Buying collections - can this work?

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by BobC

All I was saying Eric. And of all the suggestions people were giving, flashing cash will likely get you the quickest and most attention possible. Think about all the people who go to the shows who want to operate under the table, they start thinking they're getting untraceable, untaxable cash, and THEY....ARE....IN!

And if you do it at a show that isn't as big as the National, you'll definitely get people's attention and become the talk of a smaller show. There's a reason why people like Alan Rosen and Don West were successful. Also why there are all those Shop-At-Home like channels still out there. They wouldn't be there if they weren't selling things to people and making tons of money. Of course, nowadays, it seems it has pushed over even more into the podcasts and other online people/sites who use whatever means they can think of to lure people in, and then hook them with whatever crap they're selling. For example, it is stated fact Alex Jones didn't make all his money from his podcasts, he made most of it from the supplements he was selling to people coming to listen to his podcasts. Like you said about Rosen being an actor, but just a different kind of stage/show to bring all the gullible people in.

Rosen had much more in his repertoire than just the open display of cash. I can only imagine what it would've looked like had social media (especially video) been ubiquitous during his heyday.

To be fair:

In small doses, his routine might be impressive and mesmerizing. Prolonged exposure, though...not so much.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Rosen had much more in his repertoire than just the open display of cash. I can only imagine what it would've looked like had social media (especially video) been ubiquitous during his heyday.

To be fair:

In small doses, his routine might be impressive and mesmerizing. Prolonged exposure, though...not so much.

...and maybe that's what made him so successful. He seemed more interested in a "closing a deal" than forging long-term friendships. At least that's what I took away from it. Granted it was a long time ago; this was one show back in the 90's.

Damn, if the man didn't stand out, though. He was certainly memorable.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Rosen had much more in his repertoire than just the open display of cash. I can only imagine what it would've looked like had social media (especially video) been ubiquitous during his heyday.

To be fair:

In small doses, his routine might be impressive and mesmerizing. Prolonged exposure, though...not so much.

Definitely agree. If he started out today and tried doing what he was doing back then, with all the online connections, social media, and FB and other such online groups, podcasts, and whatever out there, he'd overwhelm the sensibilities of most people in the hobby in a heartbeat. Nowadays, something happening clear on the other side of the world can become known across the globe in a matter of minutes. Wasn't like that back then, and so, sometimes people used/needed these more over the top methods to get their message out there, and the buzz started. Just like flashing lots of cash, while advertising you're looking to buy collections, at a local show will likely get a buzz quickly started among attendees as well. Continue doing it over, and over, and over, and it eventually becomes a bit passe' for sure.

But since mostly only the older collectors will really remember Rosen and his techniques, or maybe even ever heard of him and what he would do, enough time has probably passed since he was at the top of his game and some of his "tricks" if initiated by someone else today would likely be greeting a whole new generation of potential sellers, and thus have a greater likelihood of working and raising interest because they hadn't been seen by a lot of these people before that could now be potential sellers.