Candid VCC Discussion - Post your Opinions.

[fastballspecial]

How about something like this for the next VCC:

 

A hard cap on the number of books or items each seller can list (something like 25 books or items maybe); and it must be all new material not previously offered on the boards or as part of previous VCC's.

 

Cap it at 100 booths (wishful thinking that there would be that many sellers booths but whatever) and advertise like crazy.

 

2,500 books all in one place at one time. No seller's fees, no buyer's premiums. Come in and browse!

 

Call it the VCC Pride and Joy Con or the No Dreck VCC or something similar...

 

 

I vote No Dreck VCC, but it would a nightmare to enforce and regulate.

[fastballspecial]

I've taken part in a couple of VCCs as a seller and IMO have found it to be far less work than running a sales thread. At least a good one anyway. I've always found re-caps for a thread to be more work than setting up and maintaining a booth for the VCC.

 

+1 I agree its a nightmare posting re-caps. Then when you close the thread you get 3 more buyers wanting to buy every time.

[joecgcmaniac]

How about something like this for the next VCC:

 

A hard cap on the number of books or items each seller can list (something like 25 books or items maybe); and it must be all new material not previously offered on the boards or as part of previous VCC's.

 

Cap it at 100 booths (wishful thinking that there would be that many sellers booths but whatever) and advertise like crazy.

 

2,500 books all in one place at one time. No seller's fees, no buyer's premiums. Come in and browse!

 

Call it the VCC Pride and Joy Con or the No Dreck VCC or something similar...

 

 

I vote No Dreck VCC, but it would a nightmare to enforce and regulate.

 

Especially since greggy's drek is better than a lot of people's best books.

[greggy]

How about something like this for the next VCC:

 

A hard cap on the number of books or items each seller can list (something like 25 books or items maybe); and it must be all new material not previously offered on the boards or as part of previous VCC's.

 

Cap it at 100 booths (wishful thinking that there would be that many sellers booths but whatever) and advertise like crazy.

 

2,500 books all in one place at one time. No seller's fees, no buyer's premiums. Come in and browse!

 

Call it the VCC Pride and Joy Con or the No Dreck VCC or something similar...

 

 

I vote No Dreck VCC, but it would a nightmare to enforce and regulate.

 

Especially since greggy's drek is better than a lot of people's best books.

True but the cheaparses are too cheap nowadays.

[slym2none]

I'd hope Harris Teeters and Krogers would close their doors if there was a grocery store festival going on right down the street rather than keep their stores open.

 

This is in no way meant to be insulting, it is not a personal attack:

 

mess in one hand, hope in the other, and see which one fills up first.

 

HT & Kroger (Kroger bought HT not long ago, the only reason I used those two stores) would likely put on a big sale to get attention away from the grocery store festival, or at least get some of the traffic going their way.

 

 

 

-slym

[slym2none]

 

I disagree and say shut it down for the weekend. They can adjust their schedules 3 times a year or so.

 

Or, you can let people decide what they want to do and when, and not put limitations on them. I don't think Kroger is going to shut down all the Harris Teeters when Kroger wants to run a big sale.

 

(thumbs u

 

Using a grocery store comparison really doesn't apply here. I am not trying to starve anyone .

 

I think it is a perfectly apt comparison. Also, Kroger & HT aren't trying to starve anyone either - they are trying to feed them.

 

 

 

-slym

[1Cool]

I think a limitation on the number of pictures would be nice from a buyers stand point. People could maybe have 20-30 pictures and then have clickable links for the rest of the books. And then have list for $1 books. That will reduce the overkill of pictures.

 

Another idea would be to have a artist corner where the board artist can sell their stuff or we could possible get some lesser know artist to sell prints. I'm sure with all the experience in the room that people know some artist.

 

What about inviting the toon tumbler guys to put together a booth or maybe the slab pro guys. It's definitely a good way to get some product exposure.

[Dale Roberts]

Why does everything have to be regulated? You asked for candid opinions, so here's mine.

 

Let every one do what they want and let it all work itself out. Its called free enterprise. If the VCC is great, has great books, great sellers, and great deals, it won't need the sales forum to close to be successful. If it is full of a bunch of drek and dollar books, and junk that nobody wants, then it is going to be an afterthought.

[paperheart]

Why does everything have to be regulated? You asked for candid opinions, so here's mine.

 

Let every one do what they want and let it all work itself out. Its called free enterprise. If the VCC is great, has great books, great sellers, and great deals, it won't need the sales forum to close to be successful. If it is full of a bunch of drek and dollar books, and junk that nobody wants, then it is going to be an afterthought.

