# Comic back-issue room for Whatnot shows and eBay

> Long boxes, bags and boards, an overhead phone and board-stiffened mailers for selling back issues live in the evening and on eBay in between.

- Built for: You hold a few thousand bagged back issues, from 2000 AD progs to American keys, run two or three Whatnot shows a week and sell slower runs on eBay, posting 20 to 80 orders a week from a spare room.
- Platforms: Whatnot, eBay
- Orders a week: 20–80
- Space: Spare bedroom
- Kit total: £354 to £585
- Running cost: £140 to £226 (Consumables at 50 orders a week)
- Updated 6 October 2026

A comic is cheap to post, and a spine roll or a bent corner drops a book a grade.

You sell volume live in cheap bin-style lots and list keys and complete runs on eBay. One set of long boxes stocks both, provided each book has a code and a fixed place.

## The kit

- ×3 **[Comic bags and boards, 100 pack](https://sellersetups.com/product/comic-bags-boards)** (£14 to £22): Buyers expect a comic to arrive bagged and boarded. The board stops spine rolls and bent corners in the post; the bag keeps damp out.
- ×4 **[Comic long box](https://sellersetups.com/product/comic-long-box)** (£15 to £25): Stores issues upright so spines stay straight. Sort by title and number and you find a sold issue in seconds.
- **[5-tier steel shelving, 180 cm](https://sellersetups.com/product/shelving-unit)** (£40 to £70): Floor space runs out before height does. Number the shelves and each item gets an address you can pick from.
- **[Overhead phone arm](https://sellersetups.com/product/overhead-phone-arm)** (£20 to £35): Card and small-item shows sell on the shot of your hands. An overhead arm holds the phone steady and out of your way while you open packs.
- **[Two LED video panels with stands](https://sellersetups.com/product/led-panel-pair)** (£45 to £75): Holo cards, foiled boxes and glossy packaging reflect a ring light straight back at the camera. With two panels angled in from each side, the glare falls outside the frame.
- **[Clip-on wireless phone mic](https://sellersetups.com/product/wireless-phone-mic)** (£25 to £45): Viewers leave a show when they can't hear you. A clip-on mic keeps your voice level while you reach for stock.
- **[Large Letter postal boxes, 50 pack](https://sellersetups.com/product/large-letter-boxes)** (£14 to £22): A slim box under 25 mm deep protects a small item better than an envelope and can still go at Large Letter postage. Measure the packed box before you buy postage.
- **[Small single-wall boxes, 25 pack](https://sellersetups.com/product/single-wall-boxes)** (£8 to £14): Use these for boxed toys and beauty sets that a padded bag would crush, when double-wall board costs more than you need.
- **[MUNBYN thermal label printer](https://sellersetups.com/product/munbyn-thermal-printer)** (£55 to £85): It takes the standard 100 x 150 mm labels that eBay, Vinted and Whatnot all generate, and generic labels work, so the running cost stays low.
- **[100 x 150 mm thermal labels, 500 fanfold](https://sellersetups.com/product/thermal-labels-fanfold)** (£12 to £18): Fanfold stacks feed flat behind the printer and hold more labels than a roll. 100 x 150 mm matches the label size UK couriers and marketplaces print.
- **[40 x 30 mm thermal labels, 1,000 roll](https://sellersetups.com/product/thermal-labels-sku)** (£8 to £12): Prints a stock code or a short note on a bag, a bin or a toploader sleeve. It needs a printer that accepts narrow rolls, so check the minimum label width before you buy.
- **[30 kg digital postal scale](https://sellersetups.com/product/parcel-scale-30kg)** (£12 to £20): Covers the parcels most home sellers ship, up to 30 kg. Choose it when the 40 kg scale is out of stock.
- **[Tape dispenser gun](https://sellersetups.com/product/tape-gun)** (£8 to £14): Once you ship more than a handful of boxes a week, a tape gun saves minutes on every session and stops tape ends sticking to themselves.
- **[Brown packing tape, 48 mm x 66 m, 6 rolls](https://sellersetups.com/product/brown-packing-tape)** (£5 to £9): 48 mm is the width tape guns take. Six rolls last a shop sending a few boxes a week for a few months.

