Prepare yourself for the convention season.
Yes, the convention season is about to kick into high gear and getting as prepared as you can will greatly increase your chances of buying wisely, having fun, maximizing your time and keeping your sanity. Comicbookdaily.com is offering up a series of convention prep tips that are designed to turn you into a lean mean con machine. You’ll learn to think with clarity, make good split second decisions, haggle with dealers and eat right along with many other needed skills that will enhance your convention experience. Usually tips like these on a DVD can cost $19.99 + S&H but CBD is posting them absolutely free.
Convention Tip #3 – Haggling
Haggling is not for the squeamish. It takes a certain type to do it well but in reality anyone can be a good haggler if a few simple rules are followed.
First off you must lose your fear of haggling. At cons, with dealers that are selling old comics, it’s expected.
Visit as many booths as you can and try to comparison shop for prices.
Remember that it’s never about the amount of discount you are getting. It is always about the condition of the comic and the final price in relation to the guide. Check out our earlier article about discounts here.
Never give away just how badly you want the comics you are haggling for. This will decrease your position in bargaining.
Test haggle on a couple of books you are not interested in to see the dealers willingness to deal.
If you haggle with a willingness to walk away from the deal your chances of getting a discount are bigger, your chances of not getting the book are bigger too though thus the willingness to walk away.
Remember that these are items you really really want and not really really need.
Don’t worry; you will not hurt the dealer’s feelings. Most dealers are very accustomed to haggling price and will not take offence if a deal cannot be reached.
Use common sense. If you are looking for the hottest book on the market and you’ve only found it at one dealer, you should not expect much of a discount. On the other hand if you’re chasing common stuff that many dealers have, your bargaining position improves substantially.
Get out there and start haggling.
Walter Durajlija is an Overstreet Advisor and Shuster Award winner. He owns Big B Comics in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
