Do you want to stride into the comic book shop with your head held high, unsling your broadsword and start hacking and slashing prices? What is the key to smiting those pesky Visa charges your wife is always questioning? Young warrior, you must develop your comic book timing and accuracy. In order to be able to read the battlefield before you let go of your berserker shopping rage. Like Conan, you need to use your skills strategically to decrease the damage not from your broadsword but to your bank account. That way you can maximize profit and win the margin battle.

When you walk into a physical specialty store that just sells comics and collectibles; you are going to pay more for the brick and mortar approach. Wait! Before all, you owners throw me out of the store, hear me out. Yes, it is more expensive, but there are also great deals you cannot find anywhere else. The trick to the brick and mortar is spending time at the establishment learning a little about how they are run.

I am going to give you some helpful hints for different aspects of the brick and mortar store. For the different comic book ages, you have to use a different strategy in the store. First though, be sure to look out for sale days when you can cut cost significantly and build in profit. Brick and mortar can make you money: from holiday sales, discount days, the back issue bins, artist spotlight appearance signings, and finally the dreaded dollar bin. Can you craft your comic binge buying into a discernible strategy that Conan would be proud of? By Crom, you sure can!

 

Discount Days

Some comic book stores have discounts throughout the year. This is the time to "back up the truck." Often these holiday sales or special event sales have between 30% to 50% off back issue books. By waiting for a sale in back issue comics you save enough to pay the sales tax and insulate yourself with profit on your comic purchase. Even a 30% reduction in price is huge, it pays again for sales tax and provides a built-in 20% plus percent profit margin. During these sales try to turn over every stone to find a good deal or even great deal.

Anecdotally, during one sale I stumbled across some early Conan the Barbarian #16. They were slightly damaged but in an old bag and with no board. Someone had just chucked them in there. I immediately grabbed them out of the $1 bin and purchased. I was able to sell them online for a good profit margin. Silver and Bronze Age books are a must buy in the $1 bins. This book has returned positive +42.6% in grade (9.6) and a whopper of positive +192.1% in grade (7.5). Furthermore, I have sold two of them from my personal inventory online. People like barbarians, especially Conan.

Recent Comics

During sale days, there are several ways to go about collecting recent comics. Here are a few tidbits to help find treasure. The brand new comic racks often have multiple copies. Two obvious things to do: first, check the stack for any variants that are already valuable and above the current retail purchase price. Often they are purposely shoved behind the standard issues. Second, get a list of all recent books you want and surf the $1 bin that may have recent variant copies. Here you can find those odd ASM #798-800 that you couldn't purchase three months ago. Also, they are greatly reduced in price and you pick them up for $1.

Modern Age and Bronze Age

The back issue bins are the best place to find good quality Modern Age comics. You will need a list of desired issues, some way to verify the comics are keys and a focused series for your buying. My best advice: stay with what you know. For instance, I always knew that Amazing Spider-Man was a big seller, so it never bothered me if I knew the book or not, the first 300 issues of Spidey are a quality investment regardless of grade. Often the back issue bins will be on sale for between 30% to 50% off.

Silver Age

You will find good deals behind the counter or on the wall for this age of comic book. They are simply too expensive to not protect behind the counter. Don't let that deter you, ask to inspect and be sure to remove the comic from the bag and verify it is complete. The only losses I have taken in comics have come from missing pieces that I was unaware of. The wall books are usually between 10-20% off which saves on sales tax and gives you a slight profit margin right off the bat. Good Silver Age books to go after are Batman, Detective Comics, Fantastic Four, and early Avengers. Try to remember that the treasure hunt is the best part of comic book buying, with a little forethought you can purchase profit before you walk out of the store.