Mr. Spider-Woman

I just learned about "VariantGate" (as Bleeding Cool refers to it) and had to force myself not to drive to the closest Walmart in the hopes of finding some of the high-ratio variants.

I find retail exclusives like this fascinating but frustrating because there's almost never any detailed info available, just speculation and rumors.

I'm so out of the loop I didn't realize this was a big anniversary year until I read about the delay for the giant-sized anniversary issue.

Also for some reason I always think FF #1 came out in 1962.

I stopped by Walmart for the first time in forever and found two Marvel three packs mixed in with a dozen or so DC packs. Both had Fantastic Four #24 and I'm a Fantastic Four fanatic so I grabbed one.

If I'm reading this thread correctly, this is an older three pack, not one of the newer packs that may include a lenticular cover.

Has anyone from Marvel or Walmart ever commented officially about why Walmart gets exclusive variant covers? It's not like Walmart is known for selling comic books and they're not advertised anywhere as exclusives.

I only read about this last night. I don't know what to think. I'm a Marvel collector, not DC, so it doesn't affect me personally at the moment but if DC leaving Diamond impacts the broader comic book industry, who knows!

Best of luck to everyone with a shop trying to navigate this massive change.

I'm going to try my best to throw a few extra dollars at my LCS in the next few weeks. They're shut down as of tonight so I'll have to see what options they're able to offer.

Wow. I'm surprised but not really surprised.

On 3/13/2020 at 10:04 AM, StingerMcK said:

Got these from my LCS yesterday. I knew they were buying a giant vintage toy collection, so I was able to get first dibs on these. 

I'm blown away I was able to get almost the entire line of vehicles and Hall in 1 shot. 

Wow! Are those all unopened? The boxes look like they're in great shape.

I haven't looked to see what's available but my local Walmart now has a dedicated box for the Marvel three-packs. They used to be mixed in with the big DC books.

On 3/11/2020 at 3:07 PM, valiantman said:

You could say that Zion Williamson has a rookie card called 2019/2020 Donruss, but then you'd need to specify whether it was: Green Flood, Holo Green and Yellow Laser, Holo Orange Laser, Infinite, Silver Press Proof (/349), Purple Press Proof (/199), Holo Green Laser (/99), Red Infinite (/99), Red Laser Press Proof (/99), Holo Pink Laser (/50), Blue Laser Press Proof (/49), Blue Infinite (/35), Holo Yellow Laser (/25), Holo Purple Laser (/15), Holo Red and Blue Laser (/15), Gold Infinite (/10), Gold Laser Press Proof (/10), Holo Purple and Green Laser Holo (/10), Black Laser Press Proof (1/1), Black Infinite (1/1), Donruss Optic Blue, Checkerboard, Choice, Choice Dragon, Choice Red and Green, Fanatics Box Set, Fast Break Holo, Gold Wave, Green Wave, Holo, Hyper Pink, Purple, Purple Shock, Red Wave, White Sparkle, Premium Box Set (/249), Orange (/199), Lime Green (/149), Red (/99), Fast Break Purple (/95), Choice Red (/88), Fast Break Red (/85), Pink Velocity (/79), Blue Velocity (/59), Fast Break Blue (/50), Black Velocity (/39), Purple Stars (/29), Pink (/25), Fast Break Pink (/20), Fast Break Gold (/10), Gold (/10), Choice Black Gold (/8), Lucky Envelopes (/8), Green (/5), Black (1/1), Choice Nebula (1/1), Fast Break Black (1/1), Gold Vinyl (1/1)... and that would be Donruss. 

I didn't mention Panini, but there are similar Zion cards from Panini. 

There are also bootlegs/counterfeits.

So... yeah.  Comics have only just started to play the variant new comic game.

I recently dipped my toe into the sports cards waters just deep enough to know I want to stay as far away as possible from anything other than sealed product. There are too many versions of any given card. It's mind-boggling.

Bots are also a huge problem. It's impossible to buy anything online unless you can pre-order or you're lucky enough to stumble upon a listing immediately after it goes live and before it sells out.

5 hours ago, FlyingDonut said:

10. ALWAYS use flat rate shipping. ALWAYS. It will keep your costs down - all USPS flat rate materials are fee - and increase your throughput rate as it is much easier to use. Flat rate shipping is getting expensive, but DO NOT offer your buyers ANY OTHER METHOD of shipping or they will 100% abuse it.

I love the idea of flat rate because it does simplify things but how can you compete with sellers offering cheaper shipping, either First Class or (even though comics aren't applicable) Media Mail?

