Inhumans99

Not surprised an eBayer or Amazon marketplace seller would offer to buy an entire stores stock of DC trades. At first I was going to admit to being surprised that retailers did not follow up their legit griping about how the DC trade dump was handled by heading over to an Ollie's and just dropping some cash to replenish their own in-store stock seeing as how they would pay as much per trade or only a bit less if they went through Diamond vs Ollie's but it sounds like maybe 10-20% of the trades/HCs have enough resale value that it would be worth it for a dealer to go through Ollie's.

Based on my experience selling lots of independent (including a bunch of well known Image titles) trades, and a pretty sizable stack of assorted New52 trades through eBay, then trying to sell at a g-sale, and finally resorting to half price books a ton, and I do mean a ton of these trades (including many HCs) are worth way less than the paper they are printed on. If it were not for some nice 1st print vintage sci fi (including some E.E. Doc Smith) hardover dups from my Dad (he gave me a ton, the real valuable stuff was a hot seller on eBay) I would have basically walked out of Half Price books with barely enough money for a medium Mountain Mikes pizza.

I am now happy to sell stuff I no longer want to other online sellers / private collectors / actual storefront owners via Craigslist in bulk lots even knowing they will make way more than I did selling it to them. I sold about 17 Barbies (mostly pink label Dolls Of The World) to another eBayer for more than he usually pays per doll (a bit less than $10 per doll, he usually pays no more than $5-7 on the high end), but he knew that I knew a handful were valuable making up for the other dolls likely to have to be bundled with a hot doll or two to sell. He traveled from Sacramento to my place in Fremont arriving at 6 pm (so he traveled during rush hour) but was really happy when he saw the dolls in person and would travel again to my place in rush hour if I have more to offer in the future (which I might).

The market is clearly awash in pop culture stuff (Funko Pops, TPB/HCs, DVDs/Blu Rays, Books, Barbies, pretty much any "collectible" out there at the moment).

Sorry for the massive thread drift...will stop now.

Trevor

No reason to stop drifting! It’s not like the forum is all that busy lately.

b2net

I hope some libraries were able to get some of these to stock up on the cheap. And by library I truly mean Public or Private (not personal).

fujishig

There's just too much stuff being printed. Not everything really deserves to be collected (heck, not everything deserves to come out monthly) but that's where we're at now. Also even hardcore fans have a finite amount of space and can't collect everything, but there's more product out there than ever.

I know this is a broken record, but as someone who, for the most part, just wants to read comics and maybe get the occasional omnibus or hardcover for the stuff I really love, digital has been a godsend because for as expensive as comics are these days, you can't even give them away.

PhantomStranger

I've gone through the entire stock of two different Ollie's locations. I would guess a sophisticated comic book seller/retailer could make a profit on about 10-15% of the available titles at Ollie's and the rest would be lucky to make back what you paid. The rest would be slow movers or unmoveable, or they wouldn't have shown up in a bulk lot for dirt cheap in the first place. Stuff like the New 52 trades of Lobo, whose radical take has already been retconned from DC and likely won't ever get referenced again.

I will strongly suggest "The Big Book of..." titles from Paradox Press (a DC imprint) showing up in this sale for $2.99. They are very fun reads if you want info nuggets written up in a cartoony style.

The strangest thing I've seen in this sale? I had no idea that DC put out a Vampire Diaries comic.

ssghtc003

Awesome

ssghtc003

Good

tonyc3742

I stopped by Ollie's yesterday and got about thirty books, about $100. First I went to the book section and all they had were stacks of The Tornado's Path and an XMen vs Avengers box. I found the big metal floating endcap thing by the register. There was a couple there who looked like they were looking for specific titles and checking their phone, maybe for trade in values; I think they spent about 100 bucks as well, so at least they didn't clean them out.
It was random, but since I don't actively collect titles now, that was ok with me. I got a few Showcase (wish they were in color, but oh well), some JSA, JLA, Batman, Green Lantern/GLC and a couple Martian Manhunter and Question titles. I'll probably go back since they're getting more.
It does bug me a little that now I have like volumes 2 and 5 or 4, 6, and 11, but oh well. I like older stuff so some of these are nice surprises.

I agree on the prices. I would never collect at 2.99, 3.99, or 4.99 for a regular monthly issue. 4.99 is Prestige Format territory (yes I just dated myself). That's why I like Comics Bento, I get random stuff that usually stands alone for like 4 bucks each. Since I don't really follow titles anymore, I'll try most anything.
But 2-5 bucks for each of these titles? Works for me.

