KEY ISSUES Comics

Damn! That was a GREAT price. Congrats to both!

Off-topic comment, but Britannia is a GREAT read.

'80s Marvel comics are my favorite superhero comics, but there is so much more variety available today for those who don't want to read superhero comics. That's what makes this the Golden Age in my opinion. Something for everyone. And so many wonderful works. However, there is plenty of garbage out there today as well. Perhaps more than in any other age, but the sheer quantity of quality material outweighs it all. Just like TV. So much great stuff available now, but also lots of terrible shows.

I'd agree, for the superhero genre at least.

Yeah, and this the true Golden Age of comic books as far as I'm concerned. NOTE: I stopped buying DC/Marvel stuff to read years ago, which is unfortunate but the endless reboots, variants, lack of continuity and endless 'events' is a turn off for me.

Read them. Then give them to some kids.

"Stirring the pot" is important, otherwise your oatmeal will stick to the bottom and burn. True story.

Yeah, it's always a gamble I guess. I had a SA X-Men graded 9.0 or 9.2 back in the day with a similar dot on the exterior of the BC. Blue label. But, this book being a black cover, and coming from a lot of books that have obvious CT on some of the books is what makes me wary to purchase it... Gonna get a blacklight and inspect it once more. I'm not too concerned about those ridges. Stay tuned!

I am on the fence... It doesn't look like it from the FC, and I, as well as others, have had books with these types of dots that are not CT, so....

So, what's the consensus from the photos? CT or ink drop from the printing process??? Thanks in advance.

No one?!?!? I mean, come on, CIBC is setting up for the event!!!

Well, let's just a put a fork in it and say you're right and I'm wrong. No need to beat this horse to death and start quoting different definitions of a "loss leader", because no matter what source I cite I'll just be told it's wrong. #TimeToMoveOn

Oh, I know!

No, it's a loss leader in that scenario when I'm pricing normally $4-10 books at a buck a book to stimulate sales elsewhere. It's just not profitable at that price at the more expensive cons. Depends upon your definition of a "loss leader." I'm employing the one where it's sold at below it's minimum profit margin.

You misunderstood. 3 longboxes = roughly 600 comics 600 comics x $1 each = $600.00 $600.00 = cost of 6' table at some shows That equals a loss leader in my books whether you paid $1/book or $0.20/book. Simply not worth it to me if I have to sell 3 long boxes of stock just to cover the cost of the table. Cheers!

Yeah, Machine Man is in it!?!?!

Exactly. They're loss leaders in many cases in order to bring folks in with the hopes that they purchase higher margin/ticket items too. I ALWAYS do VERY well when I have 10+ long boxes of $1 books to complement the 'better' stuff. Also, having a constant crowd makes others pay attention. I've done many smaller shows where I'm limited to a just 1 table. Those are shows where I have to be much choosier, so I bring "wall" books of various prices points only due to space limits. And I must say, those shows are nerve-wracking because the average shopper is not looking for "wall" books. Hours can go by without a sale, but the dollar amount is worthwhile once a sale is made. But the risk is always there of making just a couple (or no) sales that way. It takes a lot experience to understand your audience and know what to bring to each show, as well having a good grasp of numbers when you factor in the cost of each event. Not to mention all the overhead such as your time, cost of inventory, etc... One thing is of certain though, I no longer bring $1 books to the bigger, expensive events that are costing upwards of $600 for 1 table. Having to empty 3 long boxes (nearly half a table) to just cover a table makes no sense to me. I'd rather use true 25-50% off bins as loss leaders for those shows.

Ha, yeah! It's funny, but I've seen dealers buy stacks of books of pre-80's then price them without even opening them. #NoTrust

Thanks! I knew I wasn't crazy (at least not because of that!).

Thanks for the feedback thus far. Still on the fence about it. Hmmm...

Thabks for the rapid feedback everyone.

Hey, I'm not the one who has created these niches in the hobby. ;-) If someone wants to pay premiums for errors, recalled editions, etc, I'll gladly sell my book to them. Better to ask and be safe rather than sorry in case it turns out to be valuable and sought after, right?

The "perforation dots" don't break color and aren't even visible when the book is in hand, unless you really zoom in. You are talking about those ridges that run along the width of the book, correct?

Hi folks, I'm not a DC fan, nor am I fan of most comics from '89-94, so my knowledge is rather limited when it comes to this period. Can anyone help me out with this? I picked up a copy of Aquaman #2, the one where he loses his hand, and the last page of the book (letters page) fades out towards the bottom. Anyone know if this a common defect? Thank in advance.

Here are some other photos: