Pat Thomas

I used Mike's services for my Avengers 1 and ASM 1 close to a decade ago due to multiple references from others who had first-hand experience with him. After looking over his work on his website and talking to Mike about the process, I sent him the books with a deposit that was supposed to go toward the final bill. At the time he said he had at least a 6-month lead time before he could even begin on the first book, and that the whole process would take about a year. Payment in full got my Avengers 1 in line, and I left him alone for over a year before deciding to check in. I found out then that he was a year behind, but my book would be up soon. Every 3 months I checked status for about a year until it was finally ready to ship back to me. He still had my ASM1 and I considered asking for him to send it back, but I figured I might as well wait another two years to end up with an ASM1 I was happy with (It was in so much worse shape than #2-forward in my collection and really bothered me). But my experience this time was much worse. I had a lot of going on in my life and didn't really think about my comic most of the time, so I went a year without checking on it. When I did, Mike said he was behind and wouldn't give me a lead time anymore, so I would check on it periodically. This went on for 3 years, but I finally got an email that it was ready. I had him send it to a CGC Stan Lee signing (one of the last ones he did) before it eventually came back to me. It had been in his possession for over 5 years, but I guess I'm lucky I got it back at all. I think it was already starting to come apart back then and he was still trying to do right by people.

Spidey has been my favorite character since I got my first comic book in the 1970's. I collected off and on several times through the years until high school, and then I took a long break (25 years). Every time I restarted, the goal was to get Issues 100-up of ASM and try to buy older ones as I could. But I also had an affection for Avengers and collected them the same way. Each time I got pretty good collections going of both titles, an expense I couldn't pay would come around and selling my comics was the only way I could raise money quickly (tires and other car repairs took a chunk out of my collection; the fine for a DUI I got my first week at Auburn wiped out the rest). 

So in 2010 when I decided to revisit my old hobby, I went to familiar territory and started my ASM collection again. The difference between this time and the others was that I had money to support my hobby and no debt. It took me 4 years to go from zero to a complete run of ASM, and I finished Avengers 1-503 about a year later. I stopped Spidey at the conclusion of Superior Spider-Man. I had complete runs of all the secondary Spidey titles, too, but I've sold most of them off. 

I remember the feeling of not having a goal comics-wise and I was at a loss of what to pursue for a little while, but I found more runs eventually. None of them were as fun or satisfying as ASM or Avengers to me, though, so my recommendation is to do an Avengers run. After completing ASM, Avengers should be a breeze for you.

On 2/3/2023 at 7:26 PM, trademarkcomics said:

And I have zero problem with this. I don't think Hulk 180 should have the highest value of the two, I just think it does a disservice to those attempting to figure out which they'd rather have to say(or even imply) it's not Wolverine's first appearance. 181 is a much more appealing book with that classic cover and the first comic to have Wolverine action from start to finish, but it is not the first time he was seen. Readers back then had 28 days to absorb the Wolverine name, the fact that he had claws on his hands and was obviously a total badass. There were probably already conversations in those 4 weeks about whether Wolverine could beat Spider-Man or Captain America. And his appearance was in-story, not some ad for the next issue. So, people can speculate on Marvel's motives behind his appearance at the end of Hulk #180 but they cannot argue that he didn't make an appearance.

Spidey's role in Civil War was relatively minor, but one could still argue it's the best appearance he's made so far(it at least might have had the most impact on viewers). 

I'd love to hear from those who were kids and bought #180 back in the day. What would they say about it and how much of an impact it made on them. I know Hobgoblin's appearance at the end of ASM #238 made a ridiculously huge impact on me.

I bought 180 when it came out.  Actually read it at magazine rack in grocery store while Mom shopped. When I got to the last page and saw "Weapon X", I thought he was the coolest looking character ever and couldn't wait to read the next issue. The single panel with him in it excited me enough to find my mother in the store and show her this awesome new guy (she wasn't nearly as impressed as I was). I have no doubt that it's his appearance, but I anticipated 181 until it came out, which is the first Wolverine story whether you think it's any good or not. The cover is striking even now. It blew my mind as an 8 year-old and I treasured it much more than 180, and that was the sentiment of other kids I knew. 180 was a Wendigo story with a throwaway panel to introduce Wolverine. 181 was superior though and should be the more valuable of the two. 182 was a cheap way to give him a little more exposure in a totally unrelated story. Also the only thing that prompted me to look at GS X-Men 1 was seeing Wolverine on the cover. I wonder how many people only bought that book because of his appearance in Incredible Hulk.

