Famous Monsters of Filmland 2 2

[Batko-migration]

I just checked out the 35 bids and, as so often happens in the world of FM auctions, the winning bidder did NOT make any bids until his one winning bid at the end!

 

In retrospect, that FM 4 came up at the right time for me. If it had come out before I won the FM 1 and I won FM 4, I would not have had the bucks for FM 1. And, FM 1 is the issue that I needed to complete my collection up to #20. I have really good copy of FM 4, albeit not as nice as that baby!

 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that FM 4 would have been an indulgence while FM 1 was a necessity!

 

I guess what I'm really trying to say is that I'm a greedy sob and I really wanted that FM 4!!! All the above is akin to the Aesop's fable about the fox and the sour grapes!

 

Mike

 

Edited June 21, 2013 by Batko

[Hepcat]

Just got this today. Not an FMF #1 but a great addition..

 

Is that a magazine or a trade paperback? When was it released and who was the publisher?

 

Edited July 25, 2013 by Hepcat

[427Impaler]

That was a close one, I dont feel too bad about it, it would have been one of those purchases I really couldn't afford but just had to have. Great bidding on the winners part, he/she possibly did exactly as you described and went "all in" at the buzzer. I basically did the same thing but was capped at 900.00, still it was very exciting and for a split second it looked like I had won!

 

I would also be curious to see what it would grade at CGC for, could possibly be highest on the census.

 

[chevalmeow]

Just got this today. Not an FMF #1 but a great addition..

 

 

Is that a magazine or a trade paperback? When was it released and who was the publisher?

 

 

It was published in 1986 by Ackerman via publisher Imagine, Inc. It is a trade paperback collecting various FMF articles.

[nickwire]

is anyone on here creature75 on ebay? they have some really really nice FM's up right now

[Batko-migration]

is anyone on here creature75 on ebay? they have some really really nice FM's up right now

 

Some of his material looks good, but be sure that you look closely. The FM #15 that he just put up sale has severely rusted staples and what looks like a split on the lower spine. Creature75 says that its the light, but it looks like a split (or the beginnings of one) to me. He grades this one at VF+/NM/9.0. Based on what I'm seeing I would give it around a VF-/7.5 at best.

 

Also, do NOT take his grades as gospel. Whatever he says I immediately knock it down at least one or two grades in my head. His eyes seem to see NM and M everywhere!

 

I'm looking at his FM #1 and it is in really good shape, but it is not "NM/9.4" In addition to the crease at the top tip (that Creature75 mentions) it has a severe crease or cut mark on the bottom front cover above "Collector's Edition" on Frankie's suit sleeve (which Creature75 doesn't mention). The spine is pretty solid, but the top and bottom tips seem to have wear. The back cover has a couple of rub marks kind of at the bottom right. This is a very nice copy of FM #1, but I wonder what else you will find that is not visible in the pics and was not mentioned by Creature 75. Offhand, I'd give it a VF+/8.5.

 

Check out his FM #5 which he describes as NM. Look at the spine as best you can from the poor photos of it. The front cover has a couple of rub marks as well. Not a bad copy, but more like VF/8.0, NOT NM/9.4!

 

The rest of the descriptions on his stuff follows the same pattern of exagerration of the grade. I'm not saying don't bid, just come to your own conclusions regarding grade. This guy is a bit of a dreamer!

 

- Mike

Edited June 25, 2013 by Batko

[427Impaler]

Agreed, based on what I saw I have lots of Near Mint books! Kidding aside, they look like 6.5-7.5 books, which is good but call it like it is. The spines are no where near mint books.

 

Bobster

[Batko-migration]

Agreed, based on what I saw I have lots of Near Mint books! Kidding aside, they look like 6.5-7.5 books, which is good but call it like it is. The spines are no where near mint books.

 

Bobster

 

 

Anytime someone tells you a copy of an old comic or mag is MINT you should be suspicious. Copies straight off the news stand back in the day were rarely MINT. The word "MINT" is bandied about too much today. Any knowledgeable collector will ignore sellers that advertise like that.

 

Regarding Creature75's mags, be really careful. I was looking at the spines and almost every copy for sale has badly rusted staples which would indicate to me that the mags were stored in damp conditions! FM ##1 & 13 have the staples under the front cover, so I can't say anything about those. However, the staples on the rest of the mags in the lot didn't look too kosher.

