Best way to sell a comic book run?

[rsouxlja7]

Hypothetical: You have Generic Comic issues 1-100 that typically sell for $5-$10 + shipping each on eBay. Let's assume there's not one issue in the run worth more than the others. To avoid having to deal with sending out 100 packages, you decide to list them in lots. Would you maximize your return by selling in 5 issues lots (GC 1-5, 6-10, etc.), 10 issue lots, etc.? Anyone have any experience with this?

[grebal]

I've experienced (and seen) about what you'd predict: smaller lots means more work but also better final auction totals. Generally.

 

Back when ebay front-loaded the fees (higher fees on the first few dollars of every sale, in steps) it may have shifted incentives towards larger lots. But these days I think the tradeoff is simply what you identified. Maybe twice the work for 5 book runs instead of 10 books is worth it, it really depends on the value you attach to your time. And frequently you won't be stuck w/ twice the packages, buyers will buy more than one pretty often.

 

Perhaps save the most time by starting out with a bulk lot at BIN (set price maybe 10 per cent above the lowest you'd take for the bulk lot) and see if any interest so you needn't break them up at all?

[rsouxlja7]

That's a good idea. I had planned to list my higher price items first and eventually get to these in a few weeks, but I could go ahead and do a buy it now format and let it sit while I auction off my other items.

[docdimento]

depends on how quickly you want to sell the books. I am aggressively trying to clear space, so I do a lot of 40 comic lot auctions starting at $20. They almost always sell regardless of the condition of the books (they are mostly NM) or what is in there.

 

I've split some runs up too and sometimes find that no one wants those middle books. I've had a 10 comic lot of New Avengers listed for about a year at $1 a book while the rest of the run sold.

 

If I had a complete run, I'd sell it as a complete run and ask for the price you want to get. Ship it media mail and pray to god the post office doesnt inspect the package (comics do not actually qualify as media mail)

[Scrooge]

Very recent thread on the topic. Have a look to see what others thought -

 

How best to sell runs?

[nocutename]

I try to sell those on Craigslist. I don't like to mail over 40-50 books. They do take a while to sell but usually anything $20 and under sells eventually on Craigslist. So if you are selling your most expensive first and have a bit of time, list there before moving it to ebay. I would suggest meeting the person in a public area though. I never let anyone in home.

[GM8]

When I sell a run which doesn't have anything in particular that's valuable, I just list it first as the entire lot and see what happens. I've had just as much success selling big sets vs splitting them up into say 10 comic lots. Any listing I do that is a small run or a single issue I notice that a $20 per listing max gets more interest.

[adampasz]

FWIW, I've been selling some lots on eBay, and, if you need to ship 50 or more books, FedEx SmartPost shipping is proving to be the most economical. (I don't trust media mail!)