MCM Comic Con London 24-26 May 2019 1 1

[zosocane]

On 6/2/2019 at 8:10 PM, NoMan said:

II've bought from you. I introduced myself at Wonder Con so you invited me back behind the table. Problem solved. I could see prices. I'd ask about a book. You'd pick it off wall and show it to me.

But yeah, if I was a dealer and it bothered me to get up, get a book off wall to show someone the price, I'd make the price BIG!

So if the problem is post it notes reflect a different price than a dealer's website, man, I dunno, I just want to be able to see the prices so as not to bug people. If I've got 5 grand for Book X and I see Book X for 100 grand on the wall, well, I'm not gonna ask to see it. I can make a decision, like, wow I'm really out of the ball park with Book X guess I gotta save up some money. Otherwise a dealer just treats me like "i'm kicking tires." And as the poster said above and I can't agree enough: I save my time, and you save your time.

Bob is always good about letting me into his booth area, and i can look more carefully at the prices (or the condition).  Problem solved.  Dale Roberts, Gator and Ted Van Lieuw are also good about this.  There are others as well.  But those dealers that clearly don't like to be bothered to get up, or aren't particularly interested to sell a book ... i walk.  Next booth for me.

[herc2000]

On 5/31/2019 at 1:09 PM, blazingbob said:

Who or what were you hoping to see at the show?  Maybe my term "expectations" should be changed to "hope" when I post in Convention threads.

My HONEST hope is that I find high grade priced where I can make money,  Or keys that I need for customers,  or books that are hard to find.  If I'm honest with myself sometimes that hope doesn't translate into what the convention can deliver.   MCM will NEVER be a true comic convention but that doesn't mean you can't find what you are looking for if you are looking for stuff that dealers can bring to the show.   However as I stated earlier sometimes I HOPE that I can find a dealer at a show that doesn't know what stuff is worth,  or is willing to discount a lot to meet my "budget".   Then I can post in the thread my "haul" and get some attaboys.

There are plenty of comic cons in the US that don't deliver on My or collector's hope either.

Hi Bob, I bought a few books off you, always good to see US dealers over here.

As for what I was expecting, to be honest I was not expecting many comic dealers, until another comic dealer told me there would be lots of comic dealers there this year, as MCM was trying to get lots more of these types of sellers.

So, that was I was let down, I got a few good deals though and it was good to see you again and meet Lon.

I remember the US shows, back in the late 90's, every isle was full of back issue comic dealers (and modern), maybe that's a thing of the past now?

[F For Fake]

Count me as being onboard with the post-it note prices. Keeps me from having to have awkward conversations if I'm just trying to get an idea of what the price is. I don't like to waste a seller's time, nor my own, so if I can see the price from the floor, no need to bug them if they're talking to someone else, or whatever. Of course, I'm a hermit who tries to speak with the fewest amount of people possible on the rare occasions that I leave my cave.

[mrc]

When Metro were at the last LSCC in 2017, they had at their booth a ring binder with a price list for all their wall books. This was convenient, especially as many people wanted to chat with Vince & Frank. 

[blazingbob]

In the day of the internet and smartphones if customers don't want to engage or waste my time they can always search my website for the books that are on the wall to quickly gauge prices.  I understand Metro's binders from a "show inventory" management but killing trees to keep my showlist current would not exactly work for me.

[VintageComics]

On 6/2/2019 at 5:39 PM, NoMan said:

On 6/2/2019 at 4:26 PM, NeverEnoughComics said:

I wish the dealers who were there would put prices on their wall books i could actually read, There are only so many times you can ask to look at a book, only to find out that our ideas on what the comic is worth differ somewhat. Happy for you to price the books how you want, but it would save wasting my time and yours.

 

Isn't this the Mother F-ing truth. My favorite is when dealers roll their eyes and have to get up out of that chair to hand me a book that I can't read the price tag on from afar BECAUSE IF I COULD YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO GET UP OUT OF YOUR CHAIR.

The crux of this particular discussion is that you just can't please everyone.

Some customers want to be able to see the price from the aisle. Others only want to see the book, so a large price tag obscures their view of the book.

Some customers (like the Brits - I know them well) don't want to inconvenience you, others feel it's your job to hand them as many books as they ask for with no qualms about asking.

Some dealers have huge price tags on the front. Some back them on the back. Some carry a printed price list. Some dealer price books AFTER you look at them.

You just can't please everyone.

[VintageComics]

On 6/4/2019 at 5:53 PM, mrc said:

When Metro were at the last LSCC in 2017, they had at their booth a ring binder with a price list for all their wall books. This was convenient, especially as many people wanted to chat with Vince & Frank. 

