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Noob question about selling comic books to a dealer
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Started by shades,

15 posts in this topic

shades

shades

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hi all,

My wife and I inherited several comic books that we want to try to sell, perhaps to a local dealer, but am not sure how to go about it and what price to expect.  

The books we have include several Roy Rogers, Lone Ranger, Mickey Mouse, Gunsmoke, Range Rider, Maverick, Pony Express, and The Big Valley.  We also have lots of other things such as Beatles memorabilia and Sat Evening Post, Look, Life Mag, stamp collections, etc.  

I have looked up prices on ebay and such, ranging from $10-$50 per piece.  

Based on the retail internet prices, what price could I expect to get from a local book dealer shop?  50% of retail?  25% of retail?  What offer would be considered reasonable and what value would be consider being ripped off.  I realize that there are variables such as condition of the items.

Thank you for your help.

Edited by shades
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revat

revat

Posted
Posted (edited)

More people will have better answers, but make sure you’re looking at SOLD prices on eBay, as people can TRY to sell at whatever price they want.  
 

Generally dealers try to go 10-25%, but in a pandemic...for books that are most sold at physical shows....I’d say unless the books are really .high grade or there’s a few hidden keys you’ll probably average a dollar per book AT MOST for the comics if selling in bulk.  But it might depend on luck or the geographic  market etc.

 

also don’t be surprised if some dealers don’t buy at all

Edited by revat
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SOTIcollector

SOTIcollector

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How much will a dealer offer?  The question is not much different from saying "how much will a mechanic charge me to fix this thing on my car" or "how much will a lawyer charge me to handle this case."  In other words, the answers will vary widely from person to person.  Somebody who really wants an extremely high demand book (or books) that you are offering could offer you more than 50%.  However, somebody who doesn't have much of a market for the books you are offering might offer as little as a nickel a book.  

You picked a good starting point.  Look at eBay to determine what people are actually paying if you sell your items individually.   Remember that, as revat pointed out, only the SOLD items are actually useful.  All other pricing is wishful thinking on the part of sellers, and it's useless to you.

Then, shop around and get at least three offers from people who sell comics a lot.  If there aren't three dealers in your area, you could take photos and send them, with a list, to some big dealers.   After you have three offers on the table, determine whether you want to go through the time and effort to sell the books on eBay or some other platform yourself.  Although this could net you somewhere around 80% of the eBay sold price after fees & expenses, I don't recommend it because it's a LOT of work.  Judging by your question, it sounds like you may have already ruled that out.  Your other option is to sell the books to the person or store whose offer you liked best.

 

 

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SOTIcollector

SOTIcollector

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14 hours ago, shades said:

Based on the retail internet prices, what price could I expect to get from a local book dealer shop?  50% of retail?  25% of retail?  What offer would be considered reasonable and what value would be consider being ripped off. 

I just re-read this part more carefully.  A large percentage of book store owners don't know a lot about comic books, just as a large percentage of comic book store owners don't know much about collectible books.  If somebody owns a used book store and they don't specialize in comics as at least one of their product lines, then you can probably expect an offer of less than a dollar per comic (perhaps only a nickel or a dime per).  It's not that they're trying to rip you off.  They simply aren't familiar with the collectible comic book market, and they look at your comics as inexpensive reading material that they'll throw in a box and offer at a similarly cheap price of a buck or two.  If you want serious offers for your comics as collectibles, then you need to make sure you're talking with somebody who knows the collectible comic book market.  If you walk into the book store and they have dozens of boxes of collectible comics, plus some on display that sell for, say $100 or more, then there's a good chance your book dealer is familiar with the comic book market.  If the book store has just a small box of comics for $1, then they don't focus on collectible comics and it's unlikely they will make you the best offer.  

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revat

revat

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4 minutes ago, shades said:

Thanks everyone for the help and useful answers, and now I have a little bit more working knowledge before walking into a comic shop.

I have nearly ruled out selling them myself on ebay or other internet site because of the potentially heavy time investment.  

an optional tip:

assuming its not several thousand books, maybe take a few group shots of 20-50 books fanned out on the ground and post the pictures here, just to give the people an idea of what you might be working with, so they might be able to give better more specific advice.  Another thing that might be obvious, might not:  The more books you're trying to sell in BULK, the likely less you get per book, and possibly even less overall, because in some cases its like you paying them to haul away your junk.  

Also, you mentioned "ripping off" in your original post, which can definitely happen.  But there's difference between a knowledgeable buyer negotiating the best possible price vs an inexperienced seller and pressing his knowledge/experience advantages VS being someone being a liar, thief, scammer, rip-off artist.  I only mention this because there are many situations where dealers make seemingly low offers and inexperienced people might feel like they're being cheated and react and say something out of emotion either to that dealer or on social media, and the wording matters.  A low offer doesn't mean they're a scammer, unless they deliberately make a material lie to you about some aspect.

 

good luck

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William-James88

William-James88

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 8/26/2020 at 8:36 PM, shades said:

Hi all,

My wife and I inherited several comic books that we want to try to sell, perhaps to a local dealer, but am not sure how to go about it and what price to expect.  

The books we have include several Roy Rogers, Lone Ranger, Mickey Mouse, Gunsmoke, Range Rider, Maverick, Pony Express, and The Big Valley.  We also have lots of other things such as Beatles memorabilia and Sat Evening Post, Look, Life Mag, stamp collections, etc.  

I have looked up prices on ebay and such, ranging from $10-$50 per piece.  

Based on the retail internet prices, what price could I expect to get from a local book dealer shop?  50% of retail?  25% of retail?  What offer would be considered reasonable and what value would be consider being ripped off.  I realize that there are variables such as condition of the items.

Thank you for your help.

For those kind of niche books, there is no rip off price. Ten cents to a dollar a piece would not be out of question. 

You really have two options here: 

1. Sell them yourself on e-bay to get as much as possible.

2. Take them to a dealer and take whatever they give you.

Since you ruled out option 1, all that's left is option 2. 

Edited by William-James88
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Glassman10

Glassman10

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Posted

Bob Storms paid me $3.75 per book on the ones that weren't keys, almost all about 7.0's. He paid very well on the important issues and ones like AF15, I consigned at I recall 8.75%. Those were all Marvel, late silver age. 

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steveinthecity

steveinthecity

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1 hour ago, Wees 2e said:

Malibu had some good stuff, especially if you count the Bravura imprint. George Perez, BWS, Starlin, Walt Simonson, Gil Kane, etc. Way better than some crappy Westerns from the 50s :D

I do like many of the Dell photo covers.   For Malibu, I’ll have to dig some up.  I know the name, but can’t recall anything I’ve read. 

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Hollywood1892

Hollywood1892

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Posted
On 8/26/2020 at 8:36 PM, shades said:

Hi all,

My wife and I inherited several comic books that we want to try to sell, perhaps to a local dealer, but am not sure how to go about it and what price to expect.  

The books we have include several Roy Rogers, Lone Ranger, Mickey Mouse, Gunsmoke, Range Rider, Maverick, Pony Express, and The Big Valley.  We also have lots of other things such as Beatles memorabilia and Sat Evening Post, Look, Life Mag, stamp collections, etc.  

I have looked up prices on ebay and such, ranging from $10-$50 per piece.  

Based on the retail internet prices, what price could I expect to get from a local book dealer shop?  50% of retail?  25% of retail?  What offer would be considered reasonable and what value would be consider being ripped off.  I realize that there are variables such as condition of the items.

Thank you for your help.

Do not

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