I'M A COLLECTOR IN MY SOUL, NOT A SELLER!

[Batko-migration]

This morning I woke up and checked my auctions on eBay. My super gorgeous issue of FM #7 still had not got a bid on the last day of its second 7 day auction. After I finished my coffee I said to myself, "Fruck the a_ssholes!" and ended the auction 11 hours early.

I decided to put that issue in my collection to replace a FM #7 with "Tomorrow's Monsters" variant cover that is high grade, but not as nice as this one.

 

Truthfully, the $299 starting bid was way too low to end up as the final price for a magazine of that quality. I decided I was going to keep it for myself rather than let one of those meth heads on eBay get it (and the way it was going, after two weeks the most I would expect is to sell it for the $299 starting bid in the last minutes of the auction tonight).

 

I will be putting my other copy of FM #7, Tomorrow's Monsters up for auction tonight. I'll post a link if anyone is interested. It's high grade and a nice copy that is VF- to VF (7.5 to 8.0)

My $0.99 auctions are doing OK and getting bids, although they are not up to where I would like them to be. With 11 hours left they will hopefully do better in the final minutes of the auctions.

 

I'm a collector in my soul. This selling is not my thing, but I have doubles and would like to get money for them to buy other mags. I hate commerce and dealing with the jacka_sses on eBay.

 

- Mike

[montrealfilmguy]

Go Batko !

 

 

I'm a collector in my soul needs to be a t-shirt.

 

[Doohickamabob]

My $0.99 auctions are doing OK and getting bids, although they are not up to where I would like them to be. With 11 hours left they will hopefully do better in the final minutes of the auctions.

Sometimes all the action happens on the last day, sometimes in the last hour, often in the last minutes, and very often in the last 10 seconds if snipers deem the item worth trying for.

 

Did you post a link to your auctions in the board section for off-site sales?

 

Regarding the $299 starting bid on the FM mag, sometimes with a high-grade item it is better to do a Buy-It-Now or Best Offer and just let it sit until the right buyer comes along.

[Batko-migration]

My $0.99 auctions are doing OK and getting bids, although they are not up to where I would like them to be. With 11 hours left they will hopefully do better in the final minutes of the auctions.

Sometimes all the action happens on the last day, sometimes in the last hour, often in the last minutes, and very often in the last 10 seconds if snipers deem the item worth trying for.

 

Did you post a link to your auctions in the board section for off-site sales?

 

Regarding the $299 starting bid on the FM mag, sometimes with a high-grade item it is better to do a Buy-It-Now or Best Offer and just let it sit until the right buyer comes along.

 

I don't know the ins and outs, but it seems to me if you have something really high grade it might be better to put it on a Heritage Auction rather than on eBay. The problem there is that it seems like most of their mags are CGC graded and slabbed. Here is an auction going on right now for a CGC graded/slabbed FM 7 with Tormorrow's Monster Variant cover graded 8.5/VF+ :

 

http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7073&lotNo=93208

 

With 7 days to go the mag is bid up to $425 - $507.88 including "Buyer's Premium" (whatever that is).

 

Mine was up for 14 days without one bid, albeit it is not CGC slabbed and graded.

 

Anyway, it is what it is. Don't mind me, I'm just venting. If I can't let off steam here among other collectors, where can I let off steam? My parrot doesn't want to listen to me!

 

Actually, I am the one that won. The dopes that didn't grab my gem for $299 are the ones that lost. Of my three variant FM 7 covers this one is the star! It may sound like sour grapes, but the truth is that I am kind of relieved that I didn't sell that mag. It is in a condition that you just don't see very often.

 

Mike

 

[Phill the Governor]

My $0.99 auctions are doing OK and getting bids, although they are not up to where I would like them to be. With 11 hours left they will hopefully do better in the final minutes of the auctions.

Sometimes all the action happens on the last day, sometimes in the last hour, often in the last minutes, and very often in the last 10 seconds if snipers deem the item worth trying for.

 

Did you post a link to your auctions in the board section for off-site sales?

