Question:
I'm curious as to what the standard method people use for packaging
and shipping comic books.
For single comics, what do people do? Is a large envelope good enough?
A padded envelope? Can these be bent at all? Also what method of shipping
is most common for a single comic: book rate, first class, priority? I
assume that people aren't that willing to pay high shipping for a single
comic.
For large groups of comics, I assume that a box is sufficient.
Answer:
-If I was shipping comics, I would put 'em between a couple of sheets
of heavy cardboard which extended at least an inch on each side of the
magazine. Then they would be wrapped in bubble wrap and sent in a
bubble wrap envelope.
This is why I don't like auctioning magazines, because the packaging
is much more "labor intensive" than paperback books.
-If you want comic buyers to take you seriously as a dealer -
a) get vinyl magazine bags with a flap from Bags Unlimited. About 7c
each in packs of a hundred. Order one of their printed catalogs
at http://www.bagsunlimited.com They are THE #1 supplier in the USA of
"collection protection" goods.
b) get cardboard "backing boards" to put behind each book when you put
in the bag. Bags Unlimited probably sells these too.. I picked up a
pile of them for a dime each yesterday at a local Comic Book shop.
they look similar to the white thin shirt cardboard that dry cleaners
use, or which sometimes come behind new dress shirts you buy at a
clothing store.
c) I buy very stiff "Photo Mailers" at Staples in four packs for
$3.99, so about $0.75 each. Haven't had one damaged in transit yet
and I've used a couple hundred of them for comics, magazines, small
flat brochures and similar items. Even coins. If you use a flexible
mailer like a bubble pack mailer, tape all for edges using 2" clear
packing tape and get a big fat black marker and write "DO NOT BEND" on
both sides. Same for manila envelopes. The photo mailers cost more
but they are EXCELLENT insurance.
I always offer my buyers an option for this kind of item - First Class
mail for $2.00 or Priority 2-3 day for $3.20. I let them choose.
Big priority boxes are free but again, if these are vintage comics
that people are paying dearly for, each should be individually
vinyl-bagged with a backing board. There are ways to ship and ways
not to ship and people who collect these things can tell a pro from an
amateur immediately by the way the stuff is packed.
If you've never seen it, go to a library and find the "Overstreet
Comic Book Price Guide" - the bible for comic book collecting,
buying,and selling. It's as valuable a resource to comic buyers and
sellers as the Goldmine guides are to vinyl LP buyers and sellers as
Charlie Mack's Encyclopaedia is to Lesney/Matchbox buyers and sellers,
etc. In other words, do your homework and build a library of current
references and price guides for the goods in which you plan to deal.
If you only plan to sell off one big pile of comics once, just to be
rid of them, you can get away with Xeroxing the relevant pages of the
guide at a local library instead of paying $20.00 for your own copy.
Guides like this are usually shelved at libraries as reference books
which means you cannot check them out and take them home.
