A beginners Guide to Flipping Comics

YOU ARE READING: A beginners Guide to Flipping Comics AT PhebinhvanhocEN

I’m writing this with full admission that there are some of you who are better qualified and make a living making comics. I’m not one of those, I’m that collector who says to himself hey, I can flip that book and now he sits with hundreds/thousands of books that I never really wanted, but I know that the day I bought it the book was selling for more than I paid. Here are some tips that I will try to follow because it is time to sell more than I buy.

Those who have been in the game for a while have differing views on the types of collectors and flippers, but I’ve seen quite a few new members join the facebook group stating they want to flip comics, not collect. I’m not going to spend time talking about the types of collectors/flippers, I’ll focus on the actual nuances of the flipper.

You are reading: Flipping comic books for profit

every few years we cbsi ship comics again, but here’s an article from 2019 with a pre-pandemic frustration about shipping comics by skot whitman, back in 2018 paul tried to show us how to do it, or back there 2016, ingio also tried it. each of us has a slightly different perspective, but we agree that packaging is important, especially with so many new fins out there.

starting

If you’re like me, you probably buy “some” books online. Put those boxes away! As long as the box doesn’t look like it’s been hit by a car, you should be able to put it to another use. When you’re just starting out, packaging can be the most expensive part of the process. Buying in bulk is always the cheapest, but if you’re not sure if you’ll be selling more than 50 items, it’s not. As you become a more consistent salesperson, you’ll find envelopes, ribbons, and ink that you like. i have some standing orders on amazon right now but i am almost to the point of contacting some wholesalers but volume also takes up space, getting your mail for 40 cents is great but storing 300 boxes takes up a lot of space. in the garage. Before including a book, check that it has a few things:

cardboard envelope: do not be stingy and try an envelope or a bubble envelope: the great risk that the books bend and you have to refund the purchase (do not fold) not a usps commando
bag and board: go the extra mile and have the book already packed; it doesn’t have to be new, but the more expensive the book, the better the bag (new, mylar or top loader)
cardboard – use cardboard inside the envelope to better protect it – you can cut your own from old boxes – even cereal boxes if they’re tied up, but that extra protection helps (although thicker cardboard works better)
padding: if you ship by mail multiple books or sorted books then padding is important, books should never be stacked loose, small stacks should be wrapped together in paper/plastic sometimes you may have a few stacks but there is less chance of slippage. make sure there is enough padding around all sides of the box so that if one corner dents, the books won’t be damaged. sorted books, use bubble wrap.
2 types of tape: Tape the cardboard with masking/painters tape around the book, this helps keep the book secure and then paste it to the sender. you don’t want the book to move. (extra mile) Fold over one end of the ribbon to create tabs for easy pulling. clear packing tape for the outside of the envelope.
printer/paper/ink: I know this got me when I first started selling. I didn’t have ink for my printer so I had to go to the post office which didn’t have the same prices as ebay.

These are some basic things before even listing a book that you need to have. I can’t stress the packaging enough. I’ve shipped poorly packaged books before and had to reimburse a buyer because it got damaged, luckily it wasn’t a big book, but still, it always hurts to know that not only do you have a damaged book, but you’re also out of shipping costs. I have numerous posts from frustrated buyers showing folded envelopes that might even say unfolded or a package opened to show a water damaged book because it wasn’t in a bag. I’ve also been frustrated opening a well packed book to rip the bag because they used packing tape instead of painter’s tape.

soapbox: stop “stealing” the post office packaging materials. the post office has free boxes/envelopes if you ship priority or first class, but nothing frustrates me more than opening a package and seeing used new and cut usps boxes in the packaging. used is fine, but books wrapped in a usps envelope sandwiched between two pieces of priority mail cardboard and then shipped in a comic mailer via media mail is steal.

where to list

I started writing this article and started noticing that a lot of people start posting complaints about ebay and looking for alternatives. here are the details on where you can sell your comics.

Now there are plenty of places where you can post your books for sale. Keep in mind that just because your book sold at one of these places doesn’t mean you’ll get the money right away, the longer you sell with a site, the faster you’ll get paid.

ebay – the frustrating standard. 250 listings per month for free. It charges 12.9% per transaction, so the $100 dollar book is really only $87. They have the largest audience to sell to. if you pay to be a store there are less commissions.
amazon: no auctions, but people sell comics for a 15% fee
mecari: has been around for some years they now charge 10% plus a 2.9% processing fee if you use them to process your sale. 8% commission plus 2.9% +30 cents to cover payment processing. They have packing guidelines and a verification process before you get your money, so a few more steps. the audience is not that big, but the collectors are bigger. your books (image and price in comments) then wait a few days and close the auction. Then direct message the winning bid, request your other paypal/venmo payment and submit. the challenge here is that there may be a smaller audience so the auction might not go as high as you would like and many contacts back and forth to exchange information. Live auctions can be a great way to get a good deal on a book, but they can also be a way to get rid of some books. the key is to have an audience many shops will only have 20-30 people at an auction so as a newbie you may not get 10 people and spend an hour showing books to give away minor keys for pennies or sell none . it’s worth it. the most successful live auctions have at least one other person watching the chat and time. the cheapest rates are usually a 3% processing fee, but disputes and unstable buyers are all on you. paypal offers some protection, but payment or shipping terms are based on trust.
comiclink – usually for high-end books
hipcomic – the subscription site charges an annual fee for listing and then 8.95% to 11.95% per sale depending on your subscription. the audience has grown, but only comic book fans really use it.
mycomicshop – Lone Star Comics will take your books on consignment, rate them, and list them at a price they think will sell and they’ll take 8-10% commission, or make you an offer.

