Advice for first-time "dealer" at a local Con?

[Schmakt]

Like most everyone, I need money... and I need space...

And I have a ton of comics that I don't actually really care about. So, in September, I was hoping to buy a table at our local Con and setup, mostly a bunch of $1 boxes.

 

I may take some of my better stuff and put it on the wall with crazy prices just b/c people will maybe be looking at the books, but I'm not really looking to sell anything high-dollar.

 

Currently, ALL of my books are individually bagged/boarded in short boxes. Everything is broken up by publisher (Marvel / DC / Indie (for now)) and then ordered by alpha then number. I have full boxes of Iron Man and Thor, which I have separated; everything else is all mixed together within the order I mentioned above.

 

I've also broken out complete mini-series and complete crossovers and was planning to put them in a separate "sets" box

 

Table fee is $75...

I was thinking...

$1 ea

12 for $10

25 for $20

75 for $50

 

Have any of you non-dealers done this before?

Or, if you were at a Con, what would make you stop and look at my stuff?

I hope to bring my girlfriend along too, and she's kind of cute, so that should help...

 

So, yeah... any advice would be appreciated.

[Mac Man]

3/$1 basically wins my money every time... unless I see 4/$1 but that's usually not til the end.

[OrangeNemesis]

i usually only go through dollar bins to fill runs. So i would say if you have some solid runs the multi dollar books for a deal would be great.

[FlyingDonut]

Like most everyone, I need money... and I need space...

And I have a ton of comics that I don't actually really care about. So, in September, I was hoping to buy a table at our local Con and setup, mostly a bunch of $1 boxes.

 

Buy two tables. Always better to have MORE books at a $1 table then less. Also bring more books than you think you'll have room for and always be updating your boxes to look "fresh" during the show.

 

I may take some of my better stuff and put it on the wall with crazy prices just b/c people will maybe be looking at the books, but I'm not really looking to sell anything high-dollar.

 

Good idea! Also bring two or so boxes of "real" books. You never know.

 

Currently, ALL of my books are individually bagged/boarded in short boxes. Everything is broken up by publisher (Marvel / DC / Indie (for now)) and then ordered by alpha then number. I have full boxes of Iron Man and Thor, which I have separated; everything else is all mixed together within the order I mentioned above.

 

Breaking them up by publisher is a pain for dollar box divers. It may be more of a pain than its worth for you to resort them, however. Alphabetical is great.

 

I've also broken out complete mini-series and complete crossovers and was planning to put them in a separate "sets" box

 

Good idea as well. Discount them.

 

Table fee is $75...

 

Get 2

 

I was thinking...

$1 ea

12 for $10

25 for $20

75 for $50

 

Do the 12 for $10, but don't do the other big discounts as you'll be having people cherry pick your boxes. Another thought is to "build a box" for $150 - that's essentially 50cents a book.

 

Good luck!

 

I hope to bring my girlfriend along too, and she's kind of cute, so that should help...

 

Always a plus. (thumbs u

[MrBedrock]

Isn't this thread kinda like asking the wolves the best way to protect the sheep?

I'm not sure that the advice of collectors who are in search of the best deal is the best advice for someone trying to sell comics. Unless you are truly trying to unload them.

I will say that bundling complete sets is not the best idea. It is my experience that folks who are looking for those sets already have some of the issues, so you are forced to price VERY cheap to make them attractive. Why not sell them individually. You can still get a buck a book or whatever for each individual book you sell. And at that price you will more than likely sell all of them.

And now I get to use this...

[sckao]

Isn't this thread kinda like asking the wolves the best way to protect the sheep?

I'm not sure that the advice of collectors who are in search of the best deal is the best advice for someone trying to sell comics. Unless you are truly trying to unload them.

I will say that bundling complete sets is not the best idea. It is my experience that folks who are looking for those sets already have some of the issues, so you are forced to price VERY cheap to make them attractive. Why not sell them individually. You can still get a buck a book or whatever for each individual book you sell. And at that price you will more than likely sell all of them.

And now I get to use this...

 

This is an interesting angle.

 

What sells better, story arcs and sets, or single issues? I'd think you'd get more money upfront (even with a discount) on the set since you're bundling wanted issues with others that may not ever sell.

 

I've personally been loathe to break up my sets when I do have sets since they seem to have more "worth" to the stray collector who wants to read the entire story arc or set. I also see a lot of people with their checklists as well who want individual issues, but they tend to be filling out main series, not comics found in mini-series or limited series.

