# 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 dollar-bin runs to Silver Age keys, run two or three Whatnot shows a week and sell slower runs on eBay, packing 20 to 80 orders a week in a spare room. - Platforms: Whatnot, eBay - Orders a week: 20–80 - Space: Spare bedroom - Kit total: $367 to $714 - Running cost: $233 to $413 (Consumables at 50 orders a week) - Updated October 8, 2026 A comic is cheap to ship, and a spine roll or a bent corner drops a book a grade. You sell volume live in cheap dollar-bin 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/us/product/comic-bags-boards)** ($15 to $30): Buyers expect a comic to arrive bagged and boarded. The board stops spine rolls and bent corners in the mail; the bag keeps moisture out. - ×4 **[Comic long box](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/comic-long-box)** ($8 to $20): Stores issues upright so spines stay straight. Sort by title and number and you find a sold issue in seconds. - **[5-tier steel shelving, 72 in](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/shelving-unit)** ($40 to $90): Floor space runs out first, so build up instead. Number the shelves and give each item an address you can pick from. - **[Overhead phone arm](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/overhead-phone-arm)** ($20 to $40): 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/us/product/led-panel-pair)** ($40 to $80): Holo cards, foil boxes and glossy packaging bounce a ring light straight back into the camera. With two panels angled in from each side, the glare lands outside the frame. - **[Clip-on wireless phone mic](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/wireless-phone-mic)** ($25 to $50): Viewers leave a show when they can't hear you. A clip-on mic keeps your voice level while you reach for inventory. - **[Flat mailer boxes, 50 pack](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/large-letter-boxes)** ($40 to $60): A slim box protects a small item better than an envelope and weighs only a few ounces, which keeps it in a low USPS Ground Advantage weight tier. Weigh the packed box before you buy the label. - **[Small corrugated boxes, 25 pack](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/single-wall-boxes)** ($12 to $25): Use these for boxed toys and beauty sets that a poly mailer would crush, when double-wall board costs more than you need. - **[MUNBYN thermal label printer](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/munbyn-thermal-printer)** ($60 to $100): It takes the standard 4 × 6 inch labels that eBay, Poshmark, Mercari and Whatnot all generate, and generic labels work, so the running cost stays low. - **[4 × 6 in thermal labels, 500 fanfold](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/thermal-labels-fanfold)** ($8 to $16): Fanfold stacks feed flat behind the printer and hold more labels than a roll. 4 × 6 in matches the label size USPS, UPS and the marketplaces print. - **[2.25 × 1.25 in thermal labels, 1,000 roll](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/thermal-labels-sku)** ($5 to $10): Prints a SKU 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. - **[66 lb digital shipping scale](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/parcel-scale-30kg)** ($20 to $35): Covers the packages most home sellers ship, up to 66 lb. Choose it when the 110 lb scale is out of stock. - **[Tape gun dispenser](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/tape-gun)** ($10 to $20): 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, 1.88 in x 72 yd, 6 rolls](https://sellersetups.com/us/product/brown-packing-tape)** ($10 to $18): 1.88 inches is the width tape guns take. Six rolls keep a shop shipping a few boxes a week going for a few months. ## How to lay it out ### Long boxes on shelves, off the floor Rack the long boxes on a shelving unit, labeled 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. Sold books move to a second box, each with a slip for its buyer. ### Packing at the far end Comic mailers, small cartons and boards stack beside the printer and scale. Ship most single issues in a flat mailer 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 reader 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 $25. 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 center for how it combines a buyer’s orders from one show, then pack the combined order in one box. Pack heavy lots flat. ## Keeping paper away from damp and light Keep long boxes away from heater vents and windows, because sunlight fades red covers. Check the room through the seasons: summer humidity and a cold outside wall in winter can both leave damp behind a box. ## Buying collections to restock Estate sales, garage sales and attic 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 ship a single comic in a padded envelope without boards, the corners bend. Board both sides and use a rigid mailer. - A price sticker on the comic leaves residue. Label the bag. - Long boxes on a basement 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/us/product/elgato-key-light)** ($125 to $180): A 2,800-lumen edge-lit panel that clamps to the back of the desk and changes brightness and color from an app, so you can dim it mid-show from your seat, out of frame. It suits Whatnot card sellers running two or three evening shows a week, where a slab needs the same light at 11 p.m. as at 7 p.m. 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/us/product/crosslist-crosslisting)**: Suits you if you sell the same stock on several US marketplaces and want one place to copy listings and end them when an item sells. ## Questions ### Do I need to bag and board every comic? Bag and board every book you list: it costs a few cents and stops the spine curling. Bulk lots of reader copies can share a bag, one bag per short run. ### Which bag size fits my comics? Modern books take current-size bags. Silver Age, Golden Age and magazine-size titles each need their own sizes, so measure a book before you buy a case. ### How do I ship a single comic? Bag and board it, add a second board or stiff card on each side, and send it in a flat comic mailer with USPS Ground Advantage. Media Mail is cheaper for some book shipments, so check USPS rules on what qualifies before you use it. ### Should I grade my comics myself in listings? Describe what you see instead of naming a grade: spine stress, corner wear, color-breaking ticks. Buyers check each one against your photos. ### Can I ship CGC 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.