Wall-Crawler

6 hours ago, uchiha101 said:

Wow, am I really going viral? That's pretty cool. 

Not in a good way Gabe...Not in a good way...

7 hours ago, uchiha101 said:

I'm not most folks.

Understatement of the Year.

2 minutes ago, uchiha101 said:

Good for the guy but  I'm not him, I'm me.

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by abnormal behavior, strange speech, and a decreased ability to understand reality. Other symptoms may include false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, hearing voices that do not exist, reduced social engagement and emotional expression, and lack of motivation.

2 hours ago, oakman29 said:

I sure hope you dont have access to automatic weapons. 

He's Canadian. Not likely.

1 hour ago, uchiha101 said:

  4) If they have powers 

OK...I have to ask...Powers?????

On 8/5/2019 at 3:04 PM, uchiha101 said:

I want to save the surprise for when it happens.

Sorry to ruin your surprise...

On 8/3/2019 at 5:16 PM, uchiha101 said:

The next debt I'm working on is my parents

Are you still married?

15 hours ago, thehumantorch said:

We get offered a lot more trades than a few years ago.  I chalk it up to the price increase of keys and quality books and the weak Canadian dollar.

That is exactly it. My customer said the low dollar, shipping and potential duty and overall price and exchange rate are a big factor to see if he can trade knowing he has to give more than he is getting. 

I do not frequently do trades, but I recently did a cash and trade deal with a local collector. It was a pleasant experience as he understood that I'm trading to re-sell, not to collect so he "got" that I needed to "come out ahead". I got some cash and a few raw books and a couple of graded books.   Working on another one right now too.

Nova #1 Voldy 9.0 and a Thor #165 CGC 6.5

6 hours ago, Cliff R. said:

The three issue trilogy of ASM 31 to 33 is a great read. 

Not that I would crack open that beautiful slab to read it. 

Yes, absolutely but I think I'll keep it in the slab. That's what the Masterworks and Omnibus are for 

Nothing crazy and not one of Ditko's finest covers, but I found another early ASM I needed in a nice grade for a great price with low shipping so I decided to snag it.

...23 issues to complete the run...

On 6/23/2019 at 9:15 PM, thehumantorch said:

Glad the show went well.  You came close to my 10 times booth cost target so I'd say it was profitable.  Your display is top notch.

You mentioned your premium books section.  Just to be clear, you took all your books worth $20 or more and put them in high quality mylars and boards and created a section of premium books?

Thanks for the compliment. I feel I am at the stage where I can't improve my display too much except for maybe improving my wall book rack/stand.

The other idea I have is to put the comic book title on the back of the divider tabs too so I can direct someone to what they are looking for from behind the booth...I generally know where most of it is but I cannot believe how lazy some people are...I mean, I have good signage...Open your eyes! Make a tiny effort!

Yes, so what I did is I took many books that are worth $20 or more from my run boxes, placed them in a mylars and 56 pt backing board and a computer printed price label/sticker indicating something about the comic, like  say "1st appearance" or "Neal Adams cover" or something to that effect. I did have books worth more than $20 of course, like genuine first appearances, etc.

Also made it easy to circulate new wall books on to my display rack.  This is how the "Premium" boxes looked - ROM for illustrative purposes only.

Sudbury Graphic Con 2019 Sales Report

Overview

Well my first and only show of the summer was what I would consider a success.

As my wife had to work on the Friday, before we would make a day of it and spend the night but this year did not, so saved on hotel costs. Venue is only hour and a half away so I set up Friday and came home. On Saturday, doors opened at 10 AM so we just drove there in the morning. Thank goodness I prepped nearly everything before because while we left in plenty of time, the road construction cut off a bunch of passing lanes and it seemed like we got stuck behind every darn RV caravan going.

This year I put CGC and "Premium" books inside the booth whereas previous years "Premium Books" were out front and CGC in the back. I won't do that again as I could only keep an eye on the premium stuff and not "scan" the length of my set up.  Oh well, tried something new, was not ideal, live and learn. I did receive PLENTY of compliments on my set up again though. 

