If there's no price and the dealer is busy or the customer is shy, the sale is lost

If the seller is gone from the table, the assistant's answer is usually "he'll be back in 20 minutes" and the sale is deferred if not lost

The way I think as a buyer: when someone shows interest in an item, I expect sellers to try and tweek a little more money out of us. By indicating interest ahead of time (by asking about the item), I don't know if I'm getting a good price. I buy a lot of coins on impulse, but I always want to believe I'm getting a bargain. Being an impulsive buyer, I am not inclined to ask all 90 dealers at a coin show about their prices, any more than I want to take all my groceries to the cashier before finding out how much they cost.

I understand the dealer's wish to avoid having to replace price tags for each show. I sell at train collector shows, and it can be a hassle. Unless it involves precious metals like silver or gold, though, should you really be raising prices on items that haven't moved in the past year of previous shows? It looks good (to buyers) to cross out an old price and write a new lower price on the item - it encourages buyers to dwell a little longer and increase the chance of a purchase.