What do dealers pay for the keys? 1 1

[Westy Steve]

In your experience, what percent of market value do dealers pay knowledgeable sellers for key books at shows?  Like if I brought a key book worth $1,000 to a show with the idea of selling it, how much could I hope to get?  Maybe as a percentage range.  75% to 85%?

I'm speaking about reasonably "hot" keys here.

I hope this is an acceptable question for this forum.

Steve

Edited March 27, 2019 by Westy Steve

[romanheart]

[comicquant]

60% - 70% FMV with 70% being rare...

[KPR Comics]

No reason to sell $1,000 "hot" key for less than $1,000.  

[Catwomancomics]

Between eBay and PayPal they take 13%.  Why would anyone let a dealer offer them less is crazy, especially for a hot key.

[Get Marwood & I]

48 minutes ago, Westy Steve said:

In your experience, what percent of market value do dealers pay knowledgeable sellers for key books at shows?  Like if I brought a key book worth $1,000 to a show with the idea of selling it, how much could I hope to get?  Maybe as a percentage range.  75% to 85%?

I'm speaking about reasonably "hot" keys here.

I hope this is an acceptable question for this forum.

Steve

Good question. Let's say you have an AF15 and it's worth 30 grand based on comparative sales. If you sell it to a dealer for 25 grand, they still make 5 grand. 5 grand! 

I'm sure there are some that would take a hassle free 25 from a dealer than hold out for a potentially awkward 30 or more from a private sale. But I suspect every dealer reading this is now laughing their socks off.

Or are they?

[theCapraAegagrus]

I've been told:

"About tree fiddy."

But then I found it wasn't a dealer I was talkin' to - it was the got dam Loch Ness monsta.

[romanheart]

I can't imagine a dealer paying close to market value for a key, even in a package deal, or what would be the point trying to make a profit off of it.

I'm not sure they are willing to share business models anyway but I'm watching this thread just in case 

Edited March 27, 2019 by romanheart

[Get Marwood & I]

20 minutes ago, TwoPiece said:

I've been told:

"About tree fiddy."

But then I found it wasn't a dealer I was talkin' to - it was the got dam Loch Ness monsta.

Don't trust Nessie TP - he's a flippin shark that one. And he never rings you back. 

[theCapraAegagrus]

6 minutes ago, Get Marwood & I said:

Don't trust Nessie TP - he's a flippin shark that one. And he never rings you back. 

I asked him, "How much you pay for NM TDKR #1 signed by Miller and Janson?"

"Tree fiddy."

Son of a _____ is low-ballin' me.

[LordRahl]

1 hour ago, comicquant said:

60% - 70% FMV with 70% being rare...

I highly doubt this is accurate. Who in their right mind is going to sell a Hulk 181 or FF 48 or something similar to a dealer at 60% of FMV? With all of the available options these days to sell something yourself, why would you take a 40% haircut? The only people that might are ones that haven't collected for many years and just aren't up to speed on the market today. But if dealers are only relying on those types for inventory, I imagine they won't have much inventory. For something that moves very easily, I would imagine the percentage to be much closer to 80-85%. Even at that percentage, it's easy money on stuff that moves fast.

[LordRahl]

I think the difficulty might be in determining FMV. All books sell within a pretty broad range of prices, so is FMV at the high end of that or the low end? Take Hulk 181 in 9.4 as an example. Just in the last 3 months, 9.4s have sold for $9K and $11K and everywhere in the middle. That's a big swing. So what is FMV for Hulk 181 in 9.4?

[bc]

Having sold some keys to dealers at shows, I just try to make sure it is equitable for both parties. Also had the chance to work in a reseller industry for two decades and understand how profit margins are affected by tangible and intangible costs factors.

As @Catwomancomics stated, there are costs to selling online or at a convention as an individual (not to mention some people aren't thrilled with packing & shipping and the overall feeBay risks). If you have the initiative and free time (another cost to consider), you can get a very good percentage return selling the keys yourself.

Dealers also have overhead costs as well as cash flow concerns - they don't want to lock up $1,000 (from the OP's example) for an extended period. I don't care if the dealer has someone already lined up to pay twice what I'm selling it for (that's my lack of initiative or research into the sale) but if they do, it's likely because of the dealers positive reputation with his customer base built over years of transactions. Or maybe it's due to the dealers marketing investment via web, onsite promos, cons and/or participation in online forums like this. 

I don't want to see reputable dealers go under in case I need to sell/buy more books in the future but I also don't expect to be fleeced. Doubt dealers have a set % profit margin they want to disclose, but around 20% seems equitable since I am unwilling to put the time, money and effort into the sale. And with higher value or more in-demand books, that % may be proportionally lower.

-bc

 

 

[DavidTheDavid]

Less than the rest of us.

[bc]

7 minutes ago, DavidTheDavid said:

Less than the rest of us.

Unless you can find them in the wild 

[1Cool]

  I know Gator has described his buying practices but I've not heard many other dealers talk about how much the typically pay for hot keys.

[NP_Gresham]

Consignments are 10% on comiclink and they often get over GPA on a keys.

Why would you give a dealer more with less exposure for your books?

[october]

No speculation here. 

I've sold hundreds, probably thousands, of key issues to various dealers over the years. Everything from JIM 83 to NYX 3. Most of the time I shoot for 85%, sometimes less on a raw less popular key, sometimes more on a popular slabbed key. Up until relatively recently this made sense as I was taking in far more comics than I could retail on my own, and dealers (or at least the ones I deal with) take other stuff besides just the hot books, pay promptly, and save me hours and hours of work/hassle. 

[NoMan]

Reminds me a sign I saw at an antique mall years ago; "We sell valuable one-of-a-kind incredibly high dollar antiques. However, we buy junk."

[bc]

1 minute ago, NP_Gresham said:

Consignments are 10% on comiclink and they often get over GPA on a keys.

Why would you give a dealer more with less exposure for your books?

maybe fast cash to pay for an unexpected bill?