 

+1, booths are already limited in how many pics can be included before the page won't load (maybe around 120 IIRC). i like to be able to find $1 books and cheap TPB's. who's going to bother listing that kind of stuff if you're limited to 25 pics? bringing in people who don't frequent the boards is important; don't know what other steps can be taken to make this happen besides the ones that are already being used. having people who reserve a spot actually creating a booth would also be nice.

[Ryan.]

free enterprise

 

[Jeffro.]

Why does everything have to be regulated? You asked for candid opinions, so here's mine.

 

Let every one do what they want and let it all work itself out. Its called free enterprise. If the VCC is great, has great books, great sellers, and great deals, it won't need the sales forum to close to be successful. If it is full of a bunch of drek and dollar books, and junk that nobody wants, then it is going to be an afterthought.

 

+1, booths are already limited in how many pics can be included before the page won't load (maybe around 120 IIRC). i like to be able to find $1 books and cheap TPB's. who's going to bother listing that kind of stuff if you're limited to 25 pics? bringing in people who don't frequent the boards is important; don't know what other steps can be taken to make this happen besides the ones that are already being used. having people who reserve a spot actually creating a booth would also be nice.

 

I can say with certainty that if I am limited to 20 or 30 comics, I won't participate.

[lizards2]

I'm probably one of the few overseas boardies that has participated in all of the VCCs, about half a dozen as a seller and all of them as a buyer. My first attempt at a booth was a bust, but there was a LOT of stuff for sale and a lot of sellers during those first few VCCs.

 

The next few attempts I mostly put up keys and books over $100 and sold out my booth completely a few times. On average prices were 10 to 15% under GPA or current market prices.

I figure I'm not paying any fees or commission so why not factor that into account when selling.

So if me, who lives halfway across the world can manage a few successful VCCs, I'm sure anyone can. I never put up more than 15 books and setting up the booth takes about an hour.

The only snag is that I never get a decent spot as I don't want to get up at 4 AM to claim a prime piece of real estate. But hey page #4 isn't that bad either

 

As a buyer I've been a little underwhelmed the past 2 or 3 VCCs, a lot of sellers tend to recycle the stuff that didn't sell the previous times, some books are offered again and again, stifling the urge to look through a seller's booth to see if he has anything new for sale sandwiched between all the leftovers.

 

The bolded part above is one of the reasons why the last few VCCs seemed to have stagnated a bit. The same sellers, offering the same books, at the same prices. If they want to move books, you would think they might try lowering prices a bit, instead of continuously putting the same tired product out time and time again at a price that it won't move at.

 

The reality of the situation is that there are different buyers at different times around here. You can list the same book at the same price ten times, and on the eleventh go-around, it will sell. Some of us don't need the money, and don't need to discount to eventually unload stuff. The real problem with the last 2 or 3 VCCs is a lack of participation by sellers. You can't have too many books, too many booths, etc. If you're not interested, then skip over that booth.

[1Cool]

I wasn't suggesting a limit on the number of comics for sale but a limit on thumb pictures per booth. The pictures are for the "wall" books and clickable links are for the rest of the books in the comic boxes. If I see a Tomb of Dracula #10 in VF for $80 I'm willing to click on a link to see a picture. The 100 pictures of $1 books just drags the whole thing down in my opinion.

[1Cool]

I'm probably one of the few overseas boardies that has participated in all of the VCCs, about half a dozen as a seller and all of them as a buyer. My first attempt at a booth was a bust, but there was a LOT of stuff for sale and a lot of sellers during those first few VCCs.

 

The next few attempts I mostly put up keys and books over $100 and sold out my booth completely a few times. On average prices were 10 to 15% under GPA or current market prices.

I figure I'm not paying any fees or commission so why not factor that into account when selling.

So if me, who lives halfway across the world can manage a few successful VCCs, I'm sure anyone can. I never put up more than 15 books and setting up the booth takes about an hour.

The only snag is that I never get a decent spot as I don't want to get up at 4 AM to claim a prime piece of real estate. But hey page #4 isn't that bad either

 

As a buyer I've been a little underwhelmed the past 2 or 3 VCCs, a lot of sellers tend to recycle the stuff that didn't sell the previous times, some books are offered again and again, stifling the urge to look through a seller's booth to see if he has anything new for sale sandwiched between all the leftovers.

