Times are tight and we all want to stretch our buying power just a little bit.  I made the switch about 5 years to trades only.  No floppies, singles, monthlies, or whatever term is now being used for the monthly fix.  So far this year I have bought 157 graphic novels with a face value of $2153.00 for only 387.00; which means I am paying only slightly under 18% of the face value or an 82% discount if you wish.  How do I know this?  Well I am one of those collector’s who are anal-retentive when it comes to my comics.  I keep a spreadsheet with the date and location of the purchase, the title, what I paid, and the actual cover price.  This way I can monitor my purchases and see which places are best to go back to.

If you are a slave of the Big 2 and will only read full-color capes and tights books then you find this article to be less useful as oddly enough even though the Big 2 produce more trades I find books by smaller publisers at a rate of 4:1.  However, if you are looking to scratch that comic itch cheaply then please continue.