Heroes Con 2011, my report, reboot

[oakman29]

I know most people like to see the book in person before they purchase it. Especially high dollar books. Scans can only do so much.

true, and you would still be suprised how many folks buy books at cons that never frequent a single auction... heck, the guy that bought the superman 1 at Megacon in march, hadn't even heard of cgc

I always buy my big books at shows,and I always buy my big books from Rick.I don't buy from auctions like Heritage or clink,I don't trust the USPS on those big purchases(had a couple books lost in the mail). There are people who buy those High dollar books at shows. (thumbs u

and you know I have a very cool book for your collection this year

[Superman2006]

Great report, Gator!

[benz]

ask Roy for his wish list? =)

[the blob]

"Isn't the problem with those big big books you have up on the wall is that there's no real NEED to buy those at a show"

but that is my "niche", so that is what I will continue to procure and offer

------------

 

wasn't saying not to. a 10% margin on a $10K or $50K book is worth the trouble! that's a table worth of dollar books selling at a frantic pace. luckily interest rates are so low that have a seven figure wall book inventory isn't "costing" you so much

 

was just thinking you could increase your net by selling more of those in between books, like someone here posted that they purchased from you. You sold that CDNP for $30...are you saying you paid $25-$27 for it for a 10-15% margin or are you saying that's your margin after dragging tons of stuff and spending $40K a year to go to shows, pay the rent on your store, interest on your line of credit, etc?

 

Anyway, good night. I think I just broke my hand trying to kill a waterbug that decided to go for a walk right next to me on my desk while I was working on a brief. uhg. 4 1/2 years in this house and I have never seen a roach or a waterbug, and now I see one on the second floor. this smells like a bad summer when giant unkillable waterbugs are bothering me on June 9.

 

[ComicConnoisseur]

I know most people like to see the book in person before they purchase it. Especially high dollar books. Scans can only do so much.

true, and you would still be suprised how many folks buy books at cons that never frequent a single auction... heck, the guy that bought the superman 1 at Megacon in march, hadn't even heard of cgc

Wouldn`t the AF15`s be an exception though? If you put those five AF15`s on Ebay auctions during the year wouldn`t those auctions be seen by more people than most of the different comic cons traffic? Your strategy to go with the comic cons over Ebay auctions for the AF 15`s seems very interesting. I would love to know some insight on this.btw great thread. (thumbs u

[G.A.tor]

I know most people like to see the book in person before they purchase it. Especially high dollar books. Scans can only do so much.

true, and you would still be suprised how many folks buy books at cons that never frequent a single auction... heck, the guy that bought the superman 1 at Megacon in march, hadn't even heard of cgc

Wouldn`t the AF15`s be an exception though? If you put those five AF15`s on Ebay auctions during the year wouldn`t those auctions be seen by more people than most of the different comic cons traffic? Your strategy to go with the comic cons over Ebay auctions for the AF 15`s seems very interesting. I would love to know some insight on this.btw great thread. (thumbs u

 

certainly I could use ebay or comiclink or heritage or comic connect etc, to sell the AF15's... I have no problem having 5 or 10 or 15 af15's "in stock"... my strategy to display at cons is several fold:

 

1) the "wow" factor... kind of like advertising... "dude, there is a guy on row 200 that has like 5 af15's, you gotta go check it out!"... etc...

2)selling an af15 is easy...selling it without paying a 10-20% vig is smart... there is no need for me to put an AF15 on ebay...I am not in a hurry to sell at an "unknown" price less commission... I know what I paid, I set my price, and I am only too happy to wait to get that price

 

as david mentioned earlier, while I am not opposed to making money, I don't rely on comic book sales to pay the bills...it is a "hobby" for me, that I have transitioned from full time collector, to part time seller and still collector (I only set up at 4-5 shows a year)

 

now don't get me wrong, I do like to and want to make money...but, until that time, I have a lot of fun, get to buy some cool books too, and generally enjoy visiting with my comic book friends...so, it is still a win/win for me

[G.A.tor]

"Isn't the problem with those big big books you have up on the wall is that there's no real NEED to buy those at a show"

but that is my "niche", so that is what I will continue to procure and offer

------------

 

wasn't saying not to. a 10% margin on a $10K or $50K book is worth the trouble! that's a table worth of dollar books selling at a frantic pace. luckily interest rates are so low that have a seven figure wall book inventory isn't "costing" you so much

 

was just thinking you could increase your net by selling more of those in between books, like someone here posted that they purchased from you. You sold that CDNP for $30...are you saying you paid $25-$27 for it for a 10-15% margin or are you saying that's your margin after dragging tons of stuff and spending $40K a year to go to shows, pay the rent on your store, interest on your line of credit, etc?

 

Anyway, good night. I think I just broke my hand trying to kill a waterbug that decided to go for a walk right next to me on my desk while I was working on a brief. uhg. 4 1/2 years in this house and I have never seen a roach or a waterbug, and now I see one on the second floor. this smells like a bad summer when giant unkillable waterbugs are bothering me on June 9.

