Buzzetta

I own 3 copies. CGC 9.0 CGC 7.5 that's never been pressed A Raw copy that would get a married cover designation even though it is not married. When I was a kid I didn't like the way it was bound so I rebound it and flattened it and redid it myself. None are for sale.

Bumpity Bump.

I think it's actually cute how he comes on here once in awhile to try and restore his 'legacy.'

To any mods reading this in case any drama llamas reported anything, this is not an argument. This is actually a good conversation that I am enjoying having. No need to moderate here. Bookery brings an interesting insight to the conversation. Most dealers, especially around here are not paying 80% of a keys value. Most are paying 50% cash and "more" in trade. I did a little experiment this summer and took a Hulk 181 to two shops around the South Shore of LI this summer to see what the going rate was. A friend challenged me on why not just sell it to a store instead of selling it myself. So, yeah, to anyone around LI that had a Hulk 181 and an FF48 come in, you were visited by "Buzzetta". Another store offered me around 40% on the FF48. Hulk 181 was a 9.0. FF48 was a 7.0. Now, I wonder what someone like Bob Storms would have offered but I don't know if I could really consider him since Highgrade is an online entity and not a physical brick and mortar. SIDE NOTE TO ANYONE READING... The Hulk 181 and FF48 are not for sale. Don't bother contacting me about them. This may be different though in Ohio as NY rents and taxes are so high I can see why NY and LI stores may not be willing to invest so much in a higher value book like that. Which, by your own math, is STILL more than a dealer will give you. In response to my post you are saying that it is time consuming and are likening it to a "time consuming nightmare." In response to RMA's post you say, "Nobody is denying the reality of physical stores heading forward. But that doesn't mean it's a good thing. A nation of morbidly obese shut-ins ordering everything online and fusing with their sofas may be the inevitable future of the planet, but I'm not sure it's something to cheer about." So in one sense you are kind of saying, "don't go through all that trouble, sell to a dealer it's time consuming and easier." In another breath you are considering that it might not be the best thing to take the easiest route. You are selling a massive amount of books compared to an average collector. It really does not take a lot of effort to wrap up a few comic books correctly and drop them off at the post office. I have a full time job and still I have time to wrap and ship things out when stuff sells. Who said I am championing it? I said it is kind of sad that comic stores are closing. However, that does not mean that I am to lose money to keep a store afloat. I am not recommending that they do not have options. In fact I am telling them that they themselves have MANY options other than a comic store. The days of having nothing to do with your comics other than host a garage sale or return them to the comic store to cash in are long over. Oh, I definitely agree with that. However, I would be curious to know something. As stores close, are you picking up their customers? Your store thrives on other stores closing. Now, obviously you will not get the entirety of a closing store's customer base for a variety of reasons. However, you will get some and those are added customers that will continue to bring in revenue. Sometimes the way to succeed, as history has demonstrated is not always to be better, but to outlast the competition. Now I want to add to some of your responses to RMA. When RMA says the days of the middleman are over, I think he is reflecting more along the idea of a traditional retail chain is now broken. In the old days, the store gets their product from the manufacturer and sells to the public. The manufacturer never sold directly to the consumer. eBay is not a middleman here because eBay is not actually buying my items to resell to a consumer. They are acting as a facilitator which may seem similar but it not as eBay does not take possession. Facebook marketplace and eBay allow me to correct directly to the consumer. I believe that is what he is talking about. On a side note...ha.. selling out of the trunk of my car paid off my college books. I remember selling Power Rangers out of my trunk to parents of insatiable children to raise money for my textbooks. Good times. I hope that you do not find my tone belittling or condescending. Conversation is good especially as I am learning here how business practices vary around the nation.

I think it depends on the show. Mandalorian is working on a weekly distribution schedule since so many people are talking about it. Disney KNEW that people would tune in no matter what being that it is the first Star Wars live action TV show. It guaranteed itself viewership for a few weeks at the minimum due to the curiosity as to how a live action Star Wars series would work. On top of that, people spend the seven days in between filming youtube videos about easter eggs and areas of the episode that you missed. It makes you pour through the series more and rewatch it a couple of times. I don't know if a show like Ozark, which is one of the greatest things on Netflix in my opinion, benefits from binge watching or would be hurt by a weekly release. Ozark has a slow start and without being able to binge a few episodes you could have lost viewership from week one to week two.

Definitely... the third episode was an homage to each of the greatest scenes from the the Dollars trilogy. Even the way Mando carries himself to his name suggests the influence. He doesn’t speak much. He moves with swagger. In dollars, Eastwood was referred to as “Joe” “Blondie” “Manco”... on this show they call him “Mando”. i am Living this show especially because the dollars trilogy is possibly one of my most enjoyed set of films ever produced. I see a lot of influence here.

You're the best.

That was a major selling point for me when I bought my grandmother's house. A lot of my stuff was already here. Not comics... but Lego.

