Wall-Crawler

...Now that my "con season" is basically "done" until the early fall...What to do now? Well, I know I have to and I have started to ramp up my eBay store and auctions. I have some outstanding customer orders/requests to get to as well. I have one customer who has been pretty persistent so I need to do that. One thing I don't think that people who don't do this who fully appreciate is the time involved...I have a 9 - 5, a wife and family, I do a few little conventions, I have a life outside of comics...I am always on time with my orders and actual dealings just sometimes getting to it is not always on their timetable In terms of other conventions as a guest, I *might* try to go to Fan Expo in Toronto as a guest but that is the last weekend of the summer and usually like to be on the water instead of a convention hall. I'd love to go to a Toronto Comic Book Show but they are always on a Sunday, so to go I would basically have to take a day off work, so...Not ideal. I am *really* hoping that I am able to find a decent collection or a few quality books somewhere over the remainder of the summer...This (so far) has been my SLOWEST year since I started doing this for finding anything new Given that finding any new collections has been difficult this year, one thing I am "dabbling" in a bit is using funds from sales (mostly from commons of my stock that has long since been paid off) to buy some keys to "hold onto for later". Given any keys I buy will be funded through mostly the sale of "common stock" that has long since been paid for, I am perfectly fine to "hold" for awhile if need be. I have purchased two keys this way (nothing "major") that I feel that I got a fair deal on with no immediate plans to resell. I might continue to pick a few here and there but not something I want to get too heavy into at this point. I have heard the discussions of margins a lot. As I am not putting myself in any kind of real loss situation, but for the bigger sellers out there, are there any "general rules" what are "decent" margins when buying a key to resell later? Keep in mind, I can "hold" for awhile if need be. I know it depends on the book, but just asking for advice and generalities should anyone feel like sharing.

Suspicions confirmed. Attendance was down a fair bit from last year. I may not have touched on this but I did not feel as "swarmed" as last year but I thought that may have been attributable to having the larger booth so things didn't seem as "crammed" but attendance was for sure down. There were were a few factors why but a main one was also that there were two other events taking place downtown the same day. However, knowing that I still did as well as I did with a fair drop off in attendance, still makes me feel good about my end results and this show as a whole but definitely reinforces my desire to keep lobbying and applying for the larger booth space to be able to offer that all important variety.

Couple of sketches I had commissioned for Sudbury Graphic Con (Northern Ontario), Canada. Zombie Spidey on a Walking Dead blank homage to Web of Spider-Man #32 by local zombie art master, Rob Saccheto http://zombieportraits.com/ Venom by Loc Nguyen (this was a "whopping" $45 CDN) https://madmonkeylove.artstation.com/

Can we combine with previous orders?

Well, if it there is one problem you guys' don't have, its VARIETY! The one item that did not sell, were hardcovers for me...Specifically, the larger Omnibus editions. No one even wanted to look at them but I don't really care as I only brought a few for a local customer who asked if I would mind taking a handful on commission. They were priced very fairly but zero interest. I will buy pretty much anything to improve the variety I can offer...Basically, if it is superhero or pop culture or somehow related and the price is right, in my area, unless it is complete junk, I will usually buy it. ...The trick is finding it :)

Thanks! Yes, I have had people make one or two lame comments but never anything that rude to that degree. Lesson learned, if there is a next time, I will shut it down much earlier. I think I tried to be a little too "accommodating" given the fact he had been a decent customer. The lists have worked well, sometimes you bring stuff and they don't show and other times it works out great! Regardless, it helps motivate me to price new stock to get it into the rotation. Lately for Gold Key/Dell, Cartoon books and Westerns have even come up a few times, so I think my super hero stock is decent enough so I may concentrate on adding those to the mix. I think it is because the demographics here skew a little older.

The wear problem was due to the boxes having been through several shows and being loaded and unloaded into the back of a pick up truck. One show, it was also horrible weather so they got a little wet in spots, which did not help. I don't attribute the wear to thievery but thanks for the tip! I never would have thought that and I don't think I have had any books stolen but wow...The things people will do to lie, cheat and steal...Definitely good information, thank you.