## How to lay it out

### Long boxes on shelves, off the floor

Rack the long boxes on a shelving unit, labelled on the end by title and issue range. Damp paper warps, so shelve the boxes instead of stacking them on the floor.

### Show table under the arm

An overhead arm points the phone straight down at a dark mat. Set two LED panels high on either side, angled so the light doesn’t flare on the bag.

### Pull pile beside the camera

Before a show, pull tonight’s books into a short box beside the mat in run order. Put sold books in a second box with the buyer’s name on a slip.

### Packing at the far end

Large Letter boxes, small cartons and boards stack beside the printer and scale. Send most single issues in a Large Letter box with an extra board.

## Coding every book before it’s listed

Print a small code label for each bag, for example box, title and issue. Stick it to the back of the bag and keep it off the comic.

Put the code in your eBay listing and on the Whatnot slip, so you go straight to the right box when a book sells.

## Running a back-issue show

Open with cheap reading copies at a low starting bid, then move to keys once viewers have joined. Hold each book flat under the overhead phone, turn it over and show the spine.

Pause on any flaw you’d mention in a listing and say it on air before the bid opens.

## Listing runs and keys on eBay

Photograph the front, the back and a close-up of the spine for any book over about £20. Put the volume and issue number first in the title.

Bundle complete runs as one listing, since a buyer chasing a full arc may pay more for the run than for single issues.

## Packing so corners survive

Slide the bagged book between two boards, tape the boards together at the edges without touching the bag, and box it. Multiple books stack face to face in a single small carton.

Check Whatnot’s help centre for how it combines a buyer’s orders from one show, then pack the combined order in one parcel. Pack heavy lots flat in a box.

## Keeping paper away from damp and light

Keep long boxes away from radiators and windows, because sunlight fades red covers.

Check the room in winter: a spare room with a cold outside wall can build condensation behind a box.

## Buying collections to restock

House clearances and loft finds sell as boxes of mixed condition. Price the whole lot on its best ten books and treat the rest as show fillers.

Bag and code a new collection before any of it goes live, so the books slot into your long boxes in order.

## Common mistakes

- If you post a single comic in a padded envelope without boards, the corners bend. Board both sides and box it.
- A price label stuck on the comic leaves residue. Label the bag.
- Long boxes on a cold floor pick up damp, so keep them on shelves.
- If you name a grade you can’t back up, buyers return the book. Describe the defects you see.
- If a book is also listed on eBay, you can sell it twice, so end the eBay listing before the show.

## When to upgrade

At around 40 orders a week, a brighter key light lets you show gloss and creases on cover close-ups. Past 60, a crosslisting tool keeps eBay and your other shops in step when a run sells live.

- 40+ orders a week: **[Elgato Key Light](https://sellersetups.com/product/elgato-key-light)** (£130 to £160): A 2,800-lumen edge-lit panel that clamps to the back of the desk and changes brightness and colour from an app, so you can dim it mid-show from your seat, out of frame. Suits Whatnot card sellers running two or three evening shows a week, where a slab needs the same light at 11pm as at 7pm. App control needs a 2.4 or 5 GHz Wi-Fi network; on a tighter budget a pair of plain LED panels does most of the job.
- 60+ orders a week: **[Crosslist](https://sellersetups.com/product/crosslist-crosslisting)**: Suits you if you list on eBay, Depop and Etsy and can manage without Vinted, which it doesn't support for new users.

## Questions

### Do I need to bag and board every comic?

Bag and board every book you list: it costs pennies and stops the spine curling. Bulk lots of reading copies can share a bag, one bag per short run.

### Which bag size fits UK comics?

Current American comics take current-size bags. Older silver age books, 2000 AD progs and magazine-size titles each need their own sizes, so measure a book before you buy a case.

### How do I post a single comic?

Bag and board it, add a second board or stiff card on each side, and send it in a Large Letter box. Check Royal Mail’s current Large Letter thickness limit before you add a third board.

### Should I grade my comics myself in listings?

Describe what you see instead of naming a grade: spine stress, corner wear, colour breaking ticks. Buyers check each one against your photos.

### Can I post graded slabs the same way?

Wrap a slab in bubble wrap and box it with space on all sides, as you would any hard case.

### How do I run lots on Whatnot without losing track?

Give each book a code label on the bag before the show and read it out as you sell. After the show, match the code list to Whatnot’s sold orders before you pack.