RCheli

5 minutes ago, NP_Gresham said:

The stridex reprints, and ALL detergent copy of ASM #184 - more reprints.

The Whitmans are just one more kind of reprint, similar to Pence copies.

Not that hard to reprint books.

 

But Proctor and Gamble paid for those reprints as part of a giveaway. It's not the same thing. 

And I'm not saying it's difficult to go back to press. You could reprint the same comic every month if you wanted (though the plates would get worn down). I'm saying it's expensive.

Edit: remember, with giveaways, they're not looking to make money. It's for advertising. Western wanted to make money!

I don't want to come off as some know-it-all, but if those books were reprints, Whitman/Western would be losing money on every multipack sold.

You did not print four color comics in the 70s with print runs of less than 200,000 copies. And the same goes for reprints. Setting up the printers was time consuming and costly, and if they reprinted a comic for the Whitman market, with a print run of only 20,000 copies, the per copy price would be more than what you'd sell it for. Add to the fact that you're not getting any ad revenue (why would advertisers pay for an ad 6 months later?), it makes no sense.

These were not reprints. Pence copies were not reprints. Test price copies were not reprints.

1 hour ago, NP_Gresham said:

It is not that hard to reprint the price box.

perhaps you are not aware of pence copies?

Pence copies are not reprints. 

22 hours ago, NP_Gresham said:

There is at least 1 dealer in the area who was actually in business at the time

He insists there were NO Marvel direct edition books at the time of the Whitman 3 packs

Further I KNOW when these 3 packs came out, as I am old enough to remember first hand

These were REPRINTS in the 3 packs, they came out 6 months after newsstand release

Call them what they are

Whitman exclusive reprints

How many of each individual Whitman pack was made/sold? 10,000? 20,000? That seems generous. There were no comics with print runs that low at the time, and it would be cost prohibitive for Marvel to go back to press for that number. Remember, setting up a press in the 1970s was really, really expensive. It's not like today when you can have a digital press print copies easily under 5,000 copies without the huge initial cost.

This is why there were practically no reprints of any comics other than Classics for decades. Marvel reprinted the first few issues of Star Wars and DC did a second printing here and there when there was a push with a media tie-in, but they would never reprint the variety of books available in Whitman packs.

Then add to the fact that Whitman turned around and sold the books at a discount ($1.09 on $1.20 worth of comics) means that there's even less profit to be made. 

Whitman would not want to pay for short print runs on comics they're selling at a discount.

Finally, advertising is based on circulation. The higher the cumulative circulation for each month, the more expensive the advertising. If the total print run of all the Marvel comics in June 1977 going to the newsstand or the direct market was 2,500,000 (a complete guess), they're not going to want to go back to press 6 months later to add another 400,000 copies that may not benefit advertisers. They're going to print them at the same time and push that circulation figure up as high as possible.

3 hours ago, Brock said:

Don't leave us hanging...

Ha! Sorry, don't know why it cut off. I was just going to say that a lot of people have said that the early pence copies of Marvel Silver Age books were reprints, it's just not true. 

Other than those first 10 Star Wars, I don't know anything else they reprinted in the 70s.

This was a great thread and I think RMA has it on point. 

I would agree that we need to rethink the way we talk about "variants" of all kinds, especially in the 70s. Except for those ridiculously high-selling Star Wars comics, all of these different covers -- whether it was different prices, different currencies, different modes of distribution, or different subdistribution (as in the case of the Whitman-logo DCs and Westerns) -- were printed at the same time. These are not reprints. 

Before digital printing, it was extremely expensive to set up printers to just start the job. (They say the most expensive copy of a print job is the first one.) So with comics and magazines, the guts -- the newsprint pages 1 to 32 -- were all printed at once. The covers were printed separately on nicer paper, and then the two parts were saddlestitched together. Those differences in pricing/diamonds/UPC/etc were done by stopping the printer that was producing the cover and altering the engraving (I believe you can put a screen on the various parts that are different) or by putting a completely new plate on the printer. But Marvel or DC or Western would just assign a total print run for the insides and then figure out the percentage of each that they would have for the difference covers: newsstands, Whitman, direct, pence, test price, Canadian newsstand, etc.

For them to reprint comics, you would need a print run to be comparable to the lowest selling book. They're not running that for 1,000 or 10,000 copies. (So all those people who 

Look... do you really want to go to Chicago, where it looks like crappy weather and bad pizza? (And trust me, Chicago pizza is the WORST!) Or do you want to hop on down to this show where we can all complain about Batman #89 and how comics aren't as good as they used to be and how this 9.2 really should be a 9.4?

I think I know your answer...

(I'll be there in my regular spot.)

Edit: Never mind... others already showed the real sold price.

2 hours ago, RonS2112 said:

This.