I finally discovered where my local Walmart keeps trading cards and comics. There's a big display for the DC Comics 100 page books. I've seen a handful of the Marvel three packs as well. Never more than three or four at a time. Either they're being snatched up quickly or only a few are put out.

I'm thinking about opening an eBay Store this fall to sell comics and trading cards and toys and books and other collectibles. I've sold occasionally on eBay in the past but I'd like to get a more serious about it. I have a lot of collectibles (most not worth much) I've acquired over the last 25 years, plus things I've inherited from family members. I may also have a line on a decent Magic: The Gathering collection I can try to sell. And I've started buying things I think I can sell when I see massive clearance sales at Walmart and other stores.

I've been reading about taxes and business structures and things like that. I'll definitely talk to a CPA this summer if I decide to do this so I know what records to keep and what taxes I have to pay. I'm particularly confused about paying capital gains tax on collectibles, for example.

For those of you who sell collectibles on eBay as a side hustle, is there any advice you have for me? Did you set up an actual business, like a sole proprietorship or an LLC? Which eBay Store subscriber level is best to start out with? Do you have a business license in your state? Did you open a separate business banking account/credit card? Does selling on eBay consume all your waking hours, even if you only planned to do it in your spare time?

Thanks.

3 hours ago, Hollywood1892 said:

Collecting comes in phases

Ain't that the truth. I'm in the midst of a hardcore comic and trading cards phase at the moment. Who knows how I'll feel a year or two from now.

1 hour ago, Cruzin' Thru Comics said:

Yea keys are great but as a shop owner I’d rather see more run collectors. I do have some younger run collectors but most are older. Most of the younger crowd (under 35) seem to only want key issues. Problem with that is finding buyers for the rest of the books. 

I'm under 35 (barely) and I'd love to go after keys but I don't have the money. What I've done this year is clear out a ton of Fantastic Four, Namor, and Dazzler comics from local stores as I work on completing various runs.

16 minutes ago, RCheli said:

The Heritage market is completely different than your standard one-day con market and your LCS market. It's not a bad thing that Heritage did well last year, but to me it's not much different than comparing the DJIA to the general economy. Just because one is doing incredibly well, doesn't mean that the other is matching it.

That was my reaction as well after skimming the article. It's great that Heritage is doing well. Is the broader vintage comics and original art market doing well, too? Not to mention the even broader comic book market?

Hope you're back to 100% soon!

On 1/4/2020 at 6:39 PM, Brother J said:

Also sold an issue of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis to Bob Denver very early in my eBay selling career. He paid by check.

That's awesome.

I doubt I'll ever own a copy myself but I sure do love the cover to #18.

That is one beat up comic. 1.8 maybe.

It looks nearly perfect aside from some of the corners. I'd say it is definitely a 9.something. I'm sure those with more experience grading can chime in.

That is an amazing book. 

I don't know. It looks great but all the little imperfections add up. Maybe a 7.0 or around that?

Somewhere in the 7.5 to 8.0 range.

I’ve hit three or four stores over the past few months and spent hours going through the 50 cent and/or dollar bins. I’m mostly collecting Fantastic Four comics at the moment and did find a few books but nothing special. Annoyingly, on multiple occasions I’ve found something for $1 that I spent more to buy online.

I do enjoy the search but I’m probably done digging for the foreseeable future. I just don’t have the time. 

On 12/25/2019 at 4:05 PM, followtheleader said:

Last group looks all space age.  Probably fuel guys though. 

I’m almost positive I have one or two of these but know nothing about them. They came from my dad, so they’re probably from the mid-1960s.

I saw this yesterday morning. I’m a casual Star Wars fan who grew up occasionally watching the original trilogy on cable. I saw The Phantom Menace and Revenge Of The Sith in theaters (and Attack Of the Clones on DVD in between) but didn’t particularly enjoy them. I’ve read maybe two Star Wars novels and played one PC game, but that’s it.

I was excited when The Force Awakens came out and saw it twice in theaters. I really liked it even though it felt like a retread of A New Hope. But The Last Jedi was a huge mess and a big disappointment, so I didn’t have high hopes for The Rise of Skywalker. I was pleasantly surprised and liked it much more than I expected.

Is it a great movie? No. It isn’t even a good movie. The story is confusing, the plot predictable, and the ending anticlimactic. Yet somehow it all worked, at least well enough to satisfy me. I won’t be seeing it again in theaters but maybe I’ll watch it some day if I ever subscribe to Disney+.