1Cool

Thankfully I got a couple pity purchases and I’ll do some scanning tonight and post up the sets tomorrow for the masses.  I’m sure the ROM set will go quickly since it’s really nice.

On 4/14/2024 at 10:35 AM, GACollectibles said:

You've got some nice lots!

I’d rather people buy your’s and Crassus’s books since you guys have such good stuff and put in some effort scanning all your good stuff.  Crassus’s books are so tightly graded that I’d be buying his stuff if I didn’t have tons of stuff to sell already!

Of course everyone has stuff that’s good but I’m partial to you two

Don’t think there is any reason to put in more time so I’ll let it ride.  Last VCC for me but I do appreciate the effort and the history of the event.  

Glad to see things have slowed down to a level after the COVID craziness that you guys can travel a bit.  The Cons have missed ya!

Ok - that is enough to test the waters.  I’ve been holding on to these and hoping to get the old press out of storage since the defects are stacking related and they should press up nicely.  Plenty of Bronze Star Wars and other books in the boxes so I may post up some more tomorrow if things go decent.  Good luck everyone!

Ugh - hate being a last second slacker but it will have to do.  I’ll go sort out a few more stacks of books and post those up in a half hour or so.

This is my first booth in probably 6 years and of course I forget my computer at work and need to do everything on my cell phone   My booth will be bear-bones but should have some nice books at a good price.

Shipping - shipping is free within the US but I am happy to ship international but shipping will be at cost minus $6.

Returns - grading for these batches will be averages based on a quick grade but I’ve picked the best books from the boxes which should look much better with a press.  If you disagree with my average grading please send the books back and I’ll pay for the return shipping.  Return any time with a couple weeks of receiving the package.

Payment - I prefer PayPal but and payment option is up for discussion but all payments will of course have to clear prior to shipping out.  I’ve been selling books for over two decades either here or on E-Bay so feel secure in your purchase.

Marvel Team Up Annual 4 - VF/NM average - Warehouse Find - $80 for set

X-Factor 1 - VF/NM average - $80 for set

Marvel Two In One Annual 7 - Underrated 1st Appearance of Champion - NM- Average - $100 set  SOLD!!!

X-Men 143 - NM- Average - Beautiful Byrnes - $150 for set

ROM 1 - 70, Annual 1-4 - Complete Set - High Grade with #1 being in the VF/NM but the rest are higher NM average - $300 for set

Uncanny X-Men 150 - Average Grade 9.2 - $90 for set

Micronauts 1 - Very Nice NM average - $175 for set  SOLD!!!

Amazing Spider-Man Annual 15 - Average Grade of VF/NM - $90 for set

New Teen Titans 10 - 2nd Appearance Deathstroke - Average Grade of NM- - $50 for set

Daredevil 183 - VF/NM average grade - $150 set

Secret Wars 9 - NM- Average Grade - $80 for set

Moon Knight 15 - VF/NM Average grade - $80 for set

Star Wars 50 - NM- Average - $90 For Set

Silver-Surfer 1-Shot - Great Byrne Art - $110 for set SOLD!!!

Wow - that is great for Heroes!

Set up begins at 8:00 PM, correct?  It's been awhile since I set up.

Set up starts tonight!  I'm actually thinking about putting up some bulk stuff to clear out some space.

On 4/11/2024 at 12:36 AM, the blob said:

The last show I went to was probably 2019, but it sounds like things are cheaper now? I always found that I could go to a show with $300-400 and walk away with more cool stuff than I could carry and those were in NYC, where it might have been more expensive. I'm getting the sense that it is no longer possible to spend $400-500 at a show, sell $1000=1500 of the stuff you bought on ebay (all the low hanging fruit), and still wind up keeping 75% of it?

It's getting back to those type of shows but the problem is you have to be really careful what books you buy for $500 since it's a LOT tougher to find books that will sell for $1,000 on e-bay since the market seems to be shifted to tougher to find books and blue chip books.  There still are books like Dave Stevens books that are hot right now (not really sure why the masses deemed his books to be hot all at once but hive mind is strong right now) but I see very few people hunting through boxes pulling out possible hot books at shows this year.  The local shows in 2023 / 2024 where the first shows that I saw virtually no pre-show buying going on unless the person was a newbie and didn't know what they had.  The feeding frenzy when books come into the room is basically dead since dealers are in the sell what I have mode (unless its ultra premium).

On 4/11/2024 at 12:30 AM, the blob said:

Was this really happening? I was participating in the frenzy in 2021, but I wasn't able to sell filler books for $5, just a lot more stuff became interesting to people (any moon knight with a cool cover, etc.), a lot of semi keys appeared, I might have stopped selling before things got too nuts.