I swear I don't know what's wrong with some of you people.  Go to cons regularly.  Develop a relationship with the guys you regularly buy from.  Get their e-mail address and get on their mailing lists.  You'll find that: a) most will send out e-mails prior to the next con telling you what big-ticket books they're bringing, b) will be happy to bring anything you ask, if they have it, and c) give discounts to regular customers.  Went to a show this past Sunday, and a guy I buy from regularly discounted me $30 on a $170 purchase (which was already a great deal for the books in question), without me even asking him.  All because I talk to him without acting like a jerk-off.

He even asked to take a look at my want-list, told me which he had, and asked me to send him an e-mail telling which to bring to the next show.  At which point, I'm certain to get another good discount.

I definitely have regulars at different shows and I try and bring books that I know they would like. I also know that some shows I need to bring my loincloth boxes (Conan, Kazar, Tarzan, etc), and others where I leave them home. 

And my regulars always get a discount off my already low, low prices. I know how much I have in on certain books, and if somebody has spent $1,000 with me last year on 50-cent and $3 books, I'm surely going to continue to give him a break, because my cost on those comics are really pennies. 

3 hours ago, Deadpoolica said:

$10-13 is reasonable shipping price for a slab...anyone that has $20 for shipping is just making money off shipping

That included tax. 8% tax on $73 ($60 + $13) is around $6. That's pretty close to $80.

14 minutes ago, Deadpoolica said:

This whole thing is ridiculous, for you as a seller to say that to a potential buyer is crazy. You're not making that sell regardless now or future sells to that customer, they will avoid you like the plague at any show they see you it & tell their comic friends to avoid you too

I could really go on & on about this but, I'll stop 

I can tell you that when people pull out their phones to show me a similar book on eBay for $5 less than what I'm charging (and it's happened A LOT), I will then point to the shipping (and mention tax) to explain to them why my price is still a bargain. Why would you think it matters to a person that they're getting X-Fellas #1 9.8 from me for $50 when it would be shipped to them for the same amount?

...do you take into consideration what you're paying compared with other means?

For example, if you're buying on eBay, you need to add in shipping and taxes. If you're buying at an auction house (Heritage, ComicLink), you have those plus a (not insignificant) buyer's premium.

I often have to compete (as do others selling at shows) with a price that is not actually the real price. So a $60 graded comic on eBay may actually turn out to be closer to $80 after taxes and shipping are added in. And that same cost consideration is not included in the GPA price either. ("You're asking $120, and I only pay 90-day GPA when I buy, which is $100." "Yeah, well, good luck actually paying only $100 for that comic when you complete the sale." Customer walks away.)

And while I don't really deal in big-ticket books, that price differential can get pretty considerable with the hefty priced keys.

Thoughts?

I went while it was in Philadelphia at the Franklin Institute. It was fun, but waaaaay movie heavy. They had a Marvel Comics #1 and a few more key comics and some art, but 80% of it was from the movies.

The always popular Lehigh Valley Comic Con returns on February 8, 2020. And while this is usually a pretty solid buying show, they added a couple of decent guests this time around.

Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez -- the DC artist for 30+ years

Bob Budiansky -- writer and sometimes artist of Ghost Rider, Transformers, and more

Those aren't world beaters, but they're pretty good for ol' Schnecksville.

Lehigh Valley Comic Con
February 8, 2020
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Lehigh Carbon Community College
4525 Education Park Drive
Schnecksville, PA

http://lehighvalleycomicconvention.com/

Still a few left and I do have duplicates of some that have already sold. PM me if you're interested in any!

Per PM I'll take the remaining comics! Yay comics!

Just now, joecgcmaniac said:

Thor #192

reader

free with any purchase! 

I LOVE READERS!

1 minute ago, joecgcmaniac said:

Thor #195

Fine+

$4.00

I'll take it.

1 minute ago, joecgcmaniac said:

Thor #175

Fine

$4.00

I'll take it.

6 minutes ago, joecgcmaniac said:

Journey Into Mystery #121

Fair

$3.00

I'll take it.

7 minutes ago, joecgcmaniac said:

Payment by Paypal

Shipping: $5.00 for unlimited books via boxed media mail shipping (at your risk), $12.95 boxed priority mail within the U.S.  Outside the U.S. PM for shipping quote

All books individually bagged and boarded.

NO H.O.S. or Probation members 

Returns accepted 

First  in the thread wins the book(s).

 

Astonishing Tales #25

VG

$15.00

I'll take it.

That's it for tonight. I may have a dupe of one or two, so if you're keen on one that's already sold don't hesitate to ask.

DC Super Stars B-10 $30 SOLD

1976 -- DC Special #24/Isis #1

Isis is in a movie soon or something... right?

DC Super Stars B-6 $25 SOLD

1977 -- Superman #312/Teen Titans #48

So the Harlequin is Two Face's daughter? That doesn't... make... sense...

Two more...