Bulk Purchase6580
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stanley1883 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| So I'm looking for some advice/input from those with more experience than I. Shop owners, professional re-sellers, even average collector with this experience. How to you determine an adequate price for bulk purchases? Say someone approaches you and wants to unload their comics. As bulk only, you cannot cherry pick. How do you go about it? Now granted a quick skim can pretty much tell you is its drek which is fairly simple to price IF you wanted it, but lets make it difficult. Its a couple thousand books, mixed bag. What i mean is that there will be some key books (not grails) lets say books worth over 100 but less than a thousand, while the rest is your average older stuff and books in the $20-70 range hypothetically. Do you really go through the entire collection? that seems like madness for many reasons, that said, How do you go about it? Just average out a price per book, acknowledging some will be over and under that price point? any help would be appreciated. |
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 past performance is no guarantee of future actions.
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KatKomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I would think 50% of books of any value over $100 and about a $0.50 or a buck for the others (depending). Sure a few may be $20 books but the others will be dollar bin fodder that may never move. Heck even many bronze books 35cent covers are still only worth 5 bucks depending on the series. | ||
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QuaBrot private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Buy the keys, factor in the $20-70 books, and the rest is worthless. Buying keys means 50-80% of values, depending on how easy it would be to sell (hot books, 80%, not so hot or cool books down to 50% depending). Other books $1-10 each, again depending on value and hotness (i.e. Batman and Spiderman are better than almost everything else, Wonder Woman might have book value but most are tough sells). Basically look at it as what it would take to sell it off to get the "value" - most stuff won't sell, so it's zero. The rest you have to take into account how much time, fees and shipping etc. A seller who is selling bulk has to discount for these things. |
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doog private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I go through the entire pile offer the total guide GD price on the valuable books, ten cents each on the drek | ||
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stanley1883 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by doog So then that leads me to ask where is the cut off on "valuable" and you're going to ask the guy to leave his long boxes with you for a day or 2, or dedicate your next couple of hours rifling through the thousands of books, determining ballpark grades when needed and separating into drek and valuable piles, and pricing accordingly? would the GD prices kinda of even out in the end. This seems to rely on the fact that most will be well above GD condition? |
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 Ima gonna steal this and look for some occasion to use it!
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IronMan private msg quote post Address this user | |
| In most collections, 80% of the value of the collection is in 20% of the books. Price out those books, decide a fair percentage and add a tiny bit for the 80% of the books that aren't worth much. If you were buying a collection where it's almost all low demand stuff - or buying a collection where it's all keys, adjust accordingly. But you'll find this formula (80/20) works well most of the time. And makes it a lot easier to come up with a price |
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brandon77 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| This is similar to trying to figure out how much your "investment per book" is when you buy combined lots at an auction. Example: you spend $300 total on 10 books. But maybe one of those books you actually won for $90 as a single lot vs four or five others which were only $5 each in their respective lots. So, at the end of the day do you consider it as: $300 for 10 books so $30 per book, regardless. or do you actually put down what each book actually cost you individually? |
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doog private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Gd gives you profit. The crap you can unload for $30 a long box, if it’s total crap. I know of no way not to look through the pile. Some stores won’t give a free valuation, and just won’t do it. But it’s not a free valuation to me, it’s what I am willing to pay. Also, even when I felt I paid too much for a collection, I always did better than I thought I would. |
