Need Some selling advice

[MemphisChad]

Hello everyone,

 

I've got about 5,000 books in my collection currently (mostly Marvel and DC books from the 60's and 70's) and I've decided I want to sell a good chunk of the mid grade books in favor of buying highgrade items. I want to start putting together runs of these silver and bronze age titles to sell. I'm thinking Spidey, Hulk, Thor, TTA, TOS etc and some Supes Any recommendations on how many books per run that would be ideal? Further, is ebay the only realistic outlet for online selling of middle of the road books?

 

I'd appreciate any comments and/or advice.

 

Thx.

 

Chad

[JohnBull]

As a non-dealer, ebay is your best option with regards the dollar return you will get.

 

It's far more work, but I would start to list the issues separately as they should do better that way.

 

There will come a point when it will be better to list runs, but I would list the books singly in stretches of 25 issues or so at once (ie: Spidey 76, 77, 78, ...100, then 101, 102, 103...125 etc). When you hit a point in the run where single issues aren't selling and most of the lots are unsold, I would then group the remaining issues into multi-book lots (maybe 20 or 25 each). That way, you can milk the single issues for what they are worth and then hopefully offload the rest easily.

[whomerjay]

The reflex response is to suggest listing them here first, but I would do it with prices (and be firm) so as to avoid the many lowball bids you'll have to field. I think you can save a lot of time and make close to the same money by doing that.

 

Also, what types of HG will you be going after?

[Zanarkand]

I list all my items individually unless they're super cheap and therefore it wouldn't be worth the listing price to do so. But that's me. 5000 books is a heck of a lot of work. Even with Turbo Lister, you're looking at several months worth of hardcore selling.

 

The major disadvantage to listing individually, aside from the work involved, is that your collection is going to get cherry picked. You may list 5000 items, then at the end of the day still have 4500 that are very hard to move because now all the good stuff is gone.

 

So if you list in runs, don't list runs of arbitrary size, like 10 issues, 20 issues, or whatever. List instead by value. Make sure every run contains some good stuff in it. People are going to glom onto the runs containing variants, keys, and high grade issues anyway, so you might as well spread them out.

 

You could also list by theme, not just by title. Make your mid-grade Thors more attrative by throwing some JIMs in with them, for example.

[chrisco37]

What is the best way to build up some seller feedback while maximizing your profits?

 

I've been wanting to get some stuff up on eBay that I know will sell, but my feedback is only 32 and it is all from buying.

 

Should I list raw books first? Hot modern books? Mid-grade readers? Start with CGC stuff?

[VintageComics]

offer references and a money back guarantee??

[JohnBull]

What is the best way to build up some seller feedback while maximizing your profits?

 

I've been wanting to get some stuff up on eBay that I know will sell, but my feedback is only 32 and it is all from buying.

 

Should I list raw books first? Hot modern books? Mid-grade readers? Start with CGC stuff?

 

I think you just have to start listing. 32 will get bidders and I doubt few if any will scan your feedback to see whether you got it from buying or selling (unless you're selling some high ticket items).

 

Probably start with the hot moderns and readers which should get the numbers up and then go to the slabs later.

[chrisco37]

offer references and a money back guarantee??

 

Will do. $$$ back is no-brainer.

[chrisco37]

 

I think you just have to start listing. 32 will get bidders and I doubt few if any will scan your feedback to see whether you got it from buying or selling (unless you're selling some high ticket items).

 

Probably start with the hot moderns and readers which should get the numbers up and then go to the slabs later.

 

Thanks! I'll get to work this weekend (hopefully!)

[Ringfinger]

Good luck!!

[Zanarkand]

A few tips:

 

List lots of stuff. You probably won't sell more then 10% of what you list, so if you want to boost those numbers you'll need volume. (If you do better you'll wish you hadn't - the best run I ever had was 50% of everything sold. That was a chaotic week! Keeping track of all those invoices, packing everything up, multiple trips to the PO... phew.)

 

To keep your listing costs down, list mainly low cost books for under $10, and don't use any special listing features. Keep in mind that if you sell only 1 in 10 books, the profit gained on the one book (minus also the final value and Paypal fees) has to pay for the listing fees for the other 9, just to break even. So best to keep your listing fees as low as possible.

