tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84273385638135400752024-03-18T22:46:52.250-04:00Comic Books, Internet Marketing and Everything Else - Walkin' Willie's Comix Blog!A blog for comic book industry news and opinions as well as any other topic of interest. While comic books are the main focus, this blog will also discuss internet marketing and how you can make money online with next to NO money out of YOUR pocket!Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-87377850573647184412016-04-24T07:26:00.000-04:002016-04-24T07:26:12.627-04:00New eBay Most Watched Item Search App at Walkin' Willie's Comix<br><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.wwillie.com/eBayWatch.aspx" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXMl4onZeZE2rVyIG3vDo2vT0guZYhjydE2isuLaXvIABW7ujCBh34wsVs2xjJAJdiHBM8HHF30ebFjLHvCORXifM5Hm6oOhrwWHY6poNEguClvewqNzwzIRiumGP_leDTTYdOaXxCmBM/s400/eBayCompatible.gif" /></a></div>
Just put up a new <a href="http://www.wwillie.com/eBayWatch.aspx" target="_blank"><b>eBay Most Watched App</b></a> at <a href="http://www.wwillie.com/" target="_blank"><b>Walkin' Willie's Comix</b></a> where it is very simple to find the most watched items for any eBay category.
<p>
Just select a category in the dropdown and click the "Search" button. Sub-category dropdowns will appear as applicable but you don't have to drill down if you don't want to - as long as one category is showing.
</p>
<p>
When results appear, you can click a "SEE SIMILAR ITEMS" link for any item to well... see similar items. So if you can't afford the $191K for a AF #15 in CGC 9.0 the app might show a CGC 2.0 for $8K.
</p>
<p>
It's a no-frills app but pretty intuitive once you try it - and NO typing required. It is also cell phone and tablet compatible as well.
</p>
This one page app defaults to the U.S. but all of the international eBay sites are available. 50 items max are returned for any category - that is the eBay Web Services limit.
<p>
Please take it for a spin. Working on some search features but wanted to get this part up first.
</p>Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-56008041424242631282015-10-17T13:06:00.003-04:002016-04-24T07:29:35.033-04:00New Items at Walkin' Willie's Comix<table width="100%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0">
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<a href="http://www.wwillie.com/p-44-exciting-comics-57-cgc-70.aspx" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.wwillie.com/images/Product/medium/excitingcomics57-70.jpg" border="0" /></a>
</td>
<td>
<br>
We are moving forward with our revamped <a href="http://www.wwillie.com" target="_blank">Walkin' Willie's Comix site</a> and have some <a href="http://www.wwillie.com/recentadditions.aspx" target="_blank">pretty nice new items</a> just put up in the last month. Some of the highlights are:
<br>
<UL>
<LI><a href="http://www.wwillie.com/p-379-exciting-comics-2-nova-scotia-pedigree-cgc-90.aspx" target="_blank">Exciting Comics #2 - CGC 9.0</a></LI>
<br>
<LI><a href="http://www.wwillie.com/p-44-exciting-comics-57-cgc-70.aspx" target="_blank">Exciting Comics #57 - CGC 7.0 - Schomburg airbrushed cover</a></LI>
<br>
<LI><a href="http://www.wwillie.com/p-367-showcase-9-cgc-65.aspx" target="_blank">Showcase #9 - CGC 6.0 - 1st Lois Lane tryout</a></LI>
<br>
<LI><a href="http://www.wwillie.com/p-275-promethea-32-magical-edition-verified-signatures-cbcs-98.aspx" target="_blank">Promethea #32 Magical Edition - CBCS 9.8 WITH VERIFIED Alan Moore and J.H. Williams, III Autographs</a></LI>
<br>
<LI><a href="http://www.wwillie.com/p-374-alias-1-cgc-98.aspx" target="_blank">Alias #1 - CGC 9.8</a></LI>
<br>
<LI><a href="http://www.wwillie.com/p-39-lady-death-warrior-temptress-red-foil-edition-cbcs-99.aspx" target="_blank">Lady Death: Warrior Temptress Red Foil Edition - CBCS 9.9</a></LI>
</UL>
We've also some <a href="http://www.wwillie.com/recentadditions.aspx" target="_blank">ungraded comics at FINE or better</a> at great discount prices - more to come! Thanks for taking a look.
</td></tr></table>
<br><br>Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-11270074233969052992015-09-30T17:05:00.000-04:002015-10-17T12:49:57.031-04:00Walkin' Willie's Discount Site - Nice Idea At The Time...<br />
I've been buying comic books for 50 years and selling them for 24 or so - and you never stop learning. As can be seen in the previous blog post, I had a grand idea to hopefully increase traffic - and therefore increase sales - by reducing the price every day of any book that had been in inventory for a week. The amount of price reduction depending on the current price of the book and so on.
<br /><br />
It was a nice idea - but it failed miserably. Didn't get the traffic and the sales plummeted - my guess is that people were playing a waiting game for books that didn't have some huge demand. Most of the books on the site were commons with very few to no keys - so if you are a potential customer why not wait, what does one have to lose? So that was lesson #1 - if you are going to have some price reduction strategy like that, you need to have books that will make folks squirm and get itchy trigger fingers. I've started <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=blogpost20150930&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi6.ebay.com%2Fws%2FeBayISAPI.dll%3FMfcISAPICommand%3DViewListedItems%26userid%3Dwalkin_willie%26include%3D0%26since%3D-1%26sort%3D3%26rows%3D0" target="_blank">eBaying</a> some of the books and most of them are going for higher prices that what I had on the discount site - that was the clincher.
<br /><br />
Lesson #2 is that if you are going to run some sort of discount comic book website, you need at TON of inventory - and I didn't have that. Oh, I sold some books over the years it was up but nothing on a consistent basis. If you are going to have a huge inventory like Mile High Comics, My Comic Shop, New Kadia, etc., then you need a staff to run it. At my (sort of close to retirement) age, I definitely didn't want to invest the capital needed to a) get a TON of comic books and b) hire the staff necessary to scan the books, put them into inventory, fulfill orders - all that crazy stuff.
<br /><br />
Lesson #3 - you need to market like crazy and update inventory on a consistent basis - well... I didn't do that either. Starting to see a trend here?
<br /><br />
So where does that leave good ol' <a href="http://www.wwillie.com/" target="_blank">Walkin' Willie's Comix</a>?
<br /><br />
First of all, the <a href="http://www.walkinwilliescomix.com/" target="_blank">Walkin' Willie's Discount Site</a> will come down in a day or two from the date of this post - after that you will be redirected to my <a href="http://www.wwillie.com/" target="_blank">regular website</a> that I have had in different incarnations for years - since 1996. If you think I'm lyin' then check out the <a href="https://archive.org/web/" target="_blank">Internet Archive Wayback Machine</a>, type in www.wwillie.com and prepare to cringe at the early days. The site from 1996 to end of 2000 was a static POS. The next one from 2001 to early 2009 was pretty darn good for a classic ASP site and it was by far my most heavily trafficked site to date. Next was a .NET site from March 2009 to the present with a makeover happening just a few months ago. But I digress...
<br /><br />
Now back to what I'm gonna do. The <a href="http://www.wwillie.com/" target="_blank">Walkin' Willie's Comix website</a> will carry CGC & CBCS graded comic books, raw comic books in FINE grade or better at great discounts and a few hardcovers and trades as I run into them in collections. The goal is to significantly reduce inventory I have in storage while increasing quality on the website. I don't want to have 30 racks of books - I want 30 boxes instead...of good stuff!
<br /><br />
The discount inventory - along with 20 boxes or so of stuff that never made it to the web - will be blown out on <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=blogpost20150930&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi6.ebay.com%2Fws%2FeBayISAPI.dll%3FMfcISAPICommand%3DViewListedItems%26userid%3Dwalkin_willie%26include%3D0%26since%3D-1%26sort%3D3%26rows%3D0" target="_blank">eBay</a> during the end of 2015 and beginning of 2016. The blowout has already started.
<br /><br />
So the <a href="http://www.walkinwilliescomix.com" target="_blank">discount site</a> will most likely close early Saturday morning - 10/3/2015 - still a lot of deals left if you are so inclined...and the prices are still decreasing every day.
<br /><br/>
So the bottom line is that a leaner <a href="http://www.wwillie.com/" target="_blank">Walkin' Willie's Comix</a> will emerge out of this whole deal - one with reasonable goals, great merchandise, free U.S. shipping and whatever else can happen. BTW, the website is "responsive" which means it will work in a mobile phone as well as a desktop. Will constantly evaluate pricing as well - don't want to give stuff away but also don't want it to sit for years as well.
<br /><br />
As usual, feedback and comments are welcome and solicited.
<br /><br />Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-56840253640425959762015-06-05T14:18:00.000-04:002015-06-05T14:32:26.749-04:00New Walkin' Willie's Comix Discount Comic Books Pricing Structure!<br/>
Starting on Saturday, June 6, 2015, you will see a big pricing structure change at <a href="http://www.walkinwilliescomix.com" target="_blank">Walkin' Willie's Comix Discount Comic Books</a>. Depending on the current price of any book on the site, we will begin decreasing the price of the book every day until it is sold or bottoms out at $0.10 - that's right, <b>a lousy stinkin' DIME</b>! How does this work?
After a book is added to inventory, the price will drop daily if the book remains unsold after a week. So after seven days from when the book was added to inventory, the price decreases will occur according to the table below:
<br/><br/>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="center" width="900px" style="border: 2px #CC0000 solid; font-weight:bold">
<tr>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; color:#006600; font-size:small; font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
IF THE PRICE IS GREATER THAN...
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; color:#006600; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
...BUT LESS THAN
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; color:#006600; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
PRICE DECREASE PER DAY
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small; font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$0.10
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$1.50
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$0.01
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small; font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$1.49
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$3.00
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$0.02
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small; font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$2.99
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$7.00
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$0.03
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small; font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$6.99
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$13.00
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$0.04
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small; font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$12.99
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$25.00
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$0.05
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small; font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$24.99
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$50.00
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$0.06
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small; font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$49.99
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$75.00
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$0.07
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small; font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$74.99
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$100.00
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$0.08
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small; font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$99.99
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$150.00
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$0.09
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small; font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$149.99
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$200.00
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$0.10
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small; font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$199.99
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$300.00
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$0.15
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small; font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$299.99
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$400.00
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$0.20
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small; font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$399.99
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$500.00
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$0.25
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small; font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$499.99
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$1000.00
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$0.50
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small; font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid">
$999.99
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center; border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid">
</td>
<td valign="middle" style="height:30px; font-size:small;font-family:Arial,Verdana; text-align:center">
$1.00
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<br/><br/>
There are a few reasons for this change. One is obviously to generate more business, another is to clear out inventory. Still another is if a book goes all the way down to a dime and doesn't sell within, say a month, then that book will be pulled from inventory and thrown in a box to blowout in a local auction - no sense in having books on the website that nobody wants. This new pricing structure also allows the market to drive the price.
<br/><br/>
Here is what a sample listing will look like starting tomorrow:
<br/><br/>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7r9fm2Ws7fvtfNEz8QAxcBCyn14Q4aEE8J9PeqBRFneQClAWqQ9YSKD4z14La4AlchdBft43zcoa1pxvfuiN6JA9odv-InFArBA4a1xlVEnmMcTeq9T-uVBBStrGihdzqsRFcPGNajSc/s1600/discountsample.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7r9fm2Ws7fvtfNEz8QAxcBCyn14Q4aEE8J9PeqBRFneQClAWqQ9YSKD4z14La4AlchdBft43zcoa1pxvfuiN6JA9odv-InFArBA4a1xlVEnmMcTeq9T-uVBBStrGihdzqsRFcPGNajSc/s1600/discountsample.jpg" /></a></div>
<br/><br/>
Note that you will see a starting price and then the current price - this will let you know how far the book has been discounted. All new inventoried books published prior to 1984 will be set at 90% of current Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide for the grade we assign to the book - and again, let the market drive the eventual selling price. Modern books are a crap shoot and we will just assign what we think would be a top dollar selling price - considering the relative demand for the book - and let things play out. If you have concerns about grading please take a look at our <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=blogfeedback&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedback.ebay.com%2Fws%2FeBayISAPI.dll%3FViewFeedback2%26userid%3Dwalkin_willie%26ftab%3DAllFeedback" target="_blank">eBay feedback</a>. Scroll through some of the pages and see what others think. Thanks for taking a look and hope you find something you like!<br/><br/>Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-39746515576638621542014-12-11T09:03:00.000-05:002014-12-11T09:04:19.768-05:00Don't Buy Anthing From My eCrater Store!<br />What? I am telling potential customers to NOT buy anything from my <a href="http://walkinwilliescomix.ecrater.com/" target="_blank">eCrater store</a>? Grrr.... I am so angry at <a href="http://www.ecrater.com" target="_blank">eCrater</a> right now as their inventory management no longer works so my inventory is only about 80% accurate which is totally unacceptable! Not only that but I have been after them <b>FOR YEARS</b> to provide an alphanumeric default option seeing how comics are arranged... um... alphanumerically in the price guides, most comic book stores and most dealer booths at comic conventions.
I've been at the database game for about 20 years and I can tell you that providing an alphanumeric sort option is <b>EASY AS ALL GET OUT!</b> It is database programming 101. I will be shutting down my <a href="http://walkinwilliescomix.ecrater.com/" target="_blank">eCrater store</a> by the end of the year and moving anything salable to <a href="http://www.walkinwilliescomix.com">my discount website</a>.
