Does anyone pay sticker price

[shrunkenhead]

I would gladly pay 100% of overstreet all day long for nearly any classic cover pre-code horror. I can't believe they haven't updated their 10-year-old prices. On the upside, it makes it easy to pick up good deals from the guide-as-holy writ crowd at shows, shops, etc.

[John Grumbledook]

one other strategy i try is to make best offer of 1/2 buy it now price (when the best offer option is there).

i figure every once in a while someone is going to need some quick cash and take what they can get.

doesnt work often, but i got a hulk #6 for 1/2 price.

[The-Collector]

On occasion if i low ball someone they get offended.

[rodan57]

I pay sticker price (might try to get a little on shipping )

 

I do this for two reasons.

 

One. I won't be interested in a book unless it looks good in the scan and the price is fair by my experience or by guide.

 

Two. This is the most important reason. I ask a lot of questions about a book I am interested in. I ask the seller to be another set of eyes for me and to examine the book for all the things I would personally examine the book for.

 

To me, sellers who have graded well and have answered my questions with relevant detail (and patience), clearly deserve their asking price if I decide to buy.

 

They also deserve my repeat business. If I don't think the book is what I want, the seller gets my sincere thanks and I keep an eye out for their future sales.

 

If they can help add another book to my collection, I'm happy.

 

I like a bargain as much as anyone, but how much I might have saved on the cost of a book, or "what a deal I got!", is meaningless to me in terms of collecting. Fair's fair -- and the thrill of the negotiation doesn't make the book a better book. [insert sanctimonious gremlin, here.]

[oakman29]

I am happy to pay FMV or Overstreet prices on any key book.Really the books I'm on the lookout for you can throw out any price guides anyway,if it looks good and it's the price I am willing to pay.I will buy it,regardless if it's higher than FMV or not. (thumbs u

 

My only criteria is I won't use Ebay,big books are bought in person.

[The-Collector]

Ah!!! Oakman your sig contains every book I covet most!!!

[the blob]

OPG has NYX 3 for $10 still and a couple of others like that, so among moders and early comics there can be a huge divergence from market realities.

 

Even some mainstream copper age sells for more tha guide pretty regularly. Guide is low on the two great Zeck Captain America/Deathlook covers, I always sell those for over guide in NM. Not a huge premium, but I have never sold either for as low as guide and that includes here. Of course, we're talking about a low dollar book.

 

If buying raw though, are you sure the discount you're getting is on the book in the right grade? Books like FF 1 tend to sell for around guide (or more) when strictly graded, though I dunno if that's the case in every grade (probably not in VG to Fine). If you're getting 50% off a "VF" that CGC would call a Fine you're not really coming out ahead, for example.

[Buzzetta]

I am happy to pay FMV or Overstreet prices on any key book.Really the books I'm on the lookout for you can throw out any price guides anyway,if it looks good and it's the price I am willing to pay.I will buy it,regardless if it's higher than FMV or not. (thumbs u

 

My only criteria is I won't use Ebay,big books are bought in person.

 

I agree with everything here except the eBay part - depends on the seller and even then I am willing to risk it. For example, I picked up a beautiful Amazing Spiderman 6 from an auction that Greg Reece had on eBay this past January. I gambled and won a Batman 227 9.4 slab based on a sellers fuzzy pics. That also turned out nice. I won't drop several thousand on one book through eBay though unless it is someone like sparkle city

[oakman29]

I am happy to pay FMV or Overstreet prices on any key book.Really the books I'm on the lookout for you can throw out any price guides anyway,if it looks good and it's the price I am willing to pay.I will buy it,regardless if it's higher than FMV or not. (thumbs u

 

My only criteria is I won't use Ebay,big books are bought in person.

 

I agree with everything here except the eBay part - depends on the seller and even then I am willing to risk it. For example, I picked up a beautiful Amazing Spiderman 6 from an auction that Greg Reece had on eBay this past January. I gambled and won a Batman 227 9.4 slab based on a sellers fuzzy pics. That also turned out nice. I won't drop several thousand on one book through eBay though unless it is someone like sparkle city

I trust Greg Reece for one thing,so I would probably buy the books from him.I also don't really consider ASM 6 or Bats 227 big key books either,although must have books.I just don't feel comfortable paying thousands of dollars on an Ebay transaction.

