• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

A few observations about Megacon. More of a market report.

Started by MCMiles,

58 posts in this topic

MCMiles

MCMiles

Posted
Posted

First, sales were very good all the way around. One dollar books always sell well for me, but I try to keep those boxes filled with a little better stuff then the usual. If those pay for the space for the show, then the show is always a plus, which they did two times over.

 

A couple of solid GA sales. Small time dealers like me have to pay well just to have GA inventory so it can sometimes be difficult to price them low enough to not scare people away.

 

IMO, slabs usually don't sell well at cons except to other dealers, or dealer/flippers. I did sell some SA and BA slabs to a couple other dealers, but I was excited to sell more than usual to the average collector. A lot more people were looking at them, and the idea that "anything in a slab is probably priced way over guide" seems to be less of a stumbling block. I also got the impression more people are aware, and less appalled that ultra high grade usually sells for multiples of guide.

 

Sales were strong for raw SA and BA as well. VF range books sold well at guide with just a little courtesy discount. Semi-key and key books were getting close to guide or guide in lower than VF grades. Silver Surfer and Captain America books and appearances were popular....And people love Marvel Spotlight #5.

 

I was happy to see more interst in SA DC. I seemed to be showing a lot more books like Showcase, Brave and the Bold, and Superman and Flash races were getting attention. I even had someone look a an Atom #7 with serious interest.

 

The biggest surprise to me were the sales of titles like Punisher, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Iron Man and other Copper Age that weren't just key issues or Spider-Man and X-men. In fact the Punisher outsold Spidey, Wolverine, and the X-men at this show. A fluke I'm sure, but still interesting.

 

The coolest thing I noticed was the number of sales of older books to kids between 11 and 17. Several VFish SA books were sold to teen agers shopping on their own, and several sales of multiple books were sold to father and sons.

 

I had a boy about 11 years old buy a low grade Hulk #181. He was already short on cash, and I could tell he really wanted it. It would have been an easy sale at full price on ebay or at any show. I made eye contact with his mom and I could see it in her eyes that she really wanted to buy it for him, but wanted to be a good mother and not spoil the kid. I decided to cut the price in half, and I think it made the day for all three of us. He was really excited, and she was really appreciative.

 

To wrap it up. This was a great show when compared to past Mega-Cons. The number of comic dealers to dealers selling every other crazy thing under the sun was small. Saturday it was really crowded.With the crowd and the comic dealers spread out all over the room, I'm sure some buyers didn't even see some dealers. I was lucky to be close to Bedrock, G.A. tor, and Dale Roberts, but I'm sure there were plenty of comic customers that never saw my booth. If there were some way all the comic dealers could be grouped together at a show like this it would probably have a direct impact on sales. Less people with no interest in comics would be clogging the aisles, and people who want comics would be able to see the rooms complete selection more efficiently.

 

Besides that, I had a good time with a few interesting moments. I'm ready for C2E2 as an attendee.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mr.Diggler

Mr.Diggler

Posted
Posted

 

I had a boy about 11 years old buy a low grade Hulk #181. He was already short on cash, and I could tell he really wanted it. It would have been an easy sale at full price on ebay or at any show. I made eye contact with his mom and I could see it in her eyes that she really wanted to buy it for him, but wanted to be a good mother and not spoil the kid. I decided to cut the price in half, and I think it made the day for all three of us. He was really excited, and she was really appreciative.

 

Good for you. :applause::applause::applause:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
8milemax

8milemax

Posted
Posted

 

I had a boy about 11 years old buy a low grade Hulk #181. He was already short on cash, and I could tell he really wanted it. It would have been an easy sale at full price on ebay or at any show. I made eye contact with his mom and I could see it in her eyes that she really wanted to buy it for him, but wanted to be a good mother and not spoil the kid. I decided to cut the price in half, and I think it made the day for all three of us. He was really excited, and she was really appreciative.

 

Good for you. :applause::applause::applause:

 

 

+100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

 

Great stuff major kudos to you (worship)(worship)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
buttock

buttock

Posted
Posted

 

I had a boy about 11 years old buy a low grade Hulk #181. He was already short on cash, and I could tell he really wanted it. It would have been an easy sale at full price on ebay or at any show. I made eye contact with his mom and I could see it in her eyes that she really wanted to buy it for him, but wanted to be a good mother and not spoil the kid. I decided to cut the price in half, and I think it made the day for all three of us. He was really excited, and she was really appreciative.

