Minor question... • Collecting General • The Acaeum

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Minor question...
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Zenfinite
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:29 am

Hey guys. Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, but it seemed general enough to me. I'm looking at my D&D bookcase here, and I have about 60 different copies of Dragon magazine, spreading from a low of 66 to a high of 266. Honestly, they are just taking up space as I don't really read them. I think I'm just going to put them up on eBay.

My question would be how should I go about doing this? Should I make one huge auction? Split them up into lots of 20? 10? 5? Sell them individually? (even though that would probably be my last resort as that's a LOT of auctions for me) What do you guys think? You've had way more experience than me with this sort of thing. I am thinking 5 or 10 mag lots personally, in order, would be the best bet, but please, give me your opinion. Thanks for your time I appreciate it.

Zen

P.S. I WILL however be keeping my NM #148 with the Deck of Many Things intact and uncut. Love that one.

killjoy32
Grandstanding Collector

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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:38 am

hey zen

if it was me i would sell them in runs of 5-10 like you said but in number order too, but i would leave the options open for combined postage, so that someone may wish to opt for more than one batch if you know what i mean. i think you would have better luck that one that one big haul.

Al

Are we nearly there yet?

JohnGaunt
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:53 am

My preference as a buyer would be for smaller lots of 5 - 10. I have bought most of my Dragons from lots of 5 - 10 issues.

You could just sell 95 and 96 to me and sell the rest in a big lot.

Postage will be expensive, as the US Postal Service will not ship magazines via Media Mail. Your local post office may let them slip by, but be prepared to charge and be charged a lot for shipping.

Condition (completeness, cover wear, presence of writing, price-sticker residue) is important.

Mars
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:07 pm

The Dragons magazines themselves will probably sell for much less than the shipping - the issues you have are pretty much a tough sell. I would probably sell them in lots of 10 to reduce the number of auctions.

Deadlord
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:23 pm

I have the same issue, but my run is from 30 or so up.
I intend to use mine to line the table when my son and I cast molds. That way we don't get any plaster on the table.

If you hit a Rowsdower, you get to keep it.

benjoshua
Long-Winded Collector
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:13 pm

JohnGaunt wrote:Postage will be expensive, as the US Postal Service will not ship magazines via Media Mail.

Oooo! I learned something! But on further exploration, I have found that lots of people ship magazines at the "Bound Printed Matter" rate even though that is no longer available to individuals. It turns out that some Postal clerks are not aware of this.

I have heard that UPS and FEDEX have better rates than the post office for anything you want to send that weighing over 10 pounds.

Of course, I rarely ship magazines, so it's not an issue for me.

Truth is worth finding and life is too short to work for money.

FormCritic
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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 1:52 am

Deadlord39 wrote:I have the same issue, but my run is from 30 or so up.
I intend to use mine to line the table when my son and I cast molds. That way we don't get any plaster on the table.

OK, that's just mean. :cry:

You aren't serious, are you?

"But I have watched the dragons come, fire-eyed, across the world."

aia
Long-Winded Collector
Valuation Board
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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 3:13 am

well, my approach would be to try to sell them here before going on ebay...

i am pretty sure that more than one member has some lacks in their collections...

then i would stick to the general (and wise) rule to use small lots!

ciaooo

Deadlord
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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 7:13 am

I'm dead serious, Form. Other than the low issues, Dragons are pretty much useless. No one wants them.....

If you hit a Rowsdower, you get to keep it.

JohnGaunt
Sage Collector

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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 8:51 am

Deadlord39 wrote:I'm dead serious, Form. Other than the low issues, Dragons are pretty much useless. No one wants them.....

No one wants to pay for shipping. Why pay a reasonable price for a magazine and then the same amount for shipping? Shoot, I want 60, 62, 95, and 96. Beyond being complete and not water-damaged, their condition doesn't matter. However, I am currently unwilling pay $5 plus shipping for any of those issues, which is what I must do to get them as singles.

