Do you do this when you dollar box dive?

[The Less Blob]

I decided to check out some comic shops a little beyond my usual range before they went out of business like so many small shops seem to be doing nowadays.

 

After spending 20 minutes to find street parking and walking a block to the place "closest" to my house (a mile or two away) I learn that this "comic shop" is, in fact, only a gamers shop. Well, I had to go to the bathroom anyway I suppose.

 

Next place was another 10 minutes further. Very nice owners, but not much in the way of comics. A few boxes of $1 books and some other "wall" books that had been placed in the sun for many years in the front of the store. Some were so faded you couldn't even read the text on the covers.

 

Anyway, I hit the dollar boxes and was pleasantly surprised:

 

Batman 404 (Year 1/Part 1) through 409 (doubles of 407). Unfortunately, no boards, so probably a 9.2 average on the group. Overstreet probably says they're worth like $140-$150 or something, I know that's delusional, but I was pretty pleased for a buck each.

 

Labyrinth 1 - 3. Also about a 9.2 average. This is one of these series that seems to do better than OPG says, or around the same.

 

2001 Space Odyssey #8 (1st Machine Man) in NM. Not a super expensive book in OPG, sure, but pleased for a buck and a 70's Marvel that I actually don't see all that much.

 

Superman 423 (last issue/Alan Moore) in NM.

 

Shogun Warriors 1 in NM (hey, last one I sold I'm pretty sure I got $8 for it!)

 

Masters of the Universe 8 (Star Comics) in NM-. OK, I probably shouldn't mention that one.

 

1st Issue Special #13 (Return of the New Gods) in NM (has some ridiculous OPG value, but should sell when properly discounted)

 

Action 598 in NM (1st Checkmate) in NM+ (OK, that one has cooled off)

 

10-12 Deadpools from the 90's series in NM/NM- (issues from the teens - 30's, so not the really HTF ones from the 50's, but I hear all of them have heated up in general)

 

About 15 X-Men/Wolverines from that low circulation post-Onslaught 1998 - 2000 period (most which I needed to fill holes in my collection anyway)

 

And other assorted odds and ends that were generally solid $1 books (other than some defects I missed like rusty staples/stained backs which make them freebies now), so basically worth, more or less what I paid.

 

The purpose of this post is not to brag about my "find", because I spent $80 (after a small bulk discount) in total when you include the odds and ends, nothing is spectacularly high grade and I'll need to do a little work if I'm looking to recoup that $80 on these books, but to ask if others do the same as I do in this scenario: I'm not on a first name basis with the owners and I'm a little concerned that if I just cherry pick the obvious keepers the shop owner might wake up and decide to look some of these up in the guide and decide these shouldn't have been in the cheap box to start with. As it is he carefully went through the stack and pulled an ASM he thought might be worth more than $1. So what I often wind up doing is buying a lot of borderline books that bulk up my stack and make it look like less of a cherry pick. Of course, these extra books add up and negate a lot of my windfall! Here, the shop owner probably figured some of these weren't dollar books (heck, the Batmans had $20 price tags on them!), but maybe he was so happy to get rid of the other junk in my pile at a little less than $1 each he wasn't going to try and pull anything out? Am I just paranoid delusional or do others think this way too? This isn't the first time I've bought extra other stuff to make the good stuff stand out a bit less (particularly when I'm buying multiples of the same issue).

[Bosco685]

First, the important part.

 

2001 Space Odyssey #8 (1st Machine Man) in NM

 

Action 598 in NM (1st Checkmate) in NM+

Like we see on the boards where folks collect certain periods and disregard anything else as not worth collecting, there has to be sellers out there that feel the same way. They may buy collections for the Golden or Silver Age books, and the rest is just in the way and needs to be blow out at cheap prices.

 

And of course, there are those dealers that just don't make sense to the average collector, and price everything at crazy-low prices just to make volume sales (or the opposite - everything is priced high, just because).

 

[Jeffro.]

but to ask if others do the same as I do in this scenario: I'm not on a first name basis with the owners and I'm a little concerned that if I just cherry pick the obvious keepers the shop owner might wake up and decide to look some of these up in the guide and decide these shouldn't have been in the cheap box to start with. As it is he carefully went through the stack and pulled an ASM he thought might be worth more than $1. So what I often wind up doing is buying a lot of borderline books that bulk up my stack and make it look like less of a cherry pick. Of course, these extra books add up and negate a lot of my windfall!

 

This is the way I look at it.

 

The shop owner is responsible for what stock he/she has in those dollar boxes. If I pull a book out that I can flip for $20, oh well them's the breaks. I feel no guilt whatsoever.

 

 

[kdoginohio]

My only problem is to remain calm till I get outside. Then....

[The Less Blob]

but to ask if others do the same as I do in this scenario: I'm not on a first name basis with the owners and I'm a little concerned that if I just cherry pick the obvious keepers the shop owner might wake up and decide to look some of these up in the guide and decide these shouldn't have been in the cheap box to start with. As it is he carefully went through the stack and pulled an ASM he thought might be worth more than $1. So what I often wind up doing is buying a lot of borderline books that bulk up my stack and make it look like less of a cherry pick. Of course, these extra books add up and negate a lot of my windfall!

