Newsletter November 21, 2007

Dear Friends & Fellow Collectors,

This past weekend at the NY National Comic Con, Jason Trobman and I had the opportunity to meet and speak with a lot of people who are either using ComicConnect.com, or are considering it as an option to sell their comics. On a whim, I brought with me a random list of prices realized for comics that have sold on the site. Not a hand-picked "this one, not that one" list, but rather, a "last-minute, heading-out-the-door" list.

The response I received from dealers was incredible. The old-timers, the industry veterans, the young guns... they know these books. Price guides were being pulled out, cross-referenced, and "by jove!" moments were happening all over the floor. One friend and dealer was floored to see a FN- 5.5 Avengers #2 went for $325. "Doesn't a 6.0 FN guide for $201?" Yes it does.

The excitement was contagious. For me personally, there was this validating eureka moment-of-epiphany that this little experiment called www.comicconnect.com is really, truly working. Savvy sellers are realizing the right prices for their books, and ComicConnect is able to provide this marketplace without sellers or buyers having to drown in a deluge of fees.

Sky-high seller premium fees? A thing of the past.
Buyer premiums? Extinct.
Gallery fees? Gone.
Listing fees? B-bye.

On the flipside, buyers are sometimes able to snag incredible deals. Some sellers are in a hurry to sell, and just happy to move their comics. That's the miracle of www.comicconnect.com. The prices are entirely dictated by the members, and the deals that are being consummated vary from one comic book to the next. I've been telling dealers not to just look at the site as another sales channel to compliment their business, but also to use the site to acquire key books for their inventory. The "Make Offer" feature is there on "Fixed Price / Buy It" items because of the age old wisdom that "it never hurts to ask".

I've been getting a lot of nice emails these days from collectors applauding the fact that ComicConnect has brought more competition to the marketplace. But the fact of the matter is that ComicConnect is working because you're the ones making it work. To all you early-adapters, you should give yourselves a pat on the back for making this happen.

The biggest challenge for the staff at ComicConnect is just keeping up, and providing the infrastructure to continue growing the comic book market. Most dealers neither have the time nor the budget to devote to serious IT and web-development, nor does it make sense for them to do so. By supporting this marketplace with your bids and your comic listings, and by having everyone at the table, we've somehow created a collective where everyone benefits, and laissez-faire free market economics are able to thrive.

At the beginning of this letter, I mentioned a list Jason and I brought around at last weekend's comic convention. We've posted that same list below for you to review, and draw from it your own conclusions. If you like what you see, and if you want to get started selling on ComicConnect, CALL ME. Call me sooner, rather than later. I will be back in the office Monday the 26th after the Thanksgiving holiday. If you can, poke around this weekend and try to get some comics listed. It's very, very easy, and if you have any trouble, it's even easier over the phone.

Sincerely,

Ben Smith
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Vice President
ComicConnect, Corp.
873 Broadway, Suite 201
New York, NY 10003
Ph: 212.895.3999
Fx: 212.260.4304
www.comicconnect.com
www.showoffmycomics.com
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*Some CGC / PGX annotations may not have been included in Comments.

SOLD! 25 SAMPLE SALES $1,000 - $30,000 RANGE

ComicConnect.com is now accepting listings for its February 24th - March 8th 2008 EVENT AUCTION.

This Event Auction gives ComicConnect members the ability to sell their comics in a coordinated and highly promoted auction. One of the biggest benefits of a ComicConnect Event Auction is that your comics will be highlighted in tandem with other prominent items, all with ending times during that same weekend.

We're already in talks with several consignors with incredibly key books for this auction, and we're excited to say that the weekend of March 7th & 8th will certainly make for an incredible EVENT in the comic industry, and a big one at that!

ComicConnect membership is FREE, with no listing fees and a low 10% commission. There are no buyer's premiums, and sellers receive the full 90% of the net for items they sell. If you've got a lot of great comics, and want to talk to speak with a member of the ComicConnect staff on the phone, call 212.895.3999 and ask for Jason Trobman, Ben Smith or Vincent Zurzolo. For more info and to put your comics up for auction, visit comicconnect.com.
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Who is excited for the upcoming Iron Man movie? We are! We are!

Early appearances of Iron Man are red-hot right now, and the market has seen a huge jump in price on Tales of Suspense #39 just since this summer. Here is an example of an early appearance from Tales of Suspense #55, where Iron Man faces off against his arch-nemesis, Mandarin!

http://www.showoffmycomics.com/?lid=849

BATCH BIDDING IMPLEMENTED: Buyers may now submit multiple bids and offers with a simple review/confirm batch bid submission feature. Simply enter your offer/bid amounts and then click the Place All Bids button on the top right of the listings.

MORE LEGIBLE LISTINGS: We tidied things up a bit with the format of how information is presented in search results and member nav categories such as Bids/Offers, Watching, Won/Purchased, Selling, etc.

CREDIT CARD VERIFICATION: Although it's been a very rare occurrence, there were a couple instances early on with non-paying bidders, and comics had to be returned to the seller. In order to protect ComicConnect sellers and buyers, all members will be required to have a credit card on file to transact on the site (similar to eBay & other auction sites). This is simply a precautionary measure to weed out the deadbeats and keep legitimate members from having their time wasted. For actual purchases, other payment methods may be chosen at the time of checkout.

We've also redesigned some of the navigation buttons and Advanced Search -- for that "James Bond preferred site of choice" look. Please check it out and give us your thoughts. Thanks again for everyone's support, and please keep those listings, bids and offers coming! The site is a success because you're the ones who are making it a success, so keep spreading the good word!
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