 

I agree...and, for the first con, I tried that... I have actively sought out and bought those 2 and 3 figure books for the first time ...and by that, I mean I have bought them sticktly for resale potential, versus offering 2 and 3 figure books that were formerly from my collection

 

and yes, I believe I paid $25 for that CDNP (though I would have to check my notes)

 

the "issue" is that I am relatively new to selling vintage comics...I don't have a long source of former clients to sell me books back (eg Metro, or Dale, or Harley, or Jamie etc), I don't have folks banging down my door to sell me sweet collections at 60% of FMV, and quite honestly, I rather spend time with my family than pounding the pavement hunting them (I am sure there are some out there)...

 

I like to buy SA keys and cool GA books (many times in multiples) from the same sources as everyone else, and then if I need to sit on them for a year or 2 or longer to realize a profit, then cool... now, absolutely the TVM (time value of money) would dictate that the current economic environment we are in would not support this strategy too much longer (low interest rates, etc), but hopefully by the time the economy does start to rebound, I will have accumulated a nice 7 figure inventory that is all paid for, and then can "reap" some sort of a reward...

 

keep in mind, I started setting up as a comic book vendor in SDCC in 2007 and have sold millions of dollars of books procured via the same methods as I currently am...many of those books were at cost or even a loss, but more and more, those books are being sold at a profit, albeit typically single digit gross type numbers... but, works for me, at least right now (thumbs u

[Bio-Rupp]

Again I agree with Gator. That "wow" factor will get people to his table. Which in turn will help the 99.9% of the people that can't afford a single book on his back wall, start digging thru his table boxes.

 

Reflection time....

 

Some of the Southern boys will remember DW Howard and his store, Super Giant Books, out of Asheville, NC. I met DW at the Asheville flea market way back in the summer of 1981 when I started in this hobby. He always had great books (and we are talking about an area thats basically mountains). I bought a sweeeeeet high grade run of Iron Fist for $15 & my first copy of GL # 76 off of him for $6 I think. He also started my lifelong love of LB Cole by selling me my first Overstreet ( #9). My first con was his SuperCon III in 1983 where I met Al Williamson, Forry Ackerman & Butch Guice ( I gotta find those pics).

 

Well long story short, we used to talk about the business end of things over the years (we weren't best friends mind you, just a monthly customer/kid that would travel over the mountain to Asheville to buy from the man)... and once he told me that the biz would always make money until all the customers became dealers.

 

Then the internet blew up and we ALL became dealers. This took profit margins down, since "dealers" had to pay more to actually get the stuff. It was only 13 years ago, when markups resulting in 40% - 60% profit were realized. Now, as stated by Gator, margins on big books are 10% - 15%. Thats a hugh investment to carry around and only a handful of us can do it.

 

I have to agree wholeheartedly that no one wants to get in-between the "big dealers" when they vulture in on a new collection. To this day, I'm still totally amazed that someone hasn't slugged the "Heroes & DragQueens/Shatlips" guy in the eye at every show he goes to (those reading this know you want to )

 

DW passed away a few years back and I hate I didn't get to see him a few more times. I wonder how he would react to the prices realized on some of these books today... especially that GL # 76

[G.A.tor]

back in late 80's early 90's, I bought 2 copies of GL76 from Tropic Comics (or maybe one was from PPF)... one NM for $100 and one VG for $90 (pretty sure it was sold as a VF, but uh uh)...

 

so, I slabbed the NM copy and unpressed, it got a 9.4...I displayed at megacon in 2009 I think, and sold it for $8000 (had a "make offer" price on it)...

 

the second copy I had bought, I sold at heroes last week, for the same $90 I paid 20 years ago

 

how's that for a GL 76 recollection

[Bio-Rupp]

how's that for a GL 76 recollection

 

Someday we will be selling our Team America #1's for just as much bank

[G.A.tor]

how's that for a GL 76 recollection

 

Someday we will be selling our Team America #1's for just as much bank

if only

[Foolkiller]

Different people employ different models. Rick's model works for him, as he does high dollar books on lower margins but realizes very good real dollar amounts. I generally have very wide margins, less risk in terms of what I've laid out, and my home runs when I get books graded result in high dollars then, but they are fewer and further between. I do spend lots of time running down collections and visiting stores all over the country (I just stumbled into 300 long boxes and found a complete pre 1966 Marvel collection, only sans FF 1 and Hulk 1) that I'm working on buying my way through.

 

Generally I'm buying stuff that will either grade out or can be sold at double to quadruple my initial buy in. From time to time, I'll have a bunch of books and because I've gotten them cheap, is because they're books where you make 10-20x the initial investment. Those are obviously the home runs. ASMs bought at $100 and sell for $1k.

 

The bottom line though is that there's a lot of time spent looking at books and it takes a wide network of folks to feed you that stuff. Generally I try to pass on the deals I get to other folks here, but there are obviously times where you have to grade stuff.

 

Rick's model isn't "wrong" or "problematic" I think it's just different. One bad show doesn't mean he's doing anything wrong. Roy employs a similar model. It's high risk, high reward. I have less risk, less reward. I have to do it through volume and repetition. Some guys are very successful with dollar books and volume. There's lots of ways to make money, and I think all can be successful in their own way.

