Selling comics on eBay?

Spring Heeled Jack · May 23, 2007, 04:42:02 PM

I have around 1600 comics and I want them gone now. So I've decided to try and sell them on eBay. Does anyone have experience with something like this? Any advice?

I'm thinking of selling them in lots, arranged by title or character or company.

lugaru · May 23, 2007, 04:52:51 PM

I havent sold comics on ebay in AGES but try this... do a search, sort 'em by price and figure what they have in common. Maybe people are willing to pay extra to get a full set, maybe people love a specific character (so throw one lose comic with that dude into each set) or maybe huge sets stink of wholesale and people wont pay much. Once you figure what the trends are you will be a step closer to making more money for your effort.

GhostMachine · May 23, 2007, 06:38:31 PM

Can't help you out as I've never sold any that way, but there are a couple people who post over at the John Byrne Forums and seem to do pretty well selling them on eBay. Keep in mind, though, that one guy sells his books for a dollar apiece.....

Panther_Gunn · May 23, 2007, 10:22:00 PM

I liken trying to get rid of the entire lot in one auction to be like just about anyone selling off an entire collection of anything. Usually, the only people that will be interested are dealer-types, that buy up large amounts & just resell them; completist nuts that buy it on the off chance that you have that one or two issues that they *really* need, and will, again, sell off the rest later; or someone that doesn't have much of a collection to speak of, and wants to jump-start theirs. For the most part, I doubt you'll get even close to your money's worth doing it all in one go.

I would recommend selling by title, possibly grouped a year at a time (without breaking up story arcs), or combining titles, if a story arc crosses over between them. I think you're more likely to generate interest this way, and whatever chunks don't sell the first (or perhaps second or third) time through the listing, you can always just lump all of *them* together at a later point. Granted, it won't get rid of them all now, but you won't be kicking yourself as much later for having sold yourself short.

lugaru · May 24, 2007, 03:30:24 AM

Oh yeah, he's right. The other reason I mentioned not to do a HUGE lump of comics is for example I bought the entire "marvel comics presents" series for like 2 bucks and 10 shipping.

JeyNyce · May 24, 2007, 01:11:02 PM

1600? That's nothing. I have over 5K and trying to get rid of them.

psychopanda · May 24, 2007, 01:29:13 PM

When I sold mine....

I picked out key issues that were *worth* alot. Sold those by the individual issue. Then I sold the rest as "lots". That seems the best way to go.

If you've sold things on Ebay before, then you probably already know about the high shipping prices for international buyers, the hassle of juggling multiple auctions, and the issues of making sure your instructions are as specific as possible.

Protomorph · May 25, 2007, 06:25:10 PM

I sold 2 titles on ebay, a large run of Marvel Team-up and a nearly complete run of New Mutants. I think I may have gotten $30 for all of them between the 2 auctions.

It's a good thing if you want to be rid of them, but don't expect to make anywhere near your investment back.

Figure Fan · May 27, 2007, 02:36:45 PM

Springy, just make sure you actually ship the comics to the winners. I bought a set of three New Avengers issues online a few years ago and the dufus never sent them. He claimed they were coming in the mail, but never did. Paypal refunded my money, thankfully.

Bleh..

I hope you can sell them! :cool: