Seeding bins at a convention - how do you do it? 4 4

[mysterio]

32 minutes ago, the blob said:

I actually don't think this is so bad. He has developed those relationships with clients. He needs to pay his mortgage and alimony. If he isn't lowballing too much? If he is buying 5 or 6 good books and spending money why wouldn't he try to get a deal? I would. And there is the chance his customers pass on the books and he has now paid 85% of FMV, let's say. It's not a given he makes money. 

And if he develops good rapport with fellow dealers then they’ll start sending buyers over to his booth when they know he has the book(s) a customer is looking for. Short term small profits vs relationships that can net a lot more over time. 

[the blob]

5 hours ago, mysterio said:

And if he develops good rapport with fellow dealers then they’ll start sending buyers over to his booth when they know he has the book(s) a customer is looking for. Short term small profits vs relationships that can net a lot more over time. 

I have never heard another dealer send someone at a show to another booth. Is this a Canadian or Midwest thing?

[chrisco37]

3 hours ago, the blob said:

I have never heard another dealer send someone at a show to another booth. Is this a Canadian or Midwest thing?

I remember the very first Bmore Con I attended.   I was looking for some Steranko books.   Superworld Ted didn't have any I was looking for at the time, about a half an hour or so had passed and I was walking by his booth again and he grabbed me and took me over to a guy that had a beautiful Xmen 49.   I bought it. 

[RCheli]

3 hours ago, the blob said:

I have never heard another dealer send someone at a show to another booth. Is this a Canadian or Midwest thing?

I've done it. If someone is looking for something that I don't have, I'll point them in the direction of someone I know might have it. Most dealers aren't that petty. 

[badback83]

18 hours ago, blazingbob said:

How you present your material is sometimes more important to buyers then being the cheapest.

Bingo!  Thank you Bob for pointing this out.  I cannot tell you how many times I’ve walked past a booth with dirty, stained long boxes and gross yellowed bags poking out the top of them.

Presentation is very important to me.  Even more so when I’m contemplating purchasing a “big book”.  So many times I see dealers in my area displaying keys on their walls in bags that look like they’re 20 years old.  I just shake my head.  A nasty, old bag makes a low grade key book look worse.  A new bag or Mylar can make a world of difference on that same low grade key.

[FineCollector]

42 minutes ago, RCheli said:

I've done it. If someone is looking for something that I don't have, I'll point them in the direction of someone I know might have it. Most dealers aren't that petty. 

The message you send to the customer is, I understand what you want, and if I dont have it, I know where to get it.  The next time, they'll come ask you first, which is exactly what you want.

[mysterio]

34 minutes ago, FineCollector said:

1 hour ago, RCheli said:

I've done it. If someone is looking for something that I don't have, I'll point them in the direction of someone I know might have it. Most dealers aren't that petty. 

The message you send to the customer is, I understand what you want, and if I dont have it, I know where to get it.  The next time, they'll come ask you first, which is exactly what you want.

This gets to the heart of how one does business. Sure, you could be that guy who tries to scrounge every nickel, but you end up chasing nickels while alienating customers and fellow dealers. Taking a customer to a fellow dealer who has the material tends to work out well for everyone. And if that fellow dealer never reciprocates, it’s easy to forget what they’ve got in stock if anyone ever asks. 

[blazingbob]

7 hours ago, the blob said:

I have never heard another dealer send someone at a show to another booth. Is this a Canadian or Midwest thing?

I have had dealers send me customers and I have done the same.  I will never send a customer to a dealer I wouldn't do business with myself.  I am pretty sure I've never left my booth at a show and left the customer to buy something he needed while at it.  

[RCheli]

58 minutes ago, mysterio said:

This gets to the heart of how one does business. Sure, you could be that guy who tries to scrounge every nickel, but you end up chasing nickels while alienating customers and fellow dealers. Taking a customer to a fellow dealer who has the material tends to work out well for everyone. And if that fellow dealer never reciprocates, it’s easy to forget what they’ve got in stock if anyone ever asks. 

I think that some customers don't really appreciate that sort of thing, though. I was set up at a show this summer, and this person bought a stack of Justice League Adventures out of my dollar box. I was missing one issue -- 3 or 4, I can't really remember -- and we both searched through my stuff to find it. It was to no avail.

Later on (it was a slow show) I was going through some other dealer's box, and lo and behold, there was the missing issue. I bought it, walked over to the woman and said, "I found the issue for you," and handed it to her. She looked at me like I had two heads, took the comic, and walked away.

People are strange...

[blazingbob]

2 hours ago, mysterio said:

This gets to the heart of how one does business. Sure, you could be that guy who tries to scrounge every nickel, but you end up chasing nickels while alienating customers and fellow dealers. Taking a customer to a fellow dealer who has the material tends to work out well for everyone. And if that fellow dealer never reciprocates, it’s easy to forget what they’ve got in stock if anyone ever asks. 

