Couple of questions/points, Frank:
1) When you say the shop paid $1,200 for a case of ITGU, are you including the taxes in that?
2) If 20% profit is really full retail, I don't know how any store would stay in business. How could anyone run a business (with an actual retail space and employees) successfully on that margin?
Sorry - I am reading some of these responses and laughing at the bizarre accusations.
Because a LCS also sells on-line , they never have wax in the store......
TRUTH is - all on-line orders are processed through the distributor so I have product in my store for my customers to pull off the shelves. Sure, some of the on-line case breakers may pull from the shelves but the established guys like us have the case break stuff set aside (actually with signs on it advertising the break).
The boxes on the shelves are searched or the case hit gone.......
TRUTH is - we want our customers to open boxes and get great hits. It is wonderful for business. They get great hits and keep coming back. Yes, someone will ultimately get the case hit and we can only hope it gets opened in front of many people. We want people to know the hits that come out of our store to drive in more business. We even do Saturday show and tells on this site to give people an idea what they can expect to see pulled at a LCS (not just ours). JUST SO EVERYONE IS AWARE - we don't open any product! Never have. I trade or buy for everything in our show cases. The best business practice is for the customer to pull the hits - it keeps them coming back.
Mark-up.
TRUTH is - Mark-up is based on a number of factors - the main one being cost of sales which includes rent, utilities, staffing costs, etc... For me in small town SW Ontario, 30% works. In NYC, I doubt 30% would cover rent. but, like everything else, the real price setting tool is what we actually pay for the product.
And then there is that terrible thing called taxes. We are retail businesses and we remit taxes.
Pre-ordering.
TRUTH is - pre-ordering is buying with YOUR money. Other than shipping costs, It really costs me zero. It brings my allocation numbers up. I want everyone to pre-order and because of this I utilize a 10% mark-up for pre-ordering. If your LCS won't preorder for you - CALL ME, I will be happy to become your new supplier. And trust me, many people on here already take advantage of that.
SERIOUSLY FOLKS - it's your money. This is a wonderful hobby. I am naive if I think my customers only buy from me. They (like me) buy what they like from whomever has the best deal or where they may be on any given time.
What is important to me - and this is not bull**** - is FUN. If the store is FUN, people enjoy themselves and that is good for business because people attract people.
HAVE FUN - be it on-line, in the LCS or at the shows. But please, don't paint everyone with the same brush. There are some great card shops out there.
Stadium Sports - I had specific stores locally in mind when I mentioned those points you took so closely to heart. I wasn't talking about everyone, and I've never even seen your shop.
My personal experience is it HAS happened , and it DOES happen. I don't do business with those stores because of it. However, those are often the same places that complain no one supports the hobby. The fact is there are plenty of really great shops in the hobby who love it as much as the collectors. That being said, there are too many "guys with stores" who count themselves among the good guys and want the same amount of respect and business without earning it one bit.
I think the disagreement we're experiencing here is because of this. There are huge "black spots" on this hobby, brought about by unscrupulous dealers who take advantage of collectors through price gouging and searching. THIS HAPPENS. The problem is the reputable businesspeople have to deal with the tarnishing of the reputation of their chosen calling, and feel the need to confront the stigma upon their good names. In doing so, they cast a large net, defending the bad with the good, and these "less than trustworthy" dealers feel entitled to the same respect and indignation over people not wanting to do business with them.
My choice in who I deal with has never been about money, it's about trust. But it often seems the players in this game who don't earn the business are the one shouting loudest about collectors going elsewhere.
I'm starting to feel this subject is causing people to take sides now. No one here should feel offended by my, or anyone else's input regarding the matter, nor should anyone feel the need to defend themselves for voicing their personal experiences and opinions based upon those experiences.
That being said, using words like "Laughing", "Ridiculous" and "Bizarre" made me feel just that way.
Personally, I think this thread has become more divisive then helpful.
I will also agree with Stadium_Sports post 1000 times over. The hobby should be about having fun first and foremost, but money making has taken it over for a large majority of collectors, wrongly or rightly.
I'm not sure I understand this response. What does money making have to do with collecting?
I would understand a collector being concerned about getting value for their dollar out of a product, or purchasing an item for a fair price, hence shopping around for prices, but not about making money.
To be clear, my definition of a "collector" is someone building a collection. Anyone trying to make money through reselling items is not a collector, they are a seller/dealer.
