Who were the best dealers in those old 70's/80's comic ads?

[johnnycoolxx]

I was re-reading some of my 80s Marvels and saw Mile High's big centerfold ad. I couldn't believe the prices. $20 for a Hulk 181 or FF 48! While I have to save up a few paychecks to buy one, some of you guys must have gotten sweet deals every month from those ads.

 

I've always wondered what it would be like to order an FF 1 from R. Crestohl in the 70s. He seemed like the coolest dealer because his ad had that drawing of him holding up ASM 1, FF 1, X-Men 1 and any other book you would ever want. Who was the best dealer advertising in Marvel and DC in those days? And what were the best books you got from them?

[aardvark88]

Everybody was grading looser back in the 70s. I bought a "vf" Silver Surfer #1 from Crestohl that came with a 2 inch tear on the front cover. My 1st mail order purchase circa 1973.

Never did order from Max Seeley, another Canadian advertiser and dealer.

[Senormac]

I don't remember alot of dealers.....but I remember Passaic Books....in NJ. They advertised alot in those days.

[PokerKid]

I do remember Mile High and ordering from them. Looking at those ads, they sure look like bargains, but in their day, if you could find the books at your LCS or a convention, you could certainly find better prices. The lack of eBay did make them a great resource for getting a wide variety of books.

[HouseofComics.Com]

Did Payette ever advertise in the comics? I know Sulipa did, in a big way.

 

Anyone ever buy from Richard Alf?

[nmtg9]

used to love those RChresthohl ads. used to wonder how many copies they really had and dream of going over the america to see them. i imagined the LCS's over there to be huge and have every comic you could imagine..

[whetteon]

I recall ordering from one of those magazine companies and didn't get an order filled for nearly 9 months. I was just about to move to a new home/state when the order finally did show up on the door step and half the comics I ordered were missing.

 

Never again did I buy older books from magazine advertisements.

[Dick Pontoon]

Marty Hay might not have been the best, but you could always count on him to SMASH.

[fingfangfoom]

Robert Bell

[ArAich]

Robert Bell

 

Agreed...

 

I also liked the stuff that Bud Plant had and I really liked bidding at Collectors Showcase...

[Mutant Manatee]

I always had good luck with Empire Comics out of Rochester, NY. I placed quite a few orders with them circa 1976-1977 and never had a single problem. I still have their old catalogs.

[NewWorldOrder]

maybe Sparkle City....

[paperheart]

Robert Bell and his amazing disintegrating comic bags. the mini marvel checklist he threw in as a freebie was the best.

[johnnycoolxx]

What about Mile High back in those days? I remember their ad said "All comics guaranteed VG or better." So if you ordered an ASM 20 from them, would it be close to a VG or better? Or would it be missing pieces out of the cover and you felt ripped off?

 

I ordered from Howard Rogofsky once when I was a kid. I think it was back in 87. I ordered a ASM 194 advertised as NM and it looked really nice when I got it.

 

[Mutant Manatee]

I ordered a Silver Surfer #2 from Mile High back in their "VG or better" days. (Late 1970's?) The book arrived as a gorgeous glossy NM+. It must have been the only copy Chuck had in stock at the time.

[MR.COMICBOOK]

Bud Plant and his catalog.

[Ringfinger]

I grew up around Empire Comics. They always did me good.

 

It's a shame their retails locations are a mess now.

[CatskillMike]

Robert Bell and his amazing disintegrating comic bags. the mini marvel checklist he threw in as a freebie was the best.

 

Hmmmmmmmm. ( I still use it)

[rodan57]

Robert Bell and his amazing disintegrating comic bags. the mini marvel checklist he threw in as a freebie was the best.

 

Bought some nice runs of Strange Tales (115-168), Tales of Suspense (51-99) and Tales to Astonish (51-101) for a buck a piece back in the early 70s from Robert Bell. Books are now long gone.

[genrlzod]

There were two problems with ordering books back in the 80s. First you would have to hope and pray that the book you ordered was in stock. If not it was a 2 month wait for nothing. I remember trying to get a copy of FF 112, the Thing vs. Hulk copy. Each time Mile High was out of stock and I got a ton of books I didn't want (due to listing comics that they could sub in the chance that your main books were out of stock). Which was the main problem, they would list every book, but they were never in stock. So while it sounds cool to get FF 48 for $20.00, trust me it would not be in stock.

 

The second problem was money. I delivered newspapers back then and made I think $60.00 every 2 weeks. Sure it was a nice amount for a kid, but I needed to buy new issues, go to the movies and have just all around spending money.

 

Now if you really want to cry Mile High was selling (if in stock) FF 1, AF 15 and Spidy 1 all for $900.00 each in NM condition. That's the one thing I remember from their catalogs.