VintageComics

To me a buyer not putting a grade on a WTB post is no different than a seller not putting a grade on a WTS post. Everyone's mileage is going to vary, judging by the results of this thread but at least 30% of the people (and likely more) feel that at least a grade range should be a minimum requirement. To each their own. I have a website. It's called the CGC boards.

To me it's like when someone walks into a bar and says to the bartender "I want a beer" . Do you want a Heineken? Michelob? Sapporo? To me it's just laziness. Yes, I can message all of them. But to me it's just another slippery slope into the lazy Idiocracy we're becoming as a society. Also, it keeps me from typing out useless posts on the rest of the forum.

with that top left corner ? That small mark wouldn't keep it out of 9.8. It's from printing and less noticeable in hand. I've gotten many 9.8s on this issue and on square bounds they're not super strict on this sort of defect because the square binding creates all sorts of problems that a regular saddle stitch wouldn't. I think for most dealers this would have been their best year ever, as long as they kept at it. Strangely enough, when the pandemic started I sat my family down and we had a talk about finances. I thought that we would lose the house...everything, so we strategized on how to navigate it. I don't think anyone saw the boom coming that we had over the last two years. I know it wasn't that way for many people but I'm grateful and thankful that our hobby did well.

Your post makes it sound like we shouldn't expect any rules at all because it's free when in fact moderators are going to moderate whether it's free or not.

I changed it and announced I was making a change in the thread because I realized the thread title was confusing after I posted it. But the convo that's come out if it has been decent, so I don't think it's a total loss. Maybe we should police thread edits too. I'd be in favor of that. 🙃

He wouldn't have to if everyone did their own share of the work.

You know what's even more surprising to me than the fact that we have lots of posts without grades listed in WTB posts? That some people, esp old school collectors don't care if the grades are not listed. That's the most surprising thing to me. I didn't even think it would be a discussion.

Are you saying you don't think a price OR grade (not both, just one of them) should be included in each listing?

It sounds like your focus is on price with grade as an afterthought. That's just my perception but I see your point now that I reread it. As far as intent, I absolutely have a few enemies that are spiteful against me. I even had two unsolicited PMs today about it from people I hardly ever interact with that have noticed it, so it's not just me. But more to the topic of your post, I'm NOT looking at it as just a seller since I post WTB threads all the time. I find it disingenuous for comic collectors to state that grades are not important in WTB posts when we're in a hobby where grade is literally more important than price...since people are willing to often OVERPAY for the grade they want and are more conscious of how their books look than how much they cost. Maybe it's a shift in the hobby and eye appeal doesn't matter as much as it used to. Maybe price is the only important factor nowadays because we have more flippers now than we ever have before...this thread has been very telling without me realizing it was going to be. I apologize for misreading your post.

Why are you replies ONLY about price when EITHER price OR grade are both viable options? You don't want to pigeon hole your price point, don't. Nobody is forcing you to. But to pretend that grade is not an important detail in a hobby where condition has been more important than price for over half a century is...well, I don't know what better word to use than ridiculous at this point.

Nothing. I literally came here to post that and you beat me to it! There's even nothing wrong with saying you'll pay UNDER FMV - some people may need some quick money and there are people willing to sell cheap to raise quick cash. It's ALL about communication and the more you do upfront, the less everyone has to do after.

It's hilarious to me that so many people voted no in the poll. We're literally in a hobby where OCD rules and condition and price are all that matters to the majority and yet most don't feel it's important to list those in WTB threads. I can only surmise that I've T'd off lots of people and they're voting no only because I started the thread topic.

I've dealt with Steve with no problems. Glad you're bringing more stuff to the Marketplace, Steve!

That's an excellent point and it illustrates how different buying strategies can be for different folks. Most people want to get a copy as cheap as possible but for those who collect the stuff that's hard to find, many have no problem saying "I'll pay $X" to flush a copy out of the woodwork, and I've seen that. I've seen potential buyers say they'll pay over FMV for a book they really want. GREAT point!

I think my initial wording of the 1st post really sent this thread off in the wrong direction. I think either a grade range OR a price range on any WTB post is a very reasonable expectation. Does anyone disagree with this?

Believe me, I'm trying! That #22 is impossible! I may consider 2 sticks of butter and a used bible...

BTW, I edited my 1st post as I think I worded it too harshly. It was late and I was tired. To me, the real question is should there be a minimum requirement of EITHER a grade or a price range listed in WTB posts which I think is not unreasonable.

Couldn't you use the same sort of logic for selling threads that are vague? As I full time seller, my perspective is probably slightly different than a casual collector's. The main point is to have some semblance of a minimum requirement that finds a balance between wasting real estate space and people's time and allowing the forum to be a fun and productive place.

That's all I'm talking about. I agree!

You're just sore because I schooled you on Facebook.

Many seem to only be focusing on the price aspect of the discussion. If you DON'T want to peg your price point, that's fine. But the bare minimum should be a grade range IF THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT PRICE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GRADES. If you're buying $1 moderns that are common as dirt that's an entirely different matter and I think everyone in the hobby gets that.

That's great info. I agree that a grade range of some sort should be the bare minimum.

Now you're being silly. If someone is posting a WTB for modern books that are $5-10 a pop there isn't a very big price range. There's no need to put a price range. But ia real world example that just happened (and I'm not picking on the seller, just using a recent example) f someone is looking for an All Star #8 and saying 'show me what you've got' do you want a $10,000 copy or a $million copy, because I can get you the $million dollar copy if you are serious. ----------------------------------------------- How about a Hulk #181? "WTB Hulk #181 - show me what you've got:" "Well, I have a 9.8 and want $90K for it." "Oh, that's a little out of my price range....I'm looking for a VG." ------------------------------------------------ How about this: "WTB a high grade ASM # xx" "I have a CGC 9.4 copy. I want $15K for it" "Oh, I was just looking for a VF copy." Well, why the heck wouldn't you put that into your listing then? -------------------------------------------------- I understand that some people don't want to peg themselves with a price and negotiate 'against themselves' by throwing a number out there. That's why I said to use either a PRICE OR A GRADE range. But for people who scan the WTB listings regularly it's pretty annoying when there are dozens of listings with no specifics and people are just using this place like Craiglist This place was never a Craigslist and I don't think people should allow it to slide into becoming one.

What was the video of? It shows unavailable in my country (I'm in Canada so it's blocked)

Well, most of the good stuff always goes under the radar. I've been selling a lot of big books over the past year including multiple 7 figure books, so it's not like I stopped selling. I just took a hiatus from here. I should have TONS of new books in the coming weeks as I focus back on my own inventory moving forward.