Tales from the Comic Box - Rookie Adventures in Buying/Selling/Cons 5 5

[spreads]

Also just snagged a low grade ASM 129 for $50....I think my personal copy is missing pages, i'll crack it open and double check.

[Wall-Crawler]

Delete

Edited December 6, 2017 by Wall-Crawler

[Wall-Crawler]

On 11/23/2017 at 9:32 PM, Wall-Crawler said:

I opted to do a "trial run" because this is a good little show for me.  When I mentioned the show might "die" several of my regulars seemed disappointed, so that was a factor. It also "saves" me from having to organize something on my own right out of the gate should this one have folded and get some more experience.  Most importantly, this will test my "motivation" to do something like this and I want to see how receptive the other person will really be in terms of giving me the reigns and letting me run with my ideas. 

We briefly discussed some of my concerns and ideas and "compensation" for my time.  It is really too early to comment about it more than this as we are going to have a longer sit down early in the New Year to really hash things out.

So, in the meantime, if people have suggestions about promotion/co-organizing a local show (with limited budget) feel free to post here and/or send via PM.

So I have received a bit more information and while still not 100% I will do it, just wondering if anyone has any tips as an organizer or what they have seen successful local shows do right or even things I should be clear about should I sign on. Any advice/tips appreciated.

[thehumantorch]

I haven't organized a show.  You might want to send houseofcomics a pm as he's started up a pretty successful show.

I'd suggest as much facebook and online advertising as possible in addition to handing out flyers and posters to LCS.  Ask vendors what they're bringing and highlight new collections or vendors online.

Perhaps a door prize that requires people to fill out a form with their name and email address.  Then you can create an email contact/advertising list for next show.

Food truck.

[Wall-Crawler]

15 hours ago, thehumantorch said:

I haven't organized a show.  You might want to send houseofcomics a pm as he's started up a pretty successful show.

I'd suggest as much facebook and online advertising as possible in addition to handing out flyers and posters to LCS.  Ask vendors what they're bringing and highlight new collections or vendors online.

Perhaps a door prize that requires people to fill out a form with their name and email address.  Then you can create an email contact/advertising list for next show.

Food truck.

Oh yeah, social media and definitely use Facebook for sure.

Food truck? Neat idea but there is not a single food truck where I live.  

Will keep posted.

[Iceman399]

21 hours ago, Wall-Crawler said:

So I have received a bit more information and while still not 100% I will do it, just wondering if anyone has any tips as an organizer or what they have seen successful local shows do right or even things I should be clear about should I sign on. Any advice/tips appreciated.

All of this is covered in the class I offer...  

[spreads]

18 hours ago, thehumantorch said:

I haven't organized a show.  You might want to send houseofcomics a pm as he's started up a pretty successful show.

I'd suggest as much facebook and online advertising as possible in addition to handing out flyers and posters to LCS.  Ask vendors what they're bringing and highlight new collections or vendors online.

Perhaps a door prize that requires people to fill out a form with their name and email address.  Then you can create an email contact/advertising list for next show.

Food truck.

Online advertising is nice, I've asked the local organizer to do that more - even if it's free kijiji ads. 

I don't know how much of this is within your control, but trying not to setup on concurrent dates of competing venues/events would be key.  The monthly show I've been attending seems to keep landing on dates with similar shows and it's frustrating because it splits the attendees up even-more.

[Wall-Crawler]

8 hours ago, Iceman399 said:

All of this is covered in the class I offer...  

[Wall-Crawler]

So, a turn of events regarding the local show...

The show is "dead".

Not long after my post about being approached to handle advertising, signing on, etc., the "main" organizer called me.  Long story short,  he thought about it more and decided he didn't want the hassle. Simple as that.

Some may ask why I didn't take it on myself.  Bottom line, I don't want to be the "organizer" of a "antique, collectible and nostalgia" show.  Honestly,  I would rather let the dust settle from this one and maybe make something "my own" later on.

