Patriot6

I want one of those!

I thought I would put this up as a nice practice book for those in the competition. Low grade modern, nice twist. I wonder if there will be consensus. Top staple pull, loose, but attached. Eighth of an inch tear Punisher's arm BC. One inch tear from the bottom up on an interior page.

Killer books! GLWTS

You just reminded me to file my 2023 taxes

You lack spunk

I'm the same. I really enjoy it. I also love when my nieces and nephews come over a drool over my displays and I get to talk about it and show them some cool Archie stuff. I did sort of paint myself into a corner by having a narrow collecting path, but the heart wants what it wants. Does much GA show up at the Edmonton/Calgary cons?

Also one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. Awesome that he was able to help. Probably one of the best guys for the job.

That is very kind. I wouldn't want to impose on you. Although, they would have plenty of Archie play dates for the duration of their stay! I had a package sent to a boardie one time and it arrived damaged and then he was forced to package and ship it back and I felt so bad. I think one time a book arrived that was incomplete, but supposed to be complete and thankfully it was caught on reception, but then again he was forced to package and send it back and I felt horrible.

I've done this in the past. I've even had a few very kind boardies do this for me, but I feel guilty about it. It becomes a lot to ask. It is pretty dreamy though. I'm fine paying reasonable unreasonable shipping if that makes sense, it's the unreasonable unreasonable shipping that I hate. Like I was saying above, the $175 book that had $76 shipping through ebay international shipping. More than double the actual cost. The exchange rate too. It basically is what it is. The odd time over the years you win that one too. But I hear you it takes a bite out of the fun stuff. At least we can come here for a good cry and hand holding

I do have that. $6 us dollars a parcel to hold and not heated or air conditioned. I stopped using it when I went down and a package was damaged which was outside the return window. I have been thinking of trying it again though.

A condo in Shreveport to use as a mailbox

You're not wrong. But let me bounce this off of you and brain storm. I live in a city metro of roughly 900k people. There is not one golden age Archie the title in ANY of the LCS. There has not been for some time. My city is the largest city in the region. To the West the next biggest city is a 12 hour drive. To the East, roughly 24hrs. To the North, there isn't one and to the South is Minneapolis which is roughly 8 hours away. I've looked in Minneapolis when I'm there, zip. I go to my local comic con yearly, zip in the form of GA Archie the title. As I've mentioned above, eBay is not terrible. I buy from there frequently. I am handcuffed by eBay international shipping on most US listings, which is almost equal to the shipping from the auction houses. We can garage sale and flea market in my city from late May/June until early September. Estate sales do pop up in the winter. I have bought whatever I have been able to find over the years. I have checked our version of Craigslist, fb market place frequently and still do. I have left my name and number at each LCS, antique mall you name it. I haven't given up by any means, but I am unable to locate what I am looking for. This leaves me with rather limited options. I can travel to other cons. The distances are somewhat prohibitive, although I may do this. I can leverage the internet more. I have bought a lot on the boards and eBay. I can try the auction house. I'm SOL on shipping no matter where I buy from, and exchange rate for that matter, so that's a wash no matter the internet venue. An open discussion. What have I missed?

Some of them are pretty neat too

I think things would go a lot worse for us this time round. Although, I wonder the cost of rebuilding the White House in today's dollars From what I've learned today, there is the 3% credit card fee, which would be less than me cutting a US dollar cheque from my bank. Seems fair. I'm willing to give it a try.

I've in the past used a mail holding company. It's pretty neat. They were located in a small town right on the US/CAN border where my province links with North Dakota. You have the packages sent there and they hold them until you come and pick them up for $5 a parcel. They only downsides are: you cannot inspect on arrival. It will likely be stored in an unheated/air conditioned building and you don't have the package until you drive down to get it. I've also had extremely kind friends hold things for me then ship them in bulk up to Canada, but I don't want to rely on their kindness either!

I hear you. I went down that road many times. It is, likely on purpose, very vague. Having said that, the other two options you mention are not much better for me. while I have bought on eBay for over twenty years, being in Canada kills many, many buying possibilities for me. eBay international shipping is a joke. There was a comic on my watchlist for a very long time, which ironically I was able to buy on the boards through a WTB add. It was listed at US $175. Fair enough. eBay international shipping to Canada = US $76. No thanks. I'd say the vast majority of US sellers now use that programme. Heritage's shipping is much much worse.

Just received this upgrade today. Bought from a top notch boardie! Very happy to have it.

That's what the consensus seems to be, to max out the shipping allowance for books. Good advice. I plan to take it to heart. I'm basically trying to upgrade so I corner myself with my desired criteria. The books that fit my criteria rarely come up in my traditional buying avenues, hence my desire to venture into this. Hopefully I can get a handle on the ins and outs sooner rather than later.

Oh yes, I feel that pain almost daily. I sure miss 2008....

Is there a cost above and beyond simple exchange rate?

It just hit me what you did there. I almost urined.

Look at us networking! I love these boards.