Inhuman Fiend

Honestly don't recall whether I had multiple orders for the same book, I know I sold over 90% of the books (and lots of runs that weren't listed). I remember the Marvel Team-ups didn't sell, nor did the Marvel Fanfares or the Hulk 102 (surprising)...I did a second ad the following Summer for the few that didn't sell plus the other runs I had and sold 99% of that. I do remember my parents being so mad that we were getting so many late phone calls, I didn't expect that...in fact the weekend after it published I went to the beach with my friends and my dad filled up 2 pages of a notebook with call-back numbers and questions, he wanted to kill me!

So old folks like me on these boards know that CBG (Comic Buyer's Guide) was the "eBay of the 1980's" for buying and selling comics. A weekly tabloid newspaper, it had lots of industry news and tons of ads from both dealers and individuals. After my freshman year in college, I wanted to join a fraternity for my sophomore year and needed to raise money to help pay for it. I had been collecting since I was 12 but had lost interest as I started college and decided girls and beer were priorities. So I decided to place an ad to sell the "keys" of my collection, which included X-Men #1, #94-130 complete, House of Secrets #92, Iron Man #1-6, Hulk #102,180-181, and FF #48. I listed them for about half of the 1984 Overstreet Price Guide and sold them all within a few days...I remember our phone was ringing off the hook and my parents were annoyed when folks from California were calling after midnight EST. So I've been looking for a copy of the CBG issue the ad appeared in for a few years now with no luck (mine was of course thrown away decades ago). I wasn't even sure which issue it was exactly because it published weekly and I only remember the one with my ad came out in June. But this week I found a seller on eBay who has hundreds of CBG back issues including 2 from June of 1984. I figured the odds were nearly 50-50 that my ad would be in one of those 2, so I bought them both and received them yesterday. Sure enough, the June 15th issue had my ad. While I don't regret selling them as I needed the money and loved being in a fraternity, looking at the prices shocked me...thought I would post for your amusement.

It's interesting to see notes on everything, but I'm sure the main reason they don't is simply lack of time (given the never-ending avalanche of books they receive daily). I've been submitting for almost 18 years and the percentage of books that have notes has declined dramatically in recent years.

I guess I need to sell on C-Link instead of eBay to reach the buffoons with more money than sense, I sold this in January on eBay which was just $1.00 less than the all-time GPA high: https://www.ebay.com/itm/373873371819?transid=1360248817024&mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e12025.m43.l1123&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=f88e709ae2ed4b8582c6708ddc9e3a21&bu=43205332340&osub=-1~1&crd=20220116121934&segname=12025&sojTags=ch%3Dch%2Cbu%3Dbu%2Cosub%3Dosub%2Ccrd%3Dcrd%2Csegname%3Dsegname%2Cchnl%3Dmkcid

Nice book, congrats. Does look nicer than an 8.0 but they are just so incredibly tight right now. But I do have a question...let me make sure I understand: You've owned this key book for 40+ years and never once opened it and saw the signature?

I was reading a thread in a Facebook group and apparently that guy has like 20+ aliases on eBay and whenever one ID gets kicked off, he just creates another

I've submitted tons of books in the past but these are my first 2 orders under these insane TAT conditions. I've got two separate orders (one FT Economy and one FT Modern) that both just moved to Grading/Encapsulation/Imaging today...knowing Grading/QC is next and it will sit there for awhile as well, thoughts on whether I am I weeks away from shipped or months?

I've been holding off on submitting anything due to the tidal wave of speculators drowning CGC with truckloads of moderns...but I finally decided to just bite the bullet and send about 15 bronze semi-keys anyway. They may come back next year but whatever. Only, I can't...the online submission form keeps freezing in the early stages of entering info and then giving an error message. Been happening for hours now. Anyone else tried the form today? I'm guessing that the servers are likely overloaded with the continued onslaught...sigh

Holy Sheet...WOW!!!!

It's happened to the best of us!

I honestly don't believe some of those results, I'm wondering if payment was actually made on those ridiculous prices?!

Definitely suspicious but as others have noted, you are completely covered since USPS confirmed delivery at the address (doesn't matter that USPS didn't obtain signature, as long as they noted it was given to an individual at the delivery address). Certainly you can contact eBay and be proactive, it can't hurt...but I'm pretty sure regardless of how "in the right" you are, they will still freeze the funds until they complete their investigation...especially since you are a relatively new seller. The investigation will likely be very short since you have confirmed delivery, but do expect the funds to be frozen. If you really need the money, I would withdraw now from Paypal and move to your bank account so if they freeze your account you will already have the money. Good luck!

Kiss that chip goodbye until the new CGC trainees settle in and QC improves...judging from the stuff I'm getting back, I'm pretty sure they're all wearing either oven mitts or boxing gloves while handling comics!