So, out of that, will come opportunity (hopefully). What exactly, little too early but for 2018, for shows, it is looking like the following:

Northern Game Expo - April 2018 (already paid up)

East Ferris Flea Market - May 2018 *  This is a one-day flea market that takes place in an arena on a community just outside my home town that I am thinking of trying.  I went last year with my wife, solid turn out, you had to park on the road as the parking lot was full, far more than the local antique show. Tables are DIRT, DIRT cheap (like $10 for an 8 foot table).  I might try to unload nothing but cheap books here.  I also thought it might be a good place to hand out business cards. Never know what kind of newsprint gold could come your way.  Will require a bit more investigation...

Sudbury Graphic Con - June 2018 (waiting for applications to come up).  This is the largest show I do. Looking forward to it.  Will try for a "premium booth" again, but I think you pretty much have to be a "store" to get one.

Northeastern Antique, Collectible and Nostalgia Show - October 2018

Gateway Fan Ex - Late fall 2018 (TBD)

So, other than eBay (just finished last auction for 2017), that is pretty much a close on the year.  I might do a "roll up" of sorts.  As always, thanks for reading!

Edited December 11, 2017 by Wall-Crawler

[spreads]

6 hours ago, Wall-Crawler said:

So, a turn of events regarding the local show...

The show is "dead".

Not long after my post about being approached to handle advertising, signing on, etc., the "main" organizer called me.  Long story short,  he thought about it more and decided he didn't want the hassle. Simple as that.

Some may ask why I didn't take it on myself.  Bottom line, I don't want to be the "organizer" of a "antique, collectible and nostalgia" show.  Honestly,  I would rather let the dust settle from this one and maybe make something "my own" later on.

So, out of that, will come opportunity (hopefully). What exactly, little too early but for 2018, for shows, it is looking like the following:

Northern Game Expo - April 2018 (already paid up)

East Ferris Flea Market - May 2018 *  This is a one-day flea market that takes place in an arena on a community just outside my home town that I am thinking of trying.  I went last year with my wife, solid turn out, you had to park on the road as the parking lot was full, far more than the local antique show. Tables are DIRT, DIRT cheap (like $10 for an 8 foot table).  I might try to unload nothing but cheap books here.  I also thought it might be a good place to hand out business cards. Never know what kind of newsprint gold could come your way.  Will require a bit more investigation...

Sudbury Graphic Con - June 2018 (waiting for applications to come up).  This is the largest show I do. Looking forward to it.  Will try for a "premium booth" again, but I think you pretty much have to be a "store" to get one.

Northeastern Antique, Collectible and Nostalgia Show - October 2018

Gateway Fan Ex - Late fall 2018 (TBD)

So, other than eBay (just finished last auction for 2017), that is pretty much a close on the year.  I might do a "roll up" of sorts.  As always, thanks for reading!

I think you made the right call. 

Just had the monthly show yesterday; as expected it was pretty horrible.  I did okay in sales by having orchestrated a sale with a bunch of books I was asked for, which was nice.  I also ran an X-mas sale on my cheap books and the 1000+ $1 books I blew out at 50 cents.  I moved probably about 20%, which is solid!!  I think moving forward I'll keep those books at 50 cents, it's cheap enough that people can pickup readers of some good titles (e.g. big runs of Web, Spec.).  I don't think I'll be bringing as many boxes though, maybe drop it down to 2 or 3 now that I'm bringing more and more inventory. 

As I mentioned above, this show had a few dealers that attended the other show in the city.  I chatted with a few guys and the organizer yesterday about not having those concurrent shows; I don't know how much of an impact it made in attendance but it's pretty stupid on their part.  Honestly I can't believe we have as many people as we do that drive 60-90 minutes to setup at this show, I wouldn't.

[Wall-Crawler]

2017 YEAR IN REVIEW

I know it may be a bit early, but I had some time, so here goes.  This year was probably my personal best year for buying and selling.  I set up at several shows and made some decent buys and some very nice sales.  I won’t get into any detailed "monetary” discussions but for those who care, here is an overview of the year or a “year in the life of a rookie seller”.  Maybe it is time to upgrade to “novice” seller?  I’ll let you dear reader, be the judge of that.

Shows

I participated in 5 shows, the most to date.  

