Cashing out...what would you do? 2 2

[mackenzie999]

Hey everyone...

I've been pretty inactive going on several years now, but a rather large and pressing bill (I have six months to pay) has come up and I think it's finally time to cash out the collection. It's a modest collection, probably $10-15K give or take, highlights being a ToS39 4.0, Avengers 4 4.5, and maybe half a short box full of other Marvel silver worth a few hundred each, mostly all CGC'd. Nothing major but decent stuff for the most part. So I have a couple of questions, mostly of a speculative nature.

1. Is now a terrible time to sell? During covid my ToS39 was selling around $17K but has since dropped significantly it seems. I don't have too much choice here but if it seems like it really is a very bad time I might be able to pursue other options.

2. What would be the best/easiest venue to unload my books? I don't want to deal with individual shipping, returns, shennanigans, etc, so I'm currently considering Heritage, ComicLink, mycomicshop.com, but I have no experience with any of these in either buyer or seller capacity. Perhaps there's a better option I haven't listed that fits my criteria? I'm not in a major rush but would like to have some cash in hand within a few months if possible, but I'd rather not leave money on the table by having a fire-sale.

Any other advice or suggestions is greatly appreciated!

[calicomic]

On 8/9/2023 at 11:28 AM, mackenzie999 said:

Hey everyone...

I've been pretty inactive going on several years now, but a rather large and pressing bill (I have six months to pay) has come up and I think it's finally time to cash out the collection. It's a modest collection, probably $10-15K give or take, highlights being a ToS39 4.0, Avengers 4 4.5, and maybe half a short box full of other Marvel silver worth a few hundred each, mostly all CGC'd. Nothing major but decent stuff for the most part. So I have a couple of questions, mostly of a speculative nature.

1. Is now a terrible time to sell? During covid my ToS39 was selling around $17K but has since dropped significantly it seems. I don't have too much choice here but if it seems like it really is a very bad time I might be able to pursue other options.

2. What would be the best/easiest venue to unload my books? I don't want to deal with individual shipping, returns, shennanigans, etc, so I'm currently considering Heritage, ComicLink, mycomicshop.com, but I have no experience with any of these in either buyer or seller capacity. Perhaps there's a better option I haven't listed that fits my criteria? I'm not in a major rush but would like to have some cash in hand within a few months if possible, but I'd rather not leave money on the table by having a fire-sale.

Any other advice or suggestions is greatly appreciated!

Sorry to hear about the large bill.

Depends on how you think the comic book market will be in 5 to 10 years. 

I think it is a bad time to sell but I also don't think we will get insane book sales like we saw the last couple of years maybe ever again. A ToS39 is always a key book people are looking for at FMV you should not need to much time to move the book.

I Have sold at all 3. Heritage will get the best price but they screw you in fees .The book you have is not a 1 of 1 or super high grade. I would only ever recommend heritage for books that are one of a kind super high grade or art. The amount of fees they take is 20% plus sometimes more depends on some factors. Also they have a long turn around. 3-4 months  plus they take like a month to pay.

Comic link takes 10 percent and has a quick turn around time. I put books in the auction like 4 days before the auction lol. You will not get the Ha price but with the only 10 percent fee you will mostly make more money.

My comic book shop is good 8 percent to 10 I think there are a few factors on the percent. Ok on turn around time and great customer service, The price you get is ok they don't really do that many big books. 

Comic connect is another auction house with similar fees or Instagram has some sellers that only take 5 percent and give good prices. 

If I was you , I would try a buy it now price on the boards here for the ToS39 . Shop it around Ebay, IG, boards. Send all the other books to Link,comic connect, my comic book shop. If you can't sell the ToS39 in a couple months then ship it to a auction house. 

[badback83]

If comparing sales now to say, 2021, then yes, it’s a bad time to sell.

But, if you need the money for something, then IMO, it’s never a bad time to sell.  

[Readcomix]

There is a ratio between effort and return, and it sounds like you could use to maximize return. Most avenues involve shipping. If you pack well and get a smidge of postal luck, boards sales will involve little in the way of returns or shenanigans. Does half a short box cgc’ed mean approx 75 slabs?

Short of doing a local show or two, I’m not sure how you avoid some form of shipping. I’d try to move the bulk of the lesser items first; maybe of you hit your number you can hold onto your biggest book(s). 

Best of luck!

[MattTheDuck]

Being forced to sell at market lows is a bad situation, whether stocks or comics.  Sorry to hear about this.  

I understand you don't want the "hassle" factor but there is a trade-off there.  My go-to advice is to sell here on the Boards.  If you're willing to put up with the packing/shipping, cashing checks and so on, you will definitely be able to net the highest dollar amount for your books.  As has been noted, using any "service" whether auction or otherwise is going to cut into your net proceeds.  On the other hand, you will reach a much wider audience and for the "right" books that may make a difference.  

You live in an area with a lot of Boardies and knowledgeable comic book folks.  It's not impossible you could find someone local to give you a hand with the listings here and the packing/shipping when the sales are complete.  

