Top 5 TIPS For BUYING COMIC BOOKS on EBAY - Ebay STRATEGY, TRICKS and Lessons I've Learned

In this video I share with you 5 Tips for buying Comic Books on EBAY (though I suppose these tips could apply to buying anything on Ebay). Hopefully you find them helpful, cause I've learned all these lessons the hard way myself.
Please drop me a like, comment or sub if you enjoyed the video :)! Also be sure to follow me on instagram - @swagglehaus_comics
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Thanks for watching! If you’re into comics and a collector looking to trade. Checkout my Instagram as well.
Instagram - @swagglehaus_comics
#comicbooks #comiccollecting #comicbookspec

[@supermankelly]

Tip 6. Check the Sold/Complete listings for what the item recently sold for. Many times I've looked at asking prices of listings and it's easy to assume they are the value of the books, then you see in the last week some sold for way less, which changes your view as you don't want to pay alot more than some did yesterday. This also helps give you a realistic price for making offers especially if the seller also looked at what the book last sold for and they get an offer for the same.

[@donotseemecricket]

yeah i bought a daredevil book with a listing of 15$ buy now price, checked some sold listings and that issue was going anywhere from 5-10 so I made an offer of 7 and they accepted.

[@kenmason1461]

Yeah I'm on a phone and I don't even get to have that option I hear you though and totally concur wish I had the option but I don't have a computer

[@atl17isfast]

One thing to add - make sure to review the sellers feedback %'s, total transactions and if has negatives, why and how many. If they have a poor history of customer service I personally avoid like the plague. I would rather pay a few dollars more to avoid any potential problems with a seller, it's just not worth it. Learned this lesson the hard way. Good video.

[@Swagglehaus]

That's a great tip! Something I try to remember to do when I buy. There is nothing worse than spending money on a book then receiving it in poor packaging or seeing defects that weren't disclosed by the seller.

[@jayblack7495]

I find it helpful to place "Best offer" books (CGC or high grade) into my basket & on my watch list. Usually, within 24 hours, the seller will send me an offer on their end. Sometimes, I can counter-offer for at least $5-$10 less, which can help to offset the shipping cost. EBay is a blast if you're patient & take the time to do your research...

[@Swagglehaus]

For sure, its all about the patience :D

[@moiseschavez4445]

wow brand new channel. Well I’m ready to ride this train. Solid and succinct. Great video.

[@Swagglehaus]

Thanks so much 🙏. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@dmrdmrrmd]

Excellent advice!!! Thanks

[@lifestylesfitnesspersonalt9115]

Great tips! Thank you!

[@HiddenGemComics]

Thanks so much for this, I've been planning on using Ebay more, great tips for sure!

[@cherokeemetal]

Great info....much appreciated dude! 🤘🔥🔥🔥🤘

[@sleekgeekcollectibles]

I've been eBaying since the late 90s and still found this helpful. Great vid!

[@Swagglehaus]

Glad you found it helpful! :D, I'm still learning ebay tricks too

[@patrickwilliams3530]

Super helpful. Thank you!

[@hermanlopez2945]

Great tips, thank you

[@electrontransferconduit657]

Great tips. Had no idea about the watch list offers.

[@joeholland4960]

Great tips! I’m new to eBay comic collecting, typically just buy from local store, but eBay with all of those grails out there is amazing. Thanks again for the advice here!

[@Swagglehaus]

Thanks for watching. Glad you found it helpful! :D

[@hialeahcomicbro8048]

Well done, Excellent video !!! Especially like your #1 but all great tips

[@Swagglehaus]

Thanks for watching! Glad you liked them! :)

[@carminecostello]

Great video and Tips. Last week I made a very reasonable offer which was turned down. I wrote the seller pointed out recent sales but they wouldn't budge. Few days later I get a reminder and there were still no bids. I wait till the last 10 seconds and win the item for less than my original offer... patience definitely can pay off...

[@mykeychainrecords]

Great tips!!! Even though I knew them, it was good to hear that reinforced!!!! Thanks!!

[@Swagglehaus]

You bet! Thanks for watching!

[@ronaldsarmiento92]

It is very important to have your absolute max price when bidding, so that you can place your max bid, even though the current bidding price is much lower. Ex. current bid is 15, you place a max bid of 30 at the end, and if somebody is doing the same they will usually just up the price 1 or 2 dollars, but you already have a 15 dollar jump on them. I have secured a lot of books from bids that come out of nowhere, even if I am the only bidder with the last 30 seconds. I place the opening bid, then place my max bid, that way last minute bidders have no time to keep bidding upwards.

