What to do with hundreds of Golden Age comics? 0

[vcac]

11 hours ago, october said:

The link is correct if you copy and paste it into Chrome. It doesn't work if you just click on it for some reason....maybe the board software. 

Yes. There's a problem with CGCForum's automatically-generated redirect/referral URLs. Moderators have been notified.

[vcac]

10 hours ago, Robot Man said:

As has been said, these books are sadly not very hot in the current marketplace. Not all old comics are worth big money. The folks that even know who Little Orphan Annie or Howdy Doody are are fewer and harder to find. These people just aren't seeking out these books any more. That being said, here are collectors of these. You have some that should do OK. Ebay is also flooded with books like this.

Putting a full guide or over guide opening bid price will probably not result in good sales. Rarely do people bid like that unless they really want the book. Maybe forget price guides, start all at the same low opening bid and let the market decide. The older gentleman paid cover price. He is going to make a crazy return on his money anyway.

Also, be careful packaging these books. Simply slippiing comics in padded envelopes offer zero protection for them. They need stiff cardboard or boxes otherwise, you are likely to get a lot of unhappy bidders.

Selling old comics is a bit of work. Not just easy big money. But it can be done easily. Good luck with your auctions.

Yes on all points! Totally understand. We are using plastic sleeves and cardboard for stability inside the padded envelopes. The last thing we want to do is damage any of these beautiful books that have lasted this long. Thank you!

[vcac]

9 hours ago, FlyingDonut said:

I sell books like this all the time. Your prices are way out of line with the market. Like WAY out of line. Overstreet is insanely high on these books - @Robot Man is exactly correct. There is very little demand for this kind of stuff. They will sell at a low price because someone will want to read it but the chance of this book, just as an example selling for your $125 list price is nearly zero. 

Thank you! We listed a few with $1 opening bids, since we had no idea about their value (and it was easy), but we got concerned when some shot up and others (inexplicably to us) ended up selling for $1. So we started referring to a price guide, but you're absolutely correct, the prices we see there are insanely high. Plus, price depends on grade and we're just not able to grade all the books we have (or even tell which few might be worth the effort to grade). So we've been generally aiming for 25% of the 9.4 grade price. But @Tri-ColorBrian and you are right about that book. We were concerned about it being a #1 issue, with a nice front cover, and went too high.

6 hours ago, Tri-ColorBrian said:

Out of all the books they have listed right now, only one has gotten bids...and it's an L.B.Cole Christmas cover.  I think that pretty much validates our comments about over-pricing.  Also, I made an offer for one book and they haven't approved or denied it yet...so maybe this isn't a high priority for them...

Yes. We went from pricing too low (and selling everything we had listed) to pricing too high (and not seeing many bids). We are getting and accepting offers. Your book shipped today. Hope it arrives safely. Really appreciate the advice here on this thread.

We've only photographed a very small subset of the collection, so much more to come. If anyone here sees something they're interested in, let me know.

[Tri-Color Brian]

12 minutes ago, vcac said:

 

Yes. We went from pricing too low (and selling everything we had listed) to pricing too high (and not seeing many bids). We are getting and accepting offers. Your book shipped today. Hope it arrives safely. Really appreciate the advice here on this thread.

 

Thank you for accepting my offer!  After I wrote what I did, I saw the accepted email.  I was surprised to see a comic listed that had a space cover.  I like those.  I'm glad I could help a little and hope I didn't sound too snotty with my advice.  The Internet doesn't always convey tone correctly.  I look forward to seeing your upcoming listings, but I would still advise comparing "sold" prices for the same books on ebay and comparing the condition of yours to the sold books.  That should give you a pretty good idea of what to ask.  Also, when you mail the books they need to be sandwiched between 2 flat, stiff pieces of cardboard so the book is not damaged in the mail.  I hope you already knew that...

Edited November 4, 2020 by Tri-ColorBrian

[Tri-Color Brian]

And another thing...you said you had been generally aiming for 25% of the 9.4 grade price.  Since 9.4 is usually worth twice what a 9.2 is worth, this system will not work for lower grade books.  Like I said before, it's better to look at the sold books on ebay and try to compare yours with those...and then undercut the sold prices.

[vcac]

Yes, your book is in a plastic sleeve sandwiched between two pieces of cardboard in the padded envelope.

We have checked Sold listings, and noticed some of the same books we have (in worse condition) selling for more than we're getting. They seem like large established sellers with lots of followers and we're just starting out / dependent on direct searches and eBay's algorithms. 

And we can't find some of the books we have on eBay, in the price guide, or anywhere else. Sometimes we find the cover art on pinterest, but they're not selling the book.

