FAQUETTE for Rec.arts.comics.marketplace
FAQUETTE - Buying and Selling on the Net
Getting Started:
Where am I?
Rec.arts.comics.marketplace, Alice, where comics books and comic
book paraphernalia are bought and sold. Magic cards and other such
offerings have their own newsgroups.
How do I buy and sell?
First you learn the rules. The Rules are the large RACM FAQ. To
get the FAQ, you must summon the FAQKeeper, Derek Spencer. Invoke his name
in the header of your post to racm and he will appear in a flash of
thunder and glory and the FAQ shall be yours.
Second, you watch and learn. See what others do and improve or
imitate. Some basic suggestions follow.
Buying
Why should I buy my books here?
Because they're usually cheaper. If you can get a better deal
somewhere else, take it, but give the racm a good shake. The following
are some of my own recent purchases.
Brave and the Bold #61 - NM/M - $43
All-American #89 - VG/F - $100
Showcase #55 - VF- - $60
Green Lantern #52 - F - $14
These may not be representative and don't come along every day.
Patience is a virtue on racm.
The do's of buying:
- Do comparison shop. Before you drop $10 for that Flash vol. 2,
#1, look around. I find they go in high grade for about $2-3. Recent
books can be cheap if you auction shop.
- Do feel free to make counter offers. Most people will deal, even
shop owners, esp. if you buy more than one book.
- Do be prepared to pay postage, most sellers ask it. You can
always negotiate otherwise if it's a sticking point.
- Do feel free to ask for reference before making a big purchase.
Most have them and give them freely.
- Do get organized. A clear want list is the hallmark of the
serious collector. Post it in racm. I find they are generally
well received. Mine has shrunk considerably on racm.
-Do stay in close e-mail contact with the seller: when you send
the check, when you get the books, when you need to return, etc.
The don'ts of buying:
- Don't offer to buy it if you're not serious. If you suddenly
realize you're short on cash and can't buy it, tell the seller
immediately. Most are forgiving, though they may not make a habit of
answering your want lists in the future.
- Don't use aliases in your dealings, esp. for big money items.
Give your full name on each note if it's not in your internet address.
Obviously, you should use your *real* full name.
- Don't bid in auctions unless you intend to follow up. Same
reasoning as above.
- Don't insult the intelligence of the seller with a very low offer.
A rough breakdown of what books go for is in the next section. In general,
if someone goes to the bother of looking up your want list, they should be
offered 50 cents a book. I offer 75 for quarter-box type stuff. This is
not a rule, but I think would be a point of courtesy.
Selling
Why should I sell my books here?
Because you will get more for them than anywhere else. Dealers
have to account for the slow back issue market and their own overhead
when they price your books. Half-guide is the best most will offer on
anything less than high grade key gold and silver. Selling them at a Con
is not worth the bother unless you have zillions and then you have to
subtract the table costs from your profits. Selling them here has the
advantage of getting a larger percentage than the dealers offer without
incurring much overhead.
What are my books worth?
The motto of the racm is "A comic's worth is exactly equal to what
someone will pay for it". In theory, you can ask anything you like. In
reality, there are most predictable constraints on what you can sell for.
Books can be broken down like this:
"Hot" or "Speculator" books - These are recent editions, often
from the independent press. Common themes include cover variants or
limited print runs. Current examples include Shi and Gen13. The value of
these books varies wildly, soaring to several times cover or crashing to
quarterbox fodder. Speculation is generally frowned upon by traditional
comics sources like Overstreet and Wizard.
Post-Silver Age books - These in general are not worth very much,
regardless of guide value. A few examples I have observed in recent
auctions and sales on the racm are:
The Flash #1 Guide $10 racm $1-3
Amazing Spider-Man #300 Guide $70 racm $20-30
Ray #1 LS Guide #15 racm $1-2
Punisher LS #1-5 Guide #60 racm $25
This outcome is predictable. Most of the people using the net are
18 and over. 18 year old collectors have been at it for 5-7 years. Ergo,
they have most recent books already and don't wanna pay premium prices for
yours unless they are the aforementioned speculator books. It could
probably be said with reasonable confidence that you can find 95% of
post-1980 for a couple of bucks.
