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Links Project Classifieds Guide

Buyer's Tips [How to submit]

  1. Sellers are usually willing to accept an offer that is reasonable.
  2. The usual best times to buy 2000AD progs are when people: are moving to another home or country, short of storage space, had given up the hobby, have used it as barbecue fuel, and/or desperately need the cash. Randomly, very few sellers might even offer the whole lot gratis, with the cost of postage of course.
  3. Always inquire closely on the item that is being sold. In other words, if you need more information, simply send the seller a question.
  4. If you suddenly changed your mind on a particular item, please let the seller know in a polite, timely manner.
  5. Discuss proper shipping terms with the seller. Insurance is optional for buyers but recommended. Take these trade-offs into account:
  6. Send cash at your discretion. Unless it's someone that's reputable, you're better off with a payment that can actually be verified. But if the seller insists on cash only, then take caution. For security, use a business security envelope with a dark interior print or wrap cash in a small envelope and seal it before placing it in the main envelope to be sent. It should be well concealed.
  7. If you come upon a listing that states, "Do not wish to split," that usually means the seller does not want to divide the collection or sell any issues individually.
  8. If currency is a problem for you, Wakefield Carter provides a pounds-to-dollars and dollars-to-pounds cheque service.

Seller's Tips [How to submit]

  1. Be brief on the items you're attempting to sell. Clearly describe the item or items in question and inform if you will ship internationally or not. Also, if you have a want list already posted, you might want to indicate if you are trading. As with contact information, the e-mail address used to send the listing will be considered the default, unless you specify an alternative address. You may include a phone or fax number although it is not required.
  2. To sell your items, you will need to submit the following information:
  3. Buyers are always looking for a good deal on most common and some rare items. Unless it's really rare merchandise, charging unreasonable prices is probably not a good idea.
  4. If more than one person wants a particular item, try using some of the online auction services. It should resolve the problem of who gets the item. See Auction Tips.
  5. Current price guides may not always be accurate enough to reflect the true value of a particular prog or merchandise. Others may have the potential of being biased such as Wizard magazine. Hence, it is not suggested to rely heavily on price guides for pricing information.
  6. Avoid excessive "make offer" messages. It may just discourage the potential buyer and yourself.
  7. If possible, offering several convenient methods of payment and currency options is quite helpful. This may include personal checks/cheques, cash, money order, international money order, and bank draft. However, the last two bolded items are costly and isn't considered an option for many buyers. As many transactions take place between North America and the UK, most sellers (in the UK and elsewhere) prefer to accept US dollars in the form of cash.
  8. Postage rates are usually determined by total weight and requested shipping method (air or surface mail).

Auction Tips

Both buying and selling info above would apply to online auctions as well.

Selling

  1. eBay is the largest auction site and always has lots of Judge Dredd and Dan Dare buyers as well as sellers. However, it's not free. The best free site is Yahoo!. If the item is fairly common and you know how much it is worth then use Yahoo! If the item is rare then use eBay. You may get a better price.
  2. When listing your item, include plenty of information about the item and describe it fully (including condition). It is in your own interests to avoid having to answer the same question to several potential bidders (who will not bid until the receive an answer).
  3. Do not use reserve pricing without a good reason. You can always relist an item with a lower price if it doesn't sell first time around. High, demanding reserve prices may turn away potential bidders.
  4. If possible, include a scanned image of the merchandise in question. But keep the resolution small enough to minimize the download time for the bidder.
  5. Sell a few low value items to build up your feedback rating before trying to sell high value merchandise.
  6. If possible be prepared to accept personal cheques and to ship internationally. You are allowed to wait for cheques to clear before shipping and to charge the full shipping cost to the buyer.
  7. Auctions are not a place to denounce or criticize the Judge Dredd film.