Absolutely TRUE

[october]

10 minutes ago, RCheli said:

I think that some customers don't really appreciate that sort of thing, though. I was set up at a show this summer, and this person bought a stack of Justice League Adventures out of my dollar box. I was missing one issue -- 3 or 4, I can't really remember -- and we both searched through my stuff to find it. It was to no avail.

Later on (it was a slow show) I was going through some other dealer's box, and lo and behold, there was the missing issue. I bought it, walked over to the woman and said, "I found the issue for you," and handed it to her. She looked at me like I had two heads, took the comic, and walked away.

People are strange...

Yeah, I would chalk that one up to the lady being a weirdo. I think most people would very much appreciate the gesture. 

[the blob]

22 minutes ago, blazingbob said:

I have had dealers send me customers and I have done the same.  I will never send a customer to a dealer I wouldn't do business with myself.  I am pretty sure I've never left my booth at a show and left the customer to buy something he needed while at it.  

Well, I think that's it. Obviously some folks have good business relationships and friendships and it would make sense. Like lawyer referrals. You do run the risk of sending someone over for them to check out the hulk 180 you don't have and then they wind up spending $2k on stuff you may have had. 

[Darkowl]

I've never been a vendor, but if i wanted people to go through boxes to find keys, i'd put the lower priced keys in the boxes, and then the big money makers on a wall. You would have to price each book in the boxes individually, but you'd be getting the best of both worlds. My only concern would be theft. Crazy that there's such a lack of respect in this field. 

Edited January 10, 2019 by Darkowl

[NoMan]

1 hour ago, october said:

Yeah, I would chalk that one up to the lady being a weirdo. I think most people would very much appreciate the gesture. 

Another reason one leans towards introversion. The lady wasn't being a weirdo, the lady was being an a s s h o l e. Lots and lots around. 

[Juno Beach]

1 hour ago, RCheli said:

I think that some customers don't really appreciate that sort of thing, though. I was set up at a show this summer, and this person bought a stack of Justice League Adventures out of my dollar box. I was missing one issue -- 3 or 4, I can't really remember -- and we both searched through my stuff to find it. It was to no avail.

Later on (it was a slow show) I was going through some other dealer's box, and lo and behold, there was the missing issue. I bought it, walked over to the woman and said, "I found the issue for you," and handed it to her. She looked at me like I had two heads, took the comic, and walked away.

People are strange...

This isn't the same scenario, though. You didn't refer her to another dealer. 

[spreads]

4 hours ago, mysterio said:

This gets to the heart of how one does business. Sure, you could be that guy who tries to scrounge every nickel, but you end up chasing nickels while alienating customers and fellow dealers. Taking a customer to a fellow dealer who has the material tends to work out well for everyone. And if that fellow dealer never reciprocates, it’s easy to forget what they’ve got in stock if anyone ever asks. 

I'll take this a step further, developing these relationships can have further benefits.  I have a friend that referred me to a source where I was able to get a hookup on the cheapest bags/boards around.  I've got a small online chat group where we're tossing ideas around and generally just talking out loud.  I serves as a good heads-up (e.g. saw a collection, this is what was there, I passed, I recommend you don't waste your time, or maybe it would be better suited for you, etc. etc).

[RCheli]

57 minutes ago, Juno Beach said:

This isn't the same scenario, though. You didn't refer her to another dealer. 

No, I know. I just told the story because not every customer feels any loyalty or whatnot to you just because you're nice to them.

I have many people who come back to me time and again because I have stuff they want and I'm willing to work on the price. I also have many customers who want me to work on the price who I will never see again or don't remember the next time that I gave them a deal. It's an anecdote of the strangeness of customers is all.

[BabaLament]

@FineCollector Good luck! Let us know how it goes. I'm looking to do my first convention booth next year, so I'm all for hearing about how people are doing, and sage advice on layout & marketing strategy.

[Karl Liebl]

I don't get this thread at all.  It seems sellers are worried that all key books will be sniped by dealers before the convention opens.  Just price the books at the price you will accept and let them have at it!  It is still a sale and a win.  Yes there are key collectors (flippers) and then there are run collectors.  I am not going to buy a hulk book just because it has wolverine in it.  I like runs and I think a lot of people still do.  So don't worry if other dealers want to snap up your keys.  A sale is a sale and you should be happy, just make them pay full price in cash or trade.  I still have a lot of junky non key FF books that I would love to upgrade plus a lot of holes to fill in the series.  Yes I am a series collector...

[Artboy99]

3 hours ago, RCheli said:

No, I know. I just told the story because not every customer feels any loyalty or whatnot to you just because you're nice to them.

I have many people who come back to me time and again because I have stuff they want and I'm willing to work on the price. I also have many customers who want me to work on the price who I will never see again or don't remember the next time that I gave them a deal. It's an anecdote of the strangeness of customers is all.

you were very nice to that client, but it is entirely possible the customer thought you simply found the book in your own inventory, she was surprised because she saw how thorough you were the first time, and simply thanked you for including the book with her original purchase...she is likely completely unaware that you made the effort to find it at another dealers booth and paid for it.

Still, most people would ask "how much?" rather than just take it.