Jackpot. This is exactly right. So many avenues to move cards these days, the leverage is just not there. Which also goes with the other point that trading with dealers is not advantageous or preferred. Most trading I see is between people walking around. Another reason why I don’t understand the term “trade value” these days. I value a card for exactly what I could sell it for when it comes to trading for something I want. If they bump up for “trade value”, then I will too… so I don’t see the point.

[Snowman]

I don't understand how table fees, hotel fees, airfare, etc. enter someone's calculation on whether or not they would want to engage in a trade with a customer or in how much they sell a card for. I also don't understand how the amount you paid for a card would come into the equation either. Those factors have no bearing on the value of cards incoming or outgoing. The market dictates what every card is worth; buy, sell, or trade. If the amount you pay to set up at the National affects your decisions at the table with customers, perhaps you might benefit from changing your approach?

I get that your time as a dealer is valuable though. I fully understand not wanting to lose a potential customer because someone else just handed you a stack of random low-end cards to go through that he hopes to trade up for a Mickey Mantle. Clearly that's a waste of your time. But it's so easy to convey this message in way that eliminates 95% of the garbage trade offers while letting through 100% of the good ones. Just reply with something like, "I only accept trades of graded blue chip cards of all-time greats or high demand cards that are easy to sell, and I offer 70% of comps for trades". Something along those lines. I would think you wouldn't want to push away the guy who has a Gretzky RC, Aaron RC, and a 53 Mantle to trade. Most people I know who bring cards to shows are pretty selective about what they put into their backpacks or Pelican cases. They're not carrying around a case full of junk cards at big shows hoping to find a sucker. Surely there are some, but my guess is the majority of those interactions occur at the local card shops, not at the National.

I've heard a few dealers recently saying things like, "I just say no to traders" or "Don't say the word 'comps' at my booth". Then they sit there and look up how much they paid for a card before determining whether or not they'll accept someone's offer on it as if that has any relevance to the card's current value whatsoever, or they'll put 95% of their net worth into cardboard, always desperate for cash and wonder why they're struggling to profit after paying $5k in dealer fees to set up a booth at the National. Why not give yourselves more buffer room and keep a larger portion of your assets in cash so that you can take advantage of opportunities as they arrive rather than handcuffing yourself financially to your inventory?

[Tony Gordon]

Originally Posted by Snowman

I don't understand how table fees, hotel fees, airfare, etc. enter someone's calculation on whether or not they would want to engage in a trade with a customer or in how much they sell a card for. I also don't understand how the amount you paid for a card would come into the equation either. Those factors have no bearing on the value of cards incoming or outgoing. The market dictates what every card is worth; buy, sell, or trade. If the amount you pay to set up at the National affects your decisions at the table with customers, perhaps you might benefit from changing your approach?

I get that your time as a dealer is valuable though. I fully understand not wanting to lose a potential customer because someone else just handed you a stack of random low-end cards to go through that he hopes to trade up for a Mickey Mantle. Clearly that's a waste of your time. But it's so easy to convey this message in way that eliminates 95% of the garbage trade offers while letting through 100% of the good ones. Just reply with something like, "I only accept trades of graded blue chip cards of all-time greats or high demand cards that are easy to sell, and I offer 70% of comps for trades". Something along those lines. I would think you wouldn't want to push away the guy who has a Gretzky RC, Aaron RC, and a 53 Mantle to trade. Most people I know who bring cards to shows are pretty selective about what they put into their backpacks or Pelican cases. They're not carrying around a case full of junk cards at big shows hoping to find a sucker. Surely there are some, but my guess is the majority of those interactions occur at the local card shops, not at the National.

I've heard a few dealers recently saying things like, "I just say no to traders" or "Don't say the word 'comps' at my booth". Then they sit there and look up how much they paid for a card before determining whether or not they'll accept someone's offer on it as if that has any relevance to the card's current value whatsoever, or they'll put 95% of their net worth into cardboard, always desperate for cash and wonder why they're struggling to profit after paying $5k in dealer fees to set up a booth at the National. Why not give yourselves more buffer room and keep a larger portion of your assets in cash so that you can take advantage of opportunities as they arrive rather than handcuffing yourself financially to your inventory?

