The Energon Pub

so anyways- Long time lurker recent poster. i'm at a local convention this past weekend- and this show is generally a once a month comicey flea market where people go to dump off their collections- and since the local industry out here sucks? its been great pickings for people like me who feel like dropping some cash getting some neat stuff and most importantly- snagging some bargains etc-

we've all been to this type of show, i'd wager. I've been doing cons since i was a lil kid- so its nothing new- and well all sorts of local out-of or soon to be out of work locals are again at the show this past weekend- and this time it seems theres easily 4-5 transformer dealers! Woot! Now ones sort of a ebay guy with visions of the west coast- and anothers trying to open a combo candy/robot store out here- but theres really just these guys- and theyre sad and theyre lonely and theyre bitter cause they have to sell their stuff.

and i dont really care cause i typically bring a good wad of cash to these things because theres sometimes great stuff at this show if you want off the beaten path stuff.

i mean this show alone- i picked up a rodimus Kiss, set up my star scream order bought a bunch of vintage unopened zoids at 10 bucks a piece... good stuff- all a pleasure to deal with.

then i make my way to the back- where one of the loser auto worker transformer dealer guys is sitting in the corner looking like the fat kid in gym class who just got passed over for the handicapped kid. (He's got a string of poorly scrawled post it notes strung up- barbashave style saying something like "everything must go sale"- amusing) none of these outa workers are making great money cause theyre trying to get sealed ebay prices or worse at a flea market- for stuff like opened yet in the box energon stuff. hence the homey girl on prom night look on their faces.

so corner boys got a neat selection of stuff including custom ized classics megatrons that looked very slick which i wager he paid a pretty penny for- cause the childlike scrawl and lump like position this guy sat in did NOT lead me to believe this guy did them LOL) and a variety of junk like Marvel legends and excess newer stuff -- but in the back i see a box with what was a gold green Gao Gai gar on its side- Now i didnt recognize it as a gao gai gar at the time- and i roused gorrrgo the dealer who would not smile and asked him- what was the item on the shelf in the box.

he sorta stared at me like i was speaking to the marvel legends.

i ask again- he reluctntly moves to get it to show it to me.

so i ask how much, on a whim. mind you ive just dropped 2 bills at this show and have allocated at least that much more if i find stuff i like- and its a neat green gold looking thing

and then his answer- which astounded me as in all my years i have never heard?

"It's like 100 bucks- probably too rich for Your Blood."

Now incase you didnt guess- this future arbys shift leader/basement dweller at moms didnt get any of my cash. i asked another cursory question or two- mostly cause i was still in shock and walked away.

That said- have any of you guys ever had to deal with a dealer at a con like that? it felt a bit like a scene from Pretty Woman in retrospect- but i wasnt going to go back and toss a wad of cash on the table for this trilobite.

I mean maybe he thought he was at a better show than he was at. or that he was like the saks of old marvel legends but i've never seen such a pathetic dealer in my life. Part of me wanted to go back and talk to him about what the human meat suit his alien life form was wearing should act like- but i restrained. i mean alot of dealers are dumb but dumb and rude?

Would you guys have said something to this waste of valuable life? or just walked on- and let his punishment be that he not make any money at the show and be the failure he was destined to be? (another dealer told me later he maybe made 150 all day.)

thoughts?

first of all, your post drips with judgement. Don't expect too much sympathy. We're fans of Transformers, and while it's common among us to find things like public BO unacceptable, it's still something we're familiar with as part of our group identity, and most of us can sympathize with people who have problems with things like that.

second, you never said what the item was. Some GaoGaiGar stuff IS worth that much! Sure, you may be at a flea market where no one is expecting to buy those sorts of things, but that doesn't mean you have to sell something overly valuable at below-cost. He has no obligation to.

third: yes. some dealers overcharge. some dealers put up signs that say "reduced prices!" when they aren't reduced, or claim low prices when they are not. If you know anything about bargaining (you go to flea markets, so I assume you do) it's all about sizing people up. Obviously if they overcharge, they're not going to consider giving you an amazing deal. You'll be lucky if you get it for what it's worth. There is no way around that, except to find another dealer.

the only situations I find frustrating are the ones where they try to correct you after you've already shown you know how things are. although I suspect that really only happens with price, which makes sense because someone could be bluffing that they know it costs less. still, not nice when they get an unpleasant tone about it.