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CopperAgeKids private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by stanley1883 If you have to ask where the cut off is, in such a scenario, you probably should not be buying collections. I wouldn't go about it by the "pay Overstreet GD for keys" method, but at least that makes sense. And if the keys are books like Avengers 1 & 4, Wonder Woman #98, 105, Marvel Spotlight 5, Werewold By Night 32 etc...than yeah, you can pay Overstreet's GD price for those 6 books, and if they are no better than GD...you will still make a handsome profit on all 4 as they sell above Overstreet. As far as "drek" books....they are not worthless, by far. Often times, you will make more money off "drek", because you can buy it for $10-$30 per long box......and pull out books like Hulk 377 3rd print...DCU variants, tough newsstands, price variants and the like. $100 + books, which cost you less than a dime a piece. But again, you really have to know what to look for. You'll pretty much have to pay high for keys, at least 50% Overstreet. Run silver age needs to be sold at around 50-75% off Overstreet, to move it.I sell most run SA books at half Overstreet, or less, in my $3, $5 and $10 boxes at cons.Otherwise it hardly sells at all.Tell the guy that, on his books that are worth $20-$50. Once you pick over the bulk, after you bought it and culled it for complete runs; sell the chud to a bulk buyer at $10-$20 a long box. AS far as looking thru the books, you have to allocate a few hours, to go through the boxes at the buyer's location. Don't ask the seller to leave his boxes at your house, that will queer the buy from the start.And don't pull books out, just skim. |
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stanley1883 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by CopperAgeKids Well I think I'm asking if there's a consensus. Personally, I would put the cut off at different price points depending on the books age. Bronze I'm inclined to think $50 tops, Modern less, Silver and Gold more. And all that means to me is that books over this price point would be above average while the rest would be "regular" for lack of a better term, which includes the drek, and the other exception would be be the key issues that are at least several 100 if not thousand of dollars. If the collections is a fairly good mix, i wouldnt think i can concern myself with all the $20-$60 issues. My first instinct would be to base the majority of the price on the keys, add $x per issue of drek, and then figure out where to price those books that fall in the middle. I mean i dont know the value of every book, so i think a quick sort to separate the drek from the above average from the keys and go from there. But i again, I could be completely wrong and likely am, thats why im asking people who have done it and lived to tell the tale. |
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conditionfreak private msg quote post Address this user | |
| It is not that difficult or too hard of work, to leaf through a couple of thousand books in long boxes. Especially if they are on tables. Just go through them and take note of things that catch your eye as being valuable/semi-valuable. Then low ball one dollar per book, if you like what you see as a whole. It will work. If there is not enough books that peak your interest. Offer less or walk away from the table AFTER offering 50% of guide for the books you really like. |
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Homer private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Try to buy the collection for your best price, if the seller does not agree to the sale. Try to pull the best book out of the collection, you should know its value. Than stand there and negotiate with that single book to pay for your minimum time and gas. So worst case you try to leave with one collectible key book that you can keep for your collection, or an easy liquid sale in 7 days on Ebay for quick funds. | ||
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CopperAgeKids private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by stanley1883 The point that I'm making is that you really have to know the value of pretty much all of the books; that are worth $50 and up. I could look at 50 longs in a few hours, and not have to pull put my phone to look up prices...which is a sure fire way to queer a buy. I can tell you that a run ASM 12 center Overstreets at $10 in GD....and that a GD copy is worth $5. Same for keys. GGA, pre-code horror....and so on. You have to know which books, that are worth $100 or more, need to be slabbed. A Fantastic Four #4 will bring virtually the same price if it's a raw 1.0 copy or if it's a slabbed 1.0 If you want to buy a collection, and make money off it, you have to be at the top of your game. I spend about an hour most days, just researching books and scouring for buys. I rarely buy collections, because there is so much competition in my area and I don't have a store. In short, you really have to do a lot of work. |
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X51 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Always remember... It's not necessarily how high of a profit margin you make, it's how fast you can flip it for a profit. The longer you sit on the collection, eventually it's consuming floor or shelf space that could go towards something you can flip faster for more money. You can make money on garbage if you have a salesman mindset. I watched a friend buy a broken VCR player at a garage sale for $5. He was convinced that he could fix it. He said that for $5, it was worth a gamble. He got it home and I watched him try to fix it. I pointed out a plastic piece that was broken and could not be replaced. He disagreed with me about that being the problem. I left and went on my way. I called him the next day to laugh at him for wasting $5. He said he didn't have it anymore. I said.. "What happened to it?" He said "I sold it to my roommate for $10." He was so sure that he could fix it that he convinced his roommate that it could be fixed. I said "It can't be fixed. You can't get a replacement for the broken plastic piece." His roommate had decided that for $10, it was worth the gamble. Don't overpay for something you can get for free. I watched a guy walk into a comic shop. He wanted to sell his comic collection. The manager said, "We have a freeze on buying collections right now. We have no money allocated to buy any collections at all." The guy was disappointed. He said "Can I just give them to you? I've had to move three times in the last two years and I don't want to have to move them again." |