If higher Dragon issues are useless, then sell them as a large lot on eBay. Someone will buy the lot if the starting bid is low enough. If your shipping and handling are covered, then you haven't lost any money on the deal. Use something non-collectible like newpaper or old Better Homes and Gardens to line your table!

Badmike
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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 9:05 am

JohnGaunt wrote:No one wants to pay for shipping. Why pay a reasonable price for a magazine and then the same amount for shipping? Shoot, I want 60, 62, 95, and 96. Beyond being complete and not water-damaged, their condition doesn't matter. However, I am currently unwilling pay $5 plus shipping for any of those issues, which is what I must do to get them as singles.

If higher Dragon issues are useless, then sell them as a large lot on eBay. Someone will buy the lot if the starting bid is low enough. If your shipping and handling are covered, then you haven't lost any money on the deal. Use something non-collectible like newpaper or old Better Homes and Gardens to line your table!

Honestly I sell individual Dragon magazines pretty well, even at $4-$5 shipping for single issues. I would buy as many as I could get my hands on for $1 apiece, except for what JohnGaunt and others mention: shipping. If I buy them for a buck apiece and sell them for $5-$7 each, it works out. However, if you factor in enormous shipping (a stack of these is pretty darn heavy) the profit margin slips enough to not make it worth my time. I'm left to find issues as I can at local Half Price Books (they sell any magazine past 2006 for $1 each) or from people face to face.

But if you have a large collection, and we can get around the shipping issue, and they are in Excellent or better condition, let me know, I'm in the market.....

Mike B.

"THE MORE YOU THINK ABOUT WHY i DONE WHAT i DONE THE MORE i LAUGH" Cougar
"The Acaeum hates fun" Sir Allen
"I had a collecting emergency" Nogrod
Co-founder of the North Texas RPG Con
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killjoy32
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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:12 am

AND MIKE YOU NEED TO LOOK AT YOUR INBOX TOO!!!!

Are we nearly there yet?

Cushionsnbeans
JG Valuation Board

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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 11:23 am

Deadlord39 wrote:I have the same issue, but my run is from 30 or so up.
I intend to use mine to line the table when my son and I cast molds. That way we don't get any plaster on the table.

Hirst arts???

Deadlord
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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 8:44 pm

Hirst Arts. I bought a huge bag of gypsum to practice on, and the kid and myself have been ripping out the blocks. Little tyke built and painted his own inn! He was all fired up about it; he's in the middle of playing N1 and he's staying at the inn, so he wanted to make one for us to use. Pretty savvy for a 6 year old.
I tried giving him a few Drags to read, but he's totally uninterested. He's weird; he loves the JG stuff, since it has a lot of reading and few pics, but he doesn't like the RPG items with lots of pics and little reading. No question he's a DM-in-training.
There are a few Dragons worth a bit (100, the Deck of many things issue, etc) but the nulk are worthless. If anyone here is in need of them, I'd be happy to sell the common issues for $1 apiece, plus media mail shipping. Otherwise I might trade them in at our local bookstore; they will give me $1-2 credit for each issue. I'd rather they go to a collector.........

If you hit a Rowsdower, you get to keep it.

Cushionsnbeans
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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2007 2:23 am

Love the Hirst arts stuff - Messy plaster alchemy,makes me feel like a kid again.

Deadlord
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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2007 11:42 am

The molds are a tad pricey, but they seem to hold up well.

If you hit a Rowsdower, you get to keep it.

copycat
Sage Collector

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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:16 pm

I could so use a Dragon with a Deck of Many Things. Never had one, except the crappy printout from the Archive. Just not the same.

Those who can, don't. Those who should not, do.

gyg
Verbose Collector

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Location: UK

Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:19 pm

serleran wrote:I could so use a Dragon with a Deck of Many Things. Never had one, except the crappy printout from the Archive. Just not the same.

Gotta be worth asking - UK so shipping may be an issue

** expired/removed eBay auction **

You can never have too much of something you didn't need in the first place.

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