Moderns that are heating up on ebay! 71 71

[WolverineX]

On 9/16/2021 at 5:11 PM, stynxno said:

Good question! I like the 1 minute auction format and I appreciate, as a buyer, how shipping is calculated (automatically by the app). Some of the sellers I find to be very entertaining and there's a budding community there. However you have to trust the grading of the seller since there's no time and no high quality photos/scans/images that you get to look at. It's also an environment that loves to hype things up while inviting you into a million giveaways and mystery boxes. I find it as an enjoyable way to kill time while noticing what some speculators are up to. I don't follow most spec stuff elsewhere so it gives me a bit more insight into why some random books I'm looking for jump in price. If you like instagram live sales and have a few sellers you trust, then I feel like you'd be into the app. I'm fine buying (super) small dollar books on the app and would consider buying a slab from a dealer I already trusted. But I'll keep my key buying restricted to only on the boards, at my lcs, or at conventions where I can (sometimes) review the book for a longer period of time.   

Interesting, so all I do is just download the app to sign up?

[stynxno]

On 9/16/2021 at 5:15 PM, Wolverinex said:

Interesting, so all I do is just download the app to sign up?

Yep! They'll ask for your paypal/payment info too. One thing to get used to is that if you win an auction, they bill your payment right away. The app will combine shipping on other wins but there's a chance that paypal will lock your account if, out of nowhere, you're buying like 15 individual auctions all at once. 

[WolverineX]

On 9/16/2021 at 5:19 PM, stynxno said:

Yep! They'll ask for your paypal/payment info too. One thing to get used to is that if you win an auction, they bill your payment right away. The app will combine shipping on other wins but there's a chance that paypal will lock your account if, out of nowhere, you're buying like 15 individual auctions all at once. 

That's very cool, I will check it out

[cd4ever]

On 9/16/2021 at 4:19 PM, stynxno said:

Yep! They'll ask for your paypal/payment info too. One thing to get used to is that if you win an auction, they bill your payment right away. The app will combine shipping on other wins but there's a chance that paypal will lock your account if, out of nowhere, you're buying like 15 individual auctions all at once. 

It's also interesting to see how many young people are out there buying and selling.  The vast majority of those sellers are probably in their 20's and know almost nothing about comics before 2000.  Bronze and silver are rare to see and don't garner much interest.  But someone tosses up a Stray Dogs and the bidding goes nuts.  And the music! Man...shoot me now!  If I go into an auction and the music is as loud as the sellers voice, I am out! 

[MetalPSI]

On 9/17/2021 at 10:58 AM, cd4ever said:

It's also interesting to see how many young people are out there buying and selling.  The vast majority of those sellers are probably in their 20's and know almost nothing about comics before 2000.  Bronze and silver are rare to see and don't garner much interest.  But someone tosses up a Stray Dogs and the bidding goes nuts.  And the music! Man...shoot me now!  If I go into an auction and the music is as loud as the sellers voice, I am out! 

Is that Winona Ryder?

[GeeksAreMyPeeps]

On 9/17/2021 at 12:58 PM, cd4ever said:

It's also interesting to see how many young people are out there buying and selling.  The vast majority of those sellers are probably in their 20's and know almost nothing about comics before 2000.  Bronze and silver are rare to see and don't garner much interest.  But someone tosses up a Stray Dogs and the bidding goes nuts.  And the music! Man...shoot me now!  If I go into an auction and the music is as loud as the sellers voice, I am out! 

That was pretty much the situation right before the crash in the '90s. Not as far as bidding, because there was no eBay back then. But people were trying to sell books at a premium right out of the gate, all because of hype, rather than actual demand. Of course, that's also been the case with a number of moderns for a while, so maybe not a sign necessarily, but the volume of books being hyped seems to be higher now.

[fastballspecial]

On 9/16/2021 at 4:11 PM, stynxno said:

Good question! I like the 1 minute auction format and I appreciate, as a buyer, how shipping is calculated (automatically by the app). Some of the sellers I find to be very entertaining and there's a budding community there. However you have to trust the grading of the seller since there's no time and no high quality photos/scans/images that you get to look at. It's also an environment that loves to hype things up while inviting you into a million giveaways and mystery boxes. I find it as an enjoyable way to kill time while noticing what some speculators are up to. I don't follow most spec stuff elsewhere so it gives me a bit more insight into why some random books I'm looking for jump in price. If you like instagram live sales and have a few sellers you trust, then I feel like you'd be into the app. I'm fine buying (super) small dollar books on the app and would consider buying a slab from a dealer I already trusted. But I'll keep my key buying restricted to only on the boards, at my lcs, or at conventions where I can (sometimes) review the book for a longer period of time.   