[Jeffro.]

To me, Overstreet is nothing more than a bound checklist of books that have been published. Online recordings of comic sales have replaced it in the way that online news is replacing if not has already replaced your daily newspaper.

 

 

What it is, is a handy dandy place to price your books all at once. If I'm selling a thousand comics and I want to price them up, I can search out all 1000 comics on every auction site, eBay, GPAnalysis, etc, etc or I can use OS because I have it all in one book. Yes, for those high ticket items, I will do the extra leg work and check the net to see what they are "really" selling for. For everything else I will fall back on OS to get at least a starting point for pricing.

 

One thing that people on these boards seem to forget is that many many comic sellers still use OS for pricing and are actually selling comics. That legitimizes OS to a certain extent. It's not perfect. No price guide is.

[StuporMan]

To me, Overstreet is nothing more than a bound checklist of books that have been published. Online recordings of comic sales have replaced it in the way that online news is replacing if not has already replaced your daily newspaper.

 

 

What it is, is a handy dandy place to price your books all at once. If I'm selling a thousand comics and I want to price them up, I can search out all 1000 comics on every auction site, eBay, GPAnalysis, etc, etc or I can use OS because I have it all in one book. Yes, for those high ticket items, I will do the extra leg work and check the net to see what they are "really" selling for. For everything else I will fall back on OS to get at least a starting point for pricing.

 

One thing that people on these boards seem to forget is that many many comic sellers still use OS for pricing and are actually selling comics. That legitimizes OS to a certain extent. It's not perfect. No price guide is.

 

Many also forget that OPG is a conservative price guide which also legitimizes it. They're not bumping their prices to match month-long fads or record-breaking auction prices for unattainable high grade books. Example: Nick Fury #1 (1983) CGC 9.8 .... nice to see that auction didn't make OPG bump that comic to $150 in a 9.2

 

[Bronty]

To me, Overstreet is nothing more than a bound checklist of books that have been published. Online recordings of comic sales have replaced it in the way that online news is replacing if not has already replaced your daily newspaper.

 

 

What it is, is a handy dandy place to price your books all at once. If I'm selling a thousand comics and I want to price them up, I can search out all 1000 comics on every auction site, eBay, GPAnalysis, etc, etc or I can use OS because I have it all in one book. Yes, for those high ticket items, I will do the extra leg work and check the net to see what they are "really" selling for. For everything else I will fall back on OS to get at least a starting point for pricing.

 

One thing that people on these boards seem to forget is that many many comic sellers still use OS for pricing and are actually selling comics. That legitimizes OS to a certain extent. It's not perfect. No price guide is.

 

OK so you're saying that for the pricey books you do the research, and the cheap books you use overstreet. Honestly though, I would say just trust your gut? IMO overstreet is so far off so often that an experienced collector can get a better number by just asking themselves what they think the pile is worth.

[the blob]

OPG is fine for the non-key non-off the radaar books and non-uber HG.it is a starting point for a discount. I put most stuff in my store at 70-90% of guide taking into account condition, relative scarcity (some issues just don't seem to pop up as much as others even though OPG does not differentiate), coolness/artist, etc. (I have free shipping on most items, so that's part of the price) and address "best offer" discounts from there. For example, if I have a VF/NM SA book from 1965, even if it's a non-key, I'm going to price it closer to guide because these just aren't so common. In VG/Fine, closer to the 70% of guide. Believe it or not, about 25% of folks just buy it for the price offered and don't try to haggle. They generally get a little extra stocking stuffer in their package as a bonus for not haggling.

[Dr. Balls]

I factor in several components into my buying decisions.

 

First and foremost is what the scarcity of the item I am looking for and how bad I want it.

 

Then I factor in things like GPA and Ebay completed auction pricing. While lots of people swear by GPA, I think it's good for graded key books, but I don't have much faith in it on non-CGC graded non-keys based on personal experience. OSPG is good for long-term keys that don't move up or down a lot (Neal Adams books are a good example).

 

I'd say that half of the time I end up buying books at a discount, and the other half I pay full boat. I'm sure that's not much help - but it's my