Mike's Rack Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Profit margin really only works when you are having someone else do the work. I look at comics like this - my time is worth X per hour, if I turn X 'profit' per book, how many books would I need to process per hour to make it worth my time. I can pack label and ship around 12 packages per hour. If my 'profit' is only $2.00 per package then I make $24.00 per hour. This does not account for any other time, fees, supplies, taxes, books that never sell for cover, returns, wine spills, other disasters and whatnot. This would have been great 20 years ago, but now, not so much. Flipping is a young man's game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBT Posted March 28, 2013 Author Share Posted March 28, 2013 I wonder where viperdayz is. I was thinking of him when we started talking crazy numbers I am sure he is lurking, my passive aggressive pot shots at his business model havent flushed him out, and I am generally trying to behave I made peace with Hulk, so I might as well make peace with viper too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBT Posted March 28, 2013 Author Share Posted March 28, 2013 Profit margin really only works when you are having someone else do the work. I look at comics like this - my time is worth X per hour, if I turn X 'profit' per book, how many books would I need to process per hour to make it worth my time. I can pack label and ship around 12 packages per hour. If my 'profit' is only $2.00 per package then I make $24.00 per hour. This does not account for any other time, fees, supplies, taxes, books that never sell for cover, returns, wine spills, other disasters and whatnot. This would have been great 20 years ago, but now, not so much. Flipping is a young man's game. nice post mldynes, my view is, if you are going to order 100s, just cut out the middle man. You might as well just start an account and order from Diamond. The requirements are low, and online stores are allowed. You would already be ordering in excess of the monthly minimums Flipping high quality/margin with lower numbers, is definitely much easier than being low margin high volume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Point Five Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Profit margin really only works when you are having someone else do the work. I look at comics like this - my time is worth X per hour, if I turn X 'profit' per book, how many books would I need to process per hour to make it worth my time. I can pack label and ship around 12 packages per hour. If my 'profit' is only $2.00 per package then I make $24.00 per hour. This does not account for any other time, fees, supplies, taxes, books that never sell for cover, returns, wine spills, other disasters and whatnot. This would have been great 20 years ago, but now, not so much. Flipping is a young man's game. Very well said. (Except that I manage to pack, label and ship about 3 packages an hour.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThoseBackPages Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 The race is on for the first 9.8+ to be listed on eBay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike's Rack Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Profit margin really only works when you are having someone else do the work. I look at comics like this - my time is worth X per hour, if I turn X 'profit' per book, how many books would I need to process per hour to make it worth my time. I can pack label and ship around 12 packages per hour. If my 'profit' is only $2.00 per package then I make $24.00 per hour. This does not account for any other time, fees, supplies, taxes, books that never sell for cover, returns, wine spills, other disasters and whatnot. This would have been great 20 years ago, but now, not so much. Flipping is a young man's game. Very well said. (Except that I manage to pack, label and ship about 3 packages an hour.) Your package is probably larger than mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wushugushu Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Flipping is indeed a young mans game. I have yet to transfer any of my profits out of my paypal account but I've been able to build an expensive collection for myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mashed Potatoes-migration Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 my FP still says Processing...... If it did not ship yet, I don't think it will ship till April 2. There is a bank Easter holiday there. I think they are now closed and coming back on the 2nd. That is what their auto response email says anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike's Rack Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Flipping is indeed a young mans game. I have yet to transfer any of my profits out of my paypal account but I've been able to build an expensive collection for myself Don't get me wrong youngster, I like to buy and resell books, I'm just not into flipping penny stocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wushugushu Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 (edited) Flipping is indeed a young mans game. I have yet to transfer any of my profits out of my paypal account but I've been able to build an expensive collection for myself Don't get me wrong youngster, I like to buy and resell books, I'm just not into flipping penny stocks. Double cover is a lot of money for some of the guys around here. Time that can be spent making real money.... Edited March 28, 2013 by wushugushu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike's Rack Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 I HAVE Flipping is indeed a young mans game. I have yet to transfer any of my profits out of my paypal account but I've been able to build an expensive collection for myself Don't get me wrong youngster, I like to buy and resell books, I'm just not into flipping penny stocks. Double cover is a lot of money for some of the guys around here. Time that can be spent making real money.... I'm not sure exactally what you are saying but I agree with this part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venom Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 I think every person that flips for a dollar or two right after release, is in tears a few months down the line when that same book has doubled or tripled in value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balham's Finest Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 I genuinely hope Hickman never reads this thread. Same goes for most other creators of moderns. I honestly can't imagine what they would think about 95%+ of posts being about how people can or can't make money off their books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike's Rack Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Yeah, it can be a bit disrespectful to the work, and for that However, I would imagine they are aware of the phenomenon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBT Posted March 28, 2013 Author Share Posted March 28, 2013 anyone writing comics post 1980 has to be aware that its a collecting hobby as well as a reading hobby. I think they would view it with mixed reactions. -thanks for the money -dont crash my book by hoarding it type deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetalPanda360 Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Just got a call from my LCS telling me they got 2 copies of East of West on hold for me, according to him they are fresh 9.8s unopened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThoseBackPages Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Just got a call from my LCS telling me they got 2 copies of East of West on hold for me, according to him they are fresh 9.8s unopened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katchoo Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 I genuinely hope Hickman never reads this thread. Same goes for most other creators of moderns. I honestly can't imagine what they would think about 95%+ of posts being about how people can or can't make money off their books. Yeah. I tried making that point once when people were and right in front of a creator because the print run of their comic was tiny. My point wasn't received too well by the forum regulars, unfortunately, so prepare for the potential backlash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexus Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 I genuinely hope Hickman never reads this thread. Same goes for most other creators of moderns. I honestly can't imagine what they would think about 95%+ of posts being about how people can or can't make money off their books. Yeah. I tried making that point once when people were and right in front of a creator because the print run of their comic was tiny. My point wasn't received too well by the forum regulars, unfortunately, so prepare for the potential backlash. The point might be better made by someone who doesn't also advocate for pirated downloads in this same forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstar Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 I genuinely hope Hickman never reads this thread. Same goes for most other creators of moderns. I honestly can't imagine what they would think about 95%+ of posts being about how people can or can't make money off their books. They probably wouldn't care. They know they still have an audience that actually cares about their work Speculation leads to sales which gives the creators the ability to continue to do what they enjoy/love and make a living doing it. Increased sales gives them more leeway and bargaining power regarding their ideas/desires for future books/projects. Also many users here seem to only speculate enough to make their comic book hobby self sustaining. Meaning they only sell enough on the secondary market to cover what they buy to read and/or collect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...