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My road to success (Moving Update 2)
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6,552 posts in this topic

Looking at GPA, I'd say on average, single CGC'd Bats 1 pages go for around $450. Just doing the quick math on that, it may be more cost effective to try and locate a complete (or close to) coverless copy. Again, based on GPA, you might be able to find one in the $4000 - $6000 range.

 

Good luck with the Action 15!

 

Thanks I'll do my best :)

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nothing wrong with a long term view and/or diversifying. The problem is that for MOST businesses that people want to survive day-to-day on, quicker inventory turnover is generally more valuable, even if its a lot more work.

 

There's at least two reports from dealers for Heroescon, you should take a look.

 

I think someone mentioned buying a collection where essentially, the keys end up being sold at just 10-20% profit, with the 'drek' boxes being so for actual the actual 'profit'.

 

For example: I could buy a lot of 2,000 comics. There's some nice keys, which I estimate I can sell for $1,000 dollars. So I offer $800 for all 2000 comics. I end up selling the keys for my $1,000 (relatively quickly), and the rest for $2 per over the next year. So that's a net positive of $4,200 over a year, on just $800 investment. Of course there's a lot of other time spent and selling costs, but that's part of the life of a dealer. And you've potentially made a 'connection' with every person you sold a comic to.

 

 

OR you can take your $800 and buy something that is currently worth $900....and wait for the next piece to come up, put in another $300, then pay for resto and grading and sell for $3,000 in a year. Yes you did a lot less work, but your return on investment for the same time period is much lower. At this point in your career, you probably have more time than you do money, which means you probably need the money a lot more than you need the free time. And at the end you've made a connection with 1 person you sold a comic to.

 

 

Ask any or all of the successful dealers how they started. Of course these are different times, and not all of them may answer or tell the truth, but there's a lot to be learned.

 

And honestly, the quickest way to buy and sell a $1M comic is not by buying and selling comics. Its probably way easier to go to college and get an MBA or law degree and work really really hard. You can still buy and sell comics on the side.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks I'll take a look at that and I want to be a voice actor but before that get a better job because voice actors can make anywhere from $50-450 per hour the problem is unless your really good or have a contract it's not consistent. All I know is I want to be my own boss :)

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Looking at GPA, I'd say on average, single CGC'd Bats 1 pages go for around $450. Just doing the quick math on that, it may be more cost effective to try and locate a complete (or close to) coverless copy. Again, based on GPA, you might be able to find one in the $4000 - $6000 range.

 

Good luck with the Action 15!

 

Thanks I'll do my best :)

Also, consider that

 

-- a heavily married and/or heavily restored coverless book is going to be a LOT less desirable (and thus less valuable) than a clean coverless book for most collectors;

 

-- different copies of the same golden age book vary widely in page quality, cut and even size -- so even if you find parts that go together, they still might not be good 'marriage partners' for each other.

 

I honestly think the Batman #1 will be too expensive and difficult to complete piecemeal -- and the Action #15 is not expensive enough or key enough to make a marriage worthwhile. (I don't imagine a married coverless copy would be worth more than a few hundred.)

 

Just my 2c though. Cheers!

 

 

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Looking at GPA, I'd say on average, single CGC'd Bats 1 pages go for around $450. Just doing the quick math on that, it may be more cost effective to try and locate a complete (or close to) coverless copy. Again, based on GPA, you might be able to find one in the $4000 - $6000 range.

 

Good luck with the Action 15!

 

Thanks I'll do my best :)

Also, consider that

 

-- a heavily married and/or heavily restored coverless book is going to be a LOT less desirable (and thus less valuable) than a clean coverless book for most collectors;

 

-- different copies of the same golden age book vary widely in page quality, cut and even size -- so even if you find parts that go together, they still might not be good 'marriage partners' for each other.

 

I honestly think the Batman #1 will be too expensive and difficult to complete piecemeal -- and the Action #15 is not expensive enough or key enough to make a marriage worthwhile. (I don't imagine a married coverless copy would be worth more than a few hundred.)

 

Just my 2c though. Cheers!

