Comic Con sellers seem to be in the wrong business. SMH

[kimik]

We just finished the Edmonton Expo this week and it was interesting to hear how other dealers did. The general consensus from them was that it was a bad show, with some not making their costs back by the end of Saturday, which was the big sales day.

 

However, if you talk to the buyers the two complaints we consistently heard about other dealers as they bought the same books from us was that 1) their prices are too high and/or 2) the books are overgraded. It is funny how accurately graded books and realistic pricing will attract buyers.............

 

 

We just did that show too! Its was my very 1st time setting up as a Dealer at a Con, we did pretty good considering the way the Economy is in Alberta here now, but at the same time I don't have anything to base it on from Previous Years. We made our Table costs back by the end of day Friday

 

I found that the $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 books were selling pretty good but I don't think that we sold a book over $400. We had quite a Few Slabbed books on our Back wall and I think we sold 2. I had some Slabs priced right at GPA and Others 10% over just for haggling purposes.

 

One thing that we were constantly hearing on the Last day of the show was "Chit! I didn't see you guys till now" or "I've never heard of you guys before" We had a one guy tell us that after seeing our books and prices he was immediately feeling buyers remorse from the purchases he just made 15 mins prior

 

I think the main thing that hurt us in making sales on Big Books was the fact that it was our first show and no one knew to even look for us. I guess the more shows we do the more people will get to know us, plain and simple.

 

What booth number(s) were you?

 

Big book sales were much slower this year than the past couple. My biggest single sale was a WWBN #32 in 7.5 to a regular, but 500club topped that with his TOS #39.

 

The key to shows is to grade and price accurately. I won't mention names here, but I bet I can guess three dealers that the guy who had buyer's remorse likely would have bought his books from............

[1Cool]

This is a fantastic thread... I really appreciate all the insights.

 

I can confirm that the situation is pretty much the same here in Toronto but I continue to participate at shows because I've got the time (not working right now) and for the entertainment (fun).

 

I'd like to add – My observation has been that people who buy books at Cons tend to be folks who are less literate on computer or simply don't like or trust shopping online. Also, sitting behind the computer can be isolating, which is one of the reasons why forums such as this has been successful, offering human interaction, while Cons tend to be more social with face to face conversations.

 

Same could be said about sellers. I've spoken to some full time vendors and they refuse to move their business online. They have all the excuses to dislike eBay as if they are reading from a -script. I can only conclude that they are unable to change due to their lack of knowledge or simply don't want to emotionally. Still, if you're a full timer, I really believe that having an online presence, be it eBay or your own retail site is a must.

 

I recently took part in FanExpo, the big show in Toronto and wrote about my experience here:

 

http://www.comicbookdaily.com/minutiae/big-one-fan-expo/

 

By the way - thanks for linking your write up. I especially liked your comment about comics not being enough any more and half your sales came from other items. Based on those numbers you would have had a disappointing sales day without the other items in the mix. You also said your took pretty much any offer above your cost and you sold $2,150 in books over 4 days (half of your total since the rest was toys/key chains)? I'm not sure of what type of books you bought but if you had IH 181 for the back wall I assume you had some good stuff so I'm kind of shocked you did not sell more considering your stance on taking pretty much any offer.

 

Regardless - it was a good read.

[spracks919]

We just finished the Edmonton Expo this week and it was interesting to hear how other dealers did. The general consensus from them was that it was a bad show, with some not making their costs back by the end of Saturday, which was the big sales day.

 

However, if you talk to the buyers the two complaints we consistently heard about other dealers as they bought the same books from us was that 1) their prices are too high and/or 2) the books are overgraded. It is funny how accurately graded books and realistic pricing will attract buyers.............

 

 

We just did that show too! Its was my very 1st time setting up as a Dealer at a Con, we did pretty good considering the way the Economy is in Alberta here now, but at the same time I don't have anything to base it on from Previous Years. We made our Table costs back by the end of day Friday

 

I found that the $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 books were selling pretty good but I don't think that we sold a book over $400. We had quite a Few Slabbed books on our Back wall and I think we sold 2. I had some Slabs priced right at GPA and Others 10% over just for haggling purposes.