 

Also, even the items you do sell will likely only get one bid. Maybe two. Only very rarely do I ever get more than 2 or 3, even on desirable books. I think my record is 5 bids. So your starting bid should be the amount you expect to sell at, because it's likely the only bid you'll see. You don't want to list at a penny to try to attract bargain hunters, then have to sell the thing for a nickel because you only got two bidders.

[FlyingDonut]

Just some tips and responses to other peoples tips. Mid-grade Silver and Bronze Age is what I sell all day long.

 

List lots of stuff.

 

Don't list too much at a time. I list 10 items every night, which allows my buyers to have a continual stream of new stuff, and it also puts your listings into eBay's emails every night, if you are a "favorite seller" of someone.

 

You probably won't sell more then 10% of what you list, so if you want to boost those numbers you'll need volume. (If you do better you'll wish you hadn't - the best run I ever had was 50% of everything sold.

 

I'm not sure where this number comes from. I run, on average, a 78-85% sell through on all items.

 

That was a chaotic week! Keeping track of all those invoices, packing everything up, multiple trips to the PO... phew.

 

Shipping will be your biggest hassle. You can cut down on this hassle by doing a couple of things:

 

1) If you can handle it, package books up as soon as the order comes in (or that same day) so things don't pile up. I send out books every morning, packing them up while watching the news or something. If you stay on top of it, you will be able to keep it relatively pain-free. Further, it is a great discriminator to ship fast. Buyers LOVE to get their books two days after paying.

 

2) Use flat rate priority shipping for everything. The envelopes are free, and you don't have to worry about calculating postage. Flat rate envelopes are $3.85 postage, and the new flat rate boxes are $7.70. You can fit up to 6 well packaged comics into a flat rate envelope, and slabs fit nicely into the #2 flat rate box. The #1 flat rate box is the best thing for comic shipping in years - you can get about 50 books in there and ship it anywhere in the country for $7.70, which, when you think about it, is an amazing deal. Also, always offer combined shipping. It saves you time, and makes your customers happy.

 

3) Use Global Priority Mail for all overseas orders - $9 flat rate envelope. Again, you don't have to go to the post officel. Canadian orders are the only one where I wouldn't use GPM. Also, do not ship to anyplace that doesn't take GPM. The only country in Western Europe that doesn't is Italy.

 

4) Get to know your mailman. There is a rule that anything weighing over 16 ounces is supposed to go to the post office for pickup, but the mailman can waive this rule. If you know your guy, this will save you all sorts of time.

 

5) Packing material can be expensive, but you can get around it by doing a bunch of things. I have a deal with the mailroom guys in my office - I take all the printer paper boxes and cut them up for protection for shipped books, and I get all the styrofoam popcorn peanuts that comes into the mailroom. You can probably find something like that. You can always go to a Staples, Office Depot or Kinkos and get printer paper boxes from them in a pinch.

 

offer references and a money back guarantee??

 

Your references will, essentially, be your feedback and your repeat customers. Once you begin to sell things, you will have repeat customers if they are happy with your grading and your shipping practice. A money back guarantee is critical - I take returns on books without question.

 

To keep your listing costs down, list mainly low cost books for under $10, and don't use any special listing features. Keep in mind that if you sell only 1 in 10 books, the profit gained on the one book (minus also the final value and Paypal fees) has to pay for the listing fees for the other 9, just to break even. So best to keep your listing fees as low as possible.

 

I list everything I sell at $5 the first time. If it doesn't sell, I relist it for $0.99. The profit margin may be small, but there's a profit margin on every item. Having reserves, BINs, higher starting prices, all that stuff eats into your profit.

 

Also, even the items you do sell will likely only get one bid. Maybe two. Only very rarely do I ever get more than 2 or 3, even on desirable books. I think my record is 5 bids. So your starting bid should be the amount you expect to sell at, because it's likely the only bid you'll see. You don't want to list at a penny to try to attract bargain hunters, then have to sell the thing for a nickel because you only got two bidders.

 

Good point, which is why I start everything at $5. Also, you will not get anywhere near Guide price, so don't expect to. I've got significant traffic all the time, and I NEVER get Guide for mid-grade books, but they all sell. You should be happy to get between 30-60% of Guide for mid-grade Silver.

 

I list all my items individually unless they're super cheap and therefore it wouldn't be worth the listing price to do so. But that's me. 5000 books is a heck of a lot of work. Even with Turbo Lister, you're looking at several months worth of hardcore selling.

