Iksar Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 My Diary Secrets 24 arrived this weekend Nice copy! Pretty racy cover dialogue too. Hadn't noticed that before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Love Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I know Shaun Clancy must have an incredible Baker collection most likely with multiple copies of issues. Shaun Clancy is still cruising around snatching up rare copies of hard to find stuff. He's got quite the eye. I can see him after he's gone - "Clancy was here!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RICK STARR Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I know of another big Baker collector who, I doubt, looks at this thread. Ebay name TommyFoxwood. He may not have a complete collection, but I know with many HG issues. I will not divulge his name, some of you may already know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29dukedog Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I know Shaun Clancy must have an incredible Baker collection most likely with multiple copies of issues. Shaun Clancy is still cruising around snatching up rare copies of hard to find stuff. He's got quite the eye. I can see him after he's gone - "Clancy was here!" I remember selling Shaun a Wartime Romances 15, I think it was. I've been seller a couple times, and buyer a couple times. He sold me a nice Lorna the Jungle Girl 11, at a reasonable price. I also remember watching him outbid me on the last Teen-Age Romances 45 to sell on eBay. I thought, "He still needs one of these???" Perhaps a testament to the book's scarcity. I know of another big Baker collector who, I doubt, looks at this thread. Ebay name TommyFoxwood. He may not have a complete collection, but I know with many HG issues. I will not divulge his name, some of you may already know. He still sells on eBay every so often. I can always spot his auctions before clicking on them... with their oddly precise opening bids, like "$76.77". He was a serious competitor over eBay Bakers, about ten years back. He's returned many of them, too, though. My Diary Secrets 26 came from TommyFoxwood. I seem to remember it being $76.77, or precisely thereabouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Love Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Tommy, and I don't know who he really is, was a nemesis of mine on ebay for many years for romance books. He gets my goat for beating me out and for some other small time issues. Since he probably doesn't read this it's a perfect place for me to get whiny I detest his lack of scans and description, just the grade: FINE, or whatever. That's it. But what I hate even more than that is how he seemingly gets rewarded for it by bidders. I've often thought that the more you treat the bidders like dirt the more they seem to want your book. Want to cause a bidder frenzy? Say you found your book in an attic, and give a fuzzy out of focus pic (not a scan, a pic) of the front cover only. Then stand back or you'll get trampled. Recently, he grabbed a couple of bound books that contained a magazine I've been collecting, Everyday Astrology. Schomburg, great stuff from the early 40's. He paid dirt cheap, and then ripped the books out of the binding and put them up as a group on ebay for $250. It got bought. He made a great return on his investment, and damaged these beautiful copies (the binding was in good shape too) in the process. That really ticked me off. Free country and all that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 My Diary Secrets 24 arrived this weekend Nice copy! Pretty racy cover dialogue too. Hadn't noticed that before. Racy it is, although I wonder how likely it would be that these girls would be saying this right in front of the guy. Of course, Baker does a great job in giving him a suitably smug expression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I thought the DS 23 went for a reasonable price ($275 including BP) in the HA auction last night. Congrats to whoever picked it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 OTOH, I thought that Lovers 81 went high on eBay last night, given the grade. I assume the price was driven by the short interior Baker story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29dukedog Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 ...Want to cause a bidder frenzy? Say you found your book in an attic, and give a fuzzy out of focus pic (not a scan, a pic) of the front cover only. Then stand back or you'll get trampled... You said it. That's it, there it is. What you said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29dukedog Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 (edited) OTOH, I thought that Lovers 81 went high on eBay last night, given the grade. I assume the price was driven by the short interior Baker story. More than anything to do with that particular issue, I think it was just, two bidders placed Atom Bomb bids, neither one expecting the other. Any other day, the same book might've gone for five bucks or less. Edited March 10, 2014 by 29dukedog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Love Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 That is possible. On the other hand, one usually doesn't place a $100 backstop if they only want to spend $30 and would never consider going that high. And for two to do that simultaneously? I have a friend who loves that cover, having nothing to do with Baker. Thinks it is some of Colletta's best work. And my wife, who knows nothing about romance books except for what she immediately likes and doesn't like, told me I better not sell this book, that's how much she digs it. Makes her feel happy, she says. At least, looking at this copy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicnoir Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 That is possible. On the other hand, one usually doesn't place a $100 backstop if they only want to spend $30 and would never consider going that high. And for two to do that simultaneously? I have a friend who loves that cover, having nothing to do with Baker. Thinks it is some of Colletta's best work. And my wife, who knows nothing about romance books except for what she immediately likes and doesn't like, told me I better not sell this book, that's