Opinions needed

[comicstock]

I may have an opportunity to buy a total, existing stock from a Florida comic shop which, unfortunately, is nearing it's end. The vast majority of this stock will be from the last ten years with a little Bronze Age but not much in the way of important issues. Silver and Golden Age books are non-existent. There's an excellent assortment of trade paperbacks but no depth...pretty much one of everything good and bad. A nice amount of hardbacks, statues, toys, variant cover books and oddball things, as well.

My question is: if I made the leap to buy the stuff, in today's comic market, where would be the best place to sell it? What strategy would you employ to quickly recoup my investment and eventually make a profit? I'm most concerned about the comics. Maybe 20,000-25,000 of 'em. The trades, statues, etc. would move quickly on eBay but the comics...? I've never really attempted much with Modern Age. Ebay Store? I cringe at the expense. Another online site? Cheap but no traffic...potentially a waste of a lot of time & effort... An added expense would be an air-conditioned storage unit. Probably $100-110/month for starters.

Would it make more sense to buy most everything BUT the comics??

What would be your approach/business plan if the price was right?

[dhennen]

I'd stay away from the ebay store, expensive as you say and very little traffic these days. Ebay might work in large lots of 1000. If you've got a strong back I'd lug the modern books to a local comic/collectibes show and try to unload them at 3/$1 or similar cost. You'd get some interest in your trades there as well

Dave Hennen

[marvelguy]

Hmm....you say comics from the last 10 years? Remember, even though they are Moderns, they are underprinted in the early part of the 10 years you stated. The current runs of Hulks, Spideys, Caps, Thors, etc...were from that era from 1998-up. There will be demand for it sometime down the road when collectors want to complete the sets.

I seemed to recall sometime back in the 90's that Bronze comics will be hot. I thought not so, now it is. Just my 2 cents.

[jaeldubyoo]

While it may be true that some of the modern comics might became more valuable in 10, 20 years, would you be able to sit on them that long? Don't forget about the money it ties up as well as the storage cost. Let's remember that comics, especially common junk, aren't a very liquid commodity. You might be able to sell some of the better stuff but I think you'll be left with most of them. Unless you think you can unload them quickly, I don't think it's worth the time and money. Just look at all the modern comics at eBay, LCS, etc. that don't sell, even if they're dirt cheap.

I've got a lot of stuff from the Bronze Age that I don't think I'll be able sell even discounting deeply. Old crap is still crap. If it's basically worthless now, will it be worth more later? Not likely.

Just my opinion for what it's worth.

[Quato]

The comics you are talking about sell wholesale for about a penny a book in my area. That is what retailers offer when collectors want to sell their new books. If you are buying them to make money, I'd steer clear, but that's just me. Keep in mind your own time when you are factoring your ability to make money. I see so many dealers selling 50 cent books or dollar books and even with a penny invested, the profit they make selling less desirable and picked over inventory comes in slowly and requires a huge investment of time.

Q

[Quato]

I'd stay away from the ebay store, expensive as you say and very little traffic these days. Ebay might work in large lots of 1000. If you've got a strong back I'd lug the modern books to a local comic/collectibes show and try to unload them at 3/$1 or similar cost. You'd get some interest in your trades there as well

Dave Hennen

If you are selling comics at the price of three for a dollar, the time it takes to ring up the sale and chat with the customer pays back at McDonald's wages or worse. The only advantage of doing that is if it's a marketing gimmick to get new customers into your store. But think about it... is the collector that want to spend 30 cents for an unpopular comics the type of customer you want to spend your time on? My friend was managing a store that sold comic books and collectible movie posters. 5 minutes before he was to open the store to a rabid crowd waiting to buy the famous "Death of Superman" issue, he hung up the phone and said "This is why I hate comics!" Looking at the huge crowd outside his door that was waiting to buy comics on perhaps one of the biggest days his store ever had.... I said "Why do you say that?" He replied "Because that phone call was a collector wanting to buy a movie poster. I'm going to make more profit offf that one movie poster than I'll make on this entire shipment of new comics." He spouted a little math and I couldn't argue with his logic. Unless a comic has spiked in price or is very underprinted, just about everyone interested in the modern comics bought them the week they came out. It's so much more fun selling better profit items to people who really have money and appreciate your getting the stuff for them.

Q

[StlComics]

The words comics and investment just don't really go together. Buy real estate.

[Quato]

The words comics and investment just don't really go together. Buy real estate.


The only people I know that are investing in comics are buying low grade Silver age keys like Amazing Fantasy #15 & FF #1. They are buying them slightly below market value then flipping them for more maybe 8 months later when the price has creeped up a little.

Even then the markup isn't that great in my opinion and you still have to restock at a higher price, so to me it's really just floating money anyway.

Q