If you just <b>HAVE</b> to buy something from Walkin' Willie (slick, huh?) then go to my two websites where the inventory is accurate 100% of the time. <a href="http://www.wwillie.com" target="_blank">Walkin' Willie's Comix</a> specializes in third party graded comics and a few special edition hardcovers and <a href="http://www.walkinwilliescomix.com" target="_blank">Walkin' Willie's Comix Discount Comics</a> is the place to go for steep discounted comic books - almost everything in stock is priced WAY under guide value.Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-64118285309332729782013-09-17T08:56:00.000-04:002013-09-26T09:26:45.963-04:00So You Want To Sell Your Comic Collection - Part 6<br />
<a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic.html"><b>Part 1</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_13.html"><b>Part 2</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_14.html"><b>Part 3</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic-book.html"><b>Part 4</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_16.html"><b>Part 5</b></a>
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OK, we've been through the first four ways to sell your comic collection in <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_16.html">Part 5 of "So You Want To Sell Your Comic Collection"</a> - got four
more to go and then we'll wrap it up.
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">5. Selling Your Comic Collection At A Comics Convention</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Or This Can Be Easy Or Hard - Your Choice</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjcm9hSfjJxFFSCcpB3Vp4c3yg7B0TwcqxCx-tKJk4P96l6t65_OKt-rYHF8XYpLEkUnuGmyOMvrTo2Ps4kBFX_n7_6HLNR1pddPRr39AnOdAygQfnfEXvn8_F7y6i_2PdlL0UJLsPLmY/s1600/heroescon2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjcm9hSfjJxFFSCcpB3Vp4c3yg7B0TwcqxCx-tKJk4P96l6t65_OKt-rYHF8XYpLEkUnuGmyOMvrTo2Ps4kBFX_n7_6HLNR1pddPRr39AnOdAygQfnfEXvn8_F7y6i_2PdlL0UJLsPLmY/s320/heroescon2010.jpg" title="Heroes-Con attendees digging for comic book treasure!" /></a></div>
<b>Pros:</b> Easy if you have a small collection that you can take around to dealers.<br />
<b>Cons:</b> Hard if you have a large collection - to the point that you rent a booth at the con and take offers.
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The great thing about schlepping your books around a con is that you have multiple dealers to look over your books and provide you with competitive offers. We are talking about 3 to 4 small comic boxes at most and also assume that you have a cart or dolly to bring them around the convention floor. After you receive 10 to 12 offers, you know what your comics are worth to the comic book dealer community. Go back to one or two of the dealers and let them know that it is between them and a couple of other dealers. They may ask you to get their best offer and come back - that's fine but it is better if you can get their best offer. By all means though, deal honestly. Don't say that Dealer "B" has offered you $1000 for your collection when they haven't.
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For small collections, this might be the best bang-for-your-buck-and-time scenario as all you are out is the admission fee to the con and a few laps around the dealer's room.
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Larger collections are tougher to hoist around the dealer's room and you might have to make appointments for dealers to view your collection at your hotel room - <b>PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS UNLESS YOU KNOW THE DEALER VERY WELL - THIS IS EXTREMELY UNSAFE</b>.
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The other way to sell your large collection is to rent a booth at one of the larger 3 or 4 day shows. Better have your calculator handy because if this isn't a local show, you are going to have travel expenses - i.e. gas, hotel, meals, etc. Regardless, you are going to have to pay booth rental and maybe someone a few bucks to help you load in your collection and set up <b>PLUS</b> you have to be there all three days to sell your books (remember, your time is hopefully worth something to you). You are also going to have to price the books and that takes a <b>TON</b> of time. At the end of the show, you will need to blow out the rest of the books that didn't sell (and the majority of them will not sell) to another dealer.
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Bottom line on comic conventions is that they are great for selling small collections, not so great for selling large collections.
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">6. Selling Your Comic Book Collection To Another Collector</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Or Very Hit Or Miss - Feast Or Famine...</span>
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<b>Pros:</b> Easily the best money you can make for the time spent<br />
<b>Cons:</b> Very difficult to find a collector that will buy your whole collection
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4EUuOGDZ7v-VPHmpqzg8ZrjCV-rJIvD0Tp9iPUIgTygpFLnVVDAMXLUWGoz4x9lX0Ub4w5IFscDdRpI1r3cCJHSWjIY7bi8f5bzGBEVBMQGcXgUNamPUf3ZoqK2oc2fwEOIs4SaNJ3Qk/s1600/collectorscollection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4EUuOGDZ7v-VPHmpqzg8ZrjCV-rJIvD0Tp9iPUIgTygpFLnVVDAMXLUWGoz4x9lX0Ub4w5IFscDdRpI1r3cCJHSWjIY7bi8f5bzGBEVBMQGcXgUNamPUf3ZoqK2oc2fwEOIs4SaNJ3Qk/s320/collectorscollection.jpg" title="A Comic Book Collector's Collection" /></a></div>
Selling your comic book collection to a comic book collector will make you the most money by far. Why? Simply because a collector is not buying comics for resale - they want them for their collections and they will pay a higher percentage of graded guide for your comics. If you are trying to find a "comic book collector", you obviously go where the comics are - i.e. comic book shops and comic conventions. If you have a very high-end collection with lots of key comics then you might want to check the ads section of the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=books&keywords=Overstreet%20Comic%20Book%20Price%20Guide&linkCode=ur2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=walkiwillisco-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> as there are a number of high end collectors - not just dealers - that advertise there.
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Trouble is, very few collectors want to buy a whole collection unless it is just a few books. You can forget selling a large collection to a comic book collector - almost never happens. Reason is that you might have a few books they want but you probably have a ton of books that they don't want. And the last thing you want is a collector cherry picking (i.e. picking out the good stuff) your collection and leaving you with next to unsellable merchandise.
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Again, great for very small collections - impossible for large collections.
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">7. Selling Your Comic Book Collection At A Flea Market</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Or The Most Exasperating Way To Sell Your Collection</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBaUzDLyBUV6VimbMq6VnwIhzP3zxVHLoaAKPDyAVkrcD6-6Z7iE9cdg6LIUMkThnlmeMv-rs2dcmslPMGd2t1eUvJJbxqyZF2q5heWPcqT5X1Ek9zOKuhPMs8h4jsfu5S8vZG832jbb8/s1600/smileys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBaUzDLyBUV6VimbMq6VnwIhzP3zxVHLoaAKPDyAVkrcD6-6Z7iE9cdg6LIUMkThnlmeMv-rs2dcmslPMGd2t1eUvJJbxqyZF2q5heWPcqT5X1Ek9zOKuhPMs8h4jsfu5S8vZG832jbb8/s320/smileys.jpg" title="Smiley's Flea Market in Fletcher, NC" /></a></div>
<b>Pros:</b> Flea Market booth rental is usually very, very cheap.<br />
<b>Cons:</b> Very few comic book buyers go to Flea Markets <b>PLUS</b> remember, your time has value.
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*** Sigh *** I list this as a way to sell your comic book collection but it is probably the worst way to do it. Face it, most flea market attendees are looking for something other than comics. Fortunately, the booth rental fees are usually cheap so you are down to how much time you want to spend trying to sell a bunch o' stuff to a bunch of folks that don't want your stuff.
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Now <b>BUYING</b> comics at a flea market can be great - you can usually talk the prices down to dirt cheap. Trouble is, there aren't many comics at flea markets.
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">8. Sell Your Comic Collection On Your Own Website</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Or Now We Are Talking Major Time Expenditures</span>
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<a href="http://www.walkinwilliescomix.com/" target="_blank"><img align="right" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig5XLz1410nYrFAHY-1xlus_CaENZi4G0DRLvp2IFjRwTNwADRzw-5bGWUPkjrCK8ucS64JUZ0gWBz03owcIOdd155xIVd8809cFC5obwABhPSekAUon4oXyP2kfEHoNaaWdPdj3RBFok/s320/wwilliesdiscount.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px;" title="Walkin' Willie's Comix Discount Comic Books" /></a></div>
<b>Pros:</b> You have complete control on how your merchandise is presented and the prices you want to charge<br />
<b>Cons:</b> So many that they can hardly be listed but the #1 "Con" is that you will invest huge, heaping vast amounts of your time to get it going <b>AND</b> maintaining the site.
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Builidng a website just to sell comic books is great <b>IF</b> you are a comic dealer and can get an effective site done on the cheap. If you do not have website building skills you need to run in the other direction as fast as you can. This is not the place for you just selling one comic collection.
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Alas, all is not lost. You might want to check out one of the online store builders like <a href="http://www.ecrater.com/" target="_blank">eCrater</a> or <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=blogpart6prostores&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fpages.ebay.com%2Fhelp%2Fspecialtysites%2Fprostores-ov.html" target="_blank">eBay ProStores</a>. <a href="http://www.ecrater.com/" target="_blank">eCrater</a> is totally free and they host the photos so it is a great way to run your own e-commerce storefront. <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=squidoolens1005&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fpages.ebay.com%2Fhelp%2Fspecialtysites%2Fprostores-ov.html" target="_blank">eBay ProStores</a> does charge you something like 1% of the total amount of the transaction <b>AND</b> a monthly subscription fee depending on what store level you chose. These are just two options as there are several out there.
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What you need to decide is a) how much time and money am I going to put into this thing and b) is my collection worth that time and money?
At this point, who knows? You just might want to jump in with both feet and get all crazy with selling comic books as an avocation. If so, then welcome but <b>PLEASE</b> understand that selling
comic books is an extremely detailed-oriented business. It takes years of experience to get where you can operate effectively - goodness knows I have made a ton of mistakes both in buying and selling comics. But you learn from your mistakes just like any other profession and you get better over time.
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Summing It Up</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">You Have The Tools Now....</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVh-LvnmQfCJZC26j1u3jeHrU9bsZ_GGd8v_G4gtKFaHwWhzM4gSK_6lbXl3HQErwbyga2AY-CErijkC-wiYTFiedjv5NTpcGP-UTiAr2oY0ek79cH1RlJ_15NyuG9s17FzMvH81-ALLM/s1600/dollarsign.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVh-LvnmQfCJZC26j1u3jeHrU9bsZ_GGd8v_G4gtKFaHwWhzM4gSK_6lbXl3HQErwbyga2AY-CErijkC-wiYTFiedjv5NTpcGP-UTiAr2oY0ek79cH1RlJ_15NyuG9s17FzMvH81-ALLM/s320/dollarsign.gif" title="Now it's time to make money..." /></a></div>
Hopefully, this series of blog articles will get better with time - the goal is to provide those who have comic book collections - and not a whole lot of comic book knowledge - with awareness on how to sell them. It can be a daunting task but hopefully these articles will make it a little easier.
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If you read all six of the articles then you are aware of the following:
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1. The tools and techniques used to assess a comic book collection's worth.<br />
2. Different venues where you can sell your comic book collection.<br />
3. Different types of people to whom you can sell your comic book collection.<br />
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It really comes down to this: After assessing your comic book collection's value, how much time are you willing to invest to get the most money possible from the collection <b>OR</b> are you more interested in getting the quick - but lesser - buck and saving a ton of time? This "time is money" concept has been belabored for sure but at the end of the day that is the bottom line.
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We hope you have found some value in these articles - regardless, we would appreciate your feedback so we can make them better.Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-25847869152717232572013-09-16T11:13:00.001-04:002013-09-19T13:06:06.605-04:00So You Want To Sell Your Comic Collection - Part 5<br />
<a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic.html"><b>Part 1</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_13.html"><b>Part 2</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_14.html"><b>Part 3</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic-book.html"><b>Part 4</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_17.html"><b>Part 6</b></a>
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OK, you've gone through assessing the value of your collection and you've got it in good shape presentation-wise to sell OR you have at least spent an hour or so reading these posts - you are invested. Now it's time to figure out the best payback. Let's start with the first four options to sell your comic collection listed at the beginning of <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic-book.html">Part 4</a> of this series.
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">1. Sell Your Collection To A Pawn Shop</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Or Get Your 15 Minutes Of Fame On Pawn Stars</span>
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<b>Pros:</b>You might get your "15 Minutes of fame"....most likely not<br />
<b>Cons:</b> <b>DON'T DO IT!!!!</b>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWE7lyGHuAUYvx4cB6s93Rl20LAUtcRHZfSefLHPnr05w1_MBeegLkAYV12In0cQjJRYfoB_fBpdYo3Aqj1tBqMyR6KNySAvdpiKNPTH2SMMrAs3TPdKnDHq5nQfu8ZcF0XKDEHqTJ_RQ/s1600/pawn_stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWE7lyGHuAUYvx4cB6s93Rl20LAUtcRHZfSefLHPnr05w1_MBeegLkAYV12In0cQjJRYfoB_fBpdYo3Aqj1tBqMyR6KNySAvdpiKNPTH2SMMrAs3TPdKnDHq5nQfu8ZcF0XKDEHqTJ_RQ/s320/pawn_stars.jpg" title="Pawn Stars shop" /></a></div>
Rick Harrison, the star of the mega-hit TV Series <a href="http://gspawn.com/" target="_blank">Pawn Stars</a> said in a TIME magazine article a few years ago - and I paraphrase - that he could not understand why some people took collectibles to a pawn shop when there are so many resources on the internet to figure out the value of an object. A pawn shop does not deal in comic books on a regular basis and so they are going to take a crazy conservative route and give you next to nothing for your collection <b>REGARDLESS</b> of what your collection contains. Why? Because
most pawn shop operators don't know diddley about comic books. Pawn shops know about precious metals and guitars - well, a few more things than that - but they don't usually deal in comic books because people don't regularly try to pawn them. Heck, they might not even make you an offer for your collection. This is a dead end....
