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On 11/15/2020 at 12:04 PM, James J Johnson said:

There are more from this collection? 

Yes, there are 6 in the collection. Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/n5bPnVu2tRSdMR2A6

Trying to establish a grade range for a set of Superman comics. Posted one of the earliest/worst ones before. This is one of the latest/better ones. Thanks in advance.

Sorry we didn't use a dark background for these photos. Complete novice here. Not sure how to describe. Hopefully photos will suffice.

Walt Disney's Bambi #186 (1948)

Popeye #1 and lots more Golden Age Dell Comics available now at https://www.ebay.com/usr/vintagecomicsandcards

Q: "What kind of music do you usually have here?"

A: "We got both kinds... we got country and western."

Thank you @FlyingDonut and @fifties! Great advice! We'll be lowering our opening bids.

That Alice in Wonderland @FlyingDonutspotted was an exception to our previous "25% of guide" rule because it stood out as particularly bright and beautiful. Apparently it wasn't our friend's "cup of tea" and went straight into storage unhandled/unread.

We are receiving some Best Offers, below and above our opening bids, so we're accepting and shipping those as we go. Will revise the ones that don't sell and list more this weekend.

Yes, your book is in a plastic sleeve sandwiched between two pieces of cardboard in the padded envelope.

We have checked Sold listings, and noticed some of the same books we have (in worse condition) selling for more than we're getting. They seem like large established sellers with lots of followers and we're just starting out / dependent on direct searches and eBay's algorithms. 

And we can't find some of the books we have on eBay, in the price guide, or anywhere else. Sometimes we find the cover art on pinterest, but they're not selling the book.

9 hours ago, FlyingDonut said:

I sell books like this all the time. Your prices are way out of line with the market. Like WAY out of line. Overstreet is insanely high on these books - @Robot Man is exactly correct. There is very little demand for this kind of stuff. They will sell at a low price because someone will want to read it but the chance of this book, just as an example selling for your $125 list price is nearly zero. 

Thank you! We listed a few with $1 opening bids, since we had no idea about their value (and it was easy), but we got concerned when some shot up and others (inexplicably to us) ended up selling for $1. So we started referring to a price guide, but you're absolutely correct, the prices we see there are insanely high. Plus, price depends on grade and we're just not able to grade all the books we have (or even tell which few might be worth the effort to grade). So we've been generally aiming for 25% of the 9.4 grade price. But @Tri-ColorBrian and you are right about that book. We were concerned about it being a #1 issue, with a nice front cover, and went too high.

6 hours ago, Tri-ColorBrian said:

Out of all the books they have listed right now, only one has gotten bids...and it's an L.B.Cole Christmas cover.  I think that pretty much validates our comments about over-pricing.  Also, I made an offer for one book and they haven't approved or denied it yet...so maybe this isn't a high priority for them...

Yes. We went from pricing too low (and selling everything we had listed) to pricing too high (and not seeing many bids). We are getting and accepting offers. Your book shipped today. Hope it arrives safely. Really appreciate the advice here on this thread.

We've only photographed a very small subset of the collection, so much more to come. If anyone here sees something they're interested in, let me know.

10 hours ago, Robot Man said:

As has been said, these books are sadly not very hot in the current marketplace. Not all old comics are worth big money. The folks that even know who Little Orphan Annie or Howdy Doody are are fewer and harder to find. These people just aren't seeking out these books any more. That being said, here are collectors of these. You have some that should do OK. Ebay is also flooded with books like this.

Putting a full guide or over guide opening bid price will probably not result in good sales. Rarely do people bid like that unless they really want the book. Maybe forget price guides, start all at the same low opening bid and let the market decide. The older gentleman paid cover price. He is going to make a crazy return on his money anyway.

Also, be careful packaging these books. Simply slippiing comics in padded envelopes offer zero protection for them. They need stiff cardboard or boxes otherwise, you are likely to get a lot of unhappy bidders.

Selling old comics is a bit of work. Not just easy big money. But it can be done easily. Good luck with your auctions.

Yes on all points! Totally understand. We are using plastic sleeves and cardboard for stability inside the padded envelopes. The last thing we want to do is damage any of these beautiful books that have lasted this long. Thank you!

11 hours ago, october said:

The link is correct if you copy and paste it into Chrome. It doesn't work if you just click on it for some reason....maybe the board software. 

Yes. There's a problem with CGCForum's automatically-generated redirect/referral URLs. Moderators have been notified.

