A grail on Tuesday: For sale on Friday

[COI]

(I won't change topics this time )

 

It seems as though people aren't holding onto books like they used to. What was a grail on Monday is sold on Friday to pay for something else, or to prevent a divorce. It also seems as though the "dealing collector" always has his price, even on books that are supposedly part of his "personal collection", and that price is usually somewhere around GPA.

 

When perusing auction listings or dealer offerings, or even when I sell books myself, I often wonder: is this book going to a collection, or someone's inventory? Am I going to see it offered again in a couple of months. or is it going to disappear for years?

 

As if any of you haven't noticed, Brian (Foolkiller) just had a tremendous holiday sales thread, where he was offering great books at low, low prices. As I was watching the sparks fly, I couldn't help but wonder if people were going ape- simply because they wanted to score great books that they actually wanted for their collections, or if they were simply "re-stocking".

 

As everyone knows, I collect what may be the most common SA books out there. But even still, I've noticed that certain copies are being sold over and over and over again. Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with buying and selling books, but there is something sad about seeing great books pop up for sale over and over again. Almost a year ago, I sold a spidey slab on ebay for way under GPA; the buyer immediately listed the book with a BIN that was more than double what he paid. While I have no problem with that, I find it sad that it's STILL THERE, listed at the same price. It's a great book, but it has no home.

 

At what point is this constant re-circulating of books no longer going to be sustainable? Are there enough books actually being purchased as "keepers", or is there eventually going to be a huge glut of material sitting out there, untouched and unwanted? Has collecting ADD become so prevailent that the concept of a "grail" no longer has any meaning? Is this segment of the hobby (higher grade, higher end) really just a network of dealers, passing books around?

[Monstro]

I've been saying it for a while now. Seems like everyone, (at least on these boards) are want to be dealers.

[paperheart]

seeing collector ADD here has been one of the biggest surprises since i joined. one of my other favorites is selling cuz i'm broke on tuesday, buying on friday. that's another head scratcher.

[KingOfRulers]

There are probably only three or four "collectors" in the entire industry.

 

It is a cycle of buying and selling, until the book is sold to one of the few "end users" in the industry. Collector/dealers are not beyond "end usering" though. Tupenny is a collector/dealer, and has a well documented history of buying specific books at above market value, simply for the medicinal benefit of lowering his blood pressure. I "end use" mid-grade X-Men. lookwhoitis is one of the industry gems, as he "end uses" every book he comes across.

 

Looking on the CGC boards for non-collector/dealers will be tough though. Many sell books to earn money to fund the purchase of other books.

[Mac Man]

Mildly different subject matter but the same principle:

 

There is are two letters written by J.R.R. Tolkien that I've been tracking for the past two years. I've seen them for auction between 2-3 times each on R&R Signature Auctions, and they're both currently listed on eBay with about a 25% markup from their previous ending prices (including the BP that would have followed). It really disappoints me as either one of these letter would be the absolute pinnacle of my entire collection--comics, signatures, art, and books. Yet, a few dealer/collectors continually keep spinning them around with the sole intent of trying to garner a few more dollars than what they initially paid for them.

 

I agree--there is nothing inherently wrong with the buying, selling, and trading of collectibles. It does leave me with a slightly disappointed feeling to know that these particular gems are only rotating stock though and not being thoroughly enjoyed by someone who will hold on to them for many years to come. Yes, yes. I am sure that those who "rent" collectibles also garner a good deal of enjoyment from having those gems in their hands for a short period of time and they also help full-time collectors acquire their "vault" items, but still...

 

I get where you're coming from. If I ever had one of those letters, it'd only leave my possession through a will.

[seanfingh]

 

I can only speak for myself, but I can say this. I got active on this Board in 2007. At the time I was buying almost exclusively on Ebay, Comiclink and Pedigree. After being exposed to the marketplace here, (and getting full on hooked on sketches and autographs), I never go on Ebay and rarely check the auctions sites.

 

In addition, I have bought a lot of books that were never in my collecting wheelhouse. And I am talking about some nice SA-BA books. Over the coming months, I will most likely try to get rid of those books here. I'm sure many people will recognize them. But they were not bought to flip and they were not flipped. In fact, most of the time I would impulse buy other stuff that looked cool while buying my normal #1s and 1st appearances.

 

So when I do have the threads, I suppose some could look at it and say "Wow, Sean bought that from me in Feb of 2008 or whatever and is selling it now." But really for me it is a matter of having an obscene amount of slabs, many of which are not providing me the joy that my #1s, 1st apps, and Yellow label books do.