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">2. Take Your Collection To An Auction House</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Or Don't Scratch Your Ear Or You Might Win Your Own Stuff!</span>
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<b>Pros:</b> If the right folks are there, you can get some decent bucks in a short amount of time<br />
<b>Cons:</b> Not so good if no comic dealers or collectors present on the day your collection is being sold.
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I took a load of comics to an auction house one time and it turned out very well for me - pretty much sold 10 boxes of junk for over $600 - I was thrilled.... I was also lucky as all get out. Why? Because I sold it in a relatively small community - Asheville, NC - and didn't do one whit of marketing.
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So here is how you stack the deck. Run <a href="http://www.craigslist.org/" target="_blank">Craig's List</a> ads for about a month prior to the auction being held and do it in a category where comic books are being <b>SOLD</b>. Go to any comic shop within a 100 miles and tell them that you are selling a collection at an auction. Post on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> or any other social media website and tell the world about your auction. Find a comic book forum or <b>TEN</b> and make posts about your collection. In other words, let your imagination run a little wild and <b>GET THE WORD OUT!</b>
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This can be a pretty good option if a) you have a decent sized collection of at least 100 books, b) the books have some value but no "key" books (you do remember <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_13.html">Part 2</a> where we discussed "key" books... don't you?) and c) you don't want to put a lot of time into it. Remember, most auctioneers charge a 20% sellers premium so take that into account before you haul your books before the man with the gavel.
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">3. Selling Your Collection To A Comic Book Dealer</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Or Quick, Easy But Not Always Painless</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQc0z5lbJGUpKRPizgxo5kR1a670Nd7OOa4c1YR0Gg1IIyz98gDqhFxHqRowWAzPceC66M9gemcmIueL7FTCe50uglV6YDBDTZ9GYABLjStr45qARv7TbxwwOLN777uMQLtPvmYwxtxF0/s1600/comicbookguy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQc0z5lbJGUpKRPizgxo5kR1a670Nd7OOa4c1YR0Gg1IIyz98gDqhFxHqRowWAzPceC66M9gemcmIueL7FTCe50uglV6YDBDTZ9GYABLjStr45qARv7TbxwwOLN777uMQLtPvmYwxtxF0/s320/comicbookguy.gif" title="Comic Book Guy from The Simpson's TV show" /></a></div>
This the best way to go if you know next to <b>NOTHING</b> about comic books. Selling to a comic dealer can also be the best way to go if <b>YOU DO KNOW A LOT</b> about comics. Your pain as the seller is that you have the bunch of paper in boxes that is taking up room, items you have no interest in and the constant nagging by someone related to you or supposedly a friend of yours is taking its toll....you just want rid of the #$*@! things! Comic book dealers have established channels to move product - they may have a brick and mortar store, one or more online websites or selling venues and probably set up at comic conventions. Comic dealers who have been in the business for awhile have also built relationships with other dealers and collectors so they also are in position to buy comics with others in mind to whom they can sell them quickly. In other words, comic dealers have the infrastructure in place to <b>BUY</b> your comics and sell them - it is what they do.<br />
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Comic dealers - just like in every profession on the planet and like every human being on the planet - come in all types: Ones that deal in only the most expensive books, ones that deal anything they can get their hands on: Very old to brand new and everything in between. There are some that deal in only brand new books or books that come out only in special editions like variant covers. There are dealers that deal in only <a href="http://www.cgccomics.com/" target="_blank">CGC graded books</a>. You get the picture. There are comic dealers that are so honest that they report their poker winnings to the IRS and there are a very few that you want to avoid at all costs. But by in large the majority of comic dealers will treat you pretty straight up - the last thing they want is for you to go on Facebook or Twitter and start yelling to the world that so-and-so comic dealer is a jerk. Like any other profession, reputation is a big deal in this business. If you are taking some time with this and shopping your collection around, ask the dealers if they sell on <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=blogpart5comiccategory&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2FComics-%2F63%2Fi.html" target="_blank">eBay</a> and if so, what is their seller ID. You can then check their <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=blogpart5feedback&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedback.ebay.com%2Fws%2FeBayISAPI.dll%3FViewFeedback2%26userid%3Dwalkin_willie%26ftab%3DAllFeedback" target="_blank">feedback</a> and see if they are what they say they are. One of the things I do on every collection I buy is ask the seller if they felt like they were treated with respect during the negotiations - yes, sounds corny but I do it anyway.
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Comic book dealers want to obtain collections for the least amount of money possible - that's logical as why would they want to do otherwise? The main advice here is to do as much due diligence on your collection's value as you feel necessary before negotiating with a comic dealer. As a comic book dealer myself, I don't want to sound as if we are a bunch of shysters nor am I implying that we are the bastions of all that is true and virtuous. All I am saying is that we will always try to negotiate the lowest possible price to obtain a collection and to do otherwise is pretty much idiocy on our part.
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Now, if you went to the trouble of purchasing a copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=books&keywords=Overstreet%20Comic%20Book%20Price%20Guide&linkCode=ur2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=walkiwillisco-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
and meticulously cataloged your collection and came up with some figure of say $5000 and then think that you are giving the comic dealer a great deal with an offer price of $4000, you are going to be disappointed. As we have discussed in previous articles, comic dealers have a lot of overhead costs and if they routinely buy collections at 80% of graded guide prices, they will be out of business very quickly. Expect an offer from a comic dealer of around 20% to 40% of the collection's value depending on what you have - it very well could be less than 20% if the amount of really salable books is small. If you have a collection of high grade key books that are all <a href="http://www.cgccomics.com/" target="_blank">CGC graded</a>, you probably aren't reading this anyway - but if you do have such a collection, you may expect significantly <b>MORE</b> than 40% of graded guide prices.
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<b>REMEMBER: IN 99% OF ALL PRICE NEGOTIATIONS, THE FIRST ONE TO MENTION PRICE USUALLY WILL NOT WIN!</b>.
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">4. Sell Your Collection On eBay</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Or Makes The Most Money But Takes The Most Time</span>
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<b>Pros:</b> A zillion eyeballs see your wares.<br />
<b>Cons:</b> Takes a ton of time to <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=1&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=blogpart5sellebay1&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">eBay</a> stuff correctly - i.e. scan the books, grade them, write descriptions, collect payment and ship the merchandise.
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<a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=1&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=blogpart5sellebay2&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">eBay</a> is a good way for people that <b>KNOW</b> comics well to sell their collections. But I have to get on my soapbox here. People that choose this route or setting up at a flea market forget one very, very important item:
Their time <b>HAS</b> to be worth something. I once bought a collection from an individual that was not pleased with my offer and said he would just probably <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=1&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=blogpart5sellebay3&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">eBay</a> 'em. As I was thumbing through the collection, I asked him "What do you do for a living?". He replied that he was a consultant. I went "Wow, bet you make over $50.00 an hour". He chuckled and said something on the order of "Try northwards of $100 an hour". After a couple more hours of looking through the collection, I said to him "You mean to tell me that your time is worth over $100 an hour and you want to spend your valuable time eBaying this stuff". His faced dropped and he got a sort of a sour look on his face - a little later we said our goodbyes. Long story short, he called me back within a few days and accepted my offer. But I digress....
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Selling your collection piecemeal on <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=1&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=blogpart5sellebay4&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">eBay</a> means the following: a) you know how to describe and grade comic books, b) the value of your collection makes it worth spending your time to set up <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=1&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=squidoolens1006&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">eBay</a> auctions and process them when they are complete, c) you know how to pack and ship comic books properly and d) you are in no hurry for your money.
I have been consistently selling on eBay since 1997 and believe me, you learn something all the time (mainly about all the fee and rule changes) - this is a topic I could write <b>ANOTHER</b> six-part series about. Hmm... might do that one day...
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Now if you know nothing about comics, you can still <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=1&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=blogpart5sellebay5&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">eBay</a> them. Just be sure to say
how many books there are, what time frames they are from (e.g. 70 books from the 1970's, 100 more from the 1960's, etc.), provide some data such as what titles and issue numbers are in the collection - i.e. things you can legitimately and honestly say about the collection without knowing much about comic books. Make sure that you have adequate disclaimers that pretty much say that you know nothing about comic books and just want to sell the lot as is - no returns. Put up as many photos as possible. Potential buyers may want to know a lot of specifics, especially the grades of books that they deem valuable. You might send them photos of the books they are interested in but again, tell them that you know nothing about comics and the books are being sold "AS IS". Some of the best Golden Age books price wise that I ever bought was from a person on <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=blogpart5goldenage&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2FGolden-Age-1938-55-%2F66%2Fi.html" target="_blank">eBay</a> trying to get rid of estate items - didn't know beans about comics but the pictures were decent and it was worth the risk.
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Cannot emphasize this enough: Selling your collection on <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=1&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=blogpart5sellebay6&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">eBay</a> all depends on how big your collection is, how much it is worth <b>AND</b> how much of your time you are willing to spend.
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OK, We have four more methods of comic collection selling to cover in Part 6 of "So You Want To Sell Your Comic Collection" and a summary to boot so hang in there!
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<br />Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-26354383906121383242013-09-15T09:20:00.000-04:002013-09-19T13:05:50.025-04:00So You Want To Sell Your Comic Book Collection - Part 4<br />
<a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic.html"><b>Part 1</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_13.html"><b>Part 2</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_14.html"><b>Part 3</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_16.html"><b>Part 5</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_17.html"><b>Part 6</b></a>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">The Nuts And Bolts Of Selling Your Comic Book Collection</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Or "Time To Get Serious And Make Some Bucks!"</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvC6KmMjB8-BxYHc690giVj9dfdFpcZv61QBtNW3EfJSgjZFspJ1H0jvgj-bFrVdAw93yGE2D-ecFmUeehWkMnY2HOwc2gu-9uokAPxaPMckvmrZHVCKDqmTArOJVG9Ze2icfLTfg75oY/s1600/collectionboxes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvC6KmMjB8-BxYHc690giVj9dfdFpcZv61QBtNW3EfJSgjZFspJ1H0jvgj-bFrVdAw93yGE2D-ecFmUeehWkMnY2HOwc2gu-9uokAPxaPMckvmrZHVCKDqmTArOJVG9Ze2icfLTfg75oY/s320/collectionboxes.jpg" /></a></div>
So now armed with the knowledge of the previous three parts of this series, you are now ready to learn the best way to sell your collection.
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Here are the ways that you can sell your collection - they are listed from the easiest to the hardest:
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1. Take it to a pawn shop<br />
2. Take it to an auction house<br />
3. Sell it to a comic dealer<br />
4. Sell it on eBay or on some other online venue<br />
5. Set up at a comic convention<br />
6. Sell it to another comic collector<br />
7. Set up at a flea market<br />
8. Build your own website and sell your books there<br />
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We will go into each one of these options in detail including the pros and cons of each one in Parts 5 and 6 but first a little more info to help you in the process of selling your collection.
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Be Honest With Yourself And Your Comic Book Collection</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Or "Trying To Make A Silk Purse Out Of A Sow's Ear Will Definitely Annoy The Pig..."</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGakxC2wlp_26KgDJuWJYhhh35dkD9oZ2PiWNNa8XLOMEjJRBV772Xzld8nNTRuRmT5CQ5DtcPPIs7jsRWZSGYXCOHCrtdqohU_DHV7KrELVIy570QtCp-cI9YAflPhODonwj_oO5ZbMI/s1600/pig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGakxC2wlp_26KgDJuWJYhhh35dkD9oZ2PiWNNa8XLOMEjJRBV772Xzld8nNTRuRmT5CQ5DtcPPIs7jsRWZSGYXCOHCrtdqohU_DHV7KrELVIy570QtCp-cI9YAflPhODonwj_oO5ZbMI/s320/pig.jpg" title="Yes, it is a pig" /></a></div>
Look, if you have a handful - say 30 or less - of comics that you dug up from your ex's closet and they are books published 1990 or later, aren't bagged and boarded and look very well read - do one of three things: 1) Take the books to the nearest comic shop <b>WHILE</b> you are doing other errands and see if they will take them off your hands for a couple of bucks, 2) take them to a children's charity as long as the books are child appropriate or 3) go back to the comic shop and just <b>GIVE</b> the books to them.<br />
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Now if you have a 100 books that were published prior to 1980, are nicely bagged and boarded and appear in nice condition, then by all means take them to a comic book dealer and see what they will offer you.<br />
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If you have 5 long boxes of comics, again take them to a comic book dealer and let them offer you a price. Most likely, the dealer will ask you what you want for them. <b>UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU TELL THEM A PRICE!!! THIS IS NEGOTIATION DEATH!</b>. Don't believe me on this? Then go watch a few episodes of Pawn Stars and watch how the negotiations go. If the pawn shop folks are interested in the item(s), they will <b>ALWAYS</b> ask what the seller wants for the item and the rare times they get a little flummoxed is when the seller says something like "I don't know, what do you want to give me for it?"<br />
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So that is what you should do - i.e. ask the dealer what they are willing to pay you for the collection. If they won't give you a price, thank them for their time and take your collection with you. If they ask what you are going to do with the books, tell them that you are shopping the collection around. If they ask you to call them if you ever decide to sell, don't call them. Instead, give them your contact information and let them know that you are in no hurry to sell the books but if a good offer comes around, then you would be willing to part with them.
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Now watch the dealer's body language - it will tell you a lot. Very slight nervousness usually means that the dealer wants the collection and doesn't want it to slip away. Indifference means that they are not all that hot about your collection OR they are capital challenged and don't have the funds to make the deal OR they are a pretty good poker player. Usually, a dealer has enough cash in the bank to purchase a small collection so if it is something they can make a decent margin on, they won't want it to walk out the door. We are getting ahead of ourselves a little bit as we will discuss selling to a comic dealer in greater detail in Part 5.<br />
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If you don't have a comic book dealer in your area - go online and find one that might give you an appraisal. You will have to supply a ton of information but at least it will give you some feedback that you can use. Here is <a href="http://www.metropoliscomics.com/load_article.php?type=article&action=view&article_id=9" target="_blank">one link</a> of an appraisal service that you might find helpful. You can always go to <a href="http://www.wwillie.com/t-contact.aspx" target="_blank">Walkin' Willie's Comix</a> and drop them a line about your collection.