 

Ah, we've reached the major issue. I sell on eBay every single day, save two weeks around Christmas and the occasional day off for fooling around. I listed, last year, roughly 3300 books (at roughly 10 per day). Figure it takes a total of 15 minutes per item to sell something (includes grading, scanning, listing, packaging, mailing). Selling 5,000 books is going to to take a long long time. You can do it, and you'll realize significantly higher returns than if you sell them in big lots or to a dealer, but remember you're going to be doing a lot of work.

 

The major disadvantage to listing individually, aside from the work involved, is that your collection is going to get cherry picked. You may list 5000 items, then at the end of the day still have 4500 that are very hard to move because now all the good stuff is gone.

 

I'm not sure this is true. Everything will sell at a certain price point. If you're worried about cherrypicking, sprinkle good stuff with not so good stuff every day, and buyers will see what you have and may impulse buy.

 

So if you list in runs, don't list runs of arbitrary size, like 10 issues, 20 issues, or whatever. List instead by value. Make sure every run contains some good stuff in it. People are going to glom onto the runs containing variants, keys, and high grade issues anyway, so you might as well spread them out. You could also list by theme, not just by title. Make your mid-grade Thors more attrative by throwing some JIMs in with them, for example.

 

Disagree here. Don't list by value, because then you're going to end up with the situation where all the good stuff is gone. I like to list runs by year (all of 1976, for example), but you can do by 10s. This way if, for example, you list Amazing Spider-Man 190-199, the person who wants your nice VF 194 will have to buy the rest of the books around them, and those books will be out of your house.

 

What is the best way to build up some seller feedback while maximizing your profits? I've been wanting to get some stuff up on eBay that I know will sell, but my feedback is only 32 and it is all from buying.

 

There's no real way to do it besides just listing, having fast shipping and accurate grading. Another thing is to quickly leave positive feedback for those who deserve it. Remember, and this is heresy to most here, the buyer's obligation to you as the seller ends when he/she promptly pays you. If they do that, give them prompt feedback and move on. I leave feedback when I ship the book, which allows me to get rid of that little obligation.

 

Should I list raw books first? Hot modern books? Mid-grade readers? Start with CGC stuff?

 

I would start with whatever is on the top of the pile, and go down that way. Mix everything up.

 

Hope this helps - feel free to ask other questions.

[JohnBull]

A few tips:

 

List lots of stuff. You probably won't sell more then 10% of what you list, so if you want to boost those numbers you'll need volume. (If you do better you'll wish you hadn't - the best run I ever had was 50% of everything sold. That was a chaotic week! Keeping track of all those invoices, packing everything up, multiple trips to the PO... phew.)

 

To keep your listing costs down, list mainly low cost books for under $10, and don't use any special listing features. Keep in mind that if you sell only 1 in 10 books, the profit gained on the one book (minus also the final value and Paypal fees) has to pay for the listing fees for the other 9, just to break even. So best to keep your listing fees as low as possible.

 

Also, even the items you do sell will likely only get one bid. Maybe two. Only very rarely do I ever get more than 2 or 3, even on desirable books. I think my record is 5 bids. So your starting bid should be the amount you expect to sell at, because it's likely the only bid you'll see. You don't want to list at a penny to try to attract bargain hunters, then have to sell the thing for a nickel because you only got two bidders.

 

No offence, but I tend to disagree here.

 

I'm not a pro seller, but I have a 400 feedback that is 3/4 plus from selling.

 

I start everything at £0.99 and I sell 90%+ at around 2/3 of guide. Few books have 0 or 1 bidders.

 

I don't sell lots of high dollar items and it's probably a different story for those books. However, for mid grade readers and more common stuff, you should probably be happy to see between 50% and 75% of guide, which, let's face it, is probably what you would expect to be paying yourself for such books on ebay.

 

When I have tried starting books higher, my success has been more limited. A very high feedback, known seller, could probably do better that way.

 

Just my 0.02.

[Johnny G]

Just some tips and responses to other peoples tips. Mid-grade Silver and Bronze Age is what I sell all day long.

 

List lots of stuff.

 

Don't list too much at a time. I list 10 items every night, which allows my buyers to have a continual stream of new stuff, and it also puts your listings into eBay's emails every night, if you are a "favorite seller" of someone.

