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San Diego Comic Con Dealer report

Started by Dale Roberts,

105 posts in this topic

jpepx78

jpepx78

Posted
Posted

thanks to all the dealers who gave their report on comic-con.

here's my view on the customer side...

i went to every booth that had golden age books and every dealer treated me with respect and had a friendly and pleasant attitude even though i did not buy anything from many of them. i was able to handle & look inside some of the pricey wall books. i did all my buying on thursday & friday so i don't know about the level of pleasantness toward the end of the show. i spent double my budget. special kudos to bunky brian, ted @ superworld, dale roberts, head guy @ basement comics & terry @ terry's comics for a pleasant shopping experience. i don't know all the other dealer names but i remember their faces. i didn't find as many deals as wondercon but a pleasant attitude made buying easier.

 

j

 

 

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Dale Roberts

Dale Roberts

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Personally, I don't really feel like divulging the secrets to my success. I have paid the dues for 16 years and there are no shortcuts and no substitute for experience. If there is a short cut, it is to have a ton of money up front, something I didn't have.

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arexcrooke

arexcrooke

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Personally, I don't really feel like divulging the secrets to my success. I have paid the dues for 16 years and there are no shortcuts and no substitute for experience. If there is a short cut, it is to have a ton of money up front, something I didn't have.

Dale, I asked this question earlier, but it wasnt answered, so I will try again:

How do you get your stock from show to show?

Do you ever fly your inventory from your place to somewhere? I remember hearing Chris Foss say he fly's his stock out to SD. And also I know Harley has to fly his stuff some places cause you caint drive to Australia!

Arex

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esquirecomics

esquirecomics

Posted
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For me, the pleasure of showing some of our personal collectrion to Richard, Peter, and Steve, having drinks with the CGC members, Zaid, Brent, and Howard, that is what make the convention for us. Great times geeking with my comic brothers I love you all. Brian

 

BUNKY!!!! :hi:

 

Brent and I had a great time chatting it up with you guys until the wee hours of the morning! Looking forward to another opportunity! :applause:

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esquirecomics

esquirecomics

Posted
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Ok, I have a part-time dealer and full-time collector report I can add. I typically don't set up at cons as my inventory is, quite frankly, either too expensive for the usual attendee or just too narrow in focus. I would either have a fantastic con if my Showcase #4 CGC 9.2 sold or a terrible one if nothing sold. Not worth the expense of a booth. So I usually work out arrangements with other dealers and display select inventory at their booths.

 

This year I only brought ten books with me and QualityComix had them on display. Unfortunately, while there were some nibbles, none sold. But I also had a few dozen GA Batmans and SA Hollywood Hills books with Southern California Comics and made a few thousand. So as far as I was concerned the show was a nice success.

 

But the bottom line for me was not just in selling comics but in attending the Con altogether. I had a FANTASTIC time. I thoroughly enjoyed the festivities. I was there every single day and experienced just about everything. I now make sure I walk the entire floor to sample just about every single aisle. I socialized with most of the dealers, met many collectors and attended a few Battlestar Galactica and Stargate panels (the Stargate actors in particular were really fun to watch and listen to as they clearly were friends as well as colleagues). I saw a few actors signing autographs. Couldn't believe how much Marina Sirtis (Deanna Trois from Star Trek Next Generation) had aged. George Barris and his batmobile were quite cool to see in person.

 

I heard many complaints from dealers, most of which have been mentioned above (particularly regarding location placement and table costs), but also concluded most had successful ventures by the end of the con. I thought the selections were very strong and I picked up some sweet books for both my personal collection and sales inventory. I also bought a ton of books ON comics. I bought so many of them that I couldn't take them with me as they were too heavy and couldn't fit in my suitcase! I had to ship many home separately. I am posting below some examples of my purchases as well as some general con shots.

 

The luncheon I attended with CGC (Borock and Haspell) as a result of the HERO charity auction was a lot of fun and quite educational. I was happy to pluck down nearly $700 for charity. We had a very enjoyable time examining different books and then having lunch at McCormicks & Schmicks. We spent about 4 hours together. Someone should ask Steve about the girls in red and his free hat!

 

As always, the CGC forum dinner was a great opportunity to see old friends and make new ones. And thanks to Silverandbronze for the extra Toon Tumblers!!!! None of them broke on the way home, phew!

 

Fortunately, given this is SD, I also usually have some legal work I can do as well. This time around I met one of my clients whose entry into the US I was able to facilitate (for some reason the USGOV was blocking him after coming here for 30 years), and I spent two days up at Pendleton Marine Corps Base working on the Haditha murder case.

 

But if I had to sum it up, unlike just about every other comic convention anywhere in the United States, SD is simply more than just comics. It is an adventure plain and simple and I highly recommend it to everyone. And it is one of the few cons where you really can bring your family to enjoy while you spend time looking through comics! Can't wait until next year!!

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esquirecomics

esquirecomics

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I picked up these books for my personal collection.

 

Here are 7/10 issues of Picture News from 1946. Chris Foss snagged these from an OO collection. Nice HG copies of books rarely seen.

 

PictureNews.jpg

 

Of course, I had to add at least ONE book to my More Fun collection!! Mid-copy copy of #99.

 

MF99.jpg

 

Also picked up a few espionage related books to frame and hang up in my office.

 

Ladyluck.jpg

 

All three copies are here.

Spyman.jpg

 

This one has a nice secret code story. Picked it up from Terry O'Neill who had obtained a HG run of True Comics from an OO collection.

True.jpg

 

I happened to see this book in Geppi's Museum last month and decided I wanted a copy. As fate turned out I found one via Motor City!!

 

Warvictory.jpg

 

Mr. Bedrock provided me this now quite politically incorrect book that is vintage WWII.

Pioneer.jpg

 

I always love snagging political books. Appropriate for a Washington, DC dealer!

Goldwater.jpg

 

Ok, now this book has been messing with my mind ever since I saw BangZoom post a copy in the GA thread. Phantasmo is one of the most DISTURBING "superheros" I have ever seen! And what is amazing is that it is a Dell character of all things! Interestingly Mr. Naked Butt is only just that on the cover. He is costumed - thankfully - in the interior pages. Thanks to Terry O'Neill again for this HG copy!

Funnies.jpg

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esquirecomics

esquirecomics

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I picked up these sweet GA books that will be offered for sale when I return home next month (I'm on vacation for the next 3 weeks and then back to Camp Pendleton for my client's article 32 proceeding - sorta like a grand jury hearing).

 

Cap49.jpg

 

Cap57.jpg

 

Sub34.jpg

 

Sub42.jpg

 

Sup37.jpg

 

Sup43.jpg

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CKB

CKB

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Mark,

 

Nice purchases!

 

Hey, that Sep-Oct Picture News with the swimmer on the cover was way underpriced, unless there is a condition problem with it. Wait until you see what's in there!

 

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40sJohn

40sJohn

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Excellent report with great detail. It's great to hear the dealer side of things and most importantly to get a feel for what comics are hot - kinda like a mid year update to the Overstreet market report. BTW, I am bookmarking your ebay store - nice selection!

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