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The bottom line is that you have to determine if you have a collection that has value - i.e. one that is worth selling or one you just need to get shed of and move on. Remember Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 provided you with that awareness and the tools you would need to figure out if your collection has tangible value. One last thing before shopping that collection around...<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Comic Collection Prep</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Or "Lookin' Good Always Helps The Bottom Line"</span>
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Just like a fresh coat of paint is the #1 thing to do when selling a house, having a collection that looks good can mean extra bucks.
By now, you have established whether the collection can bring in some cash. You either used a copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=books&keywords=Overstreet%20Comic%20Book%20Price%20Guide&linkCode=ur2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=walkiwillisco-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, gone online at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.comicpriceguide.com" target="_blank">ComicPriceGuide.com</a> or have received opinions/appraisals from a comic book dealer. OR you may be a longtime comic book collector that knows the craft.
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Now dress up that collection by making sure that each book is freshly bagged and boarded. It costs around $9.00 to $15.00 - and your time - to bag and board 100 books. Bagging and boarding is very important because it protects the books from any further damage. Books that are not bagged and boarded will damage quickly. Again, assess your collection to make sure that spending your time and $9.00 per hundred will still leave you with plenty of margin. The collection pictured above is a nice looking collection - very nicely bagged and boarded. Also, it is strongly recommended that you use the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006IF61/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00006IF61&linkCode=as2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">3M Removable Tape</a> to tape the bag flap - it comes in a blue box and has the same adhesive as the Post-It notes. You don't want a prospective buyer getting into a wrestling match to try to open a bag so as to inspect a book.
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If possible, use brand new comic boxes - if you need help in obtaining supplies, <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=ebaycomicsupplies&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2FStorage-Supplies-%2F10547%2Fi.html%3F_armrs%3D1%26_dmd%3D1%26_mdo%3DCollectibles%26_mspp%3D%26_pcats%3D63%252C1" target="_blank">you can find bags, boards and comic boxes at eBay</a> or <a href="http://www.bagsunlimited.com/cart/browse.asp?cat=3" target="_blank">BAGS Unlimited</a> can hook you up.<br />
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Finally, put the books in alphanumeric order - if the books are bagged and boarded and in order it helps a lot as a dealer likes to have a collection where all he has to do is take to a comic convention ready to go. That can definitely influence the price - and if the dealer wants the collection or not. If a dealer sees that they will have to put in very little sweat equity to get it ready to sell, it could very well be the tipping point to make a deal happen.<br />
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There is one dealer that does the southeastern convention circuit and he buys more closeouts than any other dealer that I have come across. He will have five tables at one-day shows and three booths at the big 3-day shows. He has a lot of collectors at his booths all convention long because he has so many books for pretty low prices. <b>HOWEVER</b> I won't go to his booth except to chat if he isn't busy because there is absolutely <b>NO</b> order to his merchandise. I'll be darn if I am going through 100 comic boxes to try find something that I can buy to sell when the books aren't in order. He's a great guy but I haven't bought anything from him for over 13+ years.<br />
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This last step isn't necessary if you have a small collection of 200 books or less but if you have a large collection of several thousand books you are trying to liquidate, then the dealer you are trying to sell to may or may not want to spend the time to try to figure out what all is in the collection - they might just do a random pull of every box just to see what is generally in there.<br />
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Again - and it cannot be emphasized enough: Your time is worth <b>SOMETHING </b>so figure out how much time you really want to spend preparing your collection for sale.<br />
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Part 5 of "So You Want To Sell Your Comic Collection" will tackle the first four options listed at the beginning of this post for selling your comic books. Stay tuned as the
best is yet to come...
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<br />Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-16516816057794302322013-09-14T08:00:00.000-04:002013-09-19T13:05:35.427-04:00So You Want To Sell Your Comic Collection - Part 3<br />
<a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic.html"><b>Part 1</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_13.html"><b>Part 2</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic-book.html"><b>Part 4</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_16.html"><b>Part 5</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_17.html"><b>Part 6</b></a>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Marketplace Demand</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Or "Hey These Books Are In Great Shape But Nobody Wants Them"</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_QgShUAQ-HfFlHWIo6S1X-jsUbD5tj1xKixkudFIDkGNs1JhHfzhFrJF9el1Ix2ef8AzGluxaSbZyWbf8utiJRcTgKj0TjuhRtLdjzo0CMfi8pqaQl5c5b8zFmUX-lR14EmBveuEEJ5k/s1600/xmen1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_QgShUAQ-HfFlHWIo6S1X-jsUbD5tj1xKixkudFIDkGNs1JhHfzhFrJF9el1Ix2ef8AzGluxaSbZyWbf8utiJRcTgKj0TjuhRtLdjzo0CMfi8pqaQl5c5b8zFmUX-lR14EmBveuEEJ5k/s320/xmen1.jpg" title="X-Men #1 from 1991 - don't pay more than a dime for it!" /></a></div>
We gave the examples of the Action Comics #1 and the Detective Comics #27 that sold for <b>BIG</b> dollars. There were two reasons given earlier that sort of infers a third and that is a Key book in high grade = <b>HIGH MARKET DEMAND!</b>
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Now before we give an example of where there is <b>NO</b> market demand, first a little background. Back in the mid 1980's, baseball cards got very, very hot. People that knew absolutely <b>NOTHING</b> about baseball cards starting buying wax boxes and complete sets by the thousands. The idea was that these cards would be a huge hedge against inflation and parents would be able to put their kids through college with the "sure thing" appreciation that these cards would bring. Well......it didn't work out that way. The baseball cards in the late 1980's were vastly overprinted - <b>WAY</b> more than what the normal market demand would allow. As a result - with very, very few exceptions - sports cards printed in the late 1980's to today have very little value.
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So, the baseball card speculators saw that older comics were going up in value and so they started buying the new comics coming out thinking the same thing - the values would go up and NOW the kid's college education would be paid for - YAY! Well, again - not so fast. This was the era of "HOT" books - hot artists, hot writers and everything was just hot, hot, hot! But it wasn't. Marvel produced a <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=9&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=blogxmen1copper&icep_uq=X-Men+%281991%29&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=12&icep_catId=165364&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">brand new X-Men series in 1991</a> and the first issue had five different cover variations. There were over 8 million copies
of this new <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=9&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=blogxmen1copper&icep_uq=X-Men+%281991%29&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=12&icep_catId=165364&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">X-Men #1</a> printed - one of which is shown here. Trouble is, there are not 8 million X-Men comic book fans - at least not that many modern X-Men fans. Almost <b>ALL</b> books between 1990 and 1995 were vastly overprinted to account for all the speculators.
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The speculators saw the bottom drop out due to no demand and moved on and the result was that the comic book industry imploded and almost died. It used to be that 300,000 copies was a nice healthy print run for a book - now it is more around 40,000 today <b>FOR A VERY POPULAR BOOK</b>. Books that were mega-hot back then such as Gen 13 #1 from the mini-series used to go for $30 to $40 each - now you are lucky if you can get $3.00 for one. Another example was the <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=9&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=blogrobindeath&icep_uq=death+of+robin&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=12&icep_catId=165364&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank">"Death Of Robin"</a> story arc in Batman where fans could call DC on a 900 number and vote on whether The Joker would kill Robin (not Dick Grayson but the second one - named Jason Todd who was a bit of a smart alek) or let him live. Well, the "Death" voters won out and lo and behold, The Joker did poor Robin in.....and the value for those four books that made up that story arc went through the roof. Mothers were gladly shelling out $200 for a complete set for Junior when those books printed. Now? A dealer would be lucky to get $40.00 for a complete set.
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I would estimate that easily 95% of the collections that I am offered come from books published between 1990 and 1995 - yes that is right: <b>95%!!!!!</b>. I am not saying that books from that period are low quality (although a <b>WHOLE</b> bunch of them are), all I am saying is that there is <b>ZERO demand</b> for those books. I have been offered collections in which the comics were very neatly bagged and boarded and I politely told the owner that I would not take them even if he gave them to me because there just is no demand for the books.
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Comic Book retailers got a little smarter after 1995 and only ordered enough books for their subscribers plus a few to put on the rack. Therefore, collections that consist of books printed from 1996 to present <b>CAN</b> have some value because of their lower print runs.
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However, here is a rule of thumb that has next to <b>NO</b> exceptions: Any book printed in 1990 to present with a grade less than Very Fine (8.0) is <b>ABSOLUTELY WORTHLESS</b> and that is about as pure and simple as I can get it.
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Here is another rule of thumb that has a few exceptions: Any book printed prior to 1975 and is complete with no pages missing and cover intact has <b>SOME</b> value - might not be much but it <b>WILL</b> have some value.
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We are getting close to finishing your "prerequisites" - only one more to go....
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Um...How Many Comic Books Are We Talking About?</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Or Size Matters But Not Always In A Good Way.</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANKL3OeeE-RSVAHKNGGtjuNXrN-2KLHO6Pv_-GFJNcNmrwI2EunOHLim9_PqSlRUl32aj7NCwHjlxVHD-OjXEEP0Zg3f3KVR0VeMD9Cxll1t2i3yLMV6DpvgNu8ERwgk9pX3LDKhtKn8/s1600/collection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANKL3OeeE-RSVAHKNGGtjuNXrN-2KLHO6Pv_-GFJNcNmrwI2EunOHLim9_PqSlRUl32aj7NCwHjlxVHD-OjXEEP0Zg3f3KVR0VeMD9Cxll1t2i3yLMV6DpvgNu8ERwgk9pX3LDKhtKn8/s320/collection.jpg" /></a></div>
Here is another one of the those rules of thumb that have exceptions. Generally speaking, the larger the collection, the lower the price per book that a comic book dealer will be willing to pay. Now, if it is a collection of 1000 mid to high grade books from the 1960's or earlier, comic book dealers will probably pay anywhere from 20% to 40% of graded guide price depending on whether or not there are any key books and what the condition of those key books are. If it is a collection of 200,000 modern books (usually, these big collections are comic book store closeouts/liquidations), then you the owner of this massive collection can expect around 5 cents to 10 cents per book if that much. Large collections mean that the comic book dealer is going to have to spend a <b>LOT</b> of time and sweat equity processing these books, storing them and yes, selling them. They will not want their money tied up for a long period of time. PS - the photo at the above right is a collection of around 2900 to 3000 comics.
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Usually, a comic book dealer will offer a price where he or she can get their money back within a one to three month period - that is their thinking and most likely that will come up in the negotiations. Don't worry, that's the dealer's pain, not yours. Whatever you do, <b>DO NOT</b> let a comic book dealer offer to buy just a small part of your collection. The dealer will pick all of the "good stuff" that has value and leave you with a bunch of worthless paper that no dealer would want. If you are going to sell to the dealer, sell the <b>WHOLE</b> collection, not just little bits and pieces. However, I remember one dealer when offered a 500 book collection of which they only wanted 10 books tell the owner that if you let me buy these 10 books, I'll give you $200 but if you make me take the whole thing, I'll give you $150 - kind of funny but generally speaking, sell the <b>WHOLE</b> collection especially if you are not a comic collector - be done with it! We will talk more about selling to comic book dealers in Part 4 of this series.<br />
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Again, size matters but not always. Whew, this exhausting - but necessary - education is just about over.
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Wrapping Up The Due Diligence</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Or You Have Gained Awareness, Grasshopper!</span>
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The first three parts of this six part series was intended for those who have a comic
book collection but don't know anything about comics. What it did not do - or even come close to - was provide a complete education
on comic book collection valuation. That would take a 50 part series and still might come up short.
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What this series hopefully did thus far was give you some awareness of how the worth of a comic book collection is determined and like my dear
friend and business/life coach, <a href="http://www.carolinabusinesscoach.com/" target="_blank">Harvey Smith</a> always
says, "Once you become aware, you cannot become unaware". Sounds trite but think about it for a long, long time - I swear you
will feel like something crawled up your back when you really, really get it. Hmmm...sounds like another blog article...
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Part 4 of "So You Want To Sell Your Comic Collection" will start covering your options on selling your comic collection and what the strategies are to maximize your selling price. But <b>PLEASE</b> remember, your time has value and it amazes me how many people forget that very important part of the whole equation. Let's put it this way, I would rather spend two hours roughly figuring out the value of my collection and make $300 dollars than spend two weeks time carefully cataloging my collection and making $600 dollars. Parts 4 through 6 will go over that time spent versus return gained in detail.
