Comic book thinning strategy?

mwhitt80

Is there a preferred method of thinning your collection?

I've got trades I won't ever read again. I've got runs that already collected together. I'm looking for space more than cash.

I've got to figure out what the best way to deal with this is.

bralinator

eBay is a proven method, but slow.

CaptShazam

Donating to libraries or hospitals. Fast and (at least for libraries) you can claim it on your taxes.

Also, giving books to families with kids who may not have the budget for comics.

Mr_Cosmic

Ever tried craigslist?

I put about 5 longboxes on there last year. I asked what I wanted for them and said that they needed to be picked up. A guy drove from 3 hours away to buy them. I didn't have to worry about shipping, listing fees, etc

mwhitt80

I'm trying to decide what the easiest way to move them is. Most of the time I put a book or two in a goodwill/salvation army box, but this time I'm going to have to sell some of it. Plus I'm moving a lot more trades out. I was thinking about giving a lot of the trades away to a hospital, do you just call them up or how does that work?
It's new territory for me.

CaptShazam

mwhitt80 said:

I'm trying to decide what the easiest way to move them is. Most of the time I put a book or two in a goodwill/salvation army box, but this time I'm going to have to sell some of it. Plus I'm moving a lot more trades out. I was thinking about giving a lot of the trades away to a hospital, do you just call them up or how does that work?
It's new territory for me.

Call the volunteer services at your local Children's hospital. They probably handle things like this or can put you in contact with whoever does.

matchkitJOHN

I am right smack dab in the middle of doing this. I was trying to see what has been folks recent experience selling to shops. And just the other day I developed my plan.

http://thecomicforums.vanillaforums.com/discussion/3979/selling-to-shops-2017-edition-whats-the-recent-offer-for-longboxes-i-have-no-idea#latest

I have about 22 long boxes. 16 Collection Drawers and 4 loose long boxes and 4 to 5 short boxes that make up 2 long boxes. That is just comics. I will focus on trades next. My plan is to get that down to 12 boxes. Maybe 10.

The first thing I did was identified and pulled out of my collection the comics that I still love. Not books I plan to get around to reading or I just want to keep and read again. I am talking about sparking joy. Yes, I have read the The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. It works for me.

So I have been singling those out and they go back to Collection Drawers. What's left is doing my research and seeing what has collector value. Comics that actually have some recent sales on ebay and I can make a decent buck. I look at runs and see what pops. I use www.mycomicshop.com to see what prices are. This is to identify one comic out of a run of 30-40 might have some value. I found out that an issue of Ms. Marvel Vol 1 has some value because it's the first appearance of Mystique.

This weekend I am going to have a table at a local toy and comic show for $30. I was going anyway. I might as well get a table and have some fun. It's at a improv theater and they will have an open bar. :) I am going to price my four boxes for $1 and I will reduce to 50 cents. By Saturday I will have scrubbed the four boxes. I plan to sell those four boxes to a comic shop. I hope to make a few bucks at the show first.

This is a lot of work only because the first time I did this my comics were more organized and I could separate and do the research more easily. About 8 of my boxes required more work.

So tonight I will have finished organizing the four boxes for the show (I am taking some trades). And those four boxes to do not go back into the basement but will be sold or donated. Four more boxes will be put on ebay. A lot of these are runs that I have only have to put in one listing for 70 comics.

Once I get this down to 12 then 10 I will not be doing this ever again. I am on the digital train. That Amazon-Kindle sale made that easier to do. I eventually will keep 1 or 2 boxes of the comics that mean something to me and I will sell my collection via Craigslist.

Whew!

Hex

matchkitJOHN said:

I am right smack dab in the middle of doing this. I was trying to see what has been folks recent experience selling to shops. And just the other day I developed my plan.

http://thecomicforums.vanillaforums.com/discussion/3979/selling-to-shops-2017-edition-whats-the-recent-offer-for-longboxes-i-have-no-idea#latest

I have about 22 long boxes. 16 Collection Drawers and 4 loose long boxes and 4 to 5 short boxes that make up 2 long boxes. That is just comics. I will focus on trades next. My plan is to get that down to 12 boxes. Maybe 10.

The first thing I did was identified and pulled out of my collection the comics that I still love. Not books I plan to get around to reading or I just want to keep and read again. I am talking about sparking joy. Yes, I have read the The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. It works for me.

So I have been singling those out and they go back to Collection Drawers. What's left is doing my research and seeing what has collector value. Comics that actually have some recent sales on ebay and I can make a decent buck. I look at runs and see what pops. I use www.mycomicshop.com to see what prices are. This is to identify one comic out of a run of 30-40 might have some value. I found out that an issue of Ms. Marvel Vol 1 has some value because it's the first appearance of Mystique.

This weekend I am going to have a table at a local toy and comic show for $30. I was going anyway. I might as well get a table and have some fun. It's at a improv theater and they will have an open bar. :) I am going to price my four boxes for $1 and I will reduce to 50 cents. By Saturday I will have scrubbed the four boxes. I plan to sell those four boxes to a comic shop. I hope to make a few bucks at the show first.

This is a lot of work only because the first time I did this my comics were more organized and I could separate and do the research more easily. About 8 of my boxes required more work.

So tonight I will have finished organizing the four boxes for the show (I am taking some trades). And those four boxes to do not go back into the basement but will be sold or donated. Four more boxes will be put on ebay. A lot of these are runs that I have only have to put in one listing for 70 comics.

Once I get this down to 12 then 10 I will not be doing this ever again. I am on the digital train. That Amazon-Kindle sale made that easier to do. I eventually will keep 1 or 2 boxes of the comics that mean something to me and I will sell my collection via Craigslist.

Whew!

I NEED to do this as well. I keep putting it off because my collection is a unorganized shambles (haven't sorted and incorporated my "recent" acquisitions into the collection in well over a decade).

Please give us an update on how it goes this weekend! Good Luck!

matchkitJOHN

Yeah. The big part was dealing with the stuff I never entered into Comicbookdb.com or organized. Once I got to the boxes that I had organized it was easier. Definitely will update. Thanks!

mwhitt80

matchkitJOHN said:

Yeah. The big part was dealing with the stuff I never entered into Comicbookdb.com or organized. Once I got to the boxes that I had organized it was easier. Definitely will update. Thanks!

I started the organization about 9 months ago. Which started this creeping feeling that I need to get rid of stuff. Then with Samuel coming and need for nursery; I had make a new playroom for the little girl.

I did my first pass through of trades last night. Lots of early new 52, lots of Marvel, a few indies.
I'm keeping most of my kids Books. Next up single issues.

mwhitt80

Doing a terrible job of thinning. I've got 2 Omnibuses coming in this months dcbs shipment.

UPS man is going to hate me