Jesse-Lee

Speaking of paying percentages over FMV, since I've been hunting pretty closely on the 'Bay and a few other places this week in order to try and get a copy that fit my budget at as high a possible grade and quality I could afford - without trying to overpay like crazy - I've noticed that some of the recent sales on this are nuts compared to what the current FMVs are listed at.

For example, on Sept. 16 alone:

• 3.0 OW/W newsstand sold for $169.95 - about 41% over GoCollect's currently stated FMV of $120 (that's with no comp sales in their sales history though)
• 9.6 OW/W newsstand sold for a best offer price of $1,275 - 70% over GC's currently stated $750
• 5.5 OW/W newsstand sold for a best offer price of $345 - about 57% over GC's currently stated $220
• Even an 8.5 PLOD C-1 W newsstand sold for $370, which is still 5.5% above GC's FMV of $350 in a universal grade (this was on Sept. 15)

It may be just coincidence that these are all newsstands in the last day - direct editions this week have also sold pretty high above GC's stated FMVs too. 2 different 9.6 directs sold for $1,200 and $1,090 (current stated FMV of $750); a 7.5 direct sold for $350 (current stated FMV of $290); and two different 9.4 directs sold for $675 and $725 (current stated FMV of $425).

On 9/14/2020 at 9:19 PM, Spidey 62 said:

Just made a deal on FB for a ASM 300 newsstand 8.0 white.  Happy to have it on the way.  I got my first copy, direct, in my pull list many years ago, for cover price.  This one was substantially more...about $335.

Congrats! I was just able to get this book too, at a price/grade I could afford - got an 8.5 white newsstand. I paid about 8.5% over GoCollect's current FMV listing - I generally hate paying much over FMV, but it seems like everyone is either holding these or looking for even higher percentage premiums than that. Also, it doesn't look like GoCollect differentiates between direct and newsstand. I know there are varying viewpoints on this, and I didn't go in looking for newsstand specifically (just a decent copy in my budget that wasn't a ridiculous percentage premium), but I felt satisfied with the grade/copy/page quality I got for the price, especially given its newsstand status.

2 minutes ago, revat said:

I would say write them a polite email (telling them all relevant dates including other dates you've attempted to contact) and give them a date that you will initiate a chargeback if they do not respond, AND a date (in the event they respond) that you will initiate a chargeback if you don't receive your order.  Then you will have truly given them every chance (certainly more than is reasonable).

Other than that, you can consider trying to find them on social media, they might be more likely to respond to public questions.

Thanks, I think writing them once more is the route I'm going to take. I was really hoping to get the books, but as they were modern issues and more sought after, my bet is that ship has sailed either way. The most I'm hoping for now is that they just do a straight refund I guess.

If they really are as small a shop as they claim to be and they are struggling, I hate to initiate a chargeback, as that can eventually have repercussions for small businesses who do a majority of their sales through credit card orders (in addition to added fees for them). But it's getting to the point where I'm not going to have a choice.

Anyone here have any experience buying from Danz Comix and Collektibles? Their site is https://danzcomix.com/

I placed an order with them a month ago today - 8/16. On their site they say orders are usually shipped within 5-7 business days. I reached out to them on 8/26 to see if I could get an update, since I didn't hear back except for the email confirming my order. They got back to me and said they were very busy and hoped to ship my order the week of 8/31. After hearing nothing the week of 8/31, I reached back out on 9/10 to ask for an update, and then again yesterday, 9/14. I've gotten no response.

Just wondering if anyone else has dealt with them - their site says they're a small shop, so I understand getting overwhelmed with orders, but this is a bit much. They appear to have an Amazon store under the same name and the reviews are 98% positive, including 100% positives from the past 30 and 90 days...

3 minutes ago, JV73 said:

Found all these for less than $3ea before the panda-mic 

I was going to ask why you bought 22 copies of the same book, but first I looked at eBay and now I understand. Nice one!

1 minute ago, kustomizer said:

As soon as Byrne left the X-Men, Claremont started on those Alien rip-off stories (the Brood) and every second cover seemed to imply the death of a major character. It reeked of desperation. Also, Cockrum's art was by then extremely disappointing, especially with those watery Rubenstein inks.

Although I do love this cover, actually just picked it up this week:

Just now, kustomizer said:

I remember when one of our LCS's went out of business -- all modern comics were 50 cents each. And I still didn't want any of them. That would have been in the '90s, if that makes any difference. I scored a ton of good TPBs though.

I'm just waiting for 5-10 years from now when some movie gets announced and Sovereign Seven 14 or whatever has a last page panel of a character's knee that makes the book worth about 5 grand. And I'll be kicking myself for letting my kid read it.

