Advice on selling ~7000 books in bulk? 0

[Schmakt]

I'm sure this has been asked before, but I didn't have much luck with the search feature... if anyone has something bookmarked I'd be happy to go read an old post instead of starting a new one!

But anyway...

I'm trying to do another one of those 5-10 year cleans and am just wondering what varying levels of success people have had with different outlets and/or anything you may have done to make your lot easier to sell and more attractive to a potential buyer.

I'm currently putting every issue into the mycomicshop.com database, so that will give me an absolute bottom line offer.  Of course, they are want to buy like 25% of what I actually have, and if they don't end up being able to make an off on ALL of it I'm not interested in searching out specific issues and breaking up runs.

As I'm creating this list I'm also keeping a manual Excel sheet thinking that I could easily print that out or email it around.  Excel list has an approximate grade as I'm trying to keep it matched with the MCS list - which does not offer every potential grade on the 10-point scale.

95% of everything is bag/board, everything is alphabetized, and all mini-series/full sets/long runs are also bagged together and labeled (the idea being that, if I setup at a con, it would be easy to sell the sets)

 

So...

Has anyone had a particularly good (or bad) experience with selling in bulk to any of the online retailers?

Is it worth going to a local show with my list in hand and attempt to solicit offers?

I've seen "Buy Me Out" signs at cons before, but I'm not sure I've ever actually seen anyone get bought out... would anyone recommend that?

I'd prefer, of course, to sell locally due to the volume of books being moved, and I know I can go down to the LCS (which I like), but I'd like to have a couple of offers at least before just letting it go to the easiest route.

Is it even worth trying to post on Craig's list?

I'm hoping to finish cataloging and double-checking everything by the end of summer, so just soliciting ideas as to what the best next step would be...

Thanks!!

(Oh, and I'm only moving raw comics this time...)

[sd2416]

You got a list of titles and a price in mind?  Id be interested and would arrange shipping of them to my location. 

[1Cool]

If selling bulk I would not put the time or energy into creating a list of all books unless it helps you pick a starting point in terms of price.  People will glance down the list looking for keys and zone out on all your work.  I'd pull all your key books (or at least books you think will sell for more then $50) and then do short boxes full of series (ie short box of copper punisher, short box of Bronze series like Micronauts).  People that buy 20 long boxes are paying x per short or long box and negotiating on the keys. 

I talked to a dealer at a local con a couple weeks ago who bought a large local collection.  Seller had a huge database list of all books that came out to $100k for the collection.  That number scared away most everyone and very few even looked at the collection.  The dealer ended up offering 15K for the whole thing and the guy ended up taking the offer after getting nobody else interested at that price level and with the lack of big keys in the collection.  You should give enough info for people to know what theya re buying but a list of every non-key issue is just overkill.

[Schmakt]

2 minutes ago, sd2416 said:

You got a list of titles and a price in mind?  Id be interested and would arrange shipping of them to my location. 

Not quite done yet, but I'd be happy to share when I get there... Mostly I'm still wrestling over some of the "maybe" piles before I pull the trigger

1 minute ago, 1Cool said:

If selling bulk I would not put the time or energy into creating a list of all books unless it helps you pick a starting point in terms of price.  People will glance down the list looking for keys and zone out on all your work.  I'd pull all your key books (or at least books you think will sell for more then $50) and then do short boxes full of series (ie short box of copper punisher, short box of Bronze series like Micronauts).  People that buy 20 long boxes are paying x per short or long box and negotiating on the keys. 

I talked to a dealer at a local con a couple weeks ago who bought a large local collection.  Seller had a huge database list of all books that came out to $100k for the collection.  That number scared away most everyone and very few even looked at the collection.  The dealer ended up offering 15K for the whole thing and the guy ended up taking the offer after getting nobody else interested at that price level and with the lack of big keys in the collection.  You should give enough info for people to know what theya re buying but a list of every non-key issue is just overkill.

This makes sense, thanks!  I agree about the list... I'm pretty sure no one is going to really care except maybe me.  One reason is definitely to get that baseline price from MCS though... I figured I'd get that and then raise it a bit (maybe double depending on how many they're not even offering to buy) and then go from there.

I definitely was not considering separating anything and just had everything sorted.  That's a great idea though, and I'll definitely do that... thank you!

[1Cool]

24 minutes ago, sd2416 said:

You got a list of titles and a price in mind?  Id be interested and would arrange shipping of them to my location. 

