VintageComics

Which part of LA? You definitely want to hit local stores and let them know. LA area is a huge area with lots of stores. Also, hit local cons and talk to dealers as they are pretty good at staying on top of this sort of thing.

The buying and selling forums have really heated up over the years. Used to be you couldn't fill a page with new posts in 24 hours and now, sometimes you have fresh posts several pages deep. If you can't at least post a grade OR price range for the copy you're looking for, you end up having lots of vague posts taking up all sorts of real estate space that others could be using more effectively. Should there be a minimum requirement of posting EITHER a grade range OR a price range for WTB posts? Thoughts?

Apologies. One more book and I'll try to add a few more over the weekend. X-men #78 CGC 9.8 OWW - That's my $1000 sale in June 2021 and it seems there's a 2nd sale of $682, Back cover is flawless. Asking $800 (shipping included) SOLD!

Man, I can't find a scan of a book I wanted to list. Maybe tomorrow. OK, last one for tonight. Giant-Size X-men #1 CGC 9.6 White pages. Smoking copy. I subbed it expecting a 9.8 (no, I'm not trying to pump the book, it's that nice) and if it doesn't sell, I'll resub it and wait for a Disney mutants movie announcement. Asking $25,000 (shipping included)

I've had this book for a few years in my personal collection. I don't remember the last time I saw a high grade copy of this book on the market. It's been almost 2.5 years according to GPA. Crime Does Not Pay #46 CGC 7.5 White pages - Cookeville Pedigree (I don't think CGC notates this pedigree but it is well recognized by the markings on the logo - a massive GA collection out of Cookeville, TN) - There are no copies graded above 9.0 of this book - This is affectionately known as the 'pedophile' cover. Asking $3000 (shipping included)

Daredevil #7 CGC 8.5 OWW - one of my top 3 favorite SA Marvels. I think I've slabbed more high grade copies than anyone else, including 3 or 4 9.4 copies (I can't remember anymore). I've NEVER managed to find an elusive 9.6 copy! Generation 2 CGC label and this book looks MUCH better in hand. For some reason the scanner is washing the book out in the scan. Asking $2500 (shipping included)

Okay, it's been so long I actually forgot how to do this. I don't have a lot right now but I'll post a few cool books.

Moms mortified.

God. The last sales thread was pulled because some dork notified on me. I had no idea why it was pulled. I found out later it was pulled because I didn't have payment info in the listing. Meanwhile, I'd been copying and pasting the same post info for probably over 5 years. Some people need to get a life beyond the moderator notify button.

Spot reserved.

Payment: PayPal, bank wire, cash, check, etc. PayPal preferred. Shipping: Certified books, shipping is included FREE within North America, ROW we split it. Raw books, include $10 for shipping within North America. ROW I will split with interested parties.  Who wins: Time stamp seals the deal as to who wins regardless of the form of communication (including PM, in the thread, text or phone conversation). A negotiation is not a deal until both sides have agreed on terms. If there is an unconditional posted (or communicated) it will trump all negotiations unless we have already both agreed to terms before the was posted. In that case, the will have been in vain. Except that it will give you street cred and look cool to passers by. No House Of Shame or Probationary members or any others of ill repute. Returns: I am considered a very good grader among my peers ( Here is a link to my kudos thread ) but since even CGC is inconsistent I will not guarantee a CGC grade. I will guarantee to be within one grade increment in either direction - so if I am calling the book a 9.4 it could go 9.2 or 9.6. If it falls outside of those parameters (and it does happen that they go in both directions), I will offer a refund. But I don't expect anyone to complain if I undergraded it. I will accept returns if item is otherwise not as described. Consider all books pressed. Pricing: I try to price books close to fair market value. I am open to offers but it's not very likely I'm going to be accepting offers at 30% off fair market value.

This was the #4 you sold me. I'll never see a book from 1940 looking like this again. It was a one in a million.

OMG, I forgot you sold me the #4 as well, I kept that book for a decade in my personal, I loved it so much! It has a VERY small amount of color touch but it looked like a brand new book in hand. I'm never seen anything like it. ended up replacing it with file copy and sold that as well. The MMC #9 was a killer, low grade copy. I'll try to find pics of them all later.

