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Moderns that are heating up on ebay!
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fastballspecial

fastballspecial

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Visited some shops today about 50 to 100 miles from my area and also gave out fliers for my comic book show in May.

Was able to pick up several books fairly cheap between all 4 shops mostly dollar books that are worth more.
, but there is something concerning for collectors. Shops have now caught up. They are actively using apps
and speculation sites to pull books on a weekly basis. I saw one book they had pulled completely from the
new shelves due to being featured. (Really don't like that practice but their shop their rules.)  Daredevil 51 was no where
to be found. I had sold 3 copies in last 2 days was hoping I would find more. Nope not an issue from 51 to 55 to be found
anywhere. JLA Avengers? Nope not a copy.  Ghost rider 28/31? Nope. Morbius 1? Nope one shop told me they sent in 10 
copies. UF 21,22,23 or Marvel Zombies 1? Not a copy anywhere. Not even for sale. I asked and they laughed at me. (Okay
they chuckled at me and said sold out for weeks.) Bloodstone/Next Wave? Nope (I did from some later issue for $1 each)
I did find Turok Evolution Video Game Promo for $.50 I looked years for.
It's a beater, but I can claim I finally found one. :whee:

Shops have finally caught up with slabs as well.:ohnoez: They are pressing and submitting books just like many of us. I know some
of you think well my shop does this too. What I am saying is ALL the shops are now doing it in my area. :shiftyeyes:
One shop actively had 3 people grading and cataloging books. Honestly, I was shocked I had never seen that before. It was
actually impressive to watch. One shop is submitting 30 copies of UF4 1st prints and they are all nice copies. (yeah do that math) :whatthe:
Another shop had 5 copies of DD 9 in 9.6/9.8s slabs. :whatthe:

What I found funny was one shop had been grading for awhile, but their grades were terrible 8.5s and 9.0s with an occasional
9.8. All over the place then their last submission came in all 9.6 and 9.8. I asked what happened they said they press and pre-screen
now so they are learning. :idea:

I sent in a submission of 25 this week.(I do this a couple times a year.) Was told it might be 9 months before I see this with one company and 4 to 6 with the other. (I can pay more for quicker, but still going to be awhile.) I ask my local guy why he said he is getting calls from all shops now and has over 1k books he is submitted right now. :violin:
He told me great time to be selling slabs bad time to be submitting. I see guys on FB complaining all the time now I understand better. What really makesthem even madder is when a new submission says they got theirs back in 1 month lol. :insane:

I suppose it was going to happen eventually as the game between shops and buyers is equalizing more now than I have seen in 
many years. :goodvsevil:The area where shops I am seeing successful is they are getting better at managing their inventory. I should be happy 
about this for the shop, but it also tells me the day of paying $1 to $5 for a book in a shop and walking out knowing its a $100 book are
ending. :tonofbricks: I think in a way it will save some shops from going under. The ability to realize the value of your books and use social media
to for different platforms is making a different in all these shops I visited. Some are just comics shops, while others have toys & video  
games. I really don't think the diversification matters as much if you manage your inventory which they seem to be doing better. :goodvsevil:

While I left with a good haul for a days work:manhero: I left thinking this is going to get much harder now. :ohnoez:Probably buying collection in large scale
is going to have a stronger route with me going forward then I really want or speculation faster on books that are more a gamble. I prefer discussing comics with shop owners while looking for books its more enjoyable. :cloud9: Its just the margins are getting tighter. :violin:
 



 

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thehumantorch

thehumantorch

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On 12/10/2021 at 9:04 PM, fastballspecial said:

Visited some shops today about 50 to 100 miles from my area and also gave out fliers for my comic book show in May.

Was able to pick up several books fairly cheap between all 4 shops mostly dollar books that are worth more.
, but there is something concerning for collectors. Shops have now caught up. They are actively using apps
and speculation sites to pull books on a weekly basis. I saw one book they had pulled completely from the
new shelves due to being featured. (Really don't like that practice but their shop their rules.)  Daredevil 51 was no where
to be found. I had sold 3 copies in last 2 days was hoping I would find more. Nope not an issue from 51 to 55 to be found
anywhere. JLA Avengers? Nope not a copy.  Ghost rider 28/31? Nope. Morbius 1? Nope one shop told me they sent in 10 
copies. UF 21,22,23 or Marvel Zombies 1? Not a copy anywhere. Not even for sale. I asked and they laughed at me. (Okay
they chuckled at me and said sold out for weeks.) Bloodstone/Next Wave? Nope (I did from some later issue for $1 each)
I did find Turok Evolution Video Game Promo for $.50 I looked years for.
It's a beater, but I can claim I finally found one. :whee:

