Nowadays everything is available online, even your food is delivered with a few little keystrokes. Comic books have gone the same way, buy online and never meet another human being again. Is this the most cost-effective way to purchase comics? Do the old retail comic specialty stores still exist and is it profitable to have a working relationship with the vendor? Perhaps the online experience is all-encompassing and produces savings. Is that the only way to go, just buy and sell online? Also, many are now trying conventions; are those the best prices you can get on comics? The evidence is pretty overwhelming and like most things in life, comic speculation is case specific. Where can you get the cheapest price and best quality for Amazing Spider-Man #300 in a brick mortar, online, or at a con?
Con Wisdom?
Unfortunately, for both retailers and online stores, the conventions are actually a buyer's best friend. After all, if you have ten comic book resellers at one medium-sized regional convention the price is going to drop as there is way more supply than demand. Everyone at that convention has to make more than the cover entry price of a table to pay for the event. If you are a reseller and looking for a buyer for your Amazing Spider-Man #300. Then you better be ready to take some cut-rate offers. Because every reseller in the building will be trying to unload that same book in a very similar grade. Therefore, conventions are the ally of the prepared speculator.
Brick and Mortar: RPG Gambit
In order to stay in business, the brick and mortar retailers have expanded into other markets: Pokemon cards, models, posters, action figures, but most importantly many are turning to the RPG Gambit. This means creating full RPG gaming centers, with refreshments, and multiple tables for people to rent inside the comic book store. What is so brilliant about the RPG gambit by retail brick and mortar comic stores is the brand they are selling is inclusion. They build a place that is like a Cheers bar for nerds. "Where everyone knows your name" and your armor class. This killer association draws customers by the dozen. The selling of inclusion provides retailers with consistent returns daily for rented table space. People need to interact, even gamers and comic book collectors, need a place to talk, and conjecture, or simply make friends around the same or nearly same shared interest.
Many gamers are also big comic book fans, one guy I know has a great Bronze Age collection, but he just owns them to read, not as an investment. Yes, this is a different mindset than the speculator or even the collector. Bottom line, these folks spend money and time at the retail establishment and it is worth courting their tastes to keep the business profitable. Are the brick and mortar retail spaces profitable to purchase from as a speculator?
The Amazing Spider-Man #300 has an FMV price tag of $260 for grade fine (6.0). My retailer of choice sold me that book about two years ago for $150. At that time I was instantly in the money, as the price then was around $182 online. This disparity is a $32 savings in price, and instant profit. The built-in saving could wind up being your profit margin if you buy under the current average online market price. Also, you should verify the book is not fraudulent or missing parts. You can't count on what you can't verify, in the retail business, everything can be verified. In addition, I have some guarantee if the comic is not as advertised; I can get a full refund. Purchase big keys from your local retailer when they have any. By purchasing most of my bigger books from a local comic store; I build a strong customer relationship. In return, the retailer keeps an eye out for what he knows that I like.
Retail Store +110% Return
This is another bit of anecdotal evidence for catching profit at a retail place. One of my best scores was discovering a double cover Swamp Thing #5, which I sent into CGC and received a (9.4) near mint grade. That book cost me time searching forgotten bins and about $5 at the check out counter. The return on Swamp Thing #5 over time, is close to eight times my first investment, or an ROI of +110% return. I get a better deal in the store than on online, usually. Building a profitable relationship between buyer and seller, he makes a profit as well as the speculator.
New Comic Online Gamble
The online reseller has nothing to offer but lower prices and a tidy bowl race to the bottom. However, you can purchase low-end stuff really cheap if you find a good supplier. Most of the eBay books tend to be in pretty good shape, but every once in a while you get some books that are actually fine minus and people are selling them as near mint. In my experience, online has been great for new issues like Amazing Spider-Man #798 the first Red- Gobbie. I purchased a couple of copies and the price was very competitive with the brick and mortar crowd. The condition (I got lucky) was near mint and I purchased at a slight discount. Not bad for a key which recently sold for $37 in a near mint grade.
Also, I have had minor success with Silver Age and Bronze Age books being better than as advertised condition online. I purchased a Marvel Feature #1 for $65 grade (6.5) at an online auction in 2010. This is the first appearance of The Defenders. I prefer the original Defenders: Hulk, Namor, Silver Surfer and Doctor Strange, now that was a power team. Anyways, Marvel Feature #1 created by Roy Thomas and Bill Everett (script) with four top-notch artists: Neal Adams, Ross Andru, Bill Everett, and Don Heck. That same book turned out as (9.2) when sent to CGC. The current price for Marvel Feature #1 has an FMV price tag of $450. "By the hoary hosts of Hoggoth" what a supreme speculation for an ROI of +300%!
The Musashi Rule
The takeaway here is to use all three selling venues to buy comics as a speculator: the online, brick and mortar and convention each offer success. What should you buy and where? That is the speculative fun part, the treasure hunt. There are no right answers, to quote Musashi, "it would be regrettable to die with one's sword still sheathed" (source: Book of Five Rings). Ultimately, use every weapon at your disposal to create positive speculative returns consistently: cons for negotiated pricing, brick and mortar retail for guarantee and price reduction, and the last resort is online for cheap prices and a roll of the dice to see what actually comes in the mail. Bottom line is to use every weapon in your arsenal for speculative profit and fun.
