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kmfbaloo

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Posts posted by kmfbaloo

    When did the UPC codes start? For older comics (1960s-1970s) is there only 1 version?

    in Newbie Comic Collecting Questions

    Posted

    On 8/20/2023 at 2:59 PM, valiantman said:

    @Get Marwood & I already posted a video about it, but what age of comics are we talking about?

    Before 1976, I believe only a Whitman logo could identify a direct edition (non-returnable) comic book. All other comics would have been newsstand, with or without a barcode. The is no need to identify "newsstand" on books that only had one method of distribution (only one edition/version).

    Thanks for the reply!

    Are prices still climbing or have they eased up a bit???

    in Comics General

    Posted

    On 8/14/2023 at 9:24 AM, mycomicshop said:

    ASM 300 for me is a good illustration of the difference between a seller's market book and a buyer's market book.

    A buyer's market book = lots of available supply, multiple copies available for sale at any given time on eBay, MCS, etc. A buyer can afford to miss out on any given copy because there's another one available elsewhere, or at least another one is likely to be listed somewhere pretty soon if not right at this very moment. A buyer's market book can still be very popular, it's just that there's a lot of supply even when there's a lot of demand.

    A seller's market book = relatively scarce. Doesn't come up for sale that often, either at all, or in higher grade. If an interested buyer misses out on a given listing, they might either need to wait a long time for the next one, or pay a relatively high asking price for one of the few/only available listings.

     

    With buyer's market books, there will be a consistent trend when aggregating over multiple results:
    - auction sales will tend to pull down the GPA average
    - BIN sales will tend to pull up the GPA average

    Any given single auction can certainly violate that--it's not that rare for an auction to end up above the GPA average, and auctions can sometimes end up going for more than an equivalent BIN listing that was just sitting out there available for purchase the whole time the auction was running. But those events are less common than the opposite case.

    This is because with a buyer's market book
    - The "market value" is pretty clearly understood by everybody since there's so much recent sales data.
    - The cheapest available alternative is readily available and visible, tending to put a cap on how much auctions will go for.
    - There's a greater chance that the top bid ends up coming from somebody who intends to flip the book for a profit rather than hold it in their collection. Those buyers will not go as high as full GPA market value.

    In contrast, with a scarcer seller's market book
    - Sales don't happen that often and not much density of recent sales results, so there's a broader range of what constitutes realistic market value.
    - There is no readily available alternative to purchase, or if there is, it may be priced at the high end or well above what most buyers would consider realistic market value.
    - The winning bidder is more likely to arise from among people who want the book for their collection rather than resale, and so are willing to pay what they consider full market value. Or, if dealers/flippers are in the running for those books, they're willing to pay "full market value" in auction knowing that they can turn around and sell it as BIN (online, at a convention, retail setting) for a further 10-20%+ more.

     

     

    In my opinion, the rule of thumb that BIN sales tend to pull up the market average, and auction sales tend to pull down the market average, is true for both buyer's market books and seller's market books. But, it's much more pronounced, and more obviously visible, with buyer's market books like ASM 300. I'm not claiming it's a universal rule, just an average trend. And there are definitely cream of the crop books, very rare gotta jump on them when they appear, that will do great in auction when competitive juices start flowing and could end up going for more than if a single potential buyer were soberly debating pulling the trigger on a high asking price for a BIN listing.

    Great post

    Are prices still climbing or have they eased up a bit???

    in Comics General

    Posted

    On 8/13/2023 at 1:27 PM, Pantodude said:

    Sometimes you need to just stop and take a good look around, smell the roses.  Collectors are lucky to have a source of fun that is not a consumable, but rather a true asset (alternative or not!) that persists for unlimited enjoyment.  And to this day, at least over longer terms, true vintage comics remain a good investment vehicle to boot.  Even attributing a modest valuation to that enjoyment (presumably across many books and for however many years), I expect many books would have paid for themselves (or at least made having them well worth the venture in light of even current valuations).  I hope it's not about a particular book in a vacuum.  I hope most are experiencing the breadth and depth of the experience that is this hobby, and that has real value.  Although difficult to quantify, enjoyment of the hobby should put market volatility in its proper place.  Hopefully.  :foryou:

    Agree!

    Are prices still climbing or have they eased up a bit???

    in Comics General

    Posted

    On 8/13/2023 at 8:09 AM, comicartfan said:

    I am really flummoxed as to how people are so bewildered by the current state of the market. Inflation,interest rates, the war in Ukraine, political discord, record credit card debit for the US (1 trillion for the first time) and an uncertian job market. Collectibles are down all over the place. I was talking to a dealer/collector about buying some of my statues since I am moved into a smaller place. He was saying how slow the market is, but also acknowledged that collectibles are slow all over. A collector I know was saying that on the site ComicArtFans that he noticed a sizeable increase in people listing art for sale. True, July and August are infamously a bad time to sell, this really rings true this year. It's hard to gauge where the bottom is, just like we didn't know where the ceiling was when books exploded. 