I prefer to only buy from sellers who give grades for that reason.

Some buyers are really dumb and well overpay for books. I try to stay
away from larger sellers honestly because both I like to give my money 
to the little guys and I like less competition.

 

 

Edited September 17, 2021 by fastballspecial

[littledoom]

Lost Boys 1-6 (Vertigo, 2016)

Edited September 19, 2021 by littledoom

[oldmilwaukee6er]

On 9/13/2021 at 9:38 PM, GeeksAreMyPeeps said:

The shoes thing I don't get either. Are there companies that will grade them? If not, I'm sure that's coming soon.

I've been collecting shoes for about 2 years now and while there is a grading system (eg. Grade A or deadstock being the highest) and several authentication services (eBay, StockX), there is no encapsulation service that I've seen. 

Most big time collectors, some influencers, and many companies bot Nike SNKRS app, Adidas or footsites like Champs, Foot Action, Footlocker etc. Botting is pervasive, out in the open and accepted as a cost of doing business. It is also expensive, with good bots costing 4 figures plus a monthly fee. This leads to a culture of grinding on the margins, rinse repeat, keep your capital working, don't hold for too long. 

I would say the culture of sneaker collecting is one of 'wear your sneakers.' Way more than comics is read or video games are play. Because of the materials used in sneaker production... glues, foams, composites... the acidiy of the paper and boxes... it is really difficult to hold sneakers for longer than 15yrs without them degrading, molding, soles yellowing, midsoles cracking. That said, sneaker collecting as a cultural phenomenon is still its infancy relative to the comics (only about 16-20 yrs old). 

[GeeksAreMyPeeps]

On 9/18/2021 at 7:08 AM, oldmilwaukee6er said:

I've been collecting shoes for about 2 years now and while there is a grading system (eg. Grade A or deadstock being the highest) and several authentication services (eBay, StockX), there is no encapsulation service that I've seen. 

Most big time collectors, some influencers, and many companies bot Nike SNKRS app, Adidas or footsites like Champs, Foot Action, Footlocker etc. Botting is pervasive, out in the open and accepted as a cost of doing business. It is also expensive, with good bots costing 4 figures plus a monthly fee. This leads to a culture of grinding on the margins, rinse repeat, keep your capital working, don't hold for too long. 

I would say the culture of sneaker collecting is one of 'wear your sneakers.' Way more than comics is read or video games are play. Because of the materials used in sneaker production... glues, foams, composites... the acidiy of the paper and boxes... it is really difficult to hold sneakers for longer than 15yrs without them degrading, molding, soles yellowing, midsoles cracking. That said, sneaker collecting as a cultural phenomenon is still its infancy relative to the comics (only about 16-20 yrs old). 

In time I bet we'll see sneakers being made (and advertised as being made) with more permanent materials, and things will shift a bit to a scenario where "never worn" fetch ridiculous prices.

[500Club]

On 9/17/2021 at 6:47 PM, littledoom said:

Lost Boys 1

Milan, Italy.

[Corona smith]

On 9/17/2021 at 5:07 PM, fastballspecial said:

I prefer to only buy from sellers who give grades for that reason.

I’ve stopped giving my for sale comics grades on eBay. Bunch a pics and I detail any flaws in the description. 

[fastballspecial]

On 9/19/2021 at 6:10 AM, Corona smith said:

On 9/17/2021 at 4:07 PM, fastballspecial said:

I prefer to only buy from sellers who give grades for that reason.

I’ve stopped giving my for sale comics grades on eBay. Bunch a pics and I detail any flaws in the description. 

And how do you decide to price your book? Thats right you grade it.

 

[Bird]

On 9/19/2021 at 9:31 AM, fastballspecial said:

And how do you decide to price your book? Thats right you grade it.

 

yes and no...I look for comps in recently sold

I don't give grades on most of my ebay, and do not take returns on many!, but that doesn't mean I didn't grade them. It just means I think that some people will try to use that grade in the return for no reason game so I leave it off. I grade it, find comps, adjust price as I see fit for that comic (top of recent sales, below recent sales, etc) and then do not share the grade part in my description.

[fastballspecial]

On 9/19/2021 at 8:41 AM, Bird said:

On 9/19/2021 at 8:31 AM, fastballspecial said:

And how do you decide to price your book? Thats right you grade it.

 

yes and no...I look for comps in recently sold

I don't give grades on most of my ebay, and do not take returns on many!, but that doesn't mean I didn't grade them. It just means I think that some people will try to use that grade in the return for no reason game so I leave it off. I grade it, find comps, adjust price as I see fit for that comic (top of recent sales, below recent sales, etc) and then do not share the grade part in my description.