The largest one I have done, Sudbury Graphic Con went great.  This show exceeded my expectations and I had a great time doing it.  I also really appreciated my family helping me out for this one.  My uncle and aunt, who live in Sudbury, also stopped by the check it out and stayed for quite awhile to see what it was all about, including the cosplay masquerade. they didn't "get it". I told them, I didn't either  This show, while you can always ‘nitpick’ a few things, was very well organized and the staff were all very friendly and helpful.  After a “community discussion”, it seems they are keeping the show a one day event, which I think is perfect.  If they will have me, I will be back.

The second largest show I did, the Northern Game Expo, I was a bit concerned with it being a primarily video game show but I was pretty steady.  The table costs are also very favourable. This show is also very well-organized and the people involved know what they are doing.  I received great feedback and I was invited back and I am a “lock” for April 2018.

These two shows “taught me” that I can “compete” in a bigger venue and be successful, especially with a few helping hands.  Unfortunately (or fortunately), larger shows say in Toronto are not very time friendly (Sunday) and the other closer show has gone to two days, which make me very apprehensive.

The smaller local shows continue to be “worthwhile” thanks to my loyal customer base.  They account for at least 70 -75% of my sales at these shows in my home town. Some of them ONLY buy from me when I am set up at the local shows (not sure why, maybe I should ask) but regardless, without them if I had to rely on “casuals” the local shows would not be worth doing.  One of the local shows, the original show that got me started, has recently folded due to several factors and it was not a show I wanted to “take on” solo, so we shall see how or even if I want to fill that gap.

Overall, I am “happy” with my profit “multipliers” and feel I am getting a good “handle” and system of setting up, but I still want to try a few different things and do continue to welcome advice/feedback and tips from anyone who reads the journal as I have gained some great insights and enjoy hearing about shared experiences from “the front lines”. 

Buying

In early February 2017, started year off right with my first collection purchase. The seller was a repeat customer of mine looking to downsize his collection, which mainly consisted of Defenders, Doctor Strange, a few Fantastic Four, New Mutants, Sub-Mariner, Thor and several other books from the silver to modern age. This was a pretty large lot.  I have not sold all of it as of this writing as some of it I have been “holding” onto but parcels of it have been sold. There were some nice keys in it too, nothing ultra high grade, but definitely collectible. 

At the local show in April 2017, I had my first real "show buy", where I was approached with some books that I never would have expected to come across.  Two old Western pulps (still have them) from 1948, several coverless and roached golden age books (that I am still figuring out what I should do with) a coverless Batman #44 (now sold), some Canadian Editions of Captain Marvel Jr. #58, Marvel Family #21, New Funnies, Kerry Drake Detective Cases #7, Adventure Comics #126, Superman #52 and Junior Miss #30.  All from around 1948.  I finally opted to send the best of those books to CGC.  They are there now and I should have them back early in the new year. I will post here when I get them back.  I might not recoup my costs I have no idea, but figured I would have a better shot with graded books.

One tiny buy in July…Had potential but wasn’t much. Walked away with a handful of books. In August I bought a bankers box of MAD Magazines. I have only sold two, MAD #476 (Trump and Rosie) and an Obama spoof cover. Still have them.  I have to process those.

In August I also purchased about 4 large ‘bins’ of comics from a part-time antique dealer.  This was a pretty good lot…I have more than recouped my costs and then some with the sets I was able to build and were great for shows and still more to move (like the Batman and Outsiders set, it will sell in 2018 I swear).  There were also some minor gems, like Defenders #28 (first Star Hawk), decent grade Green Lantern #59 (first Guy Gardner), Incredible Hulk #92 - #95 (Planet Hulk set, sold), Wolverine (complete Old Man set, sold), Wonder Woman #184 (Adam Hughes cover).

In early October, picked up my last ‘big’ collection of the year.  About 5 or 6 long boxes. Consisted of mostly Zenescope exclusives as the guy buys in bulk to get the “ultra exclusives” but also nice runs of Batman, Deadpool and a real nice mix of other cool books and variant covers.  There was also a low grade incomplete Superman #123 (Supergirl prototype, fortunately the Supergirl story is complete).  This collection purchase has been paid off and is in pure profit generating mode.  Seller says he has more for me in the new year. Looking forward to that.  Never expected the Zenescope to pay these kind of dividends.

