• 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.

Jobs

Started by THB,

79 posts in this topic

Walls

Walls

Posted
Posted
If you can rent a store front for the price junkdrawer is paying for his in an area that has traffic then I would do it. If you're paying five figures a month for rent it could be a problem.

 

I've crunched numbers in my head and figured it would not be that hard to duplicate the income from an $8-$10/hr job selling comics roughly the same 30-50 hours a week via ebay, a store front, etc. , particularly if you're coming into it with a decent sized collection, so you don't have to lay out $ right away and you can wait for sales to come in to divert money to buying more inventory. of course, that income figure putas you right in the zone for paypal reporting you to the IRS...

 

Getting much beyond that you need more real capital to go out and acquire more expensive stuff, etc. (as opposed to $500 in your sneaker to take to shows, flea markets, etc.) and really you need to know what you're doing. While it's great to hope for the little old lady to come in with a collection and pay her 5 cents on the dollar, the more realistic opportunity is to buy an $4K book, either raw or slabbed, maybe press it, maybe it was a little undergraded raw, maybe it was undergraded in the slab, re-slab it, and maybe turn it into a $5K book. that $1000 or so profit is equivalent to a heck of a lot fo $5 sales.

 

That could work but would that include the benefits that you may or may not get from a regular job? Does that cover your taxes, your 12.4% fica since you're not splitting this with your employer now? What about health insurance, could you find a group plan that provides the same benefits for the same premiums? Are you ready to file your taxes on a quarterly basis now that you are no longer W2? If somehow you get out of paying fica your reducing your SS benefits because you are no longer accumulating credits by paying into the system.

 

I would look at all of that before I quit my job. I think that someone mentioned a business plan earlier, I think that would be prudent. Maybe talk to some of the other folks that run a business and make sure you are covering everything.

 

Jut my 2c.

 

Whatever you do think about it hard and if you do make the leap, best of luck.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
the blob

the blob

Posted
Posted
If you can rent a store front for the price junkdrawer is paying for his in an area that has traffic then I would do it. If you're paying five figures a month for rent it could be a problem.

 

I've crunched numbers in my head and figured it would not be that hard to duplicate the income from an $8-$10/hr job selling comics roughly the same 30-50 hours a week via ebay, a store front, etc. , particularly if you're coming into it with a decent sized collection, so you don't have to lay out $ right away and you can wait for sales to come in to divert money to buying more inventory. of course, that income figure putas you right in the zone for paypal reporting you to the IRS...

 

Getting much beyond that you need more real capital to go out and acquire more expensive stuff, etc. (as opposed to $500 in your sneaker to take to shows, flea markets, etc.) and really you need to know what you're doing. While it's great to hope for the little old lady to come in with a collection and pay her 5 cents on the dollar, the more realistic opportunity is to buy an $4K book, either raw or slabbed, maybe press it, maybe it was a little undergraded raw, maybe it was undergraded in the slab, re-slab it, and maybe turn it into a $5K book. that $1000 or so profit is equivalent to a heck of a lot fo $5 sales.

 

That could work but would that include the benefits that you may or may not get from a regular job? Does that cover your taxes, your 12.4% fica since you're not splitting this with your employer now? What about health insurance, could you find a group plan that provides the same benefits for the same premiums? Are you ready to file your taxes on a quarterly basis now that you are no longer W2? If somehow you get out of paying fica your reducing your SS benefits because you are no longer accumulating credits by paying into the system.

 

I would look at all of that before I quit my job. I think that someone mentioned a business plan earlier, I think that would be prudent. Maybe talk to some of the other folks that run a business and make sure you are covering everything.

 

Jut my 2c.

 

Whatever you do think about it hard and if you do make the leap, best of luck.

 

 

I'm talking about replacing an $8-$10/hr type job, not a career type job. Taxes are subjective in this business, particularly if you have a physical "cash" component. A lot of $8-$10/hr jobs don't have health insurance anyway...So, basically, if you're working the deep fryer, pumping gas, working a cash register somewhere, etc., becoming a full-time comics dealer is semi-viable.

 

So, basically, this lower end type business only works if you're young, live in a low COL area, are single, live in your parents' basement, etc.

 

Obviously things could be different if you come into it with enough capitalization to start dealing with $500+ type books consistently.

 

Personally, I have become more active since Baby Blob #2 made his first appearance last year. It seems like life has become $750-$1000 a month more expensive and it's not like I got a raise or anything, so the money has to come from somewhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
VintageComics

VintageComics

Posted
Posted

The Walls-blob detente - Making CG soooooooo boring since 3-12-12. :ohnoez:

 

I could interject with a few dozen paragraphs.