 

In most cases though, you're looking at either hoarders, cherry pickers, or completists. Most probably already know what the book is or own copies of it already. If I lay out individual stacks of Secret Wars #1 through 12... The #1s, #8s, and #12s will probably be purchased in higher quantities than the other issues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gaz973]

As a collector who now sells at marts on a semi regular basis my advice is don't stress it, enjoy the experience and learn what works from it, if you want to do another one in the future. Also, I agree with donut that you should take as much stock as you can possibly fit. I think the way you have split and sorted the books sounds fine (thumbs u.

[Sal]

Like most everyone, I need money... and I need space...

And I have a ton of comics that I don't actually really care about.

 

 

GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

 

 

 

the most important thing is DON'T PANIC. if you sell them all, you sell them all. if the stuff is decent, you might get one of the dealers to buy you out at the end of the day, especially if the books are all bagged and boarded.

 

were you at the show last Sunday?

[Schmakt]

Thanks for all the great input so far...

I suppose it is kind of like asking the wovles to protect the sheep or whatever, but I really do just want them out of the house... at best I'm hoping to make maybe $200...

 

I'm afraid that starting off at 3/$1 is going to kill my chances of coming away with anything... I only have about 2500-3000 books that I'm trying to move, and I'm hoping that I can unload maybe 10%...

 

It is mostly a lot of runs... very few random title random issue things, so hopefully I will be able to move chunks at a time.

 

Interesting point, MrBedrock, about the sets being an annoyance... I had actually thought about that and weighed that having them together would work... if they don't sell, I can try ebay. And, of course, always leave the option to bust the sets open if someone asks.

 

And, FlyingDonut, I'll find out exactly what that $75 gets me... I definitely hate to be squished when I'm browsing, and I hate boxes on the floor... I did see some people at this last show that had brought some of their own small tables... if that looks impossible, I think your advice for 2 tables would probably be well-heeded.

 

pushing all the publishers back together wouldn't be difficult... the more I think about it, the more I think you're right about that too. Since that's how I sort my comics at home, it just felt natural to do it for this as well.

 

Thanks again for all the advice... very helpful to have input from people who aren't me.

 

[Schmakt]

Like most everyone, I need money... and I need space...

And I have a ton of comics that I don't actually really care about.

 

 

GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

 

 

 

the most important thing is DON'T PANIC. if you sell them all, you sell them all. if the stuff is decent, you might get one of the dealers to buy you out at the end of the day, especially if the books are all bagged and boarded.

 

were you at the show last Sunday?

 

yep, I sure was. I was trying to get a table at that show, but I got in touch with Rick too late... I'll be skipping Greenville, so hopefully the next CLT show...

I had a great time at the show this time too... didn't get anything on my list, and I mostly bought from the Heroes and Dragons guy... got a bunch of Valiant last issues and a pretty fair price on a VF-ish Grendel #3.

 

 

All the Copper/Modern stuff I'm looking to move will be things I personally bought off the shelf, so condition shouldn't be a problem... older Bronze stuff is probably all F/VF and, I think, good $1 box fodder. If some dealer wants to buy me out at the end, I'm definitely game.

 

[Johnny G]

3/$1 basically wins my money every time... unless I see 4/$1 but that's usually not til the end.

 

Personally, I would stay away from this approach. Just my .

 

As we all know, there will be people looking for a "deal" even if the books are priced at 3/$1! So start at your $1 price and stick yo your discount arrangement as mentioned. If the stuff is half decent, it WILL move.

 

And as others have stated; have fun with it!

 

Good luck

 

John (thumbs u

 

PS: The 'cute girlfriend" is a definite asset to your booth!

[thirdgreenham]

If you only project sales of $200, don't buy 2 tables. My advice is a lot of the same mentioned already. 12 books for $10 sounds like a good enough deal. 3 for $1 is fine if the stuff you're moving is nothing but Dazzler and Micronauts. Keep a positive attitude that you'll do well and you will do well. Talk to your customers and help them find what they're looking for. Label your boxes well, showing your customers what is where. Make lots of signs. Have a stand behind you for better stuff, or a separate spot to put your better books. Don't overprice your better stuff unless you really don't want to sell them. Bring as much as you can. Good luck!

 

 

Andy

[gaz973]

Oh yeah, forgot to say good luck and if you don't sell what you want, at least you still have the cute girlfriend to take back after the show (insert weh-hey graemlin here).

[sckao]

 

Also, don't forget that you usually need a Sales Tax ID number (I don't know the laws for your state.) and that you need to pay Sales Tax.

 

So paying for a table, gas/parking, lunch for you and your GF, paying sales tax on your sales, etc... You'd need to sell a lot of 3/$1 comics then to even make a profit. (Sticking with the $1 bins is a better idea.)

 

Good luck. (thumbs u

 

Selling at conventions is fun, but not if you're actually losing money.