 

One thing that we were constantly hearing on the Last day of the show was "Chit! I didn't see you guys till now" or "I've never heard of you guys before" We had a one guy tell us that after seeing our books and prices he was immediately feeling buyers remorse from the purchases he just made 15 mins prior

 

I think the main thing that hurt us in making sales on Big Books was the fact that it was our first show and no one knew to even look for us. I guess the more shows we do the more people will get to know us, plain and simple.

 

What booth number(s) were you?

 

Big book sales were much slower this year than the past couple. My biggest single sale was a WWBN #32 in 7.5 to a regular, but 500club topped that with his TOS #39.

 

The key to shows is to grade and price accurately. I won't mention names here, but I bet I can guess three dealers that the guy who had buyer's remorse likely would have bought his books from............

 

We were in Booths 421 / 422

[Foolkiller]

 

I tend to only buy from Dealers if the books is way under priced or a ultra hot book that they may have not adjusted yet - typical flipper situation. I've bought 2 collections this year and concentrated on setting up at a bunch more Cons to sell off the collections. Based on my limited experience I do much better being patient and selling online while in the mean time getting high grade books graded. I'm scaling down to just three smaller Cons next year and see how that goes. Always living and learning.

 

So your business model is "flipper" and your source is other dealers.

 

Nothing more exciting to dealers then seeing flippers at the booth looking to make money off their mistake or to have their Hot books sold to a guy wanting 20-30% off.

 

Not sure if you see this but you are NOT exactly the guy I would give first shot to.

 

I have no problem with guys making money off me but picking me off is not exactly a warm business relationship.

--------------------

 

Bob, you guys are working in different arenas. 1Cool is lamenting over selling an X-Men 141 too cheap, just like I might. You have four copies of AF 15 up on your website. You guys (and I am sort of lumping a bunch of the bigger board member dealer types in there like dale robertson, greg reece, etc.) actually may very well give a nice discount on a stack of X-Men 141 in VF/NM type books or whatever to someone you've dealt with before because it really isn't the sort of book you're paying the mortgage with. Not that I presume to know your business model.

 

 

 

I'm not against giving some discounts especially when the person wants to get a few books. But when I give a nice 20% discount on a book to have the guy walk away without even a thanks and then the next 10 people seem pissed and walk away when I say I can't give them a 20% discount on hot books it just wears on you as a seller (as least it does to me).

 

For that reason I do not tend to ask for discounts from dealers unless I'm buying a large batch of books. I'm always looking for steals but asking for them is not something I do.

 

If you don't get a thank you that's just poor manners.

[THE_BEYONDER]

 

I tend to only buy from Dealers if the books is way under priced or a ultra hot book that they may have not adjusted yet - typical flipper situation. I've bought 2 collections this year and concentrated on setting up at a bunch more Cons to sell off the collections. Based on my limited experience I do much better being patient and selling online while in the mean time getting high grade books graded. I'm scaling down to just three smaller Cons next year and see how that goes. Always living and learning.

 

So your business model is "flipper" and your source is other dealers.

 

Nothing more exciting to dealers then seeing flippers at the booth looking to make money off their mistake or to have their Hot books sold to a guy wanting 20-30% off.

 

Not sure if you see this but you are NOT exactly the guy I would give first shot to.

 

I have no problem with guys making money off me but picking me off is not exactly a warm business relationship.

--------------------

 

Bob, you guys are working in different arenas. 1Cool is lamenting over selling an X-Men 141 too cheap, just like I might. You have four copies of AF 15 up on your website. You guys (and I am sort of lumping a bunch of the bigger board member dealer types in there like dale robertson, greg reece, etc.) actually may very well give a nice discount on a stack of X-Men 141 in VF/NM type books or whatever to someone you've dealt with before because it really isn't the sort of book you're paying the mortgage with. Not that I presume to know your business model.