Finally, in late October, I picked up a few books while out antique hunting with my wife.  I picked up some oddities and another copy of one of my favourite comics, a high grade Superman vs Amazing Spider-Man Treasury.

All in all, not a bad year for buying but I still long for a "mega score" or ideally, a small but very high quality collection, but then again, doesn't everybody? I'm not sure how much more "common modern" books I will keep buying...Going to have to evaluate on case-by-case basis in the coming year.

Auctions & Selling

One thing I have realized, is that I don’t talk a lot about is selling outside of shows very much.

I consigned one book to Comic Link this year.  It was my Archie’s Girls Betty and Veronica #320 CGC 9.6, CDN Edition.  Sidebar:  Initially, I knew nothing about this book. It was in one of the many, many banker boxes along with several other Archie’s I acquired years ago as part of the hoard.  The only reason I picked this book out of the hoard was because I ran across Doug Sulipas' article in that years Overstreet and there was a picture of the book.  I remembered coming across it in one of the boxes and went hunting for it. Had it not been for my “nerd memory”, that book could still be sitting waiting to be processed with other Archie books.

Unfortunately, the book under-performed a little bit in my opinion and this is not a knock against Clink as a previous consignment the year prior far, far exceeded expectations and the “advice” and offers I was getting on the boards.  So, overall I am happy with Clink and will continue to use them in the future for books where there is not a lot of data, should I decide to consign any other books.

I still do the bulk of my sales on eBay. I opened a store and it continues to work out pretty well. I plan on doing a major restock early in the new year. I also recently streamlined my templates.  I want to have a mix of a nice selection of BIN or Best Offer options and get back to running at one auction a month or every other month.  One thing I have “invested” in, are flash mailers…I freaking love those things.  No more hunting for cardboard.  I find them great for packaging books that are not of high value and the amount of time they save in packing is great. 

One thing I have not spoken about is that I am SLOWLY starting to let go of some keys I had planned on keeping, but I am trying to finish off a personal collection so I am letting a few go.  Some higher end sales for this year include:

• Amazing Spider-Man #129 CGC 5.0 (first Punisher) - I still have an 8.0 as part of personal collection
• Amazing Spider-Man #194 CGC 9.4 (first Black Cat) - I still have an 9.6 as part of personal collection
• Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica #320 CGC 9.6 Canadian Edition (first Cheryl Blossom)
• Daredevil #131 CGC 9.2 (first Bullseye) - I still have a 9.4
• Daredevil #168 CGC 9.6 (first Elektra) - I still have a 9.6
• DC Comics Presents #47 CGC 9.8  (first He-Man)
• Harley Quinn Invades San-Diego Comic Con Original Art (Voldy)
• Iron Fist #14 CGC 9.6 (first Sabretooth)
• Marvel Graphic Novel #4 CGC 9.4 (Canadian Edition)
• New Teen Titans #2 CGC 9.4 (first Deathstroke)
• Preacher #1 CGC 9.8 (first Preacher)

Keys like this are incredibly difficult for me to find in my area, which further contributes to a reluctance to sell them, but it is also my collector mentality.  However, I didn't "hyper ventilate" when I sold books I did not have doubles for, so hopefully the seller mentality is getting a slight edge with non-ASM books when it comes to selling or keeping.

Goals for 2018

Overall, I considered 2017 to be a very successful year for buying and selling and the boards continue to be a great resource and have made some good friends along the way.  My goals for 2018 are as follows:

• Finalize organizing and pricing all of my stock. This must happen.  Part of my challenge is that I have my stock “off-site” and so finding time to organize is challenging as I enjoy lots of outdoor activities, even in winter. I just have to “buckle down” and do it...I feel this one will carry over until 2019 though...
• Keep the eBay machine churning and, if possible, ramp up sales and make more effective use of my store…To truly make this happen,  see bullet one.  Maybe try on the boards a bit more. Look for some new opportunities to sell locally.
• Increase and continue to promote my shows on social media.  While my first foray did not yield “direct” results, I did notice my page got more likes, and I think it may help advertise that I buy books in my local community.

Finally, thanks to everyone who continues to glance at my journal, chime in with their experiences and stories, offer advice and/or simply engage in friendly discussion.  I really appreciate all of it.