 

The bolded part above is one of the reasons why the last few VCCs seemed to have stagnated a bit. The same sellers, offering the same books, at the same prices. If they want to move books, you would think they might try lowering prices a bit, instead of continuously putting the same tired product out time and time again at a price that it won't move at.

 

The reality of the situation is that there are different buyers at different times around here. You can list the same book at the same price ten times, and on the eleventh go-around, it will sell. Some of us don't need the money, and don't need to discount to eventually unload stuff. The real problem with the last 2 or 3 VCCs is a lack of participation by sellers. You can't have too many books, too many booths, etc. If you're not interested, then skip over that booth.

Setting up a booth takes a lot of time and if not much sells then it makes sense to simply repost the exact same books again since its already set up. But who wants to see the same books year after year?

[joecgcmaniac]

I wasn't suggesting a limit on the number of comics for sale but a limit on thumb pictures per booth. The pictures are for the "wall" books and clickable links are for the rest of the books in the comic boxes. If I see a Tomb of Dracula #10 in VF for $80 I'm willing to click on a link to see a picture. The 100 pictures of $1 books just drags the whole thing down in my opinion.

 

But as others have said in this thread, if they don't see pictures that grab their attention, they just keep scrolling. A lot of people don't want to read through every description just trying to find what they might like, especially when they are used to getting pictures included, and not just descriptions. If a booth consists mainly of clickable links and not thumbnails, most people will just keep scrolling.

[lizards2]

I'm probably one of the few overseas boardies that has participated in all of the VCCs, about half a dozen as a seller and all of them as a buyer. My first attempt at a booth was a bust, but there was a LOT of stuff for sale and a lot of sellers during those first few VCCs.

 

The next few attempts I mostly put up keys and books over $100 and sold out my booth completely a few times. On average prices were 10 to 15% under GPA or current market prices.

I figure I'm not paying any fees or commission so why not factor that into account when selling.

So if me, who lives halfway across the world can manage a few successful VCCs, I'm sure anyone can. I never put up more than 15 books and setting up the booth takes about an hour.

The only snag is that I never get a decent spot as I don't want to get up at 4 AM to claim a prime piece of real estate. But hey page #4 isn't that bad either

 

As a buyer I've been a little underwhelmed the past 2 or 3 VCCs, a lot of sellers tend to recycle the stuff that didn't sell the previous times, some books are offered again and again, stifling the urge to look through a seller's booth to see if he has anything new for sale sandwiched between all the leftovers.

 

The bolded part above is one of the reasons why the last few VCCs seemed to have stagnated a bit. The same sellers, offering the same books, at the same prices. If they want to move books, you would think they might try lowering prices a bit, instead of continuously putting the same tired product out time and time again at a price that it won't move at.

 

The reality of the situation is that there are different buyers at different times around here. You can list the same book at the same price ten times, and on the eleventh go-around, it will sell. Some of us don't need the money, and don't need to discount to eventually unload stuff. The real problem with the last 2 or 3 VCCs is a lack of participation by sellers. You can't have too many books, too many booths, etc. If you're not interested, then skip over that booth.

Setting up a booth takes a lot of time and if not much sells then it makes sense to simply repost the exact same books again since its already set up. But who wants to see the same books year after year?

The people that weren't there, or were there, and had other books to spend their money on. Look, most of the books that sold in my Galactic Buffet last weekend were books that have been up more than once, more than twice.

 

Of the books you bought at that sale, I know the Marvel Premiere 47 & 48 have been up several times. The Marvel Team Up 4 had been up at least 10 to 15 times, and lasted through 6-7 VCCs. This time it sells. If anything, the price probably went up on that book from when I first listed it 5-6 years ago, and I know I tacked on quite a bit to the two MPs this time. This time they sell - at a higher price - to you.

 

Here is the approximate math from that sale:

 

Total books sold = 45

 

Books listed for the first time = 19

Books listed twice = 2

Books listed 5+ times = 10

Books listed 10+ times = 14

 

Where would I be if I did not repeat listings?

 

[paperheart]

I'm probably one of the few overseas boardies that has participated in all of the VCCs, about half a dozen as a seller and all of them as a buyer. My first attempt at a booth was a bust, but there was a LOT of stuff for sale and a lot of sellers during those first few VCCs.

 

The next few attempts I mostly put up keys and books over $100 and sold out my booth completely a few times. On average prices were 10 to 15% under GPA or current market prices.

I figure I'm not paying any fees or commission so why not factor that into account when selling.

