Bargain Bins

[Ariamus]

Having embraced the comics hobby after a long hiatus and having foolishly liquidated my entire collection way back when....pause for a slight sob...I'm inclined to hunt for some of the titles that I had before my personal comics apocalypse. Some of those quirky things were a lot of fun to read and I would love to read them again. Besides, being the pack rat that I am, I take "collecting" to some seriously deranged heights.

 

Fortunately for me, a lot of the stuff that I want to read again has not "aged" so well and can be found at bargain bin prices. Lets face it, if there was anything besides a novelty market for alternate reality comics such as Marvel's 2099 and New Universe books, DC's Milestone Comics imprint, and Malibu's Ultraverse, they would might still be in print today. (hell, I read that Marvel plans to add a couple of dozen titles this year so there's hope yet)

 

Unfortunately for me, none of the comic book stores in my area (or even the ones I go by in my LONG commute to and from work) have anything resembling a bargain bin. I had to go out of my way about an hour today to run into a comic book store that actually had a 25 cent bin (from which I promptly liberated about 100 comics). Still, it was woeful at best, consisting of only 3 long boxes.

 

Whatever happened to the bargain bin? I remember back in the day (the 1980's) that every comic book shop had a bargain bin, and a significant one at that. Most of them were 20 cents to a quarter per book, but there was one seller that had a stand in the local weekend flee market with dozens of long boxes at a dime apiece. Heck, I jumped on Alpha Flight around issue 30 back then and I remember filling my entire back issue needs out of that guy's dime boxes. Nowadays, the shops that have bargain bins are charging a buck a book. That's hardly a bargain. And even E-bay, the eden of pack rats such as myself is hardly the place for such needs. Lets face it, even though the rare bargain can be had, it seems to me to be pretty ridiculous to pay half a dozen different sellers shipping charges just so that I can complete my DP7 or Mantra collections.

 

Are there any e-tailers out there for the bargain hunter in me? Internet retail shopping for comics is the one avenue I haven't explored since my return to the hobby but I sense even there that all hope is lost. Woe is me.

 

Sorry for the mellodrama....it's cathartic

[The_Man_Of_Steel]

I think your asking the wrong people around here. If they knew of such a comic book retailer, they wouldn't let you know for fear that you might "steal" their deals. If I knew of such a retailer, I would let you know. Most of the good deals I've found were through eBay, but then again with eBay you have to be able to take the good with the bad, so it's not for everyone. Look for large lots of 100+ books. Your more likely to get a good deal buying in bulk.

[The_Man_Of_Steel]

I almost forgot about a couple of places...

 

The first place you might want to check is East Coast Comics They have comics for .50 cents and .75 cents

 

The second place you might want to check out is CoverPrice.com The name of the site says it all.

 

Of these two online comic retailers, I have purchased from East Coast Comics in the past (many years ago tho) and my purchase history with them is a positive one.

[comicparadox]

Thanks very much for the CoverPrice.com recommendation. It's hard to believe that they have Action 1 for 50 cents. That is only 5x the original cover price of one thin dime. I guess I missed out on their Detective 27, though. I can't wait to see how the Action 1 grades out. That's the only problem I see with the site, they don't individually grade books. Nevertheless, it's an online bargain bin!!

[collectorscavern-migration]

If you're looking for new books, I have many great deals on them. I usually end up with many newer books along with older books in collections I buy. I have around 120,000 newer (I consider anything after 1989 "new") comics that I could sell cheap (around 25 to 50 cents a book) if you knew what you wanted. If you're into a variety of stuff, I also offer my NM newer books grab bags of 10 books (guaranteed better collectable DC and Marvel only stuff, like Batman, Spider-Man, X-Men, Daredevil, Thor, Iron Man, etc, no independent type stuff) for $6.00 (that's about 60 cents each) or 20 of the same type books for $11.00 (55 cents each). Shipping is free on these.

 

These have been very popular with many bargain hunters to build their collections with, and i've sold thousands of them in my area in the past with very good results. Let me know if you have specific series that you want, or if you have any interest at all in my variety packs.

 

Also: I don't know many stores, online or otherwise, that offer books for a quarter anymore. I too remember those days.

[blowout]

"I think your asking the wrong people around here. If they knew of such a comic book retailer, they wouldn't let you know for fear that you might "steal" their deals. If I knew of such a retailer, I would let you know."

