shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Aug 19, 2016 16:02:32 GMT -5
Back issue prices being what they are these days, I thought it made sense to open a conversation about this. I recently discovered that, quite by accident, I have a number of the hottest issues on the market right now -- 1st appearance of Squirrel Girl, 1st Carol Danvers, Ms. Marvel #1, 1st Deadpool, Harley Quinn #1, etc etc.
So I've got all these hot books -- what do I do with them?
I know one answer is ebay, but I sold on ebay about a decade back and had one too many bad experiences with predatory buyers who took me to the cleaners. It seems like you can only come out ahead on ebay if you're selling a ton of stuff to offset the losses from dealing with a few bad buyers who will blackmail with negative feedback if you don't offer extreme discounts after the fact.
I've seriously considered setting up a table at local conventions. I have about 700 books I've weeded out of my collection, as well as storage containers FULL of collectible toys. Seems like I could just build a collapsible display shelf and I'm in business, but then I start wondering what the exit conditions are: how many shows do you have to do to get rid of the bulk of your stuff and, as your supply starts winding down, don't you have to replenish it to keep people coming to your table? Seems like selling at a convention is more a way of life than a means of unloading a collection.
I know I could sell to mycomicshop, milehigh, or any number of local vendors, but you take such a loss on doing this.
I'm not in a financial situation where I need to sell anytime soon, but the market is right these days, so it seems like this is a question I should be asking myself (and I assume others here are asking it of themselves too). It's ridiculous what some of our former worthless books are going for these days.
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Aug 19, 2016 16:30:50 GMT -5
First off, I envy you for having that many key books. Grrrr
Second, where do you live? If you have access to conventions, I would set up shop there. If you really want to sell, you should spend time pricing them to sell and they will go. Especially if you are reasonable with the books you are selling. Yes, this takes a little more time and money but if you really are against eBay (and if you live in a comic rich region like California or New York/ New Jersey) then I think this is your best bet.
I would also really make sure the books you are selling are ones you want to sell. The hot time is now and while I don't see superheroes going the way of the western (aka disappearing after decades of success in TV, comics, media etc), some of these books will dip in value.
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Post by Phil Maurice on Aug 19, 2016 16:39:01 GMT -5
I sell on ComicLink.com. They are a broker. They take a flat 10% of the sale price and they handle everything. Once the price has been agreed upon, you ship your book(s) to ComicLink and two weeks later, you receive a check for 90% of the sale price. You have zero contact with the buyer. ComicLink does not ship your book(s) to the buyer until payment has been received. If the buyer defaults, ComicLink will return your book(s) to you at their expense. One caveat is that you must qualify as a grader in order to sell "raw" (unslabbed) books. The process is described in full on their site; it appears reasonable, and is intended to protect both buyer and seller. Anyone can sell graded books. I am not affiliated in any way with ComicLink, but my experience has been positive. Aaaannnd, this still sounds like an info-mercial. Crap!  |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,872
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Post by shaxper on Aug 19, 2016 16:48:35 GMT -5
I sell on ComicLink.com. They are a broker. They take a flat 10% of the sale price and they handle everything. Once the price has been agreed upon, you ship your book(s) to ComicLink and two weeks later, you receive a check for 90% of the sale price. You have zero contact with the buyer. ComicLink does not ship your book(s) to the buyer until payment has been received. If the buyer defaults, ComicLink will return your book(s) to you at their expense. One caveat is that you must qualify as a grader in order to sell "raw" (unslabbed) books. The process is described in full on their site; it appears reasonable, and is intended to protect both buyer and seller. Anyone can sell graded books. I am not affiliated in any way with ComicLink, but my experience has been positive. Aaaannnd, this still sounds like an info-mercial. Crap! Actually, this is a really interesting alternative I had not considered. 10% is downright reasonable. But how about the cost of shipping to ComicLink? If I want to unload 700 books, that might get pricey. |
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Post by Phil Maurice on Aug 19, 2016 16:58:14 GMT -5
[Actually, this is a really interesting alternative I had not considered. 10% is downright reasonable. But how about the cost of shipping to ComicLink? If I want to unload 700 books, that might get pricey. True. Selling comics in bulk is not precisely what ComicLink is set up for. I build shipping into the asking price for each book. This may not be a perfect solution for you, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Incidentally, if you are looking to unload your More Fun #60, please give me first crack at it. |
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Aug 19, 2016 17:52:32 GMT -5
Ditto for me and your Marvel Superheroes #13 (first Carol Danvers) as I am in the midst of hunting for all of those early Captain Marvels  |
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Post by Icctrombone on Aug 19, 2016 18:31:57 GMT -5
I think I have MS #13, but it's missing the back cover.l
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Post by Action Ace on Aug 19, 2016 20:02:45 GMT -5
Sell April at 142.  |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 19, 2016 21:00:02 GMT -5
I've never had any issue with selling on ebay... I once had a bad buying experience, but it was partially my fault for being too trusting.
Feedback is alot less important these days, so I can't imagine anyone doing that now.
That said, (and assuming you don't get pms from people here)... have you tried CGC? They seem to have a pretty lively marketplace.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2016 21:41:49 GMT -5
I am following this thread with a lot of interest. I have not sold anything in 10 years so I am curious how people sell comics today. My experiences in the past were:
1. I sold my entire collection to the LCS I worked at back in 1990. I needed money for a down payment to buy my house. The owner gave me a great deal because I had been a customer for 15 years & a former employee.
2. Then I sold a big chunk of my collection to the LCS I have gone to since 1992 about 12 years ago for some house renovations. At that time I used my LCS & he bought some & the rest he sold to other retailers. He kept 5% commission for doing this. However at that time I kept my favorite runs of stuff that I had bought back (Stern Capt America/Englehart Batman/etc).
3. Since then I have given my comics to my oldest nephew & my youngest daughter. I keep the stuff I may want to reread. But my nephew has moved away & my youngest daughter is running out of storage space so someday in the next few years I will have to find a way to thin out my boxes.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2016 22:00:16 GMT -5
I'm like md62, Currently, I have about 500 to 600 Printed Comics - I used to have over 3,000 at one point and that's was a couple of years ago and my LCS can take 20-25 books at time and he gets a commission of 12% of the value of the book now and I get the rest of the monies of which it's half store credit and half cash. It's a win-win for me and I have been doing this for sometimes I'll continue to do so as long I can!
I use the store credit to buy Marvel Masterworks and DC Comics Archive Editions and among other things.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2016 23:03:03 GMT -5
You mentioned Mycomicshop, and selling to them directly you will take less as you mentiond, but have you looked into consigning to them to sell in their monthly auctions? You get the auction environment so it will sell at what collectors will pay without the hassle of dealing with the buyers directly via ebay and the consignment fees are close to what you would pay for using ebay anyways.
-M
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,872
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Post by shaxper on Aug 19, 2016 23:35:35 GMT -5
Incidentally, if you are looking to unload your More Fun #60, please give me first crack at it. If the Spectre ever gets a movie, I'm going to retire on that book |
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