Best way to sell a large runs, complete sets?? 0

[Inhuman Fiend]

@Math Teacher Hmm, interesting question. For runs I've always listed them in numerical order and had good results. But I guess it depends on the title...if there are minor keys and more in-demand issues in some parts of the run and not in others, it may be better to mix them up a little so there is at least one higher demand book in each lot. The two biggest runs I've listed have been long Iron Man and Batman runs from late Silver/Early Bronze to mid-1990's and I only listed numerically. Even the later (90's) low-demand issues of each did really well and surprised me. I always use auctions that start at 99 cents or even a penny, as it generates a lot more bids...but if you need to get a certain amount you can always use a much higher starting bid. Just know if you do that it may dramatically impact the bidding activity. Good luck!

[Math Teacher]

1 hour ago, Inhuman Fiend said:

@Math Teacher Hmm, interesting question. For runs I've always listed them in numerical order and had good results. But I guess it depends on the title...if there are minor keys and more in-demand issues in some parts of the run and not in others, it may be better to mix them up a little so there is at least one higher demand book in each lot. The two biggest runs I've listed have been long Iron Man and Batman runs from late Silver/Early Bronze to mid-1990's and I only listed numerically. Even the later (90's) low-demand issues of each did really well and surprised me. I always use auctions that start at 99 cents or even a penny, as it generates a lot more bids...but if you need to get a certain amount you can always use a much higher starting bid. Just know if you do that it may dramatically impact the bidding activity. Good luck!

Thank you for your advice. I just received 400 more backing boards, so I am going to finish Peter Parker Spider-Man (1999) #1 - #38 and Spectacular Spider-Man #1 - #263, and then put them up for sale in packs of 15. If I still have extra boards, I will then work on JLA (1997) #1 - #60. I am adding new boards for protection purposes.

Buying boards is expensive. I have never boarded my comics until just recently (for SM #1 - #100, FF #1 - #100, Daredevil #1 - #30). I know people would consider this to be sacrilegious, but I recently brought my ASM #316 off the shelf, and users in the "Hey buddy, could you spare a grade?" forum estimated its grade at 9.6+.

I hope to put up several lots over the weekend. If I remember correctly, the best time to end an auction is 9:00 PM Pacific time, right?

Edited April 16, 2021 by Math Teacher

[Inhuman Fiend]

Happy to help...have been selling on eBay a long time and I really enjoy it. 

Bagging and boarding is so tedious, but necessary...buyers appreciate fresh bags and boards and the books look better. 

I usually end my auctions between 10-11 EST so 7-8 PST. I think 11 eastern/8 pacific is the sweet spot...not too late for the east, not too early for the west. I always end on a Saturday or Sunday night, biggest audience. Others may have varying opinions but it has worked very well for me (and I've experimented a lot over the years). If you're selling a GS X-Men #1 it probably doesn't matter, but for lots and average stuff...it definitely does!

Best of luck!

[xvipah]

You know, the timing of when your auction ends never even occurred to me as a thing to look out for.

Thanks for that.

17 minutes ago, Inhuman Fiend said:

Happy to help...have been selling on eBay a long time and I really enjoy it. 

Bagging and boarding is so tedious, but necessary...buyers appreciate fresh bags and boards and the books look better. 

I usually end my auctions between 10-11 EST so 7-8 PST. I think 11 eastern/8 pacific is the sweet spot...not too late for the east, not too early for the west. I always end on a Saturday or Sunday night, biggest audience. Others may have varying opinions but it has worked very well for me (and I've experimented a lot over the years). If you're selling a GS X-Men #1 it probably doesn't matter, but for lots and average stuff...it definitely does!

Best of luck!

 

[Math Teacher]

On 4/11/2021 at 8:57 AM, Inhuman Fiend said:

If you want to sell them quickly and don't necessarily need to get top dollar: Break them runs into lots of 10 (or even 20 max if the run is more than 200 books) and list on eBay, take lots of pics and detail any flaws. Go with auction format with low starting bid (I always go with 99 cents). The fees are high but eBay has the largest comic buying audience in the world and your comics will all sell. I always use Priority Mail for packages less than 10 lbs, it's not the cheapest but boxes are free and it's much faster. 

Well, I followed your suggestion, and the results were definitely mixed.

Peter Parker Spider-Man Annuals 1997, 1998, 1999 - sold for $0.99 - I actually lost money on this transaction because the shipping costs were high.
Peter Parker Spider-Man #31 - #45 - sold for $0.99 - See above.
Peter Parker Spider-Man #46 - #57 - sold for $0.99 - See above.
Flash Volume 2 #29 - #45 - sold for $0.99 - See above.
Flash Volume 2 #15 - #28 plus Annual #1 - sold for $0.99 - See above.
Peter Parker Spectacular Spider-Man #16 - #30 plus Annual #1 - sold for $32.00 - issue #27 was in this lot (first time Frank Miller drew Daredevil).
Peter Parker Spider-Man #1 - #15 and #16 - #30 - sold for $1.98 - Lost money on this transaction.
Peter Parker Spectacular Spider-Man #1 - #15 - sold for $46.52.
Web of Spider-Man #1 - #14 plus Annual #1 and Web of Spider-Man #15 - #28 plus Annual #2 - sold for $65.50.
Flash Volume 2 #1 - #14 plus Flash #1/2 (Wizard) - sold for $9.49.