 

Regarding the $299 starting bid on the FM mag, sometimes with a high-grade item it is better to do a Buy-It-Now or Best Offer and just let it sit until the right buyer comes along.

 

I don't know the ins and outs, but it seems to me if you have something really high grade it might be better to put it on a Heritage Auction rather than on eBay. The problem there is that it seems like most of their mags are CGC graded and slabbed. Here is an auction going on right now for a CGC graded/slabbed FM 7 with Tormorrow's Monster Variant cover graded 8.5/VF+ :

 

http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=7073&lotNo=93208

 

With 7 days to go the mag is bid up to $425 - $507.88 including "Buyer's Premium" (whatever that is).

 

Mine was up for 14 days without one bid, albeit it is not CGC slabbed and graded.

 

Anyway, it is what it is. Don't mind me, I'm just venting. If I can't let off steam here among other collectors, where can I let off steam? My parrot doesn't want to listen to me!

 

Actually, I am the one that won. The dopes that didn't grab my gem for $299 are the ones that lost. Of my three variant FM 7 covers this one is the star! It may sound like sour grapes, but the truth is that I am kind of relieved that I didn't sell that mag. It is in a condition that you just don't see very often.

 

Mike

 

You have to understand that generally for the higher prices books, buyers feel A LOT more confident buying it slabbed because they know exactly what they're getting. No strings attached, they don't care if you accept returns. Fact is, they're buying the GRADE.

 

If you're very confortable with your grading and want to sell it for the most amount you can, it seems that grading your books first would yield you the most $$.

 

 

[Doohickamabob]

Yep you are certainly entitled to vent here....rant even... Selling is a pain in the keister. It's about 20 times easier to buy than it is to sell.

 

I haven't ever sold via Heritage Auction, but there are obviously benefits -- more visibility, better marketing, more high-end bidders. The downside is that, being a big auction house, Heritage isn't all that interested in your stuff if you only have a few items. They also walk away with (last I checked) 30% of the final selling price (10% on the seller's end, and 20% on the buyer's end -- the "Buyer's Premium" that you see in the listings).

 

By contrast, eBay/PayPal takes about 13% or 14% of the final selling price: 9% of the sale, 3% of the PayPal transaction, and another 1-2% for listing and their obnoxious cut of the shipping fee. Still, if all other factors were equal (and they're not....but IF they were), you end up with more than 15% of the sale price in your pocket by using eBay.

 

Regarding the "dopes" who didn't bid on your item, did you have many watchers? Sometimes there are no bids all week, but then there turn out to be several people who have set snipes for the end. It's a little unsettling because you spend the whole week (or whatever auction duration) not being able to gauge buyer interest. Smart buyers will put early "placeholder" bids to prevent the seller from ending the auction early or selling directly to somebody.

 

However, when the starting bid is high there is less incentive to put in a placeholder bid, because experienced bidders ALSO don't want the item to have the appearance of buyer interest to other potential bidders. It's a psychological snowball-effect thing -- if an item has bids, it appears desirable and attracts more bids. I'll admit that if I see a comic sitting there with no bids, in the back of my mind I think there must be some reason people are avoiding it; and if it has a bunch of bids, it makes me wonder what's so special about it that it's attracting so much attention.

 

This phenomenon has an additional downside: scammers will use shills to put bids on junk such as (for example) an Action #1 reprint with a starting bid of something like $100 or $150, giving it the appearance of being something that other collectors want and will gladly pay that much for.

 

Selling is a lot like buying/bidding in that sometimes it helps to make an agreement with yourself in advance, write it down, and see it through to the end. If you get caught up in the emotional aspects of the process, you end up second-guessing things and betraying the judgments you made when you had a more level-headed perspective. In your case, it doesn't really matter because you obviously appreciate your mag so much you might be better off keeping it.

 

How's that for a rant? You should post some images of the magazine if you haven't already!

[Batko-migration]

Yep you are certainly entitled to vent here....rant even... Selling is a pain in the keister. It's about 20 times easier to buy than it is to sell.