    I have been on these boards since 2003 and literally once a week there was a new thread about how the newly formed CGC collecting boom was going to crash. The hobby was getting this huge surge in prices due to the 3rd party grading, the eBay effect and new collectors coming in/back. 

    Then we had a correction....then another boom in 2008-2009. Another drop, then another boom with Marvel Studios...It's all cyclical. We can analyze it to death, as we do....or we can just enjoy the hobby and decide individually when to cash out. Movies and TV shows haven't been moving the needle when it comes to books like they once did. There could be a multitude of reasons. Lack of quality, abundance of material we're now exposed to as well as all the reasons I listed above. 

    I think the next 6 months or so will be interesting to see how it plays out. 

    Something I have been wondering about is how are dealers riding this wave ?  Has anyone noticed dealers adjusting prices on current inventory to account for falling prices ? Does a book that was priced at X dealer's site for $1500 last year now say $1000 ? - Just for example. 

    Were there any examples posted?

    ASM 194- The Latest ASM Issue Blowing Up?

    in Bronze Age Comic Books

    Posted

    On 8/20/2023 at 12:14 PM, MAR1979 said:

    Price in Diamond and line through Barcode indicates Direct Sale for Marvel Books cover dated June 1979 until they employed the Spidey face in UPC less then a year later.

    Sorry I posted this but did not quote so redoing it - 

    I see thanks for the info. So does this mean direct sales started in the late 1970s also?

     

    WELCOME TO THE BOARDS! New members, please introduce yourselves here!

    in Comics General

    Posted

    On 8/4/2023 at 8:05 AM, NicoV said:

    Hi everyone,

    I'm a French comic art enthusiast who's been a part of this forum for a few years, although I've never formally introduced myself. My passion lies in collecting original comic art from both European and US artists. You might also know me as the creator of ComicArtTracker, a platform designed for fellow comic art collectors!

    What does comic art tracker do?

    How To Pack Your Books For Shipping - by Boozad

    in Newbie Comic Collecting Questions

    Posted

    On 8/14/2009 at 7:19 AM, Boozad said:

    I know all of this will mainly be preaching to the converted, but we’ve all heard horror stories of books arriving damaged (I’ve had more than my fair share), so hopefully this may come in use at some point and no offence is intended to boardies who know how to pack their books!

     

    Step 1:

     

    Find a suitable oversized box that is substantially bigger than the books.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01029.jpg

     

     

    Step 2:

     

    I’m packing ten books here, so what I do when sending more than one book is place all of the books into one larger bag. The reason for this will be explained in a moment. Turn half (or as close to half) of the books facing inwards so the backing boards are facing outwards on both sides of the stack.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01031.jpg

     

    Step 3:

     

    Fold the bag around the stack of books snugly and tape it shut securely, this will prevent any of the books moving around in the sandwich you’re going to make.

    The reason for using a bag is that there is no trying to rip tape of the comic bags (nightmare) when the recipient opens the package. The tape can be cut from the outer bag quite easily and the books are free straight away.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01032.jpg

     

    Step 4:

     

    Next up, find two sturdy pieces of cardboard. They need to be bigger in dimension than the stack of books but smaller than the internal dimensions of the box.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01033.jpg

     

    Step 5:

     

    Tape the bagged stack of books to one of the pieces of cardboard, with a piece of tape at each end and each side. Larger stacks may need more than one piece of tape on each side.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01034.jpg

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01035.jpg

     

    Step 6:

     

    Take the second piece of cardboard and lay it onto the exposed side of the stack of books, making a sandwich so to speak. Now tape the sandwich together with a piece of tape on each side (larger stacks again – more tape again). Offset the pieces of tape so as they don't get stuck to the pieces of tape holding the books to the first piece of card. Getting several layers of tape stuck together when opening a package can get very annoying.

    I also fold one end of each piece of tape over to form a tab (on every single piece of tape used in the package), and mark out where to open. This isn’t because I think the recipient has issues, it’s just helpful. I hate scratching a pieces of tape stuck to cardboard for half an hour.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01037.jpg

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01038.jpg

     

    Step 7:

     

    Now you’re ready to put your book sandwich into your box. Make a protective layer across the bottom of the box. I’ve used packing peanuts, but bubble wrap or even newspaper will work. (For domestic packages I will place the oversized cardboard sandwich into a bubble mailer. Any corner or side impacts are absorbed by the cardboard, not the books).

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01039.jpg

     

    Place the book sandwich on top of the protective layer, then fill up the remaining space with packing, making sure if that any gaps around the sides of the sandwich are filled.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01040.jpg

     

    Step 7:

     

    Close up the box and make sure that every opening is covered in packing tape. I prefer to use ‘Fragile’ tape, the people who handle the package may not give a damn about your books, but hey – at least you’ve tried to warn them!