 

 

 

I'm not against giving some discounts especially when the person wants to get a few books. But when I give a nice 20% discount on a book to have the guy walk away without even a thanks and then the next 10 people seem pissed and walk away when I say I can't give them a 20% discount on hot books it just wears on you as a seller (as least it does to me).

 

For that reason I do not tend to ask for discounts from dealers unless I'm buying a large batch of books. I'm always looking for steals but asking for them is not something I do.

 

If you don't get a thank you that's just poor manners.

 

QNF

 

Qoute Nest Fail

[RockMyAmadeus]

 

There was one dealer set up at a show I was at...can't remember where it was, maybe it was the "Shrine show now at the Reef"....and I couldn't see the prices (or the books) and asked if I could look at the wall closer..the woman running the booth said "no, sorry. You can ask about any book you'd like, though."

 

While I understand the point of not letting people in to see the wall, sellers need to understand that buyers aren't going to stand there and ask to see every wall book by hand. It makes them feel uncomfortable.

 

I would have no problem standing there and asking to see each and every book if I wanted to be a jerk about it, but I mostly want to be polite, so I passed, and my money stayed in my pocket.

 

Truly, their loss.

 

You want to facilitate purchases, not hinder them.

 

[thehumantorch]

We just finished the Edmonton Expo this week and it was interesting to hear how other dealers did. The general consensus from them was that it was a bad show, with some not making their costs back by the end of Saturday, which was the big sales day.

 

However, if you talk to the buyers the two complaints we consistently heard about other dealers as they bought the same books from us was that 1) their prices are too high and/or 2) the books are overgraded. It is funny how accurately graded books and realistic pricing will attract buyers.............

 

 

We just did that show too! Its was my very 1st time setting up as a Dealer at a Con, we did pretty good considering the way the Economy is in Alberta here now, but at the same time I don't have anything to base it on from Previous Years. We made our Table costs back by the end of day Friday

 

I found that the $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 books were selling pretty good but I don't think that we sold a book over $400. We had quite a Few Slabbed books on our Back wall and I think we sold 2. I had some Slabs priced right at GPA and Others 10% over just for haggling purposes.

 

One thing that we were constantly hearing on the Last day of the show was "Chit! I didn't see you guys till now" or "I've never heard of you guys before" We had a one guy tell us that after seeing our books and prices he was immediately feeling buyers remorse from the purchases he just made 15 mins prior

 

I think the main thing that hurt us in making sales on Big Books was the fact that it was our first show and no one knew to even look for us. I guess the more shows we do the more people will get to know us, plain and simple.

 

What booth number(s) were you?

 

Big book sales were much slower this year than the past couple. My biggest single sale was a WWBN #32 in 7.5 to a regular, but 500club topped that with his TOS #39.

 

The key to shows is to grade and price accurately. I won't mention names here, but I bet I can guess three dealers that the guy who had buyer's remorse likely would have bought his books from............

 

We were in Booths 421 / 422

 

You'll do better if you set that spare table up and put books on it flat.

 

[spracks919]

We just finished the Edmonton Expo this week and it was interesting to hear how other dealers did. The general consensus from them was that it was a bad show, with some not making their costs back by the end of Saturday, which was the big sales day.

 

However, if you talk to the buyers the two complaints we consistently heard about other dealers as they bought the same books from us was that 1) their prices are too high and/or 2) the books are overgraded. It is funny how accurately graded books and realistic pricing will attract buyers.............

 

 

We just did that show too! Its was my very 1st time setting up as a Dealer at a Con, we did pretty good considering the way the Economy is in Alberta here now, but at the same time I don't have anything to base it on from Previous Years. We made our Table costs back by the end of day Friday

 

I found that the $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 books were selling pretty good but I don't think that we sold a book over $400. We had quite a Few Slabbed books on our Back wall and I think we sold 2. I had some Slabs priced right at GPA and Others 10% over just for haggling purposes.