Were dealers able to sell copper age filler books for $5 when they exploded overnight to be $25 - $30 books because of some movie hype - heck yea.  I'd go on Bob's website all the time and grab stacks of his books that had just gotten hot.  I'm sure he didn't mind selling off a dozen books for $60 that he probably had $6 invested in.  I'd go to Cons and buy stacks of spec books with a 20% bulk discount (which I'm sure the guy loved to move) and sell them for 2-3x within a couple months.  It wasn't just the books that were currently hot but books that could get hot (ie Power Pack 1, Spider-Woman 1, etc) where plentiful in the $5 boxes and easy sales for $20 during the hayday.  Now not so much

On 4/10/2024 at 4:52 PM, comicartfan said:

Anytime it's an auction, it could be new high or a new low. But in my opinion, it isn't the market. 

It’s the new market value for people stupid enough to auction stuff on E-Bay.  Very, very few new highs being realized currently.

On 4/10/2024 at 12:42 PM, Hepcat said:

Sell? You mean part with my comics? Is that possible?

Why ever should any comic enthusiast sympathize with that lot?

 

I don't hear many sellers asking for bailouts or asking people to be sorry for them since the market has been turned on it's head for a lot of people?  The market is what it is - great at times and terrible at other times and people adapt or they go do something else with their time.  Based on the dozens of low ball offers I get all the time asking me to cut my prices since the person is a lowly collector that can't afford that one book that they will never, ever sell, I'd say collectors have been asking for sympathy for quite some time but I guess that's the difference between passion and profits.

On 4/10/2024 at 12:49 PM, shadroch said:

I have that Wave Warriors as a VG, so I might have hit the wrong key.  It was just a bunch of modern drek that I paid four cents each for, but it was eye-opening and most likely will be the last time I send in any books under that phase of their business.  I have a few lots coming up in auctions. Hopefully I get closer to the prices I was expecting.

I absolutely believe the books they buy as VG are sold as VG, and every other grade. That is not an issue.

I appreciate that someone from MCS reached out and asked me if I wanted the books back.  I can't say enough about their customer service.

Let us know about the bolded part.  They could call a book GD all day long as long as I get VG prices then no harm no foul.  A bunch of people report that is what they experience even though I have a hard time believing it since the grade difference can be VF+ to FN which is a world difference in price.  I'd love to hear how it goes for raw books.

On 4/10/2024 at 11:13 AM, mycomicshop said:

Our want list buying department manager's feedback on shadroch's transaction was that first, he's always welcome to raise concerns like that directly with us, and we'd be happy to review and provide additional info or correct any errors we find.

As to the books, he reviewed them and is in agreement with the grades that were assigned, but said that our grader should have provided grade notes on some of the larger downgrades and failed to do so. He's discussed that with the grader as well as reminding the rest of the department.

Here are some of the relevant grading notes on books I asked about that had larger grade reductions. These notes were not included in the feedback shadroch originally received on his transaction, but our grader should have provided some of these notes while grading:

Gizmo 6 - color breaking spine stress, edge damage, minor crease, denting, and fingerprints
Grendel 36 - color breaking spine stress, scuffing, denting, accumulation of minor creases, foxing, and water spot
Torg 2- scuffing, soiling, heavy denting, spine roll, and abrasions on back cover
Wave Warriors 1- cover length creases, foxing, denting, and 1" spine split

Our largest downgrade was on the Wave Warriors, from VF down to GD. I'm sure there are sellers that would grade this higher than GD, but I also know we'd have unhappy buyers if they received this book from us as a VF.

 

 

I don't deny that we're tight graders and grade many books lower than other sellers might, and lower than CGC might. We do our best to grade consistently to our own grading standard and we're not trying to grade exactly the same as CGC. We buy 50-60K comics a month via this want list system, so it may not work for everybody but a lot of sellers make heavy use of it.

 

For anybody that prefers to sell comics in larger quantities or through channels other than our online want list, our Seller Services department buys collections of any shape or size, based on whatever info you provide. Since that system doesn't involve individually reporting specific grades on each issue as part of the purchase process, there's never any friction or disagreement about grade. The seller gives us whatever info is appropriate: list, pictures, sometimes we travel for an in-person examination--and then we make an offer for the group. As long as our offer beats anybody else's the seller will likely choose to sell to us, and it doesn't matter how we'll eventually grade the comics.

Who had that Wave Warrior a VF with a full length crease?  I'm assuming that is a typo that should be a VG to GD since I'd say quite a few would call it a VG.

On 4/10/2024 at 11:59 AM, Hepcat said:

But it doesn't benefit the collector. That's the group with whom I identify/sympathize.

For someone just starting out that didn't have to have keys, high grade pre-70s stuff or hot book of the week I think the last 10 years was a great opportunity to be a collector in comic books.  Prices on run books have been very soft and I remember quite a few books I paid more for in the late 1980 compared to what I can sell them for now.  And when you consider most collectors had a field day selling under copies to be able to fund those "over priced" grail books there wasn't many people losing their shirt in the stampede.  Now that prices are receding, and demand is down for quite a bit do you think most collectors are happier or sadder knowing prices could be going down compared to when they eventually sell?