 

 

I agree with all of this. My suggestion would be to sell your incomplete books, even at a small loss, and put that money into easily movable silver and Bronze Age books.

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Looking at GPA, I'd say on average, single CGC'd Bats 1 pages go for around $450. Just doing the quick math on that, it may be more cost effective to try and locate a complete (or close to) coverless copy. Again, based on GPA, you might be able to find one in the $4000 - $6000 range.

 

Good luck with the Action 15!

 

Thanks I'll do my best :)

Also, consider that

 

-- a heavily married and/or heavily restored coverless book is going to be a LOT less desirable (and thus less valuable) than a clean coverless book for most collectors;

 

-- different copies of the same golden age book vary widely in page quality, cut and even size -- so even if you find parts that go together, they still might not be good 'marriage partners' for each other.

 

I honestly think the Batman #1 will be too expensive and difficult to complete piecemeal -- and the Action #15 is not expensive enough or key enough to make a marriage worthwhile. (I don't imagine a married coverless copy would be worth more than a few hundred.)

 

Just my 2c though. Cheers!

 

 

Yes I'm taking that into consideration but I do admit I didn't know that comics that are the same can have different size pages. The reason I'm going after action comics 15 are for two reasons : 1. I want to prove to myself I can finish something without giving up on it

2. I have had three offers already should I complete this comic for more than I paid for it

 

My worry is that Bat #1 is going to be like AF15 with all the Dc movies coming up.

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Looking at GPA, I'd say on average, single CGC'd Bats 1 pages go for around $450. Just doing the quick math on that, it may be more cost effective to try and locate a complete (or close to) coverless copy. Again, based on GPA, you might be able to find one in the $4000 - $6000 range.

 

Good luck with the Action 15!

 

Thanks I'll do my best :)

Also, consider that

 

-- a heavily married and/or heavily restored coverless book is going to be a LOT less desirable (and thus less valuable) than a clean coverless book for most collectors;

 

-- different copies of the same golden age book vary widely in page quality, cut and even size -- so even if you find parts that go together, they still might not be good 'marriage partners' for each other.

 

I honestly think the Batman #1 will be too expensive and difficult to complete piecemeal -- and the Action #15 is not expensive enough or key enough to make a marriage worthwhile. (I don't imagine a married coverless copy would be worth more than a few hundred.)

 

Just my 2c though. Cheers!

 

 

I agree with all of this. My suggestion would be to sell your incomplete books, even at a small loss, and put that money into easily movable silver and Bronze Age books.

 

 

hmmm what comics do you recommend?

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Looking at GPA, I'd say on average, single CGC'd Bats 1 pages go for around $450. Just doing the quick math on that, it may be more cost effective to try and locate a complete (or close to) coverless copy. Again, based on GPA, you might be able to find one in the $4000 - $6000 range.

 

Good luck with the Action 15!

 

Thanks I'll do my best :)

Also, consider that

 

-- a heavily married and/or heavily restored coverless book is going to be a LOT less desirable (and thus less valuable) than a clean coverless book for most collectors;

 

-- different copies of the same golden age book vary widely in page quality, cut and even size -- so even if you find parts that go together, they still might not be good 'marriage partners' for each other.

 

I honestly think the Batman #1 will be too expensive and difficult to complete piecemeal -- and the Action #15 is not expensive enough or key enough to make a marriage worthwhile. (I don't imagine a married coverless copy would be worth more than a few hundred.)

 

Just my 2c though. Cheers!

 

 

I agree with all of this. My suggestion would be to sell your incomplete books, even at a small loss, and put that money into easily movable silver and Bronze Age books.

 

 

hmmm what comics do you recommend?

 

whichever you can buy cheaply and sell quickly for profit, whether its hot moderns, minor keys, horror, gold or silver drek. If you don't think you have the knowledge base for it, its great that you know your limitations, but not great that you're limiting your potential revenue streams due to your lack of knowledge. It seems like you're set on key comics (mostly low grade or incomplete), which is fine, but that's not usually where even the best dealers get their best returns (percentage wise). its more about taking advantage of available opportunities than targeting specific books, especially when your capital is somewhat limited. You got $100,000 in cash, you can go buy 5-10 copies of AF15 and sell them for for 25% more hopefully in 2 years (note that you'd be out that $100K for 2 years).

