Many have wondered how if it would ever be possible, but at last I have figured out how to use the "Internet" to sell things. I call it "d-commerce", after of course myself. To the victor go the spoils, after all.You may expect an exhaustive account of how I was able to plumb the binary depths of the Information Superhighway later, but for now let's concentrate on this new, exciting invention: I suggest you immediately test it out by buying things from me.
But what to buy? Allow me to make three suggestions:
1) DHARBIN #1
My first ever minicomic, done in a terrible rush before SPX 2008. I have reprinted this badboy with some spiffy cardstock covers and a slightly altered design (not to mention altered price. Each one comes with an original sketch on the first page, an example of which you can see above. Not all sketches will be satisfactory, but some will be exemplary. Five bucks apiece, plus another THREE if you need it mailed to you. There is a greater chance of exemplary sketches for mailed copies, as I feel terrible about this higher price. But not that terrible.
2) SUPERIOR SHOWCASE #3Good ole Chris Pitzer published me for the first time ever in his esteemed anthology. Fortunately this issue also includes Jim Rugg, Brian Maruca, Laura Park, and a cover by Roger Langridge, so even if you tear my 12-page story out and line your parakeet cage with it, you'll still be getting an excellent value at just $3. I encourage you to buy this with DHARBIN #1, giving you more for your $3 shipping charge.
3) 26 CARTOONISTS I HAVE RECENTLY MET AND LIKED PRINTThis will look excellent on your wall, trust me. It's a signed and numbered edition of 100, 11" x 14" print of a surprisingly popular thing I drew a few months ago. I've put it on fancy-dan paper to make it seem even more important. Best of all, it's only $5, which is a steal; especially compared with the high price of my mini. I'll ship it to you for another $3, rolled up in a little tube.
If you would like any or all of these things, drop me an e-mail at dusty{at}dharbin{dot}com, and we'll work it out. I ship the books in expensive bubble-wrap envelopes that I bought for just this purpose. If you live around Charlotte somewhere, let's do "the deal" in person, and save me that time and you that money.
8 comments:
Wow, $5 shipping? That seems like a lot! For the poster it makes sense because of the tube but how are you sending the mini? I usually use a plain large size envelope taped tightly around the comic, or I put the comic in a bag and board and send it in a large envelope, and it's usually fine (and cheaper!).
That does seem like a lot, doesn't it Liz? I'm new to this though. I bought these fancy-dan padded envelopes, which were like $1.20 apiece. The comic itself is 7" x 8.5", so it's a little biggish. Maybe I should save the nice envelopes for when I ship multiple copies to a store or something, and just ship them between pieces of chipboard?
Hey Dustin, save me a copy for when I get back to Charlotte!
Yeah, I have those envelopes too, and I do usually save them for large orders that really need the padding. Usually I find that 1-5 comics are fine in either the bag n' board within a larger envelope or even just on their own in the envelope, so long as it's a snug fit. I got a big pack of large envelopes at a paper store and it came out to about 25 cents per envelope. The bags n' boards probably won't set you back too much either, especially since you work in a comic shop!
I only mention this because I think some people may be unwilling to pay a total of $10 for a minicomic (as great as I'm sure it is). A helpful tool (if you know how much the comic weighs) is the USPS website. You can enter a weight and what type of packaging it's in and get a nice, precise figure of how much it'll cost to ship:
http://ircalc.usps.gov/default.aspx
I also make a habit of saving boxes and pieces of cardboard to use later on for shipping, which helps.
And don't forget about the modern marvel that is media mail for saving some money on shipping the larger orders!
I have definitely been amassing shipping materials. I sent a couple of comics out today in regular envelopes, so we'll see how that works. Hey Neil Bramlette--if you're listening, your comic is on the way. Let me know how it looks when you get it!
I think I will halve my shipping cost from here on out. I sent a bubbly package to Germany today and IT was only $5 to ship. Of course, it will probably get there in January.
I'll let you know when it gets here, but I'm guessing it will look dead sexy.
Huh. I should have just waited a couple of hours. It was in the mail when I got home and it arived unscathed. I'd definately recomend using backer boards/cardboard pieces that are larger than the comic and sandwich the comic in between, though. It looks like you had some extra room in that envelope so it shouldn't be a problem. It's always the corners that get bent when I have comics delivered.
Also, thanks for the sketch. There's a story behind the request. When my son was 6 I asked him some questions about the tooth fairy as we anticipated her visit later that night. This is what he said.
"The tooth fairy is a woman with a really big mouth. She collects children's teeth so she can put the teeth in her mouth. She has hundreds of teeth jammed in there. The ‘bad’ teeth she collects are sold to be crushed and turned into the white keys on pianos.”
I shared the story on the Greg Ruth forum and we tunred it into an art project with this premis: Parents portray the idea of the Tooth Fairy as something magical and giving, but what if in reality, it wasn’t that delightful? What if the Tooth Fairy’s motives were less benevolent and more driven by greed, vanity, compulsion, ……or worse?
You seemed to pick up on that theme subconsciously, Dusty, since all I asked for was a Tooth Fairy. That's soooo wierd!
Anyway, people can see your sketch (and my own version) on CAF.
http://qurls.com?i=44554
Okay Liz, I have officially dropped my shipping charge across the board to $3, regardless of location within the lower 48 states. Thanks for your advice! I think you're absolutely right--THIS time.
Neil, if there's ANYthing I can pick up on subconsciously, it's tooth-related ideas. That's kinda my thing.
Post a Comment