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

[Robot Man]

Thanks for posting such a detailed report. Always great to hear how other dealers approach a show. I would say for an antique show, you did REAL well. Not a lot of comic book collectors come to these type of shows. Low dollar amount sales at a show like this don't surprise me. You really have to make it up in volume and it sounds like you did. 

I do a large monthly antique flea market in LA. I used to bring a table full of comics but they just wern't selling so I stopped. I have a lot of old toys, advertising, sports, music and pop culture stuff that does pretty well. Old advertising signs sell as fast as I can find them. As well as Records, Disneyland, Monster, Slot Cars and surfing/skateboarding items. Recently, I brought about 6 boxes of comics and was very surprised. Lower grade and price from literally all eras. At the end of the show it was easily 1/3rd of my total sales. A lot of non-comic book collectors were buying old TV/Movie, Humor and even Western comics. Priced cheaply of course. I also had a long box of $5. GA and SA books. Sold about a third of them. Had some requests of better, high dollar GA and SA keys and such but don't want them damaged so I will leave them at home. 

When I do a comic book show, I usually leave the Disneys, funny animals, western and TV ones home just because they don't sell there. You really have to cater your inventory to the type of show you are doing. 

[thehumantorch]

2 hours ago, Wall-Crawler said:

I am totally stealing this. Great idea.

Easier to sort, easier to find for customers and books take less damage because customers don’t have to pull them up out of the box and then drop them back in.  

Originally I would write out each label but started making a list of sets built in word and then printing off and taping on.  Looks better and easier to read.  Also like to include year set was published and the range of books and if the set is complete.

[Wall-Crawler]

2 hours ago, Robot Man said:

Thanks for posting such a detailed report. Always great to hear how other dealers approach a show. I would say for an antique show, you did REAL well. Not a lot of comic book collectors come to these type of shows. Low dollar amount sales at a show like this don't surprise me. You really have to make it up in volume and it sounds like you did. 

I do a large monthly antique flea market in LA. I used to bring a table full of comics but they just wern't selling so I stopped. I have a lot of old toys, advertising, sports, music and pop culture stuff that does pretty well. Old advertising signs sell as fast as I can find them. As well as Records, Disneyland, Monster, Slot Cars and surfing/skateboarding items. Recently, I brought about 6 boxes of comics and was very surprised. Lower grade and price from literally all eras. At the end of the show it was easily 1/3rd of my total sales. A lot of non-comic book collectors were buying old TV/Movie, Humor and even Western comics. Priced cheaply of course. I also had a long box of $5. GA and SA books. Sold about a third of them. Had some requests of better, high dollar GA and SA keys and such but don't want them damaged so I will leave them at home. 

When I do a comic book show, I usually leave the Disneys, funny animals, western and TV ones home just because they don't sell there. You really have to cater your inventory to the type of show you are doing. 

@Robot ManYou are welcome and thanks for reading!!! 

I also think that because this was a *brand new* show, it had something to do with the turnout and eager buyers. It will be interesting if this show can sustain itself, I sure hope it can as the organizers seem into it, plus it benefits their antique business so hopefully it will last. One thing I am running out of is comic related items like toys and other pop culture related stuff to get that variety, but it is hard to track down here (as are comics, been in a buying slump this year).  

@spreads earlier you mentioned the importance of returning customers. This is absolutely true. For some reason, less of my regulars than previous shows attended, I don't know why, maybe they are sick of me   but the ones who did show dropped some of the most total sale purchases, like $50, $100 and $200.  I am also very aware of the importance of engaging everyone, politely in a non "in your face way" of what I have and what I am about. You can also read body language to see who is interested, somewhat interested or who don't give a rats butt.  I had a couple casually looking and I saw they had a Star Wars toy. I asked if they were into Star Wars and they said no but their son was. I mentioned I had some Star Wars comics if they were interested. They asked me what I had and I gave them some options. They ended up picking up a few things based on my recommendations.  The sale was only for $25 but it was a sale. Important to engage customers.

Sidebar:  The sports card guy bailed after a day, didn't come back for Sunday but he and his wife never seemed to engage anyone and spent a lot of time on their phones. I don't get that. I was on my feet all day, pretty much both days.

 

 

[spreads]

3 hours ago, Wall-Crawler said:

Sidebar:  The sports card guy bailed after a day, didn't come back for Sunday but he and his wife never seemed to engage anyone and spent a lot of time on their phones. I don't get that. I was on my feet all day, pretty much both days. 