 

I haven't ever sold via Heritage Auction, but there are obviously benefits -- more visibility, better marketing, more high-end bidders. The downside is that, being a big auction house, Heritage isn't all that interested in your stuff if you only have a few items. They also walk away with (last I checked) 30% of the final selling price (10% on the seller's end, and 20% on the buyer's end -- the "Buyer's Premium" that you see in the listings).

 

By contrast, eBay/PayPal takes about 13% or 14% of the final selling price: 9% of the sale, 3% of the PayPal transaction, and another 1-2% for listing and their obnoxious cut of the shipping fee. Still, if all other factors were equal (and they're not....but IF they were), you end up with more than 15% of the sale price in your pocket by using eBay.

 

Regarding the "dopes" who didn't bid on your item, did you have many watchers? Sometimes there are no bids all week, but then there turn out to be several people who have set snipes for the end. It's a little unsettling because you spend the whole week (or whatever auction duration) not being able to gauge buyer interest. Smart buyers will put early "placeholder" bids to prevent the seller from ending the auction early or selling directly to somebody.

 

However, when the starting bid is high there is less incentive to put in a placeholder bid, because experienced bidders ALSO don't want the item to have the appearance of buyer interest to other potential bidders. It's a psychological snowball-effect thing -- if an item has bids, it appears desirable and attracts more bids. I'll admit that if I see a comic sitting there with no bids, in the back of my mind I think there must be some reason people are avoiding it; and if it has a bunch of bids, it makes me wonder what's so special about it that it's attracting so much attention.

 

This phenomenon has an additional downside: scammers will use shills to put bids on junk such as (for example) an Action #1 reprint with a starting bid of something like $100 or $150, giving it the appearance of being something that other collectors want and will gladly pay that much for.

 

Selling is a lot like buying/bidding in that sometimes it helps to make an agreement with yourself in advance, write it down, and see it through to the end. If you get caught up in the emotional aspects of the process, you end up second-guessing things and betraying the judgments you made when you had a more level-headed perspective. In your case, it doesn't really matter because you obviously appreciate your mag so much you might be better off keeping it.

 

How's that for a rant? You should post some images of the magazine if you haven't already!

 

That was no rant, it was a great analysis!

 

Unfortunately, I can't post photos on the Collector's Forum because my camera takes pictures with too many KBs or whatever you call them. They have a very odd system on this site. Everywhere else you can just copy and paste. Here the File Manager restricts KBs! I better shut up. I'm going off again!

 

- Mike

[Doohickamabob]

Thank you! Yeah, a lot of the more modern sites will automatically resize the photos that are uploaded. If you have a PC and you are using a default program to view a JPG file, sometimes if you look through the options there might be a way to resave the image as a smaller file size. Usually the menu choice will be something like "save for web." Or you could upload to Photobucket and refer people from here to a link there....anyway good talking to you.

[Batko-migration]

Thank you! Yeah, a lot of the more modern sites will automatically resize the photos that are uploaded. If you have a PC and you are using a default program to view a JPG file, sometimes if you look through the options there might be a way to resave the image as a smaller file size. Usually the menu choice will be something like "save for web." Or you could upload to Photobucket and refer people from here to a link there....anyway good talking to you.

 

I'm sure that what you just said is a good idea. The problem with me is that I was raised in the "manual typewriter," "carbon paper" era and don't have a clue as to what you are talking about!!! I just recently learned how to use the little guys in my posts here. That's how bad I am with computers.

 

Anyway, it was a pleasure ranting with you!

 

- Mike

[Mike's Rack]

Hi Mike,

 

I understand your frustration, I don't like EBay at all. In fact, I rarely buy on there any more. I think you will find that a lot of buyers that would appreciate your books also won't shop on eBay, espically on raw books. I thought about bidding on your book but I am building a war chest right now and it is not in my focus. With a book like that, a serious buyer might only come around once a month or less frequently. You may want to try a buy it now but want to encourage you to sell it here on the boards. I think it would really benefit to take the time to figure out how to post here on the boards. Most serious buyers access the boards. I use photo bucket and after I figured out how to post scans it is really pretty easy.

