Observations on the current state of the hobby from a show this weekend

[LVDan]

Originally Posted by imbluestreak23

I notice that most buyers coming through are wanting 20% below market value at most. Why a seller needs to move at a 20% discount and give all margin to the buyer is confusing, especially when 95% of buyers are paying around 105%-110% of comps when factoring in tax and shipping cost. It is literally a 25-30% spread of negotiating room and card show buyers want all of that on their end.

Im certainly guilty of this when shopping at shows for more commonly found items. Bird(cash) in hand trumps comps. Much like on ebay if I can't pay less than the average recent sales for commonly found stuff I just move on(lost snipes- below comps only)
The only time Ill step out on ebay or at shows for stuff and pay comps or above is one of 2 instances-
-rare parallel cards not available elsewhere
-not enough volume available elsewhere to get ahead of a cheap breakout curve Im chasing

[Above the Rim]

I sometimes pay above comps for vintage Aaron, Mays and Ryan if the card appears high end for the grade with near perfect centering.

[byronscott4ever]

Originally Posted by dwr11

Went to the TCSCC show in Bloomington, MN on Saturday and another smaller show on Sunday. The shows were packed. It was actually difficult to move. I'm friends with many of the dealers and they were all doing extremely well.

I haven’t gone to the TCC show in a while. Did it switch sites?

[FT35]

Originally Posted by theshowandme

One thing that I have seen is QR codes printed on pages that take you to a page/spreadsheet of the inventory on hand.

This includes cards maybe under the table.

You just need to update the link and it is a reusable resource show to show

Great idea! This is the type of thing that comes from a healthy, respectful exchange of ideas rather than someone immediately trashing the thoughts of others. That happens too much here and it’s pushing people out. I also haven’t figured out why some people meet EVERY new thought here with guns blazing and insults rather than just discussing it. If after discussing it, there’s no change, so be it. I think the QR code idea is a really good option for sellers to update prices 1 place and have them automatically get rolled out to all their inventory without having to change stickers. A single QR code on a sticker on a top loader or sleeve would even be better imo. (Maybe use a tamper sticker too so people don’t swap cases). You could even use the same code in an invoice creator to quickly scan and print out an itemized invoice or receipt for the buyer. Similar to how COMC does it.

Whether more people use it or not is up to them—but at least 1 actual solution has been given to solve something many might not have thought was a big issue keeping people from buying their cards.

[dwr11]

Originally Posted by byronscott4ever

I haven’t gone to the TCC show in a while. Did it switch sites?

Yes, it is now located at the Bloomington Armory which is just north of Valley West Mall (the old location).

[raddoc25]

This is kind of a stupid question but do most dealers take credit card/electronic payment or do I have to bring a wad of cash to the card show?

[Crosby 87]

Originally Posted by theshowandme

One thing that I have seen is QR codes printed on pages that take you to a page/spreadsheet of the inventory on hand.

This includes cards maybe under the table.

You just need to update the link and it is a reusable resource show to show

I would never scan a random QR code.

[bankdawg]

Originally Posted by raddoc25

This is kind of a stupid question but do most dealers take credit card/electronic payment or do I have to bring a wad of cash to the card show?

All will take cash.
90% will take a venmo/paypal type payment
5% might take a credit card? idk

[thenightman]

Originally Posted by BlockShotStop

Or maybe he does what I do, which is make an offer that I think is reasonable but gives me a little room to wiggle. I dictate the terms of the negotiation that way. Dealer doesn't like where I'm at, no worries. I just walk away. No use haggling with someone who doesn't have a realistic idea of the current market. If the card is difficult to price out because it's rare, you might have to talk a bit more and pay strong to get it.

Know what you want and what you want it for. This isn't that hard, guys.

Fair enough.

[as921011]

I think people are overly exaggerating the so-called ebay fee". The eBay fee is only 13% and people often forget they will need to pay taxes ( 10%ish).

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[K111]

Originally Posted by raddoc25

This is kind of a stupid question but do most dealers take credit card/electronic payment or do I have to bring a wad of cash to the card show?

A better question is if paying cash is it better to tell the dealer you have cash if trying to get a deal? That way I am sure they are not reporting it on their taxes

[cholodolo]

Originally Posted by raddoc25

This is kind of a stupid question but do most dealers take credit card/electronic payment or do I have to bring a wad of cash to the card show?

Originally Posted by K111

A better question is if paying cash is it better to tell the dealer you have cash if trying to get a deal? That way I am sure they are not reporting it on their taxes

Precisely, use it as leverage in the negotiation.

"I only have xx amount of cash on me" is a way to get the price to come down immediately.

Also, every single one of them has a Paypal and Venmo, but some will refuse (for tracing reasons). I've even seen people split transactions -- I'll give you $200 cash and send $50 Paypal/Venmo.

Smart, good sellers will always accept money in all forms.

[imbluestreak23]

Originally Posted by LVDan

Im certainly guilty of this when shopping at shows for more commonly found items. Bird(cash) in hand trumps comps. Much like on ebay if I can't pay less than the average recent sales for commonly found stuff I just move on(lost snipes- below comps only)
The only time Ill step out on ebay or at shows for stuff and pay comps or above is one of 2 instances-
-rare parallel cards not available elsewhere
-not enough volume available elsewhere to get ahead of a cheap breakout curve Im chasing

I'm like that too as a buyer as everyone is looking for deals, but it's why I hate selling at shows. I'll hold firm. Usually do really well and my prices are fair. At or below comps, but at comps, it's technically an advantage to a buyer.

I've always thought, convenience stores charge more because they are convenient. Shows it's the opposite, nobody charges for the convenience, almost as if it's more convenient to click a few buttons and have a card show up in 3 days. Kinda backwards logic. Buyers are more incentivized to pay market price for a card they can inspect in hand and get instantaneously. Weird dynamic.