 

(shrug)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Walls

Walls

Posted
Posted

That absolutely makes sense for someone in their twenties but the OP sounds a bit older from the content of his post (e.g. an empty nester perhaps with kids out of the house I believe). I've personally experienced a family member quitting their job to start a small business (not comics) without thinking it all the way through and it was an absolute disaster.

 

But you're right, if he's got the startup capital there's no reason not to do what you want to do. I totally agree, working a 40+ hour week really sucks @ss.

 

By the way, congrats on the +1 kid. I hope you're getting a full night's rest.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Walls

Walls

Posted
Posted

The Walls-blob detente - Making CG soooooooo boring since 3-12-12. :ohnoez:

 

I could interject with a few dozen paragraphs.

 

(shrug)

 

Oh yea, that's right we're supposed to be working the insults here. Would this be a better response?

 

F all of U guys, I'm taking my mess and going home. I'll be bringing this mess up with your mom when I'm choking her out at my next visit.

 

:)

 

I don't know, maybe that was too extreme...

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lizards2

lizards2

Posted
Posted
Shaddup you stinking lawyer. You should all be rounded up and shot.

 

I read that like it was Charlton Heston yelling at me, shirtless, while hanging in a net.

:roflmao:
Link to comment
Share on other sites
THB

THB

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Some really great advice. Congrats on the kid. I think ill start small , add to the nest egg and seek out some local collections and after 40 + years of collecting send in my first submissions to CGC and see what their all about. BTW you all seem like a swell bunch of guys, is there any Con you recommend? I hit Dragoncon every year but comics is such a small part of it im thinking of trying something new and not too big. Any suggestions??

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Walls

Walls

Posted
Posted
Some really great advice. Congrats on the kid. I think ill start small , add to the nest egg and seek out some local collections and after 40 + years of collecting send in my first submissions to CGC and see what their all about. BTW you all seem like a swell bunch of guys, is there any Con you recommend? I hit Dragoncon every year but comics is such a small part of it im thinking of trying something new and not too big. Any suggestions??

 

(thumbs u

 

As a wise man once said:

 

"To do what's right, sometimes we have to give up the things we want the most. Even our dreams." Peter P., Spider-Man 2

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
the blob

the blob

Posted
Posted
Some really great advice. Congrats on the kid. I think ill start small , add to the nest egg and seek out some local collections and after 40 + years of collecting send in my first submissions to CGC and see what their all about. BTW you all seem like a swell bunch of guys, is there any Con you recommend? I hit Dragoncon every year but comics is such a small part of it im thinking of trying something new and not too big. Any suggestions??

 

It sounds like you're old enough to basically view this as your retirement "job", but too young to jump on the free government health insurance boondoggle. Do you have coverage through your spouse? You don't want to be 56 without health insurance (although is that going to be illegal in 2 years? I forget how Obamacare is supposed to work), that's when a lot of bad stuff starts happening to you and it is really hard to get back into the job market at that age and get a job with insurance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
the blob

the blob

Posted
Posted

Basically, if you can survive making netting $300-$500 a week then this is doable without a huge capital outlay, but you may very well be "working at it" 50+ hours a week. Then again, your boss will be you...and a bunch of crazy ebay customers.

 

Agree with another poster that San Antonio might not be a great place to be acquiring new inventory. For example, I live in NYC, which aside from being the center of comic publishing for many years, also has a few dozen local shows a year to go to and hunt down pricing mistakes by dealers (or stuff dealers can't be bothered with) and play convention/internet arbitrage, not to mention a fair number of local stores I can do the same with. (I don't actually go to that many, of course, I might only do 2 shows a year). Of course, there is always here or trying your luck on ebay (harder to make a buck nowadays buying lots on ebay and breaking them up than it used to be). There's plenty of good deals here to be had, but perhaps not enough quantity (because it's not like you can hit the buy it button for everything that pops up) to generate that $300-$500/week profit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lethal_Collector

Lethal_Collector

Posted
Posted

I decided instead of quitting my awesome job, that I collect during my free time and I collect more when I land big projects on the side :) Rather than trying to make it my full time job (as others have stated, its too hard to turn a good margin of profit) I am collecting as part of my retirement savings. Should things turn around for our economy, I'll have family heirlooms.

 

If nothing else, hopefully it will help me buy a modest house in NorCal when I retire...or if I can convince the wife a mansion in Central America lol

 

 

Jerome

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Go to topic listing