 

Some of the material looks really tempting, but have you ever seen the end result of what I call "staple rot?" Big brown blotches eventually develop around the staples from bacteria that festered while the mag was stored in humid conditions. This can spread to other magazines and destroy your collection. (I also collect old postage stamps and this is a major concern among philatelists. If a stamp develops bacterial rot I isolate it and, eventually, toss it if I confirm the infection.)

 

FRITZ, IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIVE!

 

- Mike

 

 

Edited June 26, 2013 by Batko

[burntboy]

Based on this discussion I took a long look at the books in question and think they are pretty decent copies, but all are overgraded. He calls the #25 MINT despite a cross section of rubbing on the FC and a pretty decent ULC ding among other things.

 

The #17 has really rusted staples as well, which is too bad as it presents well otherwise.

 

Based on the bidding so far, I don't think the grading has fooled anyone...

[Hepcat]

His eyes seem to see NM and M everywhere!

 

A common affliction among many sellers. I once had an Ebay seller tell me a set of Golden Books was Mint despite the very evident wear because it wasn't missing any pages! Too many of these sellers evidently learned their craft from used car dealers.

 

[Batko-migration]

Based on this discussion I took a long look at the books in question and think they are pretty decent copies, but all are overgraded. He calls the #25 MINT despite a cross section of rubbing on the FC and a pretty decent ULC ding among other things.

 

The #17 has really rusted staples as well, which is too bad as it presents well otherwise.

 

Based on the bidding so far, I don't think the grading has fooled anyone...

 

Creature75's FM #17 just went for $267!

 

Like I've said in the past, I simply do not understand bidders on eBay. The mag presented well, but those rusted staples tell me that this mag (and it would appear most of the FMs this guy is selling) have been exposed to high humidity or actually saw water.

 

As tempting as some of his material may be, I would just hit myself on the hands with a hammer before they could touch a key to bid! I very well could be wrong, but I strongly suspect that there are surprises that will be waiting for the winners of most of Creature75's auctions.

 

- Mike

[burntboy]

Based on this discussion I took a long look at the books in question and think they are pretty decent copies, but all are overgraded. He calls the #25 MINT despite a cross section of rubbing on the FC and a pretty decent ULC ding among other things.

 

The #17 has really rusted staples as well, which is too bad as it presents well otherwise.

 

Based on the bidding so far, I don't think the grading has fooled anyone...

 

Creature75's FM #17 just went for $267!

 

Like I've said in the past, I simply do not understand bidders on eBay. The mag presented well, but those rusted staples tell me that this mag (and it would appear most of the FMs this guy is selling) have been exposed to high humidity or actually saw water.

 

As tempting as some of his material may be, I would just hit myself on the hands with a hammer before they could touch a key to bid! I very well could be wrong, but I strongly suspect that there are surprises that will be waiting for the winners of most of Creature75's auctions.

 

- Mike

 

I was surprised by the price on the 17, as well. I guess that the bidders either didn't care (because the book was so otherwise nice or didn't know what they were looking at in the often blurry photos.

 

Heck, someone might even feel that as long as they are not bleeding into the cover or pages yet, they could swap them out for nice staples from a vintage beater??

[Batko-migration]

Based on this discussion I took a long look at the books in question and think they are pretty decent copies, but all are overgraded. He calls the #25 MINT despite a cross section of rubbing on the FC and a pretty decent ULC ding among other things.

 

The #17 has really rusted staples as well, which is too bad as it presents well otherwise.

 

Based on the bidding so far, I don't think the grading has fooled anyone...

 

Creature75's FM #17 just went for $267!

 

Like I've said in the past, I simply do not understand bidders on eBay. The mag presented well, but those rusted staples tell me that this mag (and it would appear most of the FMs this guy is selling) have been exposed to high humidity or actually saw water.

 

As tempting as some of his material may be, I would just hit myself on the hands with a hammer before they could touch a key to bid! I very well could be wrong, but I strongly suspect that there are surprises that will be waiting for the winners of most of Creature75's auctions.

 

- Mike

 

I was surprised by the price on the 17, as well. I guess that the bidders either didn't care (because the book was so otherwise nice or didn't know what they were looking at in the often blurry photos.

 

Heck, someone might even feel that as long as they are not bleeding into the cover or pages yet, they could swap them out for nice staples from a vintage beater??

 

But, that would be a restoration which would devalue the mag if discovered.