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<br />Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-55282543219943511182013-09-13T09:03:00.000-04:002013-09-19T13:04:30.461-04:00So You Want To Sell Your Comic Collection - Part 2<br />
<a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic.html"><b>Part 1</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_14.html"><b>Part 3</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic-book.html"><b>Part 4</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_16.html"><b>Part 5</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_17.html"><b>Part 6</b></a>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Are There Any "Key" Books In The Collection?</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Or "When The Older Is Better" Rule Just Doesn't Work!</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDr5MCR2W7cTY2suvaiJHfE2tj99WlFoLJSbZrE-qhSS4sCpakPuNwfy8NXhHvC-3ESLK3gzvQ-j5kWqhe0BYF4l18_St18Ho9TU11y0VALrsGDF-LK1IEYtCtjH3rxFghuQEf2SZXIts/s1600/AmazingFantasy15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDr5MCR2W7cTY2suvaiJHfE2tj99WlFoLJSbZrE-qhSS4sCpakPuNwfy8NXhHvC-3ESLK3gzvQ-j5kWqhe0BYF4l18_St18Ho9TU11y0VALrsGDF-LK1IEYtCtjH3rxFghuQEf2SZXIts/s320/AmazingFantasy15.jpg" title="Amazing Fantasy #15" /></a></div>
Key comic books are milestones in a comic book title or milestones in the whole culture of comics. Usually, a key comic book contains the first appearance of a character, the death of a character, the first comic book work of a particular artist, the first comic book written by a particular writer or a just a major event in the comic book world. You may have read about the <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/nicolas-cage-superman-comic-record-2-million-sale-267770" target="_blank">Action Comics #1 that sold for a record $2,161,000.00 (that's right - OVER $2 Million)</a> or the <a href="http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7017&lotIdNo=1149" target="_blank">Detective Comics #27 that sold for $1,075,000.00</a>. The reasons is that a) they were the very first appearances of Superman and Batman respectively and b) they were is high grade - or very fine condition (there's that "condition" thing again - be patient, we will explain everything).
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Key books toss the "the older is better" rule of thumb out the window. Here's an example: Action Comics #69 is a nice old book from 1944 and in Near Mint minus condition, the value of that book is $2200.00 - Not bad at all. But Amazing Fantasy #15 (at right) published in 1961 has a value of $175,000 in Near Mint minus condition!
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But the Action Comics #67 is 17 years <b>OLDER</b> than the Amazing Fantasy #15 so why the huge price discrepancy? Because Amazing Fantasy #15 is the very first appearance of The Amazing Spider-Man. It is one of the most "key" books in all of comic lore and is intensely sought out by collectors. If you have one of these babies in your collection, you need to really take your time in selling the collection. Again, Action Comics #67 is a nice old book but there is nothing "key" about it.
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I know, I know - you want to get to the part where you get all the info about how to sell your comic book collection - well, you <b>ARE</b> starting to get that information now as it is <b>SO</b> important to know what you have - and knowing what you have means knowing how to value a comic book collection. If you don't have a clue as to what you have, then you are starting out behind when it comes to negotiating a price for your collection. So if you want top dollar for your collection, you need to keep trudging on and "delve into the weeds" - i.e. the details.
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Condition Is King!</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Or My Kingdom For A Comic Book With No Flaws!</span>
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If you have two identical books - say you have TWO Amazing Fantasy #15 copies (lucky stiff!). Well, they should both be worth the
same, right? Not necessarily. The condition of the book(s) is critical to determining the value. Assessing the condition of a comic book is called <b>grading a comic book.</b> You can go purchase a copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=books&keywords=Overstreet%20Comic%20Book%20Grading%20Guide&linkCode=ur2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">The Official Overstreet Comic Book Grading Guide</a> and get a thorough education on grading comic books or you can Google and come up with a ton of links about grading comic books - <a href="http://www.nostalgiazone.com/about.asp#grading" target="_blank">here's one at Nostalgia Zone</a> that is brief and gets to the point.
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Basically, here is the 10 point scale for grading comics:
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10.0 -- GEM MINT<br />
9.9 -- Mint<br />
9.8 -- Near Mint / Mint<br />
9.6 -- Near Mint +<br />
9.4 -- Near Mint<br />
9.2 -- Near Mint -<br />
9.0 -- Very Fine / Near Mint<br />
8.5 -- Very Fine +<br />
8.0 -- Very Fine<br />
7.5 -- Very Fine -<br />
7.0 -- Fine / Very Fine<br />
6.5 -- Fine +<br />
6.0 -- Fine<br />
5.5 -- Fine -<br />
5.0 -- Very Good / Fine<br />
4.5 -- Very Good +<br />
4.0 -- Very Good<br />
3.5 -- Very Good -<br />
3.0 -- Good / Very Good<br />
2.5 -- Good +<br />
2.0 -- Good<br />
1.8 -- Good Minus<br />
1.5 -- Fair / Good<br />
1.0 -- Fair<br />
0.5 -- Poor<br />
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Obviously, the higher the grade, the higher the condition of the book. So let's say that one of our Amazing Fantasy #15's is Very Fine (8.0) and one of them is Very Good (4.0). If we go to our trusty <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=books&keywords=Overstreet%20Comic%20Book%20Price%20Guide&linkCode=ur2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=walkiwillisco-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> and look up the values of the books, the Very Fine (8.0) copy of Amazing Fantasy #15 goes for $56,000.00 and the Very Good (4.0) copy of the book goes for $7400.00 - that is a huge price difference and the <b>ONLY</b> reason for that difference is the relative condition of the two books.
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A Very Fine (8.0) book might have a few very small stress lines on the spine and maybe a micro-tiny crease at the corner of the book while a Very Good (4.0) book might have numerous spine stress lines and large diagonal creases at the corners - might have some ink wear at the edges of the cover and the staples might show some discoloration.
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You do not have to be a grading expert but you do have to have some awareness. If you choose to sell your collection to a comic book dealer, please understand that they will want to buy the collection for the lowest possible price - as well they should. This is their business and there are a lot of hidden costs for dealers - mainly in the time it takes to process a collection so it is ready for sale. They might have to bag and board the whole collection, price it and if they are online dealers, they will have to scan the image and put it up on their website or eBay with a description, etc. It <b>IS</b> a lot of work but that is not your pain - it is the dealer's pain <b>BUT</b> they are taking all of that into consideration when they are trying to come up with an offer for your collection. I am digressing here somewhat but the point to these first three articles is to help you, the person that wants to sell your collection gain some awareness of how comic collections are valued - especially those of you who are <b>NOT</b> comic book collectors.
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Now as an aside (and more digressing), I have edited this blog article because I previously said that ALL comic book dealers will try to downgrade your collection - that is simply not true and to all the honest dealers out there I do apologize. But comic dealers are human beings and some of them will sense either consciously or subconsciously how much awareness you have and deal with you accordingly. I will discuss negotiating with comic book dealers in more depth in Part 4 of this series.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi58IH4jdyBpkNpUsUTS23w-LCbPxFZLK2PC4_MZJ32kIRbGvykStY67oINU9-nmPhyzoJ60-yYtzCKmbATVh6NkgEYJq-6Q3nRbBFVsW1jXlaqXPl78pO-ylSrRnL8bBhIXiVK27_mjsU/s1600/xmen95-92tn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi58IH4jdyBpkNpUsUTS23w-LCbPxFZLK2PC4_MZJ32kIRbGvykStY67oINU9-nmPhyzoJ60-yYtzCKmbATVh6NkgEYJq-6Q3nRbBFVsW1jXlaqXPl78pO-ylSrRnL8bBhIXiVK27_mjsU/s320/xmen95-92tn.jpg" title="CGC 9.2 copy of X-Men #95" /></a></div>
Oh by the way - the image of the X-Men #95 that is encapsulated in a plastic holder to the right? Well that is a book that is 3rd party graded much like coins, stamps and baseball cards are third party graded. The absolute #1 3rd party grader is
<a href="http://www.cgccomics.com/" target="_blank">CGC - i.e. Certified Guaranty Company, LLC</a>. Dealers and collectors send their books to CGC and they are evaluated and - for a fee of course - graded, encapsulated and shipped back to the owner. We won't get into that at all but if you do have CGC comic books in your collection, there is a site where you can see the value of <a href="http://www.cgccomics.com/" target="_blank">CGC</a> graded comics and that is <a href="http://comics.gpanalysis.com/" target="_blank">GPAnalysis.com</a> - they have a history of every <a href="http://www.cgccomics.com/" target="_blank">CGC</a> book that has been sold from a variety of venues such as <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?icep_ff3=9&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=ebaycgcsearchblog&icep_uq=CGC&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=12&icep_catId=63&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg" target="_blank" title="CGC Comic Books on eBay">eBay</a>, <a href="http://comics.ha.com/" target="_blank">Heritage Auctions</a>, etc. and you can get a very good idea of what some of your <a href="http://www.cgccomics.com/" target="_blank">CGC</a> books are worth. Usually - but not always - <a href="http://www.cgccomics.com/" target="_blank">CGC</a> books in high grade - 8.0 and above - will sell for more than a book in the same grade that is <b>NOT</b> <a href="http://www.cgccomics.com/" target="_blank">CGC</a> graded. Let that sink in for a little while....
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So now you know that condition is king - two of the same books but in different grades (i.e. condition) will sell for different prices - it is that simple.
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We have one more part to go until we start talking about <b>HOW</b> to sell those doggone comic books and that part will cover marketplace demand and how the sheer number of books in the collection can affect the value of your collection - that is Part 3 of "So You Want To Sell Your Comic Collection"...
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<br />Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-37514059701403807072013-09-12T08:06:00.001-04:002013-09-19T13:04:15.458-04:00So You Want To Sell Your Comic Collection - Part 1<br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Turning stale old colored paper into bucks!</span><br />
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<a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_13.html"><b>Part 2</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_14.html"><b>Part 3</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic-book.html"><b>Part 4</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_16.html"><b>Part 5</b></a> | <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_17.html"><b>Part 6</b></a>
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Do you own a comic book collection that you want to sell? Want to get the most money you possibly can for it? Well, whether you have painstakingly put together a comic book collection for the ages or you just lucked into one and know next to nothing about comic books, this six part series of articles will give you the lowdown on not only how to <b>SELL</b> your comic book collection but how to get the <b>MOST MONEY</b> for your collection. Each article will be posted daily so the whole thing will be wrapped up within a week.
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If you are a grizzled veteran of the comic collecting wars, the first three articles dealing with assessing your
collection might be of little use - but a dime against a dollar you will find at least one thing you can use in the last three parts.
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The main thing to remember is that not all comic book collections
are created equally - i.e. the value of the comic book collection can vary wildly according to several factors. Factors affecting the value of comic books are <b>a)</b> how old they are, <b>b)</b> whether there are any "key" books in the collection (more on that later), <b>c)</b> the physical condition of the books, <b>d)</b> the marketplace demand and <b>e)</b> the sheer number of the books in the collection.
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<br />
So before we get into "how" to sell your collections, we need to delve into the five factors above a little - here is the due diligence you need before selling your collection.<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: arial; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Old Counts But It's Not Everything...</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: medium; font-weight: bold;">Or Nostalgia Will Never Die!</span>
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Like antiques, stamps, coins, etc., the older the better. That isn't always true - nothing really is - but the older the comic books are, the more likely they will have more value than recent, modern comic books - i.e. ones published in the last 20 to 30 years. If you are trying to sell your comic book collection, one of the people you most likely will try to sell it to are comic book dealers. Some comic book dealers deal in old books, some in modern comics and some in both. The majority of comic book dealers that sell old books deal in comic books published from 1935 to 1979. Most comic books printed in that age range vary in original price from 10 cents to 60 cents.
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10 cent books were published from 1935 to 1962. 12 cent books were published from 1962 to 1969, 15 cent books from 1969 to 1970 (that didn't last long), etc. - you get the picture. From 1970 to 1979, comic books off the rack rose in price steadily from 15 cents to 60 cents. Note the Detective Comics #49 from 1941 at right - only a 10 cent price tag but in <b>Near Mint Minus</b> condition, this book is now worth <b>$4200</b> according to the latest <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=books&keywords=Overstreet%20Comic%20Book%20Price%20Guide&linkCode=ur2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=walkiwillisco-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />!
We'll talk more about condition and the Overstreet guide a little later. By the way, if you don't want to purchase a copy of the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=books&keywords=Overstreet%20Comic%20Book%20Price%20Guide&linkCode=ur2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=walkiwillisco-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> you can also get a free account at <a href="http://www.comicpriceguide.com/" target="_blank">ComicPriceGuide.com</a> or <a href="http://comicbookrealm.com/guide" target="_blank">ComicBookRealm.com</a> and look up the values of books online for free! The values at <a href="http://www.comicpriceguide.com/" target="_blank">ComicPriceGuide.com</a> and <a href="http://comicbookrealm.com/guide" target="_blank">ComicBookRealm.com</a> are fairly close to the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=books&keywords=Overstreet%20Comic%20Book%20Price%20Guide&linkCode=ur2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=walkiwillisco-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.
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In each of these "price" eras, there were comic books called "Giants" or "Annuals" that cost more than the common comic book of that era. For example Giants and Annuals cost 25 cents in the 1960's when regular single issue comic books were going for 12 cents. Giants and Annuals were mostly collected reprints of earlier single issues and it allowed comic book publishers to get out more product without having to come up with new material. It worked because comics that were first published in the mid-50's could be reprinted in the mid-60's and you would have a new audience of adolescents and teens that had most likely never read the originals - and the Giants and Annuals had a <b>LOT</b> more pages. But we digress....
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Modern comic books cost anywhere from $1.00 (1990) to $2.99 to $3.99 for comics printed in the last decade or so. So a rule of thumb - a rule with significant exceptions, examples of which will be provided later - is that the older a book, the more valuable the book.