Edited December 23, 2017 by Wall-Crawler

[spreads]

Great summary and it's nice that you have goals for next year.  I have some time over the holidays to go through my stuff, price what I want to price locally, and then really expand my lacking ebay activity.  I need to get better selling templates as well, and I might pickup a better laptop as I'm in new of a new machine. 

What are 'flash mailers'?  Have you considered buying cardboard in bulk?  I grabbed a lot from Uline, having pre-cut cardboard is one of the best decisions regarding shipping that I've made. 

[Wall-Crawler]

12 minutes ago, spreads said:

What are 'flash mailers'?  

http://www.geminicomicsupply.com/product/comic-flash-mailers/

[spreads]

1 hour ago, Wall-Crawler said:

http://www.geminicomicsupply.com/product/comic-flash-mailers/

Thanks.

I have a pile of cardboard still, but I may look to these as an alternative.  I don't know if these would be cheaper than what I'm currently doing, but it's a nice option.

[Wall-Crawler]

On 12/18/2017 at 10:27 PM, Wall-Crawler said:

At the local show in April 2017, I had my first real "show buy", where I was approached with some books that I never would have expected to come across.  Two old Western pulps (still have them) from 1948, several coverless and roached golden age books (that I am still figuring out what I should do with) a coverless Batman #44 (now sold), some Canadian Editions of Captain Marvel Jr. #58, Marvel Family #21, New Funnies, Kerry Drake Detective Cases #7, Adventure Comics #126, Superman #52 and Junior Miss #30.  All from around 1948.  I finally opted to send the best of those books to CGC.  They are there now and I should have them back early in the new year. I will post here when I get them back.  I might not recoup my costs I have no idea, but figured I would have a better shot with graded books.

Grades are in! Books have shipped! Should have them on Friday. 

[Wall-Crawler]

On 12/18/2017 at 10:27 PM, Wall-Crawler said:

At the local show in April 2017, I had my first real "show buy", where I was approached with some books that I never would have expected to come across.  Two old Western pulps (still have them) from 1948, several coverless and roached golden age books (that I am still figuring out what I should do with) a coverless Batman #44 (now sold), some Canadian Editions of Captain Marvel Jr. #58, Marvel Family #21, New Funnies, Kerry Drake Detective Cases #7, Adventure Comics #126, Superman #52 and Junior Miss #30.  All from around 1948.  I finally opted to send the best of those books to CGC.  They are there now and I should have them back early in the new year. I will post here when I get them back.  I might not recoup my costs I have no idea, but figured I would have a better shot with graded books.

CGC was in overdrive before Christmas...These arrived this morning.  The Adventure Comics is the highest graded Canadian Edition on the census and the Marvel Family and the Junior Miss are currently the sole Canadian copies on the census.  Poor Superman is at the bottom, 4th and lowest graded Canadian Edition, but I still dig it.

 

 

[CKinTO]

Wow, sweet books! 

[FlyingDonut]

What's wrong with the Junior Miss 30? Looks much nicer than a 5.5.

[Wall-Crawler]

1 hour ago, FlyingDonut said:

What's wrong with the Junior Miss 30? Looks much nicer than a 5.5.

I agree, presents extremely nice. 

The major issue is rusty staple. I know this hurts it but still opted to get it slabbed.  Other faults on the notes are:  Crease left bottom of back cover. Tape pull left centre of back cover breaks colour (wasn't me). Wear left centre of front cover, wear left top of front cover, 

[Wall-Crawler]

Lead on possible collection...

This one is from an gentleman who lives out of town...Like an hour...He is going to MAIL me his list of comics (no email, no cell phone)...The local antique shop where my wife use to work referred him to me.  He said he has a price guide though so we will see. Likely be top dollar asking prices for comics that are not as old as I am hoping but of course I said send me the list.

The guy said he also has a bunch of cigarette cards from his father, most from the 1900 - 1920's.  Asked me if I would be interested in seeing the list of those...I know NOTHING of cigarette cards other than a quick Google search but I figured why not take a look?

Hopefully 2018 starts with a nice new acquisition.

Edited December 30, 2017 by Wall-Crawler