[ComicConnoisseur]

I know most people like to see the book in person before they purchase it. Especially high dollar books. Scans can only do so much.

true, and you would still be suprised how many folks buy books at cons that never frequent a single auction... heck, the guy that bought the superman 1 at Megacon in march, hadn't even heard of cgc

Wouldn`t the AF15`s be an exception though? If you put those five AF15`s on Ebay auctions during the year wouldn`t those auctions be seen by more people than most of the different comic cons traffic? Your strategy to go with the comic cons over Ebay auctions for the AF 15`s seems very interesting. I would love to know some insight on this.btw great thread. (thumbs u

 

certainly I could use ebay or comiclink or heritage or comic connect etc, to sell the AF15's... I have no problem having 5 or 10 or 15 af15's "in stock"... my strategy to display at cons is several fold:

 

1) the "wow" factor... kind of like advertising... "dude, there is a guy on row 200 that has like 5 af15's, you gotta go check it out!"... etc...

2)selling an af15 is easy...selling it without paying a 10-20% vig is smart... there is no need for me to put an AF15 on ebay...I am not in a hurry to sell at an "unknown" price less commission... I know what I paid, I set my price, and I am only too happy to wait to get that price

 

as david mentioned earlier, while I am not opposed to making money, I don't rely on comic book sales to pay the bills...it is a "hobby" for me, that I have transitioned from full time collector, to part time seller and still collector (I only set up at 4-5 shows a year)

 

now don't get me wrong, I do like to and want to make money...but, until that time, I have a lot of fun, get to buy some cool books too, and generally enjoy visiting with my comic book friends...so, it is still a win/win for me

I understand your point of view now.

thanks for the insight tips.

[TheShadowKnows]

Great report Rick! Enjoyed talking to you again and meeting your wife and son. Should have jumped on that Zip. Oh well, you snooze you loose.

 

Thanks for the great price on the Crime Does Not Pay #43

 

 

Inspired by public enemy perhaps?

[HOTFLIPS]

I know most people like to see the book in person before they purchase it. Especially high dollar books. Scans can only do so much.

true, and you would still be suprised how many folks buy books at cons that never frequent a single auction... heck, the guy that bought the superman 1 at Megacon in march, hadn't even heard of cgc

Wouldn`t the AF15`s be an exception though? If you put those five AF15`s on Ebay auctions during the year wouldn`t those auctions be seen by more people than most of the different comic cons traffic? Your strategy to go with the comic cons over Ebay auctions for the AF 15`s seems very interesting. I would love to know some insight on this.btw great thread. (thumbs u

 

certainly I could use ebay or comiclink or heritage or comic connect etc, to sell the AF15's... I have no problem having 5 or 10 or 15 af15's "in stock"... my strategy to display at cons is several fold:

 

1) the "wow" factor... kind of like advertising... "dude, there is a guy on row 200 that has like 5 af15's, you gotta go check it out!"... etc...

2)selling an af15 is easy...selling it without paying a 10-20% vig is smart... there is no need for me to put an AF15 on ebay...I am not in a hurry to sell at an "unknown" price less commission... I know what I paid, I set my price, and I am only too happy to wait to get that price

 

as david mentioned earlier, while I am not opposed to making money, I don't rely on comic book sales to pay the bills...it is a "hobby" for me, that I have transitioned from full time collector, to part time seller and still collector (I only set up at 4-5 shows a year)

 

now don't get me wrong, I do like to and want to make money...but, until that time, I have a lot of fun, get to buy some cool books too, and generally enjoy visiting with my comic book friends...so, it is still a win/win for me

 

Certain books present differently in the same grade. I see it all the time. A 5.0 AF15 could look a lot better than another 5.0 AF15. As a matter of fact, im sure every other thread in the golden age selling forum, the seller states, "the scan does this book no justice, it presents much better in person." Hence why people like to see the book and hold it before they buy it.

[piper]

Is that a Contact 12 I see for sale?

[G.A.tor]

Is that a Contact 12 I see for sale?

(thumbs u

[hockeyboy13]

i agree! cons are soo fun! and i am always in a good mood when i go.

then i get there and it goes down hill from there!

[the blob]

"and yes, I believe I paid $25 for that CDNP (though I would have to check my notes)"

 

yeah, if you want profitability out of those "in between books" you can't do that and sell for $30, unless that was a special price for a boardie and someone else would have paid $40-$45. there are just too many opportunities out there to turn $1-$10 purchases into $5-$30 sales. then again, maybe it takes a year for you to realize it's really a $30 book in the market and not the $50 book you thought it was when you paid $25.

 

but then again, if you sell enough big books on 10% margins it doesn't mater how many $30 books you sell at 10% margins, so I'll be quiet. one off show shouldn't change your model if up until now you've been happy with your sales. f3 - 5 in a row might.

 

[G.A.tor]

i agree! cons are soo fun! and i am always in a good mood when i go.

then i get there and it goes down hill from there!

you are always fun to talk with at cons