X-men #58 6.5 $195 SOLD

X-men #57 4.5 $55

A few minutes late, but here we go...OT in KC. We'll see if anyone is around.

X-men #56 4.5 $40
Sub crease, bright colors.

X-men King Size Special #1 4.0ish $38.00 SOLD
This should be an 8.5+. Colors are bright and pages white. However, there is a ~1 inch bug chew on the spine just below Thor's cape. Hard to even see in a mylar...get a beauty for a bargain.

Recap:

Page 1
X-men King Size #1 4.0 $38.00 SOLD
X-men #56 4.5 $40.00 SOLD
X-men #57 4.5 $55.00 SOLD
X-men #61 8.5+ $150.00
X-men #63 4.0 $40.00 SOLD
X-men #64 7.0 $575.00 SOLD

Page 2
X-men #66 6.0 $95.00
X-men King Size #2 7.0+ $45.00 SOLD
Fantastic Four #86 2.0 $10.00 SOLD

Page 3
Doctor Strange #3 5.5 $10.00
Doctor Strange #4 5.5 $10.00
Doctor Strange #5 4.5 $8.00
Doctor Strange #13 5.5 $8.00
X-men #6 2.5 $285.00 SOLD
Doctor Strange #170 7.0 $55.00
Doctor Strange #171 8.0 $65.00
Doctor Strange #173 7.0 $55.00 SOLD
Doctor Strange #174 8.0 $65.00 SOLD
Doctor Strange #175 7.0 $55.00
Doctor Strange #177 8.0 $65.00 SOLD
Doctor Strange #178 6.5 $40.00

Page 4
Doctor Strange #180 6.5 $40.00 SOLD
Doctor Strange #181 6.0 $35.00
Doctor Strange #182 6.5 $55.00 SOLD
Doctor Strange #183 6.5 $40.00

Anybody up for some sweet Neal Adams X-men books between football? I have a small X-men collections including several Adams issues. Page quality is very good on these books. Colors are bright with even the lower grade books presenting well. Grades are mostly 6.5-7.0ish with a couple below and a couple above. Right now, everything will be raw. I'll post one book now and start posting around 6:00 ET. Rules:

Shipping is $15 for slabs and $5 for raws in the US. I will ship to Canada at cost.
Paypal, check/MO for payment
7-day return on raws. No return on slabs
No members of bad lists

A preview pic of what is to come:

Because legalese is always fun, here are the relevant points from each. This may not be all inclusive as my eyes do glaze over a bit when reading this. Note that Comiclink states a bid by a consignee is NOT in good faith while Heritage states it IS in good faith. Bold and italics are mine. 

Comiclink Terms and Conditions:

9. COMICLINK reserves the right to refuse to honor any bid or to limit the amount of any bid, in its sole discretion. A bid is considered not made in “Good Faith” when made by an insolvent or irresponsible person, a person under the age of eighteen, or is not supported by satisfactory credit, or for other reasonable grounds. Regardless of the disclosure of his identity, any bid by a consignor or his agent on a lot consigned by him is deemed not to be made in “Good Faith.”

37. COMICLINK, its owners and its employees may bid on any lots owned by others but may not bid on lots owned by themselves or each other. COMICLINK expressly reserves the right to modify any such bids at any time prior to the hammer based upon data made known to it.

Heritage Terms and Conditions:

13. Notice of the consignor’s liberty to place bids on his lots in the Auction is hereby made in accordance with Article 2 of the Texas Business and Commercial Code. A “Minimum Bid” is an amount below which the lot will not sell. THE CONSIGNOR OF PROPERTY MAY PLACE WRITTEN “Minimum Bids” ON HIS LOTS IN ADVANCE OF THE AUCTION; ON SUCH LOTS, IF THE HAMMER PRICE DOES NOT MEET THE “Minimum Bid”, THE CONSIGNOR MAY PAY A REDUCED COMMISSION ON THOSE LOTS. “Minimum Bids” are generally posted online several days prior to the Auction closing. Any successful bid placed by a consignor on his property on the Auction floor, by any means during the live session, or after the “Minimum Bid” for an Auction have been posted, will require the consignor to pay full Buyer’s Premium and Seller’s Commissions on such lot. Auctioneer or its affiliates expressly reserve the right to modify any such bids at any time prior to the hammer based upon data made known to the Auctioneer or its affiliates.

