Pat Thomas

I set goals of complete runs of Avengers and Amazing Spider-Man when I got back into collecting around 2010. The problem was that I had plenty of disposable income (unlike when I originally set those goals at 13 years old), and I was able to knock them both out in a little over 3 years after starting from scratch. My lcs did give me some great deal on some key early ASM and I won Avengers 1 in an Ebay grab bag, and those two circumstances made it a little easier to do. I finished Avengers first, and that felt good, and then I finished ASM. Then it sunk in that there were no other books or characters I had the same passion about, and it was such a letdown. I had the best time compiling those collections for 3 years, and it was over.

I started on X-Men from GS X-Men 1 because I had really enjoyed the series as a kid, but I was also buying random issues of Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, and Thor. I kept expanding through most of the Marvel superhero line, and my collection just exploded. Eventually, when I got close enough to finishing the main titles and only had expensive comics left to buy, I started on DC with the Superman line. Then I added the Batman books, Flash, and Justice League. It all happened so fast. I don't regret any of it because it was fun and the comics are selling for a lot more now than they were then, and it was strictly my fun money that I spent. I'll admit it got out of hand, but that's okay.

I've been slowly selling off my collection since November using primarily Ebay and MCS. So far, I haven't had any bad episodes on Ebay (although I know that can change in a heartbeat) and most of the books have sold for more than I was expecting. I think it's important to be thorough and completely honest with your descriptions, and people seem to respect that. Haven't had a single complaint or blemish. I've heard complaints about the way Ebay pays now (they delay payment until delivery is confirmed for new sellers), but after a few weeks I started being paid the dame day. I'll admit the fees are a little high, but the exposure can't be beat.

I mainly use MCS to sell my graded comics and I've been very happy with the results there, too. I don't like to send raws for consignment because they are extremely tough on grading, and I think low grades turn off buyers regardless of the actual appearance. I've sent several raw books I bought from them and never removed from the bag get downgraded when I consigned them, so I just stick to using them for slabs now. One thing about MCS is there is a commission cap of $1,000.

Both options above have worked well for me (so far), but I still have a long way to go. I've bought from the boards, but never sold here. The few purchases I made went smoothly. Haven't fooled with Facebook or other auction houses. I'm sure each have their advantages and disadvantages.

For some people (like me) a restored copy that looks nice is the only way to afford some of the books on my want list. I see people displaying their purchases of .5 or 1.0 keys that are beat up and ragged when they could've gotten one a lot nicer for less, and I question the logic. There are some ins and outs of comic collecting that are a little twisted, though.

Since "used" comics aren't regulated, dealers are not restricted to any type of price range. No, they aren't required to discount, but it pays to be flexible. If you want to set up at a con and deal with people directly, you need to be pleasant in your interactions with potential customers. You can say no without sounding like a jerk. This one person who had a bad experience with this dealer will ultimately affect the dealer's bottom line more in the long run now than if he had left happy. Every time he hears or sees this dealer's name, he's going to reference his encounter to whoever will listen, making it sound a little worse every time. A dealer can run their business however they want, but a comic dealer unwilling to even discuss alternatives is only hurting themself. Thank God there are some "people person" comic dealers out there. With the back issue market exploding, the last thing the hobby needs is a bunch of "Comic Book Guy" tropes on the front line dealing with people.

I generally use Media Mail on Pirate Ship for lightweight stuff. Gemini Mailers 1# or less cost $3.19 to anywhere in the US. I've noticed that when the packages are over 30#, UPS Ground has lower rates than any USPS service (using pirateship.com website).

I wouldn't do it. That's a risk you take when you don't set a reserve. Win some lose some. Seller got greedy and won't get asking price.

How can anybody judge this at the halfway point? There are still 3 episodes left and nobody knows what they have planned. It just seems so premature to be passing judgement only halfway through. Cheer up. The glass is half-full.

Do you like comics? Do you read them or want to? I think you'll find that most people here with the best collections started out as readers and eventually started setting goals for themselves, and after awhile they ended up with something way more valuable than they imagined at first. I like complete runs of characters, so that's what I started with. Amazing Spider-Man and Avengers were the first two, and I was able to complete both of them before ASM absolutely exploded. But for me, it was completing a goal I had set 40 years ago that I never expected to try again. After I finished those titles, I started X-Men & FF, and added titles when I got to the point of needing only the most expensive books in each series (until I could find a deal). I haven't been reading them as much as collecting for the last few years, but have always been passionate about pursuing the books I want and keeping my collection organized and neat. And I still try to keep up with what is happening to my favorites even though I finally quit buying at all. The characters and the stories are the reason I have extensive knowledge about the Marvel (and DC to an extent) Universe. The thousands of them I've read over the years and the genuine love I have for comics is the only reason I know what I know. That's where my instincts come from, and what makes it hard to refer something to a non-reader or non-collector. What I know is only a by product of doing something I enjoyed immensely, so how can I teach that to somebody who doesn't?

They are your comics. Why not buy a cheap press and teach yourself? Professional pressers are only slightly trailing CGC in the money-making department, so they keep their procedures secret. The truth is that pressing is not any more difficult than any other task that has a procedure to learn. As you practice, you make mistakes, but you also learn what not to do. It's very important to be detail oriented and willing to research how to correct anything you are doing wrong. Go for it. At least you will be happier with your collection.

