The cost of selling moderns… 2 2

[the authority]

On 4/22/2023 at 12:04 PM, kimik said:

It is interesting to see how much the modern game has changed the past year or so. While raw prices have been relatively stable on books at shows, the prices on slabs has cratered to the point that it is no longer worth submitting a lot of them even in 9.8. Looking at a lot of the modern keys/hot books I am pricing now for the Calgary Expo, they sell for enough raw that the profit margin is higher than getting them slabbed. I am curious how this impacts CGC long term - will submission rates drop to the point where they have to cut prices?

 

I’m curious as to how they’ll respond too. I assumed that submissions were way down looking at turnaround times. There are certainly other factors that can impact TAT other than the number of books but the change was drastic. 
 

Prices hadn’t slowed me down at the time in which I quit submitting but grading did. My last submission was  around 92-96% 9.8s on 300 comics. One box had 12 out of 25 9.8s.

Been grading books well before CGC existed. Well aware that it is an opinion and not a science,  Still, that one really got me. Hopefully that problem has been addressed. 

Never say never but until cost of grading comes down or the price of graded moderns goes up, I’m sitting on the graded sidelines. 
 

It does seem like a great time to buy stuff. 

[shadroch]

On 4/22/2023 at 1:50 PM, justafan said:

For moderns that tend to be volatile in price it is much worse indeed.

For a single raw modern that needs a press now you're looking at 

$10 priority mail shipping to CGC (2-4 days)

Receiving/processing (7-14 days)

$15 pressing

$15 pressing fast track (7+ working days)

$9 Grading pre-screen for those that don't pass.

$25 Grading fee

$15 Grading fast track (10 working days)

$5 submission fee

Encapsulating/QC (5-7 days)

$15 FedEx return shipping (3-5 days)

Total Grading costs: $100 and a door to door turnaround time of 33 to 47 days for volatile moderns.  Minus any membership discounts or credits.

You can trim the costs of shipping by sending in multiple books or save on outbound shipping by dropping off at a show but those failed $9 grade pre-screens will eat up any savings.

 

At its cheapest you're looking at

Show drop off $0 (3-5 days)

Grade only $25 (20 days)

online processing fee $5

Encapsulation/ QC (5-7 days)

FedEx return shipping $15 (3-5 days)

 $45 and 26-30 days

Also, since eBay charges FVF on the taxed amount as well as an extra international fee for international sales the true fee is closer to 14%-16% per sale as Tnexus referred to.

 

 

 

If you sell through MCS, your cost is 10%. Less if the book hits $300plus.

[kimik]

On 4/22/2023 at 4:57 PM, the authority said:

I’m curious as to how they’ll respond too. I assumed that submissions were way down looking at turnaround times. There are certainly other factors that can impact TAT other than the number of books but the change was drastic. 
 

Prices hadn’t slowed me down at the time in which I quit submitting but grading did. My last submission was  around 92-96% 9.8s on 300 comics. One box had 12 out of 25 9.8s.

Been grading books well before CGC existed. Well aware that it is an opinion and not a science,  Still, that one really got me. Hopefully that problem has been addressed. 

Never say never but until cost of grading comes down or the price of graded moderns goes up, I’m sitting on the graded sidelines. 
 

It does seem like a great time to buy stuff. 

I am pricing out some of my Strange Academy spec orders right now (I should have done more than 100 ). For #1 A covers, if it is not a 9.8 you are better off selling them raw as the raw prices are the same as slabbed 9.4s and not much lower than 9.6s. For #2-18, you are better off selling them raw even if they grade out at 9.8 from a profit perspective. Crazy.

[fastballspecial]

Alot of thoughts here. What many have said yet is your are dealing oversaturation right now. 
This is all the result of Mass slabbing from everyone thinking they are going to rich during and 
after Covid. This will be here for awhile in slabs. Its also why raws are selling better and will for
the foreseeable future. When you comic shops are full of slabs that should tell you there is a 
problem. 

