Hudson

@Get Marwood & I It takes me a long time to get out the dart board, darts and blindfold to determine what wild guess of a grade I am going to submit on these seemingly impossible books.

I think I am going to regret this as I once again embarass myself. That said, if Mike is willing to put in all the work to run this awesome contest then please add me to the list. Put my in coach!

WOW!!!! What a gorgeous book!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with you! Just yesterday I looked on one site that lists comics and then shows their "Record Sale" and "Minimum Value". I assume the "Minimum Value" is what they consider the lowest price someone could buy a copy of whatever book they are looking at for. So, out of curiousity, I checked on a book I was looking for to see what they considered FMV (or at least the "Minimum Value"). They listed the "Minimum Value" as $150. A few more clicks on the laptop and I found and purchased a copy for $24.

That is a pretty good profit margin (IMO). 66 - 150%. I would take that all day long. I remember hearing Warren Buffett talk about when he was 7 years old, he would be a six pack of Coca-Cola for 25 cents and then sell each bottle for 5 cents. Thus he was making a 5 cent profit on a 25 cent investment. 20% is not bad, but not as good as buying comics at 2 - 3 cents and selling them for 5 cents. Then again, every bottle of coke is the same (whereas some of those comics may have gone unpurcahsed at 5 cents). I think many people in this thread have made good points. IMO a dealer has a right to make a profit. Heck, I want dealers to make a profit, as I am not a dealer; I am a collector. As a collector, I want dealers to continue to seek out books for me to purchase and profit gives them that incentive. Now, I think SOME dealers are "greedy", however, every buyer and seller has a choice on who they choose to do business with and who they choose to avoid. There are lots of dealers out there to choose from, as well as many other resources available to sell your books (if you choose to do so). I don't know the exact price point (percentage) a dealer should pay for any given book, however, I do know that there are costs associated with buying, holding, and selling books. These costs include both real costs (fees, storage, transport, shinkage, etc) as well as less obvious costs (the opportunity cost of doing something else with those funds while they hold onto the book in question - which could either go up or down in value during the time it is held). There are many things to factor in when considering the OP's very good question, and I am sorry I cannot provide a more solid answer. Thankfully, I am not planning to sell any books in the near future, so perhaps I will leave this dilema to those who will be left with the burden of my collection once I go to that great comic con in the sky.

I can see how that would be frustrating and cause people not to want to go to that thread. I have not used the WTB thread too often, however, I believe anytime someone has contacted me with a book I am looking for, we have made a deal. Then again, I am not a "dealer" or "flipper"; I am a collector. As such, the exact price point is not as important to me, as it would be if I were trying to locate a book to make a profit. In the cases when I want a certain grade, I always am specific about that (as to avoid the situation you described). In MOST cases, I will take any grade if it is a book I am trying that hard to find. Honestly, I sometimes like a "well loved" copy of a book (books after all were intended to be read).

I agree with Bob, on two counts... 1) I too have had some luck (although not a lot) by posting in the "Want to Buy" thread. Given it is a free resource and it has worked for me a number of times, I too recommend it. 2) I love this statement, "The "thrill of the hunt" is the best part". Although the internet has made collecting somewhat "easy" (as long as you are long on cash), I miss the old days of searching through paper catalogues and going to comic conventions to fill in the "holes" in my collection. Now, just about any hole can be quickly filled (especially if grade is not a deal breaker), provided one has enough cash. Sadly, the "thrill of the hunt" is not what it used to be. Just my 2 cents.

I didn't even know there was a contest going on...

As I mentioned in my previous posts, you can find a LOT of great people here willing to help you find whatever you are looking for; people who have nothing to gain other than the ultimate satisfaction of helping another collector (a fellow human being) with attaining their dream collection. Many thanks to @grendel013 for taking the time and effort to provide this data.

First - Welcome to the boards. Second - When I first arrived here I made several "errors". Thankfully, other members guided me in the right direction and assisted me in becoming part of the community. Many helped me find books I was looking for (sometimes very hard to find books), and they asked nothing in return (typically just letting me know of someone else who had the book I was looking for). I have posted often about several of these members and how kind they were to me. I am very thankful and grateful to many here. It can be a great place and there are so many people here who love the hobby and enjoy helping others find their "dream book". - I will give you just one quick example. I had posted (not in the WTB section but just in general) that I would like to find a B&W copy of "If the Devil Would Talk". Given there are only 4 known copies and I had wanted one for decades, I thought it unlikely I would ever obtain one. Within a very short time, a fellow board member let me know he had seen one coming up for auction. Although he had nothing to gain from the transaction, still he took the time to reach out to me and let me know this was my chance. Needless to say, I now own that book - thanks to this awesome board member and his kindness. Third - From my experience, the WTB section is not a magical place. I have only had marginal success there in obtaining books I was looking for. Still, I had success and posting there cost me exactly ZERO. Thank you to CGC for providing this free service. In one case I actually obtained a book that had a double 9.8 cover (double cover and both had been graded 9.8) on a book I was looking for. I was not looking for a double cover, however, this rare find was something I never would have been able to obtain, had I not posted in the WTB. I will say the WTB section sometimes takes times (so one must be patient - something I confess I am not great at accomplishing). Anyway, those are my thoughts (for the little they are worth). Once again Welcome to the Boards. Thanks to @CGC Mike for removing the restriction so you can hopefully find what you are seeking. Mike is a great guy and very reasonable - we are lucky to have him here.

Unfortunately, the book has now been sold, although Stephanie stated she could put it in my want list in case they come across another copy.

In order to be fair, I thought I should say Strephanie from Metropolis emailed me yesterday (02/05/2024).

Three more days have passed.