Some people are so bad at this, we can just do the opposite of their advice and make bags of money
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If youāre making a profit flipping new releases to buy older, key books, Iād actually encourage that.
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Thatās because you are using rational thought instead of hate
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I have no issues with anyone on here. Some people have a different perspective and some can be a little condescending/sarcastic/know it all, but I appreciate MJās contributions. He brings a lot of knowledge to the forums.
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Or some people donāt like anything unless itās their idea. These are generally the people who make into high level management and do everything they can to isolate themselves from criticism, especially from subordinates. Quality managers actually admit their vulnerabilities to their staff
My strategy: Can I sell enough books to pay for the ones I want to keep in the collection? If i can flip a book and pay for a couple of mine, awesome.
Everyone has a different value at which itās worth it. Some get a $1 book and flip it for $5 and thatās worth it for them. Thatās not for me, but if you can make that work, go get that $$$.
If the current hot book is a $5 book thatās selling for $15 for the next two weeks, that should be talked about here. If that isnāt your personal selling strategy, just stay out of that particular one and focus on your strategy. This forum should be (and mostly is) about helping ALL strategies work. Any book with any level of heat should be chatted about, IMO. Just donāt chime in if itās not your thing. Wait until the next one that aligns with your strategy.
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I flip to buy the next batch of comics. Yeah I also like buying golden age horror and golden age Batman (bought a slabbed golden age Shazam that I still need to upload the video on) all my books are for sale and itās just a matter of when. So I donāt mind moving stuff for 2-3 cover to have cash on hand for the next purchase. I donāt mind getting something cheap and selling it for cheap. Not everyone sees it as worth their time but I am a jittery fellow that likes to keep moving. I mean shoot if someone offered to trade me a nickel for a penny I would take it all day.
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Deal!
A book really has to jump considering eBay fees these days. Shipping+eBay fees+shipping label and tape+time really makes $16 shipped turn out to be like $4 profit (or less once you back out the IRSās cut) on a new Marvel book. I think I can make that in like one day in a money market account yielding 5% without having to do anything.
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Gotta add the time to shoot, list, pack, post and monitor. Thatās why I have moved on to just buy and sell original comic art, and timing the sell down of my inventory of comic books.
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When I was doing more flipping myself, all the money spent on comics was from selling comics. So I initially started with around $50 of my own money to buy comics. Then it got to the point where I was picking up books to sell and buy more books. The hobby paid for itself and I paid back my initial $50 from myself. So if I can buy a few books at $3 to $4 and turn around and sell them for $10 or more, it was like my own purchases were free to me because of the quick flip profits.
So yeah, it takes away time to list, pack and ship comics but it was done during my free time. I could sit and watch television or I could pack up some comics I bought for $4 and sold for $20 and if I bought multiples, then the profit margins go up, allowing me to buy my own books.
So while the occasional $4-$10 profit flip isnāt worth it to some, when youāre turning more and more inventory, it adds up and makes it worth the effort for others. I know @Anthony also only uses money from comics to buy comics, basically separating actual income from comic book income. Itās a great way to buy the books you want and are essentially paid for when you buy a handful or more of an issue, keep one for yourself and sell the others to offset or make profit that goes to the next books you buy.
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What is this āfree timeā you speak ofā¦? And how do I find some?
Spend less time watching Disney+ or whateverā¦ spend less time visiting Wal-Mart chasing collectibles that might not be in stockā¦ IDKā¦ you can find it, I believe in you @D-Rog 
I thought the 1-per availability at Midtown and MCS meant this book was trash though??
Edit to remove false report of advertising spam
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MCS is always 1 per for new books.
Preciselyā¦ so why was that used in Nostradamusā pessimism calculator?
Edit to remove false report of advertising spam.
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I did the same but with variants so spending $20-50 per book and selling for more (some highlights were Thrawn #1 Mattina variant and Spawn #303 Singapore Con variant), which eventually turned into a zero cost comic book inventory that I am slowly selling off. Much less work with the same outcome.
All the profits + spare cash were channelled into original comics art.
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One of the golden rules of mine is, never pay over cover price for a variant for flipping or investments. More often than not, they decrease in value over time and usually quickly. Only in certain cases they retain value, etc.
The only time I spend over cover for a ratio variant was when I just wanted it for myself.
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