Local Shows II: Country Folders

One thing I always look for at local shows are the dealers who have country folders.  These are stacks of album pages usually stapled to a folder with an overall catalog value and typically a big discount.  These are usually priced from 20% to 30% of the total value, and they are easy to flip through.

I look for ones from places that always sell well, like Italian Colonies, Offices Abroad, etc, or I look for a good chunk of complete pages or an overall high count of complete sets.  If it's all broken sets or mixes, it's not going to be easy to flip.

I also typically make a stack of about 50% over my budget and then slowly pick through them and put back ones that don't measure up to the others.  I have 40 years of know-how in this business now, and have a good eye for what will make good lots and what won't.

Today we were at Sandipex in Poway, CA.  There were about $500 of other folders of those Italian back-of-book issues, so I wish I had more of a budget.  But I like sticking to my goal and not being drawn into buying more than I should.  I never had much of a budget for anything in life, and this is back to being a hobby for me.

The three big benefits of local shows over buying everything online: you can take your time looking it over before buying it, then no shipping cost and no waiting.  It's in your hands the minute you pay for it.  That is hard to beat.


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