I have heard this excuse several times. Know how many returns I have gotten in the last 5 years? Thats right zero. Learn your craft,
treat your customers right, and pack well. Its not hard many just chose not to do it then wonder why they have problems. 

Now do I get the occasionally nutjob sure. I had a guy NARU'ed 2 months ago over a dumb Batman Fortnight book, but that was
due to him wanting me to send him the code before I shipped the book.(He filed before he even got the book.) Ebay sided with me
and NARU'ed the guy after 4 weeks. And mistakes do happen I've sent wrong copies to people before over the years. But if you 
honest and fairly genuine in the mistake most people are agreeable. 

The narrative that if I give a grade it will be held against me only works if you cant grade. I realize this will start an argument, but it
needs to be said. 

 

Edited September 19, 2021 by fastballspecial

[Bird]

On 9/19/2021 at 9:59 AM, fastballspecial said:

I have heard this excuse several times. Know how many returns I have gotten in the last 5 years? Thats right zero. Learn your craft,
treat your customers right, and pack well. Its not hard many just chose not to do it then wonder why they have problems. 

Now do I get the occasionally nutjob sure. I had a guy NARU'ed 2 months ago over a dumb Batman Fortnight book, but that was
due to him wanting me to send him the code before I shipped the book.(He filed before he even got the book.) Ebay sided with me
and NARU'ed the guy after 4 weeks. And mistakes do happen I've sent wrong copies to people before over the years. But if you 
honest and fairly genuine in the mistake most people are agreeable. 

The narrative that if I give a grade it will be held against me only works if you cant grade. I realize this will start an argument, but it
needs to be said. 

 

I wasn't making any excuse for anything as I don't see anything wrong with the approach. I also have no issues with returns.    I have no problems on ebay and no real complaints.

I never said I could grade either, certainly not expertly. But that doesn't mean I cannot sell comics effectively and for fun and profit. I get excellent feedback universally.

I am not arguing anything. You assume much..

[jokiing]

I stopped giving a specific grade on ebay and instead use a narrow grading range, a plus and minus, and supply lots of photos and a description of even the smallest flaws. I once had a picky buyer who purchased about ten low value books and then proceeded to send me pics of one of the books with circles around a few very minor flaws which were, in my opinion, acceptable with the grade given. He ended up using a "not as described" return on half the books, which was total bull, and my only choice was to refund and let him keep the books because I would have lost money on the return shipping. Ironically, in his auctions he basically states that grading is an opinion and if you disagree with his grading, too bad.

 

[Bird]

I just made a sale, so logged onto my ebay active listings. I do give grades on most of my stuff listed but not all. I think photos show things I can't see with my own eye, so if I photo it up and describe it well we are good to go. I am not confident enough to grade but adjust for it with the rest of the listing/sale.

Customer services is the way to go anyway. Not that I get many complaints either though. 

[jokiing]

On 9/19/2021 at 12:48 PM, Bird said:

I just made a sale, so logged onto my ebay active listings. I do give grades on most of my stuff listed but not all. I think photos show things I can't see with my own eye, so if I photo it up and describe it well we are good to go. I am not confident enough to grade but adjust for it with the rest of the listing/sale.

Customer services is the way to go anyway. Not that I get many complaints either though. 

I've had happy buyers while selling with or without a specific grade and when I was being specific I always undergraded a bit. 100% + feedback..... last feedback I received "Most beautiful book I’ve ever received from an EBAY purchase! Thank you so much! 5 Starz***** and then some!". Fast shipping and solid packaging also make buyers happy.

[kevhtx]

Had fun at Fan Expo Dallas. Great to be back at a con again. Wish I could go to Baltimore and/or NY. I spent a lot on the Tynion packages (Something's Killing the Children/Department of Truth) and signatures from Cates, Higgins, and Ramos. Got some Radiant Black #1's, Ordinary God's #1's, Champion's #1's, God Country #1's, and a bunch of other books signed/sent off to CGC. Tynion, Dell'Edera, and Simmonds cancelled, but Scott's is getting all my Something's Killing the Children and Department of Truth books signed at either NYCC or at Thought Bubble in November.

Got some Shuri spec (made a deal on multiple books from a vendor. All high grade, NM+ or better candidates. Got first appearance of Maestro/first cover appearance, which has been on my target list, for $30 total. Made a deal on the Department of Truth #2 1:25 for $150. Gonna crack it and send to get signed/graded. Potential 9.8, but there is one place at the staples that could keep it at 9.6. The Last Padawan is a potential 9.8 as well. Got it for $150. Bought some Fan Expo exclusive foils as well. My wallet hurts from the weekend.