Foolkiller

Thanks. I really preferred in terms of eye appeal the 8.5 was better than the 9.2, and, I couldn't afford the 9.2 -- but the colors were just superior to the 9.2 to me, and I really liked it quite a bit more.

It is not on consignment.

I don't think it's crazy all the time, it's a lot of people going from booth to booth and sometimes there 3 or 4 guys, but most of the time if there are too many, you move on to some one else so you can be first there. I will say I think that if dealers can sell retail to a retail customer they'd rather do it. With that said, many dealers won't go and pull stuff from the "new inventory". If you buy a bunch from dealers at retail, you will work your way into getting "first shot" as you prove you are a serious buyer. Sometimes that means "overpaying" so that you can be first or thought of by the dealer to be first when new material comes in. The reason why when a book is bought by another dealer it isn't always for sale is that many dealers want to process it, look at it carefully see if it needs to be graded etc. Many don't want to mis price it again or just quickly flip it to someone else. Want lists are a good idea -- they are absolutely a vehicle to getting what you want and being offered it early.

Exactly.

It depends on how the book was priced, if it was priced at a VF Fair market value, then you got what you paid for, you incur the risk if you want to further upgrade it. If the store owner is charging VF+ or VF/NM money based on the fact that it "might" upgrade, then I think a discount negotiation is fair to offset to some degree what you're alluding to, the potential risk.

Somehow I doubt it.

Neither. I would use CCS if I wasn't using someone else who is delivering a product that is in my eyes comparable to Matt's best work and skill. But I still use CCS.

I was the owner of it as a 7.5 and upgraded the book (yes it is the same book). The pressable defects were mostly non color breaking bends and other very minor fixable things, and there were some other things that were edge wear that if you simply took the time to do could be fixed. It definitely was some good, careful work.

9.2 on the 225, 9,4 on the 155

The latter two are from a different collection.

I definitely did not feel it was a 9.2 -- there are some small defects which are not pressable which are in the book and hard to see through the holder. The original press job was spectacular and I think everything that could have been done was done. The color strike is so nice and the eye appeal superior.

They were very nice Bob. Unbelievable colors etc. The book sold for $108k. I was the previous owner before it went to Greg.

I bought it. Too nice to pass up.

They both got graded on Tuesday.

Might be a 9.2 on display as well for a Show 22...

CGC 8.5 -- check out Greg Reece's Comics. He'll also have a BB 28 CGC 9.0 -- both fresh to market books.

It'll be in San Diego.

I've owned several over the years, many bought from dealers, ranging from 4.0 to the highest being a 7.0 (I wish I had that one back!) In terms of raw out in the wild, I've probably bought over a dozen over the years. I owned four last year, so maybe the number is even higher. Two from the same store, one from a store in the northeast, and another locally. None were that high grade ranging from 2.5 to 4.0. In fact I don't think any I've found from a store or otherwise was ever better than a 5.0 -- they're fun to find and always exciting to own.

I sold a 7.5 (that I regret) for $13.5k in 2014. I think there's going to be a brand new high end copy to market soon. An 8.5 most likely and I think it will fetch a very high number, particularly because excellent color strike and page quality.

Also, your collection is better... has all the keys, this other one does not. Keys were sold long ago. Still might be cool to pick through.

it's a sickness! the buying is fun, but the selling is hard.

Maybe I should move back to Jersey -- Here's ANOTHER volume collection being offered in Jersey with multiples of books and a huge collection after being in storage: https://cnj.craigslist.org/for/6179597012.html

In addition to Bird's 40k collection -- the "fake" one I referenced that was a different lead -- there's ANOTHER 40k collection that turned up in Jersey at a store. The idea that two (legitimate) 40k book collections turned up in the span of a month in the same state is pretty amazing. This looks like an enormous amount of work but an enormous of fun. The other issue of course is that you have store it, but it sounds like you are getting it in waves which is frankly very, very helpful.

One thing we should definitely clarify too is what types of collections we are talking about. If you mean high quality original owner or even secondary owner type collections then I agree these are going to auction houses. But if you mean collections generally with silver/bronze and up in mixed condition, high and low, I think there are a lot out there. We've seen a board member unearth a large collection in jersey -- and then a store in jersey got a 40,000 book collection as well (which they actually took possession of). Greg Reece just bought 180 longs of quality high grade material. You can always maximize if you are willing to put in a lot of hours. if it's a collection of material I saw referenced from the 60s to mid 70s, I wouldn't whole sale that either -- I'd bleed it out. Finally, someone mentioned the days of when selling on the boards was different. And it was. I used to enjoy giving out deals to other board members, whether dealers or not, when it was a community. But I found that it wasn't reciprocated, has become much less of a community and the folks I really knew well simply aren't present as much here any more. There are still some top sellers here but I feel it's much more transactional in nature. That's not really based on anything concrete so much as it is simply a feeling. Selling to major dealers in large groups, having folks to the house and simply just holding material has been better than listing material here. There are still some great people around the boards and new folks who have come on and been great contributors and buyers. But for the most part, it just isn't the same feel as it used to be.

Looks like a solid collection (depending on how much you paid) but I'm glad it didn't turn out t be the other one. 40k is a massive amount of books though. Lot of work ahead.