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01042.jpg

     

    The same principle applies to slabbed books, cereal packets just don't cut it. :sumo:

     

    Step 1:

     

    Plenty of bubble wrap. Cardboard sandwiches are just as easily applied.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/89390.jpg

     

    Step 2:

     

    Pack out the box with plenty of protective padding.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/89388.jpg

     

    Step 3:

     

    Tape up the box securely, making sure all open sides are taped up.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/89387.jpg

     

    So there you have it, pretty simple really. This isn’t a bible and as I said at the start of the post – I don’t mean to cause offence to anybody, I know from experience how many boardies on here know how to pack books!

     

    But for those new to shipping books, or those who just like to throw their books into a bubble mailer or a plain envelope, just remember, if you have sold another collector a lot of money’s worth of books, it’s worth 15 minutes of your time to make sure they arrive safely (thumbs u

    Helpful post- thank you!

     

    On 8/14/2009 at 7:19 AM, Boozad said:

    I know all of this will mainly be preaching to the converted, but we’ve all heard horror stories of books arriving damaged (I’ve had more than my fair share), so hopefully this may come in use at some point and no offence is intended to boardies who know how to pack their books!

     

    Step 1:

     

    Find a suitable oversized box that is substantially bigger than the books.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01029.jpg

     

     

    Step 2:

     

    I’m packing ten books here, so what I do when sending more than one book is place all of the books into one larger bag. The reason for this will be explained in a moment. Turn half (or as close to half) of the books facing inwards so the backing boards are facing outwards on both sides of the stack.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01031.jpg

     

    Step 3:

     

    Fold the bag around the stack of books snugly and tape it shut securely, this will prevent any of the books moving around in the sandwich you’re going to make.

    The reason for using a bag is that there is no trying to rip tape of the comic bags (nightmare) when the recipient opens the package. The tape can be cut from the outer bag quite easily and the books are free straight away.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01032.jpg

     

    Step 4:

     

    Next up, find two sturdy pieces of cardboard. They need to be bigger in dimension than the stack of books but smaller than the internal dimensions of the box.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01033.jpg

     

    Step 5:

     

    Tape the bagged stack of books to one of the pieces of cardboard, with a piece of tape at each end and each side. Larger stacks may need more than one piece of tape on each side.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01034.jpg

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01035.jpg

     

    Step 6:

     

    Take the second piece of cardboard and lay it onto the exposed side of the stack of books, making a sandwich so to speak. Now tape the sandwich together with a piece of tape on each side (larger stacks again – more tape again). Offset the pieces of tape so as they don't get stuck to the pieces of tape holding the books to the first piece of card. Getting several layers of tape stuck together when opening a package can get very annoying.

    I also fold one end of each piece of tape over to form a tab (on every single piece of tape used in the package), and mark out where to open. This isn’t because I think the recipient has issues, it’s just helpful. I hate scratching a pieces of tape stuck to cardboard for half an hour.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01037.jpg

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01038.jpg

     

    Step 7:

     

    Now you’re ready to put your book sandwich into your box. Make a protective layer across the bottom of the box. I’ve used packing peanuts, but bubble wrap or even newspaper will work. (For domestic packages I will place the oversized cardboard sandwich into a bubble mailer. Any corner or side impacts are absorbed by the cardboard, not the books).

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01039.jpg

     

    Place the book sandwich on top of the protective layer, then fill up the remaining space with packing, making sure if that any gaps around the sides of the sandwich are filled.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01040.jpg

     

    Step 7:

     

    Close up the box and make sure that every opening is covered in packing tape. I prefer to use ‘Fragile’ tape, the people who handle the package may not give a damn about your books, but hey – at least you’ve tried to warn them!

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/DSC01042.jpg

     

    The same principle applies to slabbed books, cereal packets just don't cut it. :sumo:

     

    Step 1:

     

    Plenty of bubble wrap. Cardboard sandwiches are just as easily applied.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/89390.jpg

     

    Step 2:

     

    Pack out the box with plenty of protective padding.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/89388.jpg

     

    Step 3:

     

    Tape up the box securely, making sure all open sides are taped up.

     

    http://i443.photobucket.com/albums/qq157/Boozad_Bat/Packing%20Books/89387.jpg

     

    So there you have it, pretty simple really. This isn’t a bible and as I said at the start of the post – I don’t mean to cause offence to anybody, I know from experience how many boardies on here know how to pack books!

     

    But for those new to shipping books, or those who just like to throw their books into a bubble mailer or a plain envelope, just remember, if you have sold another collector a lot of money’s worth of books, it’s worth 15 minutes of your time to make sure they arrive safely (thumbs u

    Very helpful post and information! Thank you 

    WELCOME TO THE BOARDS! New members, please introduce yourselves here!

    in Comics General

    Posted

    Hi all- New here and trying to learn as much as possible. Interested in starting a decent collection mainly focusing on X-men and looking at some first appearance of other beloved characters (for now). I’ve always been a fan growing up but am just diving into the comic book world over the last month or so. Really enjoying it so far and love the historical aspect of it as well as the what seems like a decent store of value!