RockMyAmadeus

Did this get posted yet?

Yes.

I sold my last copy, a VF-, for $120 a month or two ago at a local show. Yeah, but what is that, like $3.50 in US Dollars....?

I agree, one of the benefits of the auction is that EVERYONE has the chance to put in their MAXIMUM bid. If you're nickel and diming hoping to get it for less, you run the risk of missing out. There's obviously some timing strategies, but if the rules are clear from the beginning, anything is fair game. Yes. If you bid the most you're willing to pay, you can never go away and say "I would have paid more!" If you would, you didn't bid the max you were willing to pay. Granted...absolutely granted...that the most you're willing to pay may change when other factors (ie, bidders) are introduced into the equation. But if that's the case, and there's nothing wrong with that, simply re-evaluate and bid again. If you've made the highest bid you're willing to pay, using all the information available to you at the time, you will very, very rarely leave an auction situation being angry because you "would have paid more." The psychology behind auction behavior is immensely fascinating.

Also...it makes it important to specify bid increments. After all....mathematically, $500.00000000001 is more than $500. Yes, there would be sturm und drang, and very few would be willing to risk the social backlash of such a move....but they wouldn't be wrong, no matter how tacky such a move would be.

Even in the situation on the board, though, with no increments stated, then realistically, anybody could be outbid by any amount, even a cent. It just makes it imperative to either "bid the most you're willing to pay" (even down to the cent if necessary) at the time of whenever your last bid can reasonably be made, or wait until the last possible moment to bid. If the listing ends at 9PM EDT, and you don't want to be sniped by a cent, it's imperative to bid at 8:59:52 (and this isn't impossible to do) or something close to that, and then you won't be outbid by that cent unless someone is equally dedicated to timing it as much as you.

Yes. This is the issue, not the sniping. But on the issue of sniping....every bid entered, whether it is in the first second or the last, is legitimate. The people who have a problem with it is because they want to get the item for a lower price than they are willing to pay, always. And that's true every single time. They complain about someone "stealing" the item from them "in the last seconds." The operative word being "stealing." Because, of course, THEY wanted to "steal" the item themselves. But they never mention that. If a buyer bids the most they are willing to pay, at the time of their bid, they will never be angry if someone outbids them, no matter when, because that person wanted it more than they did. Disappointed that they didn't get what they want, but it was more than they were willing to pay, so no harm, no foul. I recently bid $450+ for an item I realllly wanted. It sold for $103. I wanted it the most. It's not worth $450, but I wasn't about to cheap out and try and "get a deal." Yay! Two cents from RMA! (Poster is not responsible for inflation eating up value; results vary.) That's true...and it works great in a proxy bid situation. On the boards, where proxy bids don't exist, if you bid $450...you pay $450. There's no chance to win for $103. Yes, just commenting on the general concept of sniping in proxy bid situations (like eBay and Heritage), and that just with the $450+/$103 example. The rest applies to any auction format.

Yes. This is the issue, not the sniping. But on the issue of sniping....every bid entered, whether it is in the first second or the last, is legitimate. The people who have a problem with it is because they want to get the item for a lower price than they are willing to pay, always. And that's true every single time. They complain about someone "stealing" the item from them "in the last seconds." The operative word being "stealing." Because, of course, THEY wanted to "steal" the item themselves. But they never mention that. If a buyer bids the most they are willing to pay, at the time of their bid, they will never be angry if someone outbids them, no matter when, because that person wanted it more than they did. Disappointed that they didn't get what they want, but it was more than they were willing to pay, so no harm, no foul. I recently bid $450+ for an item I realllly wanted. It sold for $103. I wanted it the most. It's not worth $450, but I wasn't about to cheap out and try and "get a deal." Yay! Two cents from RMA! (Poster is not responsible for inflation eating up value; results vary.)

Speculation on GOTG team expansion? That's not even the same Quasar that was in the GOTG/Annihilation books Does that matter to anyone in the Speculation Age? Nope. And if you try to educate anyone, you're savaged as a "know-it-all" who "talks down your nose at everyone." Because, of course, everyone has an equal amount of knowledge, and no one needs to be taught anything, and God help you if you correct anyone's inaccurate statements about anything. Branget is right: people are only interested in being right, not knowledge and understanding. Ka-ching, ka-ching, let those cash registers ring!

Yes, it should explicitly say "Second Printing" or "Third Printing."

if it's the one I'm thinking of, it's a long drive for you, Mike Boxs of unpriced books... I'm guessing either JJ or Howard. My 1st guess would be Howard, but then again he's discovered the internet recently, so he's a little more up to date with some books than in the past. Howard Harris is my favorite comic book dealer of all time. I can't believe I've known him for almost 20 years. He's a nice, decent, fair, unflappable guy. And I'm not a fan of comic book dealers in general.