I really don't get that, all I can say is that maybe they don't really enjoy the hobby.  If you're out to just make a buck you won't be successful, and that's for any business.  Last show I did I was ready to pack-it-in with about an hour left (the show was winding down and it wasn't a great day for me); I wanted some time to relax when I get home for a little bit before I ran out for ball hockey.  Anyways, there was a guy I had seen before that was looking through my bins for the last 30-40 minutes, I had chatted with him (and the dealer beside me) throughout this time and he ended up buying $50 (granted he got a pretty sweet wolverine #1 in there).  Anyway, the point is you have to be completely engaged throughout the whole show.  You can't expect to have buyers come to you only when you're in the mood.

Don't overlook those small wins, they all add up.

Edited April 25, 2018 by spreads

[thehumantorch]

26 minutes ago, spreads said:

I really don't get that, all I can say is that maybe they don't really enjoy the hobby.  If you're out to just make a buck you won't be successful, and that's for any business.  Last show I did I was ready to pack-it-in with about an hour left (the show was winding down and it wasn't a great day for me); I wanted some time to relax when I get home for a little bit before I ran out for ball hockey.  Anyways, there was a guy I had seen before that was looking through my bins for the last 30-40 minutes, I had chatted with him (and the dealer beside me) throughout this time and he ended up buying $50 (granted he got a pretty sweet wolverine #1 in there).  Anyway, the point is you have to be completely engaged throughout the whole show.  You can't expect to have buyers come to you only when you're in the mood.

Don't overlook those small wins, they all add up.

when you book a booth for a show you're supposed to stay 'open' until end of show.  Tempting to pack up early but not fair to the promoter.  I usually spend the last 30 minutes of the show putting books in order and sorting in some of the single books that I had flat on the table back into boxes.  

And you're right, sales can happen at the end of show and every sale helps.

I'm always trying to find a way to sell unusual items and to use the floor space under my tables.  I have a bunch of digest sized books that have shown up in collections and they never go to shows.  Adventure, Justice League, Archie, etc.  Took a short box and cut off the top half and put the digests into bags and boards and into the cut off short.  Because the short box is cut down the digests are easily seen.  Placed that box on the floor under a table in my booth and sold 8 of them for between $5 and $8 each.  Also had about 20 70s big little books.  Tossed them into an open box and put them on the floor.  Sold all but 1.  Finding ways to effectively display unique items and grouping those items will help.  Next time I see digests in a collection I'll actually want them because I've found a way to display them, on the floor in a space that rarely works for selling and they do sell.

[Wall-Crawler]

So this Sunday, I have the NORTHERN GAME EXPO 2018

Here is the link to the show for those who may be interested:  http://northerngameexpo.com/

I contemplated driving the day before and staying overnight, but the show is only an hour and a half away and I was able to set up in time last year and it is not supposed to rain like mad like it did last year either so I decided to suck it up and save some $ and just drive there in the morning. I have to be set up by 11 so really, it shouldn't be too bad.

I had a very good one day outing there last October. This will be my second time participating as a vendor at this show. As this show is video game focused, there is only one other "pure" comic book vendor and large anime vendor.  The event is being held in the gymnasium of a local college.  Apparently the college cosplay student group will be hosting a cosplay event during the show as well () so that will be "interesting" to see how that is.  Lots of other cool stuff going on too, like video game tournaments, etc.

Last year, the show had a very good vibe to it and I was busy for most of the day so  this year will not be any different and maybe even better!

While I did not have time to institute some of the changes I wanted to (I will be for 100% for Sudbury Graphic Con), I have had time this week to add some items to bring that I *think* may help out sales.  In addition to run books, cheapies, sets/trades and wall books, I am adding a full short box of DC 3D Lenticular covers and doing $4 each or 3 for $10 (I picked up a whack as part of a modern collection last year).  Last year, I sold out of pretty much the few Zenescope books and trades I brought.  Some of you may recall, last year I picked up a huge Zenescope lot so I am also bringing a short box of various Zenescope variant covers (and trades to put in with the sets) - I have not had time to really organize/price all the commons yet (sad!).  I am also bringing what few action figures/toys I have left.

I am also thinking of placing my "Infinity War" themed books on the table as "display area" given how "timely" they would be and maybe even help attract some casuals? And having said that, I hope the movie doesn't keep any big comic fans away from actually attending the show!

Edited April 26, 2018 by Wall-Crawler

[spreads]

I appreciate your diligence, you get back on the wagon (horse?) and off to the next one.  I might have to miss my next show as we take possession of our house a week later (plus we need to open-up our cottage for the first time) and I would rather get my boxes sorted before then. 

