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Fookiller's NYCC Con Report

Started by Foolkiller,

61 posts in this topic

shadroch

shadroch

Posted
Posted
Apparently at some point in the early to mid 1960s, the collector started going to the distributor and picking out books before they every went out on the stands.

 

How the heck would someone go directly to the distributor...and in the 1960s...WHY? I can't imagine it was because he was condition-conscious.

 

 

To save money. Most magazine distributors had one day a week where the public could come in and buy stuff at the same prices the distributors wholesaled them for.

I'm not sure why, but every distributor I know of stopped the practice at almost the same time around 1981.

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HouseofComics.Com

HouseofComics.Com

Posted
Posted
Most magazine distributors had one day a week where the public could come in and buy stuff at the same prices the distributors wholesaled them for.

I'm not sure why, but every distributor I know of stopped the practice at almost the same time around 1981.

 

Wow, I'd never heard about this practice.

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Zonker

Zonker

Posted
Posted
Apparently at some point in the early to mid 1960s, the collector started going to the distributor and picking out books before they every went out on the stands.

 

How the heck would someone go directly to the distributor...and in the 1960s...WHY? I can't imagine it was because he was condition-conscious.

 

I was going to say simply in order to make sure one got a copy of every issue of interest. Even in the best of times, magazine distribution was haphazard. Particularly if the collector was from one of the smaller towns in Shelton's neck of the woods, it might have been the only way to make sure to get every issue.

 

 

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JiveTurkeyMoFo

JiveTurkeyMoFo

Posted
Posted
Brian, once again, I think you really nailed it on the head with this particular point:

The boards/ebay mentality for pricing on many, many of these lower/mid end books showed me that there are just thousands of people out there as collectors who do not analyze pricing and buying as we do.

 

This was a topic of conversation we had this weekend about how the "reality" of the boards isn't as reflective of the greater collecting community as we seem to think.

Folks on the boards are definitely a cheap sharp lot, but having said that, it's not like non-board bidders on eBay or the other auction houses are throwing around money like drunken sailors.

 

I think there is a different mentality at work sometimes with a large show. By the time you figure out the cost of airfare, hotel (which can be outrageous), food, parking, tips, admission for the show, etc., etc., you're already have the " it" mentality when it comes to buying books, and are less prone to being price-conscious.

 

Heck, you've already dropped a grand or more just to be there, what's a couple hundred dollars over GPA for the one or two books you really want? Are you really going to fly home empty handed?

 

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Foolkiller

Foolkiller

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Brian, once again, I think you really nailed it on the head with this particular point:

The boards/ebay mentality for pricing on many, many of these lower/mid end books showed me that there are just thousands of people out there as collectors who do not analyze pricing and buying as we do.

 

This was a topic of conversation we had this weekend about how the "reality" of the boards isn't as reflective of the greater collecting community as we seem to think.

Folks on the boards are definitely a cheap sharp lot, but having said that, it's not like non-board bidders on eBay or the other auction houses are throwing around money like drunken sailors.

 

I think there is a different mentality at work sometimes with a large show. By the time you figure out the cost of airfare, hotel (which can be outrageous), food, parking, tips, admission for the show, etc., etc., you're already have the " it" mentality when it comes to buying books, and are less prone to being price-conscious.

 

Heck, you've already dropped a grand or more just to be there, what's a couple hundred dollars over GPA for the one or two books you really want? Are you really going to fly home empty handed?

 

Just FYI, I was offered under GPA for many, many books including major keys.

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KEY ISSUES Comics

KEY ISSUES Comics

Posted
Posted
Brian, once again, I think you really nailed it on the head with this particular point:

The boards/ebay mentality for pricing on many, many of these lower/mid end books showed me that there are just thousands of people out there as collectors who do not analyze pricing and buying as we do.

 

This was a topic of conversation we had this weekend about how the "reality" of the boards isn't as reflective of the greater collecting community as we seem to think.

Yep, exactly. I remember a few months back when I started a large, by my standards, sales thread hoping to sell a large chunk of my books. I discounted books about 40% (and more in certain cases) and barely anything sold. I was totally blown away. I then brought the books to a local con, discounted them LESS and sold most. The masses are definitely different animals than the average member of this forum.

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Mac Man

Mac Man

Posted
Posted
Brian, once again, I think you really nailed it on the head with this particular point:

The boards/ebay mentality for pricing on many, many of these lower/mid end books showed me that there are just thousands of people out there as collectors who do not analyze pricing and buying as we do.