[Topps2023]

Originally Posted by as921011

I think people are overly exaggerating the so-called ebay fee". The eBay fee is only 13% and people often forget they will need to pay taxes ( 10%ish).

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

Also, don't forget that for higher end cards ebay fees are capped as well.

I have an Ebay store and pay the 13% (it's actually a bit less too if you're a top rated seller) on the first $2500 of the sale and then 2.9% on whatever the amount over the $2500 the card sells for.

Also believe there is a max amount in fees Ebay takes if you sell something very high end but can't remember that amount ATM. Want to say it was about $750 in the past

[jjcan]

Originally Posted by imbluestreak23

I'm like that too as a buyer as everyone is looking for deals, but it's why I hate selling at shows. I'll hold firm. Usually do really well and my prices are fair. At or below comps, but at comps, it's technically an advantage to a buyer.

I've always thought, convenience stores charge more because they are convenient. Shows it's the opposite, nobody charges for the convenience, almost as if it's more convenient to click a few buttons and have a card show up in 3 days. Kinda backwards logic. Buyers are more incentivized to pay market price for a card they can inspect in hand and get instantaneously. Weird dynamic.

I like selling at shows to get rid of the Value items, or blowout the items that have dropped in price. 25 cent, dollar boxes, Value boxes. I usually price my value boxes and tell the people it's 20-50% off the cards, because I do not reprice and we can figure a price out. Buy more dollar cards, they probably become 50 cent cards in bulk, etc.

The good stuff in cases or certain boxes, I tell them I am pretty firm on price to comps. But usually I ask, are you just buying that one card or others, because I might knock down more in price if you take the value stuff and ends up being almost the throw in depending on the card. Like if the card is $100, I want the $100, but you can take $20 bucks off in the other stuff, since usually the margins are better on those items.

Also if an item I think is low in value I do not put it out because comps might be better later. But I may show someone, all depends.

[ewokpelts]

Originally Posted by imbluestreak23

I'm like that too as a buyer as everyone is looking for deals, but it's why I hate selling at shows. I'll hold firm. Usually do really well and my prices are fair. At or below comps, but at comps, it's technically an advantage to a buyer.

I've always thought, convenience stores charge more because they are convenient. Shows it's the opposite, nobody charges for the convenience, almost as if it's more convenient to click a few buttons and have a card show up in 3 days. Kinda backwards logic. Buyers are more incentivized to pay market price for a card they can inspect in hand and get instantaneously. Weird dynamic.

Because the guy selling has to recoup immediate costs like the table fee and gas/tolls. In addition to his nut on the product/materials/time. Resale is a different beast than 7-11

[ewokpelts]

Originally Posted by raddoc25

This is kind of a stupid question but do most dealers take credit card/electronic payment or do I have to bring a wad of cash to the card show?

Not stupid at all. More and more guys take plastic/electronic, but cash is king. Even if the dealer has a store/is incorporated, it’s easier to just not have to worry about processing fees or Uncle Sam.

[boxbuster7]

I think things are going to get worse again. The amount of consolidation in the top players really shows me that the rest of the market is really lagging behind.

Add the fact that topps is still running the presses and the physical market just isn't looking good to me.

[notfast]

Originally Posted by cholodolo

Precisely, use it as leverage in the negotiation.

"I only have xx amount of cash on me" is a way to get the price to come down immediately.

This is a horrible negotiating tactic.

[byronscott4ever]

Originally Posted by dwr11

Yes, it is now located at the Bloomington Armory which is just north of Valley West Mall (the old location).

How is it there compared to Valley West?

[SoccerRCs]

Originally Posted by boxbuster7

I think things are going to get worse again. The amount of consolidation in the top players really shows me that the rest of the market is really lagging behind.

Add the fact that topps is still running the presses and the physical market just isn't looking good to me.

Absolutely. Things went up for one reason and one reason alone, equities went up. Especially all the hyper speculative nasdaq garbage that will never survive especially if rates keep marching higher. That is literally the only reason for the bump at the beginning of the year.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by imbluestreak23

What would people think of a print out price per card that customers could just skip through?

Setting up soon and wondering if that might be a good strategy. It would be super easy if you have everything in excel. Sort by serial number of slab and have people just look up the serial number and see your price, so you don't have to put any stickers on it and manually change them out.

Depends on how many cards you have for sale....i.e. how long is it going to take the buyer to find the card they're looking for on your list.

If you organize such a list well, and only have 50-100 items on it in easy-to-discern categories, I think it could be very effective.

This is what many dealers do at art shows/fairs, but they generally only have 20-30 items for sale.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by ewokpelts

Not stupid at all. More and more guys take plastic/electronic, but cash is king. Even if the dealer has a store/is incorporated, it’s easier to just not have to worry about processing fees or Uncle Sam.

The existence of Square, Venmo, PayPal, etc. means that you should not NEED cash. Any dealer who does not accept at least ONE form of electronic payment in this day and age is really handicapping themselves.

[Chicosbailbonds]

Originally Posted by raddoc25

This is kind of a stupid question but do most dealers take credit card/electronic payment or do I have to bring a wad of cash to the card show?

Bigger regional shows take CC’s, Venmo, etc. no one is carrying $5-10K in cash.

[LVDan]

Originally Posted by imbluestreak23

What would people think of a print out price per card that customers could just skip through?

Setting up soon and wondering if that might be a good strategy. It woudl be super easy if you have everything in excel. Sort by serial number of slab and have people just look up the serial number and see your price, so you don't have to put any stickers on it and manually change them out.

I think this is a great idea especially if coupled with a little sign that says “prices instantly available without checking comps!” displayed prominently at your booth. I’m into s#%% like that.


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