 

You probably won't sell more then 10% of what you list, so if you want to boost those numbers you'll need volume. (If you do better you'll wish you hadn't - the best run I ever had was 50% of everything sold.

 

I'm not sure where this number comes from. I run, on average, a 78-85% sell through on all items.

 

That was a chaotic week! Keeping track of all those invoices, packing everything up, multiple trips to the PO... phew.

 

Shipping will be your biggest hassle. You can cut down on this hassle by doing a couple of things:

 

1) If you can handle it, package books up as soon as the order comes in (or that same day) so things don't pile up. I send out books every morning, packing them up while watching the news or something. If you stay on top of it, you will be able to keep it relatively pain-free. Further, it is a great discriminator to ship fast. Buyers LOVE to get their books two days after paying.

 

2) Use flat rate priority shipping for everything. The envelopes are free, and you don't have to worry about calculating postage. Flat rate envelopes are $3.85 postage, and the new flat rate boxes are $7.70. You can fit up to 6 well packaged comics into a flat rate envelope, and slabs fit nicely into the #2 flat rate box. The #1 flat rate box is the best thing for comic shipping in years - you can get about 50 books in there and ship it anywhere in the country for $7.70, which, when you think about it, is an amazing deal. Also, always offer combined shipping. It saves you time, and makes your customers happy.

 

3) Use Global Priority Mail for all overseas orders - $9 flat rate envelope. Again, you don't have to go to the post officel. Canadian orders are the only one where I wouldn't use GPM. Also, do not ship to anyplace that doesn't take GPM. The only country in Western Europe that doesn't is Italy.

 

4) Get to know your mailman. There is a rule that anything weighing over 16 ounces is supposed to go to the post office for pickup, but the mailman can waive this rule. If you know your guy, this will save you all sorts of time.

 

5) Packing material can be expensive, but you can get around it by doing a bunch of things. I have a deal with the mailroom guys in my office - I take all the printer paper boxes and cut them up for protection for shipped books, and I get all the styrofoam popcorn peanuts that comes into the mailroom. You can probably find something like that. You can always go to a Staples, Office Depot or Kinkos and get printer paper boxes from them in a pinch.

 

offer references and a money back guarantee??

 

Your references will, essentially, be your feedback and your repeat customers. Once you begin to sell things, you will have repeat customers if they are happy with your grading and your shipping practice. A money back guarantee is critical - I take returns on books without question.

 

To keep your listing costs down, list mainly low cost books for under $10, and don't use any special listing features. Keep in mind that if you sell only 1 in 10 books, the profit gained on the one book (minus also the final value and Paypal fees) has to pay for the listing fees for the other 9, just to break even. So best to keep your listing fees as low as possible.

 

I list everything I sell at $5 the first time. If it doesn't sell, I relist it for $0.99. The profit margin may be small, but there's a profit margin on every item. Having reserves, BINs, higher starting prices, all that stuff eats into your profit.

 

Also, even the items you do sell will likely only get one bid. Maybe two. Only very rarely do I ever get more than 2 or 3, even on desirable books. I think my record is 5 bids. So your starting bid should be the amount you expect to sell at, because it's likely the only bid you'll see. You don't want to list at a penny to try to attract bargain hunters, then have to sell the thing for a nickel because you only got two bidders.

 

Good point, which is why I start everything at $5. Also, you will not get anywhere near Guide price, so don't expect to. I've got significant traffic all the time, and I NEVER get Guide for mid-grade books, but they all sell. You should be happy to get between 30-60% of Guide for mid-grade Silver.

 

I list all my items individually unless they're super cheap and therefore it wouldn't be worth the listing price to do so. But that's me. 5000 books is a heck of a lot of work. Even with Turbo Lister, you're looking at several months worth of hardcore selling.

 

Ah, we've reached the major issue. I sell on eBay every single day, save two weeks around Christmas and the occasional day off for fooling around. I listed, last year, roughly 3300 books (at roughly 10 per day). Figure it takes a total of 15 minutes per item to sell something (includes grading, scanning, listing, packaging, mailing). Selling 5,000 books is going to to take a long long time. You can do it, and you'll realize significantly higher returns than if you sell them in big lots or to a dealer, but remember you're going to be doing a lot of work.

 

The major disadvantage to listing individually, aside from the work involved, is that your collection is going to get cherry picked. You may list 5000 items, then at the end of the day still have 4500 that are very hard to move because now all the good stuff is gone.