I don't think I am going to pursue these type of sales any longer. I can't live with losing $1.64 when I sell fifteen comics. I also have spent a considerable amount of money on bags and boards. I think that I will just pull out semi-key issues (such as PPSSM #64 or Flash #92) and sell them individually on Ebay. I think I will take the remaining books and try to sell to a local dealer. I may only get $0.05 - $0.10 per issue, but at least I won't lose money!

@Inhuman Fiend, I am in no way blaming you for these results. I appreciated your suggestions before, and I still appreciate them now. For whatever reason, it just didn't work out for me.

[Timeless icons]

On 4/9/2021 at 3:18 PM, thehumantorch said:

I'd try to sell as a complete run first.  I think you'd be surprised at how much interest you would get if you listed them on facebook or instagram or local pickup craig's list or kijiji

+1

[thehumantorch]

3 minutes ago, Math Teacher said:

Well, I followed your suggestion, and the results were definitely mixed.

Peter Parker Spider-Man Annuals 1997, 1998, 1999 - sold for $0.99 - I actually lost money on this transaction because the shipping costs were high.
Peter Parker Spider-Man #31 - #45 - sold for $0.99 - See above.
Peter Parker Spider-Man #46 - #57 - sold for $0.99 - See above.
Flash Volume 2 #29 - #45 - sold for $0.99 - See above.
Flash Volume 2 #15 - #28 plus Annual #1 - sold for $0.99 - See above.
Peter Parker Spectacular Spider-Man #16 - #30 plus Annual #1 - sold for $32.00 - issue #27 was in this lot (first time Frank Miller drew Daredevil).
Peter Parker Spider-Man #1 - #15 and #16 - #30 - sold for $1.98 - Lost money on this transaction.
Peter Parker Spectacular Spider-Man #1 - #15 - sold for $46.52.
Web of Spider-Man #1 - #14 plus Annual #1 and Web of Spider-Man #15 - #28 plus Annual #2 - sold for $65.50.
Flash Volume 2 #1 - #14 plus Flash #1/2 (Wizard) - sold for $9.49.

I don't think I am going to pursue these type of sales any longer. I can't live with losing $1.64 when I sell fifteen comics. I also have spent a considerable amount of money on bags and boards. I think that I will just pull out semi-key issues (such as PPSSM #64 or Flash #92) and sell them individually on Ebay. I think I will take the remaining books and try to sell to a local dealer. I may only get $0.05 - $0.10 per issue, but at least I won't lose money!

@Inhuman Fiend, I am in no way blaming you for these results. I appreciated your suggestions before, and I still appreciate them now. For whatever reason, it just didn't work out for me.

Try kijiji or craig's list.  There's no cost to list and you'll sell to local buyers so shipping won't be a problem for you or for them.  

[Math Teacher]

As if this wasn't bad enough. I sold the Web of Spider-Man books as two lots: Web of Spider-Man #1 - #14 plus Annual #1 ($57.00) and Web of Spider-Man #15 - #28 plus Annual #2 ($8.50). The buyer asked if I could pack both lots into one box so he could save on shipping, which I did. The tracking number shows the package was delivered. Now, the buyer is claiming that the first lot was not included in the package. So now, this is going to turn into a "his word against my word" scenario, and I think we all know how that will turn out.

[Math Teacher]

On 4/9/2021 at 2:18 PM, thehumantorch said:

I'd try to sell as a complete run first.  I think you'd be surprised at how much interest you would get if you listed them on facebook or instagram or local pickup craig's list or kijiji

I did list some on Instagram (Spider-Man #1 - #98 with two extra #1 issues and Sensational Spider-Man #0 - #33 plus flashback and Annual 1997), and I didn't get a lick of interest. I guess I will have to pursue Craig's List or Kijiji (whatever that is).

[thehumantorch]

2 minutes ago, Math Teacher said:

I did list some on Instagram (Spider-Man #1 - #98 with two extra #1 issues and Sensational Spider-Man #0 - #33 plus flashback and Annual 1997), and I didn't get a lick of interest. I guess I will have to pursue Craig's List or Kijiji (whatever that is).

Kijiji is like Craig's list but in Canada.

[Ryan.]

I bailed on selling on eBay earlier this year after more than two decades of using that platform. Now I list all my raw books here first before moving them to Mycomicshop. So far, so good. 

[Inhuman Fiend]

@Math Teacher Oh man sorry your results weren't great. With common lower value bronze and copper it's definitely much more of a crapshoot with low starting bids, I did say that was the best method for me for selling them quickly but not necessarily getting top dollar.

Also you may have done this but it's worth mentioning that any key issues in the runs should definitely be specifically mentioned in the auction title as well to help with search results. 

I would still always use eBay first, maybe just jack up the starting bids to where you feel comfortable and just keep relisting if it doesn't sell. You'll get more obviously but it may take much longer. Obviously it can't hurt to try the other venues mentioned, I've never used them myself. Best of luck!

 

[Math Teacher]

8 hours ago, Ryan. said:

I bailed on selling on eBay earlier this year after more than two decades of using that platform. Now I list all my raw books here first before moving them to Mycomicshop. So far, so good. 

I emailed MyComicShop, and they didn't have any interest in these long runs. I have seen small lots of ~10 books in their auctions, and I don't see why I can't send a big lot and have it auctioned off ten books at a time. I may have to call them to ask them about this.