Shops have finally caught up with slabs as well.:ohnoez: They are pressing and submitting books just like many of us. I know some
of you think well my shop does this too. What I am saying is ALL the shops are now doing it in my area. :shiftyeyes:
One shop actively had 3 people grading and cataloging books. Honestly, I was shocked I had never seen that before. It was
actually impressive to watch. One shop is submitting 30 copies of UF4 1st prints and they are all nice copies. (yeah do that math) :whatthe:
Another shop had 5 copies of DD 9 in 9.6/9.8s slabs. :whatthe:

What I found funny was one shop had been grading for awhile, but their grades were terrible 8.5s and 9.0s with an occasional
9.8. All over the place then their last submission came in all 9.6 and 9.8. I asked what happened they said they press and pre-screen
now so they are learning. :idea:

I sent in a submission of 25 this week.(I do this a couple times a year.) Was told it might be 9 months before I see this with one company and 4 to 6 with the other. (I can pay more for quicker, but still going to be awhile.) I ask my local guy why he said he is getting calls from all shops now and has over 1k books he is submitted right now. :violin:
He told me great time to be selling slabs bad time to be submitting. I see guys on FB complaining all the time now I understand better. What really makesthem even madder is when a new submission says they got theirs back in 1 month lol. :insane:

I suppose it was going to happen eventually as the game between shops and buyers is equalizing more now than I have seen in 
many years. :goodvsevil:The area where shops I am seeing successful is they are getting better at managing their inventory. I should be happy 
about this for the shop, but it also tells me the day of paying $1 to $5 for a book in a shop and walking out knowing its a $100 book are
ending. :tonofbricks: I think in a way it will save some shops from going under. The ability to realize the value of your books and use social media
to for different platforms is making a different in all these shops I visited. Some are just comics shops, while others have toys & video  
games. I really don't think the diversification matters as much if you manage your inventory which they seem to be doing better. :goodvsevil:

While I left with a good haul for a days work:manhero: I left thinking this is going to get much harder now. :ohnoez:Probably buying collection in large scale
is going to have a stronger route with me going forward then I really want or speculation faster on books that are more a gamble. I prefer discussing comics with shop owners while looking for books its more enjoyable. :cloud9: Its just the margins are getting tighter. :violin:
 



 

It had to happen and I can't blame the LCS.  Why would they allow customers to buy hot books for cheap?  The owner of a LCS who has been around for 30 plus years didn't believe in CGC or pressing.  A local flipper bought a SA key off him, pressed, graded and flipped it for 10X what he paid for it.  That LCS owner got religion fast and now does his own pressing and sends tons in to CGC.  These guys aren't dumb and they have tons of suddenly valuable back stock and many opportunities to buy collections from their long time customers.

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fastballspecial

fastballspecial

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Posted
On 12/10/2021 at 10:26 PM, thehumantorch said:

It had to happen and I can't blame the LCS.  Why would they allow customers to buy hot books for cheap?  The owner of a LCS who has been around for 30 plus years didn't believe in CGC or pressing.  A local flipper bought a SA key off him, pressed, graded and flipped it for 10X what he paid for it.  That LCS owner got religion fast and now does his own pressing and sends tons in to CGC.  These guys aren't dumb and they have tons of suddenly valuable back stock and many opportunities to buy collections from their long time customers.

Neither can I. In a lot of ways I am happy for them to see several shops that I thought might not make it, being successful and thriving.

 

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500Club

500Club

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On 12/10/2021 at 9:04 PM, fastballspecial said:

Shops have now caught up. They are actively using apps
and speculation sites to pull books on a weekly basis.

You know who else have caught on?  Marvel and DC.  New releases are becoming increasingly seeded with new characters.  

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Mercury Man

Mercury Man

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On 12/10/2021 at 11:56 PM, 500Club said:

You know who else have caught on?  Marvel and DC.  New releases are becoming increasingly seeded with new characters.  

New characters in comics are like meme stocks.   