 

[F For Fake]

39 minutes ago, 1Cool said:

If selling bulk I would not put the time or energy into creating a list of all books unless it helps you pick a starting point in terms of price.  People will glance down the list looking for keys and zone out on all your work.  I'd pull all your key books (or at least books you think will sell for more then $50) and then do short boxes full of series (ie short box of copper punisher, short box of Bronze series like Micronauts).  People that buy 20 long boxes are paying x per short or long box and negotiating on the keys. 

I talked to a dealer at a local con a couple weeks ago who bought a large local collection.  Seller had a huge database list of all books that came out to $100k for the collection.  That number scared away most everyone and very few even looked at the collection.  The dealer ended up offering 15K for the whole thing and the guy ended up taking the offer after getting nobody else interested at that price level and with the lack of big keys in the collection.  You should give enough info for people to know what theya re buying but a list of every non-key issue is just overkill.

+1

It all depends on if you're trying to maximize for profit, or convenience.

If profit, yes, take the keys out and sell them off separately, then bulk the rest out on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace at $25-$50-$100 a box, depending on what kind of stuff it is. (Modern drek is about 5 to 10 cents a book. Obviously nice copper, bronze and silver would be considerably more, though mid-grade run fillers are still probably not more than a couple of bucks each.) But yeah, unfortunately the market doesn't seem to consist of run collectors anymore, so there's not as much impetus to pick up huge collections. Most dealers who are going to be interested in it are thinking that exact thing: get a good price on the lot, sell the keys, dump the rest. Might as well do it yourself and cut out the middle man.

But if it's more about the convenience than the money (meaning you really do just want to let it all go in one fell swoop) you will definitely have to keep that in mind with the pricing.

Good luck!

[Transplant]

Contact @arexcrooke

He's in your neck of the woods and might be looking.

[FineCollector]

7000 books is what, 25 longs?  1Cool is on the money, don't bother with a list.  People will price out the keys, and give you a per box rate if everything has to go at once.  If you're going to sell on Craigslist, you might be able to get a little more selling a title or a box at a time.  Amazing Spider-Man can sell at a premium, that's what everyone will ask for.  Batman has picked back up again, even the ugly 90's stuff.  I wouldn't bother advertising at a local con.  If you advertise online, the serious buyers will see it and reach out to you.

There's a local guy who sells out of his garage, and is trying to dump the rest of his stock.  I wouldn't give him $10 a long because it's so terrible.  Don't be offended if the offers are low before potential buyers have seen the material, there's a lot of junk out there.  If your boxes are nice, be ready to show it off to people.  Maybe even have a couple of pictures of you holding open a box with the longer runs.

3 hours ago, Schmakt said:

Not quite done yet, but I'd be happy to share when I get there... Mostly I'm still wrestling over some of the "maybe" piles before I pull the trigger

Talk it out.  What are you on the fence about, and why?

[BCarter27]

Pull out your keys and rough price them. Take 60% of those prices and add up the rest of the books at $0.50/each and start taking offers above that total price on craigslist, ebay, and Facebook for local pickup only. Then call a few comics shops in your area too and let them know you are selling.

I would keep the whole collection together and DO NOT let anyone cherry pick. Otherwise you won't move the rest. I recently sold the remainder of my collection -- 40 shortboxes and wish I had kept the keys in it to move it faster.

Unless you have a FedEx Freight discount through your work, you aren't going to be able to afford to ship them. So anyone not picking up locally will need to pony up for their own freight.

Also, any books that are maybe, you should sell. Because you will just want to sell them later and you will be back in the same situation. Move them now with the rest of the bulk. I only kept two shortboxes of books I hadn't read yet and 1 shortbox of low-dollar books that had sentimental value.

[RCheli]

19 hours ago, BCarter27 said:

Pull out your keys and rough price them. Take 60% of those prices and add up the rest of the books at $0.50/each and start taking offers above that total price on craigslist, ebay, and Facebook for local pickup only. Then call a few comics shops in your area too and let them know you are selling.

There is no way any dealer is going to pay 50 cents a book for a collection of nearly 70,000 non-key comics. Common bronze and copper books sell at shows, but it's a long slog. For a collection of that size, as others have said, you'd be lucky to get $100 a long box and you'll probably be closer to $30. There is just too much unsellable stock out there for anyone to plop $35k on a collection. And even if there is decent stuff in there, the amount of time and work involved is likely overwhelming to most every dealer in the country for it to be worth that price.

