Got everything prepared, hauled it all out to the car, carted it into the show, piled it all on the table, and put my signs up. And then after about four and a half hours,....
...I carried it all back home. Every single card. Didn't sell anything. Not one.
I thought I had some decent stuff, too. The Ginter and Gypsy Queen I showed earlier, a couple other years of Heritage, recent Topps with inserts, and some newer football. I knew there might not be so much of a market for my miscellaneous older baseball and football, but maybe a couple Redskins collectors or something. Nada.
I put out the few gamers and autographs I had among the boxes, and loose in the front, along with the Bowman Chad Kuhls. Those were really the only things most people even picked up. Had a couple nibbles on the other stuff, but no takers.
Guess I just don't collect the popular stuff - Shiny Bowman Rookie mojo. Kinda knew that going in. But didn't expect Zero. Figured there had to be a couple set builders or team collectors coming in at some point.
I could downsize my stock and try again next month, but I'm not optimistic that it would go any better. Some of the other veteran vendors say it slows down when football season starts (since the shows are on Sundays). So I don't know. I might feel better about it later. We'll see.
Maybe your offerings are solid, but there just were not enough spending visitors coming through the doors. Better luck next time!
ReplyDeleteI would have made an offer on that World League box... and then regretted buying it imminently after I open it.
ReplyDeleteThat's a bummer. I can tell from the photo alone that I would've spent a good deal of time and money at your table.
ReplyDeleteI like your presentation.
ReplyDeleteYou have far more guts than I do putting your stuff up for sale at a show. I constantly think no one would ever want my stuff and just dump it in a garage sale.
I agree with Nick and NO. Your presentation looks solid and it's a table I would have sat down and flipped through to find cards. Especially if there was a dime box!
ReplyDeleteThat sucks, I hope it was just a weak crowd or something because your setup looks great, as others have said. I already see a card I would want if I didn't already have it (David Ortiz manu-patch) and you got the area teams prominently displayed. I can imagine how rotten I'd feel having to pack up all of that without selling a single card, but I do hope you give it another shot some time.
ReplyDeleteThat sucks. I've been there myself. There's a show coming up next weekend and my buddy always offers me space on his table. The last time I took him up on his offer... I ended up selling everything to him for a blowout price... just so I didn't have to pack the stuff up and bring it home. Best of luck... if you decide to give it another shot.
ReplyDeleteTake this with a grain of salt, because I'm certainly not an expert and haven't tried anything like this myself. But if you do try this again sometime (and based on your experience, I can see why you wouldn't), I feel like people are always drawn in by things that are priced and easily discerned. Dime boxes, dollar boxes, five dollar boxes -- whatever -- as long as things are clear and obvious. I know I personally have a hard time engaging if I don't know up front exactly what everything is going to cost, even if the seller is assuring everyone in the vicinity that he'll cut you a good deal, "ignore the price tags", or whatever. It's definitely not how I organize my own collection and I'm sure it's extra work, but I feel like the people that draw the most attention at these things are the people that throw everything into boxes and slap a price per card on each box.
ReplyDelete(Also, it's entirely possible you were doing this and it's not clear from the photo. In any case, seeing the sign and knowing you had a blog would have given me a reason to stop if not for anything else.)