DavidTheDavid

People have shared different experiences on the CGC boards about their Facebook comic-buying experiences. Here are my own. I first learned about Facebook buying groups from a friend who sells online and at cons as Twisted Heroes. I shrugged off the mention, but somehow I caught wind of a Show Off Your Slabs group, which was fun, and its admin had a sister group called Slabbed Comics Buying and Selling. I also found a group for buying and selling raw comics. This raw comics group didn't last long. I did acquire some good comics through here, all from one buyer, though the transaction went sour. He had several nice comics; and I bought a Doctor Strange which would grade a 6.5, a Captain America 100 that would grade a 6.0, and a Teen Titans. The latter two comics, however, did not arrive in the described condition. I can stomach a slight difference between a seller's grade and my own, as any reasonable collector should, but these were far off. The Teen Titans had some of the worst tanning I'd ever seen. The Captain America had a subscription crease; it wasn't a pronounced crease but it was visibly there. I contacted the seller and he immediately became irate, stating that the pictures I shared were of another comic, that the book did not have a crease, and that he would fight it through PayPal. Whoa! Right off the bat, he goes hard on the defense. Accustomed to buying here, I had never had someone react that fashion; of course, buying here, I'd never had a book so badly misgraded. I proceeded with a PayPal claim for a partial refund, and he never replied and eventually relented. I returned the Teen Titans, and that was that. I bought from a second seller there, who sent me a Fantastic Four issue with numerous spots of color touch along the spine. He resisted a return, too, but eventually took the book back. This group imploded soon thereafter over some behind-the-scenes drama, which was probably for the best. The slabbed group proved better, and there are some other boardies there. I sold a FF 112 and an FF 52 there. I've bought a few comics without incident that way, too, including my Giant Size X-Men #1, which I had pressed and got a .5 bump out of. That one is hanging on my wall. I grew up devouring the X-Men of Claremont, Austin, Byrnes, and that era. It was my first collection as I owned 94 to 200-something. I was working on 1-93 when I bailed on collecting in my early 20's. In that group, I've also encountered a knuckle-head seller or two. One person had an FF 67 that he wanted at top of GPA for. I have a thing for that book, with four copies, my best one slabbed at 7.5. We talked, I offered an amount, he countered, I dithered, let him know I'd take it, he then wanted $10 more. I responded and he went quiet for two weeks, until he replied that the book was still available. I passed. He also had an Iron Man 55 at a reasonable price. I passed on it, too, after a bit of discussion. He would later message me and tell me that he "might have a bidding war going" and that I might want to offer more than the asked for amount. I said no thanks. He later posted in the group that he was getting low ball offers and not to waste his time. It was apparent that he was stringing people along, including me, fishing for the best price. I understand maximizing value and all that, but he was baiting agreements, retreating, and fishing for more money. Not a good seller. In the meantime, I joined another raw comics group, which has worked out well. I got an raw FF 67 in about 5.5 at a very good price. That same seller has approached me with some other comics I'd like, also at a good price, but I've been busy soothing a tooth-weary toddler today, and other people have bought them before me! I also bought a MSH 13 that was in fine condition, though I would've liked to have known about the spine damage. My big pulls were a VG/F Tales of Suspense 52 from someone who turned out to be a boardie that I've transacted with previously at a reasonable price, and a 6.0-ish ASM 129 that I bought just today. My fingers are crossed that it looks as good as advertised; it actually looked better in the pics than the seller advertised it, in which case it'll be a bit of a bargain. So it's been largely positive. There's a lot of over-priced stuff, like the Doctor Strange 169 4.5 that someone keeps posting for $250, but overall, I've liked it. To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.

Yet another spotless transaction with Randall. Thanks for the DD 18. GLAD-I-A-TOR! BZZZZZZZZ!

Oooh, count me in!

I remove myself from threads. I try to remember to say something like "I'm removing myself from this thread to clear out my inbox" but I don't always do it.

8.0

~DavidTheDavid's EverNeverEnding Feedback Thread~

Spider-Dan sold Spider-Man #38 to David-Man Spun his web, pulled it tight Shipped his comic straight through the night Now David-Man has Spider-Man #38 in his hands. All thanks to Spider-Dan!

I bought this via the Heritage Auction house last week. It's not particularly noteworthy, despite being a 9.8 first issue. Hell, any comic that has "Collector's Edition" emblazoned on its cover generally turns me off. But this one, I admit, it was just too sexy. There's Doctor Strange on the cover, along with Cloak and Dagger. Plus, I once owned a complete run of the classic Strange Tales hero series starring Nick Fury and Doctor Strange. Seeing the same title with two sets of my favorite 80's heroes: I couldn't resist. So yeah, this one is pretty cool to own; plus it was cheap.

I've seen people sell in a Fbook group and here a time or two. I don't know what to make of it as FBook feels so informal, but a sale' a sale.

I bought a couple of books last night through a Facebook group. Sellers communicated well, got me good pictures, had good prices, and both have already sent me tracking, but the proof will be when the books arrived. One person wanted PPal personal, so I just told him I'd pay the $2 extra for PPal fees. I did have a negative experience with a Facebook group seller. One book was fine, but the other had a subscription crease, which he denied, saying that I was not using pictures of the same book. He gnashed his teeth but relented with the PPal claim and made a partial refund. I also had someone send me a book with color touch and then complain when I wanted to return it. But he took it back. It's been a mixed bag so far. There are some folks who, at least to me, are the core of those groups and often are members of multiples. What sense of community there is comes from those common names. But I have made some notable sales there, and made some good buys, too. As long as I have PPal protection and am smart about what I'm doing, I feel okay continuing. If this FF 67 and MSH 13 look in hand like they do in the images, I'll be very happy with the prices I paid.

Fwiw I didn't read it that way.

So you're dropping the nomination?

The Name of the Wind Novel by Patrick Rothfuss Just finished Marvel Comics: The Untold Story. You Marvel fans would enjoy this.

Looking for the books heating up posts in here.

I've sold to Randall a few times now. He's a super nice person to transact with. Enjoy the comics, sir!

I've sold to him before with no problem, both on ebay and here. I did complete the above referenced transactions, but only after delays, though within the 30 day time frame.

I had a discombobulated transaction with Leonard during that same time frame. I have screenshotted the PM convo into a Google doc and will share as requested. He did follow through for me, but only after delays.

Very nice, sir. Molecule Man is totally OP! Impossible Man is such a stooge. That character both fascinated and annoyed me.

Villains, can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. This particular villain captured my heart a long time ago. That anguished iron mask, his annoying energy blasts, and an unexpected penchant for profane mystical arts struck me as so idiosyncratic and fascinating. I encountered Doom as a Byrnes-era reader, but the early Kirby renderings of him are so quirky that I was drawn to them. I have a small collection of villains' first appearances. Now I just a mid-grade IM 55 to have my three villainous favorites: Galactus, Doom, and Thanos.

Yeah, you can always find Thors on the market, but this one less so. I'd have paid $50 for it.

Nice mail call today.

4.5, maybe 5.0. That sub crease is pretty pronounced.

Collin connected me with a seller who sold me a couple of slick Thor slabs to go in my Kirby run. A good transaction all around. Collin didn't have a stake in this besides helping his buddy and a boardie, so I'm terribly appreciative.

You're correct. Link?