[@Swagglehaus]

Well said, totally agree!

[@jeffgarrett6898]

I make my max bid and can feel good regardless of the outcome.

[@canadiancomiccorner]

All great tips that I’ve learned and used over my first few years of comic buying. I’ve never personally used this tip, but I’ve heard about finding auction times that end in the middle of the night. Usually you’ll be able to score better prices if auctions end late at night/early morning as most people aren’t up!

[@Swagglehaus]

That’s a great one! I’ve actually noticed that with some of the comics I’ve followed. Def feels like things are less competitive if they end during off hours.

[@zhain0]

As someone with chronic insomnia I can confirm this. A good few of my best buys are from when I'm up at 3am. It can be surprisingly effective being up 3-4 days at a time. Fills the boredom and frustration with something else aswell.

[@GLDn1]

The less eyes on the screen the better. Auctions ending at moments when people are socially gathering can be opportunistic.

[@nelvis_eats1192]

thebest advice !!!! awesome channel !

[@Swagglehaus]

w00t! Glad you found it helpful.

[@scooobydoo27]

Combining 1 & 5 together, you can watch items that have no bidders. Often times, a seller will have auctions going on for 20 or more issues of a title from a certain period. Watch all the ones that you're interested in and if they don't sell, contact the seller and make them an offer for all of the ones you were interested in.

[@Swagglehaus]

Great tip!

[@xXxAmadeuzxXx]

Dropping GEMS 💎

[@Swagglehaus]

Thanks!

[@tyranakok]

That kicked ASS, dude.

[@Whalewraith]

When I'm selling on ebay (not just comics) my pricing is totally dependent on how broke I am at the time. This month I've been very competitive with my offers 😆

[@Swagglehaus]

hehe good point :P

[@nerfherderthree]

What about learning how to grade? That is so, so important when spending any money is knowing what you are getting into. There are a lot scam artists on eBay that not only have incorrectly graded comics but non-disclosed resto and errors (like popped staple or missing pages for instance) that would seriously hinder the value of what you are paying for.

[@Swagglehaus]

Def great points. Gotta be careful with suspicious looking accounts for sure!

[@PasspointComics]

Thanks for info!!!

[@Swagglehaus]

You bet! Thanks for watching

[@jeffmann2020]

Great video!

[@Swagglehaus]

Thanks! Glad you liked it!

[@mikelorenzoart]

All quality points.

[@carnivalhands2884]

I’m guilty of, “tunneling” and not having patience. My ego gets in the way. Great info and even better reminders.

[@Swagglehaus]

Yeah I feel ya, I’m guilty of it too. :P but yeah, always good to remember.

[@canonegro666]

Haha. Been there.

[@tikertiker2]

Great tips! I’ve had instances where the seller only has a buy it now (no best offer). I use the “contact seller” option, and send them a message asking if they would be willing to take $$$ for it. It’s a great way to negotiate even when it’s not technically listed for offers, for the comic you really want. If you both agree, the seller will repost the item with best offer and you send in what you agreed to.

[@whitetiger_ccc]

Cowabunga fam🤙

[@thomaszarobinski]

I always watch before purchasing, it has saved me lots....😁

[@Swagglehaus]

Me too, such a great way to get good deals.

[@gordonmahon6485]

Great tips!!!

[@Swagglehaus]

Glad you like them!

[@stevetaddonio9783]

Good advice!!

[@Swagglehaus]

Thanks!

[@RobRVA]

I use Esnipe for last second bidding. The fees are small and reduces the risk that I screw it up. It also helps if it’s ending at a time when you can’t be watching it for whatever reason. (Work, sleeping etc)

[@andrewlabit]

I look at Comics with investing like I do with any other asset. The deal is there or it isn't - and I completely concur with what you said here. Play the long game. Wait it out. Have patience. If you know the asset and the numbers make sense, jump. If it crosses a threshold that is beyond a reasonable amount you'd purchase it for - leave it. Don't give it to FOMO - also something else you mentioned. :)

[@jacobbornowsky4013]

Thanks so much for this

[@Swagglehaus]

Thanks for watching :)

[@JayCo-]

Great tips for buying comic from eBay

[@richardwaddington2038]

All the tips are true ... Got taught by my LCS everything you have said in the video and its spot on ....EXCEPT ...for that one thing.........I followed a particular comic in the US , highest grade and one of only 7 in the World. I bid more than any one else but the reserve wasnt met , a week later , whilst I was on holiday it sold for less than half my bid . Ive been looking for another for 15 years and im pretty sure I will never find one.