[Tri-Color Brian]

4 minutes ago, vcac said:

Yes, your book is in a plastic sleeve sandwiched between two pieces of cardboard in the padded envelope.

We have checked Sold listings, and noticed some of the same books we have (in worse condition) selling for more than we're getting. They seem like large established sellers with lots of followers and we're just starting out / dependent on direct searches and eBay's algorithms. 

And we can't find some of the books we have on eBay, in the price guide, or anywhere else. Sometimes we find the cover art on pinterest, but they're not selling the book.

I appreciate the cardboard, sleeve and padded envelope.  You wouldn't believe how some books I order get mailed. 

Yeah, I don't even bother trying to outbid the "followers" of those big dealers.  They go nuts and pay way more than most collectors would think is reasonable.  And, I couldn't find that book I got from you in the big price guide either.  So I just told you what I was willing to pay. I'm glad you accepted my offer.   I look forward to seeing the comic.  I think the cover is cool, but I know the interior will be less than exciting...

[FlyingDonut]

2 hours ago, vcac said:

Thank you! We listed a few with $1 opening bids, since we had no idea about their value (and it was easy), but we got concerned when some shot up and others (inexplicably to us) ended up selling for $1. So we started referring to a price guide, but you're absolutely correct, the prices we see there are insanely high. Plus, price depends on grade and we're just not able to grade all the books we have (or even tell which few might be worth the effort to grade). So we've been generally aiming for 25% of the 9.4 grade price. But @Tri-ColorBrian and you are right about that book. We were concerned about it being a #1 issue, with a nice front cover, and went too high.

Yes. We went from pricing too low (and selling everything we had listed) to pricing too high (and not seeing many bids). We are getting and accepting offers. Your book shipped today. Hope it arrives safely. Really appreciate the advice here on this thread.

We've only photographed a very small subset of the collection, so much more to come. If anyone here sees something they're interested in, let me know.

Your prices are too high, some significantly. That Four Color 331 that you have listed for $150? That book has some comps on eBay. Your book is a $20-25 book. Sad Sack 6? $5-10. I sell these books all the time and I kind of know the market. You're going to end up with a big pile of books. You want to move them? Put them on eBay at $9.99 with no reserve and they should sell. Some will not at that price.

[fifties]

3 hours ago, vcac said:

We listed a few with $1 opening bids, since we had no idea about their value (and it was easy), but we got concerned when some shot up and others (inexplicably to us) ended up selling for $1. So we started referring to a price guide

We went from pricing too low (and selling everything we had listed) to pricing too high (and not seeing many bids).

I just took a look at your offerings; 50 comic books, and only one has been bid on, so something is obviously wrong, and the opening bid price would seem to be that something.  The surest way to get bidding going on an item on eBay is to start it out with a low price.  The advice above, about starting them at $9.99 each seems quite valid.  You said you had previously started listings at $1, and some shot up; that was the market determining the value, just as it did with the ones only garnering the opening bid.  We really don't rely on price guides to any extent.  If a book is hot, it will go for multiples of guide value, and conversely if it's not in favor it will languish.

[vcac]

Thank you @FlyingDonut and @fifties! Great advice! We'll be lowering our opening bids.

That Alice in Wonderland @FlyingDonutspotted was an exception to our previous "25% of guide" rule because it stood out as particularly bright and beautiful. Apparently it wasn't our friend's "cup of tea" and went straight into storage unhandled/unread.

We are receiving some Best Offers, below and above our opening bids, so we're accepting and shipping those as we go. Will revise the ones that don't sell and list more this weekend.

[fishbone]

I think we should all learn from this post that our heirs should be left detailed info about the value of our books and how to cash out (if that's what they want to do) and who (dealers/auction houses) to give our treasures to to maximize the $$$ our heirs will get....this poor guy having to go through this with all of these commons .......

 

Or sell 2 months before you die and take care of it all ourselves  !!  

[tpetty]

Yep. 

With that in mind (even though I hope to not die for another 30-40 years) I have started to sell the 80s-90s comics I accumulated as a kid.  Most of this era of comics are not worth much, but I have sold a couple long boxes worth on ebay, and have many boxes still to go.  Some go decent (Infinity Gauntlet, McFarlane Spiderman, Miller Daredevil, etc.)  If I can't get about 20% guide I put them in a donate box for a tax write off. 

Yes - 20% guide - and many aren't selling at that price.  (Not touching my slabbed golden age comics, but those will be relatively easy to sell.  It's the low value common copper/modern age ones - not unlike the funny animal books in this thread - that take work.)