hi, i have offered to sell a friend's collection of x-men, approx. # 96-140 on ebay. they are in VF or VF+ or VF-NM for the most part
i actually am a veteran ebay comic seller, but i haven't sold many bronze x-men before and i must admit their potential value surprised me
i have initially listed them as one lot for 46 issues w/a starting bid of $649
but i see now that if i were to take the time to list them individually, i could potentially make 3 or 4 or 5 times that much for my friends, although it would take a lot more work, obviously, and also take much longer for them all to sell, if they all sell
i need advice: am i being stupid putting them out as one lot? should i take the time to do them individually?
if the lot sells for the minimum only (1 bidder so far), will i wanna shoot myself? i suppose it's possible their value can be realized w/a lot more bidders driving the price up, but it seems like the best way to realize their value might be selling individually
Registered: 02/16/11
Posts: 9931
Loc: Your mom's house.
I think lots are great to start with, then break them up if you don't get any action.
And, that's a really great price for that lot. The only problem I see is that most X-fans have a big part (if not all) of that run, so you may not get many bids as a full lot.
yeh, you're right, it is a great price. i was gonna put a reserve of $800 to at least guarantee that much, but for some reason i decided not to
if it sells for the minimum bid, i'll not be a happy camper
but when i see VF or NM copies selling for $50 or $70 individually, it just makes me question the lot approach
and you're right about most x-fans having many/most of these
part of me was hoping a re-seller would buy these and THEY would do the work to sell them individually. but i still want that reseller to give me (for my friend) at least a thou, ideally
#5761388 - 06/11/1211:56 AMRe: Need Advice re selling collection of X-Men (bronze) on ebay....
[Re: Dr. Balls]
MiraclemetMiraclemet
FACT if I stop posting, trillions and trillions of transistors would be out of work.
Registered: 09/08/11
Posts: 4917
Loc: The ATL
1. Its all a moot point since they are listed, and have a bidder, so you cant cancel the auction (but you know that as a veteran ebay seller).
2. What was your friends goal? Get it done in a timely manner (i.e. s/he needed cash fast?) Then listing the lot was a lot faster than stopping to list them individually and taking time to manage 50 odd listings. If it was maximize the $$ generated and time was not an issue (either in his waiting for payment, or for you in the amount of time you invested in helping him) then individual listings would have eventually maximized his earnings. With this run there probably wasnt much chance of any of the issues going unsold, just at worse, they'd sell for under-market.
DBalls is right, its a very popular title and run so many collectors are looking to fill holes (just need a few issues) vs buy the whole run. But with the lot approach you can hook the possible mid-level dealer looking to buy lots, break them up and sell individually.
The positive about listing it as a lot is it stands out, vs just being the 8th guy to list an X-men 112 this week or whatever.
_________________________ These are my slabs! Looking for Green Lantern SS books. ...Im new, its my first!
#5761394 - 06/11/1211:57 AMRe: Need Advice re selling collection of X-Men (bronze) on ebay....
[Re: ReeShard]
MiraclemetMiraclemet
FACT if I stop posting, trillions and trillions of transistors would be out of work.
Registered: 09/08/11
Posts: 4917
Loc: The ATL
Originally Posted By: ReeShard
yeh, you're right, it is a great price. i was gonna put a reserve of $800 to at least guarantee that much, but for some reason i decided not to
if it sells for the minimum bid, i'll not be a happy camper
but when i see VF or NM copies selling for $50 or $70 individually, it just makes me question the lot approach
and you're right about most x-fans having many/most of these
part of me was hoping a re-seller would buy these and THEY would do the work to sell them individually. but i still want that reseller to give me (for my friend) at least a thou, ideally
thanks
never understood the "reserve" approach. Just list it for at minimum what you are willing to sell it for, otherwise all the under-reserve bidding is an academic exercise, and you waste time with potential sellers, who may not come back the next time you relist it...
_________________________ These are my slabs! Looking for Green Lantern SS books. ...Im new, its my first!
yes, i know you can't stop auctions, but the one bidder i have is a guy i sell to all the time, and he would understand if i were to cancel. a little annoyed, maybe, but he'd understand
also, it's true that my friend's interests are important, but i was looking for a general policy i would use in similar situations in the future (it just so happens i just bought another, very similar x-men set, to this one!) and that one would be all my profit/loss, so i'm int'd in the theory beyond just this one listing
oh, and i too think reserves are dopey. which is why i never use them. the only reason i thought of maybe using one here is cuz i really was confused about the value of this lot, but even that doesnt' make much sense, cuz reserves are weird, as you point out
this may not be true for all, but when I bid on a lot of books in a run I'm working on, I base my bid on only the books I need and then if I win I evaluate all the dupes and move the under copies out to be sold. In this way I get an 'upgrade' for free and reduce the overall cost by recouping some $$ on my under copies.
In this case then, you only need someone who has 10-20 holes to fill in this run (depending on book) to get a bite. Assuming other bidders follow my pattern.
Or someone for whom the vast majority are an upgrade.
It is a very good deal for that lot, assuming the grades hold.
