The last eBay thread?

[cousin itt]

Well, here's another unwelcome change to ebay... their "feed" photos now crop off the top and bottom of the photos. In the case of cgc comics, this means you can no longer see the label on the comic from the feed photo.

[kav]

If comic shops are so great, how come comic shop owners don't sell their comics to other comic shops? I mean like, consistently.

[HighRadArt]

If comic shops are so great, how come comic shop owners don't sell their comics to other comic shops? I mean like, consistently.

 

This makes no sense. Why would a comic shop buy their comics from another comic shop?

[kav]

If comic shops are so great, how come comic shop owners don't sell their comics to other comic shops? I mean like, consistently.

 

This makes no sense. Why would a comic shop buy their comics from another comic shop?

My point exactly. Why would anyone sell their books to a comic shop?

[VintageComics]

You can make fun of it but it's a fact comic shops pay 20% or less for comics.

 

That's about as big a generalization as saying that all people named kav only speak in generalizations.

I notice all the comic shop owners are defending comic shops the people that have tried to sell them are excoriating them

 

Generalizing again. The kavs vs the kav nots.

 

Generally speaking, comic shops will rip you off

 

Generally speaking, you're generalizing.

 

I know plenty of comic shop owners who are above reproach and plenty who don't. Much like you can say about most of the human race.

 

[kav]

You can make fun of it but it's a fact comic shops pay 20% or less for comics.

 

That's about as big a generalization as saying that all people named kav only speak in generalizations.

I notice all the comic shop owners are defending comic shops the people that have tried to sell them are excoriating them

 

Generalizing again. The kavs vs the kav nots.

 

Generally speaking, comic shops will rip you off

 

Generally speaking, you're generalizing.

 

I know plenty of comic shop owners who are above reproach and plenty who don't. Much like you can say about most of the human race.

There's nothing wrong with generalizing. Generally speaking, people have 2 legs. What's your point?

[VintageComics]

You can make fun of it but it's a fact comic shops pay 20% or less for comics.

 

That's about as big a generalization as saying that all people named kav only speak in generalizations.

I notice all the comic shop owners are defending comic shops the people that have tried to sell them are excoriating them

 

Generalizing again. The kavs vs the kav nots.

 

Generally speaking, comic shops will rip you off

 

Generally speaking, you're generalizing.

 

I know plenty of comic shop owners who are above reproach and plenty who don't. Much like you can say about most of the human race.

There's nothing wrong with generalizing. Generally speaking, people have 2 legs. What's your point?

 

This is about where I stop having a discussion with you again.

 

 

[revat]

Kav I think you might need to rethink your definition of 'rip you off'. If you agree to buy something at a price, and someone sells you exactly what you expected at that price, you have not been ripped off, you've done something I call 'buying'.

 

If you were somehow lied to about it, or given something other than what you've bought, THEN and ONLY then have you been ripped off.

 

What the seller paid for it has ZERO bearing on whether or not you've been ripped off, unless perhaps he lies to you about it.

 

If the LCS offers you a price for your comics and you accept, and they sell it for more (even much more), have you been ripped off? Not if they didn't lie to you about it. Is it nice? or best business practice? Maybe not, but there's a HUGE difference between not being nice and 'ripping people off'

 

 

 

Comic stores like most companies and stores, buy something at a lower price, then resell it to you for a gain. That gain goes to cover all the overhead and salary and taxes, and ideally there would be some leftover for them so they can buy food and clothe their children. These principles are the basics of something we call 'business'. This is the basis of 'economics.' Certainly your doctor wouldn't charge his wife or kids when they'll feel sick and he examines them, but that doesn't mean he's ripping you off when he charges you for an examination.

[kav]

You can make fun of it but it's a fact comic shops pay 20% or less for comics.

 

That's about as big a generalization as saying that all people named kav only speak in generalizations.

I notice all the comic shop owners are defending comic shops the people that have tried to sell them are excoriating them

 

Generalizing again. The kavs vs the kav nots.

 

Generally speaking, comic shops will rip you off

 

Generally speaking, you're generalizing.

 

I know plenty of comic shop owners who are above reproach and plenty who don't. Much like you can say about most of the human race.

There's nothing wrong with generalizing. Generally speaking, people have 2 legs. What's your point?

 

This is about where I stop having a discussion with you again.

 

Yes when I hammer home a point effectively that's when you back off I've noticed.

Let me ask you-as a comic shop owner how much would you give someone who walked in with a book that sells for $30 on ebay?

[kav]

Kav I think you might need to rethink your definition of 'rip you off'. If you agree to buy something at a price, and someone sells you exactly what you expected at that price, you have not been ripped off, you've done something I call 'buying'.

 

If you were somehow lied to about it, or given something other than what you've bought, THEN and ONLY then have you been ripped off.

