Hudson

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.

Amazing books. Great colors.

Thank you, sir. As per your suggestion, I just sent them an email. Hoping for the best.

Glad this worked out for you. I will say I have successfully purchased from Metropolis in the past (when I simply paid asking), however, it has been awhile. All I am looking for is the courtesy of a response to an offer. I was unaware offers went directly to the sellers (if that is the case) and not to Metropolis. I figure someone is always free to do as they want with their item and put whatever value they want on it. Just look at eBay with books that are likely priced at 10 times (or more) what any "sane" person would pay for them. I still respect the sellers right to list them at any price. With eBay, there is the option of "make an offer" or the seller can choose to not accept offers (not use the "make an offer" option). My problem with Metropolis is they say you can "make an offer", they take all your info (including your credit card info), and then I was not even provided a "yes", "No", or "counter". IMO (which is only the opinion of one person and likely not worth much at all) this is poor customer service. IF Metropolis does not see the offers, then I can at least understand why there is no response from them. It would be good to know for sure if this is the case. I truly apreciate you providing your insights on the positive experience you had and I am thankful you were able to work it out and obtain the book you wanted.

My absolutely absurd, blindfolded, shots in the dark, have been submitted for Mike's consideration and amusement!

Thanks, Jack. Hope you are doing well. I always refer to you as the guy who has forgotten more about comics than I will ever know.

I don't know for certain, however, I believe the HA offers is something HA set up in hopes a buyer of a book might be willing to sell a book they bought IF the price was right. I don't think the books on there have actually been offered up by the owners. In many (maybe most cases) I do not think the current owners of the books are even aware that HA is accepting offers on them. The reason I believe this is because about 3 years ago I purchased a book from one of their auctions for $1,900 (plus premium - so $2,280). It was maybe 6 - 8 months later they sent me an email stating that someone wanted to buy the book for $4K. They said I could accept, reject, or make a counter-offer. I had no interest in selling the book so I replied as such. I had never told HA that I was interested in selling the book or made any indication that I was interested in even entertaining offers. I think they were just hoping I would accept, so that they could take their commision from the sale.

Thank you. I cannot take credit for the photography on that (just the books). My brother did the photography work (he is really good at stuff like that). He actually did a few different ones for me.

Earlier this week, I was on the Metropolis website and saw a book I was interested in purchasing. There was a BIN price and a "make an offer" option. In order to make an offer, I had to enter all my information, to include credit card information. I made the offer and Metropolis immediately sent what I assume was an automated message saying that they were giving themselves 2 days to review the offer. The two days came and went and I have not heard back from them. They did not accept or reject my offer. They did not counter the offer. They simply ignored me. I spoke with another collector who indicated he had the same experience with Metropolis in the past. I was wondering if anyone has had any luck with the Metropolis "make an offer" option OR is this just somethign they put in, so they can then list the "highest offer" under the book and try to entice others to pay full asking. IMO it is rude not to respond to potential customers and a sign of poor customer service. Given this lack of customer service, I personally would not want to utilize Metropolis to sell my books. On a positive note, I also made an offer on a book on the Superworld website. Ted and his crew responded in less than 24 hours. They even provided me with additional photos. Kudos to the team @Superworld

I waited to give others the chance, however, with only 2 days left, I am going to assume there will be enough slots for everyone who wants in. Mike, Please add me to the list of those participating. Thank you.

Thank you, Sharon. This news made my night.