Robot Man

Got a friend who’s wife opened a small collectibles, vintage toy and comic shop for $700 a month locally. Got some walk in stuff for sale by the local crack heads. Comics were 95% ‘80’s-‘90’s stuff. Same thing with toys and collectibles. Was buying more than she was selling and closed after about a year and a half. Now she is stuck with a garage FULL of junk.

I quit buying Moderns with Simpsons #100. I know, probably a lame title to most, but I enjoyed it. Got sucked back in for a few months with the “New 52” but quickly got bored with them. The price was a bit of a factor. For the same price I was paying for them, I could buy GA/SA/BA readers that I actually enjoyed a lot more. I realized I was basically buying them out of habit and just storing them. They were taking up a lot of space I could put to better use with older books. I missed the store experience for a while but got over it quickly.

Yesterday’s flea market finds. No comics but some cool, fun stuff. The Popular Mechanics mag is from 1913!

Thanks for the post Alan! Good to see you are looking good and doing well. TGB was a HUGE part of my early years as a collector. It brought together so many of us that we would never have known about otherwise. I remember coming home at night to the latest issue, pouring over the ads, making calls and adding so many wonderful books to my collection. The articles also educated me to the history of comics. TGB ranks right up there with the most important achievements in fandom. Thanks so much for all your hard work on it! Got any cool stories about the “old days” of fandom?

I saw WD#1 the day it came out. Looked through it and decided the story looked lame and the art was terrible. Put it back. As long as the show stays on, your kids might have an education. Once it is canceled...

Take it

Oh, believe me, after 40+ years in this hobby I’ve heard it all. That one is very common. I don’t care what you do with it as long as you pay me what I want. Trouble is, I don’t know what to ask anymore. I’ve seen a lot of the younger flippers lose their shirts lately. I recently sold a book at a show for $1,200. To a guy who immediately put it on the bay and ended up with $925. for it. Between ebay and Instagram, I pay close attention to these guys. They probably figure I’m too old or stupid to do so. At best, most are making 5-10%. Many times losing money. This is bad for the hobby. They just have that quick “turn and burn” attitude. Us “old guys” just have a lot more patience...

As kids, we didn’t make plane flights either. I do remember lots of long car trips with the family. About the only time my parents would buy us more than one or two comics. As we started out, they would stop at 7-11 and let us buy a stack. Me and my little brother would sit in the back seat quietly, devouring a pile of cool early SA books and the latest MAD magazine while my parents would enjoy a little peace and quiet. That and playing those “license plate” games kept us amused and under control...

With the quick huge rise in keys, classic covers and the like, I think people are holding to them to see where this settles out at. In the past year, I have seen less and less key books at shows. The ones that are there are at absolute nose bleed prices. Dealers just can’t get them. Even eBay has slowed down for the most part. I am doing the same thing. I just don’t know how to price PCH, Baker, L.B. Cole, keys and origin books. They are just too hard to get now days. If I bring these to shows, I get just swamped by the local flippers just begging for them. These books might just be locked up until such time as there is some semblance of stabilization in the hobby.

Thanks EBE, these two are yours!

High grade Timelys at low prices? Count me in too. Might as well ask for unicorns...

Local pick-ups today...

Easy for you to say. Ever driven the LA freeways? Riding a motorcycle that far around here is a death wish...

OK the masses have not spoken... Will 10% off sell any of these? Freebees still FREE!

Congrats! Did you tell her what it’s worth? Welcome to the boards!

Congrats on your new store. Looks nice. Hard not to make any money when your rent is so low. Hopefully, you will get some decent walk in collections. Although, there just aren’t a lot of vintage books around any more. I can see why you are hesitant about current, new books. I would think, if you were careful, it could add to the bottom line. A lot of folks still buy Moderns. The store near me does no back issues. Just Moderns, toys, T-Shirts and game cards. They seem to be doing well. I would think it would be hard making it on just back issues. Too hard to keep a decent stock. I live about 45 minutes away. Got much GA or SA? I love to box dive. Would it be worth the drive for me?

I have consigned a lot of comics to local auction houses. A good way to sell stuff that you can’t sell otherwise. Nothing like a box full of old low grade GA funny animal and western books. Then the non comic book collectors often bid them up pretty high. There is often a bidding frenzy. They read the news and think all old comics are worth a fortune. I don’t feel bad at all. If you don’t know what you are doing, don’t do it.

And... It is the first day of the Baseball playoffs. The season starts all over again for that very elusive World Series Championship!

Maybe my favorite month of the year has arrived. Here is the first of several Halloween displays I set up in the house. I've got a lot of vintage Halloween stuff and this is the time of year to drag it out!

The top one is actually #3. Is this the one you are seeking? Slightly tougher to find than the actual #17 below it. Neither of mine are for sale. Keep looking and you will find one The second one is one of EC's most popular horror covers and might be a little pricey...

Here is a favorite of mine. Perfect for the first day of the baseball playoffs!

Killer book! I had one once but gave it to a friend for his birthday. Has all the characters of the era in it.

Thursday bump...

I have collected ECs for over 40 years. Other than a very few, they are fairly available in all grades. I have owned some many times and a couple only once. Since the dawn of collecting, they have always been very popular and never cheap. Lately, I’ve seen a bit of an upsurge in price especially on the horror and crime titles. The rest are pretty affordable in reader grades. The war titles are, in my opinion, a real steal at current prices. Best books for the money in the hobby. Good luck in your quest!

Jeeze, I never thought I would have to read a legal contract just to buy funny books. Looks like they have all the loopholes closed in their favor. I certainly don’t think I should have to spend my time and waste my money when it is clearly their fault. And “credit”? Are you kidding me? I want my money back including postage promptly. A humble apology wouldn’t be out of line either. Now, if I don’t know how to grade or know how to detect simple resto and have to send it to CGC, it might be a different story. As I said, there are plenty of very upfront dealers out there that respect their customers that I would rather give my money to...