listing

I have made and continue to make mistakes when listing books. Wording and accuracy are very important when listing your books. I’ve heard stories of Batman Adventures 12 being bought for $10 because someone listed it as Batman Comic 12. I’m going to stick with the tips for eBay as it’s the most common for beginners.

title: don’t just call the book spiderman, especially with the marvel and dc books in the title, put the full title with volume, issue number, and main characters /important. the year can also be useful. only rate if you are rated or if you are 100 percent confident in your rating abilities. I once described a book as in excellent condition and someone pointed out that it wasn’t. now I’m just sticking to the pictures to show the condition over the words.
pictures: Take the pictures out of the bag, show each corner and the back of the book. If you have a noticeable flaw, take a photo. you don’t want someone to come back and say they didn’t know something. I’ve sold faulty books for higher prices than I expected, but I had pictures of the fault so they couldn’t complain.
specifics – with ebay they now ask for a condition, brand new is a tough choice for a comic, but like new can be between 8.0 and 9.8. it’s important to know when choosing condition that marking as new for a 3.5 book would upset a collector, especially if the pictures aren’t that great. supposedly, the more information you bookmark will help attract people to your list.
description : Not everyone reads descriptions, the more expensive a book is, the more I read the description. this is where you can add any other defects that an image doesn’t catch. Placing a loose staple or marking on the spine in the description beforehand will help if any complaints come up later.
Price: Auction If you choose an auction, always price at a price with which you feel comfortable selling. don’t assume your book will inspire a bidding war at 0.99 cents. if an auction makes you uncomfortable, buy it now. those listings can remain active for 30 days. check the latest sales and price accordingly. you can always change its price.
shipping – have a good estimate of the weight of your comics and envelopes. Some people do free shipping, just be sure to include the cost of shipping in your listing price. I like to charge shipping so I can get it published for less than $5 and not have to give the book away. Usually, people who buy a $5 book are more likely to buy more if they know they’re already paying for shipping since I’m combining it. I used to use media mail, but I’ve seen enough posts of the post office opening a media mail package to check and then collect. don’t use multimedia mail, comics have ads, so they don’t qualify as multimedia mail. trades do, but it was determined a long time ago that comics don’t qualify. I have also lost some packets using multimedia mail. Since I changed to first class or priority, I haven’t had any missing or damaged books, and books tend to arrive in 3-4 days.
Questions: The quicker you respond to questions better, if a person asks for a rating I will usually point to the pictures for them to judge or make sure to take a clearer picture especially of any flaws. it is much cheaper to have all known defects up front than to have to issue a refund and return because then it is shipped twice. questions are just part of being a good salesperson.

organization

while you wait for the sale or wait for the listing, what do you do with your comics?

write a flippers: immediately put your books in a bag, put them there in the list stack that never exceeds 100 books, and then enter the book in the spreadsheet with the cost. have a time during the week where they take pictures and list their books, then put them in their sales box in alphabetical order.
lightly organized flaps – keep a stack of the books they are listing and a stack of books they have listed. they left the price tag on the book so they remember what they paid for.
sell hot book flippers now – oh shit, that book made the hot book list of someone, i bought it sometime ago lets dig through my boxes and find it. oh yeah i bought this book too shit it’s not selling for the $ it was a month ago when i thought i’d turn it around.
give me 5 flippers – on ncbd buy 5 of any potential hot book to sell. quickly flip for twice as much if you can and then to the next week. they end up with a stockpile of unturned books that end up at a yard sale/lcs in three years. great when it pays off with multiples of the most popular indie book, but terrible when you end up with multiples of the most popular indie book 2 weeks late.

summarize

I’m not a flipper expert. i use ebay and have sold to some small cons. Before covid cons were a great way to sell sa and ba keys and download reserve books. covid changed the way books were viewed. many back books became sought after and silver and bronze age books skyrocketed to unimaginable prices. I wonder when the cons will be back in full force again, will the new ebay prices be the starting point?

I shared some of the tricks I’ve learned selling over the years. I am not a shop and have never come close to 250 free listings on ebay. Always publish a book at a price that works for you, don’t send the media mail, and package a book to protect it from mail carrier damage. One last thing: don’t spend any proceeds from the sale of comics until the buyer has had time to review their purchase. you never know if they will want a return or claim damages. For new sellers, eBay holds their earnings until the buyer has had a chance to look.

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