Silver Age books: SA books are the current stead growers in the
investment market. High grade books are the only SA books worth even
considering a high percentage of guide. Low grade silver is common and
cheap unless it's a really hot key (Showcase #4 or some such). High grade
silver can generally be sold on racm for 60-70% guide, compared to 40-50%
most dealers would offer.
Golden Age books: GA books are the benchmark on investment
collecting. Most mid-grade mainstream super-hero GA books (though they
rarely appear) can be sold on racm at 70-75% guide or higher compared to
50-60% guide most dealers offer (see Overstreet's Price Guide). High grade
GA keys are probably not a reasonable expectation on the racm and
generally go for more than guide.
This is a general observation from my many months of dealing on
the 'net. Other may take a slightly different view.
Do's of selling
- Do monitor the marketplace for a few dozen posts before you
charge in. See what the competition is doing and price accordingly. If
everyone is selling their Wolverine LS for $45, chances are yours won't
look very attractive at $50.
- Do get organized. You will move more if you can list specific
books and prices. This need not be *every* book. Rather than list the
condition of every issue of Arak, NM @$1.00. Say "I have Arak #1-15 for
$1 each. Which brings up the next point...
- Do consolidate your posts. Don't post 50 1-line posts. Don't post
10 times a day with your auction updates. This has the effect of crowding
the marketplace and placing cost a burden on people who have to pay for
connection time. In turn, they put your name in a kill file and never see
any of your posts again and you sell to no one.
- Do follow standard postal rates. Bulk rate and First class postage
rates are available at your local post office. Priority mail for a higher
priced booked in $3 for up to 2 lbs and arrives within 3 days. Insurance
is about a penny on the dollar. Gouging people for 25 cents per book plus
$3 for Priority will not in general be rewarded. Offer multiple options to
your customer on shipping. If you're not in the US, say so up front. It's
make a big difference in shipping.
- Do use your real name and/or company name in your posts. People
are a little leary of sending off a $100 check to HelterSkelter@aol.com.
If you're a dealer, go the extra mile and give them your phone number.
- Do let small winners off the hook in your auctions. As a general
rule, if the postage is more than their winnings, I tell them off the bat
that they can withdraw without prejudice. Customers remeber this and are
more likely to come back for your next one.
- Do immediately and without balking, giving detailed grading
information and content of the book. If someone thinks that Batman #77 has
the Joker when it really has the Killer Moth, they'll just want to send it
back. Save yourself the hassle.
- Do offer money-back guarantees for most books. If they're just
readers, say so plainly.
Don't of selling
- Don't abscond with the cash. Buyers will come looking for you
on the 'net and the other sellers are very sensitive to the anonymous
nature of the medium. If you're guilty, you can be prosecuted for mail
fraud and theft. Even the hint of scandal is not worth it. Be prompt in
your deliveries and stay in tight contact with your customers.
- Don't say "my prices are non-negotiable" even if they are.
Sometimes a counter offer is sweeter than you might think.
- Don't come looking for huge profits, esp. if you're a dealer. The
racm is primarily a large group of collectors just keeping their hobby
solvent through mutual exchange. Profits are marginal. You can probably
get your best deals here if you are an individual but you won't send the
kids to college.
- Don't whine about your time and effort. It's not worth much.
Don't set minimum orders, esp high ones. If someone will pay you postage
and 50 cents for your Arak #1, take it. Most sellers are not going to be
in any real danger of having to run to the post office 10 times a week.
If you do get a lot of little orders, you can ship them all at once.
- Don't demand MO only. If you have a bank that charges $50 for a
bounced check, find a new bank. Most banks I have dealt with in 3 states
only charge egregiously if *I* bounce a check. If someone else does, I get
charged $2 and they get busted for $30. Most people aren't interested in
shafting themselves that way. Furthermore, most checks I have recieved are
2-party checks, meaning that you would damage the credit of two people if
it bounced. In 5 years, I have cashed about 200 checks and none have ever
bounced. Even if they did, I still have the books.
Racm is a vigorous, competitive enjoyable marketplace. It allows
you not only to take an active part in another part of the hobby, but also
allows you to get the books cheaper than you would in a store. It's sort
of like a convention that's going on all over the country, all the time.
It is hoped that you will find this information constructive and you will
have the best of fortune with you books.
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