How good of a deal is too good of a deal? 1 1

[kav]

Just now, Karl Liebl said:

Wrong answer...  you ask for the title and keys to his cadillac...

-and then you sell it to Jack Klompus.

[Karl Liebl]

https://gph.is/1VgVawe

[newshane]

1 hour ago, kav said:

I think it would be fair if you bought Action #1 at a yard sale for $1, sold it, then slipped 1/2 the proceeds under their door.  

Since we are being ethical and charitable and stuff, we COULD also donate it to an actual charity. 

 

[Prince Namor]

Everybody's ethical to an audience.

[kav]

6 minutes ago, newshane said:

Since we are being ethical and charitable and stuff, we COULD also donate it to an actual charity. 

 

I dont trust charities.  Too much corruption.  

[Karl Liebl]

4 minutes ago, Chuck Gower said:

Everybody's ethical to an audience.

Come on Chuck...  Is it so unfair to say my shop cant afford these or I want to cherry pick your books or even I will only pay 2 cents on the dollar im sorry? and do a little explaining...  Its not hard...

[kav]

8 minutes ago, Karl Liebl said:

Come on Chuck...  Is it so unfair to say my shop cant afford these or I want to cherry pick your books or even I will only pay 2 cents on the dollar im sorry? and do a little explaining...  Its not hard...

I know an LCS owner that does exactly that.  He always tells people what items are worth and gives them options.  He never refrains from doing this or withholds information.  this policy has worked out exceptionally well for him.  Usually people have tried taking stuff to other shop and greatly appreciates his honesty and he has gotten several great deals as a result.  I am talking GREAT deals.   

Edited July 3, 2019 by kav

[Karl Liebl]

22 minutes ago, kav said:

I know an LCS owner that does exactly that.

Sadly I know a LCS too.  He has all the new issues available and makes an effort to package and display carefully.  Has baseball cards and toys etc.  NO back issues.  He won't make rent in California and its a shame.  Is this really a comic shop or a newsstand?  But where do you find comics nowadays?  I am done beating up on comic shops...  Atlantis Fantasyland Santa Cruze... mmmm... were you in a movie haha!

 

[Prince Namor]

1 hour ago, Karl Liebl said:

Come on Chuck...  Is it so unfair to say my shop cant afford these or I want to cherry pick your books or even I will only pay 2 cents on the dollar im sorry? and do a little explaining...  Its not hard...

Talk to real dealers about the topic. Most of them aren't going to come in here and discuss it because it's a loaded trap topic.

Most of the dealers here are as fair as it gets, but this little game being set up is designed to make them all look like crooks.

The truth is, the more fair you play, the more books you lose.

Every dealer here can tell you a story of how someone came into their shop, or up to their table and they got out the Overstreet Guide and showed the clueless dude exactly how much a book was worth and then made them an offer at a percentage off that price and...

They suddenly think you're ripping them off. "It's worth $1000 and you only want to give me 30-40-50% of that?"

No matter how much you explain to them how it works - they just dig in and think you're ripping them off.

So they go to the next shop or down to the next table and the dealer either:

a) makes a cash offer and the seller just figures 'oh what the heck'

OR

b) the dealer explains the same thing you did to the guy and he figures, 'ok, I'll take that deal."

Either way YOU don't get the books to sell.

And without that inventory, you don't make that money. You have to WAIT for the next collection to come in. And sometimes that can be a long wait. 

 

Honestly - deep down most people WANT it to be simple. They want to walk away with cash in their hand and feel they got an ok deal. Most of the time with amateurs, the more you explain to them the more you screw it up. You learn to evaluate a collection pretty quick, and make an offer. Sometimes you discover you made an amazing purchase, mostly you discover you did ok, and sometimes you realize that the letters page has been torn out of nearly every book in the collection. Seen that happen to a guy once.

 

Seriously, there are a lot of armchair know-it-alls who've never owned a shop and know how much work goes into it or traveled with hundreds of thousands of dollars of inventory and set up at shows around the country and understand what all goes into it. 

Sellers are looking for THEIR deals, the same as buyers are looking for THEIR deals. What's the difference? If the buyers happy and the dealers happy, where's the harm?

No one's ripping off little old ladies here.

 

 

[kav]

I have never owned a shop but my best friend owns a very successful shop.  We talk about this stuff a lot.  He has never withheld information and has never had a problem with people thinking he's 'ripping them off'.  He has purchased many outstanding collections being 100% honest and open.  He explains the value, makes an offer and if the guy is reluctant, recommends another shop.  No pressure.  Inevitably the other shop lowballs and he comes back.  Dont know what else to say.

[RockMyAmadeus]

1 hour ago, Karl Liebl said:

 Atlantis Fantasyland Santa Cruze

Atlantis Fantasyworld in Santa Cruz. Was my LCS for 4 years in the 90s.

[Karl Liebl]

14 minutes ago, Chuck Gower said:

The truth is, the more fair you play, the more books you lose.

You should always play fair Chuck and don't worry about what the other guy is doing.  He is going to be out of business next month.  Are you going to get ripped off sometimes? Yes!  But what if you can take all of their business?  Be smart and take the time to inspect key books yourself!  I don't even know if you are a dealer or live in BFE.  I appreciate your honest response.  If you are a dealer I will buy an expensive book off you maybe FF or EC PM me.

