Advice for a noob buying entire collections??

[FlComicFan]

Certainly picking out the better books is always an option One other thing to consider If they are mediocre titles but full runs also easy to sell and have some value You'd be suprised at what full sets of things like ROM, Moon Knight, Shogun Warriors and other drek from the 1970's/1980's fetch You buy stuff like that in full runs for say under a quarter a book you will make good money Even more so on 1998-2011 stuff in full runs. This is where Overstreet is irrelevant and you almost have to look at Ebay exclusively The hardest to make a high margin of money is usually the stuff everybody wants The high grade books the slabbed better comics Silver age keys etc If you plan on ebaying make sure you check the disparity between selling in buy it now versus auctions. I've bought full sets of ebay in auction, paid shipping and still doubled or tripled my money within a mionth or two by relisting them fixed price Not every buyer has time and energy to scour auctions constantly trying to score a deal there are still plenty of people who will pay for the convenience of click and buy

 

I have to agree on the free appraisals I have one horror story Ill share quickly. I got a call about three years ago from a guy who was give a huge collection of mid 1960's to 1980's comics and adult magazines. I drove out to his home and spent 5 hours going through all this stuff which was in no way organized I offered $5500 for the collection The kicker is not that he didnt take the offer but he didnt even get back with what he was looking for. He said I'm not ready to sell right now So I basically gave this guy 5 hours of my valuable time and skills for a free appraisal. Dont get suckered into those deals!

[goldust40]

Every experience is different. Try and gauge the seller before spending too much time evaluating the books. Plenty of folks just want to steal a free appraisal...

 

Yep, or play one dealer against another. Doesn't happen every time, but it happens every so often.

[jhutton2]

This thread was 50 times more informative then I expected. There are many people on these boards who make their living or supplement their income buying and selling books. They aren't going to give away their edge.

 

Good luck on the endeavor. (thumbs u

 

Yes, the board has been quite decent sharing their experience. I dont expect them to give away all their methods, but the North American Market space is pretty big and there are a lot of comics out there to be bought and sold. The boardies are likely not saying anything that will give an experienced buyer/reseller an advantage, just steering a newcomer like me in the right direction.

 

Many thanks to all.

 

Jason H.

[gaz973]

In the vast majority of cases, you are much better off pulling 5% of the books and making an offer on them. I recently looked at a collection of books that included Daredevil 150-300, New Mutants 1-50, and X-Men 135-200. I offered the owner X for approx. 15 books or X plus $20 for his 400 books. I don't need or want the vast majority of the books and they take up space and tie up capital.

Different methods suit different people, if someone has the space and patience, smaller books can be quite profitable. Personally I think a mix of higher and lower value books is a good idea.

[KEY ISSUES Comics]

In the vast majority of cases, you are much better off pulling 5% of the books and making an offer on them. I recently looked at a collection of books that included Daredevil 150-300, New Mutants 1-50, and X-Men 135-200. I offered the owner X for approx. 15 books or X plus $20 for his 400 books. I don't need or want the vast majority of the books and they take up space and tie up capital.

"Cherry-picking" is the way to go when possible. However, I now go with a friend who is accumulating inventory so I get to pick the books I want. So far so good.

[KEY ISSUES Comics]

I have to agree on the free appraisals I have one horror story Ill share quickly. I got a call about three years ago from a guy who was give a huge collection of mid 1960's to 1980's comics and adult magazines. I drove out to his home and spent 5 hours going through all this stuff which was in no way organized I offered $5500 for the collection The kicker is not that he didnt take the offer but he didnt even get back with what he was looking for. He said I'm not ready to sell right now So I basically gave this guy 5 hours of my valuable time and skills for a free appraisal. Dont get suckered into those deals!

I hate those. I get more of those than actual transactions or negotiations.

[Daredevil77-migration]

This thread was 50 times more informative then I expected. There are many people on these boards who make their living or supplement their income buying and selling books. They aren't going to give away their edge.

Good luck on the endeavor. (thumbs u

 

 

What Edge? Oh the one where they steal comics (offer pennies) from the unknowing seller.

[FlComicFan]

One thing I always try and do is ask the seller to have a price in mind they would like to get A fixed starting price you can negotiate from or if its a fair deal just buy it and not be greedy. The make me an offer deals are the ones I try and stay away from. One of the best deals I bought in terms of profit for cost paid was a collection of 50 longs I bought blind for $10 a box over the phone. I paid my brother who lives in that area a $100 and dinner to get them dropped off at my place. Inside were multiples of better moderns in mylites a guy had speculated on I still make a few hundred in sales every month from that deal I got a short box of New Mutants 98's in a bulk deal Two longs of Amazing Spiderman 361's Not sexy but makes a ton of money over a long period of time.

 

Far as competition, the fact is buying in bulk is not easy nor glamorous. Its a lot of work to buy a mixed collection and turn it for a profit. The average comic collection that walks in or I find thorugh a lead or craigslist or whatever is a mixed bag that many comic dealers would snub or find it beneath them. Sure I'd rather score some rare comics but while I wait for that pipe dream I make money off the tonnage that is floating around

[jhutton2]

Thanks again to everyone for your feedback and input!