[whomerjay]

Strongly suggest call Doug at ComicLink. Very easy to work with them. He’ll tell you which books will go into which of the next 2 auctions. Your books (sounds like mostly SA) should  do well, with good net based on low 10% fee. You can even get an advance.

easy to work with

typically good results 

no shenanigans

[B2D327]

I know some hate all the fees and bs one may have to deal with selling on eBay but it does offer sellers the option to do local pickups instead of shipping.  You can also list them through any social media accounts you have with the same local pickup option just to give you some other ways to go about moving your books. One of the benefits that I’ve experienced doing it this way has been that the majority of buyers have been the type that will ask if you have other books to sell and you can turn 1 book into a multi-book sale as well as adding a return customer that would make moving your stuff a much easier and convenient task

[Jordysnordy]

If you need the money really fast I would sell your CGC books here. Yes it may be a little more work sending out X amount of boxes but you will have the money ASAP and with CGC books you can say no returns as many around here do mark that in their sale threads.

[Dr. Balls]

Selling here is always a great option. Even if you have to discount back a bit, there are no fees and your customers are usually agreeable. 

[1Cool]

I don't think there will be a better time over the next 6 months so now is as good as any to bite the bullet and move the keys.  By the time you get them all ready we will be in the pre-Christmas season when sales do go up after the summer months.  Hope it goes well.

[MatterEaterLad]

Echoing what Dr. Balls said. Try selling here first to save on fees. You get to name your price and if there are no takers, then you can go to Clink or Comic Connect.

[rexinnih]

Haven't sold any on the boards yet myself but when the time comes will do what MatterEaterLad outlines. 

[rsouxlja7]

I sold a significant portion of my collection in Feb-May and was unsure if I made the right choice. Since then the S&P 500 fund I put the money in has gone up around 10% and the books I sold have gone down another 10-20%. Doesn't seem like the comic market is coming roaring back anytime soon and 2021 will remain an outlier. 

[Phicks]

It sounds like you have a relatively small collection, with the items you mentioned worth over $1,000.  I think it makes a lot of sense to at least list them here for whatever price you think is fair.  You have very little to lose.

[Kramerica]

On 8/9/2023 at 12:59 PM, calicomic said:

I think it is a bad time to sell but I also don't think we will get insane book sales like we saw the last couple of years maybe ever again.

I agree with the former and will debate the latter  There have been several periods in past years where I thought "we're never going to see these kinds of sales ever again" so I sell and then I'm proven wrong. Again. And I always kick myself. Again. Because I thought I'd learned my lesson  IMO there will always be periods of significant growth or maybe just spurts.

Sometimes it'll be helped by other factors like the advent of eBay, auction sites or the popularity of super-hero films. Maybe next time it'll be because someone figures out that if you don't slab your books the paper will disappear in the climate challenged air. Poof. Or maybe after the Civil War some books will be more plentiful on the other side and people on the one side will see those prices soar. Or maybe everyone will get free money again. Or the indisputable proof of alien life here on earth (yes, it's coming) will spark a Sci-Fi book craze. It could be anything. But there will be something. There will always be something that makes a quarter bin book a $900 seller. And there will always be a know-it-all like me who cheerily sells a book for 10 times what they paid for it only to see it multiply by 20 times down the road. 

To the OG I would say wait if at all possible with SA books but if you cannot, I really, really like MCS.

 

[batmiesta]

I always try to sell here first and they usually sell . 

[mysterymachine]

My advice would be to stop worrying about getting the best amount for your books and consider how much better you would feel if your debt was paid off. Is their interest on your debt? If so, why wait? I had to sell a few books recently to pay $2500 in car repairs, and I hate selling my books. But honestly, I don't miss them. Although none of the books I sold were major keys.

 

[mackenzie999]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I'm leaning towards selling my better books here. Possibly as soon as this weekend, but we'll see. I was partly holding off because someone else was selling some of the same books I have, but those have cleared out.

[MattTheDuck]

On 8/16/2023 at 1:26 PM, mackenzie999 said:

Thanks for the advice everyone, I'm leaning towards selling my better books here. Possibly as soon as this weekend, but we'll see. I was partly holding off because someone else was selling some of the same books I have, but those have cleared out.

That's great - I'll be watching for your sales thread.  Before you start, make sure you read through the "rules" which are not particularly complicated but need to be adhered to as the Mods watch 'em.

 

[FlyingDonut]

On 8/9/2023 at 2:28 PM, mackenzie999 said:

Hey everyone...

I've been pretty inactive going on several years now, but a rather large and pressing bill (I have six months to pay) has come up and I think it's finally time to cash out the collection. It's a modest collection, probably $10-15K give or take, highlights being a ToS39 4.0, Avengers 4 4.5, and maybe half a short box full of other Marvel silver worth a few hundred each, mostly all CGC'd. Nothing major but decent stuff for the most part. So I have a couple of questions, mostly of a speculative nature.

1. Is now a terrible time to sell? During covid my ToS39 was selling around $17K but has since dropped significantly it seems. I don't have too much choice here but if it seems like it really is a very bad time I might be able to pursue other options.

2. What would be the best/easiest venue to unload my books? I don't want to deal with individual shipping, returns, shennanigans, etc, so I'm currently considering Heritage, ComicLink, mycomicshop.com, but I have no experience with any of these in either buyer or seller capacity. Perhaps there's a better option I haven't listed that fits my criteria? I'm not in a major rush but would like to have some cash in hand within a few months if possible, but I'd rather not leave money on the table by having a fire-sale.

Any other advice or suggestions is greatly appreciated!

I did this in March 2022 with Comiclink. I sold about 400 slabs through them over three auctions. I had an exceptionally pleasant experience and would recommend them highly. Part of it that I sold at the absolute apex of the COVID bubble but everything was very pleasant.