@Math Teacher Oh man sorry your results weren't great. With common lower value bronze and copper it's definitely much more of a crapshoot with low starting bids, I did say that was the best method for me for selling them quickly but not necessarily getting top dollar. Also you may have done this but it's worth mentioning that any key issues in the runs should definitely be specifically mentioned in the auction title as well to help with search results. I would still always use eBay first, maybe just jack up the starting bids to where you feel comfortable and just keep relisting if it doesn't sell. You'll get more obviously but it may take much longer. Obviously it can't hurt to try the other venues mentioned, I've never used them myself. Best of luck!

It was 24 pages of mind-numbing scientific debate...mostly...with some priceless Neal Adams nuggets scattered in. Easy to miss! The only two things I remember about the thread was that my favorite artist participated, and, that I never realized how many geologists we have on the boards!

@dikran1 Heck I don't even remember exactly, I think he said something about the fight being bare-chested but he didn't want to leave Batman lying there with no pants on even though R'as was actually holding them,

Sorry to sidetrack but seeing this just reminds me of the amazing, epic thread in General where Neal Adams popped in maybe 12-13 years ago. The OP was some former comic artist (Michael something, I had vaguely heard of him) arguing about the earth's tectonic plates (or something along those lines) and apparently he's friends with Adams who is passionate about that topic...and Neal himself jumped into the discussion. Somewhere in the thread they strayed off the topic (thank God, lol) and he responded to a question about why he drew Batman shirtless on that cover even though it's a one-piece costume. It was fascinating. Of course after that he was hit with an avalanche of other questions and disappeared. Anybody else remember that?

Happy to help...have been selling on eBay a long time and I really enjoy it. Bagging and boarding is so tedious, but necessary...buyers appreciate fresh bags and boards and the books look better. I usually end my auctions between 10-11 EST so 7-8 PST. I think 11 eastern/8 pacific is the sweet spot...not too late for the east, not too early for the west. I always end on a Saturday or Sunday night, biggest audience. Others may have varying opinions but it has worked very well for me (and I've experimented a lot over the years). If you're selling a GS X-Men #1 it probably doesn't matter, but for lots and average stuff...it definitely does! Best of luck!

@Math Teacher Hmm, interesting question. For runs I've always listed them in numerical order and had good results. But I guess it depends on the title...if there are minor keys and more in-demand issues in some parts of the run and not in others, it may be better to mix them up a little so there is at least one higher demand book in each lot. The two biggest runs I've listed have been long Iron Man and Batman runs from late Silver/Early Bronze to mid-1990's and I only listed numerically. Even the later (90's) low-demand issues of each did really well and surprised me. I always use auctions that start at 99 cents or even a penny, as it generates a lot more bids...but if you need to get a certain amount you can always use a much higher starting bid. Just know if you do that it may dramatically impact the bidding activity. Good luck!

@OuterboroGuy Awesome, thanks for sharing...will definitely try that tactic next time I list lesser-demand books!

Even though there was less action, were you happy with the end-result of the 2 you listed with high starting bids? If they had been Best Offer listings would you have accepted the two prices they ended at as offers?

@the blob People are looking for a steal, doesn't surprise me...and so many Best Offers are from bored tire-kickers with no real intent to buy, I get tons of those and love the auto-reject feature. But we know eBay is the world's largest comic-buying audience so you just laugh and move on. Question though...I have been doing straight up BIN with Best Offer for years and years but the past few months have had spectacular results with straight auctions starting at 99 cents. Now these are usually big bronze/silver keys, so I'm wondering what kind of books you are listing and having success with auction/best offer? Trendy, high-demand? Current or Bronze/Silver? In the past (and I know things have changed DRAMATICALLY lately) if you listed a book at auction with a starting bid at or close to the minimum you would take for it, the bidding action and interest level was always dramatically lower than an auction starting at a penny or 99 cents. You feel this is an effective strategy now and you are happy with the prices you are getting?

OMG these are hilarious...well, and some are just downright disturbing. Was the inflatable doll ad actually in a comic?!

If you want to sell them quickly and don't necessarily need to get top dollar: Break them runs into lots of 10 (or even 20 max if the run is more than 200 books) and list on eBay, take lots of pics and detail any flaws. Go with auction format with low starting bid (I always go with 99 cents). The fees are high but eBay has the largest comic buying audience in the world and your comics will all sell. I always use Priority Mail for packages less than 10 lbs, it's not the cheapest but boxes are free and it's much faster. If you want to get top dollar and don't need them to sell quickly: List as a complete run on Craigslist, Instagram, Facebook with lots of pics and detailed description. Or, use eBay but instead of an auction utilize the 30-day Fixed Price format with Best Offer option. You'll get the price you want, eventually. Ship via USPS Media Mail (I've been selling comics on eBay for 20+ years and always use Media Mail for bulk orders, I've had exactly 1 package returned as not qualifying for Media Mail out of hundreds and hundreds).

All comics in boxes that are uncirculated are automatically GEM MINT and worth hundreds if not thousands of dollars each and you're all BULLIES for not supporting and encouraging this impending financial windfall! Also, my feelings are hurt and I need to go lie down for awhile...