15. Auctioneer reserves the right to refuse to honor any bid or to limit the amount of any bid, in its sole discretion. A bid is considered not made in “Good Faith” when made by an insolvent or irresponsible person, a person under the age of eighteen, or is not supported by satisfactory credit, references, or otherwise. Regardless of the disclosure of his identity, any bid by a consignor or his agent on a lot consigned by him is deemed to be made in “Good Faith.” Any person apparently appearing on the OFAC list is not eligible to bid.

21. The Auctioneer, its affiliates, or their employees consign items to be sold in the Auction, and may bid on those lots or any other lots.

On 1/24/2022 at 11:16 PM, buttock said:

I'm pretty sure this is discussing a reserve.  You can't bid on your own auctions at HA.

The terms do not reference a reserve, but reference a "bid placed by a consignor on his property on the Auction floor, by any means during the live session"

Regardless, all I was doing was pointing out the terms of service for Heritage and Comiclink are similar. I've seen the claim multiple times that Texas legalizes all sorts of nefarious practices. That Heritage has an algorithm that bids you to your max secret bid because of those loose laws (therefore doing it legally). Whether or not a consigner can bid on their item does not play into the accusation that the auction house is bidding against real buyers. Reading the terms of service of Heritage and Comiclink, there are more similarities than differences. Both allow the auction house, its employees and affiliates to bid on items in their auctions. Therefore, both could bid against "real" buyers if they choose too (or, more likely, Bob in shipping can bid on a book for his collection). I also recognize that terms of service can give a company more latitude than what their current actions may be. 

If someone doesn't want to bid in Heritage auctions, that is fine. The reasoning should not be based on the state of Texas and their "permissive" laws. There are auctions I will not buy from for various reasons. However, I routinely bid in both Heritage and Comiclink auctions. 

Sorry again for what feels like a big thread drift.

On 1/24/2022 at 6:48 PM, buttock said:

No.  The person you quoted is wrong.

He quoted me. I pulled it from Heritage's Terms. From their website:

Conducting the Auction:
13. Notice of the consignor’s liberty to place bids on his lots in the Auction is hereby made in accordance with Article 2 of the Texas Business and Commercial Code. A “Minimum Bid” is an amount below which the lot will not sell. THE CONSIGNOR OF PROPERTY MAY PLACE WRITTEN “Minimum Bids” ON HIS LOTS IN ADVANCE OF THE AUCTION; ON SUCH LOTS, IF THE HAMMER PRICE DOES NOT MEET THE “Minimum Bid”, THE CONSIGNOR MAY PAY A REDUCED COMMISSION ON THOSE LOTS. “Minimum Bids” are generally posted online several days prior to the Auction closing. Any successful bid placed by a consignor on his property on the Auction floor, by any means during the live session, or after the “Minimum Bid” for an Auction have been posted, will require the consignor to pay full Buyer’s Premium and Seller’s Commissions on such lot. Auctioneer or its affiliates expressly reserve the right to modify any such bids at any time prior to the hammer based upon data made known to the Auctioneer or its affiliates.

terms-and-conditions.pdf

On 1/24/2022 at 4:12 PM, sfcityduck said:

And this is what I think is Frazetta's first cover (again let me know if I'm wrong):

He did Ghost Rider #2 as well...

On 1/24/2022 at 11:53 AM, PiggyTTV said:

What's the difference? They're both shill bidding. 

Honestly, not sure. Maybe someone can shed a light on that. I can understand how an auction house or employee being allowed to bid on an item is not shill bidding (but could be shill bidding). I am less clear on an owner bidding on his/her own item. 

I am also curious how many states have similar laws. Texas is not uniqe, I am certain. 

In its terms, Comiclink states that Comiclink, its owners and its employees may bid on any lot not owned by themselves. Comiclink also expressly prohibits a consigner from bidding on its own item. 

EDIT: This is probably not the thread for all this, but wanted to add Heritage's terms. They are similar, but different to Comiclink. A consigner may give a written bid ("minimum bid") prior to the live auction. That bid will receive a reduced comission if it wins. Consigner may bid on their own item in a live auction, but must pay the full commission. Heritage, its employees and affiliates may consign items and bid on those and any other items.

The difference between Comiclink and Heritage is that a consigner can bid on its own items at Heritage, but not at Comiclink. The auction house, employees and affiliates can bid on items at either.

On 1/24/2022 at 7:37 AM, dikran1 said:

I assume (e)(3)

https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=3&p_dir=&p_rloc=128251&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=128251&ti=16&pt=4&ch=67&rl=70&dt=12/02/2006

Thank you.

Shill bidding is NOT legal (Heritage was sued for shill bidding because it is illegal...):

(d) A licensee may not knowingly use, or permit the use of, false bidders, cappers, or shills at any auction.