When selling you get to write off a lot of expenses including fees.  Going forward selling will be 
easier as people that don't want to pay taxes will drop off and try to do shows only. So this is a
very moot point unless of course you think you won't have to pay taxes which is laughable going forward.
 

Someone mentioned ebay is out of touch now. They are going to live auction format soon. Nobody touches
their volume level. FB can get close in some comic groups. IG and Whatnot are not even in the ballpark. 
Ebay also offers a lot more protection than any site I have used. I do not know how seller/buyer works
for MCS, but I hear good things. I've had to email Whatnot twice about their shipping fees if you do not watch
it you will overcharges in multiple shipping cases by a lot.

IG sales have taken a hit due to What Not as some sellers have moved. Smart sellers do both. 
Facebook buying his hit or miss. Many do not grade their books so its hit or
miss as well as I have had many instances of poor packing. So again much more risk. I will occasionally buy from What
not, but only comic shops or very new comic sellers selling personal collection. I refuse to buy from any influencers
on that site. Again with Whatnot they do not grade unless you ask(Most of the time) and they ship in Geminis as
standard. They have to ship a specific way as well there.

As many mentioned already. Selling comics is time. If you don't have the time the profit won't be worth it. Also if you don't
like selling comics then honestly you are behind the 8 ball from the beginning. I see this with sellers sometimes at 
my shows. Trust me buyers see this.

On flip side I am selling out local shows every time from dealers coming from 3 different states coming to shows.
Raw sales are fantastic right now. I do really well selling $1 and $5 books along with a slab or two and price books. 
Bronze issues are on fire as you can sell them easily in decent grade. You will continue to see shows pop as promoters try to expand out to smaller markets and sometimes they get cut a deal from a city looking to bring in conventions. 

A good seller will be selling in multiple venues to increase both traffic and volume. Downside is when you filing taxes
You get W2s from multiple sources and you have to track sales from multiple venues. 

 

Edited April 23, 2023 by fastballspecial

[shadroch]

On 4/22/2023 at 7:26 PM, kimik said:

I am pricing out some of my Strange Academy spec orders right now (I should have done more than 100 ). For #1 A covers, if it is not a 9.8 you are better off selling them raw as the raw prices are the same as slabbed 9.4s and not much lower than 9.6s. For #2-18, you are better off selling them raw even if they grade out at 9.8 from a profit perspective. Crazy.

It seems like they aren't worth slabbing. Would the hobby be better off if people weren't speculating on the latest variant of a supposedly hot book that no one will care about in 18 months?  I think so, but I'm not the future of the hobby.

[awakeintheashes]

Unless I’m stuck with a ton of a book that nets some profit in 9.8 and a loss at raw, I avoid slabbing moderns that don’t have a track record. I avoid going heavy of those books to begin with, but you win some and loose some.

If there is some weird limited variant when I can be first to market, then maybe I’ll send it in, but it’s not really worth the time, effort, and investment to slab many of the newer books unless you’ve worked it out in your business model. 

The elimination of the prescreen minimum does help a little if you’ve got a decent amount of books but not enough to meet the previous threshold to qualify. 

Edited April 23, 2023 by awakeintheashes

[miso]

Been a fair number of years since I've been on this forum.  Looking to buy a home soon and have small to decent sized(maybe 50+ slabbed and 200ish Raw) modern comics (mostly Saga, Chew, and WD) looking to sell.  What's my best bet to make this as painless as possible?

[awakeintheashes]

On 5/1/2023 at 10:48 AM, miso said:

Been a fair number of years since I've been on this forum.  Looking to buy a home soon and have small to decent sized(maybe 50+ slabbed and 200ish Raw) modern comics (mostly Saga, Chew, and WD) looking to sell.  What's my best bet to make this as painless as possible?

Welcome back, man. Been a while. Best bets are really still here and eBay if you’re looking for the most painless ways to unload and get eyes on them. 

Maybe check the WTB section and find people who might be looking for some of the stuff you’re trying to unload. 

WD books have cooled off a lot from the heyday when random issues would sell for $10 pretty easy, so be prepared for that.

Good to see you around again and good luck with the house hunt.