Virtues of Consignment 0

[Autumn Wine '54]

Hello Everyone,

I am a recently retired senior in NJ tasked with liquidating approximately 1100 comics from an older sibling’s collection (equally split between Silver/Bronze age, and both Marvel and DC.  All bagged  & boarded for 40 years)  As a Newbie's newbie (1st post of any kind, anywhere) I need some advice with respect to the virtue of consigning comics with any of the leading on-line dealers and any/all pros or cons that should be considered before doing so.

I'd like to learn if consignment is a good middle ground to avoiding the high costs & time constraints of selling on E-Bay, and the alternative of selling directly to a dealer at a fraction of value.  I realize whatever dollars can be gained in-between are a function of the time/effort I am willing to put in.

The entire e-bay process does seem a bit daunting if one is not totally committed… as one would be if this was their own business, but  I’d also prefer not to just give away a sizable number of comics in the $30-50 range… that I do not have the time, or inclination, to manage.   Hence, my interest in consignment.

I’m sure most of you considered this sometime in your past, so thank you in advance for your thoughts. 

 

[evilskip]

I use mycomicshop.com for consignments. If you have what they want, you send it to them and they will grade it. If it makes the cut, you can either slap a price tag on it or list it in their auctions.

The pros: They do the grading, they mail the books to the purchaser/winner, you can change prices on your books listed in the fixed price section if it has been sitting there a while and they are good to work with. (I've been using them for over 15 years).

The cons: They might not need all of your books, but you can find that out ahead of time. Your books might not make the minimum grade set to be eligible for consignment. At that point they may offer you a price or send them back. They will charge you for that and for grading if you have them sent back.

Poke around their site using either the Sell My Comics or My Consignment tabs to learn more.

I'd avoid ebay as it is not worth the trouble. I don't know off the top of my head if there are other reliable consignment shops out there since I only use one.

I don't know how the selling process goes on here, but some others can tell you how that works out.

 

[marvelmaniac]

Hello and Welcome!!!

I see you are in N.J., South, Central. North???

You can also check with your LCS, some will sell consignment books (or at least they used to).

My F.F. 11 and 12 were both consignment books purchased from an LCS but that was 20 years ago.

(Purchased from ComicCrypt in Oaklyn N.J.)

Again I am going back a few years but you can also rent a table at a local weekend show to sell your books, there used to be a monthly show at the National Guard Armory in Bordentown.

Maybe this will help...

http://www.njcomicbookshows.com/

[shadroch]

I don't see any point in consigning to a local shop unless you have an ongoing business relationship with them.  For 10%, Mycomicshop gives you access to the largest website plus ebay. Your local shop will charge more for much less exposure.

Be careful with any consignment agreement. Many include clauses that make the shop not responsible for damages or thefts of your merchandise. Avoid those.

Two places I highly recommend for consignments are Mycomicshop and High Grade Comics. Both are very quick in paying you when a book sells.

 

[Bird]

@Autumn Wine '54 I sent a PM, which you can read by clicking on the flashing flag in the top right of your screen.

[revat]

in general, take the time to carefully read the consignment agreement (definitely make sure there is one, and its all signed and copied by relevant parties), and note that there MIGHT be some points to negotiate.  Don't be bullied into accepting something you're not comfortable with.  No harm in taking time to research, unless you're sitting on a pile of Captain Marvel keys from Marvel OR DC.  If that's the case, then just slap those all on EBAY NOW.

[comicdonna]

On 3/7/2019 at 12:30 PM, shadroch said:

 

Be careful with any consignment agreement. Many include clauses that make the shop not responsible for damages or thefts of your merchandise. Avoid those.

 

+1  Read the fine print.  A few years ago, I consigned some non comic (fairly low value) items to a place that has weekly auctions.  If you read deep, they get to keep the items if they don't sell within 30 days.

[dporges]

On 3/8/2019 at 1:53 PM, comicdonna said:

+1  Read the fine print.  A few years ago, I consigned some non comic (fairly low value) items to a place that has weekly auctions.  If you read deep, they get to keep the items if they don't sell within 30 days.

HOLY MOLEY.

I also use mycomicshop.com; one advantage is that you only have to prepare one package for a pile of comics.  Another is that for non-slabs they do the grading and you never have to argue with anyone on the Internet about it.  The downside is, no matter how much I try, they're always at least a full point stricter on the grade than I am.  Logically I know this must be my fault but it's infuriating.