 

What the seller paid for it has ZERO bearing on whether or not you've been ripped off, unless perhaps he lies to you about it.

 

If the LCS offers you a price for your comics and you accept, and they sell it for more (even much more), have you been ripped off? Not if they didn't lie to you about it. Is it nice? or best business practice? Maybe not, but there's a HUGE difference between not being nice and 'ripping people off'

 

 

 

Comic stores like most companies and stores, buy something at a lower price, then resell it to you for a gain. That gain goes to cover all the overhead and salary and taxes, and ideally there would be some leftover for them so they can buy food and clothe their children. These principles are the basics of something we call 'business'. This is the basis of 'economics.' Certainly your doctor wouldn't charge his wife or kids when they'll feel sick and he examines them, but that doesn't mean he's ripping you off when he charges you for an examination.

I'm just defending ebay-I can sell my $30 book for $30 on ebay-at a comic shop I'd get maybe $5. So if ebay goes away, I'm screwed.

[Bookery]

If comic shops are so great, how come comic shop owners don't sell their comics to other comic shops? I mean like, consistently.

 

If you're talking vintage stuff, the majority of my buyers are other dealers who pick and choose the stuff that works best for their individual markets.

 

As for 20%... if you're talking bulk garbage, sure. In fact, a dealer could get thousands of bulk comics for free that he's going to put in 50-cent of $1-boxes and still lose money! By the time you bag and board and pay someone to keep the stuff organized, if you don't have a high volume business you could still lose money even if you paid nothing for the stock itself!

 

I can rarely get any "good stuff" for less than 60%-70%, however. Yesterday I sold an FF #45 for $400. I paid $300 for it. (By my math, that's 75%, not 20%). This week a Boardie gave me a list of comics he had for sale. The "book" and.or GPA value was $18,000. But since most were raw, and the collection included a lot of bulk comics mixed in with decent collectibles, the realistic retail value was $12k - $13k. I offered $8k, and was turned down. (He sells on eBay). No problem. But that's 62%-75%, not 20%. Last year I offered $20k for a golden-age non-key collection valued at $27k (again turned down). But that's 74%, not 20%.

 

Over the years dealers like Dale Roberts, Harley Yee, Mark Scott, John Haines, many many others.... have paid me full "market" or with only a modest dealer discount for stuff they wanted. But then, of course, when they have to mark it up even a little to make a profit, Boardies no doubt scream that they are "rip-off sellers".

 

BTW--

 

What's with those ignorant farmers anyway? I wonder why they sell massive amounts of crops to chain food retailers for "pennies on the dollar". Don't they know they could make a lot more working 12-hour days, 365-days a year selling their stuff directly by the roadside? Crazy, huh?

 

 

[BettrFastrStrongr]

Wow, this thread has made a crazy turn. I wouldn't say LCS rip people off, people are basically offended when the shop gives them a price. In my experience, the person giving the price will also tell you why they would offer so little but people don't wanna hear about grading, the market, and costs that the shop would incur absorbing that inventory.

 

I always liked eBay just for the fact I don't have to go through the above process anymore.

[VintageComics]

Yes when I hammer home a point effectively that's when you back off I've noticed.

 

Believe, this is not you winning a discussion (just like last time). This is just me not wanting to waste my time arguing with someone who just wants to argue.

 

Yes, generally speaking [most] people have 2 legs. That is a fact that nobody can argue because the evidence is readily visible to 8 billion people. So that generalization is based on evidence that really can't be argued.

 

Saying all comic book stores screw people is an opinion, and there are both good and bad stores. And there are way more good stores than there are people who don't have two legs.

 

And it offends all of the good comic book store owners who don't screw people, of which I can name literally dozens.

 

Let me ask you-as a comic shop owner how much would you give someone who walked in with a book that sells for $30 on ebay?

 

I wouldn't offer to buy it. I generally don't buy $30 books.

 

But I can direct you to little old ladies whose collections I've bought at a loss for no other reason than because they needed the money.

 

 

 

 

[kav]

If comic shops are so great, how come comic shop owners don't sell their comics to other comic shops? I mean like, consistently.

 

If you're talking vintage stuff, the majority of my buyers are other dealers who pick and choose the stuff that works best for their individual markets.

 

As for 20%... if you're talking bulk garbage, sure. In fact, a dealer could get thousands of bulk comics for free that he's going to put in 50-cent of $1-boxes and still lose money! By the time you bag and board and pay someone to keep the stuff organized, if you don't have a high volume business you could still lose money even if you paid nothing for the stock itself!

