Ebay for Comics?
Back during my first love affair with comics, there was no such thing as the internet (well not really) and definitely no eBay. I've used eBay tons (buying and selling) since it's inception, but usually for bigger ticket items like electronics. Always had a great experience - and def feel like i've gotten some great deals (buying AND selling).
As my comics addiction flared back up, i started wondering how eBay fits into it all. Seems to me that eBay is a great place to plug holes in your collection - if you need to hunt down a particular issue, or are looking for a rare collectible or autographed copy, there may not be a better place to do it. Unfortunately once you tack on shipping, you're not saving near as much as you think you are at first glance - unless you buy "runs" (sequential issues/blocks of the same title). I have to wonder though - how do you know what you'll be getting? Comic sellers on eBay typically assign some sort of familiar ranking like "Very Fine" or "Near Mint" but hard to take that at any value since its who-knows-who's opinion. If you're only interested in reading the comics you buy (like me) and not too worried about "collecting" them, this isn't really much of an issue (unless of course the book is falling apart or missing pages), but i'm sure some people out there get a lot of heartburn over this. Graphic novels are a similar story, but you can find a lot more "new"/unread copies than w/ some of the older comics (obviously since the TPB's are often still in print).
In my investigation though - i rarely found a deal any better than mile high, vision comix, or instocktrades.com (deepest discounts i've come across), or even amazon.com, especially when you throw in the "free shipping on all orders over $xx" that all of these sites offer. Not to mention the fact that you can be guaranteed some reasonable customer service (one would hope), and that's always a crap shoot on ebay... I guess the moral of the story is that eBay definitely plays a role, but i'm just not sure how it will fit into my personal comics universe - yet.
I do have a few boxes of bagged/boarded old comics (yeah from 15 YEARS ago) that i may dig out of mom's basement and try and move in runs on ebay (if i don't keep/read, donate, trade, or otherwise unload)... Do me a favor and drop a comment if you have any eBay comics buying/selling experience and clue me in... thanks.
As my comics addiction flared back up, i started wondering how eBay fits into it all. Seems to me that eBay is a great place to plug holes in your collection - if you need to hunt down a particular issue, or are looking for a rare collectible or autographed copy, there may not be a better place to do it. Unfortunately once you tack on shipping, you're not saving near as much as you think you are at first glance - unless you buy "runs" (sequential issues/blocks of the same title). I have to wonder though - how do you know what you'll be getting? Comic sellers on eBay typically assign some sort of familiar ranking like "Very Fine" or "Near Mint" but hard to take that at any value since its who-knows-who's opinion. If you're only interested in reading the comics you buy (like me) and not too worried about "collecting" them, this isn't really much of an issue (unless of course the book is falling apart or missing pages), but i'm sure some people out there get a lot of heartburn over this. Graphic novels are a similar story, but you can find a lot more "new"/unread copies than w/ some of the older comics (obviously since the TPB's are often still in print).
In my investigation though - i rarely found a deal any better than mile high, vision comix, or instocktrades.com (deepest discounts i've come across), or even amazon.com, especially when you throw in the "free shipping on all orders over $xx" that all of these sites offer. Not to mention the fact that you can be guaranteed some reasonable customer service (one would hope), and that's always a crap shoot on ebay... I guess the moral of the story is that eBay definitely plays a role, but i'm just not sure how it will fit into my personal comics universe - yet.
I do have a few boxes of bagged/boarded old comics (yeah from 15 YEARS ago) that i may dig out of mom's basement and try and move in runs on ebay (if i don't keep/read, donate, trade, or otherwise unload)... Do me a favor and drop a comment if you have any eBay comics buying/selling experience and clue me in... thanks.