 

Also, there could very well be infection on the paper around the staples at this point. If so, changing out the staples would do nothing to halt a slow growing, insidious destruction of the paper by bacteria.

 

- Mike

[Batko-migration]

UNBELIEVABLE! Creature75 just got $865 for FM #13!!!

 

When I put high grade FMs up for auction it's like pulling teeth to get bids. For some reason the on eBay just seem to bid this guy's stuff up to ludicrous levels. I guess my copy of FM #13 must be worth at least $1,000! Unbelievable! And #13, in my opinion, is one of the ugliest FM covers ever. It certainly is the worst cover that Gogos ever did for FM!

 

- Mike

 

 

[427Impaler]

That is REALLY hard to beleive! Are these things actually selling at that price or is there a shill factor going on. Not to say that something "irregular" is going on but it just seems to incredible that a 13 would sell at that level, even a nice one. I picked up a 13 at a FRACTION of that amount in as good of shape.

 

Im going to sit back and "watch" the bidding

 

Weather prediction: "Record Highs"

 

 

Bobster

[427Impaler]

Well, after a little research I will eat crow for my previous post. That FM #13 really did sell at that price. Looks like more than one person really wanted it at any price.

 

All I can say is like......WOW.

[Batko-migration]

Well, after a little research I will eat crow for my previous post. That FM #13 really did sell at that price. Looks like more than one person really wanted it at any price.

 

All I can say is like......WOW.

 

I recall the auction that Creatur75 referred to in his description. I think that was about a year ago and the FM 13 sold for around 3 grand. I don't recall if it was a CGC graded/slabbed copy or not. However, it was a legitimate Mint grade. Even so, I don't think it would have gone that high if a pair of bufoons didn't lock horns and bid it up to a ludicrous price.

 

The same thing happened in Creature75's auction. Two yo-yos decided that they were going to have the mag no matter what. One of them should have got in touch with me and I would have let him have my copy for $500 (and it's better than Creature75's!).

 

As a seller I never seem to get lucky and get a pair of stubborn mules with deep pockets who are wiling to pay five times what something is worth!

 

On the other hand, your mention of possible "irregularities" may be, in fact, the reason some of these things go overboard. Or course, we can't prove anything, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was some "shilling" going on. After all, it is eBay!

 

- Mike

 

 

[burntboy]

UNBELIEVABLE! Creature75 just got $865 for FM #13!!!

 

When I put high grade FMs up for auction it's like pulling teeth to get bids. For some reason the on eBay just seem to bid this guy's stuff up to ludicrous levels. I guess my copy of FM #13 must be worth at least $1,000! Unbelievable! And #13, in my opinion, is one of the ugliest FM covers ever. It certainly is the worst cover that Gogos ever did for FM!

 

- Mike

 

 

Wow!!

 

I threw in a bid of $125 when the high bid was $88 with 7 hours to go, but I knew I'd be away all day and not otherwise bidding.

 

I will say that the spine on that looked pretty pristine, but in any shape that seems like a lot of cash.

 

[Batko-migration]

The next time I sell a copy of FM it will be advertised as NM+ or M. Apparently, that's all that most bidders see. It would seem that an educated, insightful, detailed description and honest grade doesn't get the bids and the big money.

 

- Mike

Edited July 1, 2013 by Batko

[Batko-migration]

It looks like they have all come crawling out of the cracks since the success of Creature75's overgraded FM sales. Get a load of this one that has just popped up on eBay:

 

For the low price of $499.99 Satch9680 will let you have a "NM" copy of FM #2 that appears to be restapled and, in general, mediocre to bad shape. (If you are going to restaple a mag or comic at least put the cover back on straight!!! )

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FAMOUS-MONSTERS-OF-FILMLAND-VOL-1-NO-2-1958-/171068553633?pt=US_Comic_Books&hash=item27d47af9a1

 

Then you have a handful of honestly graded copies that would sell quickly if they were listed as NM. Being relatively honest and listing as VG to F will get this seller a no sale. All he had to do was say VF+ to NM- and the bidding would have started!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Famous-Monsters-of-Filmland-7-/261239061827?pt=Magazines&hash=item3cd30fbd43

 

On the other hand, it looks like FM popularity is rising all of a sudden. Maybe, collectors are realizing that there are only a handful of FMs out there in truly nice shape!

 

- Mike

Edited July 2, 2013 by Batko