How do you search for comic book deals on E-bay?  Do you have a method?  In this post I want to share a simple technique that can help you score some significant discounts.

I was reminded of this when I was looking over one of the Members Only RSS feeds for Iron Man #1. One book stood out with a lower price than expected. When I looked at the listing I noticed that the seller had put this book under the “superman” category on E-bay.  It brings up the point, do you do a focused search or a broad search?

If you are only doing a focused search you may be missing out on some great deals.  Think about it.  Let’s say you are searching for a Superman #233 comic book and you only look in the Superman category.  First, a lot of knowledgeable collectors are probably doing the same thing.  Also, the person selling the book is probably knowledgeable too since they knew enough and took the time to list the book in the correct category. Large number of bidders combined with smart seller = higher final value.

Now, think about a broad search.  This could be over all of E-bay or just the comic book section as a whole.  You stand to gain in two ways.  First, less people may be doing a broad search.   Second, the person listing the book probably doesn’t know what they are doing since they listed the book incorrectly.  Less bidders + inexperienced seller = less final value.  If you are lucky, you may find something like the Iron Man #1.

The lesson here is think outside the box.  Sometimes being less precise could snag you a great deal!