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Next up in <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2013/09/so-you-want-to-sell-your-comic_13.html">"So You Want To Sell Your Comic Book Collection - Part 2"</a> we will cover when the "Older is Better" rule just doesn't work and delve into the physical condition of comic books as well. As usual, comments and questions are welcome and solicited<br />
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<br />Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-32682588911115616262013-09-09T10:51:00.001-04:002013-09-10T08:56:25.294-04:00The Bloodbath That Has Become Trade Paperbacks!<p>Kind of teaser/trailer title for a blog entry but it is true in the figurative sense. What has essentially happened in the comic book trade paperback business is that the customer can pretty much find any trade in print online for drastically reduced prices - that's the good news.</p>
<p>
The bad news is that comic book retailers are having a tough time making any money off of trade paperbacks. Why in the world would anyone pay $14.99 list price at a brick-and-mortar comic book store for the extremely popular <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1582406723/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1582406723&linkCode=as2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye</a> when you can get it for $8.78 directly from Amazon OR starting at $3.78 for NEW copies or $4.00 for USED copies from Amazon sellers? Yep, that's right - the USED copies start at a higher price than the NEW copies...weird. Comic book retailers order their merchandise from <a href="http://www.diamondcomics.com" target="_blank">Diamond Comics Distributors</a> and unless they are the highest volume sellers in the world, the best discount the normal comic retailer can get is 50% off the retail price as their wholesale price - that doesn't include freight so add another 2% or so on top of that. Well at 48% off of $14.99 for the Walking Dead TPB, that comes to around $7.79 just for the COST of the book so retailers are already several bucks behind the going online price right out of the gate - can't make any money that way.
</p>
<p>Anyway, you have heard me talk about the state of the comic book industry as it applies to me and my business at comic book conventions <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2010/06/heroes-con-2010-wellthe-good-news-is.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://blog.wwillie.com/2011/07/walkin-willies-last-picture-show-say-it.html" target="_blank">here.</a> When I saw a LOT of dealers at conventions blowing out BRAND NEW Marvel trades at $5.00 a pop (i.e. the <b>"The Bloodbath"</b> that I alluded to in the post title), I knew I had to get out of this part of the business and get out in a hurry! The other "epiphany" was when customers would come to my booth with an Amazon printout of prices for the books they were wanting to buy and asking if I could match Amazon's prices...obviously I couldn't without taking a substantial loss.</p>
<p>
Now you might be thinking that the Walking Dead deal above was a "one-off" - i.e. the exception that proves the rule. However, if you are a long time comic collector, YOU KNOW that <b>IS</b> the rule. Just for kicks and giggles, listed below are the <a href="http://www.diamondcomics.com/Home/1/1/3/597?articleID=137962" target="_blank">Top Ten July 2013 Trade Paperbacks and Graphic Novels in Quantity Sold</a> as reported by <a href="http://www.diamondcomics.com" target="_blank">Diamond Comics Distributors.</a> The prices from Amazon are as of <b>9/9/2013</b> and most likely will change over time. These are <b>BRAND NEW BOOKS</b> for goodness sakes!
<table align="center" width="800px" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border: 2px #CC0000 solid">
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid; width:60px; text-align:center"><b>Quantity<br>Rank</b></td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid; width:50px; text-align:center"><b>Dollar<br>Rank</b></td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid; width:80px; text-align:center"><b>Publisher</b></td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid; width:370px; text-align:center"><b>Description</b></td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid; width:60px; text-align:center"><b>Retail<br>Price</b></td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid; width:60px; text-align:center"><b>Amazon<br>Price</b></td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid; width:60px; text-align:center"><b>Amazon<br>Sellers<br>New<br>Price</b></td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid; width:60px; text-align:center"><b>Amazon<br>Sellers<br>Used<br>Price</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid;">1</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">2</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">Marvel</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0785165630/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0785165630&linkCode=as2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">Hawkeye: Little Hits, Vol. 2</a></td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$16.99</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$12.68</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$8.93</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$9.53</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid;">2</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">10</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">Dark Horse</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1616551909/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1616551909&linkCode=as2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Search, Part 2</a></td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$10.99</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$9.08</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$6.29</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$6.29</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid;">3</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">7</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">Image</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1607066920/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1607066920&linkCode=as2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">Saga Vol. 2</a></td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$14.99</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$11.70</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$8.43</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$5.99</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid;">4</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">22</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">Image</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1607066017/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1607066017&linkCode=as2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">Saga Vol. 1</a></td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$9.99</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$8.48</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$5.70</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$5.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid;">5</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">47</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">Marvel</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E5JHJRE/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00E5JHJRE&linkCode=as2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">Black Bolt: Something Inhuman This Way Comes - One Shot</a></td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$7.99</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$7.75</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$7.75</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">None</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid;">6</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">8</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">Marvel</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1934964107/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1934964107&linkCode=as2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">Kick-Ass 2 Prelude: Hit-Girl Hardcover</a></td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$19.99</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$17.48</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$13.40</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$14.48</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid;">7</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">20</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">DC Comics</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401240216/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1401240216&linkCode=as2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">Fairest Vol. 2: Hidden Kingdom</a></td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$14.99</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$11.48</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$7.24</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$8.09</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid;">8</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">3</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">DC Comics</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401238939/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1401238939&linkCode=as2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">Before Watchmen: Comedian/Rorschach - Deluxe Hardcover</a></td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$29.99</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$22.11</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$16.48</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$14.52</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid;">9</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">17</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">Image</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1607067625/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1607067625&linkCode=as2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">Invincible Volume 18: Death of Everyone TP</a></td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$16.99</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$10.59</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$6.99</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$8.09</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid">10</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid">4</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid">DC Comics</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401238947/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1401238947&linkCode=as2&tag=walkiwillisco-20" target="_blank">Before Watchmen: Nite Owl/Dr. Manhattan - Deluxe Hardcover</a></td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid">$29.99</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid">$22.11</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid">$13.40</td>
<td>$13.40</td>
</tr>
</table>
</p>
<p>OK, enough of this exercise - be on the lookout for a six-part series coming up that might help some of you make a nice little chunk of change! <b>First part will be out later this week and all parts will be published within a week!</b></p>
<p>As usual, comments/questions are welcome and solicited.</p>Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-29345965514349390762013-08-01T10:13:00.001-04:002013-08-01T10:13:48.865-04:00eBay Marketing App - MyStoreRewardsI know it has been a LOOOOOOOOONG time since I posted anything. I would tell you that it will change but.... I can't really say that for sure. I do like to write and have a few things to get off my chest so I will try VERY hard to put out one article a week.
<p>
This one concerns eBay Marketing and in particular the app called MyStoreRewards.com -- What this app basically does is reward your customers with a percentage rebate off of the total price - including shipping and handling - and in turn, MyStoreRewards sends out an e-mail containing links & images of your current auctions to those who opt-in to get the rebate.
</p>
<p>
I set it up so that customers will get a 2% rebate of their first purchase using the MyStoreRewards app and 3% rebate for all subsequent purchases as long as they remain opt-in and therefore receive the e-mails. Now...ahem...YOU the seller are providing the rebate so you are looking at a risk and reward type of scenario. No rebates are sent to customers until AFTER they have paid for their eBay purchases.
</p>
<p>
First, how does a potential customer opt-in? Well scroll past whatever graphic I might have in one of <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=wwcbloggen20130801&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi6.ebay.com%2Fws%2FeBayISAPI.dll%3FMfcISAPICommand%3DViewListedItems%26userid%3Dwalkin_willie%26include%3D0%26since%3D-1%26sort%3D3%26rows%3D0" target="_blank">my auctions</a> and you will see a graphic like this:
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLAuDAXenbHnOFK36tPN5aR78o1UBUmj-1lkaAGwYnOyfuJhxQGFjY-i_TQLcGnDRfa22JdAHBgqMbwoF83NWW1cwn2RpOn5XnwNRXa6YnmVDjvdK7gxOigNfZKtoHWjm3ktV8F-dmKgY/s1600/mystorerewardsbanner.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLAuDAXenbHnOFK36tPN5aR78o1UBUmj-1lkaAGwYnOyfuJhxQGFjY-i_TQLcGnDRfa22JdAHBgqMbwoF83NWW1cwn2RpOn5XnwNRXa6YnmVDjvdK7gxOigNfZKtoHWjm3ktV8F-dmKgY/s400/mystorerewardsbanner.gif" /></a></div>
<p>
Now you really don't have to do a thing but wait until MyStoreRewards sends you, the customer, an e-mail with links on how to join. Clicking on the graphic just provides a short informational page about MyStoreRewards.
</p>
<p>
Now some info for sellers: Are there any fees other than the rebates you provide through PayPal? Well, that part is confusing as I don't pay any fees - other than the rebates - and I believe it is totally free if you use it ONLY on eBay AND sign up through "My eBay" --> "Applications". Now if you want to expand the use of this app to your own e-commerce websites, then I believe there are monthly fees and per transaction fees. But lets just stick to eBay for now.
</p>
<p>
You as a seller have a few settings like what percentage you will be providing on the first sale and on subsequent sales. You also select how frequently you want your e-mails sent out (choices are every 15, 30 or 45 days) and what your maximum reward will be - I set mine at $100 which at 2% is a $5000 dollar eBay item purchased and at 3% is a $3333 item - haven't ever sold one for either amount so I feel pretty safe and if I did, I would be MORE than happy to provide a $100 rebate.
</p>
<p>
Now for some stats - we left brainers love those. Not too many but interesting as all get out. I haven't been doing this long so the numbers aren't big.....yet. Here are my results as of 8/1/2013 (might update this blog entry at the end of the year to see where I am at that time).
</p>
<table align="center" width="400px" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border: 2px #CC0000 solid">
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid; width:300px">Total opted-in buyers</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid; width:100px">30</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid;">Revenue from Opted-in buyers</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$1,733.52</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid;">Reward amount</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$37.80</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid;">Your repeat purchase count</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid;">Average Purchase of NON-opted-in buyers</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">$41.47</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid">Average Purchase from OPTED-in buyers</td>
<td>$57.58</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
Now here are some stats from the e-mail side of things:
</p>
<table align="center" width="500px" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border: 2px #CC0000 solid">
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid; width:250px"> </td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid; width:125px"><b>Industry Average</b></td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid; width:125px"><b>My Stats</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid;">Opt-in Percent</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">0.5%</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">9.0%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid;">Opt-out Percent </td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">1 - 4%</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">1%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid;">Total Marketing Emails sent</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">N/A</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">516</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid;">Open Rate</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid; border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">14.3%</td>
<td style="border-bottom: 2px #CC0000 solid">65.89%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid">Email Click-Thru Rate</td>
<td style="border-right: 2px #CC0000 solid">3.3%</td>
<td>14%</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
In a word....<b>THIS IS INCREDIBLE!</b> A 9% opt-in percentage is unreal followed by a 65.89 percent opening rate with a 14% click through rate? Those are OVER the top stats internet marketing-wise - the only real problem is that I have only 30 people opted in but that is changing fairly quickly for one reason: I am <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=wwcbloggen20130801&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi6.ebay.com%2Fws%2FeBayISAPI.dll%3FMfcISAPICommand%3DViewListedItems%26userid%3Dwalkin_willie%26include%3D0%26since%3D-1%26sort%3D3%26rows%3D0" target="_blank">listing a WHOLE lot more items</a> than I used to on a weekly basis.