Plus I'm not getting the movers to move my comics, I'm sure they'll do a good job but I'd rather handle it on my own.  No 4000 box loads to worry about so it's manageable.   

[Wall-Crawler]

49 minutes ago, spreads said:

I appreciate your diligence, you get back on the wagon (horse?) and off to the next one.  I might have to miss my next show as we take possession of our house a week later (plus we need to open-up our cottage for the first time) and I would rather get my boxes sorted before then. 

Plus I'm not getting the movers to move my comics, I'm sure they'll do a good job but I'd rather handle it on my own.  No 4000 box loads to worry about so it's manageable.   

This back-to-back thing was not really by choice.

I had signed on NGE 2018, a long time ago, basically last November.

The show that just went by, that was a brand new local show that got started up and it was not really even on my radar until February/March 2018 and I wasn't even sure if I would do it exactly because I have this show this weekend.  However, ultimately I decided that I did not want to "miss out" and I wanted to be "on the ground floor" so to speak and signed on to the new local show knowing I would have to do back-to-back.  Given my success at the last local show, I am glad that I did.

As this is only my second NGE show, I really don't know what to expect, sales wise. I still don't know exactly where in the auditorium I will be placed...I asked to be along a wall (I hate those centre aisle kind of booths) but I know I have 4 six foot tables to work with but I am bringing an extra 4 foot table just in case I have the opportunity to use it.

Edited April 27, 2018 by Wall-Crawler

[spreads]

Sounds great, look forward to your setup!

[Wall-Crawler]

Northern Game Expo Post-Show Assessment

This is my second time attending this show. The show is video game focused but they have several other vendors. I was pretty much one of two pure comic vendors but there was a large anime/manga dealer.  I had booked three six foot tables.  The show opened at 11:30 AM for VIP’s and ran until 5 PM.

Challenges:  Sigh. So two shows in a row where there were some “bugs”.  The evening before the show, my wife, who always helps me a GREAT deal whenever I set up at shows (she helps with display, awesome customer service and is a wizard on cash) came down with the flu the night before. 

It was touch and go pretty much up until the last hour I had to leave on early Sunday morning whether I would have to cancel or not as I hated the idea of leaving her alone at home and no way I could have managed the booth on my own.

Fortunately, my parents were able to pitch in and offered to help me and after assurances from my wife that she would be fine for the day, my parents and I jumped into their truck and made the trip.

Advertising:  This show has no problem advertising. Social media. Local radio stations. Even a billboard or two. They also have sponsors as well that help get the word out.

I also did a little bit of my own via my Facebook and Instagram pages.

Attendance:  The event was very, very well attended. One of the organizers told me it was their best showing yet with around 1,455 people coming through the gate.

Venue & Booth Location/Size:  The venue was at a local college, which was great. Super easy to get to and they had two loading zones and there were no ramps or stairs to worry about, basically rolled straight on in.  The gym was very spacious.

The downside though, is that for some reason that I am still not clear on, they had to partially close the gym dividers and leave an opening between them and it ended up basically creating two large rooms…I am not sure why it was like that but the general consensus about the show was that was the one thing that could/should be changed and that the whole gym needs to be opened up.

The “bonus” though, that I had to “work around” was that they ended up giving me more room than I paid for as they had it available…I ended up having nearly double what I had planned on, so that created a bit of a challenge in that I really had to spread out as A) did not have time to “restock” from last show and B) I didn’t plan on having that much room to work with. So I basically took anything extra I had and instead of using the shelving units I have, I put a bunch of stuff on the table.  I used one smaller table as a 'cash' and storage table to hold people's books.  I was also against the room divider wall, so you will see in the pic how I tried to make it all work.

Costs:  My rental space cost me $180…I bought my parents coffee and lunch so roughly looking at say $220 in cost. The total trip is roughly three hours but my dad refused gas money. My dad right now has a bum shoulder and they have lots of work around the cabin they need help with so I can repay them that way they said…Which I would have done anyway (ha ha). Family is great.

Sales:  This show was a bit of the opposite of the last show.  My run books did pretty well, and there were people who wanted to dig. Sets were so-so and cheapies were good for the kids. I sold a few action figures as well.  The main difference is that there were definitely “collectors” here and they showed up looking for something a little more “higher end”. 

I also took advantage of Infinity War.  I put out, in the centre of my table, most of my remaining Infinity War/Gauntlet books and displayed them (see pic).  Nearly every single one of them were purchased.

I also sold not one, but two slabs!

