Dealers' Pricing at the National

[jethrod3]

The cards I will be looking for at the National are not rare. Somewhat desirable, but not rare, especially in the condition that I'm searching for. I'm talking several of the star cards from the 1955 Topps baseball set, in VG-EX condition. Cards like Williams and Banks. If I can find dealers willing to sell me cards a tad bit lower than the usual auction price, I will be happy. Why? Because I will likely be able to choose from probably 10-20 of these cards in the condition/price range I am looking for. Also, the dealer avoids paying a consignment fee, and I avoid paying a buyer's premium if it was to be sold/bought at auction. In most cases I'd predict that the dealer would still make over 25% of what he/she paid for the card, and probably pockets $50-$100 per card. I get a good deal, and I also feel good that I'm helping to do my part to offset expenses, having just been on the other side of the table. With fair pricing, and the recognition of fair pricing, everyone wins.

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by jethrod3

The cards I will be looking for at the National are not rare. Somewhat desirable, but not rare, especially in the condition that I'm searching for. I'm talking several of the star cards from the 1955 Topps baseball set, in VG-EX condition. Cards like Williams and Banks. If I can find dealers willing to sell me cards a tad bit lower than the usual auction price, I will be happy. Why? Because I will likely be able to choose from probably 10-20 of these cards in the condition/price range I am looking for. Also, the dealer avoids paying a consignment fee, and I avoid paying a buyer's premium if it was to be sold/bought at auction. In most cases I'd predict that the dealer would still make over 25% of what he/she paid for the card, and probably pockets $50-$100 per card. I get a good deal, and I also feel good that I'm helping to do my part to offset expenses, having just been on the other side of the table. With fair pricing, and the recognition of fair pricing, everyone wins.

BTW -- this *IS* the circumstances of which walking around the room and taking notes on pricing makes sense. As he notes. these are not scarce cards at an NSCC and patience pays off for buying the cards he is looking for.

[Seven]

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

BTW -- this *IS* the circumstances of which walking around the room and taking notes on pricing makes sense. As he notes. these are not scarce cards at an NSCC and patience pays off for buying the cards he is looking for.

100% agree Rich. This is the right opinion.

I did this the last National as I walked the floor for a few cards that were all readily available from multiple dealers. If you spot a rare piece that you don't exactly come across too often, then you don't mind spending a little over what it went for at its last auction.

[UKCardGuy]

Originally Posted by jethrod3

The cards I will be looking for at the National are not rare. Somewhat desirable, but not rare, especially in the condition that I'm searching for. I'm talking several of the star cards from the 1955 Topps baseball set, in VG-EX condition. Cards like Williams and Banks. If I can find dealers willing to sell me cards a tad bit lower than the usual auction price, I will be happy. Why? Because I will likely be able to choose from probably 10-20 of these cards in the condition/price range I am looking for. Also, the dealer avoids paying a consignment fee, and I avoid paying a buyer's premium if it was to be sold/bought at auction. In most cases I'd predict that the dealer would still make over 25% of what he/she paid for the card, and probably pockets $50-$100 per card. I get a good deal, and I also feel good that I'm helping to do my part to offset expenses, having just been on the other side of the table. With fair pricing, and the recognition of fair pricing, everyone wins.

This'll be me too. I'm going to be on the lookout for some cool memorabilia and maybe a few scarce cards. But mostly I'll be trying to find good value on on post-war cards to complete my sets.

Unlike many on here I'm going to be trying to get my fill of raw 50s,60s and 70s commons in high grades and a handful of stars. But my circumstances are different from most. Being based in the UK, I can find the star cards in auctions and on Ebay. Getting commons is tougher.

Besides meeting fellow collectors, I'm looking forward to spending hours pulling commons from trays and bargain bins.