 

One thing that we were constantly hearing on the Last day of the show was "Chit! I didn't see you guys till now" or "I've never heard of you guys before" We had a one guy tell us that after seeing our books and prices he was immediately feeling buyers remorse from the purchases he just made 15 mins prior

 

I think the main thing that hurt us in making sales on Big Books was the fact that it was our first show and no one knew to even look for us. I guess the more shows we do the more people will get to know us, plain and simple.

 

What booth number(s) were you?

 

Big book sales were much slower this year than the past couple. My biggest single sale was a WWBN #32 in 7.5 to a regular, but 500club topped that with his TOS #39.

 

The key to shows is to grade and price accurately. I won't mention names here, but I bet I can guess three dealers that the guy who had buyer's remorse likely would have bought his books from............

 

We were in Booths 421 / 422

 

You'll do better if you set that spare table up and put books on it flat.

 

Hahaha! Thanks for that tip! It did help!

We'll have to go for beers sometime!

 

 

[thehumantorch]

We just finished the Edmonton Expo this week and it was interesting to hear how other dealers did. The general consensus from them was that it was a bad show, with some not making their costs back by the end of Saturday, which was the big sales day.

 

However, if you talk to the buyers the two complaints we consistently heard about other dealers as they bought the same books from us was that 1) their prices are too high and/or 2) the books are overgraded. It is funny how accurately graded books and realistic pricing will attract buyers.............

 

 

We just did that show too! Its was my very 1st time setting up as a Dealer at a Con, we did pretty good considering the way the Economy is in Alberta here now, but at the same time I don't have anything to base it on from Previous Years. We made our Table costs back by the end of day Friday

 

I found that the $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 books were selling pretty good but I don't think that we sold a book over $400. We had quite a Few Slabbed books on our Back wall and I think we sold 2. I had some Slabs priced right at GPA and Others 10% over just for haggling purposes.

 

One thing that we were constantly hearing on the Last day of the show was "Chit! I didn't see you guys till now" or "I've never heard of you guys before" We had a one guy tell us that after seeing our books and prices he was immediately feeling buyers remorse from the purchases he just made 15 mins prior

 

I think the main thing that hurt us in making sales on Big Books was the fact that it was our first show and no one knew to even look for us. I guess the more shows we do the more people will get to know us, plain and simple.

 

What booth number(s) were you?

 

Big book sales were much slower this year than the past couple. My biggest single sale was a WWBN #32 in 7.5 to a regular, but 500club topped that with his TOS #39.

 

The key to shows is to grade and price accurately. I won't mention names here, but I bet I can guess three dealers that the guy who had buyer's remorse likely would have bought his books from............

 

We were in Booths 421 / 422

 

You'll do better if you set that spare table up and put books on it flat.

 

Hahaha! Thanks for that tip! It did help!

We'll have to go for beers sometime!

 

 

Kimik, 500club, artboy99 and I were the four booths along the wall near you

[spracks919]

You guys had an awesome set up there, as per usual!

[Logan510]

There was one dealer set up at a show I was at...can't remember where it was, maybe it was the "Shrine show now at the Reef"....and I couldn't see the prices (or the books) and asked if I could look at the wall closer..the woman running the booth said "no, sorry. You can ask about any book you'd like, though."

 

While I understand the point of not letting people in to see the wall, sellers need to understand that buyers aren't going to stand there and ask to see every wall book by hand. It makes them feel uncomfortable.

 

I would have no problem standing there and asking to see each and every book if I wanted to be a jerk about it, but I mostly want to be polite, so I passed, and my money stayed in my pocket.

 

Truly, their loss.

 

You want to facilitate purchases, not hinder them.

 

Sometimes I can get someone that knows the dealer to vouch for me, but I've often walked away empty handed for the very reasons you cite. I hate feeling like a nag, asking to see book after book, especially if it's a busy time at the booth.

[dupont2005]

I don't think I'd bother asking either. I like visible prices.

 

In my car hobby there are a couple retailers that specialize in the exact parts I need and they will not list prices online. They'll list the parts and say "Call me for price!"

 

I'm busy, you're busy, calls are a distraction. Just list the price. If I like it I'll be calling you to spend money, id I don't you won't be bothered.