 

This is the way I look at it.

 

The shop owner is responsible for what stock he/she has in those dollar boxes. If I pull a book out that I can flip for $20, oh well them's the breaks. I feel no guilt whatsoever.

 

 

Not so much a matter of guilt for me, I just don't want the seller backing out because he realizes he's underpriced stuff. If the stack has a bunch of more obvious dollar books in there I see this as less likely. As it is in this scenario he had already told me he was going to double check the books to make sure they're really dollar books.

 

I suspect the place used to be more into comics, but that end of the business dried up and now he's more into toys and gaming. They had about 4 long boxes and 20 $5-$10 sun damaged "wall" books, that's it. I dunno if the owner telling me he's been selling a lot of dollar books recently was B.S. to get me to "grab 'em while I can" or that I might have missed out on a frigging treasure trove by not hitting that store a month or two earlier! You'd think though that people would have plucked Miller Batman Year 1s for a buck by then had folks really been hitting the boxes.

 

Anyway, there are opportunities out there even at stores. One shop at my outer limits of schlepping closed overnight, I wish I had taken a crack at buying out his comic inventory (he leaned toward cards) [not the other place I was talking about, which had substantially more decent material and not the second place that was closing...jeez louise, a lot of shops are closing up!], I don't think he really cared much about it. Nothing great, but definitely a few long boxes worth of solid $5-$20 books, 10 or so longies of krapola/$1 or less box books and probably a short box of good stuff.

[The Less Blob]

My only problem is to remain calm till I get outside. Then....

 

hah. yes, i had this problem at one shop I was going to. he apparently had long box of BA gold keys in high grade and albedo 3s he was dropping in the cheap boxes as his store really didn't have a market for that stuff. i had to be careful buying those in quantity (and multiples) because i didn't want him wondering why i was buying 5 copies at a time and looking them up to see what they were selling for on ebay. i mixed in a lot of other comics and tired to get his employees to ring me up whenever possible. the albedos made me a solid $10-$20 a pop for a long time and some of the Gold Keys (depending on title/issue #) were either solid $10 books and one he had multiples of was a solid $20-$30 book (I won't name names).

 

on the flip side, when i see a book he's just skrewed up on (like, let's say, a hulk 340 slipped into the dollar box) I point it out to him. because i know he actually has a market for that in his store he appreciates it. (he sells on ebay, but not that much)

[Bosco685]

he apparently had long box of BA gold keys in high grade and albedo 3s he was dropping in the cheap boxes as his store really didn't have a market for that stuff.

 

[The Less Blob]

the albedo 3s were more like a nice phat stack, but the GKs could very well have been a long box worth. i just couldn't help myself because they were virtually all 9.0 - 9.6/8 copies 20 - 30 cent cover price. yes, some were bleh titles like scamp or tweetie (which are still kindah nice to have in HG), but there were Turoks, Underdogs, WCDCSes, Lost in Space, etc. in there that had a market. I haven't tried to sell the stuff since the economy hit the krapper though, but before then I was doing well, heck, even the high grade bad titles sold for a few bucks.

[Jeffro.]

the albedo 3s were more like a nice phat stack, but the GKs could very well have been a long box worth. i just couldn't help myself because they were virtually all 9.0 - 9.6/8 copies 20 - 30 cent cover price. yes, some were bleh titles like scamp or tweetie (which are still kindah nice to have in HG), but there were Turoks, Underdogs, WCDCSes, Lost in Space, etc. in there that had a market. I haven't tried to sell the stuff since the economy hit the krapper though, but before then I was doing well, heck, even the high grade bad titles sold for a few bucks.

 

Were there any Scooby Doos?

 

 

[Topnotchman]

 

 

Labyrinth 1 - 3. Also about a 9.2 average. This is one of these series that seems to do better than OPG says, or around the same.

 

2001 Space Odyssey #8 (1st Machine Man) in NM. Not a super expensive book in OPG, sure, but pleased for a buck and a 70's Marvel that I actually don't see all that much.

 

Masters of the Universe 8 (Star Comics) in NM-. OK, I probably shouldn't mention that one.

 

 

Those are smokin deals

 

From a dollar box Vet

[boomtown]

As it is he carefully went through the stack and pulled an ASM he thought might be worth more than $1. So what I often wind up doing is buying a lot of borderline books that bulk up my stack and make it look like less of a cherry pick. Of course, these extra books add up and negate a lot of my windfall! Here, the shop owner probably figured some of these weren't dollar books (heck, the Batmans had $20 price tags on them!), but maybe he was so happy to get rid of the other junk in my pile at a little less than $1 each he wasn't going to try and pull anything out? Am I just paranoid delusional or do others think this way too? This isn't the first time I've bought extra other stuff to make the good stuff stand out a bit less (particularly when I'm buying multiples of the same issue).

 

I do the same thing occasionally. Awhile back I spent about 3 hours in one store going through boxes. The owner was just hanging around talking with me as I tried to fill a long box. Came across a stack of Walking Dead books from #3-15 (about 20 mixed books), he reached over & said "Hey, I'll take those" with his hand out. I asked if he was serious after I spent 3 hours in his sweat shop, & he decided to let me keep them.

