Ken Aldred Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 (edited) 2 hours ago, jsilverjanet said: It would appear to me that the reason many of these books are readily available is that the quality isn't very good. If the quality was decent, more people would be buying these books. This is a problem that cannot be fixed. It was only 'fixed' in a very predatory and limited way by the advent of widespread, manic speculation. That pulled just a few books out of unwanted, drek status, an easy target being Hulk 271. Edited June 13, 2017 by Ken Aldred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsilverjanet Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 11 minutes ago, Ken Aldred said: It was only 'fixed' in a very predatory and limited way by the advent of widespread, manic speculation. That pulled just a few books out of unwanted, drek status, an easy target being Hulk 271. Yep and the rest of the books around it still sit in those boxes as the people buying those "keys" aren't reading them Jeffro. and greggy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Cool Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 23 minutes ago, jsilverjanet said: Yep and the rest of the books around it still sit in those boxes as the people buying those "keys" aren't reading them No wonder - terrible reading especially for an adult imo. So there is no shortage of drek collections since no one is clammering for those books. Key heavy collections have become very rare since everyone wants em and very few have them. I'm up to 13 responses with my Facebook ad and still none from Craigslist. No one is rushing over once they hear what is in the boxes though. Should have just donated them and eliminated the hassle but cash is king. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsilverjanet Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 They will sell but they sell cheap. Keys exist in this era and there are a lot of good books from this time period worth my time and money however the simple fact is no one is building runs of many of these titles when you can either collect the silver age books or focus on the big characters like Spider-Man or Batman greggy and Jeffro. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FineCollector Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 2 hours ago, kimik said: There are plenty of late 60s and 70s books that fit this bill as well. In low to mid grades it is so common that there is no demand at anything more than $1 per book. Even then, a lot of it sits. This is why I have pulled back on my chasing of collections the past year - I had accumulated way too many longs of stuff. While Dave's wife allows him to store 200+ boxes in his basement, mine is not as forgiving. That being said, even HG mid to late 60s common books are tough to sell at full guide now that there are fewer run collectors chasing them. If it is not 9.4+ quality, there is little demand for most titles even though they are great looking VF to VF/NM books. The more you guys talk, the more I want to visit! Then I look at airfare to Edmonton... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spreads Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 52 minutes ago, FineCollector said: The more you guys talk, the more I want to visit! Then I look at airfare to Edmonton... Plus, you're going to Edmonton! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the blob Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 3 hours ago, kimik said: It was the worst show I have had in 4 or 5 years. I sold one box of primarily Savage Sword of Conans at $1 apiece (including mid grade earlier issues between #6 - #30), and then maybe 1/4 of a box of $1 low to mid grade late 60s and 70s Marvels and DCs. The Dell/Charlton/Gold Key/Archie $1 books did not move at all. I thought I would sell more of the $1 books, but it just goes to show how little demand there is for even quality common $1 books. This was also the first show in I can't remember how long that none of us sold a slabbed book. Doesn't seem worth the hassle. These are $2-$4 books elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 1 hour ago, FineCollector said: The more you guys talk, the more I want to visit! Then I look at airfare to Edmonton... Depends how soon you book! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spreads Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 18 minutes ago, the blob said: Doesn't seem worth the hassle. These are $2-$4 books elsewhere. You're saying it's better to price them at $2-4? Don't undercut your price since they're not selling anyway? Hindsight is 20-20, I had a garage sale advertised at 50 cents/comic real cheap a few years back and it was a feeding frenzy, then next time I ran one no one showed-up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Cool Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 (edited) 18 minutes ago, spreads said: You're saying it's better to price them at $2-4? Don't undercut your price since they're not selling anyway? Hindsight is 20-20, I had a garage sale advertised at 50 cents/comic real cheap a few years back and it was a feeding frenzy, then next time I ran one no one showed-up! If the goal is to promote a feeding frenzy then it may be better to price them at $2 a piece and then have a 1/2 price sign. People love 1/2 half even if the original price is 2x the price you want. But I think it just does not matter what price you put on a bunch of stuff. People just are not interested in Savage Sword of Conan in mid grade. Other then #1 there is no keys so people just skim right on by and on to the key book chase. I've seen it where dealers put $0.00 and a couple magazines and people don't look enough to notice the magazines or comics are free. I love it when guys pull out binders with issues they need - those guys will buy non key books and they don't mind paying for the books they need. Edited June 13, 2017 by 1Cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artboy99 Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 40 minutes ago, 1Cool said: If the goal is to promote a feeding frenzy then it may be better to price them at $2 a piece and then have a 1/2 price sign. People love 1/2 half even if the original price is 2x the price you want. But I think it just does not matter what price you put on a bunch of stuff. People just are not interested in Savage Sword of Conan in mid grade. Other then #1 there is no keys so people just skim right on by and on to the key book chase. I've seen it where dealers put $0.00 and a couple magazines and people don't look enough to notice the magazines or comics are free. I love it when guys pull out binders with issues they need - those guys will buy non key books and they don't mind paying for the books they need. I love buyers with lists as well but they are becoming less and less. thehumantorch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1950's war comics Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 On 6/10/2017 at 11:32 AM, Aweandlorder said: Depends on many