Gross Margins on Boxes/Cases?

[bigunitcards]

Just a pure curiosity question because I've never actually known the answer, what are authorized dealers making on full MSRPs on new wax boxes, say from Topps? I work in the grocery industry & we are typically shooting for around 22%GP [ (retail-cost)/retail ]. Can a dealer give me just a basic figure of what the profit margin is? Does it differ by sport or high/low end product? PM will work if you don't like such things shared.

 

[rsmath]

I don't have exact figures, but I've heard anecdotally that they are low margins but when I see the story of embezzlement at a big online card dealer and that didn't bankrupt them, I have to think margins are much stronger than the anecdotal statements.

It also seems to me margins are best in pre-order/release date than they are months later as I'm fairly certain the wax I buy months later are likely at dealer cost or just below unless that seller was able to get inventory for cheap on their dealer wax network and sell it to me at a slight profit margin.

 

[smapdi]

I always heard the assumption was dealer cost was half the MSRP. I first heard this back in 1991 or so, when packs of Topps were 50 cents and you'd see big wax dealers at shows selling boxes for about $12-15 (God, those were the days). If they were paying $9 a box, imagine the volume of boxes they'd have to move to make it worthwhile.

I bought a case of Magic cards last year, where SRP is $3.99 per pack, 6 boxes of 36 packs. Included in the shipping box was an invoice from Wizards (the card maker) to the dealer, and it had marked on there "216 units @ $2.01." So I would assume this holds true today, even as SRP has increased across the board, and up into the mid-three-digit range.

 

[gt2590]

It's usually around 25 or so but without the volume of a grocery-type store, that's pretty low.

The money for LCSs come from other types of stuff, which is closer to 50, depending on their amount of sales...