Robot Man

That is crazy. I only know of 3 boxed examples. Even super collector Harry Matesky didn’t have a boxed example. Numerous examples of Action #1 and Superman #1 have sold in the millions. Now, this is of course is not a comic book. But it is the first item created for Superman. It is a must have for Superman toy collectors. The first action figure toy. The box is rather plain but it is original and reasonable shape. Much harder to find in this shape than copies of his first comics. I would have thought that this would have gone double the final hammer price. It really should have. It will be a very long time until a comparable example will be offered again. The high bidder got a great deal. But, I know, it isn’t a comic book…

Classic books! Cat’s advice is spot on. In 50 active years in the hobby, I am constantly surprised at what books like this sell for. Shocked sometimes. Therefore, I have a very hard time pricing books to sell out right. My advice on books like this is to send them to a large auction house. Let the market set the price. Sure, you will have to negotiate the fees but you will get the most serious people looking. They will go for what they should and I suspect you will be very happy with the result.

Did anyone else follow this auction? What a unicorn! Probably bought and put away in a closet it's whole life. The doll is fairly reasonable and obtainable. But not in this condition. Just hammered for $6,400. What a steal for the winning bidder. I can't imagine finding a better one. A cornerstone piece for any Superman collector. https://www.ebay.com/itm/355516257965?itmmeta=01HRZRTYAEC3X21RATK7QJQ1M3&hash=item52c66b96ad:g:KloAAOSw1n5l5meC&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwIYGp4mwDbahrj9MEKl1Im6BepIzy8P5XxtbAXYtYKEpxCwAXumT9czKUQDvQUXj4EokQNbuQjnch7BtMfCqxRw7qkM6j7K0h9MKL%2BQNplvf46HlI%2B0DVU1n001yHrkiiklqnQCGJzA1Eg%2FZwncvshmCX7AcngaZXc65QlSgcqqS2V2HBNaAAU5sg0nMIWrlUWnIWu6Hd7xup6UaEJ5RuTH8lAV516BzoQyjcSbYLbM5y09vu5804ixD7rTFSSeCYA%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR6Tl6_jHYw

I worked in a local record shop while in college. One of my favorite jobs. Could have long hair and even be a stoner at work. Had first pick of all the used records coming in the door and got to meet lots of hot girls. Digital music has nothing on analog music (vinyl). The range of tonality (highs and lows) are simply cut out on digital music. And listening on ear buds is nothing like a good set of speakers. Yeah, you have to put up with scratches and noise on vinyl and the inconvience of changing a record but the sound is superior. Not to mention the warmth of tube equipment. I still play my guitar with an old tube amp. I just mike it through a PA. Some things from the past just haven’t been improved enough for my liking.

I have a number of them bought from Dave directly. They all came with COAs but I don’t recall any particular markings. They are mostly pretty high grade (for pulps) but I do have a couple that I would consider vg.

Yeah a great sale indeed. There were so many books and it went on forever. The first auction everyone was focused on the big “pretty” books and the prices were rather stiff. But as the auctions went on, I managed to pick up a lot of what some would consider “lessor” books and several nice lots at what I thought were pretty decent prices. Time has reinforced the decisions I made at the time. I got a lot of books that at the time were no big deal but now have turned into keys.

Being a “MAD Man” I am probably a little biased, but these are so underrated. Cover to cover Davis. Such awsome books. If you are a MAD or EC fan you must have both in your collection.

And, yes, to keep it relevant, there are matches for comic and radio show characters. Many adults read the "funny papers" as well as comic books back in the day...

How about matchbooks? I love color and graphics and in addition to comic books and toys, I love love old vintage advertising. Many years ago, I bought 4 large sales man sample scrap books full of un finished match books. All flat, un-used with no matches. Was used as a tool to sell match books to businesses. There were all subject matter here. Petroliana, Soft Drinks, Beer, Restraunts and Bars, Transportation and about every subject matter you could imagine. Even coffins! These, to best of my knowledge were all pre-WWII. Got me hooked. Some of these are quite rare even without the strikers and matches inside. A very inexpensive thing to collect. Like postcards, photos and other small paper ephemera, always a buck or less. You just have to spend the time digging and looking. Never know what turns up.

The younger folks in my area are mostly looking for wild covers. I sell a lot to the “artsy” crowd. Usually nothing over $20. though. They also buy vinyl and Mid Century Modern (‘50’s) items and furniture/fashion. Big city LA crowd.

My first was The Buffalo Springfield and the Birds. I was underage but snuck into the Whiskey in Hollywood with a friend to see the Doors. We got caught and kicked out. When I was a junior and senior in high school I worked for Thomas Edison Lights doing light shows for the Rose Palace in Pasadena and the Shrine in LA. Got to see everyone from Zeppelin to Zappa. Was a great time for concerts living in LA. My mom was quite the hipster in her day and had an extensive collection of blues and jazz records. She took me to a few shows. I, in turn, took my daughter to shows like Sublime and a few others. I grew up in a wonderful place and time for music. I’m sure Judy and I would have some good stories to tell. Glad to see you posting again. Hopefully the worst is behind you.

