You got it Roger! I judge people by the content of their character, not by the size of their wallet or the color of their skin.
I have a funny haggling story. 24 year ago, I ran an ad in MCW for some primo lobby cards (those of you who knew me then knew I was a lobby card specialist at the time, and wouldn't consider ANY poster!). The ad came out to those who paid a zillion dollars to have it Fedexed to them, which meant I didn't have mine yet, because I was a lowly First Class subscriber. A super famous dealer, who is still active and will remain nameless, called me up and asked about a great lobby card I had listed. He said, "Will you take $250 for it?". I was amazed because it was listed for $750! I said, "What price are you looking at?" and he said $325, and I realized that Brian had made a mistake typesetting, and transposed the price of that card and the one above it, which should have been $325, but was listed for $750. I told the dealer what had happened, and that the price was actually $750. He immediately said, "Well, will you take $600 for it?", and I said yes, because I didn't want to have to go through the story with lots more callers. But I also said, "If you were willing to pay $600, then why did you offer $250, when you thought you could have bought it for $325 (the listed price)?" and he replied, "Everybody haggles"! Another story, this one from my comic book days, back in 1972, when I co-hosted the first EC Comic book convention, a four day extravaganza that all the artists and Bill Gaines attended. I had a bunch of ECs I had decided I no longer wanted, and a collector came over to my table and pulled out all the best ones, and my prices came to $220, and he said, "What's the best you can do?" I didn't want to have to stay by the table the whole show, so I said, "I will make you a really great deal, and you can have them for $150". He said, "How about $140?". Now I KNEW $150 was a really great deal, and it annoyed me he counter-offered, and I said "I have changed my mind, I won't sell them for $150 any more."! He said, OK, "I'll pay it", and I said, "No that was a one-time offer, and you COULD have taken it, but you didn't, so now the price is $175". He said, "That's unfair" and I said, "OK, forget the whole thing, and I will keep them" and he grumbled and said, "I'll pay the $175" and I said I was just trying to teach him a lesson and I accepted the $150. I wonder what he did the next time he was presented with a really good deal? Of course, I was 19 then, and pretty crazy, and I would never do that today! Bruce On Sun, May 31, 2009 at 2:21 PM, Roger Kim <roger...@iname.com> wrote: > Scott, > I interpreted Bruce's note to be sarcastic. I think it was his way of > saying that he thinks anyone should feel free to haggle (or make an attempt > to haggle) whenever they want to at these shows. Of course, that's just my > interpretation. Maybe he means something else entirely. > > -rk > > > On May 31, 2009, at 12:01 PM, Scott Burns wrote: > > Well, forgive me for being completely out-of-touch with the lifestyles > of the rich and famous.... > > I didn't realize it was "poor form" to try to get a better deal. I also > didn't know there was a dollar threshold that makes haggling "acceptable." > From what other dealers have told me they DO build wiggle room into all > prices--even on the less pricey items--knowing people like to bargain. > > I'm certainly out of my league with you guys. (read high rollers) > > ...and we wonder why we can't get younger (read that, less financially > solvent) people interested in our hobby... > > Sheesh, Franc you certainly have a knack for always saying just the right > thing. I wanna party with you. > > Scott > MoPo List Owner > > > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* MoPo List *On Behalf Of *Bruce Hershenson > *Sent:* Sunday, May 31, 2009 12:12 PM > > I feel the same way, except my number is $10,000. I can't imagine someone > haggling over $100, but that's just me. > > Bruce > > > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* MoPo List*On Behalf Of *Franc > *Sent:* Sunday, May 31, 2009 8:28 AM > I don't haggle unless I'm spending at least $100 at someone's table. I > just think it's poor form. FRANC > > -----Original Message----- > *From:* MoPo List > [mailto:mopo-l@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU<mopo-l@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>] > *On Behalf Of *Scott Burns > *Sent:* Saturday, May 30, 2009 8:36 PM > *To:* MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU > *Subject:* Re: [MOPO] Cinevent--No Haggle Zone? > > I must have just been unlucky that the dealers having what I wanted to > buy wouldn't haggle. I thought it odd since it had NEVER happened before. As > Rich pointed out, he would have haggled...but alas, no items caught my eye > on his table. Maybe next year Rich! > > Personally I don't think it's out-of-line to offer 20 bucks for something > marked $25. One would assume that dealers build in a bit of wiggle room > since bargaining seems commonplace, if not expected. > > Scott > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* MoPo List *On Behalf Of *Franc > *Sent:* Saturday, May 30, 2009 8:21 PM > *Subject:* Re: [MOPO] Cinevent--No Haggle Zone? > > Dealers must have known that I was upset by te smelly rooms, so they > treated me kindly allowed me to haggle. I didn;t notice any difference this > year in connection with the pricing and the bargaining. Volume is the key. I > personally get pissed off when someone wants to buy one $25 item and offers > me $20 or even $23. FRANC > > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com > ___________________________________________________________________ How to > UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: > lists...@listserv.american.edu In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF > MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > > > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com > ___________________________________________________________________ How to > UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: > lists...@listserv.american.edu In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF > MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: lists...@listserv.american.edu In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
