How to Budget Money During a Comic Book Convention

Comic book conventions are a great way to find all those missing issues in your collection as well as some neat items you may have never seen before. Here are some ideas on how to get the most for your money at a comic book convention.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Access to a comic book convention
• Internet access
• Money
• List of wanted items

1. Decide on how much money you will spend at the comic book convention and resolve to stick to that budget. Bring that amount with you to the show in cash, as not every seller at the show will accept a check or charge card. The convention will probably have an ATM, but ATM's at convention halls almost always charge a fee for withdrawing cash.

2. Bring a list of those comic books, magazines and other collectible items you most want to find. Prioritize the list as best you can so that you can buy those items you want the most.

3. Decide on the minimum acceptable condition of the comic book you want. If you want a classic older issue that is hard to find, can you accept a copy that is graded Very Good as opposed to one that is Fine? You can purchase lower grade books for much less than higher grade books, but it is ultimately up to you to decide what condition will work best for you.

4. Check out auction sites such as eBay to see what the items you want are typically selling for. This will help you to determine a fair price that you can expect to pay for the item. Keep in mind that eBay sellers can often sell cheaper than sellers at comic book conventions as they don’t have the high overhead costs of a convention, but the Internet can’t offer you the opportunity to hold the item you want in your hand to check out before you buy it.

5. Shop around! Don’t always buy the first copy of a wanted comic book that you come across. There are multiple sellers at comic book conventions and many of them will have the same comics for sale. There may be several dollars difference in the price of a comic available from different sellers, even for comics in the same condition.

6. Negotiate a discount when possible, especially if you are buying multiple items from a single seller. Once you have decided that a particular seller has the best prices for the items you want, see what the total price would be for that purchase. Make the seller a counter offer, one that is not so low that is insulting to him but one that will allow you to buy a few more items from the next seller. The more money you are spending, the more sellers are willing to negotiate price.

Tips & Warnings

• If possible, bring a sack lunch with you to the convention. Buying meals at a convention center is expensive and the money you save on food can be put towards more comic books and collectibles.
• Learn from the convention. Items that you thought would be readily available may turn out to be rarer than you thought. Keep that in mind for your next comic book convention.
• If you are looking for an extremely rare item, such as an older toy or collectible, you may want to snatch it up at the first place you see it, otherwise another buyer may grab it while you shop around elsewhere for it in vain.
• Always fully examine any item before buying it. Ask to remove comic books from their Mylar sleeves to inspect them. A seller who does not want to let you examine an item before purchase probably has a reason for it.
• Be careful when inspecting items for purchase. Break it (or rip it or bend it or smudge it) and you bought it!