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The Show of Shows, 2020...Louisville, KY


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I try to keep a wide variety of pricepoints on my table... I have stuff from a dollar or two up to hundreds and thousands.

 

Some stuff is excellent quality, and priced accordingly....other stuff I price on the cheaper side of retail or lower. It's good practice to not price every item at stupid prices. If people come by and start seeing things priced fairly, they are more likely to take a good look at the table, rather than seeing retail plus 30%, and moving on to the next table.

 

Bring your $20 items....along with anything else you have. And, I recommend bringing some "good stuff" out of your collection with you that you can sell if needed. A liquid reserve, if you will.

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There will be plenty of $20 items at this show and yes, those items move. I've bought some really nice patches and Victory Medals out of dealers junk boxes fro less than $20, so yes bring what you want and hope you have a great show.

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Just no segways...

 

We try to bring a variety of items at all price points too, and I bring about 20 tables worth of stuff for the 4 tables we have. Keep in mind that there are 2000+ tables, so you might not have luck selling your really common items. But on the other hand if someone is looking for something specific, you might make their day if you were the only one to bring say "Korean war rank stripes". But then again the guy next to you might have a crate of them at .05 each.

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tdogchristy90

As far as what to expect, let me ask this as an example. If say your typical medal group is a couple hundred dollars to something Pearl Harbor related being thousands, should we expect it all? Never knowing what will pop up?

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Brian Dentino

As far as what to expect, let me ask this as an example. If say your typical medal group is a couple hundred dollars to something Pearl Harbor related being thousands, should we expect it all? Never knowing what will pop up?

You will see it ALL at the SoS! You will see items there for sale or display that you will only see in a book or museum along with all sorts of other items. You will see everything for a military collector from uniforms, medals, insignia/patches, paper items, helmets, groupings, AB, USMC........and all of it from pre-Civil War to current/modern. Amazing show and wear comfortable shoes.......it is a LOT of walking!

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To echo what has been said, the $20 items are fine. As are the $10, and $5 items.

 

The "what should I bring?" question also relates to the table space and your overall expenses. If you have your own private island complete with living room and spa facility, as some jerks do (me!), then bringing a wide array of price points makes good sense. After all, let's be honest - I want ALL of your money, not just the Benjamins. However, if you are flying in from Belgium, and are sharing one table with a pal, then you should probably focus on truly premium items, otherwise the cost of attending will quickly eclipse your sales, even if you sell quite well.

 

Mike had the best advice, though. Don't put unrealistic prices on your stuff. Sure, maybe that one piece from your collection that you are still in love with and don't really want to sell.. but even then as he suggests, seeing pie-in-the-sky, fishing for suckers price tags on even a few items will cause many of us to dismiss the table entirely and go focus our limited time and resources elsewhere.

 

And on that - DO please put price tags on your stuff. At least once per show I find myself standing at some dingus' table in front of a great item, with minutes ticking away.. only to have them eventually return and learn that they want $2,000 for the $600 item, or that they "haven't decided yet", "promised to show it to someone first", etc., etc. I always walk away wondering just what great item sold two aisles away that I missed because I was parked in orbit around planet impossible.

 

Putting your cell # on a card on your table is also a GREAT way to capture sales that you would have lost because you wandered off.

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tdogchristy90

Thanks Brian,

 

I'm starting to make a list and plan, I want to go into this with some ideas so I don't miss something by being distracted.

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To echo what has been said, the $20 items are fine. As are the $10, and $5 items.

 

The "what should I bring?" question also relates to the table space and your overall expenses. If you have your own private island complete with living room and spa facility, as some jerks do (me!), then bringing a wide array of price points makes good sense. After all, let's be honest - I want ALL of your money, not just the Benjamins. However, if you are flying in from Belgium, and are sharing one table with a pal, then you should probably focus on truly premium items, otherwise the cost of attending will quickly eclipse your sales, even if you sell quite well.