[@jerrythejitterbugcomicbook4098]

Great tips.

[@Swagglehaus]

Thank you!

[@shannonbuff587]

Agree on the tunneling part. I always got a comic selected on standby if I dont win one on an auction.

[@TheCrouchingZebra]

I love this channel.

[@Swagglehaus]

Thanks! Glad you like it :D

[@Nononono36353]

Cool video dude

[@Swagglehaus]

Thanks!

[@oobeeman]

Usually when you really want something, you dont wait for the 3 sec. mark to bid, because people that can afford shit they want, will pay what it is worth, the 3 sec. bid trick is good if you buy a lot and do resale...if not, save the money and get the book you want in a good quality and grade.

[@RetroKong77]

I just got into collecting comics and im learning allot. How do you find out the keys when buying new comics? What should you store comics in. I know a bunch about sports cards but very little about comics. Is it better to buy graded or raw comics?

[@shawndardbarbarbarian5061]

Good lessons sir my experience with comics on eBay is usually bad most the books I get from them are not in good shape and the return policy sucks

[@supermankelly]

I hoped I was the only one who knew to bid at the last second your max amount lol. I rarely miss out. Outbidding someone earlier just notifies them. In most cases people forget about bidding so don't let eBay send them outbid notifications to remind them.

[@Swagglehaus]

hehe, now the secrets out! :P

[@Gettingbetter28]

Enjoyed these tips. QQ - do you recommend subscribing to a comic value site to research e bay prices?

[@thirtyacres7504]

I think another good tip to go with "Don't Tunnel when the bidding is high" is to not go into an "early" bidding war with another bidder. There are buyers out there that will bid to make their bid highest, 5, 4, 3, 2 days before it ends. It creates multiple bidding wars when "I think" that the bidding war should really rev up at 24 hours. Because then, you're just screwing it all up. I understand that human nature and behavior will cause auctions to go nuts. I stay far away from those, because you will usually end up paying a lot more for a book of similar grade and title.

[@Swagglehaus]

Very true, beware the bidding wars! I've made that mistake myself, now I avoid hot bidding items like the plague. I get worried when stuff is going crazy and (like you said) we're not even at the 24 hour mark.

[@williambain3979]

Good tips

[@Swagglehaus]

Thanks!!

[@ericcampbell9553]

Man ur giving all my secrets away haha!

[@Swagglehaus]

haha, my bad my bad! Everyone unwatch quick! :P

[@PRS-qh5jf]

Same lol.

[@kevinwheeler3457]

I buy a lot on EBay. I try to buy multiple books from one seller. Mainly to see if there is combined shipping. Combined Shipping is huge, because of the money you can save. I will save sellers I know that do this, it helps to focus my search.

[@weaslepopper]

Just found this video so excuse the really late comment. I already follow all of these tips,but my new one,which I think everyone should follow,is to look for and take advantage of free shipping. It could easily save you at least $12-#15 if you are buying domestically. While that might not seem like much,just think of I'd you buy 10 grades books. The savings from the shipping alone could get you another decent book.

[@patriothippie5881]

Good advice ... I'm just about to the point where I won't purchase or bid on anything that won't be shipped in a Gemini mailer

[@MajestixComicsClix]

Guilty as charged for tunneling! However, if you feel that bad it will spike even more soon then maybe at times it can be beneficial to slightly overspend since that price would be cheap after the spike.

[@Swagglehaus]

hehe, we all are...and yeah you bring up a good point...sometimes you just need to "bite the bullet" and overpay in order to get your hands on the book that you want. (especially if its a hot one that continues to go up)

[@robertt9342]

I completely disagree. If you are overpaying, you are overpaying and contributing to the problem. Justifying it by saying it’s going to “spike” is sound self control or good fiscal management. However, if you’re “overpaying”, it may just be FMV, and your expectations are not in line with the market.

