Is it worth setting up as a dealer in these economic times?

[rainmanesq]

Like ebay/other card selling venues, depends on the show, cards offered, + dealer. Mall show in the middle of nowhere? Probably not going to do so great, but that’s been true for awhile for most (not all) mall shows. Larger shows like white plains, nationals, tristar, Hollywood park, etc.? you can still do well if your prices are reasonable. Also, I find having cheap boxes- ex. $5/gu card, .25-$1 singles, 3 for $10 etc. will make you quite a bit of $ as people love going through those boxes + feel like they’re getting a lot more bang for their $ if they walk away w/a bunch of cards than 1 card for $100. plus, card collectors are hoarders, so if they take the time to sift through those boxes, they often spend more than they intended.

consignment rates vary by person/card/widget/amount of work involved- @ least for me. generally i take X% of net after ebay, pp, supply fees.

It seems like everyone is saying to have a "cheap box" out, this is something i wasn't planning on doing, but will have to give it ago it looks like.

So you don't have a flat rate when you take consignments? What do your rates average at (if you want to answer publicly)?

my cheap boxes are usually:

(1) low end gu/autos for $5-10 (think things that probably wouldn't even get $.99 on ebay);

(2) base non chrome rcs

(3) oddball/set builder stuff (like the arod 500 hr set when those were hot)- people would pay $1+/card for those @ a show + set builders would choose say 20. list those same 20 on ebay + you may get $.25-.50/card

(4) #d inserts

(5) star players (montana, jordan, kobe, etc.)

(6) local team favs- ex., @ sf tristar, of course i'd have raiders, giants, as, etc. people are fanatical for their local teams + not all know ebay prices. even 'junk' stuff sells- ex., 07 bdp (non chrome) travis buck. people buy JUST B/C he's a 'local guy'

(7) base chrome rcs that i didn't have enough of to make 5-10-20 ct lots to put on ebay

also, be flexible...i set prices higher for the first day or 2 of a show, but may cut people a break towards the end, esp. on the cheap stuff


Really depends b/c I take consignments on more than sports cards. also depends on if I know some one as a friend- the rate will obviously be much lower for that person (say 15-20% net). generally it’s 30-35%, sometimes it’s $X of the selling price, sometimes it’s $X/hour, sometimes I just buy the stuff outright, sometimes it’s X% of the selling price, etc. I used to have a ‘1 size fits all’ for consignments and I found that being more flexible got me a lot more consignment work.

 

[i43770]

any time someone gives you real dollars for cardboard, it's worth it. set up, have a good time.

Even when it's costing you more real dollars to set up than you would bring in at the show?

I'm not sure how much it costs at other shows for a table. But I have never had a show where I didn't cover my expenses to do the show. I also have cards with my eBay screen name on them that I give to people, that way I can possibly get sales after the show as well.

This is something i plan on doing as well. I was also gonna throw my cell phone number on there incase someone wants to deal at a later date or wants to leave consignments with me.

A question for consignment sellers... what percent do you guys charge? and do you charge the same amount no matter the value of the card?

I am thinking about printing some new business cards up for this show with FCB website and screen name (for trading/selling and to get some fresh blood here), as well eBay and screen name.

I have never really done consignment, outside of selling things for family or friends (then it was them just covering the fees, they usually gave me more, but I didn't charge them). But I have had a shop sell some cards for me on eBay before, they charge 20% of what the card sold for. A little less if you do a lot of business with them, but it was always at least $1, so if the card only sold for $2, it was 50% at that point.

 

[G $MONEY$]

i43770- Also adding the FCB website with your username is also a great idea, i might do that as well. Thanks for everything!

rainmanesq- Thanks so much for answering all my questions, you have been a big help


I thanked you both, thanks again!!

 

[predatorkj]

Like ebay/other card selling venues, depends on the show, cards offered, + dealer. Mall show in the middle of nowhere? Probably not going to do so great, but that’s been true for awhile for most (not all) mall shows. Larger shows like white plains, nationals, tristar, Hollywood park, etc.? you can still do well if your prices are reasonable. Also, I find having cheap boxes- ex. $5/gu card, .25-$1 singles, 3 for $10 etc. will make you quite a bit of $ as people love going through those boxes + feel like they’re getting a lot more bang for their $ if they walk away w/a bunch of cards than 1 card for $100. plus, card collectors are hoarders, so if they take the time to sift through those boxes, they often spend more than they intended.

consignment rates vary by person/card/widget/amount of work involved- @ least for me. generally i take X% of net after ebay, pp, supply fees.

It seems like everyone is saying to have a "cheap box" out, this is something i wasn't planning on doing, but will have to give it ago it looks like.

So you don't have a flat rate when you take consignments? What do your rates average at (if you want to answer publicly)?

I can't tell you as a dealer but I can as a buyer that most people seem to go to shows looking for bargains.Most people are on a budget and enjoy getting a bunch of cards instead of just a few.I myself really take good long looks at any tables with cheap stuff simply because I am usually able to find plenty of good deals on cards.Oddly enough I think some of the cards I get would do way better on ebay but apparently the sellers didn't think so.But I think more times than not that this will be the best avenue.The thing you have to do is give people a good reason to not only look through your stuff but to buy from you.If you have every card on your table under glass and have it set up like a museum then I am going to keep walking because I would normally assume your prices are already out of my normal range.

 

[MojoDan]

I used to have great success with a $5 binder of game used as well. Always did best with local teams and if I set up again this year at all, I will be doing a couple of quarter and dollar boxes for sure. EVERYONE on here seems to do well with them when this topic is brought up.

 

[tramers]

i just picked up 50,000 cards all brands of the early 90's for free , will sort to team boxes for selling .