Owner, agent, consigner can bid if disclosed:

(e) Before beginning an auction, a licensee must announce, give notice, display notice and/or disclose:
 (3) if the owner, consignor, or agent thereof has reserved the right to bid.

On 1/23/2022 at 1:38 PM, MAR1979 said:

 

What allegations? Its legal in Texas. While they may not advertise the practice, in the state in which they are charted it's totally lawful.

Can someone point me to the Texas law that shows what is and is not legal? My search capabilities, especially when it comes to state law, is apparently terrible. I tried to find it, but have been unsuccessful. 

On 1/20/2022 at 8:27 AM, mrc said:

.......it's not a complete book, so to me - worthless

So, if you found this in a box you would throw it away?

If not, it is not worthless even to you. 

kjallen132

Made an offer on a four figure book. I accepted. The next day he asked to cancel saying he "was messing around and accidentally hit the button."

On 1/16/2022 at 11:11 PM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

Hmm ... I actually like the cover quite a bit?

So do I. Loved that cover as a kid and still do. 

X-men $80

Just to clarify the time, end is 9 PM ET?

On 1/13/2022 at 9:23 PM, MAR1979 said:

 

What upsets me is Heritage made over 500k on it!

Doubt they paid the full vig.

Regardless, why? Heritage helped create a market for it and brought the buyers. Earlier in the thread someone posted a private offer of $250k for this and another page. Seller could have taken that. No buyer's premium or commission there.

On 1/7/2022 at 4:48 PM, lou_fine said:

Not necessarily always the case, with the perfect example being this one time drekiest of drek books:

    the money that is, as I would certainly take $44K over that all-time classic drek of a book there.  

There is a lot of drek from the 1980s, but I would never have included Transformers #1 as drek. Certainly, it is not the drekiest of drek books. It is one of the greatest toy properties to come out of the 1980s and has multi-generational fans. Pre-Teen, Dirty Gene Kung Fu Kangaroos is drek.

On 1/7/2022 at 10:32 PM, snitzer said:

He’s in for a shock for sure 

On 1/7/2022 at 10:07 PM, ramrodcar said:

Better hope the 1099K thread posters don't spill over and see this; they'll complain how you've harmed this guy and his situation by making him get a 1099K next year...

If these are "investments" as the IRS is treating them, he has no tax liability. His basis in the books adjusts to market value when it passes from the estate to him. So, his gain would be $0. He will likely get his 1099 and pay 20-something% tax even though he does not owe it...heavy handed (yes, coercion) policy from the IRS. Sorry to thread drift. 

On 1/7/2022 at 4:52 PM, The bard said:

So, I am relatively new to comic collecting (been on and off for a long time, but never serious since he late 80s) and am contemplating purchasing a CGC of an iconic cover/issue to display in my office/geek cave.  I am not new to collecting or grading overall (I have a good sized graded baseball card collection).  I typically value the look of a 9.8 over an older lesser condition book, but could be convinced otherwise (although nostalgia plays a role here over investment potential, so think 80s+). 

What I am looking for is advice on which of the following to buy (or other ideas in the same price range) that is least likely to lose a lot of value (I am not looking for an investment, but don’t want to buy something that might be 30% less in 6 months). 
The list (all 9.8):

ASM 361

ASM 316

Incredible Hulk 340

Avengers 196

Hulk 340 followed by ASM 316. They are both copper age classics that are tough to beat. I own both. I almost sold my 340 9.8 during the frenzy of last year, but did not. I did sell my 316 9.8 in the runup but kept a 9.6. I'll buy the 9.8 again, I am sure. I grew up buying and reading these books of the stands. There are few copper books that top McFarlane covers for me given the nostalgia. People can carp on prices and buyers paying for common books all day, but it is only money. If you enjoy it, who cares. 

On 1/5/2022 at 1:09 PM, sledgehammer said:

Somebody paid $1,000 for a 9.8 13 years ago, and somebody paid $1,200 for one in early 2018.

This sale?

That's really cherry picking a data point. It did not see $1000 again until December 2014. That seems to be an outlier for some reason. Just eyeballing the trend, the book was flat to down from 2003 to 2013. It rose from 2013 to 2015, dipped in 2016 and began to rise in 2017 thru today. Data is a bit sparse in the early years. From 2003 to 2008, GPA shows a total of 20 sales. There were 16 sales in 2009. From 2010 to 2021, sales ranged from 20 to 35 copies per year.