 

Thats funny MOS, so now you are mister nice guy and everyone else here are all out for themselves?

Boy, you sure know how to win friends and influence people.

 

Back to the question, ebay is the place to start. If you have no luck there, you might want to consider placing adds in CBG and the like. I am sure there are many, many collectors out there that would like to off-load their copies of DP7, Starbrand etc.

[The_Man_Of_Steel]

Thats funny MOS, so now you are mister nice guy and everyone else here are all out for themselves?

 

I'm NOT "mister nice guy", but I am a nice guy. I never said "everyone else here are all out for themselves?", Although I have no control over it, I would appreciate it if you didn't take offense to what I say so easily. You are making an issue out of no issue. Wouldn't you say that MOST (not all) people look out for themselves? Be honest now...

 

Boy, you sure know how to win friends and influence people.

 

When I first started posting here, I thought you were one of the nice people, but the rudeness of your comments becomes more and more evident as time progresses. How's your buddy C.I. doing? They say that "birds of a feather flock together", is that true? It's funny how you criticize my ability to "win friends" (as if they were prizes) and "influence people". So is this your way of trying to "win" my friendship? ROFL

 

Back to the question, ebay is the place to start.

 

Really? If you would have read the guy's post you would have noticed that he would rather NOT pay 15 different eBay sellers shipping & handling fees. He's looking for another online source than eBay. How do you like my Blowout "like" response? Just a little rude, no?

[murph0]

As much as I hate to say it b/c their grading sucks, Mile High comics does have dollar comics available. I don't know what exactly but they do. Might also try Newkadia.com

 

Brian

[Rickdogg]

Whao.

 

I think B.O. (hehe B.O. ) was just messing around there buddy

[chrisco37]

Are there ever any comics shows in your area? Thats where I would start. There are always tons of bargain bins at shows. I took my ocusin to a show a few months back and for like $25 he walked out with a long box stuffed with 70's-80's books.

 

Second, like MOS said, your best bet would be to buy bulk on ebay.

 

Good link on the coverprice.com, MOS. I'd never seen that site before!

 

Chris

[blowout]

MOS, take it easy my friend. If being 'highly strung' and 'easily offended' were olympic sports you would be the front runner for a gold medal.

 

The things I said in my previous post were meant in jest.

I apologise if you didn't tale it that way. You are one of the most helpful/informative posters around here and I have no desire to get into a feud with you (I especially liked your post in the advice for new collectors). Having said that, I wish that you would at least try to not take yourself so seriously.

Talking about and collecting comic books is supposed to be fun.

 

BTW, Ricky, your card has been marked.........BO indeed

[Bugaboo-migration]

The things I said in my previous post were meant in jest.

I'm not sure how to reply to this statement. I have studied ancient times and Court Jesters were an important part of the community. Was this statment meant in a derogatory way towards them? You come off sounding like a complete [!@#%^&^] [!@#%^&^] and a huge [!@#%^&^] stain you dirty [!@#%^&^] [!@#%^&^]. Why don't you go chew on a [!@#%^&^] [!@#%^&^] you lousy [!@#%^&^].

 

***** edit *****

I almost forgot........you're also a [!@#%^&^] [!@#%^&^] [!@#%^&^] [!@#%^&^].

[blowout]

Thanks for the support Bug.

[Guest]

MOS is the holier than thou type around these boards. No sir.....I dont like him. I say we call him POS. Or Ned Flanders....

[ubiquiti]

Maybe Disco Stu.....

Also - as for where tollok for comics - I do this and it is super hit or miss, but when you hit, it is quite gratifying. Look in you paper for garage sales in your local area with keyword comic...If you live in a large community - you should find a couple per month - go and see what they got. Most times you'll find mid 90's copies of X-Man, X-Factor, etc. but who knows - you may just find that Hulk 181 in really high grade thats been stashed away for 25 years - that makes it all worth it!

[Guest]

or how about Skinner....lives with mom still as does MOS!

[dam60]

Garage sales are a GREAT idea!! I actually bought a fantastic collection this year at a flea market. I agree that you probably won't get that NM+ Hulk 181, but who knows?

[FlyingDonut]

i got an (admittedly low grade) Tales of Suspense 39 at a garage sale for 10 cents.

 

[Joanna]

Dungeon, please don't be unkind to MOS.

[Guest]

Because you asked nicely.....Ill leave him alone.