Finally pulled the trigger on that comic swap meet in Portland last weekend

I drove 3 hours to this small convention center for a Comic Book Roundup event. I had my eye on a first printing of a certain Silver Surfer issue from the 80s. The seller wanted $120 but the cover was a little beat up and I only brought $80 in cash. I ended up trading him a stack of doubles I had in my trunk plus the cash. He walked away happy and I got the book I wanted. Has anyone else had good luck haggling at these smaller shows?

3 comments

3 Comments

ruby_jones7d ago

The real trick at those smaller shows is getting there early when sellers are still setting up and haven't priced their whole table yet. I've gotten some steals just by asking "what's the lowest you'd take" before they even put a sticker on the bag. Most guys are still in a good mood from their coffee and happy to wheel and deal before the crowd shows up.

kimmurphy7d ago

Wait, do you actually get people to give you a price before they've even priced stuff? That's a bit different from what I've seen. Most dealers I've run into at these smaller shows won't even consider taking an offer until they've had a chance to sort through their own haul first. They'll usually say something like "let me get this stuff laid out first" or "I haven't really looked at everything yet." I've learned the hard way that rushing them before they've priced stuff can actually backfire - they might just stick a high price on it out of spite or because they haven't had time to research what it's worth. The real trick I've found is showing up right when the doors open but waiting until they've had maybe 15-20 minutes to get their table organized before you start asking about specific items. There's a sweet spot where they've settled in enough to be flexible but aren't yet tired from dealing with crowds all day. Just be careful not to come across as too pushy when they're still setting up because that can sour the mood pretty fast.

david_jones386d ago

@ruby_jones is onto something, I've gotten stuff for half price that way.

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