</p>
<p>This is a win-win for both eBay sellers and customers and THAT'S the way internet marketing should work.</p>
<p>As usual, comments and questions are solicited</p>Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-24440486268964729592012-03-29T19:51:00.000-04:002012-04-05T13:21:28.745-04:00My Experience With PSLSource.com...and What I Think Should HappenAs anyone who has engaged in internet transactions knows, customer service is all over the board. When we get sensational customer service like the type I regularly experience with <a href="http://www.uline.com/" target="_blank">ULine.com</a> - a shipping/warehouse supplies company and yes, believe it or not with <a href="http://www.paypal.com/" target="_blank">PayPal</a>, it makes you feel good and more importantly, valued as a customer. When customer service is not so hot, it leaves one a little frustrated and well, devalued as a customer.<br />
<br />
So I'm going to tell the tale of my experience with <a href="http://www.pslsource.com/" target="_blank">PSLSource.com</a> and no, it was not a positive one but I'm not going to just complain and not offer a solution. Anyone that has been a manager or supervisor detests when an employee points out something deficient but doesn't offer a suggestion or solution. People like that kind of "Yeah, there's a problem there but we can fix it" type of attitude. So I'm going to try to go that route.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.pslsource.com/" target="_blank">PSLSource.com</a> is a company that brokers Permanent Seat Licenses (PSLs) for a number of NFL teams. PSLs are something that entitles a football fan to buy season tickets for their team. NFL teams use them to raise revenue to mostly pay for stadium construction. PSLs are a one time fee per seat. Well, I've moved away from the Charlotte, NC area so I figured it was time to unload my three Club III PSLs. But forget about all that mumbo jumbo, think of PSLs as any other commodity with some intrinsic value like...comic books for instance. <a href="http://www.pslsource.com/" target="_blank">PSLSource.com</a> is sort of like an eBay of PSLs.<br />
<br />
At <a href="http://www.pslsource.com/" target="_blank">PSLSource.com</a>, you sign up for an account and create a listing to sell your PSLs. The listing will contain such information as the Section, Row and seat numbers, whether a parking pass is included, close to concessions, sunny or shady side, whether or not the season tickets are included and of course a price per PSL.<br />
<br />
I did the usual Googling for a site to sell PSLs and figured <a href="http://www.pslsource.com/" target="_blank">PSLSource.com</a> would be a good place to start. Knowing nothing about the market, I wanted some guidance as to what I should expect price-wise for my PSLs so I sent them an e-mail on March 9th and didn't get a reply. So on March 12th, I decided to give them a call on their toll free number. Well, they never called back.<br />
<br />
I decided "What the heck", it costs nothing to list so why not just sign up, create a listing and see what happens - so on March 13th I did exactly just that. Well, I didn't get much response - in fact I got zero. Well, after a week I decided to lower the price which means you have to edit your listing and the edits have to be approved - as does a new listing by the way. I edited it in the morning and come that afternoon, the edit was not approved. I sent an e-mail to Support via the website and the edit was approved shortly - no biggie.<br />
<br />
Well, another week passed with minimal response and it was obvious that I really didn't know how to price PSLs. So two days ago (March 27th), I decided to lower the price again. I edited it at 8:35 a.m. and when I checked at 3:25 the edits where still not approved.<br />
<br />
I sent the following e-mail via their website to "Support":<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #cc0000;">
"Edited my listing - #20355 - at 8:35 a.m. EDT today and it is now 3:25 p.m. EDT and the changes have not been approved.</div>
<div style="color: #cc0000;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #cc0000;">
C'mon - you guys can do better than this."</div>
<br />
At 3:31 p.m. the following e-mail was sent to me although I didn't read it until I got off of work:<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #351c75;">
"Your changes were approved around 2:00pm. We have been busy processing sales today. Approving new listings and edits is of secondary importance on our list of priorities. For what its worth, we are making changes in the near future that will eliminate the need for edits to be approved by admin and will go into effect instantly. </div>
<div style="color: #351c75;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #351c75;">
Thanks,</div>
<div style="color: #351c75;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #351c75;">
XXXXXXXXX"</div>
<br />
I put "XXXXXXXXX" because I don't want to release "names". What disturbed me was that my request for support was considered "of secondary importance on our list of priorities"<br />
<br />
Sooooo..... at 8:27 p.m., I replied with the following:<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #cc0000;">
"Ok - let me inform you of a couple of things:</div>
<div style="color: #cc0000;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #cc0000;">
I e-mailed you on March 9th to inquire about your services - no e-mail back.</div>
<div style="color: #cc0000;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #cc0000;">
I called and left a message on March 12th - no call back.</div>
<div style="color: #cc0000;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #cc0000;">
Now I'm being told that supporting your customers is of secondary importance.</div>
<div style="color: #cc0000;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #cc0000;">
But your website touts your expert sales staff - do you see the disconnect that I'm seeing and experiencing?</div>
<div style="color: #cc0000;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #cc0000;">
The first two items you might not of known about but the third one you own.</div>
<div style="color: #cc0000;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #cc0000;">
Sincerely, </div>
<div style="color: #cc0000;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #cc0000;">
William Anfin"</div>
<br />
At 9:41 I received a reply to my e-mail:<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #351c75;">
"I have only ever received 2 emails asking us to hurry up and approve edits. Both have come from you. Supporting potential customers at times does take secondary importance to supporting actual customers. I dont think we'll be a fit to work together. I have removed your listing from the site.</div>
<div style="color: #674ea7;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #674ea7;">
XXXXXXXXX"</div>
<br />
OK...... I really didn't get all that angry - went through the self analysis to figure out if I was the one at fault here....and you know, I don't think so. So for all the hundreds if not thousands of listings, I am the only one to complain about the speed of their edit approval process? Possible but not probable. My sister told me something about disagreements that I have seen occur over and over and over... Basically, when someone gets angry or does some sort of kneejerk reaction, they probably realize that they have the weaker position and they are mad about it.<br />
<br />
Now for the solution that I think will work: <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.pslsource.com/" target="_blank">PSLSource.com</a> has a pretty slick site - maybe the best one out there for what they do. However, if they keep treating..um.."potential customers" as if they don't matter, someone else will treat "potential customers" as what they are: Actual Customers. It doesn't matter if you have the slickest site, good old capitalism says that if someone can build the better mousetrap OR treat their customers like the gold they are, they will take over the market share. Look, building one of these sites is not all that complicated at all for any competent database web programmer. If I didn't have about ten thousand irons in the fire, I would think about doing it myself.<br />
<br />
I later found out that the person who figuratively kicked my tuckas off of <a href="http://www.pslsource.com/" target="_blank">PSLSource.com</a> is actually the owner of the site. So it appears he is running a one-man show - i.e. he is Sales, Marketing, Order Processing, Clerical....etc. What this fellow needs in the worst way is a Business Coach - he just doesn't need it, he is screaming for it.<br />
<br />
A business coach is someone who mentors entrepreneurs, managers...well just about anybody in the world of business - but the market for business coaches was made out of mentoring the Mom & Pop businesses of the world. A great business coach will assess your qualities to determine your strengths, your weaknesses, what people you deal with effectively and obviously which ones you struggle with as well. They will listen to you, help you lay out a plan for your business, set goals - i.e. "coach" you to success.<br />
<br />
I have been fortunate to know one of the best business coaches in the world - Harvey Smith of <a href="http://www.carolinabusinesscoach.com/" target="_blank">Carolina Business Coach</a>. Harvey is a major reason why <a href="http://www.walkinwilliescomix.com/" target="_blank">Walkin' Willie's Comix</a> is cash flow positive and on course to have the best year ever in the 21+ years of our existence. That ain't bad...<br />
<br />
So continuing my unasked for advice to the owner of <a href="http://www.pslsource.com/" target="_blank">PSLSource.com</a>, don't walk but <b>RUN</b> to <a href="http://www.carolinabusinesscoach.com/" target="_blank">Carolina Business Coach</a> - things might be great now but if you continue to treat customers the way you do, it won't be long until someone steals your customers. Remember, PSL selling sites are not hard at all to make so customer service - or the lack thereof - is how you will differentiate yourself. If you go through the program at <a href="http://www.carolinabusinesscoach.com/" target="_blank">Carolina Business Coach</a>, you will thank me....I guarantee it.<br />
<br />
Now that ended positively - just the way we like it....<br />
<br />
<b style="color: #38761d;">UPDATE 4/5/2012:</b> Just sold my three PSLs to a very nice family today and without a broker to boot so things are lookin' great! Baby's gonna get a new pair of shoes!<br />
<br />Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-90898382663793337562012-01-24T13:46:00.000-05:002012-01-24T13:46:35.561-05:00The WORST Comic Book Lots EVER!No...we aren't talking content - more like condition. Any of you that follow my <a href="http://bit.ly/oOryAO" target="blank">eBay auctions</a> know that I have been putting up some really rancid looking comics the past month. I scored the worst condition collection of my life back in early December - there were literally 10 to 15 books that I just had to throw away and that was AFTER keeping some of the COVERLESS books. Thing is, it was all DC, Marvel, Gold Key, Dell and Charlton Silver Age with about 30% Bronze Age from the same publishers - couldn't pass it up and got it on the cheap which is the only way a dealer can ever make any money in comics these days. Well that and digging out a book that can fetch a high CGC grade... but I digress...<br />
<br />
Anyway, I decided to have some fun with them by telling like it is - i.e. these are the "WORST lots EVER on eBay" and describing them as such. So after a month, we are finally down to the last few lots - four of them ending tonight (Tuesday, 1/24/2012) and the remaining 12 lots ending this Sunday (1/29/2012).<br />
<br />
So the clock is ticking to check out some really LOOOOOW grade comics - I mean some really horrible looking stuff....Enjoy!Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-46666801720410321312012-01-14T09:26:00.000-05:002012-01-14T09:26:39.222-05:00Need Shipping Supplies? Don't Buy From BrownCorGotta get this off my chest.... Like many small merchants, I buy my shipping supplies in bulk from various packing supply companies. I've bought from <a href="http://www.browncor.com/" target="_blank">BrownCor</a> (packing tape), <a href="http://www.uline.com/" target="_blank">ULine</a> (mostly white shipping boxes), <a href="http://www.bubblefast.com/" target="_blank">Bubblefast</a> (bubble wrap) and <a href="http://www.bagsunlimited.com/" target="_blank">Bags Unlimited</a> (comic specialty items - boxes usually). I buy from these different companies because of quality and price.<br />
<br />
Well, that changed this week after placing an order with BrownCor. I placed the order on Tuesday, 1/10/2012 and used my PayPal Debit/Credit card. I was charged $88.77 immediately for the cost of the case of packing tape - but no shipping charges. BrownCor then charged me $99.09 on 1/12/2012 - an amount that includes $8.80 for shipping and $7.13 for Tax (doesn't say "Sales Tax" on the invoice, just "Tax"). I e-mailed BrownCor on 1/12/2012 and asked what gives - i.e. I am out $187.96 from my PayPal balance and there is no tracking number for the shipment. I am writing this on Saturday morning (1/14/2012) and there STILL is no tracking number... and I ordered this case of packing tape on Tuesday....<br />
<br />
BrownCor did e-mail me back on Thursday and said the following:<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #cc0000;">"William, </div><div style="color: #cc0000;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #cc0000;">The $88.77 amount will drop off. When you first place an order there is an allocation run on your card for the original amount and then when the order ships, the total plus shipping is charged. I apologize for the inconvenience."</div><br />
So in other words, this is 2012 and BrownCor cannot figure out shipping charges on their products when they are ordered. BrownCor had four days to ship my order but it hasn't shipped yet and my PayPal balance is still out the original $88.77 and will be until at least Monday as BrownCor is closed on the weekends.<br />
<br />
So get this: I ordered some boxes from ULine on Thursday, 1/12/2012 and received them on Friday, 1/13/2012 and was only charged ONCE and there was NO SALES TAX.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I e-mailed BrownCor - well, replied to the e-mail I was sent - and let them know that this was an intolerable situation and at a minimum, I needed the "allocation run" removed today (Friday, 1/13/2012) and get my $88.77 back - well, that didn't happen so like I said, I am out the $88.77 until Monday at the earliest. On top of that, they have had my order for four days and haven't shipped it. WOW!<br />
<br />
If I treated my customers this way, I wouldn't have any....period. So I am down to three packing supply companies that I will buy from as it will have to get mighty cold WAY DOWN BELOW before I ever order from BrownCor again.<br />
<br />
Whew! Glad that is off my chest.... Hope everybody else is having a nice day!Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-65031278882332434242012-01-07T15:04:00.000-05:002012-01-07T15:04:15.464-05:00Well, Happy New Year and time to get off my duff....Can't believe I've been over three months without blogging - maybe I was in an alternative continuity....who knows? But I'm back so to speak and have a lot on my mind so check back often during the next few weeks.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I've been beta testing a new social plugin for <a href="http://www.wishpond.com/" target="_blank">Wishpond.com</a> where you can promote a special deal for your website on Facebook - sort of like Groupon. Anyway, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Walkin.Willies.Comix?sk=app_115119328510154" target="_blank">the "deal" is for a CGC 9.8 copy of Ultimate Spider-Man #115 Zombie Variant</a> for a mere pittance of $29.00 with free U.S. Shipping. Signing up for the deal runs out Tuesday night (1/10/2012).<br />
<br />
Also been <a href="http://bit.ly/oOryAO" target="_blank">eBaying my lil' butt off these days</a>. Scored a collection of some of the most beat up Silver and Bronze Age comics EVER, selling them in lots and promoting them as the WORST lots EVER. Read the auctions, check out the scans and you can tell that there is definitely TRUTH in advertising.<br />
<br />
Finally for now anyway... been putting up a bunch of <a href="http://www.wwillie.com/recentadditions.aspx" target="_blank">modern CGC books over at wwillie.com</a> - check 'em out.<br />
<br />
Sorry for all the e-commerce talk (well, sort of...) - will get back to fomenting my opinions very shortly...Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-56833029680652803612011-09-19T14:37:00.000-04:002011-09-19T14:37:49.648-04:00Underground Comics - Random Thoughts...Just wrote a little missive on Underground Comics (or Comix as a lot of them were called) over at <a href="http://www.walkinwilliescomix.com/scripts/openExtra.asp?extra=49" target="_blank">Walkin' Willie's Comix Discount Books</a> and you can read it <a href="http://www.walkinwilliescomix.com/scripts/openExtra.asp?extra=49" target="_blank">here</a>. Basically, I found a box of Underground Comix, have got them all up on eBay right now and this little piece is about some of what I found there as well as my first experiences with this forbidden slice of 1970's Americana. So please <a href="http://www.walkinwilliescomix.com/scripts/openExtra.asp?extra=49" target="_blank">take a look</a> if you are so inclined.....Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-24674323169416741602011-09-03T10:21:00.003-04:002011-09-03T10:44:30.893-04:00So Long and Good Luck to Dragon*Con!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dragoncon.org" target="_blank" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="121" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA-vYNmTQ_rA1br9nXdohdTB9XlC8HBDejg2b0Z0goL-Fhq5VLERvK0g7wzQsNPOh-fFMy4DlULrj11QLoGEU8zAxbePX3h_0uOYgCke8ihmcNZTNz57aaR1f1izOhw7CK2DwqbUD56y8/s320/dragoncon.jpg" /></a></div>Well, for anybody that has cruised by here over the last year knows that <a href="http://www.wwillie.com" target="_blank">Walkin' Willie's Comix</a> is pretty much getting out of trades and hardcovers (unless they are in a collection) so it is with mixed feelings that I say so long and the best of luck to the venerable <a href="http://www.dragoncon.org" target="_blank">Dragon*Con</a> going on this weekend. Anyone that has ever attended <a href="http://www.dragoncon.org" target="_blank">Dragon*Con</a> knows how special the show is - your truly has been to at least 16 or 17 of them. <br />