 

I'm really hesitant to call someone under those circumstances, it has to be a part I'm having real trouble finding anywhere else.

[jools&jim]

There was one dealer set up at a show I was at...can't remember where it was, maybe it was the "Shrine show now at the Reef"....and I couldn't see the prices (or the books) and asked if I could look at the wall closer..the woman running the booth said "no, sorry. You can ask about any book you'd like, though."

 

While I understand the point of not letting people in to see the wall, sellers need to understand that buyers aren't going to stand there and ask to see every wall book by hand. It makes them feel uncomfortable.

 

I would have no problem standing there and asking to see each and every book if I wanted to be a jerk about it, but I mostly want to be polite, so I passed, and my money stayed in my pocket.

 

Truly, their loss.

 

You want to facilitate purchases, not hinder them.

Letting people behind the tables to examine the wall can be risky business -- I have witnessed, up close, at least one catastrophic cascade of very expensive books come tumbling down like a house of cards due to the carelessness of a customer, and to the tune of thousands of dollars in damage.

 

But of course these things can be managed, and being overly cautious about letting people look at stuff can be taken to extremes: I distinctly remember a dealer at a New York show back in the early/mid 1990s who kept the lids on his boxes, and wouldn't let anyone look through them, even though the boxes were set up just like every other table/booth. Instead, you had to tell him the titles you were interested in seeing, and he would locate and handle the books for you...

 

 

 

 

 

[Mercury Man]

There was one dealer set up at a show I was at...can't remember where it was, maybe it was the "Shrine show now at the Reef"....and I couldn't see the prices (or the books) and asked if I could look at the wall closer..the woman running the booth said "no, sorry. You can ask about any book you'd like, though."

 

While I understand the point of not letting people in to see the wall, sellers need to understand that buyers aren't going to stand there and ask to see every wall book by hand. It makes them feel uncomfortable.

 

I would have no problem standing there and asking to see each and every book if I wanted to be a jerk about it, but I mostly want to be polite, so I passed, and my money stayed in my pocket.

 

Truly, their loss.

 

You want to facilitate purchases, not hinder them.

Letting people behind the tables to examine the wall can be risky business -- I have witnessed, up close, at least one catastrophic cascade of very expensive books come tumbling down like a house of cards due to the carelessness of a customer, and to the tune of thousands of dollars in damage.

 

But of course these things can be managed, and being overly cautious about letting people look at stuff can be taken to extremes: I distinctly remember a dealer at a New York show back in the early/mid 1990s who kept the lids on his boxes, and wouldn't let anyone look through them, even though the boxes were set up just like every other table/booth. Instead, you had to tell him the titles you were interested in seeing, and he would locate and handle the books for you...

 

 

 

 

 

 

He should have just opened a museum instead. I can't imagine those type of dealers sell very many books.

[Artboy99]

You guys had an awesome set up there, as per usual!

 

[fastballspecial]

X-Men #141 and SS #3 are hard to replace?

 

Are you sure you see the big picture?

 

When sellers are treated fairly and a buyer spends a lot of money relationships are made and future deals come along. If you consistently chew a guy down because of "your profit margin" you aren't going to be the first guy to see my stock when new stuff comes in that I could have given you 20-30% off.

 

 

I wish I had an easy time replacing books like X-Men 141 and SS 3 at wholesale prices - it sure would make life easier. I do not mind (and have quite frequently) given great deals to people on the boards since my overhead is pretty much paypal for purchases here. But when the casual person walks up and wants 20-30% off books like X-Men 141 and I'm already giving 15% to the house to set up then I typically wonder what the heck I am doing there.

 

For a professional dealer, most silver or bronze age books should be fairly easy to find at margin....especially high print run issues like XM 141 or 266. If you can't find books like that at favorable prices fairly often (like daily/weekly) you are probably doing something wrong.

 

Sounds like you may need to devote more time to networking and finding collections.

 

Bob's point about capitalization is a good one. Its importance can't be overstated.