 

Good for you. :applause::applause::applause:

 

You're a gentleman and a scholar. Solid move.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
chrisco37

chrisco37

Posted
Posted

 

I had a boy about 11 years old buy a low grade Hulk #181. He was already short on cash, and I could tell he really wanted it. It would have been an easy sale at full price on ebay or at any show. I made eye contact with his mom and I could see it in her eyes that she really wanted to buy it for him, but wanted to be a good mother and not spoil the kid. I decided to cut the price in half, and I think it made the day for all three of us. He was really excited, and she was really appreciative.

 

Good for you. :applause::applause::applause:

 

 

+100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

 

Great stuff major kudos to you (worship)(worship)

 

I agreed. Really nice of you to do that, Mike.

 

You probably ensured that kid will be a collector for life. :applause:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TSwift25

TSwift25

Posted
Posted

 

I had a boy about 11 years old buy a low grade Hulk #181. He was already short on cash, and I could tell he really wanted it. It would have been an easy sale at full price on ebay or at any show. I made eye contact with his mom and I could see it in her eyes that she really wanted to buy it for him, but wanted to be a good mother and not spoil the kid. I decided to cut the price in half, and I think it made the day for all three of us. He was really excited, and she was really appreciative.

 

Good for you. :applause::applause::applause:

 

Stories like this just make me :cloud9:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MCMiles

MCMiles

Posted
  • Author
Posted

 

I had a boy about 11 years old buy a low grade Hulk #181. He was already short on cash, and I could tell he really wanted it. It would have been an easy sale at full price on ebay or at any show. I made eye contact with his mom and I could see it in her eyes that she really wanted to buy it for him, but wanted to be a good mother and not spoil the kid. I decided to cut the price in half, and I think it made the day for all three of us. He was really excited, and she was really appreciative.

 

Good for you. :applause::applause::applause:

 

You're a gentleman and a scholar. Solid move.

 

 

Thanks guys. I didn't lose or make money on it, hopefully I made a customer for life, and the mom wasn't bad looking either. It was a can't lose situation with a result that felt better than making a few bucks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
VintageComics

VintageComics

Posted
Posted

I had a boy about 11 years old buy a low grade Hulk #181. He was already short on cash, and I could tell he really wanted it. It would have been an easy sale at full price on ebay or at any show. I made eye contact with his mom and I could see it in her eyes that she really wanted to buy it for him, but wanted to be a good mother and not spoil the kid. I decided to cut the price in half, and I think it made the day for all three of us. He was really excited, and she was really appreciative.

 

Mike, that was a really nice thing to do.

 

:applause:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DrWatson

DrWatson

Posted
Posted
I had a boy about 11 years old buy a low grade Hulk #181. He was already short on cash, and I could tell he really wanted it. It would have been an easy sale at full price on ebay or at any show. I made eye contact with his mom and I could see it in her eyes that she really wanted to buy it for him, but wanted to be a good mother and not spoil the kid. I decided to cut the price in half, and I think it made the day for all three of us. He was really excited, and she was really appreciative.

"Well, in Whoville they say that McGrumpy's small heart grew three sizes that day." :baiting:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
silverweb

silverweb

Posted
Posted

 

I had a boy about 11 years old buy a low grade Hulk #181. He was already short on cash, and I could tell he really wanted it. It would have been an easy sale at full price on ebay or at any show. I made eye contact with his mom and I could see it in her eyes that she really wanted to buy it for him, but wanted to be a good mother and not spoil the kid. I decided to cut the price in half, and I think it made the day for all three of us. He was really excited, and she was really appreciative.

 

Good for you. :applause::applause::applause:

 

You're a gentleman and a scholar. Solid move.

 

 

+1 Good form, Mike! (thumbs u

Link to comment
Share on other sites
letsgrumble

letsgrumble

Posted
Posted

 

I had a boy about 11 years old buy a low grade Hulk #181. He was already short on cash, and I could tell he really wanted it. It would have been an easy sale at full price on ebay or at any show. I made eye contact with his mom and I could see it in her eyes that she really wanted to buy it for him, but wanted to be a good mother and not spoil the kid. I decided to cut the price in half, and I think it made the day for all three of us. He was really excited, and she was really appreciative.

 

Good for you. :applause::applause::applause:

 

You're a gentleman and a scholar. Solid move.

 

 

+1 Good form, Mike! (thumbs u

 

Note: I'm going select a few books from your booth then send my wife and kid over to pick 'em up. Kiddin' - you're a class act, Mike.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Go to topic listing