[whetteon]

These are the type of scores I always hope to fine when visiting a comic store. Not HUGE bargains like an Amazing Spider-Man #1 in the $1 bin but something much more practical like what you found. Unfortunately I seem to get unlucky and either stumble into one of those stores where the owner price guides everything in his bin boxes based on Overstreet's NM value or all of the books are moderns from the last 3 years.

 

Keep us up to date so we buyers like me can continue to hope!

 

[kidcolt]

When I go through dollar boxes I look for

 

1.older books that were once garbage but have for some reason gotten hot. Good books to flip and make a small profit, at least enough to pay for the junk I bought to read.

 

2. Find a pile of cheap good reading comics. Stuff I am willing to pay a buck for so but don't want to pay $10 at the other store. I usually end up buying 20-30 of these type of books.

 

Chances are the owners are sick of trying to sell these and are more then happy to get a buck for them.

[The Less Blob]

the albedo 3s were more like a nice phat stack, but the GKs could very well have been a long box worth. i just couldn't help myself because they were virtually all 9.0 - 9.6/8 copies 20 - 30 cent cover price. yes, some were bleh titles like scamp or tweetie (which are still kindah nice to have in HG), but there were Turoks, Underdogs, WCDCSes, Lost in Space, etc. in there that had a market. I haven't tried to sell the stuff since the economy hit the krapper though, but before then I was doing well, heck, even the high grade bad titles sold for a few bucks.

 

Were there any Scooby Doos?

 

 

alas, no. he probably would have looked those up though.

[Random]

My local guy, for the most part, could care less if you cherry pick. On obviously big books he uses a different venue. The dollar boxes for comics and magic cards could be loaded. He moves volume. He stopped spending the time to price things and started moving a lot more merchandise. Sometimes it's not even worth the dollar and someone buys it.

[The Less Blob]

My local guy, for the most part, could care less if you cherry pick. On obviously big books he uses a different venue. The dollar boxes for comics and magic cards could be loaded. He moves volume. He stopped spending the time to price things and started moving a lot more merchandise. Sometimes it's not even worth the dollar and someone buys it.

 

Well, I'm not thinking so much about cherry picking what he knows he's tossed in there and is willing to forego some $ on to move quickly, but the stuff he's tossed in there thinking is worthless that are $15-$20 books..like the stack of albedo 3s. i presume he just saw black and white funny animal drek from the 80's and figured it was just more hamster vice or TMNHamsters or something like that and chucked it in there. Had he looked on ebay he would see they actually sell (as opposed to highish OPG books that never sell for anywhere near those prices, which is what I assume he assumes the GKs are).

[fastballspecial]

How about a store closing?

 

Last year I went to one and spent 3 hours rumaging thru old boxes full of overstock. I was caked in drywall dust and cigarette smoke by the end.(Yes the guy smoked in his shop.) I found about 15 very good finds including a 30 cent variant of TOD. What really irked me was the guy wouldnt sell me multiply copies of certain books at any price because I was taking too many of his "good" stock. I was floored. I still had a great time, but only people on here would appreciate the rummaging thru long boxes covered in spider webs and drywall from a ceiling slowly collapsing. 2nd worst experience in a shop I have had.

 

[Mr 9.8]

What really irked me was the guy wouldnt sell me multiply copies of certain books at any price because I was taking too many of his "good" stock. I was floored.

GAWD I HATE those people! What do they care if someone buys all the good stock? they are still making money, right?

[chunkybutt]

I went to a used video game store years ago, the owner had out 2 long boxes of comics. one was 50 cents and the other was a dollar bin. Nothing great, but I bought every single x-men, spider-man, batman and superman comic she had for around $100. some I needed, some I did not. It just seemed like a good deal.

Anyways, I come back a couple months later and she has 7-8 long boxes and a bunch on the wall. The ones on the wall were individually priced. She was asking guide NM prices for F/VF books. I tried explaining that she will lose business for this. She all but yelled at me for ripping her off. I could not believe that she thought I ripped her off for buying .50 - 1.00 books off of her. After I pointed out that her Star Wars #1 was a reprint and no one will ever pay $100 for it. She called me a liar and said she had a price guide and will never be ripped off again.

That was when I went into he $1 bin and grabbed issues #1-35 of Ultimate Spider-man in NM condition. I paid her $35 and drove straight to my local comic shop with them. I ended up trading them for $500 in store credit towards back issues.

Morale of the story is, they are a business. Businesses fail and persevere everyday. You should not feel guilty about buying from a business. Now buying grandpa Joe's collection from his widow and then consigning to Heritage to make $100,000's in profit while grandma's farm goes into forclosure.............that I might feel guilty about. Unless there is an Action #1 in there. Then all bets are off.

[valiantman]

Are you saying that the boxes are clearly marked $1, but the owner has the option to say, "No, that one isn't $1, it costs more..."

 

If so, that's a textbook example of bait-and-switch. Not just rude, but also illegal.