[1Cool]

2 minutes ago, RCheli said:

There is no way any dealer is going to pay 50 cents a book for a collection of nearly 70,000 non-key comics. Common bronze and copper books sell at shows, but it's a long slog. For a collection of that size, as others have said, you'd be lucky to get $100 a long box and you'll probably be closer to $30. There is just too much unsellable stock out there for anyone to plop $35k on a collection. And even if there is decent stuff in there, the amount of time and work involved is likely overwhelming to most every dealer in the country for it to be worth that price.

He said 7,000 which is 28 long boxes.  I agree 70,000 or 280 long is a different animal.  28 long boxes should be able to be handled by most dealers and as long as you have some nice runs and not all overstock you should do pretty well.

[RCheli]

 

Just now, 1Cool said:

He said 7,000 which is 28 long boxes.  I agree 70,000 or 280 long is a different animal.  28 long boxes should be able to be handled by most dealers and as long as you have some nice runs and not all overstock you should do pretty well.

HA! You're right! My bad.

But I stand by my 50-cent-a-book price as being too high.

[Mr.Mcknowitall]

7 minutes ago, RCheli said:

 

HA! You're right! My bad.

But I stand by my 50-cent-a-book price as being too high.

Cheapskate.....

[BCarter27]

12 minutes ago, RCheli said:

70,000

I think you added on an extra zero! But yeah, selling to a dealer is going to be around $30-50 per longbox. I think you could find a collector or part-time flipper to go for the price I mentioned IF you keep the keys in it. This is why you don't separate them out.

[1Cool]

Just now, Mr.Mcknowitall said:

Cheapskate.....

It really depends on the age and grade of the books but $125 a long box for a bulk purchase is pretty high if the books are mostly copper books.  Ever try to sell a nice batch of copper Daredevils or X-factors (especially without the few minor keys)?  If you are selling books in $1 boxes then $0.50 is too much.

[RCheli]

9 minutes ago, Mr.Mcknowitall said:

Cheapskate.....

I mean, think about it. Look at most people's collections from the past 30 years. There are a handful of keys and then some semi-keys. And then...

How much do you think you could get for some Spectacular Spider-Man issues from the 90s? Other than the Maximum Carnage issues where, maybe, you get $3 each, it's all $1 books. Or X-Man. Or Blue Beetle. Or Justice League. Or whatever. And it's a long process to sell those books. Hot issues sell right away. It's the common ones that just sit there. And you have to bag them. Maybe put boards on them. That's time and money.

[Mr.Mcknowitall]

24 minutes ago, 1Cool said:

It really depends on the age and grade of the books but $125 a long box for a bulk purchase is pretty high if the books are mostly copper books.  Ever try to sell a nice batch of copper Daredevils or X-factors (especially without the few minor keys)?  If you are selling books in $1 boxes then $0.50 is too much.

Joke alert...... Because (as usual) you never know around here.

[Mr.Mcknowitall]

13 minutes ago, RCheli said:

I mean, think about it. Look at most people's collections from the past 30 years. There are a handful of keys and then some semi-keys. And then...

How much do you think you could get for some Spectacular Spider-Man issues from the 90s? Other than the Maximum Carnage issues where, maybe, you get $3 each, it's all $1 books. Or X-Man. Or Blue Beetle. Or Justice League. Or whatever. And it's a long process to sell those books. Hot issues sell right away. It's the common ones that just sit there. And you have to bag them. Maybe put boards on them. That's time and money.

Joke alert...Because (as usual) you never know around here.

I usually post that little jokey thing, but sometimes what I think is obvious isn't. I wouldn't know a short box from a long box, much less how many comics are in each much less how much each one would be worth. I just try to add a bit of ambiance and a mutual target that everyone can fire at, when I post. It is what I do. 

 I do know how to read numbers, though.......

 Because you never know around here.

[RCheli]

22 minutes ago, Mr.Mcknowitall said:

Joke alert...... Because (as usual) you never know around here.

I'm sorry. After the death of my imaginary friend when I was 7, I've never joked or smiled again. It's a curse.

[Mr.Mcknowitall]

Just now, RCheli said:

I'm sorry. After the death of my imaginary friend when I was 7, I've never joked or smiled again. It's a curse.

Around here, get over it. The wabbit is poof. That is it. Gone. In a Box (or not). Stop whining.