[@RetroKong77]

Ok thanks to your videos I bought a Moon Knight #1 (2021 Marvel Comics) 1st Print CGC 9.8 I sniped it LOL Can I ask if you where to buy the 2022 Moon Knight which one would you pick? Any ideas? Should i get number 1 or number 8?

[@procreatetips7692]

Buying multiples from the same seller when possible to save on shipping.

[@keithhollingsworth4989]

I’m a bit late to this post but I’m surprised you didn’t talk about ‘sniping’. I reckon nearly all the comics I sell on eBay worth $20 or more are bought through snipes.

[@Swagglehaus]

Great point, def worth mentioning with an updated video.

[@randomshortvids3111]

Hey man, just found your channel, an absolute gem. I am trying to buy lots of golden/silver age comic books and resell individually. Does that business model sound like it could be profitable?

[@Swagglehaus]

Thanks for checking out the channel. Yeah it can totally be profitable. Obviously it takes time and effort to sell the books individually, but thats how comic book dealers have been making money for years :)

[@randomshortvids3111]

@@Swagglehaus Thanks so much. This response is all I need to get started.

[@phil9210]

Geeat tips. Been doing those things for years. I never understood why people put in big bids on auctions with 4 or 5 days left. I guess they dont get it.

[@Swagglehaus]

heh same, yeah it could just be the experience thing, I mean at one point I used to do the same thing :P

[@ACEKING26]

THANKS THE BIDDING GAME IS VERY USEFUL!!!!!!

[@Swagglehaus]

For sure! Thanks for watching.

[@MF-lq5wl]

my greatest purchase deals have been through bidding

[@johnrichmond5342]

My tip is be careful. I sold my set of Secret Wars 1 to 12 all cgc. I felt super terrible but I thought i packed it enough and even wrote fragile on it but when he got it all of them got cracked. I didn't want to sell it but i was going through hard times and I could not return his money cuz I used it to pay a bill

[@richardbeaubien5297]

Being patient may be fine for modern and even silver age comics, but golden age books are in a different class. Some have less the 20 copies in the census. I passed on a few that I thought I would have another chance at later, but no more showed up in the last few years. Who wants to wait forever to maybe get a book they want?

[@albertdale5101]

Honestly shocked more sellers don't make offers to those watching!

[@stormshadowctf]

The term of bidding at last second is called sniping

[@Teardehawkee]

I know all of this......But I'm guilty of jumping the gun on a book I'm bidding on......I'll save this video to remind me to control myself......THANKS!

[@Swagglehaus]

hehe, we are all guilty of it. I"m def not perfect either, but always good to remind youself :P

[@sm0knbarrels938]

What does he have the raw comics displayed on the wall with? A j channel frame?

[@Swagglehaus]

Ikea "mosslanda" picture frame shelf

[@GLDn1]

Here's a tip: The selling fees, shipping fees, and occasional damaged/lost books are the death of a thousand cuts. Flipping on eBay can eat you alive.

[@mrmac3971]

good to know

[@marvelman_comics3265]

Is that an EMMY!?

[@Swagglehaus]

Heh, yeah it is :P. I work in the film industry.

[@marvelman_comics3265]

@@Swagglehaus awesome brother!

[@Swagglehaus]

@@marvelman_comics3265 thanks!

[@pingadol1555]

It amazes me when I see a raw book being bid on at a higher price than a CGC when you know the raw book will never match the CGC in grade. Let a lone the cost to grade/ship/press/clean etc...

[@Swagglehaus]

Yeah it’s totally crazy. I think people just get stubborn with wanting to win an item.

[@gamingwithwise7722]

Thank you very much for the tips I put a book on my wish and 20 minutes later the guy gave a me a 10% discount

[@Swagglehaus]

Woohoo! Glad you found it helpful. Hope you got that book :D

[@kenmason1461]

Sniping that's what last minute biddings called sniping

[@Ellemurry]

That bidding trick does not work all the time because there's no way of telling what the highest bid is, for example a bid could be listed at $20 but the highest bidder could have bid $75 and you would know that unless you keep bidding

[@shannonbuff587]

3 secs lol. You better have a very fast connection and fast computer for that. I dont go under 10 secs

[@mrbiggin747]

Just an FYI for the viewers, if you make an offer and it is accepted you have committed to the purchase. Once an offer has been accepted it's a done deal.

[@jmourgos55]

I've used sniping software that puts in a max bid in ONE second!

[@Swagglehaus]

heard about that one, I bet it helps for sure!

