"The Last Couple of Days"

I was very pleased with my eBay auctions this week (for a change). I listed 7 items; various lot groups of comic books. Some (4 lots) didn't sell, but three did, 2 of which were to the same buyer.

I can't say that I was surprized about one of the lots selling as it was 46 different, misc. "Archie" comics from the 70s-90s. I always see such lots sell, and have even bidded once or twice on some older lots (of Archies) myself.

I was sort'a surprized at a lot of 45 different issues of Marvel's "G.I.Joe" going for nearly $30. All of these books are from a huge lot I pulled last year to try to sell collectively but had no offers, and even seperately I wouldn't have asked more than a quarter each for them. At $30. these averaged .66 each. And the 46 Archies plus 10 misc. low-grade SA misc. went for $18.51 (averaging .33.5 each); all more than I would have asked out-right. So collectively I sold these (minus eBay fees for listing and Paypal fees) something like $44. Divide that by a total of 101 comics and they sold clear for around .44 each. Since I listed right at 200 comics this time in lots, 1/2 of those sold, so I'll put the unsold ones back into the larger lot after I pull yet another 6 to 8 lots tomorrow for listing for the next time. I may even decide to keep a few of the ones that didn't sell back in my own collections. Eventually everything will have been listed at least once and the remainder will be lotted out to some dealer, or end up in a yard sale for a quarter "a pop".

And, as usual, the deal I made with my wife long ago regarding such sales is if they pay me with Paypal I can use it to buy ME something from on-line auctions, and if they pay me with a money order then that goes right into the bank. Guess I'll be a'buyin' me sumethin' new, ehh? (*heh*)

Actually, I did win one fairly cheap lot recently which will be nice to read when it arrives. A full run of the 2004 series of Swamp Thing V4 #'s 1 thru 20 complete, and just for ten bucks. Even with the postage it only cost me around .55 a comic, which beats the hell out of its original $3.99-2.99 cover prices (a third or so of retail). I wanted to read this series but never had a chance to pick them up as they came out, and then figured I probably never would since I'd have to buy 20 issues from a comic shop. But getting them as a lot will be nice! (Monday: 02/04/08)


Today I'm not as pleased with those lots I sold on eBay as I thought I was, as my margin for profit (after some refiguring) wasn't as much. I had it in my mind that those packages could be mailed at an $8. flat rate, when instead, they were $8.95 each. Throw in the free insurance which I thought the stated postage costs would cover along with confirmation, and the shipping costs ended up being $22.50. And since my final selling fees hadn't been stated yet they ended up being $11. (rather than $8. 'something"), so already we have a total of $34.50. Minus as well the Paypal fees and what i received was around $65.50, so for all of this effort I only am clearing something like $30. (and of course that doesn't include my time listing, writing descriptions, emailing buyers, packaging the stuff up and taking it to the post office, etc., etc.).

I can see selling on ebay an alright thing to do for those that aren't doing anything else, like the retired or maybe just those that can't find a "regular" job. It does indeed bring in money (IF the items sell), but if someone lists multiple items, say 20 or more, and only one or two sell at a low minimum bid, the seller could easily go in the hole trying to make a living from on-line auction sales.

In fact, today I went back thru the lots and ended up pulling only one lot of 17 misc. comics from the 1940-70's and listing it. If it sells at just the minimum bid I've started it at ($9.99), I'll probably lose money on the comics as I'm sure I have at least .50-$4. each in them. Problem there is that if one starts it at a higher price, many buyers shy away from the auction, plus the fees are higher. (I even pass on putting a "gallery" photo on such just to save a few pennies.)

Well...I was up at 7 AM today. Just couldn't sleep any longer. I've already had a guy from the local sewer company come out to see if he could give me a clue as to where a clean out valve might be at this old place. Plus I had a guy come by to give an estimate on insulating the house. The cheapest we can have that done is $1,200., so he's supposed to start (and probably finish) that tomorrow. I also have a guy coming by this weekend to give an estimate on putting us a new metal roof on the joint. All of this cost is being footed by my wife from her inheritance, of course, and if it helps our house heat better, etc., it'll all be worth the money involved, plus make our house more desirable if/when we ever sell it.

I also hooked back up the washing machine so we could do a few loads of clothes and not have to drag them either down to my mother's to wash or the dreaded laundrymat since we are experiencing some unusually warm weather here without fear of frozen water pipes at the moment. And went down and fixed the door seal at mom's, so it's been a busy day.

Looking thru some of those boxes of books I came across a handful of Continuity titles from the late 1980s-early 1990s. Since there was only a half dozen or so I pulled those to keep and re-read. I guess I was one of the few that actually liked that Neal Adams company. My only complaint was that everyone seemed to have to draw in a Neal Adams house style. Two of these comics are Toyboy, one drawn by Michael Golden and the other by Trevor Von Eden. Of these two artists, Mike Golden's artwork certainly shines thru the Adams trappings much better than Von Eden's. It's difficult to disguise Golden's work, or, at least to someone like myself who have followed his work since the 1970's thru a few dozen Batman Familys, The 'Nam, Micronauts, etc. It's always distinctive, clean and bold with defined borders and usually enhanced well by various colorists with brighter colors. (I seriously doubt if I'd like his work even half as much in some B&W format.)

And this post is ramblin' on a bit too much. (Tuesday: 02/05/08)