 

 

 

[MK Ultra]

Perhaps put an ad in craigslist.org first and see if you can sell them all, get your price and save the transport and table fees. I've done a couple of shows and also worked for a guy that did sports cards shows. I always had lots of fun, especially if it's at a mall. If it's at a hotel or something, still lots of fun. Stay positive, be friendly, have a blast.

 

A box is what 9 inches wide? 6 foot table means 8 boxes wide, 8 foot table would mean 11 boxes or so. If you've got 2,000 to 3,000 books that you want to sell that's about 8 to 12 boxes so you could get away with one table. You can put some boxes on the floor, if they're $1 each people will look through them especially if they're sorted alpha numeric. Don't worry about them being separated by publisher some people only like sweet DC's and some people only like independents, so you'll do okay there. If you're thinking of only selling 10% of your books that's only 200 to 300, so you're going to pay $75 to $150 to sell $200 to $300? Assuming the best case scenario, you're going to get $225 for driving there, buying lunch, and hanging out all day? That's probably okay, but worst case is paying $150 to sell $200 and only getting $50. That's probably not okay. Basically you're giving your table fee away in comics.

[VintageComics]

All these silly posts and no one asks the most important question:

 

Got a pic of your girlfriend? We wanna make sure she is cute enough to sell comics.

 

[chrisco37]

Like most everyone, I need money... and I need space...

And I have a ton of comics that I don't actually really care about.

 

 

GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

 

 

 

the most important thing is DON'T PANIC. if you sell them all, you sell them all. if the stuff is decent, you might get one of the dealers to buy you out at the end of the day, especially if the books are all bagged and boarded.

 

were you at the show last Sunday?

 

yep, I sure was. I was trying to get a table at that show, but I got in touch with Rick too late... I'll be skipping Greenville, so hopefully the next CLT show...

I had a great time at the show this time too... didn't get anything on my list, and I mostly bought from the Heroes and Dragons guy... got a bunch of Valiant last issues and a pretty fair price on a VF-ish Grendel #3.

 

 

All the Copper/Modern stuff I'm looking to move will be things I personally bought off the shelf, so condition shouldn't be a problem... older Bronze stuff is probably all F/VF and, I think, good $1 box fodder. If some dealer wants to buy me out at the end, I'm definitely game.

 

Sal and I were both there. Next time, we'll have to meet up.

 

$1 books seem to rule the day at the Charlotte Con. The stuff you describe will be perfect. Just bring a few nice books as well to sweeten the look of your booth..

[Dale Roberts]

Generally speaking, if you are going to sell the books in sets, put them on ebay. If it is anything decent, you will probably get at least 1.00 a book. If it is total , maybe you will find the 2 collectors to bid on it. My point is this, if you sell all the good issues for 1.00 each (which you will), you will be stuck with the that no one wants. Just using this as an example, as I don't know what you have. Say you have the current Amazing Spider-man run, from 1 - 59, 500 - 541. You can sell issues 1- 36 for quite a bit of money on ebay, 529 - 541 for quite a bit of money and the rest of the issues are basically worth 1.00 each or less. Seems like a few of those Spideys will bring at least 10.00 (#29, 36, 529 all come to mind). You could probably get at least 200.00 on ebay for the set, and probably higher. Or you can sell some of the issues for about 40 bucks at 1.00 each and still have some of them. Another example, you can sell the Planet Hulk stuff for stupid money, #24, 25, 8 all for decent money, and the rest of the books in the entire run are 1.00 books or worse.

 

If it stuff like early Valiants, you can almost certainly get more. If it is Witchblade or Fathom, you can still get decent money. If you bought image, or most DC that is not Jim Lee art (with the exception of Birds of Prey #8, and very few other books), then it is 1.00 books. Most Marvel from 4 - 5 years ago is pretty good and will sell quickly for 1.00 and more in many cases. Wolverine #146 for example is a solid 25.00 book.

 

If you have Bronze Age at F/VF and it is 1.00, you will sell alot, probably to 2 or 3 guys who will pull alot.

[Dale Roberts]

You can get 6 long boxes on a 4 ft table, 9 on a 6 ft table and squeeze 12 onto an 8 ft table.

[gcstomp]

I set up at shows all the time, and do great with 1 table of $2 boxes, 6 comics for $10, and my other tables with better material in mylar or CGC. My $2 boxes are books from mostly bronze age, with some silver beaters mixed in. Even material you wouldnt think will sell like your Howard the Ducks, and your lame Atlas and Charltons will move.

I would cherry pick to death the saps who sell at 3/$1 of anything with a .30 cover price or less, and any Spidey from any age before the doors open to public.