I don't think the MMC #9 had restor but that was almost 15 years ago so I can't remember and I've owned a few. Strangely, I sold along with a few other big books at the time to invest after the market collapse of 2008 (and I bought a 5.0 copy to replace it) but I just talked to the owner this morning after not talking to them for several years and they still have it. I have first dibs when they decide to move it. That is tied with #1 and #4 as the greatest Marvels of all time in my books.

Ah, OK. In a thread where people talk a lot about value I misread your post.

I should qualify that. Helping people in need. I've seen your collection posts. I think I need some of your books. I think the Marvel #9 and Whiz #2(3) that I got from you years ago will go down as my favorite purchases not only from you, but almost ever. Those books were so SWEET!

I think a lot of people regret the money they left on the table but don't factor in what they did with that money. Like, if you spent it on renovating your home, or a new car you enjoy or simply bought other comics, those are all investments that did something for you and brought value into your life. So, if people actually thought through what they left on the table and then calculated where that money went and what it did, it'd be far more productive than just regretting what they did with the money. For example, I sold a Hulk #1 9.0 for a record price in 2014 but I don't regret not keeping it. Keeping that book for 7 years would have actually cost me money, because I wouldn't have the cash to multiply it into where I am today, which is much further ahead than the profit I would have made if I'd just sat on it. Even though I'm a full time dealer now, I think most collectors are the same way. They may have sold a big key in 2010 or 2015 or even 2019 before the recent rise, but if you bought tons of other comics with that money then your ROI is probably pretty good no matter what you own since almost ALL comics have been rising steadily for 80 years and you're not as poorly off as you thought you were. And if you DIDN'T sell the big key and sat on it, would you be in a better or worse place financially today? That's the proper way to look at it IMO.

I didn't say I don't care about value. Money just doesn't make me happy. In fact, I don't think money makes ANYONE happy. Otherwise, rich people would never be depressed. For me, giving money away actually makes me happy. There's probably not a better high than helping other people.

Most people don't want to bite the bullet and wait for others to step in and see a trend before they jump in. Unfortunately, once the trend starts it's too late. Prices take off. I've always just bit the bullet and bought what I wanted since most of the time it's going to cost me more later. I realize not everyone thinks that way, but everyone has their own risk tolerances. I was looking for a 9.2 for a client. Never found one.

I don't think any of the guys in this thread are pump and dump people, but the 'one way street' talk in politics, economics, comics, etc just gets tiring. Everyone's vectors only go in one direction these days. Like, NOTHING can be going up forever. NOBODY can always be right. It's IMPOSSIBLE for only one side to always be right and one side always be wrong. I guess it's just a call for a little more intellectual honesty, which I think has left planet earth recently. Not everything has to be a win every time.

I probably shouldn't have been snarky either, so thanks for calling me on it. I kinda wish we had those banned threads in the WC still going as IIRC you've got a degree in epidemiology and I'd have loved to have picked your brain. One thing I NEVER do anymore is worry about what I missed out on. That's a recipe for nothing productive. Everyone has wins and losses. Most people never talk about their huge losses. I left $250K on the table in a deal once. It happens. The past is for lessons so I learned and moved on. Just enjoy what you have and not what you don't have.

I didn't realize there was a competition. I don't play the 'speculation game' as I think it's silly (always have) and being a full time dealer I don't need to. I always have inventory and something is always going up or down. I'm not going to waste my time worrying which books are going up and which are going down since it's all the same to me. But I did actually buy a few Hulk #1s and AF #15's back in 2014-2016 as I saw the trend coming and I told a few friends to stock up at the time. I've long sold them and turned that money over into other inventory. Sitting on books is not a viable business model.

Haha! Sure! There are a couple of guys in the threads that are ALWAYS pumping these books overtime and I was speaking towards that. Apparently every book is 'going to the moon' even when it's already been there and back already. It just gets tiring but i probably shouldn't have said anything.

That's where i thought the book should have gone a long time ago. It's by far the toughest of the big keys in grade. I tried to broker a deal on the lone Hulk #1 9.4 about 5 or 6 years ago and even then it was thought to be a $1MIL book. The only reason this book didn't pop sooner is because the movie spec guys didn't have a Hulk series to latch onto, but it's a killer book. I sold a 9.0 about 7 years ago for a fraction of this new result.

So what you're saying is money makes you happy. Got it. Wow, this place has changed. It might be time for me to leave for good. I used to love this place. Now I can hardly stand it.