factors. But it's true in regards to pretty much anything in life- it takes time to make money. Dedication. otherwise anyone could do it As u go along you learn the tricks of the trade that saves you time. You learn to search better. You familiarize yourself with good and bad times of year. Helps to know the area you're in. Certain areas I chose to ignore altogether because the competition is fierce. Certain areas are a goldmine Great advice ! FoggyNelson and Get Marwood & I 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1950's war comics Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 28 minutes ago, Artboy99 said: I love buyers with lists as well but they are becoming less and less. No kidding , us old school types with list are becoming like hens teeth , i did see a couple at the last con i was at and they were mid 60's or so in age ...... Get Marwood & I, FoggyNelson and ComicConnoisseur 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComicConnoisseur Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 (edited) 9 hours ago, 1Cool said: There is definitely no shortage of buyers out there even if there is a shortage of collections. I've got 10 long boxes of ok 90s books that are slated to be donated this year so I thought I would try to sell them via Craigslist / Facebook sales before going the donating route. My Facebook ad accidently did not mention 90s books but I instead said they were all 25 year old whereas the Craigslist ad specifically mentioned 90s books in the title. I got 9 responses for the Facebook ad in 3 hours and no responses with the Craigslist ad. No difference in picture, no difference in price but one had 90s in the title and the other said 25 year old comics. I'd change the Facebook ad but it won't let me so we will see if the Facebook guys go running for the hills after getting my detailed response. Amazing isn't it of just how a few different key words can get people to click or look at the ad? My sister had a yard-sale and not many people showed up and she asked what she was doing wrong? So next time I wrote the yard-sale ad for her and put the words Lego,Nike and Nintendo and they flocked to her yard-sale. Of course she didn't have really any valuable Lego toys,Nike sneakers or Nintendo games that one could flip on Ebay for big bucks, just common stuff from them,but the point was to get them there to look at her other stuff for sale. I guess I am finding out how powerful social media is and what keywords to use. Edited June 13, 2017 by ComicConnoisseur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComicConnoisseur Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 14 minutes ago, 1950's war comics said: No kidding , us old school types with list are becoming like hens teeth , i did see a couple at the last con i was at and they were mid 60's or so in age ...... My 70ish older uncle took me to a stamp convention,and I had to be the only one in the room under 50! Everybody was like 70 plus,and they were all lamenting how the hobby was going to have a hard time surviving without new collectors. TheFifthHorseman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Cool Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 1 hour ago, spreads said: You're saying it's better to price them at $2-4? Don't undercut your price since they're not selling anyway? Hindsight is 20-20, I had a garage sale advertised at 50 cents/comic real cheap a few years back and it was a feeding frenzy, then next time I ran one no one showed-up! I had the same experience. 1st garage sale was crazy but the next two were snooze fest. Once people know you are not giving away keys they don't come back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FineCollector Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 1 hour ago, 1Cool said: But I think it just does not matter what price you put on a bunch of stuff. People just are not interested in Savage Sword of Conan in mid grade. Other then #1 there is no keys so people just skim right on by and on to the key book chase. I've seen it where dealers put $0.00 and a couple magazines and people don't look enough to notice the magazines or comics are free. I love it when guys pull out binders with issues they need - those guys will buy non key books and they don't mind paying for the books they need. I made the mistake of picking up a stack of Savage Swords from an auction on a lark, I liked them, and now I'm stuck picking up the rest! Dollar apiece seems very reasonable to me. How often does giving someone free books lead to them wanting more of the same title or creator? Low to midgrade copies are more enticing to read since they're already "worthless", and it doesn't matter if you damage them from casual handling. Maybe we should stop thinking of those comics as drek, and repurpose them as "promotional material"? I'd include Halloween giveaways in that category for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComicConnoisseur Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 1 minute ago, 1Cool said: I had the same experience. 1st garage sale was crazy but the next two were snooze fest. Once people know you are not giving away keys they don't come back. That is why it is always good to refresh the stock. There is this one guy in my area who sells the same drek over and over again and never changes his stock. Artboy99 and thehumantorch 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComicConnoisseur Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 1 minute ago, FineCollector said: I made the mistake of picking up a stack of Savage Swords from an auction on a lark, I liked them, and now I'm stuck picking up the rest! Dollar apiece seems very reasonable to me. How often does giving someone free books lead to them wanting more of the same title or creator? Low to midgrade copies are more enticing to read since they're already "worthless", and it doesn't matter if you damage them from casual handling. Maybe we should stop thinking of those comics as drek, and repurpose them as "promotional material"? I'd include Halloween giveaways in that category for sure. CDs are like that. I was surprised at how many people would pay a $1 a piece for them,and that can add up fast on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamlet Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 1 hour ago, Artboy99 said: I love buyers with lists as well but they are becoming less and less. I have lists, but they are mostly Marvel SA, and I generally like a nice clean VG-FN at a price where I won't lose my shirt if I were to get a table and sell it myself. I don't find a lot to buy meeting those criteria. I can find lots of ragged books at what I consider mid grade prices, and I occasionally find ragged books on my list in bargain bins (which I buy). Lately I've been buying more non-Marvel stuff out of bargain bins because it is so cheap. I fine a lot more stuff like that in decent mid-grade condition. Here is my last haul out of $2 boxes mostly- Artboy99 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