One of my repeat customers purchased a low grade golden age Superman slab and a few other smaller items for my single largest purchase ever of just over $700. Another customer bought a Spider-Man #1 CGC SS 9.8 (signed by McFarlane).  The customer who spent the $700 wanted a several other books but couldn’t get them now so I told him I would just pull those ones and set them aside for him for the next show and he could have first refusal on them, no obligation for the later date either.  I do stuff like this for my regulars who support me.

What was slightly disappointing was that last NGE show Zenescope sold pretty well, this show, I only sold a few items, like a large TPB and a few sets but not like last time. Variant sales were a little disappointing too. Sets were a little less than before as well, but again I am still glad I brought all of them.  On the flip side, as books sold off the display area of the table, I even put some stuff that I thought would not sell but a lot of it did, like old TV Guides with like X-Files or other super hero/pop culture covers - They got scooped up between three customers.  You just never know what will sell until you put it in front of people…

Sidebar:  The cash machines on site either failed or were emptied fast, so my having an alternative payment option ended up being very important to my sales.  My Square Magstripe Reader definitely came in handy. Over $700 in credit card payments and the funds were deposited into my account in less than 24 hours.

Another vendor also told and showed me the Dream POS Reader.  You can order it via Staples. I am going to look into this more or I might upgrade my Square Reader for Contactless and Chip Reader.  Being able to do debit transactions would help to.  Has anyone else used the Dream POS reader?

My final sales for the day was just a smidge over $2,000.00

Final Thoughts:  I was very pleased with this show (obviously)…While I would have liked to have made that amount selling mostly sets and "commons", I am super happy with this show. The other plus is that it also got me “exposed” to the collectors in this area and that they know that I at least have decent books. I also handed out a ton of business cards. The organizers are not sure if they will keep the same date but told me if I want in for the next one, I am in.

Pic is of my set up...As I had a wall to use (the gym divider), I decided to place banner on it so it was visible at all times but as you can see, my booth does not present as nicely as usual due to having to spread out and all the blank space behind me, but it was functional, but hard to monitor from end to end.

Edited April 30, 2018 by Wall-Crawler

[spreads]

Great setup!  I can see how a second person will be of use with the sheer length of your tables - I think i'll always be flying solo there, haha.

2k is great!  How does that stack up against your other sales (is that a daily high)?  I like to keep track of all that stuff....can't help it I work for an investment firm  

Regarding the square reader, I've only used mine a few times but I think it accepts debit cards, no?  Maybe I misconstrued that comment.

[thehumantorch]

6 hours ago, spreads said:

Great setup!  I can see how a second person will be of use with the sheer length of your tables - I think i'll always be flying solo there, haha.

2k is great!  How does that stack up against your other sales (is that a daily high)?  I like to keep track of all that stuff....can't help it I work for an investment firm  

Regarding the square reader, I've only used mine a few times but I think it accepts debit cards, no?  Maybe I misconstrued that comment.

Square works for credit cards and not for debit cards.

[Wall-Crawler]

11 hours ago, spreads said:

Great setup!  I can see how a second person will be of use with the sheer length of your tables - I think i'll always be flying solo there, haha.

2k is great!  How does that stack up against your other sales (is that a daily high)?  I like to keep track of all that stuff....can't help it I work for an investment firm  

Regarding the square reader, I've only used mine a few times but I think it accepts debit cards, no?  Maybe I misconstrued that comment.

Most shows I do have been one day.

So, from all the shows I have done (admittedly not that many), this is the second highest. The single best day was last year's Graphic Con.  Graphic Con 2018 is coming up June 9th.

The basic Square Magstripe Reader only does credit cards.

[Wall-Crawler]

5 hours ago, thehumantorch said:

Square works for credit cards and not for debit cards.

The new one can do "flash" debit.

https://squareup.com/ca/contactless-chip-reader

This is the Dream POS another vendor showed me...

https://www.staples.ca/en/dream-payments-mobile-pos-debit-credit-card-reader/product_2773831_1-CA_1_20001?kpid=2773831&cid=PS:SBD:GS:n:n:SBD:58:21800&cvosrc=PLA.ca-google.Business&Industrial&cvo_cid=1348112827&cvo_crid=263432234041&cid=PS:GS:CA::41:71700000034258935PRODUCT+GROUPp31976944120&cvosrc=ppc nonbrand.CA-google.PRODUCT+GROUP&cvo_cid=1348112827&cvo_crid=263432234041&Matchtype=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuvXTw7Tk2gIVQrbACh2VgQ8vEAYYASABEgJTZvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I am thinking I will be upgrading my basic Square reader to one or the other.