Attendance was down this year and a lot of cosplayers with little money LOL.  This show almost did not happen this year though as it transitioned from something that was organized by the local public library to a non-profit organization.  That could explain the lower attendance as advertising was late and there were fewer special guests, etc., but the show was still very well organized and they did an excellent job with the time they had. They sent out a survey for suggestions which I responded to, so hopefully some of those are taken into consideration.

Sales

This year, I did not sell as a single CGC book.  Previous years I have sold at least one. Overall, CGC books do not do all that great as I think the cost for the most part is more than what most buyers/collectors are able or willing to spend for my area and I had a solid variety this year. I'm honestly starting to wonder if it is even worth it to bring them and just put more raw $20 and up books up on the wall.

I sold a handful of raw key and semi key books, like Infinity Gauntlet #1, Marvel Premiere #15, Eternals #1, X-Men #14, #130 and a few others from the Dark Phoenix Saga, Savage She-Hulk #1, Venom Lethal Protector set (signed by Bagley) being some of the "bigger books".

Most of the other sales were individual run books and sets with average sale being in the $10 to $50 range. Generally speaking, my Marvel stock really outsold DC this show. I was surprised I did not move more Batman.  I had hoped to sell more signed art prints (only sold one) but while displayed, I think they need to be right on the table.

My booth cost was $200.  I sold just over $1,800.00 so not a bad result as again, most of what sold is from stock that has long since paid for itself with a few minor exceptions. I would have liked to have cleared $2,000 after costs, but, still a decent result for my neck of the woods I think.

Observation

One thing I did notice with my "Premium Books" (anything over $20 was placed in here with in a mylite and 56 pt backing board - They pop so nice) is that many of these books were in my long boxes for years and now they were selling.  I think the better display factor and perceived improved "collectible value" may have helped or it could just be they were easier to find. Who knows? Regardless, I think I will add more $20 and books to be sold like this.

Thoughts Moving Forward 

Possibly develop a new wall display/rack. You can only see the books on the lower shelf if you are right in front and have to look over the long boxes. I have seen some great wall display racks so it might be time for an upgrade.

Really going to have to think about whether or not worth it to even bring CGC books and just go with $20 and up raw books for the wall.

I might also eliminate the white shelving units. I am running low on "other stuff" to display and not sure if they are worth the effort to bring, set up and display. Back to putting "premium books" right in center of booth, out front and as stated, adding more $20 and up books to the "Premium" section.

I have my first (and only) show of the summer coming out in a couple of weeks. 

Sudbury Graphic Con.

This is a fun show and they do a really good job promoting. Here is the ad they made for me. They do them for all the vendors.

It was definitely worth my time and got to hang out with family so it was a nice day.

Got me thinking of maybe doing my own "pop up" shop one day with ALL my stock.

I "piggy-backed" my family's yard sale and did a small set up of mostly cheap stuff.

I did  $248 in sales. 

Not a bad morning for zero cost and small set up time when I was already "working".

On 5/9/2019 at 5:30 PM, speedcake said:

What's yer facebook page?

Facebook Page is www.facebook.com/morefuncomics.ca

Another "fun" story...

A woman contacts me via my FB page asking if I buy comics. I say sure and she sends me a few pics. Some look OK so we arrange to meet. Nothing crazy good but some "ok" stuff from what I can see.

I get to her house and there is a shady looking guy having a smoke. Yes the house smells of smoke. She has all the books out. I start going through them. I can start to see I might be interested in 30 books at best. I ask her what she is hoping for.

She tells me $30,000 for the whole collection but would take $10,000. It took everything in me not to laugh. I asked why she thought so much and she started quoting books in the OSPG. I gave her a quick education how to use the guide and that she had the wrong titles. Even then she was waaaaay off. Like there might have been $350- $400 retail total if lucky. 

I said thanks for letting me look and that based on her asking price I was not going to make an offer and might want to familiarize herself with the guide and her books a bit more. 

Days of educating non-comic folk sellers are over.

The shady guy looked pissed that I didn't buy anything.

I have ANOTHER similar situation with some better quality books but again a ridiculous asking price. As there are some decent books in that collection that I do want, I am going to make one offer for just what I want and see what happens.

Been a loong time since I have posted anything here...I have been focussing more on selling and saving lately.

While I said I would refrain from buying "common issues" this book popped up at a LCS (relatively speaking) in the grade range I wanted and price I thought was fair especially with no shipping fees, so I decided to snag it.

