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Moderns that are heating up on ebay!
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Started by thirdgreenham,

63,829 posts in this topic

the blob

the blob

Posted
Posted (edited)
if you want customer loyalty, be nice when they enter the store. say hello, and ask if they need any help. most comic shop workers aren't all that nice (at least 90% in my area are meh to plain rude) and don't engage anyone in conversation. you'll get far more customers by just being nice and remembering their name when they come in often then by having a particular book that's hot on your shelves.

 

again, if you've been in business for 25 yeas, great. doesn't mean you're a great businessman though. vast majority of comic shops don't pay attention to ebay or online sells. it's horrible business no matter how you twist it.

 

I am actually with you on all of this, especially the bolded part.

 

There is a middle ground to be walked, though. It's not good business to scoop all books off your racks at the first sign the book is heating up on eBay. Taking care of your customers and engendering loyalty will pay off many times over.

 

 

Mind you, I tend to avoid places that have a lousy selection anyway, but I have not found that to be the case at any shops I hit in NYC and you'd think we'd have a lot of nasty loudmouths here. Starting with Midtown, where I have found the staff to always be professional, to many other smaller shops I have never got this sort of vibe. Even one shop in Brooklyn I hit now and then where the guy behind the counter looks like the Comic Book Guy, he is always polite even if inside he hates us all, and many other shops I go to go out of their way to be nice. Rents are just too high to alienate potential customers I guess. Heck, even Jim Henley's (where I've only gone twice) were the employees were a bit aloof they were nice to my son and gave him some free stickers and what not. Of course, that doesn't compare to the guy in Cobble Hill (since retired) who basically told my son he could all the comics he wanted free so long as they were in the boxes on the floor.

Edited by the blob
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500Club

500Club

Posted
Posted
On the other hand, giving a solid customer the book for cover just to help maintain good will in general goes a long way.

 

Yup. Pull $3 book from shelf, sell on eBay for $25 = $22 profit.

 

$22 profit = about 15 books bought by a pull file customer.

 

It's easy to see how a little loyalty and good will will outweigh the quick buck. (thumbs u

 

a couple of years ago I was looking for creepy 1 at a shop i hit now and then. it had sold out at my main shops as nobody ordered more than 3 copies. that shop only had the more expensive variant cover, which he let me have at regular cover price (plus a subsequent discount because i bought some other stuff). the shop is way out of my way, but since then i have always tried to get over there when possible and have probably dropped 5 figures there since then. true, i'd probably try to get over there now and then anyway, but after that little gesture I feel guilty if I don't make a solid effort to do so, like i met my wife near there recently when i could have just as easily picked somewhere else.

 

Anyway, after fees and other hassle on ebay (not to mention time spent packing, etc.), it's not a $22 profit. Don't you see how someone may not want to be bothered selling 3 low price items on ebay a week?

 

Now that I reread my above post, it may've been a bit vague. I was actually trying to make the point you made (much better) in your first paragraph. :grin:

 

And your point about the $22 is correct also - especially when time is in short order for an LCS owner, and listing/packing/mailing is factored in.

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whetteon

whetteon

Posted
Posted

Here's what is hot on Lyria - The Market this week:

 

NYX #3 - $50 ( eBay Completed Listings )

Eternal Warriors #1 Gold Embrossed - $45 ( eBay Completed Listings )

Chaos Effect Alpha Red Variant - $65+ ( eBay Completed Listings )

X-O Manowar #1 1:50 Variant - $100+ ( eBay Completed Listings )

 

and really just about anything to do with Lady Mechanika at the moment. (shrug)

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krighton

krighton

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Posted (edited)

to buy the X-O manowar variant before release was $50 straight up from DCB or some other online seller (unless you bought enough regular editions to get yours 'free'). So figure most of those started at at least $50.00. So $100 really isn't a crazy hot increase.

Edited by krighton
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whetteon

whetteon

Posted
Posted
to buy the X-O manowar variant before release was $50 straight up from DCB or some other online seller (unless you bought enough regular editions to get yours 'free'). So figure most of those started at at least $50.00. So $100 really isn't a crazy hot increase.

 

How about $200? :o

 

Madness

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Nico Esq

Nico Esq

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Posted

Looks like Saga RRP's are doing better. Also looks like Daryl Dixon Walking Dead action figures are doing well. Walking Dead has started to cool down. I wonder if we will see that trend continue until season three gets close or until issue 100 hits (or something wild happend in the pages of the comic).

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