On 1/24/2023 at 10:25 PM, Readcomix said:

I’ve got to agree with you and add a tidbit - 181 was such an impactful story because it was the big transition from the team coming off the great Korvac saga of #167-177. 181 wrapped things up for the large previous cast and set the stage for the next great run. (It played the same role, albeit to a much lesser extent, that X-Men #94 played for the transition to the new X-Men as an ongoing series. If you were reading off the racks as I was in 1975 and reading those X-Men reprints and then GSX 1 and 94 come along, you understand their twin significance as keys. As someone else said, GSX 1 is to AF15 as 94 is to ASM 1. X94 today is underrated as a key, not overrated. The first apps are in GSX 1 but the new team really forms and kicks off in 94. Chocolate and peanut butter.)

Anyway, Avengers was my first read every month during that saga, and 177 was mind-blowing to grade school me. I’m a Marvel fan minority in that I liked Shooter/Perez Avengers more than Claremont/Byrne X-Men (which I really enjoyed too, but I was always an Avengers first kid.)

Avengers 177 had a big effect on me, too. I expected it to be rough due to all the buildup but was unprepared for the carnage starting on about page 2.

Personally, I don't view the process of organizing, grading, and recording a collection as some kind of backbreaking job to avoid at all costs. I've done one about the same size OP is talking about just a few years ago, so I absolutely realize how much time is involved. And even though it isn't hard labor type work, every so often there are spurts where you must move and re-arrange heavy boxes for a couple of hours. But then it's back to sorting and recording for a few days until it's time to integrate the latest batches into the completed area. Provided I'm not under a time frame to finish and can go at my own pace, I actually kind of enjoy messing with comics. I enjoy the mystery of going through a stack, and because I'm mostly an optimist, expecting to come across something spectacular that I would've never seen otherwise. Since it seems to me that everybody here at least agrees that nobody would be willing to pay the true value of the time and expertise required to even do a job of this magnitude, maybe it would be in OP's best interest to discuss some comics he would accept to lower the cash price. It's several months of work as a full time job. If it's a night and weekend thing, it could take a year to do it. If it sounds like a horrible ordeal, don't even start it.

I've been actively selling off my collection for almost a year, and I've almost gotten to the point that the collection is officially "cherry-picked", so the opportunity to sell it all at once has passed. I believe I still have many months of consistent sales coming up, but no more of the thousand dollar single comic sales. Probably won't have many single issues sell for more than $50 from now on, but I think there are still a bunch of them in the $5-$20 range. That is substantial money considering I still have about 20,000 comics to go.

After selling ASM #1 and Avengers #1 (and some other big keys from each series), I realized I really didn't want to sell those 2 titles. I stopped before I got rid of all the best ones, but I did do some damage that will probably remain. I don't see myself buying copies of ASM 1, 2, 4, 14, 15, and 129 again. Same goes for Avengers 1, 4, and 8. Plus, I still have the rest of the issues from both titles if I need to raise a bunch of money quickly. Hopefully keeping these doesn't lead to compiling another collection, but I think I'm really done this time.

Wish I'd known you when I was still buying. Some books took months or even years for me to find at the grade and price point I needed. Would have gladly paid somebody else a percentage of the cost to find them for me. Maybe 10% or so as a starting point? I'm only liquidating now, though.

On 7/27/2022 at 2:04 PM, MAR1979 said:

Were those who sell comics concerned the past few years with buyers paying high prices for something that might (now has in general) drop in value, even though the sellers claimed "unlimited upwards trajectory" and other used car salesmen BS? The answer is no. No Comic Book/Art seller I've ever encountered has shown even a modicum of future financial concern for a buyer and I for one simply reciprocate their own sentiment. 

The real true difference is my hoping prices free fall merely exists inside my own self-admitted tiny brain - no one is actually hurt fiscally by that!  All sellers,flippers,speculators, who have used exaggeration, hyperbole, and or damnable lies without remorse have affected numerous people fiscally, as buyers are nothing more than rubes or marks, right? Many of these sellers have even bragged about their overpriced priced sales on this forum. 

