From: balbes@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.marketplace
Subject: Re: How to sell?
Date: 15 Apr 92 14:22:16 GMT

In article <1992Apr15.000212.2157@src.honeywell.com>, cmiller@src.honeywell.com (Chris Miller) writes:
> orry if you've seen this request before.  It apparently got out to some
> (single) person, who wrote me about trades (which I'mnot interested in at
> the moment), but I never saw it appear in either of the newsgroups, and got
> no further responses to it.  Anyway, here we go again:
> 
> 
> I'm about to take up a much more involving (and expensive) hobby than
> collecting comics-- home ownership.  I'm not thrilled about moving my
> 4000-5000 book collection, and I could use some extra capital.  On the
> other hand, I'm very busy and my books are only partly catalogued.  What
> I'm after at this point is not offers (though if someone wanted to make me
> a blanket offer of, say, $1000 to $1500, I'd certainly not complain).
> Rather, I'd like recommendations about various ways of unloading comics,
> probably lots of them, for maximal profit and minimal hassle.
> 
> By the way, just for reference, I probably want to unload from 2000 to 3000
> books.  The collection ranges all over the place.  A few golden age, many
> silver, but probably 50-60% are things I've bought over the past 10 years.
> My guesses are that at, say 60% of Overstreet, these are worth the $1000 to
> $1500 cited above.
> 
> Here's what I either know or currently assume about the options I know about:
> 
> 1.  You can sell to comic book stores.  Pros: Minimal hassle, they're more
>     likely to have the funds to buy a large collection than individual
>     buyers, they're more willing to take a large collection at some average
>     price.  Cons:  Their average price is very likely to be substantially
>     less than one could get from an individual buyer.  Unknowns:  Are they
>     really likely to plunk down the bucks that I think my collection is
>     worth?  How do I go about selling a collection of this size to a store
>     (they won't all fit in my car and I can't imagine a manager wanting to
>     look at that many comics).
> 
stuff deleted
> 
> 
> Okay.  Did I miss any significant option?  Are any of my assumptions
> invalid?  I'd love to hear stories from people who have actually lived
> through parting with a significant chunk of their collections.
> 
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>   Chris Miller   cmiller@src.honeywell.com   cmiller@hi-csc.honeywell.com
> 
>  "If the world were all city . . . the  dwellers within it would turn a
>  portion of it into wilderness, for there is that within them all which
>  desires that somewhere there be an end to order and a beginning of chaos."
>                    --R. Zelazny         _Lord of Light_
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	When I've sold comics to dealers, the going rate seemed to
be about 40% of Overstreet.  However, even if you have "good stuff"
the dealers may not be interested if they already have it in stock.
	There are many dealers in the overstreet guide who advertise
that they will fly out to see a significant collection, so don't be
afraid of asking a potential buyer to come to you to look at your books.
	I wouldn't recommend selling at a convention unless you plan
to go to a lot of them, or mark your books down to a "sell through" price.

				Mark Balbes
            
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.marketplace