Yeah, vintage vinyl is on fire around here. Every estate/garage sale is loaded with vinyl buyers. Loads of sellers and buyers at the flea markets. Tons of young hipsters wearing Zeppelin, Ozzy and Black Flag T-Shirts eagerly paying up for vintage records. I have pretty much every record I ever bought since my first Beatles record. Over the years, I have digitally recorded most of them and began selling off the originals. Great to pass them on to kids who wern’t even born when they came out. Had a great conversation with a girl in her early ‘20’s wearing a Velvet Underground shirt last weekend. She couldn’t believe that an old white haired geezer like me actually went to see bands like The Dead Kennedys and Black Flag…

Kept records? I was way more busy digging up stuff for my collection than documenting what I paid for it. This endevor has always been just a hobby for me. I never in my wildest dreams thought this stuff would be worth much. Any money I made usually just went back into buying more junk most people just threw away. Stuff that taxes were paid on when new. I’m just a little fish hobbyist not a financial genius. The financial gain I might make is a pure accident if I were to sell it all. And certainly not my motivation. There are 1%ers out there making billions and paying nothing or next to nothing in taxes. And, yet they waste their time on folks like me…

Thanks for the check list Ed. Your devotion to EC is very commendable. I finished off my New Trend and New Direction about a year ago. I might have half the Pre Trends and a few giveaways. The Pre Trends are pretty tough to find in any grade. I pick them off when I am lucky to find them. I will probably never have them all and am happy to have what I do. Often other non ECs get in the way. Now, I will have to check my Saddle Justice #6…

Nice! I’d be happy to have that one in pretty much any grade!

Found another of Pop’s “rebuilt” books buried in one of my teenage boxes. Taped and trimmed but a wonderful piece of comic book history!

Only one I have ever seen…

The thrill of discovery as well as affordable prices was what drew me to Pulps and PB’s in the first place. Back in the ‘80’s, local SO CA folks like Redbeard, Dave Smith and John McLaughlin introduced me to PB’s. They were hot in this area and bringing, at the time, pretty good money for a lot of them. They were also pretty available at flea markets, garage/estate sales and other out “in the wild” places I was frequenting. I often bumped into boxes of some of the rarest and in demand books at usually a buck apiece. I amassed quite a collection. I realized I could sell or trade them for comics I wanted more. A lot of stuff that wasn’t very hot then like now. So, I parted with most for Avons, LB Cole and a guy I didn’t know at the time, Matt Baker. As well as obscure GA WWII publishers, that were just off most people’s radar back then. Luckily, I hung on to most of my favorites and have slowly picked up a lot of the ones I gave up over the years. Sadly, the flea market days are pretty much over but I still pick up a few here and there once in a while.

Yeah, check out that thread. If you wern’t a pulp collector already, it will convert you!

The only one I got. Got it from Harley at one of Terry O’Neil’s early shows. Was well under a hundred bucks. I saw it and grabbed it. First one I had ever seen. I’ve always been a low level Romance collector but this was a digest with sleezy content and I figured pretty scarce. I have never seen any of the rest other than a couple in big auctions. Glad to have this beater. And per Beau’s request, I have tried to post a little of the interior which also matches the cover for sleezy content. Sorry, hard to take good photos of… @Darwination

Two of the best in the ‘30’s run. And consecutive holiday issues. Nice copies! Yeah, Rich loved his Ducks especially in high grade. He told me Leonard Brown willed his high grade WDCS run to him upon his passing. Now that Rich is also gone, I hope that run stays together.

This might get more interest in the Pulp thread…

I do it all the time at flea markets. The young “hipster” crowd that buy my vinyl records love them. They, of course only do so when priced right and often buy several at a time. The problem is finding them again at a price where I can make enough if a profit to make it worth while…

All good points posted here. Do I really think PBs are taking off? Not really. I have just seen a lot of renewed interest in them. They are hot sellers when I take a box out to a show. Just can’t keep them or replace them when I sell them. The young hipsters really eat them up. The folks here on the boards have pretty good sell through at a brisk pace when they post them. Like Pulps, they seem to sell best based on the covers or subject matter. And heck, like slabbed comics, the cover seems to be everything. I have always been primarily a cover collector for Pulps and PBs. I do occasionally read some but don’t often have the time anymore. Compared to comics, the prices are very low and I see that is a strong attraction. That, and the fact that there is very little information to draw upon. Will they ever see huge price spikes like comics or now pulps? I doubt it. But a fun and affordable as well as challenging area of paper collecting. I no longer go out of my way to find them but find it hard to not buy them when they turn up.