SeniorSurfer

Whoever is responsible in the USPS....

This thread is getting too low on the page and needs a bump, so I'll add another offering to the mix: A set of 7 (count 'em - seven) Calvin and Hobbes TPB collecting some of their worst finest moments. U.S. only and will probably go by Media Mail but not to despair as it's likely it'll take you longer to read them than the time it takes to get to you.

I'm in (and I want to bump this to the top of the page too) and contribute three pewter Marvel Comic Book Champions figures, still sealed in boxes: The GA Human Torch, Thor and the Silver Surfer. Great to spruce up a display, re-gift to a little one or (gasp) even take them out to play. Shipping only to the U.S. please.

Batman #41 8.0 (1500.00) and Young Allies #14 6.5 (1000.00) per PM. Thanks!

X-Men #2 and #94 per PM. Thanks!

When I was a kid I remember selling some Incredible Hulk books (about 103 - 112) to the LCS after they, of course, asked me what I wanted for them. Since I had paid .12 each, I boldly asked for double and successfully received .25 per. Later I remember trying to sell a few early DD and Cap SA books that I had doubles of to a friend that came to visit. Total for three books was easily about $4.00-5.50) going by an early, outdated Overstreet I had available. Since this was serious money, he went to ask his father who looked at the merchandise, then looked at him like he was some kind of nut and told him to forget about it, even though he kept whining about looking them up and confirming that's what they were going for "in the book."

per PM.

Yes please... Get well soon!

I haven't seen something that I collect as of yet but I have to give a to the variety of (and non-repetitive) "winner" blurbs which keep me scanning!

I agree with the earlier post questioning her sig on any book as she has not drawn, written, inked, edited or (to my knowledge) even had a comic book photo cover like some "Star Wars" related issues. The excessive money just makes it more of a deterrent, and even if they lowered the cost (heck, Cary Grant only used to charge 25 cents), I will not be waiting for Gadot.

Happy Birthday Mr. Adams! So many great books and an instantly recognizable, intricate style with characters always appearing to be in fluid motion. One of my favorites I think about often is Avengers #93: A double-dose of Neal Adams (as the book was priced at .25), a "fantastic voyage" for Hank Pym journeying into the Vision's surreal body systems and an illustrated character tour de force where he not only gets to draw all the Avengers but (by plot necessity) the Fantastic Four, Skrulls and Captain Marvel. Really detailed line work, especially when Ant Man continually encounters and evades Vision's defense organisms as he makes his way through a very alien (but plausible) physiology.

I'll have to say that I (*choke*) missed you guys.

My predictions would be based on my prejudices which in my eyes might seem logical, but there are doubtless some that are more in tune with a particular segment of the market that I admit to not knowing as well. Specifically, moderns and variants. I predict they will fall precipitously in value just based on 1) my seeing similar things like this happen before with gimmicky lenticular covers, foil covers, multiple covers for the same issue, etc. that were bought in droves, 2) their obvious marketing as a "limited" collectible ("we're telling you there's only a 10,000 issue print run, so that makes this valuable") which reminds me of the Beanie Babies or Precious Moments days and 3) an unending wave - no matter how limited each issue - that are printed in the here-and-now. An ASM #4 or Punch Comics #14 were printed many years before comics were considered collectible (or, perish forbid, valuable even) and more importantly have a finite number, no matter how many other lenticular/extracurricular/testicular reprint or homage copies are printed. As to areas I'm more modestly familiar with, I predict GA/SA prices should lessen a bit if only with an implied exodus of hit-and-run speculators and the return of conventions, which should add some more supply in the field to offset the heightened demands that are being seen now.

Great news/luck that things ended as well as could be expected - you got the book back in the same condition. Since you mentioned you were going to relist raw, maybe add something in the description along the lines of: "While the book is in fantastic condition and is complete (no pages missing or cut-outs), it is being presented for sale 'as is' with no returns" along with the usual lines about asking questions of you or requesting more pictures before bidding if in doubt. It protects you a bit more since you are stating the "as is" condition which eBay must acknowledge in the text in case some other little Timmy gets buyer's remorse or whatever.

All these are valid and annoying to a degree but the one that gets me most is the guy who doesn't post a major defect in the title, like "restored" or "missing coupon" or "CT." To be sure, most won't do that because it would cut down on traffic, but... There's one guy in particular (he's been talked about here before) where not only the title indicates nothing, but the description tends to minimize major defects (trimming on three sides, slight trimming, slight CT) and hiding them in the body of text while continuing to emphasize what a beautiful NM book it is.

There's always the one(s) that seems out of reach. Being a collector for a number of years I would add: Somehow, though a book that seemed perfect in price and condition I really wanted escapes me, another one of the same will cross my path (probably to escape me again, but that's another story).

So... they haven't found the body yet, is what you're saying? I'm with someone that knows the value of a dollar, so it's more likely she would run away with them as opposed to destroying them. I keep scrupulous records and don't have her pay any part of the cost of books and all seems well. She's aware of their value, semi-aware of what to do in case of my imminent slip-and-fall, and always nods approvingly at the prices realized when some are sold/traded. She's still amazed though that anyone would pay such mazuma for, basically, colored newsprint, but as long as it continues...

ASM Annual 1 (7.0) and (7.5) per PM.

In "The Queen's Gambit" mini-series they slavishly re-created many settings from the 60s and I was happy to see a spinner rack in the drugstore where the main character discovers chess magazines. Imagine my disgust when, on pausing and rewinding in expectation of some Silver Age goodness, they had populated the rack with books that couldn't possibly have been around in that period (I recall an Avengers cover with an arrow in the letter "A" that debuted in 1972 for one). At first I thought that they might not want to shell out for the pricier books or have them ruined on set, but a simpler solution would have been to find some covers on the internet, make color copies and drape them onto any issues they wanted. My wife of course commented that only a nut like me would notice such a thing.

You can do both, you know. If I were still buying new books and one of them that was considered a "spec" book fell into my hands, I would say "wow... how about that?" and immediately sell it to get books in which I was interested. For example, if I could have gotten my hands on a score of UF books at the time they were "taking off" they would have lasted just long enough to get slabbed and sold. You yourself post "...that book does NOT exicted (sic) me in anyway" while the books you are attracted to "...are solid investments and books I genuinely enjoy and love to look at..." As it happens, those books have withstood the test of time as far as enjoyment and holding their financial values, while the years since they were published are littered with "spec" books that are lining birdcages now. In this respect your instincts are (IMO and shared by many, many experienced collectors and investors here I'm sure) to be trusted. As for your friend trashing your buys while touting his own: Talk about other things, nod and change the subject, or just ignore him altogether because your way of collecting is providing you pleasure as well as (again IMO) a better financial investment. Frankly if it were me, I would start to distance myself from such a person. No amount of gifts is worth the aggravation received every time a hobby is discussed.

I'd do both trades though I would try to leave out that FF 48 if possible and throw in some cash instead.

If only they would use the same printers that other companies use for their color catalogs/brochures/fliers that continue to incessantly appear in mailboxes. Not only would production costs be cheaper (I assume, as these free junk mail stapled "books" are just as prevalent as they always were), they might even be able to mail the comics directly to subscribers too. What's their secret? And yeah, I remember the .12 days too. I stuck around for several price changes but faded when they started all the obvious money grabs: excessive cross-overs, multiple covers -> cardboard covers -> lenticular covers -> foil covers, restart of the numbering via new titles/rebooting, increasing the paper quality in an attempt to justify costs (I mean really... did anyone ask for that? It's a comic book!), etc.