I have long been a fan of hard copies, but I did spend about 70 bucks on the New Year's Eve DC sale at Amazon, so I guess I'm seeing the benefit of digital. (Also have purchased a few electronic bundles from Humble and Groupees - Archie and Judge Dredd - for like 15 bucks. Tough to beat.)

PhantomStranger

I've been regularly keeping up with the Ollie's sale at multiple locations. Virtually any nice book priced over $3.99 has been picked clean aside from a few stragglers, which I thought would happen. There are still plenty of trades left.

ddrknghtrtns

Did you find the Phantom Stranger trade?

PhantomStranger

I did find them, but already had them. I saw the Showcase volumes and the New 52 Phantom Stranger trades. I have been lobbying DC for a Phantom Stranger omnibus.

Some things have been conspicuous in their absence from the inventory I've come across. There isn't much Wonder Woman or Aquaman. Tons and tons of various Green Lantern trades, however.

Joseph Eming

The Ollies stores in my area have gotten in a new shipment of the DC books. Many more of both hardback and paperback New 52 books, more this time from Vertigo, a few more of the Showcase editions, more of the Geoff Johns Justice Society and others. Books which I had not seen there before included the Robin Celebration of 75 Years book, the Legion of Super-Heroes book titled "The Curse", Green Lantern Greatest Stories Ever Told, both volumes of Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E., and Showcase editions such as Robin, Super Friends, and Sgt. Rock volume 4. Oh, and they had more of the Lois Lane Celebration of 75 Years books this time, which has turned out to be a better book than I would have imagined for my Superman shelf. Time to make a return trip to Ollies, especially if you are a fan of New 52 content.

Joseph Eming

Also saw Showcase Wonder Woman volumes 2 & 3.

ddrknghtrtns

Saw the Stephen King Dark Tower graphic novels
(Hardcover) for $6.99 at Ollie's.

Bought (Showcase):
The Phantom Stranger vol 2
Brave And The Bold vol 1 (Batman)
The House Of Mystery vol 2
Superman vol 3

MAD's Original Idiots: Jack Davis

PhantomStranger

I'm not sure there is a new shipment. Most stores received too much stock at once to put out on the shelves.

Apparently some stores got a giant palette of books about five feet high for this sale. Each store has been slowly putting them out over the past month.

I have seen the fairly rare Starman hardcover omnibuses in this sale.

majorjoe23

Normally the two book sets of Don Rosa Duck books are $50, but Amazon has the preorder for the final set listed at $30. So it’s a pretty good deal to preorder:

Trevor

Thanks Joe, ordered.

Joseph Eming

Maybe that's the way it's been for stores in your area, but in my area all Ollies got a new shipment. This is per one of the store managers and is supported by the flyer for our area.

In fact the DC stock was almost completely depleted from one of the stores in my area. That manager said if he could have had more to put out, he would have.

I was in an Ollies this weekend for another purpose, and noticed this latest shipment was not moving quite as fast, but still fairly briskly. You'll want to get to Ollies as quickly as you can be for the best books are gone...

b2net

My local Ollie's had more titles I hadn't seen before. But they downsized to a smaller table with mixed title stacks. Made it very difficult to browse the titles.

tonyc3742

Mine seems to have restocked, it's still the same big double shelving unit thing - but there are piles in the middle, spines facing inward - it's definitely tough to go through in any organized fashion. In two trips I bought maybe 50 or 60 so maybe i should stop.

PhantomStranger

Has anyone seen certain books in this new batch at Ollie's? I went up and down the East Coast and know just about every book that was included in the first wave.

The first wave had virtually no Wonder Woman books. The Batman books fly off shelves, they are always the first that sell out.

Joseph Eming

As far as Wonder Woman goes, Ollies had the Superman / Wonder Woman books, Showcase Presents Wonder Woman Vols 2 & 3, and Secret Origins Vol. 2 with WW on the cover and her new 52 origin in side. Seems like they had a WW standalone book, but I can't recall if it was the The True Amazon or something similar.

PhantomStranger

Thanks, I haven't seen those Superman/Wonder Woman books at the locations I've visited.

Over six different stores, I saw a lone Wonder Woman trade called Amazon Attacks and zero Flash trades.

Joseph Eming

The nearest Ollie's got a box in its regular shipment that had about a half-dozen DC titles they had not had before. Manager didn't know if this means the big shipments have ended. Anyway, the box included the first Trinity title, which of course includes Wonder Woman, a Flash title, and some of the World's Finest books with Huntress & Power Girl. The Flash title was "Max Mercury", but it really should have been an Impulse book, as it was all about Bart Allen and Max Mercury.

Was near another Ollie's that I stopped by and found that location had reduced their display by half. Is supply starting to dwindle?

fujishig

We need another thread for Ollie's so I stop getting so jealous when this thread is updated.