Bought: $11.84* Sold: $19.99 Fees: $1.80 Profit: $9.95
So, one of the first things I check at VV is the book section for trade paperbacks. Usually to add to my collection, but also more recently to sell. They are usually on sale for $5, and many trades go for more than than. I was there recently and found a whole stack of trades, and quick grabbed them all, and with a 30% off card I managed to get them for about $4 each. Of those trades, four were Star Wars ones - so the bought total here is for four trades, and I made my money back and a profit after just selling one. When the others sell it will just be gravy!
So, some nerdy-ness.
What is a trade paperback? It is what most people would call a graphic novel, though they would be wrong. A trade paperback is a bound (soft or hardcover) collection of comics that were originally published as single issues (floppies) that usually covers a story arc. A graphic novel, on the other hand, is a bound comic collection that was never originally published as a comic, but rather was published only as a bound edition. It is a minor difference, but one worth noting. Prices vary between the two for various reasons.
What makes a trade paperback valuable? The price of trades vary, with the low end being $10 or $12 and the high end being upwards of $50. So, almost any trade is worth getting for under $5. Or at least as a collector that is true. As a reseller, you'd probably want to do some research. For example, it would be difficult to sell really popular ones like Watchmen just because of how popular it is.
What does OOP mean? OOP - out of print - means that the trade had a print run, and it has sold out at the distributor level and has no plans for being reprinted. Almost all trades go OOP at some point. The major two comic comics - DC and Marvel - are notorious for not reprinting trades when they sell out. Unlike most other books, if a print run sells out they just print another one. That is not always the case with trades. That means that a trade is often more valuable if it is OOP, since a person cannot walk into any store and buy it. It becomes even more valuable if the comics that it collects are desirable and expensive, since the trade is the cheaper of the two options if someone wants to read it. As a collector an OOP book is really annoying as it costs more and is harder to find, as a reseller an OOP book just adds value.
Star Wars Trades - worth it? Star Wars comics have had an interesting past, but the short of it is that for a long time Star Wars comics were being published by Dark Horse, and sold relatively well. Then when Disney bought the Star Wars franchise, they acquired the license, and since Disney had previously bought Marvel, they brought Star Wars into the Marvel franchise. So, Dark Horse no longer publishes Star Wars comics and their trades won't be printed again, meaning they will all go OOP eventually. While this sounds like it means there will be money in the Dark Horse trades, this is not always the case. Disney announced that the Marvel Star Wars comics are cannon, while the Dark Horse ones are not. Cannon means that what happens in the comic is considered part of the official story, so some fans are no longer interested in Dark Horse comics since it isn't official canon.
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