 

On 6/4/2019 at 7:31 PM, blazingbob said:

In the day of the internet and smartphones if customers don't want to engage or waste my time they can always search my website for the books that are on the wall to quickly gauge prices.  I understand Metro's binders from a "show inventory" management but killing trees to keep my showlist current would not exactly work for me.

That was going to be my next post.

In this day of everyone checking GPA on a phone, online prices are the next best thing.

[NoMan]

1 hour ago, VintageComics said:

The crux of this particular discussion is that you just can't please everyone.

Some customers want to be able to see the price from the aisle. Others only want to see the book, so a large price tag obscures their view of the book.

Some customers (like the Brits - I know them well) don't want to inconvenience you, others feel it's your job to hand them as many books as they ask for with no qualms about asking.

Some dealers have huge price tags on the front. Some back them on the back. Some carry a printed price list. Some dealer price books AFTER you look at them.

You just can't please everyone.

Than don't act (not you personally) put out by me asking you what the price of something is. Many dealers do. 

[VintageComics]

Social interactions are a very complicated thing because we're all so different.

What one person considers offensive or prohibitive the next person may not think twice about or care about.

This post is about no specific person.

I know that some buyers have NO problem trying to whittle your price down to as close to wholesale as possible. They think nothing of it.

Others are happy to pay a fair market value and look for little discount but nothing huge. Just something to make them feel like they are being treated fairly.

Some don't like negotiating AT ALL. Zip. Zero. None. They just either take it or leave it.

 

The problem is that if a book is priced at Fair Market Value, you STILL get a large percentage of customers who hammer away at the price, no matter what the sticker says. Even it it's below market.

But if you build in a cushion for those customers, you are scaring away the guy who doesn't want to negotiate at all. You haven't done anything wrong and yet have eliminated a percentage of your customer base just because you are trying to appeal to everyone.

 

Retail is a thankless job and no matter what you do, someone will believe that their common sensibilities have been stepped on.

So each retailer just does what they can do and deal with the problems as they arise.

[VintageComics]

1 minute ago, NoMan said:

Than don't act (not you personally) put out by me asking you what the price of something is. Many dealers do. 

For sure. That's retail 101. You're there to service the customer.

But not all hobbyists turned retailers are business people.

 

[NoMan]

I've often thought about bring binoculars to a show just so I could see prices without bothering people. Dale Roberts at WonderCon a couple of years put it best when I asked him to look at a book, "Of course, it's why I'm here." I'm sure many, many customers are a pain, but what of those of that aren't? Knowing the dealer's price is the first step in my decision making process. But whatever, it's a dead horse. 

Edited June 8, 2019 by NoMan

[F For Fake]

On 6/8/2019 at 2:15 PM, VintageComics said:

For sure. That's retail 101. You're there to service the customer.

But not all hobbyists turned retailers are business people.

 

This is worth repeating for sure. There are a lot of socially awkward, maladjusted folks out in the collecting world who have gone on to become dealers (or, more often than not, "dealers".) I was going to say that my first bit of advice for sellers would be "Be pleasant", but a lot of the time I'd settle for "don't be actively unpleasant." 

To be sure, that's not everyone. Lots of great dealers who do great customer service out there. And by customer service I don't mean "gives me a huge discount" or anything like that. I just mean that they act like a generally pleasant and decent human being. It's not hard, folks!

[Get Marwood & I]

https://www.mcmcomiccon.com/london/en-us/things-to-do.html

I see that the 'Comic Village' has been rebadged as 'Artists Alley'

Does this mean no comic dealers at all now I wonder? I don't want to spend money going to a Comic Con to find that it has no comics?

@MCMComicCon - can you confirm?

 

The LCC at least promises a comic zone....

https://londonfilmandcomiccon.com/comic-zone/

....so I may get to do another of these...

[MetalPSI]

Yeah, corporate rock really does suck

[Get Marwood & I]

On 7/27/2021 at 7:19 PM, Dr. Dank said:

Yeah, corporate rock really does suck

It does. A comic con without comics. 

[Ken Aldred]

On 7/27/2021 at 7:35 PM, Get Marwood & I said:

It does. A comic con without comics. 

Seems to be the way it’s evolved.

’Even fewer comics than the San Diego Comicon.’

A slight exaggeration.

[Get Marwood & I]

On 7/28/2021 at 1:13 AM, Ken Aldred said:

Seems to be the way it’s evolved.

’Even fewer comics than the San Diego Comicon.’

A slight exaggeration.

I did say in the report of the con I went to just before lockdown that I probably wouldn't go again, but then the optimism kicks back in and you find yourself wanting to give it another go. I seem to recall some talk of there being a big improvement on the comic content planned, but this seems to indicate the opposite if anything. It's just a shame to see the opportunities to buy and enjoy comics in physical locations diminishing year by year.