[Wall-Crawler]

Small Collection Purchase

So when I set up at my local show an elderly gentleman took my card, saying he had 600 comics and asked if I would be interested in looking at them. I said of course. So, tonight I went and looked. He said originally that he wanted to sell them all and didn't want them cherry picked.  Unfortunately, after looking at them, 98% of them were awful. Several comics had his pricing on them from "ebay". So things were not looking good.

I told him that I was not interested in taking them all and I would rather take nothing than all of them.  I explained, that I only wanted a few as nicely as possible because that the condition on most was bad to average and that as a lot, they would simply not be worth my time.  He asked which ones I wanted and a pulled a handful. He decided some money was better than zero money. 

So, long story short, I at least bought a little something.

First up...French Mandrake Digests...I had never seen these before and I just thought they were "neat" so I figured what the heck and had them thrown in.

 

Miscellaneous

Iron Fist Collection...Best of the buy. The guy was shocked they were worth "anything". Yes, the Marvel Value stamp is in the MP #15. So sad, no Iron Fist #14

 

So, not exactly on a collection buying spree but hey, at least it is something and the second tiny collection buy of the the year. Maybe a "whale" of a buy is on the horizon...

[thehumantorch]

7 hours ago, Wall-Crawler said:

Small Collection Purchase

So when I set up at my local show an elderly gentleman took my card, saying he had 600 comics and asked if I would be interested in looking at them. I said of course. So, tonight I went and looked. He said originally that he wanted to sell them all and didn't want them cherry picked.  Unfortunately, after looking at them, 98% of them were awful. Several comics had his pricing on them from "ebay". So things were not looking good.

I told him that I was not interested in taking them all and I would rather take nothing than all of them.  I explained, that I only wanted a few as nicely as possible because that the condition on most was bad to average and that as a lot, they would simply not be worth my time.  He asked which ones I wanted and a pulled a handful. He decided some money was better than zero money. 

So, long story short, I at least bought a little something.

First up...French Mandrake Digests...I had never seen these before and I just thought they were "neat" so I figured what the heck and had them thrown in.

 

Miscellaneous

Iron Fist Collection...Best of the buy. The guy was shocked they were worth "anything". Yes, the Marvel Value stamp is in the MP #15. So sad, no Iron Fist #14

 

So, not exactly on a collection buying spree but hey, at least it is something and the second tiny collection buy of the the year. Maybe a "whale" of a buy is on the horizon...

Hey, it's new stuff.  Small buys add up and any new inventory at the right price is worth acquiring.  

[Artboy99]

On 4/24/2018 at 11:21 AM, Wall-Crawler said:

I am totally stealing this. Great idea.

I have decent hand writing, but these look better if you print them out

 

and another cool idea:

[Artboy99]

9 hours ago, Wall-Crawler said:

Small Collection Purchase

So when I set up at my local show an elderly gentleman took my card, saying he had 600 comics and asked if I would be interested in looking at them. I said of course. So, tonight I went and looked. He said originally that he wanted to sell them all and didn't want them cherry picked.  Unfortunately, after looking at them, 98% of them were awful. Several comics had his pricing on them from "ebay". So things were not looking good.

I told him that I was not interested in taking them all and I would rather take nothing than all of them.  I explained, that I only wanted a few as nicely as possible because that the condition on most was bad to average and that as a lot, they would simply not be worth my time.  He asked which ones I wanted and a pulled a handful. He decided some money was better than zero money. 

So, long story short, I at least bought a little something.

First up...French Mandrake Digests...I had never seen these before and I just thought they were "neat" so I figured what the heck and had them thrown in.

 

Miscellaneous

Iron Fist Collection...Best of the buy. The guy was shocked they were worth "anything". Yes, the Marvel Value stamp is in the MP #15. So sad, no Iron Fist #14

 

So, not exactly on a collection buying spree but hey, at least it is something and the second tiny collection buy of the the year. Maybe a "whale" of a buy is on the horizon...

I would have bought all of those books as well.

The great thing about setting up at shows is that you do get people asking if you buy. You never know what this opportunity can lead to. As an example, check this thread out which is about the latest collection we have bought:

 

[spreads]

30 minutes ago, Artboy99 said:

I have decent hand writing, but these look better if you print them out

 

and another cool idea:

These labels and those bagged sets are both awesome.  What type of bags are used for the sets? 

[spreads]

There's been a number of collections posted locally; but I'm moving in a few weeks so I can't be buying lots right now.