[Reno McCoy]

Wasn't there a Popeye character who ate hamburgers on Tuesday and paid for 'em on Friday?

 

 

I wonder if people just like to buy a cool book, hold it, look at it, love it a little, and then the thrill is gone, so they sell it. :shrug:

[VintageComics]

I wonder if people just like to buy a cool book, hold it, look at it, love it a little, and then the thrill is gone, so they sell it. :shrug:

 

Most of the time that's all it is.

 

Most people can't afford every shiny thing that comes there way so they have to be content with a few at a time.

 

 

[Monstro]

Then why not just buy what you can afford

[t3quila]

I wonder if people just like to buy a cool book, hold it, look at it, love it a little, and then the thrill is gone, so they sell it. :shrug:

 

Most of the time that's all it is.

 

Most people can't afford every shiny thing that comes there way so they have to be content with a few at a time.

 

 

Upgrades are also an important reason, didn't think I'd try to sell my Tec 37 3.5 I owned for only a month until I upgraded

[joeypost]

I still own all of my grail books and will never consider selling them unless I have a real need to do so.

[capt_comics]

Wasn't there a Popeye character who ate hamburgers on Tuesday and paid for 'em on Friday?

 

 

I wonder if people just like to buy a cool book, hold it, look at it, love it a little, and then the thrill is gone, so they sell it. :shrug:

 

That's so Wimpy

 

[NewWorldOrder]

Then why not just buy what you can afford

 

It’s the American way, don’t you know.

[VintageComics]

Then why not just buy what you can afford

 

It's not about buying what you can or can't afford. It's about buying what appeals to you at that time. Everybody has something that they'd want that they can't afford...whether it's season Hockey tickets, a trip across Europe or a G.I. Joe collectors edition blow up doll. Thing is if you can't afford everything then you have to prioritize.

 

A good friend of mine once said "You can have everything you want. You just can't have it all at the same time."

[blink]

I don't know about the rest of you but I buy all slabbed books with pressing potential. I press them and leave them raw and when my runs are complete i'll sell them as an OO collection. Seems like a good business model for now!

 

 

[COI]

Looking on the CGC boards for non-collector/dealers will be tough though. Many sell books to earn money to fund the purchase of other books.

 

The problem with this, or at least what I percieve to be the problem with this, is that there's always something else to buy. If your budget is limited and your tastes are expensive, selling books to buy more books isn't conducive to building a collection; if you lose on a flip, you're ultimately weakening your collection, and if you make profit, you set a dangerous precedent.

[etanick]

Then why not just buy what you can afford

 

if people in general, forget just the people on this board, understand that concept, the entire world wouldn't be in this debt induced suicidal watch.

[COI]

Thing is if you can't afford everything then you have to prioritize.

 

Right, but buying something you've wanted for years, holding it for 5 mintues, then selling it for something else isn't prioritizing. Prioritizing is saying, for example, that as cool as that Batman book looks to me right now, I'm in this hobby because of my love for Cherry Poptart, so I'm going to pass on that book for now and keep my Poptart run intact.

[Shootydog]

Looking on the CGC boards for non-collector/dealers will be tough though. Many sell books to earn money to fund the purchase of other books.

 

The problem with this, or at least what I percieve to be the problem with this, is that there's always something else to buy. If your budget is limited and your tastes are expensive, selling books to buy more books isn't conducive to building a collection; if you lose on a flip, you're ultimately weakening your collection, and if you make profit, you set a dangerous precedent.

 

I hate selling books. I hate posting them, packaging them and having to lug them to the post office for shipping.

 

I do it because it MIGHT get me some extra cash here and there but its always for something I want for my collection.

 

I am running out of books to sell...Im down to 2 short boxes of random books that have no place in my current collection and noone else seems to want. At this point I just buy what is within my budget. That has turned into fewer and fewer books as my tastes have evolved to older, higher grade, more expensive books. But I figure that will keep me in the hunt for several more years.

 

Flipping is a hassle

[VintageComics]

Thing is if you can't afford everything then you have to prioritize.

 

Right, but buying something you've wanted for years, holding it for 5 mintues, then selling it for something else isn't prioritizing. Prioritizing is saying, for example, that as cool as that Batman book looks to me right now, I'm in this hobby because of my love for Cherry Poptart, so I'm going to pass on that book for now and keep my Poptart run intact.

 

I think people are always using certain books, runs or "grails" as step ladders or land marks on their way up the hierarchy. Much as they do in the real world with homes.

 

It's a grail for many to own their own home, but for many their first is not their last.