40k Book Collection-Best way to sell?? 1 1

[jory conly]

My friend has a 40k + collection he has been collecting for 47 years. Now, for the most part, he only added the best copies to his collection, so they are all in great condition. We were talking and he is about ready to retire and wants to use the funds from the sale of these books to do so. I'm not saying he thinks they are worth millions but the collection will demand a heavy number. These comics range from silver age to modern age. The question is what is the best way for him to do this. I would think to sell them 1 at a time would take forever and have a risk of the normal issues not being picked up.  Can you give him some ideas of the best way to move his collection with the greatest chance of profit?  

[BlowUpTheMoon]

Welcome to the Boards!

[1950's war comics]

[1Cool]

40k is around 160 long boxes of books.  That is a lot of books to deal with in terms of selling.  All ungraded?  Quickest way is to sell them to a big national dealer.  Or he could take out the keys and sell those himself and then sell the rest to a dealer.  Or he could post up complete sets or series on the boards.  Tons of options as long as most are not copper overstock.  Wish him best of luck in his retirement.

[oakman29]

1 hour ago, jory conly said:

My friend has a 40k + collection he has been collecting for 47 years. Now, for the most part, he only added the best copies to his collection, so they are all in great condition. We were talking and he is about ready to retire and wants to use the funds from the sale of these books to do so. I'm not saying he thinks they are worth millions but the collection will demand a heavy number. These comics range from silver age to modern age. The question is what is the best way for him to do this. I would think to sell them 1 at a time would take forever and have a risk of the normal issues not being picked up.  Can you give him some ideas of the best way to move his collection with the greatest chance of profit?  

Instead of trying to get advice from experienced collectors, you should do your own homework, just as we have. Your question does not have a straight forward answer.

[scooter99]

1 hour ago, jory conly said:

My friend has a 40k + collection he has been collecting for 47 years. Now, for the most part, he only added the best copies to his collection, so they are all in great condition. We were talking and he is about ready to retire and wants to use the funds from the sale of these books to do so. I'm not saying he thinks they are worth millions but the collection will demand a heavy number. These comics range from silver age to modern age. The question is what is the best way for him to do this. I would think to sell them 1 at a time would take forever and have a risk of the normal issues not being picked up.  Can you give him some ideas of the best way to move his collection with the greatest chance of profit?  

If he wants cash quickly, the best route is through a respected dealer, but the overall return will be less.  If he doesn't mind waiting for years, consigning the books with a well respected dealer might be the best route.  Some books will sit for years and may never sell.  Keys are pretty easy to sell. 

[thehumantorch]

28 minutes ago, oakman29 said:

1 hour ago, jory conly said:

My friend has a 40k + collection he has been collecting for 47 years. Now, for the most part, he only added the best copies to his collection, so they are all in great condition. We were talking and he is about ready to retire and wants to use the funds from the sale of these books to do so. I'm not saying he thinks they are worth millions but the collection will demand a heavy number. These comics range from silver age to modern age. The question is what is the best way for him to do this. I would think to sell them 1 at a time would take forever and have a risk of the normal issues not being picked up.  Can you give him some ideas of the best way to move his collection with the greatest chance of profit?  

Instead of trying to get advice from experienced collectors, you should do your own homework, just as we have. Your question does not have a straight forward answer.

The most straight forward answer I could give is that selling this collection is a monumental amount of work.  The more work the owner puts into selling it the more money he will make.

[shadroch]

Easy thing would be to catalog it and send $1,000-$1500 a month to two or three consignment houses. After the work of organizing it, the monthly work will be minimal and you'll have steady income for several years. 

[jsilverjanet]

 

[MustEatBrains]

Question for the OP - Why is your friend who has been collecting only the very best copies of comics over a 47 year period asking you for help on this?  Surely he knows or should have a good sense of what his options are being in the hobby for so long.

Not sure what your background in collecting is however if he truly needs guidance direct him over here so relevant questions can be asked and answered from the source.  

You can also do a search on these boards as this exact topic has come up from time to time and has been answered. 

 

[grebal]

12 hours ago, thehumantorch said:

The more work the owner puts into selling it the more money he will make.

+1

Little work: sell to dealer for cents on the dollar

More work: cherry picks keys and high grades and send in for grading or to MCS, sell the rest in volume for half-cents on the dollar, or runs for a bit to a lot more (like dime-fitty sense on dollar).

Most work: sell most desirable on here or ebay etc.  Then list dollar books until they run out (probably around 2030).