 

Mike had the best advice, though. Don't put unrealistic prices on your stuff. Sure, maybe that one piece from your collection that you are still in love with and don't really want to sell.. but even then as he suggests, seeing pie-in-the-sky, fishing for suckers price tags on even a few items will cause many of us to dismiss the table entirely and go focus our limited time and resources elsewhere.

 

And on that - DO please put price tags on your stuff. At least once per show I find myself standing at some dingus' table in front of a great item, with minutes ticking away.. only to have them eventually return and learn that they want $2,000 for the $600 item, or that they "haven't decided yet", "promised to show it to someone first", etc., etc. I always walk away wondering just what great item sold two aisles away that I missed because I was parked in orbit around planet impossible.

 

Putting your cell # on a card on your table is also a GREAT way to capture sales that you would have lost because you wandered off.

I love this post! Doesnt matter what in this world you collect and sell, theres at least one dingus doing it as well.

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pathfinder505

I try to keep a wide variety of pricepoints on my table... I have stuff from a dollar or two up to hundreds and thousands.

 

Some stuff is excellent quality, and priced accordingly....other stuff I price on the cheaper side of retail or lower. It's good practice to not price every item at stupid prices. If people come by and start seeing things priced fairly, they are more likely to take a good look at the table, rather than seeing retail plus 30%, and moving on to the next table.

 

Bring your $20 items....along with anything else you have. And, I recommend bringing some "good stuff" out of your collection with you that you can sell if needed. A liquid reserve, if you will.

 

That is what I keep telling you, bring some of the "good stuff" out of your collection. :D

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tdogchristy90

I was thinking about what CNY said about not being too broad when asking about stuff at shows.

 

When asking about items that may be available, would things like Kansas, Purple Hearts, or POW be too broad?

 

Or do you need to say 35th Division, Pacific Theater Hearts, or Bataan to be more precise?

 

Thanks

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vintageproductions

I think you may be over thinking the show.

 

It's your first time, go, have a great experience, and enjoy yourself.

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CNY Militaria

Just be careful asking some dealers too many questions. Some will end up telling you their life story, boring the heck out of you, and you will end up missing out on the rest of the show.

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tdogchristy90

Just be careful asking some dealers too many questions. Some will end up telling you their life story, boring the heck out of you, and you will end up missing out on the rest of the show.

I run into this often with my work. I know exactly what you mean.

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pathfinder505

Just be careful asking some dealers too many questions. Some will end up telling you their life story, boring the heck out of you, and you will end up missing out on the rest of the show.

I think that is also true for the shoppers. :rolleyes:

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I think that is also true for the shoppers. :rolleyes:

My goodness yes. I had to learn quickly it wasn't impolite to say "Excuse me" and turn to help someone else with a question. If not potential buyers walked away.

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CNY Militaria

My goodness yes. I had to learn quickly it wasn't impolite to say "Excuse me" and turn to help someone else with a question. If not potential buyers walked away.

 

I am by no means anti-social, but it drives me nuts at a show like this when a guy walks up to the table, sees "X" item, and then has to tell me how his friends uncle's second cousin removed also had one or was in "that unit." It would be fine if it was a short statement, but it inevitably drags into a long story with no point, punchline, or interesting content. Many times I have had to excuse myself to help a potential customer.

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I am by no means anti-social, but it drives me nuts at a show like this when a guy walks up to the table, sees "X" item, and then has to tell me how his friends uncle's second cousin removed also had one or was in "that unit." It would be fine if it was a short statement, but it inevitably drags into a long story with no point, punchline, or interesting content. Many times I have had to excuse myself to help a potential customer.

 

... and this is why we have this sign prominently displayed:

geneaology-sign4.jpg

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pathfinder505

My goodness yes. I had to learn quickly it wasn't impolite to say "Excuse me" and turn to help someone else with a question. If not potential buyers walked away.

 

Doesn't always end there. Sometimes they come back :blink: It's not only exclusive to dealers... other collectors get to learn about their genealogy too.

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tdogchristy90

I'd have people come talk to me about their relative and how they did this or that. We'd go to checking on that only to find their relative deserted. As it goes, trust but verify.

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