A Question For Dealers About Protocol At Stamp Shows

After a very long absence I am attending the show in Atlanta this weekend. The question is - I have many better duplicate stamps from assorted countries. Current catalog values range from a few dollars to a few hundred. I would like to trade some of these in order to fill holes. Are dealers typically open to some kind of trade deals or is it an insult to ask? I do not expect $ for $ catalog value but have no clue if taking something like 50% on mine for full catalog is fair? Is there a better time of day to approach this? I fully understand if this is not an accepted practice at shows but if you don't ask you don't know.
Any input greatly appreciated.

Wheelman, no better way to find out but just drive out to Norcross and ask them! And be careful, bad weather today.


Peter

Oops! Guess I better wait until next weekend!

WHEELMAN -----Taking 50% on a trade sounds fair but be sure it is equal quality . Don't expect to trade Modern Africa for older Asian or MNH Commonwealth stamps. If your going for used U.S. and trading used U.S. that would be fair .
Second thing is a dealer may not want to inspect hundreds of stamps at a stamp bourse maybe you can set up a after hours trading session or drive and meet up .

My approach to making offers on stamps seems to be appreciated by show floor dealers. If I like a stamp, but feel the price is a bit high I will discretely say to the dealer I like this stamp, but feel the price is a little high for me, would he/she be willing to entertain a reasonable offer? I hand him/her the stamp so they can look.

The answer usually is yes, I have never heard a no. I then make my very best reasonable offer typically 80-95% of asking price. It tends to be accepted more often than not, but if the answer is no. I say thank you for the consideration and pass. I have integrity by not coming up higher on my first offer. If it is something I really like I might also say perhaps if it is still available at the next show we might do a transaction. Occasionally that results in acceptance of my offer....

I do this discretely out of earshot of other buyers. I do it when I am ready to pay for all purchases to make it simple for the dealer to make a sale and free up the table spot. This works best for material that is more expensive. For me that is single items about $50 and up.

I also look quickly, request new boxes patiently but quickly showing my interest for new material. Table spots cost the dealer money so being quick efficient and reasonable makes both parties happy.

I don't waste the dealers time with offers on lower priced material, I either want it or not. For me that is material $40 and below. If I see I will be buying a lot of inexpensive items, I might ask the dealer up front if there is any additional discount above a certain dollar purchase. This shows incentive to spend more.

At shows, I first go to dealers who have been good to work with before. I avoid dealers who are unreasonably inflexible, or waste my precious time keeping me waiting. When my budget is depleted it is time to leave!

CROUSE ----You are the rare exception .

The OP is talking about trading, which is very different than negotiating cash discounts, quantity or otherwise.

The trading strategy requires that the dealer who has what you want also happens to be buying/selling what you don't.

Yes, you could find a dealer who is deep in the (say) Portuguese colonies that you want - and is also looking for the pre-PRC China that you are offering - but how likely is that?

The straight mine at 50% catalog in exchange for yours at 100% catalog looks like a good way to get around the usual dealers typically offer only a smallish fraction of catalog when paying cash, but it is going to have to be a dealer who also wants what you've got on offer.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Thanks all for your valued input.
Floortrader - my trades will actually be the opposite. IE: I have at least 100 of mid to late 1800's Canada(47,51-54)and Newfoundland (26,31) all used fine or better, that I would like to fill some common holes in the 1900's - 1950's. As there are at least a couple of hundred additional from multiple countries, your suggestion of an after hours session may be the way to go.