So if me, who lives halfway across the world can manage a few successful VCCs, I'm sure anyone can. I never put up more than 15 books and setting up the booth takes about an hour.

The only snag is that I never get a decent spot as I don't want to get up at 4 AM to claim a prime piece of real estate. But hey page #4 isn't that bad either

 

As a buyer I've been a little underwhelmed the past 2 or 3 VCCs, a lot of sellers tend to recycle the stuff that didn't sell the previous times, some books are offered again and again, stifling the urge to look through a seller's booth to see if he has anything new for sale sandwiched between all the leftovers.

 

The bolded part above is one of the reasons why the last few VCCs seemed to have stagnated a bit. The same sellers, offering the same books, at the same prices. If they want to move books, you would think they might try lowering prices a bit, instead of continuously putting the same tired product out time and time again at a price that it won't move at.

 

The reality of the situation is that there are different buyers at different times around here. You can list the same book at the same price ten times, and on the eleventh go-around, it will sell. Some of us don't need the money, and don't need to discount to eventually unload stuff. The real problem with the last 2 or 3 VCCs is a lack of participation by sellers. You can't have too many books, too many booths, etc. If you're not interested, then skip over that booth.

Setting up a booth takes a lot of time and if not much sells then it makes sense to simply repost the exact same books again since its already set up. But who wants to see the same books year after year?

The people that weren't there, or were there, and had other books to spend their money on. Look, most of the books that sold in my Galactic Buffet last weekend were books that have been up more than once, more than twice.

 

Of the books you bought at that sale, I know the Marvel Premiere 47 & 48 have been up several times. The Marvel Team Up 4 had been up at least 10 to 15 times, and lasted through 6-7 VCCs. This time it sells. If anything, the price probably went up on that book from when I first listed it 5-6 years ago, and I know I tacked on quite a bit to the two MPs this time. This time they sell - at a higher price - to you.

 

Here is the approximate math from that sale:

 

Total books sold = 45

 

Books listed for the first time = 19

Books listed twice = 2

Books listed 5+ times = 10

Books listed 10+ times = 14

 

Where would I be if I did not repeat listings?

 

Marketing Rule of 7 in action. Heck, i list stuff that i'm sure will sell and it sits and other stuff that i've listed previously and it sells. in my experience, it's nearly a complete crapshoot as to what sells and what doesn't.

[A.Romeo]

Always wondered what the VCC was and never really understood it. Maybe more education on it will attract people

[Buzzetta]

Honesty? Ok..

 

1st - I appreciate what Donut and the rest of you do in managing this whole thing. That in itself appears to be quite a bit of work and it is appreciated as it contributes toward the life of the boards. So anything that does that is a good thing.

 

If you want to truly make the VCC something special, then there needs to be some type of serious sit down and brainstorming as to how to make it something other than a cluttered FS thread. Here are some major issues that prevent me from shopping in it even after going through the listings several times.

 

The Pros

1 - Putting everything in one thread allows me to do an instant search for a title and book through everyone's thread. That is kind of nice.

 

2 - It does attract a higher bit of traffic of sellers listing books. So that too is nice that I know that there will be a lot of books offered.

 

 

The Cons

1 - The PM process to claim a book is a bit unrealistic in a way. At a real comic con I can see that someone else has a book in hand so I don't have to wait around for a response to see if it is still available. If I am interested in a $2 book then I might be interested in a number of them. If all of them are claimed in the PM before me except for 1 or 2 issues then I don't want to do the deal as it may not be worth the shipping. In a regular FS thread I can simply see what is still available and decide whether or not I want to take a number of books at once.

 

2 - In most FS threads there seems to be more of an organization than the perceived mess of thumbnails allow. When I go through someone's FS thread, I scroll and get to see big pics that catch my eye to see if I want to slow down. I cannot catch the Thumbnails and often overlook things.

 

3 - As someone who occasionally sells books on the boards, it seems easier to sell them in the regular divisions of the forum as there is a little more freedom.

 

4 - I do not like the whole purchasing concept of PMs. I prefer the in the virtual world

 

5 - I enjoy going through the threads and do not see the real advantage or the special nature of the VCC.

 

 

[dupont2005]

I love the VCC and actually joined the forums because someone linked to the VCC on CBR. I was blown away with the prices on some of the stuff so I joined right away.

 

I don't always shop at the VCC though, and have severely cut back on back issue spending. I can't hoard comics anymore

 

I don't know if there's a way to make it much better. I think things could be much better, but it would require designing a whole new forum that is built around VCC booths. Not likely