Harrison Ford just doesn't like signing comics. Maybe he had a comic book accident as a kid, and instead of giving him comic book powers, it just ticked him off. He WILL sign comics, but they have to be pre-negotiated comics, and he won't sign any send-ins.

Thrilled with this one of a kind. Absolutely amazing. Only one missing is Harrison, and Harry doesn't "sign comics." Absolutely love it. Last minute decision, too. Thanks, as always, to Richie.

This book seemed so exotic when I first started collecting in 1990. It wasn't like the others. I actually wrote an article for a local comic shop about why Lobo could be the next Punisher. I was a teen, what can I say...?

Wow. That's insane. I wish I'd have known. You can name your own price on that. Someone will want it more than you one day. Yeah, I wish I would have known. I sold mine for $400 (minus fees) and have regretted it ever since. I would have bid double that with no problem.

please lead me to this obscure warehouse thats holding various comic books and being paid by a millionaire hoarder(of valuable comic books)... http://www.diamondcomics.com/home/1/1/3/306 just called them... they close 1730 Eastern standard time... Ill call them tomorrow; I want to pick up their back stock... Ill let you guys know what happens... Does diamond even own the stock or do they just inventory. So where do people think unsold inventory goes? Or do you live in a world where there is no excess inventory? Gaps in understanding of the industry, but no corresponding humility, either. It's one of the good and bad things on these boards. Collectors from all walks of life. There can be interesting perspectives. The ironic part is that the vast majority seem to prioritize being right over learning. I blame it on the superhero comics. I've learned quite a bit on here and have shared my knowledge. Oh well, lead a horse to water..... Yes. And if someone knows what they're talking about, they are often dismissed as merely "someone on a comic collecting forum" who "just thinks they're always right." "Don't listen to him, he just argues for the sake of arguing." Oh well. Bread and circuses for all.

There are books with print runs of 100 that sell for nothing. The Vampirella Royal Blues, for example. I just picked up 5 more copies of the Monthly #1 RB for $20 each. That's 5% of the print run (a little less, if overage is taken into account.) There are books with print runs of 10,000 that are monster successes, and there isn't enough to go around (Spiderman #1 Platinum, for example, or Venom #1 Gold.) Supply and demand is supply AND demand. If the demand is overwhelming, 1,000,000 copies might not be enough (look at Superman #75....4 million+ copies, and $100 within a month.) So, even if the print run for this book was 5,000...not saying it is, but if it was....and there were 100,000 people who wanted it....then yes, the prices could easily be thousands of dollars for it. After all....there are still tens of thousands of copies of Hulk #181 still in existence, but look at the prices it brings.

Fixed. RMA is that you ? -J. Jay, you make claims all the time that you never prove. Much, much worse than that, you become dismissive and demeaning when others disagree with your assertions, while failing to provide any documentary evidence of your numbers. Other people provide mountains of proof, of all sorts of things, and you reject it. Just prove what you're claiming. That's all. If what you say is true, then you should be able to prove it, and easily, since clearly you have access to information. That's all that's required. Diamond invoices, Marvel orders, circulation officers, COAs, printer's affidavits...anything that will prove the print run of any of these books you're referring to. Here's an example: That is documentary evidence that demonstrates that the print run for USM #1 DF was 5,000 copies. Now, it was probably more like 5,500, but it's close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades. Anything that is proof of the print run for the ASM #678 variant would be fine. I think everyone here knows (or should know) that retailer incentive variant numbers are not made public. Then how do you make the claim that "only 500 were made", when various people have already told you that "Marvel doesn't really get out of bed for less than 1,000 to start"....? You haven't before. But it will be good to alter the language going forward. "Estimates" must be based on knowledge, not guessing. If you are making it clear that your number is an estimate, and you base it on 1. low census numbers, and 2. lack of marketplace availability, contrary to what you may think of my argument, those two sources are, in fact, valuable in the discussion. The issue becomes then "how" valuable, and if you say "well, ok, I understand that there are limitations to these two sources, and they are only really a few pieces of a much larger picture, but they ARE pieces, and it's a start"....I don't think anyone would have a problem with that. Much appreciated. It's ok to disagree...but being dismissive is a completely different beast.

please lead me to this obscure warehouse thats holding various comic books and being paid by a millionaire hoarder(of valuable comic books)... http://www.diamondcomics.com/home/1/1/3/306 just called them... they close 1730 Eastern standard time... Ill call them tomorrow; I want to pick up their back stock... Ill let you guys know what happens... Does diamond even own the stock or do they just inventory. So where do people think unsold inventory goes? Or do you live in a world where there is no excess inventory? Gaps in understanding of the industry, but no corresponding humility, either.

please lead me to this obscure warehouse thats holding various comic books and being paid by a millionaire hoarder(of valuable comic books)... http://www.diamondcomics.com/home/1/1/3/306 It's really obvious that there are a lot of people posting who really don't understand how the comic book industry works. Diamond has bulk sales of unsold variants frequently. Where do people think those guys who set up at conventions with nothing but boxes and boxes of variants get them? They didn't order 10,000 copies of every book just to get 200 variants.