 

I can rarely get any "good stuff" for less than 60%-70%, however. Yesterday I sold an FF #45 for $400. I paid $300 for it. (By my math, that's 75%, not 20%). This week a Boardie gave me a list of comics he had for sale. The "book" and.or GPA value was $18,000. But since most were raw, and the collection included a lot of bulk comics mixed in with decent collectibles, the realistic retail value was $12k - $13k. I offered $8k, and was turned down. (He sells on eBay). No problem. But that's 62%-75%, not 20%. Last year I offered $20k for a golden-age non-key collection valued at $27k (again turned down). But that's 74%, not 20%.

 

Over the years dealers like Dale Roberts, Harley Yee, Mark Scott, John Haines, many many others.... have paid me full "market" or with only a modest dealer discount for stuff they wanted. But then, of course, when they have to mark it up even a little to make a profit, Boardies no doubt scream that they are "rip-off sellers".

 

BTW--

 

What's with those ignorant farmers anyway? I wonder why they sell massive amounts of crops to chain food retailers for "pennies on the dollar". Don't they know they could make a lot more working 12-hour days, 365-days a year selling their stuff directly by the roadside? Crazy, huh?

 

How much would you give someone who walked in with a book that sells for $30 on ebay?

[VintageComics]

So if ebay goes away, I'm screwed.

 

So you're lashing out at all comic store owners because eBay can't stay profitable?

[kav]

Yes when I hammer home a point effectively that's when you back off I've noticed.

 

Believe, this is not you winning a discussion (just like last time). This is just me not wanting to waste my time arguing with someone who just wants to argue.

 

Yes, generally speaking [most] people have 2 legs. That is a fact that nobody can argue because the evidence is readily visible to 8 billion people. So that generalization is based on evidence that really can't be argued.

 

Saying all comic book stores screw people is an opinion, and there are both good and bad stores. And there are way more good stores than there are people who don't have two legs.

 

And it offends all of the good comic book store owners who don't screw people, of which I can name literally dozens.

 

Let me ask you-as a comic shop owner how much would you give someone who walked in with a book that sells for $30 on ebay?

 

I wouldn't offer to buy it. I generally don't buy $30 books.

 

But I can direct you to little old ladies whose collections I've bought at a loss for no other reason than because they needed the money.

 

 

 

Ok what books do you buy? $5 books? $400 books?

[romanheart]

eBay isn't going anywhere.

 

It is stupid for them to split apart payPal. CEOs don't know everything.

 

Kav means comic shops won't give you fair market value or anywhere close, which is true for the reasons stated previously.

 

eBay eliminates the need for a store front, so there is no pressure to deal with comic shop owners anymore.

 

If eBay did go, wouldn't some online store with a better business model just replace it. It's too lucrative an idea to thing an online buy/sell store wouldn't still be popular.

[kav]

eBay isn't going anywhere.

 

It is stupid for them to split apart payPal. CEOs don't know everything.

 

Kav means comic shops won't give you fair market value or anywhere close, which is true for the reasons stated previously.

 

eBay eliminates the need for a store front, so there is no pressure to deal with comic shop owners anymore.

 

If eBay did go, wouldn't some online store with a better business model just replace it. It's too lucrative an idea to thing an online buy/sell store wouldn't still be popular.

This is all I'm saying. I retract the statement they 'rip you off' implying some greed. It's just they have overhead etc.

[Darkowl]

It's almost Friday!

[revat]

Kav I think you might need to rethink your definition of 'rip you off'. If you agree to buy something at a price, and someone sells you exactly what you expected at that price, you have not been ripped off, you've done something I call 'buying'.

 

If you were somehow lied to about it, or given something other than what you've bought, THEN and ONLY then have you been ripped off.

 

What the seller paid for it has ZERO bearing on whether or not you've been ripped off, unless perhaps he lies to you about it.

 

If the LCS offers you a price for your comics and you accept, and they sell it for more (even much more), have you been ripped off? Not if they didn't lie to you about it. Is it nice? or best business practice? Maybe not, but there's a HUGE difference between not being nice and 'ripping people off'

 

 

 

Comic stores like most companies and stores, buy something at a lower price, then resell it to you for a gain. That gain goes to cover all the overhead and salary and taxes, and ideally there would be some leftover for them so they can buy food and clothe their children. These principles are the basics of something we call 'business'. This is the basis of 'economics.' Certainly your doctor wouldn't charge his wife or kids when they'll feel sick and he examines them, but that doesn't mean he's ripping you off when he charges you for an examination.

I'm just defending ebay-I can sell my $30 book for $30 on ebay-at a comic shop I'd get maybe $5. So if ebay goes away, I'm screwed.

 

not saying you shouldn't defend ebay. not saying you won't get much less at a comic book store. But there's a difference between "I will make less money selling comics to an LCS" and "Comic stores generally rip people off." How many comic store owners drive to work in the newest BMW, or take lots of vacations to exotic locales? They most certainly pay less for your wares, and most certainly charge more than other places, but they're generally doing it to get by, not to get rich. How many other things do they have to consider that your average ebayer doesn't have to think about?