 

Up until recently I've been primarily a buyer, too. I'm currently liquidating everything, so the comic market shouldn't affect me at all in a few months (or however long it takes to sell the majority of my decent stuff).

On 7/27/2022 at 2:06 PM, D2 said:

This is true!

No seller shows concern for a buyer. 
 

Why should it be any different with the other way around?

Most dealers I've bought from have been willing to work with repeat customers when times might be a little tougher, especially when they have some wiggle room. But that usually requires the buyer to have spent some time at least attempting to build a rapport with the seller. Maybe you need to find a new source.

Sellers don't give discounts or bend over backwards to help when the bottom falls out, though.

On 7/27/2022 at 12:04 PM, MAR1979 said:

as well time for the Buh Buh Buh's to commence

Buh Buh Buh gocollect said it was undervalued, Buh Buh Buh insert name of instragram/facebook/youtube hyperbolist said it was a good investment, Buh Buh Buh a  boards.cgccomics.com  member said it had unlimited upwards trajectory potential.

I myself witnessed 2 sales of ASM Direct Sale 9.8w at 2021 NYCC for 2k even though it was on eBay with Buy-it-now's for $1000-1200 at the time.  To all potential buyers, from a seller standpoint; a rube is a rube, a mark ain't nothing more than a mark. 

I do not sell comics as I've mentioned ad infinitum, so hell YES Bring On The Bear! Bring it on the point where even the market manipulators fail at every attempt - Yeah I know wishful thinking

 

Wishful thinking for everybody's collection to be slashed in value, since you don't sell your comics? But at least you might finally get a bargain. Who cares what happens to people that sell comics, right?

Try comicspriceguide.com.  Their database allows you to enter grades for raw comics and slabbed comics, and it also keeps up with the values. There are a variety of reports that can be printed, and you can even assign your comics to specific boxes. I think it costs about $50/year for the full membership. It's not perfect, but they are always making improvements and listen to the community.

On 7/25/2022 at 11:10 AM, ADAMANTIUM said:

keep in mind that with the ebay payouts now, you're going to be waiting about another week for the payment (if on time) to make it to your bank, so bare in mind  

Once you establish with ebay that you ship on time, they generally pay out the next day. My only problem with ebay are non payers (who seem to always want more scans and ask a bunch of questions). Every selling option has some kind of drawback, though.

I worked in Receiving for years, and FedEx was by far the worst shipper. I don't know if it's still true, but at the time, the drivers acted as independent contractors for FedEx and supplied their own trucks. You would assume an owner/driver would be conscientious, but most of them acted like they didn't care. The service hasn't gotten any better for my home deliveries.

On 7/21/2022 at 4:54 PM, nDemik said:

If you read that post you’ve noticed that I’ve never was brought finance until someone suggested that I would be offering a bankruptcy sale on my very first post in Hulk 8.0.

I knew nothing about comics but I knew that book was sought after so I started with that particular book and was excited to share my entry into the collecting world. 
 

I was not aware that obtaining that book was against the process of collecting and someone with funds were not allowed to enter the comic world from the response of many lol.

At the end of the day I’m still having a blast collecting and who cares if I upset people cause I obtained a book or two. 

Hey, don't let the negative reactions bring you down. The questions I asked were because I was genuinely curious. I collected when I was a teenager with goals to get all the Amazing Spider-Man and Avengers comics, but realistically had no chance. When I started back 25 years later it was a different story, and I completed them both within 3 years of having zero comics. And then I really went crazy buying stuff. This hobby needs people willing to spend money. Whether somebody looks at it as an investment or not, the fact is that they have become a valuable commodity. I would hate to total up all I've spent on comics since 2010, but it's been fun. I'm 55 now and started losing the passion last year so I've been selling them off, and it has been very rewarding so far. I still have thousands of comics left that sell from $50-1500, so who knows what I'll end up with. Already bought a 1981 Corvette and 1980 Turbo Trans Am Pace Car with comic money within the first month of selling. It might be discouraging when you deal with the naysayers, but you're doing this for you. A lot of the negativity is plain old jealousy

On 7/19/2022 at 4:48 PM, Prince Namor said:

I knew this would happen as we got into the 2nd half of 1956... Kirby's stories, without Joe Simon (or Stan Lee) start to get even better and begin to resemble stories he'd do during the Marvel Age... and of course Stan's cult like followers get freaked out about it. Face Front True Believers! Guys like Stan Lee and Bob Kane will always have a lasting place in history! They've told their lies over and over and over so many times that... well, more people believe it than not. 

