The story you are about to read isn't funny...though maybe a little amusing.
All during the 1980s and half of the 1990s me and Hoag would set up at nice hotels for Star Trek and Comic Book Conventions up and down the East Coast selling my stuff. We latched on to the biggest promoter (at the time) and did most of his circuit of shows and slowly became kinda friendly with him in a promoter/dealer kinda way. I think we amused him. He started giving us better table locations etc.
And we always had cool unique stuff. And at the end of the each weekend the Promoter would always come up to our tables and pick out a bunch of groovy stuff that he would sell at other shows and tell us to add it up, box it up, and give it to one of his workers. He would then give us a check for whatever we invoiced him.
This went on for 10 years or so. Never a hitch.
Until.
One day he came up to us and asked what discount we were giving him.
ME: Discount?
HIM: You've been selling me that stuff at wholesale, correct?
ME: No...why would I do that?
HIM: Ummmmm...because I always gave you guys choice locations at my conventions.
ME: But you charged me full price correct?
Over that ten year span he spent tens of thousands of dollars with me at full retail price without knowing it. I never knew the unwritten rule that I was supposed to sell him stuff at my cost.
For some reason I think he liked us better after that. Really. Some weird form of respect.
Moral of the story:
Selling at retail is WAY better than selling at wholesale.
Tip of the day: (A New Free I Aint No Oprah feature)
Go see that new Will Ferrel racing movie...Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby ....WAY FUNNY! Killer funny.
Makes sense to me. I had a boss once who acted like she hated my guts until I yelled at her during a very public staff meeting. After that, I was her favorite writer and she gave me choice assignments, sent me to conventions other (more senior) people should be covering, etc.
ReplyDeleteThe whole thing was kinda unsettling. I'd much rather people pick one personality and stick to it, thank you very much. I left the magazine soon after.
And surprised about that movie, cause the commercials make it seem painfully awful.
Is this guys still doing shows? Can I rip him off and play dumb too?
ReplyDeleteBacon Ace: But could you play dumb as well as NoOprah does? He's such a natural.
ReplyDelete(Pow!)
By means of analytic unity, the architectonic of practical reason, selling of cool unique stuff, Star Trek merchandise in particular, stands in need of the paralogisms of pure reason. In considering wholesale versus retail, it must not be supposed that, that is to say, our a priori concepts, indeed, should only be used as a basis for a sound business plan.
ReplyDeleteAhh, ya gotta love karma. ::snickers::
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could have told him that your retail prices were actually only *half* the Earth 2 wholesale prices. What an amazing deal!
ReplyDeletePhil Donahue's Niece:
ReplyDeleteNot just cool...wicked cool!
Allow me to translate what "douchebag" said: If you can rip somebody off for years and years, make potloads of money, and then act suprised and offended when they catch you on it so you don't have to pay the money back, you've got a solid business plan.
ReplyDeleteIf you were dipping into a charity meant for, say, starving orphans so you could buy a vacation home on Martha's Vineyard, then you might still have a good business plan but will spend an eternity in Hell alongside Hitler. But Star Trek Freaks? Who cares.
>>>>>>>Allow me to translate what "douchebag" said: If you can rip somebody off for years and years, make potloads of money>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
ReplyDeleteI didn't rip him off...I charged him the sticker price. The same price I charged everyone that attended. The only difference is he THOUGHT he should be getting it cheaper.
>>>>>Wait, wait, wait, wait... Star Trek stuff is COOL?<<<<<
ReplyDeleteIt was in the 1980s in a very uncool kinda geeky way.
And as I understand it, the guy was reselling the stuff he bought, right?
ReplyDeleteAt a higher price than he paid, unless he was really a complete and utter moron, right?
So everyone made a profit except the Star Trek geeks, who were happily parted with their Gold Pressed Latinum.
Everyone plays, everyone wins.
Sorry nooprah,
ReplyDeleteDidn't mean to offend, and didn't realize you were premenstrual.
PMS? Oh dear, poor guy. Someone get him some chocolate and box of tissues.
ReplyDelete>>>>>The same price I charged everyone that attended.<<<<<
ReplyDeleteSo you were ripping everybody off? An equal opportunity scammer?
>>>>>At a higher price than he paid, unless he was really a complete and utter moron, right?<<<<<<<
ReplyDeleteFor ten something years he was selling it at exactly what I charged him for it...he never knew and his company (at the time) was huge so his minions priced it using my sticker price as the 'suggested retail price'
Dear SpongeBob CrankyPants (I stole that from Patrick, the world's greatest animated intellectual),
ReplyDeleteOpen a Hooters.
Harvest and sell the organs of homeless people.
Noone here cares how you make a living.
And Midol helps, but at this point I think you need the three valiums and a shot of whiskey.
Love and kisses and cuddles. (Better check your blood pressure now)
"Bacon Ace: But could you play dumb as well as NoOprah does? He's such a natural.
ReplyDelete(Pow!)"
I can, and I proved it too but nooprah, that nazi, deleted my post.