On 4/10/2024 at 11:12 AM, Robot Man said:

I would much prefer a couple nice SA books or one nice GA books over countless boxes of common easy to get copper or modern books. Takes up a lot less room and much easier to keep track of. In all my years in this hobby, I have found that good scarcer GA books have way out preformed newer ones. 

For a buy it and hold it for awhile buyer and seller I can see why you would think that (especially someone who likes to get up early and is knowledgeable about how to get those tough to find gems) but if you are a buy it and sell it fast guy I completely disagree.  Buying and selling only SA/GA gems is basically like trying to hit only home runs and we know how tough it is to live on those.  Bronze and Copper books are pretty much everywhere so it really doesn't take getting up early mornings to hit up auctions when there are long boxes of newer books to buy and sell.  From a selling opportunity, the newer stuff was a gold rush when they were red hot which is an opportunity we won't see again for a very long time (if ever).

On 4/9/2024 at 2:33 PM, the blob said:

Sure, but maybe not lamenting so much. Fact is, the speculators made it harder for dealers to get stuff that was liquid, although I suppose in the peak of the madness it may have allowed them to sell some books that had been illiquid (is that a word?) for a while, maybe, I'm still not sure how it impacted their more generic filler stock, although anything that could be remotely considered a borderline semi semi key was lifted.

I can see why the guys who only specialize in older books could see the hot copper / modern spec buyers as a nuisance but those guys seem to have done pretty well during the boom even though they missed out on some easy more modern money.  A dealer can't complain much when their copper age books get wiped out at $5 a piece when they had been sitting on them for years - even if they didn't get post explosion prices on some of them.  A scorching hot market benefits pretty much every seller and I'm sure almost all will miss the movie spec money revenue one way or another. 

On 4/9/2024 at 11:03 AM, Hepcat said:

I'd avoid those dealers. I prefer to deal with those whose business model is based on looking after their long-term customers and not the here-today- gone-tomorrow crowd.

You would be hard pressed to find any dealer who didn't sell to speculators during and before COVID.  There was a lot of money made doing that so I'd think pretty much everyone would lament losing that steady stream of income.  Plenty of dealers did a bunch of business in other areas of the hobby but movie speculator's money paid for plenty of vacations and children school loans for a bunch of people.

On 4/9/2024 at 8:57 AM, Key Largo Comics said:

The "movie thing" is not over. Plenty of books popping on a daily and weekly basis due to TV and movie news. See X-Men 97, James Gunn DC castings, Shalla-Bal Siver Surfer etc.

What's over is the COVID bubble. You can't just throw a dart at any spec book and expect to make money. You have to actually put in the work and make smart choices.

I'd agree with some of what you say but the "movie thing" is down to a trickle and you better be really quick to sell the hot book since they don't stay hot for long.  The decade pre-COVID was a constant onslaught of books that are getting hot, projected to be hot, possible could be hot and scorching hot.  There are minor blips every now and then but I'd basically call it on life support and things don't look good since the blips are coming less and less and spikes are less intense.  Every Con I go to I hear several dealers lamenting the death of the speculators but if you are killing it with speculating on books then good on ya!

On 4/8/2024 at 12:46 PM, The humble Watcher lurking said:

The movie thing is over. See all these YouTubers pumping movie rumors. It's bad for them as  they were getting 100,000 plus views now they  get 1000 at most. They be begging. Lol crazy. 

It's pretty crazy how fast things corrected especially if you consider the movie hype era lasted for well over a decade.  It's completely collapsed in a year.

High grade pulps have to be as rare as hens teeth so I can see why money is flowing there.  Anything that is readily available is not faring nearly as well.

On 4/5/2024 at 1:31 PM, Ride the Tiger said:

I guess I don't understand how it works. If I'm searching for x-men 50 and sort them by price, ain't I gonna see all the x-men 50s for sale regardless if a seller paid for promotion or not? 

Promoted Listings Standard | eBay

It sounds like you pick what the extra percent that E-Bay charges you and a bigger percent add on will get your stuff in the adds that people see when the log into E-Bay.  If you have nice books like X-Men 50 (or even better Spidey 50) then you will pop up in searches and get a ton of views even without the promotions.  Now if you are trying to sell run books then it could make sense to pay for the promotion for a few months here or alert people to your store.  I've never used it myself but I'm definitely thinking about it for the summer since sales have nose-dived and it would be good to get some extra views.

On 4/5/2024 at 7:09 AM, Ride the Tiger said:

Does anyone use promoted listings? I've never used it but unless I'm mistaken are they asking for an additional 12% of sale in addition to the 15% already taken?

E-Bay sure seems to be pushing people to go that route by giving so many free listings that it make all your listings tough to get views so why not upgrade to the promotions.  E-Bay is the only one winning with all the extra fees.