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Advice for selling graphic novels at a con?
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22 posts in this topic

I just started selling at smaller cons in my home state, mainly to liquidate the stuff in collections I've been buying out that I don't want to keep for me.  In one collection I bought out I ended up getting about 5-6 long boxes of TPBs and then about another 2 long boxes of hardcovers.  I kept about a short box worth of it for stuff I wanted, and am taking some of the very kid friendly/young adult friendly ones over to a charity, but the rest I want to try at a small local show later this month.  

Does anyone have tips for selling about 8 longs of graphic novels at a show?  Most of the shows I've seen where dealers are selling them they usually have about 3-4 tables worth.  I've seen some dealers say half off cover, 25% off cover, 60% off cover etc.  I was thinking about just doing all the trades at 5 bucks each and then offer bulk discounts if someone starts buying more.  I was thinking about doing half cover on the hardcovers, but my goal on both is more volume than maximizing profit.  Those suckers are HEAVY and taking up a lot of space.  I would like to move them even if I am leaving a little on the table.  Any advice from the board to help an up and comer? :foryou:

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I see a lot of the $5 each for the TPBs and I do see some getting sold at that price.  Hard back books seem to be a tougher seller unless you are talking Omnibus then there are definitely buyers at half price.  I'd look to see what your hardcovers are selling for on E-Bay (including expensive shipping) and price them a little below that.

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Trades/HCs are a tough sell. They need to be cheap to move and even then most people don't buy too many 

if you want to move fast, id talk to one of the dealers that sell them and see if you can work a price for what you have

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The same reasons you list for wanting to move them is the same reason I just sell them to dealers right away.

they take up space and are heavy. No sense in lugging them over and over when I could have comics there instead 

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As always guys, THANK YOU so much for the advice and help.  I really love this board and the information it provides.  :cloud9:

I'm going to do what you guys said here actually, see if I can dump them before the show starts at a discount to another dealer that does them (if there is one there, it is a smaller show), and then do the 5/half off to move at least some.  After that, I am either going to dump them to another dealer even cheaper or consign them somewhere.  Someone had recommended that to me over PM and I like the idea of consigning them.  A local shop that is new, and run by nice people, had asked me for consignments to build inventory.  I wouldn't even mind given them a 50/50 split on them just to get them out and moving.

Thanks again for all the feedback and I'll let you know it goes. (thumbsu

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3 hours ago, SkOw said:

A local shop that is new, and run by nice people, had asked me for consignments to build inventory.  I wouldn't even mind given them a 50/50 split on them just to get them out and moving.

I'd advise you to go this route. Shops can price graphic novels and hardcovers at cover price if they are in new condition, so it will be good for their stock and good for you. Even if they are discounted it is still good for both sides, as they can broaden their inventory cheaply and you can move product.

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I have had success at $5 each.

There will always be some that don't sell, after a couple of $5 each shows, change the price to $2 each, then $1 each, then 0.50c each and so on until they become land fill.

 

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17 hours ago, SkOw said:

 and am taking some of the very kid friendly/young adult friendly ones over to a charity,

Find a teacher who is interested in the kid friendly stuff.   I love to stack my classroom (4th grade) with tpbs and graphic novels that are kid friendly but there are some factors that make it hard:

  • price point: these books are expensive if bought individually and brand new
  • condition: Since they are kid friendly books, kids read them and kids treat the books as you would expect.
  • availability: I try to get them used since it is cheaper but it is not easy to find.

I can't even find Archie Digests for less than a dollar these days.

If I was near you I would definitely be interested in what you got to stock my classroom.  If you know a teacher give them a chance to be a cool teacher.

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My friend as co-vendor in our booth at local con, had brought two boxes of TPB and graphic novel volumes for $60 through Craigslist. I had advised him to offer as low he could since these books are hard to sell when time comes. He got them and read some of them. I had seen the TPB books, and I said we could sell them for $5.00 or half price depending on condition. 

The day come for us to do the selling at the show. My friend bring the boxes and put on table. Throughout the day, he sold some books at half price, mostly at $5.00. Made almost triple of what he paid. I said to him you got lucky because these books were popular on Batman and people were grabbing them.

That depends on what theme are on the TPB volumes. 

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4 hours ago, nocutename said:

Sell them on the boards.  Not enough sales threads with TPB in them which is what I mainly purchase these days.

Shipping is always the killer even if you go with Media Mail (which is ok from what I have heard).  A stack of 10 TPBs will require a large box and $10 in media mail shipping for a $50 order and then you have the chance of a postal employee deeming the comics as not being media mail. 

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I wouldn't let shipping stop you-- I for one love seeing TPBs and HCs here on the boards-- and I'm the guy at the con who buys up all the $5 trades.     I prefer collected editions over comics anyday.  Much easier to pull them off a shelf than dig through boxes.  If you keep the shipping to cost and go with $5 a book I think you'll have no trouble moving them.

 

Edited by AndyFish
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I'd check the titles against eBay and see if you have any out of print stuff. People pay crazy money for some of these. There's good money in OOP TPB's that a lot of sellers overlook.

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1 hour ago, F For Fake said:

I'd check the titles against eBay and see if you have any out of print stuff. People pay crazy money for some of these. There's good money in OOP TPB's that a lot of sellers overlook.

Excellent point. I made the mistake on  dumping a teen titans Judahs contract that I meant to keep in a blowout to a dealer - no worth too much ($25) but still worth putting to the side and selling individually. Check everything. You'd be surprised what some stuff sells for (Horror especially) . It doesn't always have to be Marvel/DC. Indies sell good. They are harder to find and the collectors who look for them pay good money.

i sold a mega man x trade for $20 that most people would overlook 

 

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I'm in a similar boat to you in that I encounter trades in collections, the rare stuff (FF omnibus variant) I sell locally around a little under ebay selling prices.  I've also sold some trades in bulk, but it's usually crazy cheap.  I find at shows I started doing I can get around 60% off most some of them, some of the obscure stuff I'll discount even higher.  Really I don't want to be lugging at most one long-box of trades around because the damn things are so heavy and just want to be rid of them.

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11 hours ago, 1Cool said:

Shipping is always the killer even if you go with Media Mail (which is ok from what I have heard).  A stack of 10 TPBs will require a large box and $10 in media mail shipping for a $50 order and then you have the chance of a postal employee deeming the comics as not being media mail. 

I try not to use media mail.  If the package is lost the post office will do nothing for you even with tracking.  At 10 trades, a $1 extra for shipping isn't bad, IMO.  I try to stock up to justify the shipping anyway.

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21 hours ago, AndyFish said:

I wouldn't let shipping stop you-- I for one love seeing TPBs and HCs here on the boards-- and I'm the guy at the con who buys up all the $5 trades.     I prefer collected editions over comics anyday.  Much easier to pull them off a shelf than dig through boxes.  If you keep the shipping to cost and go with $5 a book I think you'll have no trouble moving them.

 

I think digital comics actually hurt the sales  of TPBs and HCs much more than the regular comics.

The thing you said of how it is much easier to pull them off a shelf is comparable to me saying it's much easier for me to pick up my Kindle and open it up and read TPBs and HCs with a few clicks.

Times are really changing.

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