[Boatanchors] Hamfest Pricing

Mon Sep 1 18:40:29 EDT 2014

"He replied that folks will buy a lot more from a cute young lady than they will from a fat old ugly guy."

We are all doomed!

Joe Connor
On Monday, September 1, 2014 2:25 PM, "hwhall at compuserve.com" <hwhall at compuserve.com> wrote:

>
>
>Thanks for sharing that; it's priceless (pun intended)! My son's girlfriend (about 17) related that she once asked her Dad why he wanted her to wear a cat ears hairband and run the sales at the family's garage sale. He replied that folks will buy a lot more from a cute young lady than they will from a fat old ugly guy. It worked but I think she ought to have gotten a special "advertising & public relations" cut in the proceeds.
>
>
>Wayne
>WB4OGM
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Bob Bruno - K2KI <k2ki at starc.org>
>To: Rob Atkinson <ranchorobbo at gmail.com>; Boat Anchors List <boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>
>Sent: Mon, Sep 1, 2014 9:15 am
>Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Hamfest Pricing
>
>
>Whenever I go to Hamfests I always go with the mindset of dickering. It 
>is an art I love and most of the time I am successful for
 both buying & 
>selling.
>Then I offer a starting price to a guy and I get the "Well I can sell it 
>on eBay for that much" line. I have said to some of them "Well, why 
>didn't you do that instead of bringing it here" Then I walk away before 
>he can even formulate a response. But... One guy actually tracked me 
>down with a Viking II in tow that I walked away from earlier after the 
>guy gave me the eBay line. I got it for less than I offered mainly 
>because he didn't want to haul it home.
>
>My
 daughter Sarah comes with me to all Hamfests and is a better 
>Wheeler-Dealer than I am. I
 simply point to her what I want and tell her 
>the highest price I am willing to pay for it. She usually comes back 
>with whatever it is and most often for less than my highest offering 
>price. She is 22 but looks like 16. She is 5' 7" of pure Wheeler-Dealer! 
>And she sells just as well as she buys. :-)
>
>She was selling at my table at Near-Fest one year while I was going 
>around to tables looking for gems. Most guys will try to belittle her 
>thinking she has no idea of what she is selling. She then sticks out her 
>hand and says "Hi, I'm
 Sarah KB1LJV and I have raised around 
>boatanchors" This will usually shut the guy
 down in a heartbeat! She had 
>our table almost cleared out before I returned. :-)
>
>73...
>Bob de k2ki
>k2ki at starc.org
>802-752-7225 (Cell - Call anytime)
>SKCC #12195
>NAQCC #2337
>
>On 9/1/2014 10:33 AM, Rob Atkinson wrote:
>> At the Indianapolis hamfest last July I came upon a guy unloading his
>> pickup at around 6:20 a.m.  He
 hauled out an isolation transformer, a
>> Stancor, that looked pretty big.  Turned out to be 1KVA which was
 more
>> than most I see.  I had been looking for one like that.  I figured
>> he'd want at least 50 bucks for it.  I mildly asked what he wanted for
>> it.  He said, make an offer.   I ummed around looking at it and was
>> about to say $20 expecting him to laugh.  Before I could say anything,
>> he said, "How about 5 dollars?"  SOLD!  And glad I kept my mouth shut.
>> Some sellers are so eager to just get rid of things they'll
>> practically give something away to not haul it home.  Well, the Indy
>> hamfest from a buying
 standpoint, was all down hill after that, hi.
>>
>> Ebay prices at hamfests:  my observation of that is that the eBay
>> price folks are what I call "professional hamfesters."  These are
>> bottom feeders who go to estate sales, and think they are
>> mini-Wal-Marts, and they can put a price on something and not
>> negotiate.  Sometimes they even buy an item at a hamfest cheap and put
>> it on their table at the very same hamfest.  They may or may not be
>> hams.  Not to be confused with real businesses who purchase gov't and
>> manufacturer surplus and have a brick and mortar business QTH and
>> advertise and so on.  The professional hamfesters are the ones who you
>> see at every hamfest, with their tables out and little neat price tags
>> on everything, sometimes with a computer there to check inventory and
>> prices, and these displays of stuff under glass, all used.   A regular
>> ham will sell you a 6V6 for $2.  One of these P.H.s will want $15 or
>> even $20.  Most hams who are simply cleaning out the shack and garage
>> will set something out and dicker over the price.
>>
>> 73
>>
>> Rob
>> K5UJ
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