 

This was a topic of conversation we had this weekend about how the "reality" of the boards isn't as reflective of the greater collecting community as we seem to think.

Folks on the boards are definitely a cheap sharp lot, but having said that, it's not like non-board bidders on eBay or the other auction houses are throwing around money like drunken sailors.

 

I think there is a different mentality at work sometimes with a large show. By the time you figure out the cost of airfare, hotel (which can be outrageous), food, parking, tips, admission for the show, etc., etc., you're already have the " it" mentality when it comes to buying books, and are less prone to being price-conscious.

 

Heck, you've already dropped a grand or more just to be there, what's a couple hundred dollars over GPA for the one or two books you really want? Are you really going to fly home empty handed?

 

Just FYI, I was offered under GPA for many, many books including major keys.

 

Well, there were only a few books I actively inquired after but those I did only saw a marginal discount offered (at some superfluous and slightly overhyped color commentary). There were also other buyers (whom I admittedly eavesdropped on--sorry, I was curious as to what people were buying) and noticed a lot of the same sort of "talking up" of books which, if the person actually knew much about the book, would realize it was total bullsh. For what it's worth though, the dealers I heard doing this weren't board members (that I'm aware of) nor are they ones whom I hear discussed much here.

 

But I don't doubt you Brian at all. At a show like this, there's obviously going to be a large number of well-informed buyers who are looking to go home with a deal. (By the way, I meant to go over and say hi when you were working with Bob and John, but you were working with a customer on what looked to be a pricey book, so I didn't want to interrupt)

 

George, I'd agree that some buyers falls into that category as well; however, I know I spent more on my lunch there than I did books--just one softcover Marvel Masterwork for $5 (which I'm still pleased about), and there were other board members I spoke to in a similar boat. Still, you'll hear no arguments with me as that surely has to factor in to many attendees buying.

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tth2

tth2

Posted
Posted
Brian, once again, I think you really nailed it on the head with this particular point:

The boards/ebay mentality for pricing on many, many of these lower/mid end books showed me that there are just thousands of people out there as collectors who do not analyze pricing and buying as we do.

 

This was a topic of conversation we had this weekend about how the "reality" of the boards isn't as reflective of the greater collecting community as we seem to think.

Yep, exactly. I remember a few months back when I started a large, by my standards, sales thread hoping to sell a large chunk of my books. I discounted books about 40% (and more in certain cases) and barely anything sold. I was totally blown away. I then brought the books to a local con, discounted them LESS and sold most. The masses are definitely different animals than the average member of this forum.

This is why everytime I hear someone on the boards say "Sell it here first", I do this: doh! Why waste a week you`ll never get back again?

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KEY ISSUES Comics

KEY ISSUES Comics

Posted
Posted
Brian, once again, I think you really nailed it on the head with this particular point:

The boards/ebay mentality for pricing on many, many of these lower/mid end books showed me that there are just thousands of people out there as collectors who do not analyze pricing and buying as we do.

 

This was a topic of conversation we had this weekend about how the "reality" of the boards isn't as reflective of the greater collecting community as we seem to think.

Yep, exactly. I remember a few months back when I started a large, by my standards, sales thread hoping to sell a large chunk of my books. I discounted books about 40% (and more in certain cases) and barely anything sold. I was totally blown away. I then brought the books to a local con, discounted them LESS and sold most. The masses are definitely different animals than the average member of this forum.

This is why everytime I hear someone on the boards say "Sell it here first", I do this: doh! Why waste a week you`ll never get back again?

Ouch... lol

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EastEnd

EastEnd

Posted
Posted

I gave up looking for comics within an hour of getting to the dealer's section. With all the pushing, manuevering, getting slammed by peoples backpacks, trying to get a dealer's attention, or having some other guy decide to go through the same box I'm going through (why do people do that?), it was just getting way to complicated for me. Spent most of my time in panels and the IGN theater -- much more civilized there. Walking Dead is going to be killer by the way -- great preview on Sunday with tremendous fan reaction. I was sitting next to an AMC executive and he was clearly stoked by it all (as were the panelists).

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ft88

ft88

Posted
Posted

There are also two types of collectors and sellers. Some sellers such as myself can't or won't do shows. Nor do we own a store. So the only real outlet is to sell here and ebay, maybe a few others outlets for graded stuff. But with no overhead or costs of any sort, discounting makes sense and is a non issue. Often you can sell stuff for full value online which is a bonus.

 

Then there are quite a few buyers who simply won't buy things online. I think those of us on the boards know that any SA, BA and modern book as well as most GA can be had pretty easily given money and patience. For those that only buy at stores and shows, finding the right book can be a lot tougher. So paying up doesn't seem like a big deal.