Sudbury Graphic Con 2018 Sales Report The previous show from last year was my biggest show of the year. This is likely my last show for several months and based on last year, I had the expectation or hope that this would be also be my best show of the year. Customer Conflagration: Unfortunately, I had my first truly negative experience with a customer this show. One of my "regulars" showed up and for some reason he was "in a mood". He is a bit of a character/know it all, but always buys X-Men comics from me. This time he picked out a stack and wanted WAY too much off the sticker price. I proposed a counter that I thought was still a very good deal for him. He initially agrees, then recants. He then goes off on me saying "he always buys from me" and that he "knows X-Men better than me" and these "books are not worth this much" and became rude and caused a scene when I would not go down in price any further. He acted like I have never given him a deal before too, despite always giving him a discount off the sticker price. So, as I am standing there, after trying to be polite for several minutes and wanting to tell him to take a hike along with a few expletives of my own, my wife can see that I am starting to get tense and steps in (who had years of retail experience) and was able to shut him down. She basically says to the guy (paraphrasing here): "We are not in the business of giving books away. We have given you discounts before and we are offering you one now. We are as low as we are going to go and arguing with us is not going to change that so you can either buy the books at this price or please move on". He bought them and left in a huff. As far as I am concerned, he has burned a bridge with me and if he thought I didn't discount enough this time, well, I won't be so generous with discounting him in the future. If I lose him as a customer, honestly, I can do without that kind of so no great loss. CGC Books: Again, I was one of the few sellers who had CGC books...I might have been the only seller with CGC books as I did not see any others, but then again, I don't have a ton of time to go and check out other vendors. Last year, I sold 5 CGC books that accounted for about 30% of my sales total. This year I brought a bigger and more varied selection, including some books I thought for sure would sell, like a Amazing Spider-Man #361 in 9.6 and New Mutants #87 in 9.4 but nope, lots of interest but no one was buying them this year. This year, I only sold one CGC book...Avengers #196 (newsstand edition) in 9.4 I like to think I price fairly and I brought some "hot books" so I am not really sure why CGC sales were down. About halfway over the show I took one row of CGC books off the wall display and replaced them with some cool raw books in the $20 to $60 range as I thought maybe the price might have been a factor. Keys: The only other key books I sold were raw...They two biggest were high grade copies of Amazing Spider-Man #194 and Uncanny X-Men #128. Biggest seller: Sets, once again, reigned supreme, followed by random run books. The "biggest" sets that I sold were Batman and the Outsiders #1 - #32 + Annual #1, Grimm Fairy Tales Presents: Wonderland #1 - #36, Ultimate X-Men #1 - #78 + Annuals #1 and #2 (I was glad to move that one, it had been in the boxes for awhile). The rest ranged from nice sets of various price points of your typical Marvel and DC titles with a few independents in the mix. The fact that sets continue to sell so well for me in my area is another reason to add information on the top of the sets to make them even more "sellable". Run Books: Run books did fairly well, but not all titles. There were several titles that I did not sell a single issue of. The usual books performed well and there were a few surprises, like run books of Marvel Team and Two-In-One. Various DC horror books did OK too. Surprise Sale: The biggest "surprise" sales were actually Lois Lane comics. At the previous Sudbury show that I did (Northern Game Expo), I had a young woman approach me if I had any Lois Lane comics, I said that I did but not at that show but that I could bring them for Sudbury Graphic Con. I know you can never "count on" people to show up but I said I would bring them and I did. Well, very close to the end of the show, she showed up! She ended up picking up nearly $100 worth of random and mid to higher grade Lois Lane comics. I keep a list of what customers ask for and next show, believe it or not, I am going to try to bring some Cartoon/Disney books and Westerns. Misc. Items: This show I sold one treasury (Fantastic Four), Star Trek Motion Picture magazine (Marvel), a 1977 Shazam Pepsi glass, one X-Men action figure and some Archie digests. I like to have a variety, something to offer everyone but my action figure stock is pretty much non-existent now as are some other misc. items. I hope when I go antiquing with the wife in late summer I can start to find a few more things. What people asked for that I did not have: Alien/Predator and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I'm starting to wonder if it is the same small group of people who keep asking... Overall Assessment: Despite the initial "showdown" with the customer mentioned above, I had a very fun show. People were nice and happy to be there and the show definitely has a family vibe. I remain very impressed with how well this show is organized and how friendly the organizers are. Again, this show is put on by staff and volunteers from the Greater Sudbury Library and they do an excellent job. In speaking with other comic vendors though, they said that their sales were all down from last year. I am not yet 100% certain but it did feel like this show was a little less busy than last year. While I did not sell as many CGC books and keys, I did "better" this time around as I made a little more money selling less CGC books and keys and the bulk of sales were sets, runs and 'cheapies'. I definitely think being able to offer a wide variety of books was my key to success this show. I was the only comic vendor to have a premium booth as they are limited. One really local vendor (lives/operates in Sudbury) was 'upset' that I got a premium booth and he did not as he had been "supporting the show" longer, etc. I am not sure what swayed the organizing committee to grant me a premium booth over others but all I can say is that I provided a detailed account in my application why I wanted one and what I could offer as a vendor. I never just "assumed" I would get one. Overall, my profit after all expenses was very satisfactory and I will look forward to participating again in 2019 again with the hopes of again getting a premium booth.