[@ronaldsarmiento92]

Another tip I usually do is, when I find a really good deal I dont place any bids on it, just watch it. You dont want to get into a bidding war with 3 or more days left in the listing, you are just upping the price of the deal, and it will keep going up once a couple of minutes are left, so you are only putting yourself at a loss. I usually leave other guys just bid between themselves and if at the end, I still see a good deal I outbid them with minutes left.

[@Swagglehaus]

Great tip! Thanks for this one.

[@wendelllatimer4146]

I got a different approach when I want something I will place one bid early and if think it's a hundred dollar book I will bid like 89 dollars and let people peck up the bid a lot of times in dollar increments then after 5 6 bids they jump it up to ten dollars and after they see that still haven't overcome my bid they decide to wait to last second and try to sneak s bid in but I'm also watching and when you bid 101 I bid 135 and very rarely do I lose .I may have overpaid but I got what I wanted and I didn't let you lowlife weasels still my book at the last second. Sometimes when I see a deal I like better I will let you overcome the bid just depends on what it is. But this is how you win the bidding war be willing to overpay. I will you another strategy is there use to be a guy that would bid like a quarter on silver age comics and he didn't care if he got outbided because he was bidding on hundreds of books and he did it for many years can you imagine his collection?

[@angeltheone350]

Sorry for this question, but what does "FNV" mean?

[@Swagglehaus]

Was I saying "FMV"? It means Fair Market Value :)

[@thebeerdedone7568]

I've yet to win an item I tunnel on. I was in a bid war on a statue that sold for 30 to 50% under the ebay average listings. I was right there bidding untill about 10 seconds left. I went over $100 and came so close to going farther to win, but I put my phone down and tried to stifle my saltiness haha.

[@Swagglehaus]

Dang, that's a bummer...some of those bids can be really hard to win.

[@thebeerdedone7568]

@@Swagglehaus you said it brother. The better the deal the more intense the auction battle is I've learned

[@SandMarcusJ]

What are your thoughts on buying wholesale comic book lots to resell on ebay?

[@Swagglehaus]

I def think that can yield good opportunities. Some of lots have good stuff in them

[@SandMarcusJ]

@@Swagglehaus I didn't think I clarified, but I was talking about the lots they sell on ebay... haha

[@williams1camron]

I want to collect comics

[@memetoze4291]

I was once in a bidding war with someone to win some spider-man comics and lost

[@Swagglehaus]

Maybe lost for the better :)

[@meet-kd]

Dog don't wait. Just use an auction sniper.Put in your ,max and it'll bid the last 3 second automatically,

[@Swagglehaus]

Didn't know about it, will have to check it out.

[@meet-kd]

@@Swagglehaus you know what that means right? Now you have to snipe me something nice. Basically a rule.

[@Beanmachine91]

ive only seen true believers reprints in shops????????

[@TAMH305]

What about Mercari ? Have u use it?

[@Swagglehaus]

I actually haven't used it before. Have you?

[@TAMH305]

Yes I found it that u can haggle a deal there

[@johnnyburger7409]

There is no benefit to bidding last second. It’s an old idea that everyone does but it does you zero good

[@Swagglehaus]

Iono, I think it can be helpful at times :)

[@wendelllatimer4146]

I just sold a house so I got money what I like to do is on certain high grade books a Hulk 181 or say an Xmen 1. And lets say that bid is around 6 hundred dollars, I might put in a bid for 1700 dollars. And I will let them peck up the bid and even if they overcome my bid I force these other assholes to spend up their money. On the other hand I might win. I probably am still way under the FMV of the book. 😂

[@commodorerook3797]

It's called sniping

[@lindajames4636]

Phone for sale

[@stormshadowctf]

If this is your full time job, you can do this. If not....oh well.

[@mrmac3971]

but shipping is usually 26 dollars lol

[@ACEKING26]

You Look Like Joker

[@Swagglehaus]

Thanks? :-\

[@lambliesdown1]

Hahaha first example, says I don't know what this book is but it's clearly already been searched for....no need to watch the rest of the video haha

[@michaelmuirhead1734]

Always add to watch list more times than not if it is buy now you score a offer I Just got Wolverine Omni JA For £100 +£8 postage it was £115 +£8postage

[@ActionFigureGrader]

Great video!

[@Swagglehaus]

Thanks! Glad you thought so