As a dealer, you have to make a profit or you won't be a dealer for very long. So you must consider your expenses and the amount of money you spent on your inventory to make a determination as to whether you had a profitable show. If a show is not profitable, I need to change my inventory and pricing or just maybe find a different show where I might have better luck.

Again, as a dealer, you must make a profit so you can't solely consider the value of the card (which has so many variables), you must take into consideration what you paid for your inventory. You can't trade a card that you initially paid $75 for a card you know you can only sell for $50, even though the supposed value for each card is $100.

Unlike "Trade," "Comps" is not a dirty word at my booth or tables. I welcome folks to look up recent sales. I have and I know I won't make a sale if I'm priced over comps.

I don't know how other dealers operate but I don't put any of my personal funds into buying cards. I fund my purchases through my sales.

I am not a full-time dealer. I do it for fun. I have a good day job and get paid well. Setting up at card shows each weekend is my form of stress release. I don't need the money I earn at shows other than to use it to purchase more cards which is more fun than selling cards. I have a steady stream of sales so I always have cash to purchase cards.

One last thing that I would like to stress is that I don't need any cards. So whatever you are offering to trade, I don't need it. Most long-time dealers are just like me and we each have massive inventories. I also have an endless stream of folks that want to sell me cards, which is my preferred route. The only thing handcuffing me is time. It takes a great deal of time to organize and price inventory. I'm paying employees to post cards on eBay because I just don't have the time to do it myself. I am contemplating hiring folks to price my inventory for the shows. Time is the biggest problem and the major handcuff.

[parkplace33]

This thread has been very entertaining. I love seeing both sides of the trade discussion.

One thought about trading at shows is that I believe collectors generally overvalue their cards. I can understand why, they have either a monetary or emotional attachment to them. But they should realize that dealers do not have that attachment to them, it is simply another card.

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by JohnnyKilroy

Jackpot. This is exactly right. So many avenues to move cards these days, the leverage is just not there. Which also goes with the other point that trading with dealers is not advantageous or preferred. Most trading I see is between people walking around. Another reason why I don’t understand the term “trade value” these days. I value a card for exactly what I could sell it for when it comes to trading for something I want. If they bump up for “trade value”, then I will too… so I don’t see the point.

Agree in this era its my belief that the AH's now have most if not all of the leverage. It's my belief that maybe some of the big auction houses also have leverage over the TPG's in terms of pricing and turn around times.

Although I know this for a fact over the years some people only go to one show during the whole year and they bring lots of cash for one reason and one reason only to spend money on the cards at the show. Most are not going to come back with the cash they want the cards. I've seen a lot of stupid buys over the years at the National, that show has the most leverage for the dealer.

[JohnnyKilroy]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

Although I know this for a fact over the years some people only go to one show during the whole year and they bring lots of cash for one reason and one reason only to spend money on the cards at the show. Most are not going to come back with the cash they want the cards. I've seen a lot of stupid buys over the years at the National, that show has the most leverage for the dealer.

I can see that. I just think that’s a dying breed. I just went to Chicago show this past weekend with a lot of cash. Left with all of it. Prices were too high.

[pbspelly]

What I find amusing is when a dealer is selling a card for, say, $100, and you offer to trade them the same exact card in comparable condition for a card they are selling for $75, and they turn you down.

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by pbspelly

What I find amusing is when a dealer is selling a card for, say, $100, and you offer to trade them the same exact card in comparable condition for a card they are selling for $75, and they turn you down.

This doesn't surprise me. It obviously would depend on the demand for the specific card, but I would think a dealer would rather obtain a card they don't already have than get a duplicate of something even if it had a slightly higher value than the card they would be trading away.