 

I'm not sure this is true. Everything will sell at a certain price point. If you're worried about cherrypicking, sprinkle good stuff with not so good stuff every day, and buyers will see what you have and may impulse buy.

 

So if you list in runs, don't list runs of arbitrary size, like 10 issues, 20 issues, or whatever. List instead by value. Make sure every run contains some good stuff in it. People are going to glom onto the runs containing variants, keys, and high grade issues anyway, so you might as well spread them out. You could also list by theme, not just by title. Make your mid-grade Thors more attrative by throwing some JIMs in with them, for example.

 

Disagree here. Don't list by value, because then you're going to end up with the situation where all the good stuff is gone. I like to list runs by year (all of 1976, for example), but you can do by 10s. This way if, for example, you list Amazing Spider-Man 190-199, the person who wants your nice VF 194 will have to buy the rest of the books around them, and those books will be out of your house.

 

What is the best way to build up some seller feedback while maximizing your profits? I've been wanting to get some stuff up on eBay that I know will sell, but my feedback is only 32 and it is all from buying.

 

There's no real way to do it besides just listing, having fast shipping and accurate grading. Another thing is to quickly leave positive feedback for those who deserve it. Remember, and this is heresy to most here, the buyer's obligation to you as the seller ends when he/she promptly pays you. If they do that, give them prompt feedback and move on. I leave feedback when I ship the book, which allows me to get rid of that little obligation.

 

Should I list raw books first? Hot modern books? Mid-grade readers? Start with CGC stuff?

 

I would start with whatever is on the top of the pile, and go down that way. Mix everything up.

 

Hope this helps - feel free to ask other questions.

 

WoW

 

Awesome advice

 

Thanks for all of the info

[MemphisChad]

I think I'll test the market by putting up both singles and combined runs. I think the more popular titles will sell regardless. What concerns me is it even worth it to put up a lesser title as a single. I mean what is the market for a 6.5 to 7.0 Black Lightning #1? or a Moon Knight #1? mmm

 

Another question do I really need a back scan for a spidey #77 6.0 to 6.5? If it won't affect the bids I'd just as soon not do it as it'll just take that much longer.

 

Chad

[MemphisChad]

Regarding HG books. I want 9.0 and better books in Silver age books pre 1968. I want to collect books that'll appreciate over time. I'd go less on kick [embarrassing lack of self control] Golden Age books such as Detective and Batman and Marvel Mystery's.

[MemphisChad]

Z,

 

I don't have the time to list thousands of books. I mean I'm a guy who has things to do and people to meet. Scanning a eload of books is something that I'm just not going to do. I think i'll settle for a 100 or so at a time

 

C

[Aces]

Hello everyone,

 

I've got about 5,000 books in my collection currently (mostly Marvel and DC books from the 60's and 70's) and I've decided I want to sell a good chunk of the mid grade books in favor of buying highgrade items. I want to start putting together runs of these silver and bronze age titles to sell. I'm thinking Spidey, Hulk, Thor, TTA, TOS etc and some Supes Any recommendations on how many books per run that would be ideal? Further, is ebay the only realistic outlet for online selling of middle of the road books?

 

I'd appreciate any comments and/or advice.

 

Thx.

 

Chad

 

Offer them here as singles first unless you have complete or near complete runs and don't want to break them up. Some people here actually collect mid grade stuff.

 

The titles I'm collecting now are 12 and 15 cent Thor and 12 cent Tales to Astonish and in F grade they normaly go for $4-$7 a pop on eBay and when sold in lots closer to $3-$5. I'm speaking of post 1965 Silver, the older stuff does better naturally.

 

Now that I'm down to just a few issues in each run I'd pay a little more than bottom feeder bidding on eBay for the singles I need.

[MemphisChad]

Awesome, I got edited... now I am truly a board member

 

[Aces]

Z,

 

I don't have the time to list thousands of books. I mean I'm a guy who has things to do and people to meet. Scanning a eload of books is something that I'm just not going to do.

 

C

 

Skip the scaning.

Just list what you have here and accept returns no Q's asked.

Check for a page missing or hidden water damage on the back cover and make note of sub-creases, or major cornerfolds, or chips out, or serious creaming/tanning.

 

I'd buy blind on mid-grade from forum members if the price was cheap (eBay level), and returns OK if major defect found (missing page etc...).