F For Fake

I feel like there had been a slow bleed of old-timers for quite a while, and then the change to the "new boards" gave a bunch of folks a clean excuse to jump ship. They may have faded away over time, but that was a clear cut point to make a break. I don't think that the boards have really recovered since the transition.

Woohoo, awesome! Man, that's a lot of diggin'!

Zeroing in is the worst thing you can do in a search if you're wanting to cast the widest net. I'd make the search as general as possible, and then filter through the results. Also, it's worth searching for mispelled words, etc. People list things in crazy ways, so inventive searches will often yield good results. Good luck!

For whatever reason, I have a hard time finding this book in grade. A lot of copies I run across seem to have a slight spine curl. Maybe it's just a local issue, I dunno.

The wildly_fanciful_statement detector on the boards is always at 11. It's pretty amazing.

Yes, they're a great spot for books! Of course, as a closeout/buyout store, their stock can vary wildly, but they get a lot of bestsellers, artbooks, etc. For instance, I haven't paid more than $3.99 for a new first edition Stephen King hardcover in three or four years, and if you dig enough, you can usually find a copy without remainder marks. Well worth the hunt. I drove an hour away to an Ollie's I hadn't been to before this Saturday, because apparently I have too much free time. This is my latest haul. Also, it's worth signing up for their rewards program, which is free. I'd spent enough recently to get a 10% off coupon, which I used to get this whole stack of books for $119. Good luck everyone!

Wow, thanks JJJ11 and Spencer! That was above and beyond! Like I said, I've dealt with Spencer for a long time, I don't take the long wait times (or even the failure to respond) personally, I always just chalked it up to being part of the experience, and honestly, if I miss out on a piece, that's just less money I'm spending. No big deal to me. But I'm excited to hear about the upcoming changes!

So are you all just selling in specific groups, or using the FB marketplace too? I am normally inclined to stay away from FB, but with the eBay/Paypal uncertainty of the future (will fees go up again?) I'm always curious about other options.

Awesome, great news, so glad you got in touch with them!

Yeah, that's all that makes sense to me. If that was the case, and the book was as described when the OP shipped it to the GSP center, wouldn't eBay be on the hook to handle the refund/return? My understanding of GSP is that once the seller ships it to the center, they are more or less done with the transaction, but that may not be correct?

Nice! I had my eye on that one as well, but ended up saving my money to go after two other pieces that I ultimately didn't win. Oh well, there's always something new coming down the pike.

Oh yeah, check it out for sure! I've probably spent about $400 there over the last couple of weeks, for a couple grand worth of books. Showcase tpbs are $3-$4, tons of hardcovers and trades (mostly New 52 stuff, but not exclusively) for $4, Archives for $6, etc. Tremendous deals. I have 3 Ollies nearby, and they've restocked at least twice since I first found out about it two weeks ago, so if you don't find much on your first trip, keep checking back. Apparently they did an $11 million buyout, so they have literal tons of this stuff. Good luck!

I'll get back to you in 20 years or so.

I might be willing to help you with this. I one day hope to own a private island where I will hunt men for sport. I call it "The Extremely Danger-filled Sporting Event!"

My hope would be that maybe somewhere in the warehouse they have a returned statue with a broken hulk, where Wolvie is still in good shape, that they'd be willing to sell you cheap, or something to that effect. Maybe a pipe dream, but it doesn't hurt to ask, for sure. And agreed, I have always had terrific service with Sideshow, particularly using chat with Michelle and Agali.

If I walk into any place that is playing U2, I start to bleed from the ears, and have also been known to spontaneously combust (only partially, though.)

According to GPA, 90 day average on a 9.6 is $48, last recorded sale is $60. So I guess if you're doing a modern sub of several books, a 9.6 would make you a little bit of cash, especially if you're only paying a buck for the book itself.

Oh...my. I have smashed two statues in my life, and I know it's a sickening feeling. You have my sympathies. I wonder if it's worth hitting the sideshow collectors forums to see if anyone has a set with a smashed Hulk and ok Wolvie? As was mentioned above, it may be worth messaging SST as well. You never know. Good luck!

I generally slab to sell. With the exception of one specific set that I wanted to own in 9.8 (my Aliens 1-6 set, and those I purchased slabbed rather than submitting myself) I only collect raw, because personally, the difference in a 9.4 and a 9.8 doesn't matter that much to me. If it's sharp and presents well in a mylar, I'm generally happy enough. In the past I did slab a few things with the intention of keeping them, but slabbing them made them so much easier to sell, I couldn't avoid the temptation. So the truth is, if I keep it raw, I'm much more likely to keep it for myself. If it's nice enough to warrant slabbing, it's nicer than I need to own.

Yup, my experience exactly! I sent in an email yesterday for the heck of it, will be interested to see when I hear back. I've ordered something pretty much every year for many years now, but last year I didn't even get an answer back at all.

Ugh, guess I'll be digging into the longboxes this weekend. A few years ago I bought several dozen sets of X-Force 1 for about 30 cents a book. I think I may have a couple left, somewhere.

Attention Ollie's Shoppers! It looks like the stores have been restocking their DC trades, so if you haven't been for a couple of weeks, it's likely worth making another stop. I'd read about the restocking on another board, so I stopped by two of my local Ollie's last night, and scored another stack of great, cheap stuff. More archives and Showcases as you'd expect, but some new arrivals included these really nice "Celebrating 75 Years" hardcovers which are $40 retail for $6, and also the Throne of Atlantis Hardcover that comes with Blu Ray and DVD, again, for about $6. I'm going to have to stop by my Ollies once a week until they finally run out of stuff. I finally managed to find the Art of Brian Bolland hc, and the Challs Vol 1 Showcase that had been eluding me. Still on the lookout for Batgirl! Happy hunting!

That's nearly unprecedented. Congrats! In several years of buying from him, I don't think I ever got an answer in under a week.

Surprised to hear that some folks aren't big on this one. It's Jim Lee, it's Hush (he's even in the background!), and it has a raggedy- Robin skeleton on it. Pretty cool if you ask me! I'm way out of my depth where this $$$-level is being discussed, but I'd think it's a slam dunk $50k these days. I'd love to have it. Have to sell some organs, though.

OH yeah, Ladronn is another good one! I remember when he first hit, I wrote him off as a Kirby-swiping hack. Took me a while to figure out exactly what he had going on. Now I love his stuff.