 

Then there's the impulse purchases of books that are out. This aspect can't be overlooked.

 

Ed

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comicwiz

comicwiz

Posted
Posted
Brian, once again, I think you really nailed it on the head with this particular point:

The boards/ebay mentality for pricing on many, many of these lower/mid end books showed me that there are just thousands of people out there as collectors who do not analyze pricing and buying as we do.

 

This was a topic of conversation we had this weekend about how the "reality" of the boards isn't as reflective of the greater collecting community as we seem to think.

 

Yup.

 

This show was HUGE! I heard that 85,000 people went through the door yesterday. It was so busy you couldn't move.

 

This show definitely had lots of energy and everyone I spoke to did well.

 

This show is sooooo close to being the biggest show of the year it's scary.

 

I walked the entire con floor today for the first time and was blown away by the enormity of the room. It was like two San Diego rooms (I believe there are about 4 or so in SD) and then I was told that there was another entire floor below that was used strictly for the Anime.

 

It was massive.

 

Brian was right, anything you could possibly ask for seemed to be at this show.

 

I'm really happy to have seen it and it was great to see everyone at the show.

 

Two very big thumbs up for this show!

 

 

 

two-thumbsup.jpg

 

It would be great if CGC would consider doing on-site at this show. The question is whether they'd make the trek, and I guess lingering closely behind - did this show set the bar too high for future shows to be as successful?

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paperheart

paperheart

Posted
Posted
Brian, once again, I think you really nailed it on the head with this particular point:

The boards/ebay mentality for pricing on many, many of these lower/mid end books showed me that there are just thousands of people out there as collectors who do not analyze pricing and buying as we do.

 

This was a topic of conversation we had this weekend about how the "reality" of the boards isn't as reflective of the greater collecting community as we seem to think.

Folks on the boards are definitely a cheap sharp lot, but having said that, it's not like non-board bidders on eBay or the other auction houses are throwing around money like drunken sailors.

 

I think there is a different mentality at work sometimes with a large show. By the time you figure out the cost of airfare, hotel (which can be outrageous), food, parking, tips, admission for the show, etc., etc., you're already have the " it" mentality when it comes to buying books, and are less prone to being price-conscious.

 

Heck, you've already dropped a grand or more just to be there, what's a couple hundred dollars over GPA for the one or two books you really want? Are you really going to fly home empty handed?

 

Bullseye. (worship)

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fantastic_four

fantastic_four

Posted
Posted
FF 5 CGC 8.0 (ow/w) bought from Bechara Malouf (co-owned) deepest, richest colors I've ever seen on an FF 5 in this grade, only better was one or two 9.2s I've seen scans of. The whole collection Bechara brought was unbelievable for this grouping of slabs. It included an FF 13 CGC 9.4 and others. Blew me away.

 

Do you recall his price on the FF 13? Remember any other 9.x FFs? :wishluck:

 

Bechara doesn't have a web site yet does he? Just looked and didn't find one.

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TSwift25

TSwift25

Posted
Posted
Brian, once again, I think you really nailed it on the head with this particular point:

The boards/ebay mentality for pricing on many, many of these lower/mid end books showed me that there are just thousands of people out there as collectors who do not analyze pricing and buying as we do.

 

This was a topic of conversation we had this weekend about how the "reality" of the boards isn't as reflective of the greater collecting community as we seem to think.

 

Yup.

 

This show was HUGE! I heard that 85,000 people went through the door yesterday. It was so busy you couldn't move.

 

This show definitely had lots of energy and everyone I spoke to did well.

 

This show is sooooo close to being the biggest show of the year it's scary.

 

I walked the entire con floor today for the first time and was blown away by the enormity of the room. It was like two San Diego rooms (I believe there are about 4 or so in SD) and then I was told that there was another entire floor below that was used strictly for the Anime.

 

It was massive.

 

Brian was right, anything you could possibly ask for seemed to be at this show.

 

I'm really happy to have seen it and it was great to see everyone at the show.

 

Two very big thumbs up for this show!

 

 

 

two-thumbsup.jpg

 

It would be great if CGC would consider doing on-site at this show. The question is whether they'd make the trek, and I guess lingering closely behind - did this show set the bar too high for future shows to be as successful?

 

I don't think this set the bar too high. I still remember the first show and the second show (the first time they got "all" of Javits) and to me, this is just the logical progression.