 

You got $2000, try to turn that into $3000 in two months, then that $3000 into $5000 three months later, and that $5000 into $7000 3 months later, and so on and so forth. (it won't be easy, but its honestly the best you can hope for now). Its not about absolute values, its about return on investment and liquidity. By the end of the year, maybe you've made $10-$15K if you're lucky, but most of your money will still be tied up in your inventory and you've still gotta eat, sleep, etc. This style means that you're scouring all available media for collections to buy, and paying for ads to buy collections, not just targeting a few random books on auction sites each month hoping for a deal. But that's how you build, and grind. Most of the successful dealers you see put in tons and tons and tons of hard work AND started either with significant capital, a ton of comics, other business or comic experience, and most of those guys STILL don't make a great living if you start counting hourly wages.

 

 

Or you could work hard at an LCS/dealer for three - five years, get PAID to learn the business, the trends, the networks, the costs, the history, have $30K saved up and do this for real. THere's very very few successful businesses (especially that involve inventory) that can be started with less than $10K, unless you invent something or have some other unique built in advantages.

 

 

I get that we're not all meant to work for other people. But for most people, to be a great boss, you have to learn a lot from a .....boss.

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Looking at GPA, I'd say on average, single CGC'd Bats 1 pages go for around $450. Just doing the quick math on that, it may be more cost effective to try and locate a complete (or close to) coverless copy. Again, based on GPA, you might be able to find one in the $4000 - $6000 range.

 

Good luck with the Action 15!

 

Thanks I'll do my best :)

Also, consider that

 

-- a heavily married and/or heavily restored coverless book is going to be a LOT less desirable (and thus less valuable) than a clean coverless book for most collectors;

 

-- different copies of the same golden age book vary widely in page quality, cut and even size -- so even if you find parts that go together, they still might not be good 'marriage partners' for each other.

 

I honestly think the Batman #1 will be too expensive and difficult to complete piecemeal -- and the Action #15 is not expensive enough or key enough to make a marriage worthwhile. (I don't imagine a married coverless copy would be worth more than a few hundred.)

 

Just my 2c though. Cheers!

 

 

I agree with all of this. My suggestion would be to sell your incomplete books, even at a small loss, and put that money into easily movable silver and Bronze Age books.

 

 

hmmm what comics do you recommend?

 

whichever you can buy cheaply and sell quickly for profit, whether its hot moderns, minor keys, horror, gold or silver drek. If you don't think you have the knowledge base for it, its great that you know your limitations, but not great that you're limiting your potential revenue streams due to your lack of knowledge. It seems like you're set on key comics (mostly low grade or incomplete), which is fine, but that's not usually where even the best dealers get their best returns (percentage wise). its more about taking advantage of available opportunities than targeting specific books, especially when your capital is somewhat limited. You got $100,000 in cash, you can go buy 5-10 copies of AF15 and sell them for for 25% more hopefully in 2 years (note that you'd be out that $100K for 2 years).

 

You got $2000, try to turn that into $3000 in two months, then that $3000 into $5000 three months later, and that $5000 into $7000 3 months later, and so on and so forth. (it won't be easy, but its honestly the best you can hope for now). Its not about absolute values, its about return on investment and liquidity. By the end of the year, maybe you've made $10-$15K if you're lucky, but most of your money will still be tied up in your inventory and you've still gotta eat, sleep, etc. This style means that you're scouring all available media for collections to buy, and paying for ads to buy collections, not just targeting a few random books on auction sites each month hoping for a deal. But that's how you build, and grind. Most of the successful dealers you see put in tons and tons and tons of hard work AND started either with significant capital, a ton of comics, other business or comic experience, and most of those guys STILL don't make a great living if you start counting hourly wages.

 

 

Or you could work hard at an LCS/dealer for three - five years, get PAID to learn the business, the trends, the networks, the costs, the history, have $30K saved up and do this for real. THere's very very few successful businesses (especially that involve inventory) that can be started with less than $10K, unless you invent something or have some other unique built in advantages.