But the truth is in the comics... and that's why I posted them. So people can SEE. It gets worse for Stan in 1957... Goodman just about puts Atlas out of business and Jack just keeps on creating amazing stories in Challengers of the Unknown (as well as a LOT more DC work), a prototype for Kamandi's future world, a prototype for the Living Eraser (that Stan would later take credit for creating), a single issue of the Black Rider (Western) just before the Atlas implosion, and much much more!

I know you can't wait!

To be honest, I really don't care. I think it's ridiculous to even rehash old arguments about people who are no longer here regarding feuds 40-50 years old.  Reminds me of Spider-Man fans who still can't move on from Peter and MJ being de-married 14 years ago. I suppose in 30 years some of them will still be upset about it and use whatever platform comic people gather on to speculate when it will be reversed.

Keep crusading if that's what makes you happy, though. I won't interrupt your thread anymore.

They're both dead and gone now. Stan had to listen to this from the time Jack died until he finally passed away a couple of years ago. I never once heard him say a negative thing about Kirby or Ditko, even though he was constantly being grilled by both of their cults (and families when they realized they could squeeze some money from the evil corporation). From what I understand, the Kirby family ended up with a large settlement, so why keep harping on it? The money wouldn't even be there if Stan hadn't promoted the hell out of Marvel. People outside of comics recognized him since the 1980's. Let all 3 of those guys rest in peace.

Mycomicshop won't give a grade above 4.0 for a single detached cover or centerfold staple on an otherwise "perfect" book. Don't think CGC or CBCS go to those extremes. I don't care for covers being loose at 1 staple, but the centerfold being that way doesn't bother me nearly as much.

I'm almost sure it was ASM #139 or Avengers #130. I almost immediately started buying a bunch of Marvel titles, and there were so many from that particular era that came out really close together. I knew Wolverine was cool when I bought Hulk 180 & 181, and a few months later he was on the cover of a new Giant Size X-Men, so I thought I would try it. Then X-Men 94 came out a few weeks later, so I got it, too. I had $1.50 invested those 4 comics and never expected they would be worth thousands of dollars someday. Wolverine was the coolest looking character I had ever seen, though.

Since I started reading Marvel, I was used to the continuing stories. I was only 8-10 years old, but the current DC comics I tried reading seemed so corny compared to Marvel. The difference was night and day.

On 7/3/2022 at 11:14 AM, nDemik said:

I’m a noob and just grabbed few books in the first week after my little research and decided to start off by adding some key issues most collectors go after.

Month in and I’ve added ton of junk far as value wise and I probably over paid for lot of stuff but as long as I’m having fun and enjoying the hobby that’s all it matters to me. 
 

Well. you're picking good stuff.  You probably have more money invested in your comics already than a large percentage of collectors (That's not bad, it's just unusual. You must have plenty of fun money).  This hobby is a lot more fun when you're able to spend. Are you only buying books that are already graded?

On 7/2/2022 at 7:07 PM, southern cross said:

I'd prefer not to post on the internet the name of the store I help and work at.

Why? Is somebody after you?

Are you looking at this strictly as an investment type thing, or do you have any other goals? You picked great books that would be owned or sought after by most collectors over a long time. Most of us have 100 junk books to every one like yours, because of following a theme in our collecting habits. What you have as your starters would be like the few comics a former collector just couldn't part with when selling off a collection. If those are just random buys, though, you have great instincts. What next?

I don't think I would use CCS for pressing, based on the added lead time and questionable results.

On 7/1/2022 at 10:58 AM, Floridamaxx said:

14 days

I guess it could still happen that quickly. The same book could come back with a higher grade on a different day, depending on how focused the grader is, and what their mood is. Pressed comics will revert, though.

Sometimes they revert. I leave mine on the cool press overnight most of the time, but some are just stubborn. How long has it been from the time it was pressed until CGC graded it? 6 months - a year?