 

Nods

 

[Dark Prime 0]

There was one dealer set up at a show I was at...can't remember where it was, maybe it was the "Shrine show now at the Reef"....and I couldn't see the prices (or the books) and asked if I could look at the wall closer..the woman running the booth said "no, sorry. You can ask about any book you'd like, though."

 

While I understand the point of not letting people in to see the wall, sellers need to understand that buyers aren't going to stand there and ask to see every wall book by hand. It makes them feel uncomfortable.

 

I would have no problem standing there and asking to see each and every book if I wanted to be a jerk about it, but I mostly want to be polite, so I passed, and my money stayed in my pocket.

 

Truly, their loss.

 

You want to facilitate purchases, not hinder them.

Letting people behind the tables to examine the wall can be risky business -- I have witnessed, up close, at least one catastrophic cascade of very expensive books come tumbling down like a house of cards due to the carelessness of a customer, and to the tune of thousands of dollars in damage.

 

But of course these things can be managed, and being overly cautious about letting people look at stuff can be taken to extremes: I distinctly remember a dealer at a New York show back in the early/mid 1990s who kept the lids on his boxes, and wouldn't let anyone look through them, even though the boxes were set up just like every other table/booth. Instead, you had to tell him the titles you were interested in seeing, and he would locate and handle the books for you...

 

 

 

 

when i go behind a table to look at a wall, i will never touch the books and ask to see it so if said accident does happen it's not my fault. only 3 dealers have told me to just take it down as they are dealing with other customers (it's nice when your trusted) and even then i will ask or let them know i'm takeing the book off the wall. i seldomly put the book back either as "accidents" can happen and don't want that as my fault

 

could always go this route if your behind a table to look at the wall but afraid to cause an "accident"

[Vger7]

This is a fantastic thread... I really appreciate all the insights.

 

I can confirm that the situation is pretty much the same here in Toronto but I continue to participate at shows because I've got the time (not working right now) and for the entertainment (fun).

 

I'd like to add – My observation has been that people who buy books at Cons tend to be folks who are less literate on computer or simply don't like or trust shopping online. Also, sitting behind the computer can be isolating, which is one of the reasons why forums such as this has been successful, offering human interaction, while Cons tend to be more social with face to face conversations.

 

Same could be said about sellers. I've spoken to some full time vendors and they refuse to move their business online. They have all the excuses to dislike eBay as if they are reading from a -script. I can only conclude that they are unable to change due to their lack of knowledge or simply don't want to emotionally. Still, if you're a full timer, I really believe that having an online presence, be it eBay or your own retail site is a must.

 

I recently took part in FanExpo, the big show in Toronto and wrote about my experience here:

 

http://www.comicbookdaily.com/minutiae/big-one-fan-expo/

 

By the way - thanks for linking your write up. I especially liked your comment about comics not being enough any more and half your sales came from other items. Based on those numbers you would have had a disappointing sales day without the other items in the mix. You also said your took pretty much any offer above your cost and you sold $2,150 in books over 4 days (half of your total since the rest was toys/key chains)? I'm not sure of what type of books you bought but if you had IH 181 for the back wall I assume you had some good stuff so I'm kind of shocked you did not sell more considering your stance on taking pretty much any offer.

 

Regardless - it was a good read.

 

Thanks. I had the usual keys... I sold my ASM#129 and a GA Flash Comics off the back wall. I almost sold my Av#1 but the guest never came back. No bites on the Hulk#181, not even a nibble... although some guy texted me about it a few days after the show asking for my best price. I quote him GPA... to which he replied, “I don't mean to low ball you but...". He low balled anyways.

 

The problem is, most people who buy premium books would know to go directly to the source. As a reseller, I'll have to wait for my Hulk#181's to appreciate enough so that I can afford to offer it up at a more attractive price. Not to mention, lots of sellers but simply not enough buyers to accommodate all the vendors at the show.

 

 

[NoMan]

I have to +1 the talk about having the price where I can see it. It really is beyond aggravating to have to keep asking what the price is of something.

[thehumantorch]

You guys had an awesome set up there, as per usual!