eBay

wolf*song · ‎06-15-2017

So, I mentioned in another thread that I purchased a comic collection for cheap yesterday, and went through all 157 of them. Nothing worth a ton, but I should make money in bundling them, no problem. It'll take forever, but it is what it is, and I don't really mind.

I'm gonna list a bundle of ten of the worst, first. Not worst in condition (every one in the lot is anywhere from VF to VF/NM, and most are the latter). I'm talking about titles, characters, art, etc. Just terrible. Even in MY estimation, and I really dig that kooky stuff. Anyway, I came up with a title for the listing, and wanted to get some opinions of whether it was clever and attention-getting, or something you'd ask "WT***BLEEP***" (did it for ya, Ebay), and move along.

The title I'm going with is:

"These comics are AWFUL, you don't want these!" Sale- Goofy Comic Book Lot Of 10

I do have a disclaimer included in case there are any actual fans of these duds, asking for forgiveness for my levity, if not my opinion. *L*

retrose1 · ‎06-15-2017

Unless you are including the name of at least one title or character, your lot will go unseen.

Buyers search for titles and characters, they don't look for just the word comic. And if they did, they would immediately start adding keywords to narrow the numbers down.

And you would probably end up getting a snad if the group does not contain at least 2 Disney comics with Goofy in them.

(*Bleep*)

wolf*song · ‎06-15-2017

GOOFY!!! UGH!!! Didn't think of that! THANKS! *LOL*

I'll include some characters in the tags, but with this bunch, I highly doubt anyone will be looking, anyway. *L* Plus, I'm gonna wait until the end of the month, and only list if I have a few extra freebies.

Thanks for the tip!

fashunu4eeuh · ‎06-15-2017

That title cracked me up, but i'm wondering if "awful" and "goofy" are keywords a prospective buyer would use? And would the listing end up at the bottom of search? I suppose if you are listing the details in your Item Specifics, those would get picked up since there are few searchable words in the title. It's a clever idea, but how many ebayers will find the listing? I have no expertise in the comics field. Is there enough information to land the listing in front of as many eyes as possible?

wolf*song · ‎06-15-2017

Also good points, thanks!

I'm one of those who searches "comic lot", and I'm sure I'm not the only one. You can sometimes find good deals, that way. I also search other lots, like "Stephen King lot". Unfortunately, that particular one brings up a ton of listings for Salem's Lot. *L*

impalajohnny · ‎06-15-2017

A sign like that at a comic convention would be sure to get attention from passers by. But like Rose says many ebay buyers are keyword searching. They will not see it if it doesn't come up in their search. Some no doubt are searching vague keywords like "comic lot". You'll need to figure some keywords that get eyes on the listing so they can see your disparaging adjectives. You know better then me since comics are not my fortee.

But disparaging certain items can work. There are people in search of the ugly, tacky, lame, boring, awful, etc. People who love bad science fiction movies, and there are a lot of them, would probably love to read bad comic books.

It's got me thinking about those comics they gave us in school in the 80's about brushing your teeth, saying no to drugs, and similar topics. I wish I saved them. Us kids were too busy collecting spiderman to realize how much fun vintage awfull might one day be.

timemachine777 · ‎06-15-2017

@retrose1 wrote:
Unless you are including the name of at least one title or character, your lot will go unseen.

Buyers search for titles and characters, they don't look for just the word comic. And if they did, they would immediately start adding keywords to narrow the numbers down.

And you would probably end up getting a snad if the group does not contain at least 2 Disney comics with Goofy in them.

Actually buyers look up "comic lot" and so do I. I get over 91,000 sold hits.

timemachine777 · ‎06-15-2017

Sometimes Goofy titles draw attention.

copper.boom · ‎06-16-2017

@wolf*song wrote:

"These comics are AWFUL, you don't want these!" Sale- Goofy Comic Book Lot Of 10

Remove the quotation marks and the dash after sale. Don't use Goofy unless they are Disney books featuring that character.

Try changing AWFUL/GOOFY to words that will be searched more frequently:

Strange / Unique

Weird / Crazy

Funky / Fun

Do some searches to see what 2 individual terms pull up the most sold search results. Hope that helps.

moondogblues · ‎06-16-2017

"People who love bad science fiction movies, and there are a lot of them, would probably love to read bad comic books."

Hey...that hurt....

moondogblues · ‎06-16-2017

"t's got me thinking about those comics they gave us in school in the 80's.'"

Golly...I remember Ready Kilowatt, wish I'd saved those. I do however have some "Duck and Cover" hide under the desk in case of nuclear war stuff, it's hilarious.

retrose1 · ‎06-16-2017

@timemachine777 wrote:
Sometimes Goofy titles draw attention.

But will the goofy title be seen in the middle of the 91,000 listings that come up?

My first post commented about how the buyer will start using more specific keywords. Then the listing title will disappear if it has nothing more specific in it than goofy. And if he uses goofy - then he will get a snad if Goofy isn't in some of them.

This is ebay and you can't think about and operate how and what will work in the real world, because the fact that the buyer can't see the items being sold and ebay believing what the buyers say, means that most of the things that we take for granted will be the reason for a snad dispute and loss of item and profit for the seller.

And I think this is the most important consideration that every serious ebay seller has to factor in - whose eyes do you want on your listing - a serious buyer OR a reseller.

If you go general and cheap to get as many eyes as possible on your listing, then you will attract the attention of more resellers than serious buyers and resellers know how ebay works and many can and will rip off the seller in order to get as much profit out of their purchases as possible. And the question using the general style of lot listing you should ask yourself is - do you want someone else to make the profit?

If you target serious buyers instead of as many eyes as possible you will get fewer problems and higher prices. Of course the items will be slower to sell. But a serious collector will not make problems if you are an above board seller because if they like your stuff, they will want to buy from you again.

I have over 35,000 comics that go well back into the Golden Age. I will never risk any of them on ebay.

(*Bleep*)

d-k_treasures · ‎06-16-2017

@moondogblues wrote:
"People who love bad science fiction movies, and there are a lot of them, would probably love to read bad comic books."

Hey...that hurt....

Nope - I love bad SI-FI movies, but not bad comic books.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 fan here ............ plus the bad SI-FI ones on a Saturday afternoon on broadcast tv(Comet is a good one for that).

_____________________________
"Nothing is obvious to the oblivious"

wolf*song · ‎06-16-2017

Thanks for the advice, it's appreciated.

As far as resellers go, I happen to be one of them, and therefore take no issue with it. Once I sell an item, it's sold, the other person owns it, and whatever they choose to do with it is their business. I got what I wanted when I sold it. That's why I never start an auction at below the minimum I'm willing to accept.