21 minutes ago, serling1978 said:

I dare anyone to rival my crappy collection of first issues that most humans have never seen all together in one place. Collectors items? Maybe if you're drunk. 

I got these all in a large lot last year that was more than worth it, but that doesn't change the fact that I now have these in my house. They demand to be viewed and will no longer hide in the shadows.

I'm on the way to fairly drunk right now, and this post is amazing...

19 minutes ago, kustomizer said:

I always thought John Byrne was the force behind the X-Men, with Claremont along for the ride. As soon as Byrne left the title, the quality of the stories tanked. Claremont was just a really messy writer, anyone see his Sovereign Seven? Really incoherent stuff.

Speaking of drek, I recently bought a "mystery box" of DC books from a nearby LCS on a whim (and to have some books to give to my kid ultimately) - it was mostly full of Sovereign Seven garbage. Sorry kiddo, here's some 50 cent bin fodder for ya...

The one question I do have though pertains to the volume of graded copies compared to other high-value keys like IH 181 - there are nearly double the amount of universal graded ASM 300 compared to IH 181 for example. Does that volume limit its ceiling for growth potential?

ASM 300 is the book that feels closest to me to IH 181, where the  value is just going to increase or at least not decrease. I missed that train long ago, and I feel like I should jump on this one at a point that I can afford now (7.5, 8.0?) so I don't miss out again...

2 minutes ago, Broke as a Joke said:

Yeah, that is how I remember it too.  Either not enough people care about the actualities or they are blind to it.  The entire 3 issue mini is worth having for Turtle fans though.  

The main reason I asked is because I was able to buy a mixed lot of TMNT books, and the miniseries #2 was the only Archie book in it, so I want the credit to be correct...

1 minute ago, valiantman said:

That one has been available since August 2019... with a few updates along the way.

https://www.ebay.com/rvh/333295165665?rt=nc

 

Wow! I guess it is the type of purchase where you'd have to find the exact right person at the right time.

10 minutes ago, Broke as a Joke said:

Remember when buying these at 500 seemed like too much.  

Well now it looks like you can buy an entire run of ASM from 150-838, all CGC 9.8s. Cost you more than $500 though...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Amazing-Spider-man-150-838-Vol-2-1-58-All-Cgc-9-8-238-252-298-299-300-301-361-36/333295165665?hash=item4d99f0a0e1:g:zE4AAOSwDfxa4y2h

Just now, tvindy said:

That was to Ready Fire Aim, but I'm interested in recommendations from anyone who has them for 90s comics. I've heard of LotDK and Preacher but never actually checked them out. Maybe I can find some issues for a nickel apiece. 

A lot of the issues are pretty easy $1 bin finds. Preacher has some nice collected editions too that I bet are pretty cheap - I have a bunch of the single books and the whole collection of TPBs, it's an amazing read. For LotDK, the "Venom" story line is easily one of my favorites (issues 16-20). "Going Sane" (65-68) is another favorite and a cool Joker story.

3 minutes ago, tvindy said:

What would be your top 10?

I'm not who you asked, but two that come to mind for me off the top of my head are Preacher and The Legends of the Dark Knight. Lot of good arcs in LotDK, and Preacher is one of my all-time favorites.

3 minutes ago, tvindy said:

Yes, that's a good analogy. Gone but still recognizable symbols. I think probably Ronald would fit the bill.

btw does anyone remember the Professor? He was one of the original characters, but McDonald's made him disappear back in the 70s and somehow erased him from memory.

No, but I do have this shirt that wear often:

35 minutes ago, tvindy said:

Oh, darn! There goes my whole thesis! Curse you, Disney!

Maybe instead it's more like Grimace, the Hamburglar, all those old McDonalds characters who were around when I was a kid but aren't anymore...

On 8/28/2020 at 3:33 PM, Broke as a Joke said:

The original Archie 3 issue mini series is still undervalued considering it holds first appearances of Bebop, Rocksteady and Krang.  Other than Shredder, those have to be the most iconic villains for the shellheads.

I have a question about this mini-series - CGC notes the first issue as the first appearance of Bebop and Rocksteady, but if you read the books, they aren't named in the first issue and they only show up in their human forms. It's not until issue 2 that they actually show up in their more recognizable, mutated forms, and that's the first time they're called by name. Shouldn't that be a distinction? I mean, technically the guys who will become them are in 1, but the "real" Bebop and Rocksteady (for the intent of the comic/show) are in issue 2.

A few new additions (a couple of these are maybe technically modern? They still "feel" copper to me):