24 issues to go to complete the run...

10 hours ago, piper said:

Good buys.  I think that I would hold to the GSX1 and HOS92 for a little while longer.  These books are still trending up.

Thanks! The GSX 1 for sure as I don't have one and was thinking likely to hold the HoS #92 for a bit. The others, just in time for the upcoming con season.

I recently made a purchase from a customer and friend who was looking to downsize his collection.

To me, this buy epitomizes the importance of relationships within the comic book community.  He knew the value of the books. He knew I needed to have a fair room for profit. One of the easiest deals I have ever done.

I'm in "no rush" to move them and likely may only keep the GSX for awhile. I have personal CGC 7.0 copy of House of Secrets #92.

On 3/14/2019 at 7:00 AM, Wall-Crawler said:

Awhile back, I had a walk in at a show.  I ended purchasing several comics from him, including some Golden Age Canadian Editions.  I decided to send two of the Golden Age Canadian Editions (Adventure Comics and Junior Miss) to Comic Link for their March Auction - Goes "live" today.

Note: I sold the Superman Canadian Edition at a show and I still have the Marvel Family Canadian Edition.

I decided on Comic Link as I have had good success them before, its easy and well, I thought these might do better there than eBay as I really was not sure how to price them so I figured, what will be will be.

These are the books. The Adventure Comics is the highest graded copy on the census and the Junior Miss is 1 of only 2 copies, both tied for highest graded. 

 

CLink auction was a total bust.

Oh well. Live and learn. Nothing you can do when auctions go bad but move on...At least someone got some cool books for cheap.

5 hours ago, thehumantorch said:

There's always a  chance you'll get ripped off setting up at shows.  We've been ripped off twice that we know of.  The first was a New 52 Batman set with variants when that set was hot out of a box on the table.  The other was when we brought Magic the Gathering cards and the guy was looking through our binder and slipped out a few good cards as soon as we looked away.

Generally,anything expensive is on our wall or in a few boxes in the middle.  I try to watch everything else but If it gets busy I like to stand at the corner of our wall and look down it so nothing key disappears.  Our wall is usually 18 to 40 feet long depending on the show.  Losing a $20 book from a box is better than a big book.  I've been thinking of cameras.  When it's busy we try to have all four of us in the booth.  We do let people behind the tables but thinking about changing that.  

For you guys who do bigger shows like Calgary or Toronto, I can see how it would be tiring as I am operating in a pretty small pond and your crowds may dwarf mine...I just saw Dale Roberts set up at C2E2...Must have lots of eyes watching the product...I have fun when I do shows but still have to temper it with keeping a watchful eye...

23 minutes ago, thehumantorch said:

Tough to read.  He mentioned multiple copies of Iron Man #1 and other keys disappearing so I suspect he had a lot of good books, was a new seller and fresh to buyers, and his prices were probably fair.  He got swarmed with buyers and the thieves took advantage.  Honestly, there are too many dishonest people on this planet.

Very tough to read.

My "anti theft protocols" are this:

I always have books in front with me behind the table, typical "trade show" set up.  There is no "walk in booth" set up but I have a quick way to egress from behind table if I need to.  I'd like to experiment, but my comfort zone is not there yet.

More valuable books are front and center in a specific box and bigger keys and CGC books are on a wall behind me.  My cash box is tucked away behind the table and never visible to customers.

All books are double taped with price stickers on the front.

I always have at least one other helper.  For larger shows (NGE, Graphic Con), I have had up to three other people.

When setting up and taking down, nothing is ever left and I "circle the wagons"...Stuff is not strewn about. I have a very systematic way of setting up and taking down.  Always at least one person to watch over stock while I am taking stuff to the show floor or back to the car.

...Even with three people, sometimes when the crowd is swarming and deals are going and I'm answering questions, I am CONSTANTLY scanning.  Guys who come to the booth, leave the booth, walk the booth, look through some boxes, leave, come back (mix and repeat), I watch like a hawk. Now, I get some people are frugal with their spending and may just be looking for just the right item to plunk their hard earned cash on, but those are the customers that make me "nervous".

So many things that you can't really appreciate until you are on "the other side of the table"...Short of setting up camera's, any other ideas? What do other sellers do to prevent theft?