Who reads the Comic Buyer's Guide?

[esquirecomics]

I am contemplating advertising in the CBG. I already have two full page ads coming out in the next Overstreet Guide.

 

As anyone who reads one of my postings knows, I specialize in high grade/key books from 1930-1963, and many of my books will be pricey (due to value, not b/c of any attempt to generate huge profits at the expense of the collector). There will be many books priced between $5k to $50k, and few under $500.

 

The CBC supposedly has a circulation of 40,000 readers, of which 7,000 are from subscriptions. I would be interested to know who is reading the CBG and whether that reader is potentially - realistically - my customer. Full page color ads run close to $2k with CBG.

 

I welcome any comments from collectors and dealers alike, and I would appreciate identification of which category you fall into. I am particularly interested to hear from those of you who collect Platinum, GA, Atomic Age books (1930-1955) as those will be my primary areas. Thanks.

[Jgel]

I am not the buyer you are looking for. I sub. and I collect mostly $500 and under Bronze and some silver. But your ROI seems strong with 5k-50k books. How many sales do you need to get back your 2k ad investment? (Sorry I used to sell advertising)

[Foolkiller]

I used to read it, but I just find the magazine less interesting than I used to. Plus, I don't like the new format they adopted. However, I think it is still a useful tool. But, I would say that anyone looking to spend that kind of money and looking for those books is probably going to come to be aware of your site if you advertised in the Overstreet already (which I thought you said you had). But more publicity is never a bad thing.

[whomerjay]

I was never a fan of CBG because I got the impression that it was read by:

 

1) dealers who would buy only very low and sell very high; and

2) collectors who were looking for steals only.

 

But my opinon was based on what I saw in Moderns and SA at that time, I knew little of buying or selling GA. Maybe it's OK for dealing in GA.

 

 

Plus I found it toCBG run by automatons who were only interested in selling you the guide or its advertising. They were very unresponsive the several times I alerted them that scams were being run in their publication (for example, the Jack Hammersly affair several years ago).

 

That being said, the point above (that if your items are big ticket you need to sell maybe one to make it worthwhile) is a good one.

[Tomega]

I have had a subscription to CBG for two years, I do look at the ads but infrequently by from them. A lot of the ads I find unprofessional and do not have what I am looking for. I do think it would be great exposure for you and I think the type of customer you are looking for may respond to an ad from you. You may want to consider trying to make the ad as professional as possible but with minimal items. I find it annoying and tend to skip over an ad that is a huge laundry list of comics- getting your name out there is more important.

[whetteon]

I read and have a monthly subscription to CBG. I like the new format and prefer it over Wizard and it comes out more then once a year so it fits my needs perfectly. Having said that I fall under the same category that Jgel does. Almost to a tee (we must be twins!). I collect Bronze Age, a few Silver Age and a handful of Copper. I'd be interested in your $500 and less books but I'm not your target audience for the $5k or higher ones.

 

I disagree on the "collectors loking for steals" since I actively read the back ads looking for those particular bargain and only find people selling their books for way over current guide Must be the dealers .

[Thegoldenage]

I stopped subscribing to CBG years ago. I found their over-the-top hype of the hobby while completely ignoring industry downturns to be sickening. Even today the devote a lot of space to telling readers how many multiples of guide CGC books are selling for, even after it was shown that their numbers are bogus. I also find the 40,000 reader number questionable. They used to have those kind of sales numbers, but ebay and the Internet in general killed them.

 

Do you have a website? I collect in the $500.00-20k range.

[aardvark88]

U could also try an ad in Krause Publications' Comics Retailer monthly mag. Most of the very hi-end collectors are or know their local comic retailers.

[sterlingcomics]

Just a humble obervation, but everything I see in CBG seems to be geared generally to the new comic collector, because it's chock full of facts--and primarily focussed on silver and bronze. The pricing information is great, but I don't see a tremendous focus on GA there. I would concur that the majority of the readership population is concerned with a smaller budget. Of course, this is all just speculation on my part. Perhaps you need to drill CBG advertising a little harder. The Krause publication seems more appropriate from where I sit.

[Aces]

Who reads the Comic Buyer's Guide?

 

The what?

[esquirecomics]

I am not the buyer you are looking for. I sub. and I collect mostly $500 and under Bronze and some silver. But your ROI seems strong with 5k-50k books. How many sales do you need to get back your 2k ad investment? (Sorry I used to sell advertising)

 

That would always vary. It is certainly possible that the sale of one book could bring in enough money to pay for the ad. Typically, the higher priced the book the more likely the profit on it. So, the real question is how many $50k books will I sell versus $5k! I suspect not nearly as many as I would like!

[awe4one]

Get and read CBG via subcription and occasionally order from ads. But I doubt you'll be offering anything I'll want...

 

Jim

[uclapeterg]

 

I took out two trader ads and I only got one order that never followed through with the money.