 

I think the organizers, exhibitors and dealers will tell you they were thrilled (for the most part) with the show but that there's still room for improvement. I can't imagine next year being a let down. This show is great and each year adds minor improvements over the last.

 

Just look at this year, Artist's Alley got basically it's own convention hall and made it just a wonderful experience compared to years past. Next year will inevitably have a few new wrinkles that make the experience even better.

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comicwiz

comicwiz

Posted
Posted
FF 5 CGC 8.0 (ow/w) bought from Bechara Malouf (co-owned) deepest, richest colors I've ever seen on an FF 5 in this grade, only better was one or two 9.2s I've seen scans of. The whole collection Bechara brought was unbelievable for this grouping of slabs. It included an FF 13 CGC 9.4 and others. Blew me away.

 

Do you recall his price on the FF 13? Remember any other 9.x FFs? :wishluck:

 

Bechara doesn't have a web site yet does he? Just looked and didn't find one.

 

I have Behcara's email somewhere - if interested, drop me a PM and I'll look for it. He's a top notch guy, and I've had excellent transactions with him.

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joeypost

joeypost

Posted
Posted
Brian, once again, I think you really nailed it on the head with this particular point:

The boards/ebay mentality for pricing on many, many of these lower/mid end books showed me that there are just thousands of people out there as collectors who do not analyze pricing and buying as we do.

 

This was a topic of conversation we had this weekend about how the "reality" of the boards isn't as reflective of the greater collecting community as we seem to think.

 

Yup.

 

This show was HUGE! I heard that 85,000 people went through the door yesterday. It was so busy you couldn't move.

 

This show definitely had lots of energy and everyone I spoke to did well.

 

This show is sooooo close to being the biggest show of the year it's scary.

 

I walked the entire con floor today for the first time and was blown away by the enormity of the room. It was like two San Diego rooms (I believe there are about 4 or so in SD) and then I was told that there was another entire floor below that was used strictly for the Anime.

 

It was massive.

 

Brian was right, anything you could possibly ask for seemed to be at this show.

 

I'm really happy to have seen it and it was great to see everyone at the show.

 

Two very big thumbs up for this show!

 

 

 

two-thumbsup.jpg

 

It would be great if CGC would consider doing on-site at this show. The question is whether they'd make the trek, and I guess lingering closely behind - did this show set the bar too high for future shows to be as successful?

 

I don't think this set the bar too high. I still remember the first show and the second show (the first time they got "all" of Javits) and to me, this is just the logical progression.

 

I think the organizers, exhibitors and dealers will tell you they were thrilled (for the most part) with the show but that there's still room for improvement. I can't imagine next year being a let down. This show is great and each year adds minor improvements over the last.

 

Just look at this year, Artist's Alley got basically it's own convention hall and made it just a wonderful experience compared to years past. Next year will inevitably have a few new wrinkles that make the experience even better.

 

If they tweak the locations within the convention center a bit I think this show would be killer. CGC and artists alley were way too far apart. Displays that generated a lot of "watchers" were placed right where you entered the convention floor and the aisles were always clogged, even before the doors to the general public were opened.

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TheShadowKnows

TheShadowKnows

Posted
Posted
Apparently at some point in the early to mid 1960s, the collector started going to the distributor and picking out books before they every went out on the stands.

 

How the heck would someone go directly to the distributor...and in the 1960s...WHY? I can't imagine it was because he was condition-conscious.

 

 

To save money. Most magazine distributors had one day a week where the public could come in and buy stuff at the same prices the distributors wholesaled them for.

I'm not sure why, but every distributor I know of stopped the practice at almost the same time around 1981.

I went to McDonalds Wholesale(cards) and Himbers(comics) until they closed.

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HouseofComics.Com

HouseofComics.Com

Posted
Posted
Then there are quite a few buyers who simply won't buy things online. I think those of us on the boards know that any SA, BA and modern book as well as most GA can be had pretty easily given money and patience. For those that only buy at stores and shows, finding the right book can be a lot tougher. So paying up doesn't seem like a big deal.

 

There are those who enjoy the hunt and the bidding process and those who find it frustrating and a waste of their time.

 

I was surprised when I started doing shows again about seven years ago how very difficult it was to get anyone I'd meet at the shows to buy anything from the website. It was like the con buyers were very different animals. I could hand out 100 cards and get 1 or zero sales after a major show. Yet plenty of internet orders would come in from all over the country and the world. Someone could ask me for something specific and cheap and even if I told them that I had it back in Berkeley and couldn't bring it, here's the website to order it--nothing would happen. And my free shipping limit back then was $20!

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