Sunday, September 4, 2011

I love finding deals.

There are several comic vendors that I enjoy doing business with and have referenced them from time to time in different blog posts.

This is a little different. I check this site a couple of times a week. I have found some outrageous deals on some surprising stuff. This site has led to some terrific finds. If you stop and think about it, who else has a never ending supply of stuff? It makes perfect sense for them to have their own ebay knockoff auction site.

I found a Lego Death Star here at a price I could live with. I found a "Paul is Dead" Beatles magazine from 1966. I found a few Star Wars 12' inch figures that I used to have as a kid and repurchased dirt cheap. I was able to score a Luke Skywalker in near perfect shape with all of his accessories. A C-3PO, a Stormtrooper and a Darth Vader.

I was able to find a few pottery things my wife had been looking for.

But I cant figure comics out on this site...
The strangest stuff sells. What I would consider complete and utter garbage goes for more than it should. The quality stuff that does come in and that should go for a lot does, but truthfully, I think you could find the same stuff at the the same price at a comic shop or convention for about the same costs... perhaps even a little less.

My guess is folks here really don't know comics all that well. A "Nam", "GI-Joe" or Transformer type title will command some cash. I once noticed an early Star wars set 1-4 (with the 35 cent covers, yup REPRINTS) go for close to a bill. 


If its a 12 or 15 cent cover price book then its going for close to guide value just on principle not taking into account grading type defects. I have seen an absolutely hammered FF #1 pass thru, handfuls of ASM 300 that appear decent enuff and almost priced low enough to tempt me but having 2 copies already, I leave that to someone else's delight. I have seen a a few golden age books come thru as well ... A very nice looking copy of Marvel Comics but it went for more than I wanted to spend.

The BEST deal on comics I have gotten from this site was a lot of New Teen Titans. It had a DC presents #26, 2 copies of #1, a copy of #2 (Terminator 1st app.) and #4 (always a hard one for me to find).

I wish you luck making sense of this.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Advertising in comics

It saddens me to think that Comics may be dying as an artform. I'm afraid that unless something changes they will go the way of the Beta-max and rotary phone.

I used to think that comics could be saved with better more focused advertising. It alwasy galled me that an automotive or bridal magazine cram packed STUFFED with ads to the point where there were 3 and 4 hundred pages... for 4 bucks. A comic is about the same price and you are lucky if you get 30 pages.

I found that annoying and thought that comic publishers were out of touch with their advertisers. That still may be true, but the future does not live here. 


naively thought that "saving" comics would be found in modifying this dynamic. I thought cross promotions with other products that tapping into the comic buyers demographic would pay dividends. Premium issues, chase covers all that jazz to spur new interest by reaching folks outside of the box.

Engage in promotions - buy/test drive a car, get comic. Eat 4 cerals send in a 4 upc's and get a comic. That kind of thing....



None of that now matters.
Digital comics are that MUCH of a game changer. I realize that nowI posted on this a while back. 

Now for me, Digital comics has none of the appeal rooted in an ACTUAL comic in the physical world. I stare at a computer all day and LIKE to hold paper. I miss the smell of newsprint. I like playing with bags and boards. How can I sell or trade a pdf (or whatever format) of a comic?

I don't know what the hell to do with a digital comic once its read.
This is sad. BUT it beats comics disappearing!!

It doesn't seem long before the 32 page serial magazines are replaced by digital entirely and then the more superior examples the digital output find their way to a Trade Paper Back. 

I'm for comics sticking around... This seems to be the next phase just as shifting away from spinner racks and newsstands once happened.