how much she digs it. Makes her feel happy, she says. At least, looking at this copy I remember owning a real purty copy and deciding I didn't need it. Took me forever to sell and it went cheap. Now looking at yours makes me want it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Anyone else notice that some of the lexcorp1 listings seemed to reappear on eBay this morning ... and then disappear again? Or was it a figment of Safari caching on my iPhone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Love Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 (edited) And, change of topic. I figure you guys are looking over this book, brought to you by our good friends at Sparkle. But this is something new. I think it's worth kicking around. So previously, we looked to Sparkle for a few notable things: decent slabs, large scans front and back, what used to be free shipping, auction style low start vs BIN. Now it looks like they're making a move to capture a part of the market they had passed over, uncontested - raw books. Correct me if I'm wrong, but raw was really sporadic on their part until this latest auction ending next week, where there is a lot of raw, including this raw Baker, which would be a first for them, yes? Now all of a sudden we get to compare their selling practices to blissard's, that would be Dave Anderson's clan, apples to apples. With Sparkle, just a grade. With blissard, a grade, a description that includes relevant defects and PQ. Especially interior covers, which for some of us, can be a deal breaker. In other words, the things I can't see on the scan. Also, they note the current price in the guide. I have come to see blissard's grading as right on the money - and I know other very picky collectors who agree. And blissard's return policy is the most lenient that can be offered on ebay, the no hassle return policy. Buyer's remorse? No problem, just return it, they'll even pay for you to ship it back. Sparkle has had on the face of it a 14 day return, but that was only to conform to Ebay's best practices so they could be a power seller. In reality, you couldn't return the slab unless they shipped you the wrong slab by mistake. Their fine print only addresses slabs, even though they've added on raw, which is a whole new thing. So you guys who might be going for this book - none of this acts like a speed bump for you? If we're talking raw Bakers, the price could get up there. Brian of Sparkle has always run a customer oriented business, but grading raw is subjective. Very subjective. The slab based return policy doesn't make anyone else cautious? On the other hand, calling the book a VG/F leaves a lot of room for error, and the scans certainly don't suggest a lesser grade. so, full speed ahead? For me, a book deal aint final till I have it in the hand. It's a three dimensional exercise. Scans alone don't cut it. Scans and a detailed description are way better, but that doesn't cut it either. No questions asked return policy is the bottom line for me. Not you? Edited March 10, 2014 by Dr. Love Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I also noticed the large number of raw books in this week's SC auctions. (To this point, they don't have "Baker" in the title of that WAR 6 listing -- using "St John," "Love," "War," and "Good Girl" instead -- odd given how much success they have had with Baker books.) Good catch that they haven't updated their return policy to reflect that they are now selling raw books. If push comes to shove, they would have to take a book back. But I would imagine if they felt the return was frivolous, they would block the bidder. Being blocked by SC would certainly be a blow to many collectors. I would guess they intend to grade the raw books conservatively. I would think this WAR 6 would be listed as a Fine or Fine+ by many dealers, maybe a VF by some, despite the rounded corners and spine wear (and possible small spine splits). To answer your question, I'm not too concerned with their return policy because I only return books where there is a significant problem -- such as undisclosed staple pops or interior writing. I assume they would be fine with that. That said, as a seller on eBay years ago I had a no-questions-asked return policy, refunding postage both ways. I thought that, particularly for a small-timer, I needed to reassure buyers. WHBJr (the "rabid badger"!) on the old eBay comic chat board made a convincing case that this was the only way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Love Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 That's a good answer. And, btw, I wanted to clarify something I said. I don't go for a buyer's remorse policy. What I mean to say is I go for a first look policy, and scans aren't that. In person, if you inspect the book, and say I'll take it, and pay for it, then that's that. 5 minutes later, 5 years later, same difference, no backing out. But a book isn't "seen" until it's in the hand. For me. Additionally...that should be true for slabs as well, for one good reason. You can't see the dang spine the way scans are traditionally done. As if spines were irrelevant! But custom is slabs are done deals. Chain of provenance, or just sloppy customs, it is the way it is now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqeggs Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I think that's a reasonable position. SC has seemed buyer-friendly to me, so perhaps they will institute a more forgiving return policy for raw books. I already have a nice copy of WAR 6, so I won't be bidding on this one. I can watch calmly from a distance, for once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JvR11 Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 Wow the Romantic Marriage 23 went high on ebay at $335. Crazy prices! Here's mine I paid around $100 for it. I wish I would have held on to a lot of my doubles and sold them now. I'm going to have to dig through my boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JvR11 Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 (edited) Romance and Confession Stories Edited March 12, 2014 by JvR11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JvR11 Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 Cinderella Love 27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