Be patient. A better one will come along.

I ship long boxes to mycomicshop all the time. They need to be tight enough that they can't shift in the box. Thin bubble wrap works well to fill in the sides and on top. As everyone else has mentioned, put a lid on bottom and tape it up like crazy.

I only wanted NM comics for my main titles (ASM, Avengers) when I collected back in the 70's and early 80's, and after 20 years away, was still in that mindset when I started from scratch again in 2010. But as much as I enjoyed owning all NM copies of a title, I eventually realized that most issues in a run are fillers and it doesn't matter if some of them are VF (or even FN!). I saved a ton of money that way and collected both titles within a couple of years. Eye appeal is important to me, and I can't deal with brittleness or missing sections of the cover. Interior cut-outs are still off-limits whether it affects the story or not. My OCD these days is mainly triggered by old bags with price stickers, wrinkly, or turning yellow. Any comic Bronze or older gets fresh Silver Age size mylar and 2 boards for sturdiness and needs to be in its place immediately if I'm not reading it. Comics piling up in random order still get under my skin quickly.                    

On 1/24/2022 at 4:36 PM, THE_BEYONDER said:

Micro-trimming is pretty much undetectable.  And considering how swamped CGC is with submissions,  I imagine Ewert could pass a few trimmed books through right now. Are you okay with your books being trimmed?

If I didn't know it had been trimmed and it also made it past CGC, what would I not be okay with?

I don't see a problem doing anything to your own collection. It should be disclosed if you ever sell them, but if it's undetectable even to the grading companies, does it really hurt anybody?

OP, let me second the recommendation to contact mycomicshop.com. You have some comics there that are valuable in any condition if they are complete and have covers, and they are an honest group of people that won't take advantage of you. Go to their website and read all the testimonials. They're real. A couple of them are mine. Selling collectible comics is something a person learns to do after being involved in the hobby for a long time, and most sellers started off as readers. Marvel comics have been designed since the 1960's to encourage the reader to explore previous issues by putting footnotes all through every comic. That's one of the draws of comics, and it's how you obtain the knowledge and passion for the stories. To sell the comics yourself, you need to know your product. Most avid collectors can identify a valuable comic without having to look it up. That's due to having an interest in them as more than widgets, because they are. Please don't try to do it yourself, and don't take them to a comic shop.

On 12/30/2021 at 11:14 PM, shadroch said:

I don't think MCS would be the right venue for this. 

This might be a case where he would need to talk to Buddy directly. That man probably has more contacts in the business than anybody else and could possibly connect OP with other avid collectors.

Try hydrogen peroxide on the stain. No, that would be evil. Sorry.

CGC Mike,

I have one in the "Grading, Encapsulating" status that hasn't moved in 2 weeks. It's supposed to be Fast Track Economy because I valued it at $400, but it's not a modern "economy" comic. It's ASM 39 in really nice shape, and I would love to get it back. All the other books in that submission have been back over a month. Any idea when that might happen?

On 12/27/2021 at 9:45 PM, speedcake said:

I am down to eight issues needed to complete X-Men #1 to 143.

This should finally be the year!

Apart from that, I have no idea really. I'll likely pick a new run to start on, but which one is up in the air.

Need any from 119 forward?

I just don't like going to the theater much anymore, so I've only seen two MCU movies there (Thor 1 and the first Avengers). Thor was because my wife and I needed to get out of the house for a few hours, and I had heard rumors that Marvel was going to build up to an Avengers movie eventually. I went to Avengers on opening night because I had been waiting over 30 years for an Avengers movie that portrayed them similar to the comics and had quality effects, so it didn't look stupid. I kept an eye on the progress of the movie for more than a year while it was being made, and I had a feeling it was going to turn out great. When I saw the first full trailer for it during the Super Bowl in 2012, I was very excited to see it, and I was fired up when it finally opened. But it took 2 years of anticipation for me to actually go the theater, and I still almost backed out. My wife made me realize I would regret not going, so I went, and I loved it. That was the last movie I've gone to, though. I pre-ordered most of the MCU movies on VUDU and watched them on the day they became available, and also most of the DC and Sony Spider-Man movies when they came out. I'm just more comfortable with a large screen TV and surround system, in a comfortable chair, eating what and when I want and pausing the movie to go the bathroom. I don't hate going to the theater, but just have a better experience at home. It helps that the waiting time after a movie's theater run is much shorter than it used to be, so I don't have to wait that long.

On 12/22/2021 at 8:21 AM, Extrovert said:

Just got 6 of my 20 books back from CGC. Some fared much better than I thought they would, this one though - I was thinking it would be a 7 to 7+ but I imagine that dogged upper left corner did it in. Still, glad to have it slabbed up. Joe did a tremendous job, my Hulk 180 was absolutely cleaned by a master. The raw copy had some dark marks on the otherwise white spine, and Joe got rid of them completely. So glad I took good "before" pics to compare with the slabs. You rock, Joe! Cheers!

Show your other ones.

On 12/17/2021 at 2:17 PM, Ken Aldred said:

That had occurred to me, but evil Hyperion has a characterisation much closer to Black Adam, coming across as an absolute thug and acting with extreme brutality, as in the Secret Wars' Squadron mini-series.

You need to read the 2 King Hyperion stories in Exiles to get an idea of how brutal he can be (and how powerful he is).

I really enjoyed SM 2099.