Selling Comic Books Online is part of the Art Investors Guide and the Comic Book Resources project by Robot Outlaw.
Selling comic books online for fun and profit is simple with this easy to follow guide designed to help comic book collectors and comic book sellers.
The first step in becoming a proprietor of Comic Books is to find great deals on new and old comics. Obviously there are many methods to build your inventory but the key is to find the best bargains so that you can maximize your profits.
One place to look for great deals is at garage sales and estate sales. Here you will most often find the bottom basement bargains that can lead to incredible profits.
Selling Comic Books Online
Ebay is another place to look for deals on comic books but there are some other online venues that may prove slightly better for lower prices. Be careful using Ebay though. The sellers have to pay fees for listing their comic books and will often raise the prices to cover their own expenses. There are many other venues to build your comic book inventory.
If you plan on selling new comic books the best deals are found through Diamond Comics. Be sure you read all the fine print before entering into an agreement with Diamond Comics. As with all retail outlets the more you buy the lower your cost per unit and the higher your profit margin per sale.
Once you’ve built up your inventory and are ready to sell comic books to collectors you will need a venue. The easiest and most cost effective way to start selling comics is online. It’s best to start with online stores to keep your overhead to a minimum until you start seeing good size profits.
Learn more about Online Stores
Setting your prices when you are ready to sell is another critical factor in maximizing the profitability of selling comic books online. For old comics there are pricing guides to give you an idea of how much you should price your comics at. Don’t rely on these guides completely because they are just guides and only intended to offer a perceived value. If you are not flexible in your pricing and willing to offer bargains to your buyers you will severely limit your number of sales.
Once you’ve built a reputation and started making profits it’s time to consider if you want to continue to grow or stay small and keep the operation simple. If you decide to grow at some point you will have to decide whether or not you are willing to open up a brick and mortar storefront. The comic book industry is extremely competitive and requires a tremendous amount of investment to open up a storefront. Because of this it is important to determine if you are willing to bring on a partner or investors to share the workload and / or the cost of opening your comic book store.
Offering a limited return policy is always good practice but be sure you define the terms and conditions clearly and limit the number of surprises your customers have in doing business with you. There is nothing more frustrating then making a purchase from a vendor and feeling like you’ve been burned because the vendor was not clear on the terms of the sale. If you choose not to offer a return policy make sure the customer is fully aware that all sales are final. This gives them the opportunity to fully examine the product and decide if they are willing to buy.
COMIC BOOK GRADING
Philyman Comics
Sooner or later selling comic books online is going to require grading. Philyman Comics deals in new, silver, and bronze age comics. I grade very strict and have been doing so since 1987 Books are very securely packaged, just like I would like them if they were being shipped to me I use cardboard, peanuts, newspaper, bubble padded mailers for packing. http://philymancomics.ecrater.com/
More Ways to Sell Comic Books
Just a short list of ideas that might help you sell more books.
Giveaways
Consider giving some things away with your book. Digital content is always a good resource and adds value to the purchase of a book. Maybe you have a worksheet or some additional material that will compliment the book. This can all be included as bonus material to help increase the perceived value of the book.
Also consider giving free print material such as a “poster” of artwork from the book. Themed bookmarks as bonus items is also a good idea.
Build Partnerships
Another helpful idea is to consider partnering with other authors and content creators. You can either trade some copies of your book for copies of their material, which can then be added to your list of bonus items, or some content creators will be happy to give you content for free in exchange for exposure to their work.
Incentives for customers
Another good idea is to offer incentives to customers who buy multiple books (3, 5, 10 or more). Either offer additional bonus material for buying multiple copies, or consider having a lunch, dinner or after launch party with customers who buy large quantities. This might seem strange, but if the book is a good resource, many people will consider buying multiple copies as gifts or giveaways.
Book Signings
One of the most common forms of book promotion is a book signing event at a local book retailer or library. While this is well known to most authors, it is often under promoted by the authors themselves. Don’t just leave it up to the venue to announce book signings, take the lead in your own campaign and get the word out through as many sources as possible. Press releases, blog posts, twitter and Facebook announcements are a good place to start and there are many more.
Set Time Limits
Remember to put a time limit on the promotional giveaways. This adds a sense of urgency to the promotion, and also allows you to plan for post launch parties or other events that might be related to the book launch.