FineCollector

I'm of the opinion that comics should never be displayed. Take a scan and hang that on the wall.

Gene Colan C C Beck Kurt Schaffenberger Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez Jack Burnley Win Mortimer Bernie Wrightson Frank Brunner George Perez John Byrne

Lay the comic on the board before you put it in the bag. The board is there to protect the corners, more so than keeping the book straight.

Do what some of us do... collect everything! Then you'll have everyone's guest appearances!

My comics suck, but I could go for a kitten thread!

Holy crow, jsilver went full Kav on my thread, with RMA dressing on the side! Yes, personal decisions are my primary motivation. I'm not treating this as a business venture. The promoter advertised well the last time, and I overheard a lot of new buyers saying "wow, look at all the comics!" Those are people I feel strongly that we experienced collectors should help along, to ensure the future health of our hobby. Ottawa's a tough place to do anything but buy new off the stands. @spreads gets it, but few other locals do. Long story short, I hope to meet some of these happy people and help contribute to a positive con experience. I'm loving the discussion, so thank you for all the advice and kind words so far. I'm going to have to set up a stand, or get a booth with a wall, there's a lot of experienced guys saying that's the way to go.

Definitely not expecting top dollar for my run stuff, I want it to move by the handful. I'm just saying the bins have to be enticing, or I wouldnt expect anyone to touch them.

I'm a run collector approaching this from what I'd want to see as a buyer. I'm more likely to pay full price for run books if there are keys I still need in there, because I have the privilege of clearing out my want list all at once. Once your bin is down to the leftovers, I'm less likely to pay top dollar: no one wants what's left, so I'm in no hurry to buy them, and I'll still be left hunting the same book that everyone else wants. My priority is to sell books and make space, but not necessarily to maximize profit. I really just don't want to get ransacked before the show opens, and have to stand behind sorry looking bins for an afternoon. If I get to give good deals to nice people, and maybe stick it to a two-faced opportunist of a dealer, I consider that a very good day.

Actually, we want it open for a lot longer, so everyone can take a shot at you, and then block you! Welcome to the boards!

The message you send to the customer is, I understand what you want, and if I dont have it, I know where to get it. The next time, they'll come ask you first, which is exactly what you want.

I'm expecting to set up a table for the first time at a small, local con in March. I don't expect to do it regularly, I just hope to move enough volume that I don't have to do it again for a while! I'm having trouble pricing the books. I know what things are worth, and I'd like to price on the low end, but I'm concerned about the dealers coming in and clearing out the bins before the doors open. I know I should be happy just to make a sale, but I really dislike a few of the local guys. They price sky high and don't offer deals, so I have no desire to feed them cheap books. They don't want to develop a reciprocal relationship, they just pick the bones and move on. The other dealers are decent joes that I have a good relationship with, but those few stinkers spoil it for everyone. My "favorite" is a guy who lost his wife because he lives like a hoarder for comics. His house is floor to ceiling boxes of drek in most rooms, because he doesn't sell anything. He stocks comics at some of the local card stores, and charges 50-100% markup for run filler and keys alike, while complaining no one buys back issues. He makes money off the weekly books, but he's in debt, so no deals to be had. The last show attracted a lot of novice collectors, and I hate that the city doesn't have a store with moderately priced back issues. The locals end up buying anyway for lack of a better option, but it's not healthy for the market. If I'm going to make space and clear out stuff, I'd like some control over who's getting it, and not just toss it into the air and walk away. My ideal price is low enough to make customers happy, and high enough to prevent the books from getting vultured early, but that's not easy. I can always deal down, but if I match the scummy dealer pricing on the sticker, that just makes my small booth unappealing. I don't have a reputation as a seller, so I'd just be another overpriced jerk. My strategy will be to forgo the wall of keys, and keep everything in the boxes. I want people flipping through the bins to have the enjoyment of saying, "oh! the keys are still in the run!" and give them the joyous feeling that they're getting to an untouched box (even though I've had my paws all over it!). I'm hoping that'll entice some people to take some issues around the keys, because I'd do the same. The key collectors are still going pick things out, but that's unavoidable. Theft is more of a risk with this model, but I don't have anything over $200, so it's worth a shot. Everyone's display has to be completely set a half hour before doors open, so there's no avoiding dealers fishing around in my stuff before the show starts. If you seed your bins with deals, do you load them at the beginning of the show and hope they last, or refill as the show goes on? I can't keep the boxes closed, or show up late, and there's a clause in the contract that selling is open to the public, so I can't tell anyone to go take a hike. I don't want to ask for trade, because the local vultures don't have anything I want, and if they do, I'll get roasted by their ridiculous markup. I'm not going to get my way, but I'm wondering what people think anyway.

I went with Spectacular Spiderman 1 9.6. Figured it would be an early speculation book that people would need to slab to get any money back out of it. Also, there cant be that many Spectacular run collectors anymore who are still holding their treasured raw copies.

Crud... my favorite cover in the run. Wish I could've seen it. Nice haul, though.

No more rules disputes, everyone uses the same terms. In exchange, sellers benefit from premium selling space. Buyers also benefit from doing business with proven members of the community. It's not perfect, but worth a discussion, I think.

What about two sections? I've been wondering if it's worth having subsections in the sales forum for approved sellers only. One fixed set of rules, approved by members, written in stone. Not on the list? Cant post in these subforums. Have gold/silver/bronze, and copper/modern/other for approved sellers only. Brand new members or occasional sellers can do it in "uncertified - all ages". New members can be voted in based on good behavior in uncertified.