Fixed. RMA is that you ? -J. Jay, you make claims all the time that you never prove. Much, much worse than that, you become dismissive and demeaning when others disagree with your assertions, while failing to provide any documentary evidence of your numbers. Other people provide mountains of proof, of all sorts of things, and you reject it. Just prove what you're claiming. That's all. If what you say is true, then you should be able to prove it, and easily, since clearly you have access to information. That's all that's required. Diamond invoices, Marvel orders, circulation officers, COAs, printer's affidavits...anything that will prove the print run of any of these books you're referring to. Here's an example: That is documentary evidence that demonstrates that the print run for USM #1 DF was 5,000 copies. Now, it was probably more like 5,500, but it's close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades. Anything that is proof of the print run for the ASM #678 variant would be fine.

Neither you nor RMA have presented any actual "fact". This isn't true, despite your repetition of it. See above. You are misusing the census in a way that it cannot be used. The census will only ever tell us what DOES exist, not what MIGHT exist. It is an error to assume that, because it's not on the census, it therefore doesn't exist. True. No one has disputed that. As stated before, none of that has any bearing on the print run of an incentive. Please provide proof of the print runs for these examples. Diamond, Marvel, anything that would prove that these numbers are what you say they are. That is not true. It is a mischaracterization of what has been said, for effect. Nobody suggested there was a "warehouse full of copies of this book." What was said was there MIGHT be (not IS) a SOME in a warehouse. That is substantially different from speculating that there IS a "warehouse full" of copies of this book. Again, not what was said. There's no need to speculate: there are "low census numbers" (relative to what? You don't say) because people don't bother to slab high dollar books. This is true, whether the book is the Mile High Action #1, or this book. It is an error to believe that everybody/most/many people slab because they have a "high dollar book." Therefore, a conclusion founded on that error, that "there aren't that many copies on the census", is also in error. No one said that. Junk Donkey said Marvel HAS sold 1:50 and 1:100 (and many other) variants for $5. No one said they would sell THIS book for $5; but simply said it was possible, which it is. Once again: incentive print runs aren't tied to regular print runs, and allocation numbers are not print run numbers. Not only is it NOT "pure nonsense"...it's how Marvel operates.

That's only if every shop that ordered the book ordered 50+ copies of the regular cover. Time and and the book's overall scarcity has suggested that certainly did not happen. (thumbs u -J. Ok we can say that. But it is possible that Marvel still "did" print those copies, but never distributed them to retailers. Maybe some were destroyed or given away to employees? Still a wicked low print run. Again, highly unlikely given how poor spidey sales were at the time. As you can see ASM 678 barely cracked the top 20 then. There would be little reason or motivation for Marvel to randomly decide to over-print "this" specific book, regardless of what poppycock RMA is trying to float for whatever reason. Reality has already proven his far fetched theories and speculation to be wrong. (thumbs u Please don't dismiss what I have to say as "poppycock", regardless of whether you agree or not. You may not understand these things, and you may not know these things, but none of that means you need to be dismissive and insulting. I don't hold that you don't know these things against you, and publicly call what you have to say "poppycock", or use other such dismissive language. If you can't disagree without being disagreeable, there's no point in having any discussion at all. This is not only not true, it is a mischaracterization of the situation. Stick to the facts, and leave your speculations about my motives at the door.

That's only if every shop that ordered the book ordered 50+ copies of the regular cover. Time and and the book's overall scarcity has suggested that certainly did not happen. (thumbs u -J. Ok we can say that. But it is possible that Marvel still "did" print those copies, but never distributed them to retailers. Maybe some were destroyed or given away to employees? Still a wicked low print run. 1:50 is a DISTRIBUTION ratio and not a PRINT ratio. I believe it has been said here many times. Marvel does not print to order. 1:50 has nothing to do with print run. Yes.

Those are ALLOCATION ratios, not PRINT RUN ratios. "If you order 50 copies of the regular version, you get 1 copy of the variant." It has nothing to do with the print run of the variant.