<br />
The deal is that you really can't sell single issue comics very well at <a href="http://www.dragoncon.org" target="_blank">Dragon*Con</a> anymore like you could in the early '90s when all the big dealers like <a href="http://www.showcasene.com/" target="_blank">Showcase New England</a>, <a href="http://www.motorcitycomics.com/" target="_blank">Motor City Comics</a>, etc. would show up with all their shiny stuff. The show has morphed into a multi-media pop culture event in which comics is only one of something like 34 programming tracks. <a href="http://www.dragoncon.org" target="_blank">Dragon*Con</a> gets pretty darn good comic book guests every year but very, few comic book dealers. I think I counted seven comic book dealers in the room last counting myself. But I digress....<br />
<br />
I learned about five years ago that the only thing you can really count on selling at <a href="http://www.dragoncon.org" target="_blank">Dragon*Con</a> is trades/graphic novels/hardcovers - well, comic-wise that is... And we did a boffo business doing just that the past few years. Thing is, <a href="http://www.dragoncon.org" target="_blank">Dragon*Con</a> is only once a year and it is nearly impossible to sell trades online unless you find them in collections or Marvel Comics does one of their WAY too regular blowouts (after dealers have already paid full wholesale three months before..). Go to Amazon and check out the lists of trade paperbacks and graphic novels at HALF of wholesale price or LOWER. That's just not a place in which I chose to compete.. um, because I just can't and there are too many other more lucrative areas of comics to sell online anyway (CGC books, out of print hardcovers, discount books from collections, etc.).<br />
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Still, I miss the show - there is SO much going on and the attendees are so creative in their costumes. But I sure don't miss the setup or the tear down or closing at 7:00 p.m. each day. Heck, by the time you got back to the hotel after securing your booth, counted your money and took a shower, it was nearly 9:00.<br />
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So as far as dealin' at <a href="http://www.dragoncon.org" target="_blank">Dragon*Con</a>, I can't see that happening ever again unless I run into the trade paperback collection of all time. One of these days I'm gonna go down there as just a fan.... yeah, I'll show 'em.<br />
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Finally, thanks to all the wonderful folks that stopped by the booth over the years - you are what makes <a href="http://www.dragoncon.org" target="_blank">Dragon*Con</a> so special.<br />
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Anyway, got a nice little batch of comics going on <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=wwcblog20110904&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi6.ebay.com%2Fws%2FeBayISAPI.dll%3FMfcISAPICommand%3DViewListedItems%26userid%3Dwalkin_willie%26include%3D0%26since%3D-1%26sort%3D3%26rows%3D0" target="_blank">eBay</a> next Sunday (9/11/2011) and some more of the CGC stuff, Marvel Premiere Classic Variants and Marvel Masterwork Trade Paperback Variants going up tomorrow night (9/4/2011). Will talk about next Sunday's <a href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574662655&toolid=10001&campid=5335892791&customid=wwcblog20110904&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi6.ebay.com%2Fws%2FeBayISAPI.dll%3FMfcISAPICommand%3DViewListedItems%26userid%3Dwalkin_willie%26include%3D0%26since%3D-1%26sort%3D3%26rows%3D0" target="_blank">eBay</a> stuff at the beginning of the week - it's worth a blog article for sure.<br />
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Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-90393194051627963922011-08-27T08:30:00.000-04:002011-08-27T08:30:52.179-04:00Classic ASP And Internet Explorer 9 Need To Learn To Play Nice!Well if any of you folks have tried to buy a lousy comic off of our <a href="http://www.walkinwilliescomix.com" target="_blank">discount site at walkinwilliescomix.com</a> the last couple of weeks, you have probably run into VERY SLOOOOOOW page loading times.<br />
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After much teeth gnashing and head beating, I found a <a href="http://forums.iis.net/t/1177876.aspx" target="_blank">forum post</a> where some other poor, hapless soul was experiencing the same problem.<br />
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The bottom line is that if you update your Windows 2008 server with IE9, the new browser drops a new VB Script dll (i.e. program) that confuses the heck out of Classic ASP when it has to fetch some data from your database and our site ain't nuthin' BUT fetching data. We were experiencing 22 second page load times - look, 22 seconds may not sound like a lot of time but when you are waiting for a page to load, it's like being in 3rd grade and waiting for 3:00 to roll around - it's a freakin' eternity!!!!!<br />
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Anyway....life is good but this poor ol' comic dealer sure wishes you would take your peepers over to <a href="http://www.walkinwilliescomix.com" target="_blank">Walkin' Willie's Comix Discount Books</a> and buy about a 100 books.... sure would cheer me up......Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-45562904498861282192011-08-19T14:51:00.002-04:002011-08-20T10:11:18.610-04:00Ok...Need To Rev Up The Facebook Traffic....As in my last post, I mentioned that <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Walkin-Willies-Comix/182481351822266" target="_blank">Walkin' Willie's Comix has a new Facebook Page.</a> Maybe it was some deep rooted narcissistic persona that made me think that multitudes would come - nay, RUN - over to Ol' Willie's latest foray into the Wild World Web. Alas it wasn't to be..... probably because you have to OFFER something to get something back...<br />
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So humbly, Ol' Willie is tying the proverbial steak around his neck to get the dogs...um, internet patrons... to play with him. So if you do "Like" the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Walkin-Willies-Comix/182481351822266" target="_blank">page</a>, you will have access to <b style="color: red;">20%</b> <b style="color: #006600;">DISCOUNT COUPONS</b> for both the <a href="http://www.wwillie.com/" target="_blank">wwillie.com</a> (CGC and specialty trades/hardcovers) and <a href="http://www.walkinwilliescomix.com/" target="_blank">www.walkinwilliescomix.com</a> (deeply discounted comic books) websites! Coupon codes will be updated monthly so come back often and check us out.<br />
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By the way, remember when I said not to shop at <a href="http://www.wwillie.com/" target="_blank">www.wwillie.com</a>? Well, forget what I said as inventory is totally up-to-date now (always was at <a href="http://www.walkinwilliescomix.com/" target="_blank">www.walkinwilliescomix.com</a>) - there isn't a ton of merchandise there but a lot of CGC books and a few specialty trades and hardcovers. More to come!Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-75469132277056986232011-08-15T12:19:00.000-04:002011-08-15T12:19:16.413-04:00Odds And Ends.....Just a few musings about stuff. <a href="http://www.charlottecomicon.com/" target="_blank">Charlotte ComiCon</a> was fantastic! Went there with around 45 short boxes of trades and six long boxes of mostly bronze age stuff and came back with nuttin'! Not one stinkin' trade, hardcover or comic to be found in my car on the way back. Thing is, we made decent money as well. The sad news - at least for me - is that is the last con for Ol' Willie will set up at for quite awhile - probably 2 years or so. The next show I go to will be to BUY some books - will take my time and build the collection up.<br />
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In the meantime, I am busy trying to scale down and I'm <a href="http://bit.ly/qgUyjd" target="_blank">eBaying just about everything</a> I can lay my hands on at the warehouse. Came across a <a href="http://bit.ly/ohGTF3" target="_blank">1994 Chicagoland Enviromint Carolina Panthers Pure Silver Coin</a> that I had forgotten I had bought back when the Panther's franchise first started. So what the heck - <a href="http://bit.ly/ohGTF3" target="_blank">up it goes on eBay</a>. More weird stuff to follow....<br />
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The big little deal is that <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Walkin-Willies-Comix/182481351822266" target="_blank">Walkin' Willie's Comix is now on Facebook!</a> I've done the personal Facebook deal for awhile but now it is time - well, WAY past time - to do a little marketing Facebook style. Great place to throw out short bursts that have a little more meat on the bone than Twitter. So if you read this, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Walkin-Willies-Comix/182481351822266" target="_blank">check out my page</a> and if you "like" the page, that would be great (and thanks in advance...).<br />
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More to come....<br />
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Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-53029518267637062222011-07-27T12:46:00.000-04:002011-07-27T12:46:02.243-04:00Walkin' Willie's Last Picture Show? Say It Ain't So!Well, OK - it ain't.... but this Sunday's <a href="http://www.charlottecomicon.com/" target="_blank">Charlotte ComiCon</a> will be my last comic convention as a dealer for probably two years or more. If you have read any of my recent blog articles, you know that Walkin' Willie's Comix is getting out of the trade paperback and hardcover business.<br />
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Why? It is just too hard to compete with Amazon. Need an example, then just check out <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1607063298/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=walkiwillisco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399381&creativeASIN=1607063298">The Walking Dead Volume 13</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=walkiwillisco-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1607063298&camp=217145&creative=399381" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> over there - sellers are pitching that for less than half price and if you include Amazon's super high selling fees, those dealers had to get that book at nearly 60% off to make anything at all! If I had a <a href="http://www.dragoncon.org/" target="_blank">Dragon*Con</a> to go to every month, it would be one thing but with the margin pressure from Amazon, it's time to go in a different direction. I am quietly building a vintage comic collection and will be back on the show circuit in about two years. Instead of schlepping 100+ short boxes full of trades, gridwire, extra tables, wood bookcases (big ones...) and all kinds of supplies, I'll be down to 20 or so mag boxes of comics along with a modest display - set up and break down in under an hour!<br />
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But I digress.... the big deal for you, the comic fan is that Ol' Willie will be blowing out all trades and hardcovers at this week's show at <b style="color: #006600;">80% off of the retail price printed on the book</b> (i.e. the price located within or close to the barcode area). I'm bringing 45 boxes of this stuff and will probably auction or blow out the rest of it to another dealer at the end of the show. Bring lots o' cash as no cards will be taken with discounts THIS big.<br />
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After 20 years of doing shows, the only thing I will miss are the fans and the dealers - it's been a lot of fun but I won't miss load up, set up, break down and load out AT ALL!<br />
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Thanks to all the fans who have supported Walkin' Willie's Comix through the years - couldn't have done this as long as I have without your support. But enough of all this sentimental crap - go to your nearest ATM, draw out as much cash as the bank will allow and come on down to Charlotte, NC this weekend and burn Ol' Willie a new one!Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-21157385936884044852011-07-25T10:58:00.000-04:002011-07-25T10:58:38.739-04:00What a Story at The Virginia Vintage Comics Show!<a href="http://www.wwillie.com/images/virgilcaine.jpg" target="_blank"><img src=http://www.wwillie.com/images/virgilcainetn.jpg border="0" title="Virgil Caine - 1971 LP" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px;"></a>I really had another topic that I wanted to get into but will save that for Wednesday (BIG announcement....). The Virginia Vintage Comics show was another success for yours truly and many thanks go out to Roger Mannon for running another great show.<br />
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That isn't the real story at all - not by a long shot. I just got in the building and hadn't unloaded a single book when I saw a record album up on Roger Mannon's display board. It wasn't an album that I had ever seen before so I went to get a closer look. As I was holding the record and checking it out, another dealer, Banks Robinson said that I was holding a $700 dollar album in my hands. My eyes certainly went wide on that little piece of information so I had to look at it closer (You can see a larger version of the album cover by clicking on the thumbnail at left - sorry for the reflection but this lil' gem was still in its original shrinkwrap!). Immediately, I saw that Roger himself was the young fellow on the far right. The band's name was Virgil Caine - named after the confederate soldier made famous by the song "The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down"<br />
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The ever-so-humble Mr. Mannon said that I could get the whole story from some other guy across the room but I stayed put until he told me a little bit about it. Turns out that Roger and his two friends recorded the album in 1971 on a back porch using a Sears reel-to-reel tape recorder. Roger explained that he didn't understand it but there are small pockets of underground folk fans that really like the album. He showed me a webpage printout that showed that the <a href="http://www.popsike.com/VIRGIL-CAINE-LP-ST-PRIVATE-GARAGE-ROCK-ACOUSTIC-FOLK/380205874077.html" target="_blank">album sold in an auction on eBay for $699 dollars</a>! WOW! <br />
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Roger explained that a guy called him up and offered $10 for 10 copies - Roger said sure as he had a few copies around the house and was surprised that anybody wanted them, much less 10 copies. The guy called up a few weeks later and said that he would pay $40 for any copy left - that gave Roger a reason to pause. Roger said that the sound quality was not good and that one track on the album, "The Great Lunar Oil Strike, 1976" was the track that people seemed to like the most. Roger indicated that their might be a re-release of the album some day.<br />
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So far, I have been able to listen to the first two tracks of the album and while it is not professional studio quality, it is ANYTHING but bad sound quality. This band was talented and I can readily understand how fans are still clamoring for a re-release. I hope that the band will get it digitally remastered and get it on a site like CD Baby or some MP3 site where they can get some royalties for this Blue Ridge Mountain 1970's classic. Me? I'm looking forward to listening to the rest of the album tonight!<br />
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You just never know what stories people have created in their lifetimes....Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8427338563813540075.post-34502395224585467922011-07-22T08:40:00.000-04:002011-07-22T08:40:45.663-04:00Next Up: Virginia Vintage Comics ShowOl' Walkin' Willie continues the trade paperback and hardcover blowout this weekend at the 14th annual <a href="http://www.virginiavintagecomics.com/content/node/65" target="_blank">Virginia Vintage Comics Show</a> on Saturday, July 23, 2011 at the <a href="http://www.salemciviccenter.com/" target="_blank">Salem Civic Center</a>. Show promoter Roger Mannon has pulled out all the stops with TV and newspapaper ads as well as giving out gas cards in a drawing for some lucky winners! Check out some of <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002367280239" target="_blank">Roger's Facebook posts</a> about the show!<br />
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We're bringing 50 boxes of trades and hardcovers and blowing them out to YOU, the customer at a whoppin' <b>70% OFF OF RETAIL!</b><br />
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The show starts at 10:00 a.m. and runs to 5:00 p.m. - This show has a great dealer mix from mega-expensive to mega-<b>IN</b>expensive in one of the best locations on the east coast - nestled in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley with the Blue Ridge Mountains on all sides - heck, I'm looking forward to the drive up there! So come on out!<br />
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If those comic-hungry Southwest Virginia fans don't gobble up everything, I will be bringing the rest of the trades and hardcovers to next weeks <a href="http://www.charlottecomicon.com/" target="_blank">Charlotte ComiCon</a> in Charlotte, NC on Sunday, July 31, 2011.Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019743659833369681noreply@blogger.com0