Buying

  1. Don't get into a bidding war unless the auction is minutes away from closing. It's often best to place a low bid which doesn't outbid the opposition but mean the auction tracks the item for you. Don't forget to return when the auction is about to expire.
  2. Do not assume that the seller or the other bidders know how much the item is worth. Not every item is worth the starting price. Many items are not worth the hammer (ending) price.
  3. Often, if an item fetches a high price, other sellers will then list the same item with high starting prices. Later, the price will come back down once all the most desperate collectors have bought the item.
  4. If you discover a badly described item you may be able to buy it at a low price and then resell for more simply because of a better description. Examples of these are items where Dredd is spelt Dread or Dred and Eagle annuals which don't mention Dan Dare.
  5. Be guided by the seller's feedback rating. Someone with feedback in single figures listing an item with a 3 figure price tag should make you wary.
  6. Don't get upset if someone outbids you at the last minute (aka sniping). This is one of the keys to winning auctions. If you want the item so badly that you don't want to risk being sniped then place a large maxbid in the first place.
  7. Never place a maxbid which is more than you are prepared to pay for the item. If you get it for less, then that's a bonus.
  8. Don't forget to take shipping charges into account when you bid, especially on international purchases.

Useful Links

rec.arts.comics.marketplace FAQ. Although a newsgroup FAQ, site provides further detailed info on buying and selling comics on the Web.
Universal Currency Convertor. Up-to-date currency exchanges. Recommended use for international transactions.

Terms and Equivalence

"Two nations separated only by a common language"
UK USA
cheque check (payment)
despatch deliver or send
dosh dollars and cash
post mail
postage and packing (p&p) shipping and handling (s&h)
quid buck
ring (on the phone) call (on the phone)
Royal Mail United States Postal Service (USPS)
P.M. Tony Blair Pres. Bill Clinton
Current country codes used on Classifieds
AU Australia
CA Canada
DE Germany
IE Ireland (aka Eire)
IT Italy
NO Norway
SG Singapore
UK United Kingdom (aka Great Britain)
USA United States of America
ZA South Africa

More abbreviated country codes: Internet Search Stations - Country Abbreviations

Condition and Pricing

2000AD. Considering 2000AD was printed on cheap, smudgy newsprint during the late 70s and late 80s, it is often difficult to perceive the precise condition of a single prog. Likewise, an absolutely pristine, near mint prog for sale is impossible to find these days. It would at least be possible for today's much improved printed matter though. Therefore, when buying and selling 2000AD progs (especially prior to prog 520) you should probably be a little more lenient than with glossy cover mags. With exceptions for several unique progs, most 2000ADs are not worth very much. Many issues from this era should be priced at the equivalence of 50p-£1 or between $.25 to $1 each.

For progs published in the early 90s to 1996, prices can fall between 60p-£2 or $.50 to $2, depending on how desperate you are. From late 1997 and on, prices can range from $.90-$3 on a near mint copy. The values of the infamous Prog 1066 and millennium special Prog 2000 would vary indefinitely. Please treat this as a rough guide and not a final solution to your pricing needs.

Grading Chart adapted from Vault Comics and Compal Comics. As a seller, if you do not grade your comics then the buyer will assume they are at least VG, with most being FN or better.

Code Grade Description
M Mint Perfect in every way, as printed (minted), rather than as delivered/bought. Shiny staples. No manufacturing defects. No creases. An extremely rare grade.
NM Near Mint Near perfect with only one or two very minor flaws present due to handling or printing/binding process. Permissable defects: slight stress by staples; minute corner creases; small binding or printing faults.
VF Very Fine A very presentable copy with good eye appeal. Accumulation of very minor defects / light paper discoloration, with very minimal surface wear. Permissable defects: small corner creasing; very minor corner, edge, or spine wear; slight staple discolouration; up to half and inch (13mm) light cover crease.
FN Fine Defects more apparent, but still presentable. Lightly soiled, edge wear, spine stress & creases noticeable at arms length. Average copy, read a few times.
VG Very Good Slightly below average copy. May have combination of creases & small tears or small piece missing, tanning pages - general soiled copy but still intact. Permissable defects: very small missing corner pieces, minor tape repair; crosswords and mail coupons filled out.
G Good A complete & intact, but more heavily soiled copy, with multiple defects. Permissable defects: bad creases; rusty staples; small pieces may be missing; interior pages may be tanned but not brittle.
FR Fair Worn copy with heavy multiple defects and small to moderate pieces missing. May have dry (brittle) paper at edges.
PR Poor Very worn with possibly missing page or pages / panels.May have low paper quality - usually brittle interior paper / covers.

Shipping Costs

If you have any Classifieds tips you would like to share for this guide or if anything needs to be elaborated upon, please e-mail: linksproject@2000ad.nu.

Links

2000AD Links Project Classifieds
2000AD Links Project Trading Post

The Links Project Classifieds Guide was last refined by Wakefield on 2.13.2001 AD.