 

 

I get that we're not all meant to work for other people. But for most people, to be a great boss, you have to learn a lot from a .....boss.

 

words or wisdom and I'll read this again later. I'm looking for a job as soon as we move and a comic shop and post office are the first things on my mind. I'm not set on key comics but I know they are what sells the fastest. I'm very hard on myself on what I need to learn for example I'm not good with romance, war, variants and modern age comics :) but I know it's something I need to improve on.

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Business partner update

 

My dad became my business partner he deals with the business side of things and I deal with the comic side of things

 

that was an unexpected twist! good luck!

 

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Business partner update

 

My dad became my business partner he deals with the business side of things and I deal with the comic side of things

 

that was an unexpected twist! good luck!

 

 

 

hahaha I'll keep you guys guessing and thanks and his 1st order of business is to sell my collection to get cashflow which isn't as easy as it sounds

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Business partner update

 

My dad became my business partner he deals with the business side of things and I deal with the comic side of things

 

that was an unexpected twist! good luck!

 

 

 

hahaha I'll keep you guys guessing and thanks and his 1st order of business is to sell my collection to get cashflow which isn't as easy as it sounds

 

This is an excellent start because cash flow is vital to any business. You can't eat air while waiting for that big deal. If you ever want to do this full time you'll need a steady flow of money coming in.

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Business partner update

 

My dad became my business partner he deals with the business side of things and I deal with the comic side of things

 

that was an unexpected twist! good luck!

 

 

 

hahaha I'll keep you guys guessing and thanks and his 1st order of business is to sell my collection to get cashflow which isn't as easy as it sounds

 

This is an excellent start because cash flow is vital to any business. You can't eat air while waiting for that big deal. If you ever want to do this full time you'll need a steady flow of money coming in.

 

Thanks that's what my dad is saying as well as you guys

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haha I posted my collection before but had no bites for the whole thing but I can give it another try soon ;)

 

Most of the time with a large diverse offering like that - will be the price. If you were in the states - I might have made an offer as there was some of interest - but it would have been probably about 50% of what you were asking (I never ran the numbers though, that is just an arms length estimate - the actual offer may have been less).

 

Why?

 

1 - buying in large volume usually gets a discount vs FMV as you are moving a lot at once.

2. While there are some noce books there -many are a hard sell. JLA .5 will sit on any dealers shelf for a long time to get a good price - and coverless books are even harder to get any real value. I understand the allure of having JLA 1 (and especially 2 that you can sell) -- but the low grades makes them long term sells. Books like this you have to treat as long term/secondary sells where the $$$ you receive for them will be a nice adder to the money stream - but a sporadic adder.

3. you were desperate. You stated you wanted to sell before you move. Nothing says discount like desperation.

 

Now - 1 and 3 manageable - 2 is the tricky one. All along a lot of the boardies have been giving you advice on inventory management. Buying higher priced books and hoping that they can be flipped on movie or TV show hype - is a great way to lose a lot of $$$. Especially if you are buying single books from ebay or a store - then you are counting on the upward mobility to generate the profit.

 

This can be part of the business plan - but should not be what you are counting on. You need to look at ft88's journal again - and read form the beginning. He (and many others) make the profit on volume. Buying in volume and splitting up into manageable blocks. We all go for individual books from time to time from ebay, the boards, or even a local comic shop- but in my experience, this is MUCH more hit or miss than collection buys. You need to focus on books that you can sell for 40-50% more than you bought them for - then the ebay/paypal fees will not crush any profit.

 

Another thing to work on is timing - example is the infinity gauntlet #1s you have. Last time this was brought up - you were insisting that you were going to hang on to them for the movie bump.

 

You should at least have 1-2 of these listed for sale somewhere NOW. Hold a couple back - but get the cash while you can. This is a VERY COMMON BOOK that A LOT OF DEALERS HAVE - and the volume of them in circulation/for sale is only going to go up. CGC alone - there are 38 for sale now in 9.6 or higher (per GPA - tons more raw and other grading companies). Get some profit NOW as a buffer in case the book levels off or starts pulling back based on volume. Then - you have more of that cash flow to put back into more books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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