Ha! They are pretty good but no, they were special guests and later performed at the after party (which I did not attend). https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/5gqkqq/these-people-dress-up-like-transformers-and-cover-the-transformers-soundtrack

Thank You!!! Yep, all new nice looking boxes. I also applied white duct tape to the very bottom of the front and back and underneath to hopefully help give them some additional longevity. The plastic dividers had computer printed labels, all titles organized alphabetically. On the front of the box that may not be clear in the photo's it would say what "range" of titles were in each box, for example "C- D", "W - Z", etc. ...One thing I may do is also print the titles on the back of the dividers so when I am behind a booth and someone asks if I have something (because either a) they are too lazy to look or b) still can't find it if there is a crowd), I can identify where that title may be from behind the booth. "Premium" Comics were singled out in a specific long box, organized alphabetically as were my variant cover boxes and those were kept in the middle of the booth to help keep an eye on them. Sets were divided alphabetically by title (A - Z) but unfortunately ran out of time so not all of them had top labels, but will in the future. Cheapie boxes were also just organized alphabetically (A - Z) I was also glad to get more stock priced and available for the show, so bonus all around. I am quite pleased with where I am at now, organizationally speaking.

Says who?

Sales Report incoming later in the week...

SUDBURY GRAPHIC CON 2018 PHOTO PARADE PART II I wanted to support some local artists, some of these guys I have had great conversations with and starting to form some friendships. Auric of the Great White North "Starter Pack" Canadian Independent Press comic book by Davis Dewsbury and Andrew Thomas. Have to support our locals! Got em signed and remarked! Venom sketch on a blank cover by Loc Nguyen - A "whopping" $45! Pre-show commission by local zombie master, Rob Sacchetto...I asked for a homage to Web of Spider-Man #32, one of my favourite covers, but zombiefied on Walking Dead blank. I asked for Spidey to be in his traditional red and blues.

SUDBURY GRAPHIC CON 2018 PHOTO PARADE Just a few pics of the show that I was able to snap or have sent to me from friends. Set up day before the show...I love being able to set up the day before, makes day of con so much less stressful. I secured a "premium booth" this year, or a 16 x 8. My shelving units, banner and 'wall' of CGC books...I switched books around to help keep it seeming 'fresh'. This pic was taken a few minutes after the Con opened... Customers starting to browse our wares... Members of Cybertronic Spree checking out some comics I have mentioned it before, but I can't thank my wife enough for helping me out so much with my side hobby. Couldn't do it without her! This pic was taken by a representative from local radio station (92.7 Rock)...They were kind enough to share it with me

Pretty basic...I did not have time to put set info on top of all of them, just did the larger ones but I want to have that info on the top of ALL sets going forward...Basically, I put the Title, Issue #'s or Series and Price. All of this info was also on front of set. Totally stole this idea from @Artboy99 and @thehumantorch