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stanley1883 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| thanks for the input everyone. Ill keep you posted with what happens | ||
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Lonestar private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by stanley1883 @stanley1883 I consider myself an average collector and I have had this scenario happen to me a few times. What I have done is review the collection and see how many books that I actually want for my collection. After I have done an honest evaluation of the condition of those, I figure out the total value of those and then what I am willing to pay. I think the last time I offered 50% of what I considered full value of those books. I completely ignore the "drek" in evaluating this as they hold no value to me, and thus don't even factor in any cost for those books. I will then make an offer based on my evaluation. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. |
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Squack private msg quote post Address this user | |
| My first step in evaluating a collection is simply ask the seller one question: What is your price? If his amount is sky-high, then no amount of negotiating can overcome this mindset and you just saved yourself all that time and effort. I have hunched over many a long boxes and moved numerous heavy objects just to check that last box and found what they wanted was just too much. I like to think my time and effort is worth something as well not to squander it on deals that will not happen. If the amount is reasonable, that's when the looking and surveying begins, followed by a counter-offer there on the spot. Prolonging a deal is your worst enemy as a buyer since it gives the seller time to think about how much he loves his comics or gives him time to find another buyer. Regardless of what you do with the comics, you want to pay a fair price for both of you, but you want to pay the least amount as possible. My desire to buy someone else's comics is reflected in my offer. I try to keep it as short and sweet as possible, because time is just as important to me as money. |
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BabaLament private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Squack What @Squack said. Guy in the area contacted me; he has a storage unit full of long-boxes that he wants to get rid of. Doesn't know what's in them, just knows that they're comics; asking $30k. Said no when asked if I can drive out & look through things to determine if I want them. Doesn't want anyone going through things, just wants to take cash, open the locker, and be done with it. Now, I may have been born at night, but not last night. I say to the guy, "If the first row or two are filled with comics, and the rest of the boxes are empty or full of old VHS movies, business/personal records, or personal items, then its not worth my time. Even if they are all old comics, if they've been damaged from being in storage for however long, be it by bug, rodent, or moisture, I'm equally screwed. You have to have a little consideration for my point of view." So he gets huffy & says "This is why I put 'only contact with serious offers' on the listing," and makes me an "offer": $10k up front to open the locker, dig though everything to verify contents & condition, and another $20k to take everything with me. I had to confirm, because I was kind of shocked: So even if it ends up being crap I don't want, he gets to keep $10k just for opening the locker? Yep. I wished him well. The listing is still posted, six months later. So yeah, if someone thinks their stuff is worth its weight in gold, and unwilling to work with you on visual inspection and/or transportation, then I don't consider it being worth the risk. Also, for large dollar purchases, consider meeting at a neutral location, during daylight/working hours, to exchange cash/goods. At a certain dollar amount, I refuse to make exchanges at a residence. Storage units are ok for large volume purchases (they have security video), but for smaller loads (about what fits in the back of a truck), I find that banks are wonderful places to conduct business. Call ahead & ask the branch manager if you can use an office for a transaction; they're usually very good about it, and will let you use a small office and/or conference room to make the transaction. Also handy, for transactions over $1k, are cashier's checks. |
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CopperAgeKids private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Squack In this scenario, you can usually cherry pick. |
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