What It's About
A mechanical design engineer by day... superhero comic book seller by night.
Words of Wisdom
Ali says that if you’re on the fence about starting a resale business, then just start with one item. That will be the toughest thing to sell, but it will open the floodgates. You will need to find a good balance between collecting and selling based on your personal financial needs.
Fun Fact
Action Comics 1, which introduced Superman in 1939, is the holy grail of comics and sold in April 2021 for $3.25 million. Amazing Fantasy 15 from 1962 with the first appearance of Spider-Man sold in September 2021 for $3.6 million. These comics weren’t nearly as hot twenty years ago, when you could have purchased them for between $50,0000 and $150,000.
Notes from Chris
Episode 2005
Ali Subz remembers sitting on the stoop with a friend, looking at his buddy’s Marvel cards and comic books. At the age of just 6 years old, he was immediately hooked … and comics became his passion. One problem: money was tight, so when Ali went out shopping with his parents, he always looked for comics with 99 cents on the cover….because $1.99 was too expensive for his family. He dreamed of having his own comic book store someday so he could read all the comics he wanted. Years later, as a teen in the early 2000s, Ali would go to local conventions with twenty bucks he’d earned by doing chores. Money was still tight, but luckily, $20 went a long way back then. Ali scoured the 50 cent and dollar bins at these conventions, buying anything that caught his eye. Little did he know that a lot of what he was buying would be worth plenty of money later on. After college, Ali went to work as a Mechanical Design Engineer. The lingering student loans were heavy on his mind. He decided to sell his personal collection of comics to pay them down and ended up raising almost double what he needed. That was the moment he started SubZero Comics. Ali realized he could have his dream of owning a comic book store—in a way—and keep the day job he liked and still needed. And since it was possible to sell online, Ali didn’t need to invest in a brick and mortar store. An online store would do just fine. Profits can vary, but on average he earns between $10,000 to $20,000 in extra cash each year. Now, he’s living his childhood dream and making money on the side. It’s a good feeling. For Ali, the best part of owning SubZero Comics is getting to meet people and hearing their stories. The business has helped Ali interact with people more, get out of his shell, and be more social. It feels like he’s getting to know the person through the comics they love. Going forward, Ali is happy to just keep on hustling and hoping for the best.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Learn more about Ali and his comic reselling business at his website, SubZeroComics.com/.
- Mother Of Five Sells Pretty Old Books: When a stay at home mom hopes to avoid returning to full-time work outside the home, she starts selling vintage books packaged by color—and her dream becomes more than a pigment of her imagination.
- Avid Reader Sells Used Books On Instagram: An IT analyst makes page-turning profits after building a dedicated audience of book enthusiasts. You can make money without a large following!
- Flipping 101: The College Textbook Edition: A college student with a new family to support reads between the lines and turns a $20 used textbook into almost $70,000 within two years. This episode will flip your lid!
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Resources
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Quote of the Day
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