Hi,

I noticed when someone mentions eBay in a post, a URL like https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2F&campid=5338116315&customid=CGCForum&toolid=10001 gets generated. When someone clicks through, they end up at https://www.ebay.com/ and CGCForum should get credit for the referral.

Similarly, when someone posts a specific eBay Store URL like https://ebay.com/usr/vintagecomicsandcards, a URL like https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Febay.com%2Fusr%2Fvintagecomicsandcards&campid=5338116315&customid=CGCForum&toolid=10001 gets generated. When someone clicks through, there's a problem with the URL and they end up at https://www.ebay.com/ instead of https://ebay.com/usr/vintagecomicsandcards and CGCForum might be missing out on a more lucrative referral.

You will be much more valuable to eBay if you fix the redirects. And less confusing for members wondering why they end up at https://www.ebay.com/ instead of the eBay Store they wanted.

Please let me know if you need additional information.

Thanks for the feedback so far!

The first eBay link in our post isn't actualy a link. I tried to "remove" it, but there's nothing to remove. Is it possible when someone types eBay it automatically becomes a link? (We'll see if these two mentions also appear as links.)

The second link is a direct link to our store...

https://ebay.com/usr/vintagecomicsandcards

... it works when copy/pasted into a browser, but it doesn't get us all the way there when selected within these posts.

"How can these be improved?" referred to the photos. More lighting? More closeups?  Better look at the staples? We are not attempting to improve the condition of the books or to provide grading. That's why we've been avoiding grading terms and using non-grading language in more recent listings. We just don't have the expertise or time to deal with grading.

Most of the current opening bids are based on comicspriceguide.com By default they show a 9.4 value next to search results, so we're going with 25% of that and accepting offers.

We started bundling (up to 4 books) because we can ship those in our bubble envelopes. More than that and we'd have to use boxes or multiple envelopes. We do combine shipping when asked.

We just made our first international shipment, so we'll see how that goes.

As was correctly pointed out, we are not "comic book people". We're just trying to help an elderly friend/neighbor who doesn't have access to the Internet and trying to get these books to people who appreciate them.

Thanks for your support!

Here's a typical set of photos for example...

Front Cover with all edges visible:

Middle with all edges (and staples?) visible:

Back Cover with all edges visible:

We try to use soft natural light and minimize shadows as much as possible.

How can these photos be improved?

1 hour ago, KCOComics said:

Hi,  

From the few pictures I've seen the books look to be in really great shape. 

The titles I can see don't look particularly sought after and I suspect the high value books are gone. 

The easiest thing to do in my opinion is list them on ebay with a low starting bid, great pictures,  and allow  the market to figure out their value. 

Good luck! 

 

Thanks for taking a look and the thoughtful feedback!

The first batch was literally from the first box opened. There are more boxes with comics that haven't been photographed yet.

We believe some of the best are yet to come, but we have had a very hard time predicting desirability.

They are ~90% Funny Animals, Cartoon Characters, and TV Shows (not more sought after Superheros).

If anyone has any feedback on the latest photos, it would be very much appreciated. We're trying to capture the front cover, the middle (with the staples), and the back cover in natural (morning) light. We're not having them graded, so hoping the photos speak for themselves. 

We're helping a friend sell his childhood collection of Golden Age comics that have been carefully packed away for the past 65 years. There are hundreds, maybe a thousand, from 1947 through 1953, that appear to be in much better condition than a lot of what's selling on eBay.

The first small batch sold easily for more than expected. So we regrouped, did a little more research, and got some advice. One expert suggested starting with a low opening bid to draw more interest, but the next small batch got very few views and some went to last minute bidders that took everything that hadn't been bid up.

So we're regrouping again and would love to hear this great community's thoughts/advice. Please take a look at our eBay Store...

https://ebay.com/usr/vintagecomicsandcards

...to see what we're doing there, let us know what we can improve, and help us get these awesome comics to people who appreciate them!

We just created Instagram and Twitter accounts too. Anyplace else we should be reaching collectors?

Hello! 

We're helping an older friend/neighbor downsize and he has hundreds of Golden Age comics (from 1947-1953). He took very good care of them as a child and his mother carefully packed all of them away by 1955.

He was a little kid then, so we're talking Walt Disney, Looney Tunes, Cartoon Characters, Funny Animals, and some Western.

They're seeing light for the first time in 65 years and in remarkable condition!

We setup an eBay store specifically for this collection, but we've never done this before, so not sure we're doing the right thing, and would love to hear your suggestions.