Your assessment is either quite jaded or misinformed OR I may very well not be conveying my thoughts in the way I want to. Visiting comic stores while on vacation: Most of the time when I post things like this it is in reference to those that say things like, "Hey, I've never been to New York City before, where are the good comic book shops?" I stand behind every comment I have ever made in those threads. As the years pass, I double and triple down on that. There are far better things to do in a place you have never been to than go rummaging through a comic store 'hoping' to find that superman comic for 10-20% cheaper than you would have found it back home. Now, if you happen to come across a store in your travels, yeah, I guess, stop in and take a quick look. To make a vacation of going to NYC and making it about exploring all the comic stores? Don't waste your time. At a comic show: I do not despise comic shows. However, I have been to enough to realize that at least for local comic shows and NYCC I am getting better deals online. Why should I pay more? If you figure the price of admission, travel, food and anything else, for even a local show, then what is the point of going if you are looking to score something big. Are there exceptions? Absolutely. However, each year, my friends and I that go to shows come home with less and less. We comparatively shop while we are there. If a dealer can give me a price on a book in person that I cannot get online, of course I will buy it there. If not, I buy it online. Why wouldn't we? These days, I mostly go to a comic show to see artists, look for artwork, or other opportunities exclusive to that show. Finding a copy of All Winners 15 at a show? Nah, I am not going out of my way to find that. Not when I know one will come to me via the internet at a cheaper price. . Now let's talk brick and mortar because that is the discussion here. You admit that you are the exception as your shop is very unusual. You are based in Ohio? (I looked up Bookery online - If I am wrong I apologize.) Dealers around here have remarked even on these very boards that finding collections are becoming harder and harder. In the tri-state area more collections are being parsed out online than through a dealer. And wouldn't they? Please explain to me why I would EVER want to sell the majority of my collection to YOU? If I sell it myself, I get current value / FMV less 10% fees if I sell it on eBay or consign it to comiclink or comicconnect or Heritage or Mycomicshop or Pedigree (ewww but whatever). If I sell it to you... will you give me 80%? No? okay... 70%... No? umm... You see where I am going here? More people each year realize this. Amazon, eBay, Facebook, and many others are taking to network television to advertise their marketplaces for people to see online. If you were a newer small business owner, you should be scared. The outlook does not look very bright for you. After 35 years though you have your customer base and established word of mouth. I am also sure you are savvy enough to not continue to be like everyone else was and you do your own thing. This is good... however, as you said, you are an exception. Brick and mortar is dying all around. Each year fewer people go to the stores. Malls are drying up. Chain stores are contracting rather than expanding. This is not an opinion. This is an overall fact. This past year, the Department of Commerce revealed that for the first time ever internet commerce surpassed brick and mortar commerce. Why is it so wrong to say that Comic Book Stores will last while everyone else is slowly disappearing? Comic Book Stores are THAT special? Seriously? Here is the government report from April. YOU CAN READ THAT HERE https://www.census.gov/retail/marts/www/marts_current.pdf I don't despise.... I recognize... I don't despise comic stores. It is actually kind of sad that they are disappearing along with so many other brick and mortar stores. BTW... here is one of the Facebook Marketplace Commercials. Please just watch the first five seconds and take SERIOUS note as to what that guy has in his lap. Don't want to look? Okay, I will spoil it. The very first thing that Facebook showcases as being sold on its commercial, is, you guessed it... a comic book 'short box.' https://www.ispot.tv/ad/dNiL/facebook-marketplace-buy-and-sell-together-song-by-harry-nilsson <--- Click this... the pic is a screen shot.

I'm going to laugh myself silly if you petition the mods to change it only to find out by Season 3 that the Mandalorian turns out to actually be Boba Fett...

I have yet to see a comic book store that can compete with online sellers. “But they have.... “schtaaaaaaaap.” If you are patient then eventually it will come up at auction or someone has it... That comic I just showed you, I have had on my alert list on eBay for over four years. The right book came up at the right price this month. Personally, I see brick and mortar comic stores as antiquated and dead. Some of them just do not know it yet.

I have listed 206 books and out of that, 34 books have already sold. Claim as you want and I will keep this up for at least a few days. This is it though and the last of the blowout books I have had over the years. It's been fun. You also never know what is going to be hot. I remember selling Avenging Spider-man 9 for less than $1 in some of these threads among other things. Enjoy!

Avenging Spider-man 16 and 17 Sold as a set only - $2 sold to Vfactor1 @50% off

Millar-verse SuperCrooks 2, 4 Superior 5, 6 Secret Service 4, 5 Superior World Record Special 1 Take all seven books for $4

Amazing Heroes 152 $1 Claimed by whine49er1 at 50% off

Astro City Special 2004 - 1 $1

Heroes & Legends 1996 One Shot 50¢

Guardians of the Galaxy .01 (2013) $1

Master of Kung Fu 121 50¢ Fine Claimed by whine49er1 at 50% off

Wonder Man 9 $1

Alpha Flight 9 $1

Avengers 347 $1 Claimed by whine49er1 at 50% off

Avengers Annual 2000 $1 Claimed by whine49er1 at 50% off

Various Late Bronze - Early Copper Superman Books Consider all of these VG DC Comics Presents 39, 53, 66, 97 (Final Issue) Action Comics 515 (Extra Staples), 653 Take all of them for $2

Superman Unchained 1-3 Sold as a set only $3 Claimed by whine49er1 at 50% off