[Conacon]

I frequent an antique store that deals mostly in salvage, but the owner buys random garage sale junk for his store as well. With a working Coke vending machine, an old lady (not that one) threw in some old comics. He knew he had something, but knows nothing about comics. One was a high-midgrade Life With Archie #1!

Instead of buying a stack for a few bucks like I normally do from him, I just sat at his counter and said, "do you know what you have here?" Then I explained comic 101. 

A few months later, I popped in to see what he had. Right up front he said we wanted to get out of comics and asked if I could sell them for him for a cut. I guess in this case honesty has its rewards.  

 

[Karl Liebl]

25 minutes ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Atlantis Fantasyworld in Santa Cruz. Was my LCS for 4 years in the 90s.

Sorry, I cherry picked your books haha...

I am about a decade before you because once I entered college I no longer cared for comics.  That was a great shop...  I dont even know if its still around...

Edited July 3, 2019 by Karl Liebl

[Prince Namor]

17 minutes ago, Karl Liebl said:

You should always play fair Chuck and don't worry about what the other guy is doing.

Define fair.

17 minutes ago, Karl Liebl said:

 He is going to be out of business next month.

I do know some dealers who've been around forever who do not play fair.

17 minutes ago, Karl Liebl said:

Are you going to get ripped off sometimes? Yes!  But what if you can take all of their business?

Not everyone thinks the same thing is fair. I ALWAYS had dollar books. During sales, they'd be 2 for $1 sometimes 3 for $1 sometimes as much as 10 for $1 when I get too much of it. I'd buy complete 90's garbage books at 10 cents a book. How fair is that? I sometimes sold my junk books for as little as 10 cents a piece but ALWAYS bought them at 10 cents a piece - cash in hand.

People complained. They could sell the same books to the used book store for 25 cents a piece, but they'd always have to buy the comics there for $1 a piece. No sales. However, they could find amazing deals because the used book store had NO IDEA what one comic was from another.

People would then find their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2 or New Mutants #87 in their dollar boxes and bring them down to ME, so they could try and sell them for as close to FMV as possible. What's FAIR in that instance? What should I pay in that scenario? Was my fairness paying off?

So many times, there'd be no one left to buy THOSE books in my store, because so many people wanted to find the good comics in dollar boxes at the used book store (thank goodness for good, regular customers who wanted a real comic shop), so I'd sometimes have to sell them on eBay where I was at the mercy of Paypal fees, eBay fees, shipping, boxes, packing material, tape, driving to the post office, etc. 

No little ladies got ripped off. But I sometimes felt less than fulfilled.

17 minutes ago, Karl Liebl said:

Be smart and take the time to inspect key books yourself!

Well of course.

17 minutes ago, Karl Liebl said:

I don't even know if you are a dealer or live in BFE.  I appreciate your honest response.  If you are a dealer I will buy an expensive book off you maybe FF or EC PM me.

I appreciate that... I've moved on from buying/selling, it seems the know-it-all amateurs have invaded the hobby as sellers. I just enjoy a good read every now and then... but thank you!

[Karl Liebl]

3 minutes ago, Chuck Gower said:

Define fair.

I do know some dealers who've been around forever who do not play fair.

Not everyone thinks the same thing is fair. I ALWAYS had dollar books. During sales, they'd be 2 for $1 sometimes 3 for $1 sometimes as much as 10 for $1 when I get too much of it. I'd buy complete 90's garbage books at 10 cents a book. How fair is that? I sometimes sold my junk books for as little as 10 cents a piece but ALWAYS bought them at 10 cents a piece - cash in hand.

People complained. They could sell the same books to the used book store for 25 cents a piece, but they'd always have to buy the comics there for $1 a piece. No sales. However, they could find amazing deals because the used book store had NO IDEA what one comic was from another.

People would then find their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2 or New Mutants #87 in their dollar boxes and bring them down to ME, so they could try and sell them for as close to FMV as possible. What's FAIR in that instance? What should I pay in that scenario? Was my fairness paying off?

So many times, there'd be no one left to buy THOSE books in my store, because so many people wanted to find the good comics in dollar boxes at the used book store (thank goodness for good, regular customers who wanted a real comic shop), so I'd sometimes have to sell them on eBay where I was at the mercy of Paypal fees, eBay fees, shipping, boxes, packing material, tape, driving to the post office, etc. 

No little ladies got ripped off. But I sometimes felt less than fulfilled.

Well of course.

I appreciate that... I've moved on from buying/selling, it seems the know-it-all amateurs have invaded the hobby as sellers. I just enjoy a good read every now and then... but thank you!

Dont get bent ...

 

[Prince Namor]

Despite my personal experience, I would NEVER base my thoughts upon just THAT. I've bought from and talked to dealers across the United States for over 35 years. Most of what I'm saying here is stuff that every one of them has experienced. If you think dealers are primarily con artists, I suggest you strike up a conversation with some of them and find out what THEY go through. 

[Karl Liebl]

 

[Karl Liebl]

20 minutes ago, Chuck Gower said:

Despite my personal experience, I would NEVER base my thoughts upon just THAT. I've bought from and talked to dealers across the United States for over 35 years. Most of what I'm saying here is stuff that every one of them has experienced. If you think dealers are primarily con artists, I suggest you strike up a conversation with some of them and find out what THEY go through. 

I already know.  I said I am going to to stop whining.  Its not healthy.  Take a cat...

Go to bed

[kav]

Captain America would never give unsuspecting seller $5 for hi dollar book.

The End