I like to buy Spiderman (Apple) and Captain America (Coca-Cola), which are both doing real well on Wall Street. 

These new characters are just (Robin Hood) and (AMC).  

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troydivision1

troydivision1

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On 12/10/2021 at 11:26 PM, thehumantorch said:

It had to happen and I can't blame the LCS.  Why would they allow customers to buy hot books for cheap?  The owner of a LCS who has been around for 30 plus years didn't believe in CGC or pressing.  A local flipper bought a SA key off him, pressed, graded and flipped it for 10X what he paid for it.  That LCS owner got religion fast and now does his own pressing and sends tons in to CGC.  These guys aren't dumb and they have tons of suddenly valuable back stock and many opportunities to buy collections from their long time customers.

Makes sense.
They have been leaving money on the table for years.
What I am not a fan of is the stores in my area pricing raw books like they were CGC 9.6s / 9.8s.

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kevhtx

kevhtx

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LCS's pricing based on "hot" books is fine as long as they arent doing it without even having to "price" them. I've heard reports of people buying books and the LCS looking up the books on ebay. If that's true, that's BS. Obviously they can do what they want, but I wouldn't shop there. None of the ones I go to are doing that thankfully.

Larger point, if you are spec'ing right, the books you are buying aren't "hot" yet. Yes, I've bought books right after they hit the "apps", but most/many times, I have those books before they make the lists. Mostly though, look for books that aren't hot on ebay yet. 

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Tec-Tac-Toe

Tec-Tac-Toe

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One of the LCS I visit has submitted comic books to CGC for grading for perhaps 13 years and also purchases CGC graded comic books. However, the prices they ask, especially recently, for a "key" modern age 9.4 graded comic book, for example, are astronomical. I believe they also sell via eBay for, I imagine, less than the "store price." Since I have no interest in whether the comic books sell, I've never inquired if they do so in the shop and/or eBay nor the prices they sell for. Of course, even if I was interested in that, it is none of my business and they may inform me of such.

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Lord Gemini

Lord Gemini

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On 12/11/2021 at 9:11 AM, Tec-Tac-Toe said:

One of the LCS I visit has submitted comic books to CGC for grading for perhaps 13 years and also purchases CGC graded comic books. However, the prices they ask, especially recently, for a "key" modern age 9.4 graded comic book, for example, are astronomical. I believe they also sell via eBay for, I imagine, less than the "store price." Since I have no interest in whether the comic books sell, I've never inquired if they do so in the shop and/or eBay nor the prices they sell for. Of course, even if I was interested in that, it is none of my business and they may inform me of such.

I wonder if part of it is maintaining a good looking inventory on display. If someone every once in a while comes in and pays full price, it's a win for them, and if slabs have been sitting around and they have new ones to show, they can just sell the old ones online.

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WolverineX

WolverineX

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On 12/11/2021 at 8:43 AM, kevhtx said:

LCS's pricing based on "hot" books is fine as long as they arent doing it without even having to "price" them. I've heard reports of people buying books and the LCS looking up the books on ebay. If that's true, that's BS. Obviously they can do what they want, but I wouldn't shop there. None of the ones I go to are doing that thankfully.

Larger point, if you are spec'ing right, the books you are buying aren't "hot" yet. Yes, I've bought books right after they hit the "apps", but most/many times, I have those books before they make the lists. Mostly though, look for books that aren't hot on ebay yet. 

That's my shop. 

 

I still have been lucky occ,  I found a robin 1 2nd print newsstand for a quarter there. 

 

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Tec-Tac-Toe

Tec-Tac-Toe

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On 12/11/2021 at 10:33 AM, Shawn Everidge said:

I wonder if part of it is maintaining a good looking inventory on display. If someone every once in a while comes in and pays full price, it's a win for them, and if slabs have been sitting around and they have new ones to show, they can just sell the old ones online.

Yes, I believe that the LCS is displaying the CGC graded comic books to not only sell them but as a draw to, among other things, bring in new and repeat customers, to improve sales, and to, of course, sell them because, as we know, some folks will drop, let's say, $400 on a comic book that you can purchase via another venue for $275, as any retailer worth their salt, comic book dealer or otherwise, does.

Edit: I failed to add that some folks either don't care to look for/find a cheaper price, don't know to, it may be easier for them to purchase it then and there, they can inspect the graded comic book, etc.

Edited by Tec-Tac-Toe
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