[Doohickamabob]

I'm sure that what you just said is a good idea. The problem with me is that I was raised in the "manual typewriter," "carbon paper" era and don't have a clue as to what you are talking about!!! I just recently learned how to use the little guys in my posts here. That's how bad I am with computers.

Your brain still seems to work just fine. You can learn how to resize images, etc. if you set your mind to it. It's not much harder than posting gremlins.

[Doohickamabob]

Now you're talking! You have done so well, I think we can all completely overlook the fact that you are sorta kinda promoting your auctions... Which might be a "problem" if the magazines section weren't so in need of activity.... Those are nice mags, and I imagine they are fun reads.

[Mike's Rack]

Yep, looks good. I thought the same thing about the mods cracking down for pimping the auctions but then I thought, What's the harm in pimping in the magazine forum to the 5 people that actually read the threads and where anyone interested already knows about the auction?

[Batko-migration]

Yep, looks good. I thought the same thing about the mods cracking down for pimping the auctions but then I thought, What's the harm in pimping in the magazine forum to the 5 people that actually read the threads and where anyone interested already knows about the auction?

 

WHOAAA! I am sorry. I thought it was OK to promote your stuff. If I broke the rules I apologize and won't do it again.

 

I saw some threads on this forum promoting material and thought it was OK. I even sent a PM to a moderator a while back asking if it was OK to post some of my mags on this forum. I NEVER received a response. (It seems they are quick to suspend you for a week or two if you say something that they don't agree with in the Water Cooler, but when you ask a question about proper conduct and rules they don't have the time to answer!!!)

 

Well, I've been suspended twice in the Water Cooler for writing about "politics," so getting kicked out again for a couple of weeks won't be anything new for me. I avoid writing anything in the Water Cooler, because their definition of politics seems to vary from moderator to moderator. Other posters write the same or worse than me and don't get suspended.

 

Anyway, it was really fun having this give and take with you guys. So, if you don't hear from me for awhile you know I'm doing time in Siberia!

[Batko-migration]

OK, I deleted the post with the pics of my auctions. I hope that satisfies Big Brother and they don't suspend me.

 

- Mike

 

P.S. Frankly, I was more interested in showing off my new found brain skills than "pimping" the auctions. The auctions are doing OK and don't need further advetisement. I just chose those pics because they were showing way high KBs (whatever they are) and my experiment drove down the KBs to an acceptable level for the File Manager to attach them to my post. (It sounds like we're talking about radiation levels here!!!)

[Mike's Rack]

I don't think you need to worry, I for one appreciated seeing the auctions.

[Doohickamabob]

Yep, looks good. I thought the same thing about the mods cracking down for pimping the auctions but then I thought, What's the harm in pimping in the magazine forum to the 5 people that actually read the threads and where anyone interested already knows about the auction?

WHOAAA! I am sorry. I thought it was OK to promote your stuff. If I broke the rules I apologize and won't do it again.

Like we said, if there were 30 people promoting their stuff, it would start to be a concern. If there's 1 guy doing it and he's learning to post images and the section suffers from low traffic, then.... who cares. (You didn't need to delete anything.)

 

Actually I think there is a thread here somewhere for people to post about their auctions. In Golden Age there's a thread called "Golden Age Marketplace Links," and something similar in Silver Age.

 

I haven't gotten any new cool magazines in a while, otherwise I would post some stuff. I have been enjoying watching some recent auctions for The Adventures of Pussycat, Heidi Saha, Vampirella, etc. Plus #1 issues of National Lampoon, Heavy Metal, and was it somebody here who is selling a huge lot of vintage Playboys....

 

I am still trying to find early Mad specials (with bonus intact). The early ones with the floppy record inserts are very hard to track down.

[vaillant]

@Batko: Honeslty, I think that you could have done fine just by putting a higher starting price in the auction, if the magazine was worth.

Or, as an alternative to have CGC graded something you wish to sell, I do think that by selling them here you earn the buyer’s confidence, as many people are suspectful to spend considerable money on eBay, while here you build your reputation and it’s more like selling comics between friends and dealers in person.

 

Generally speaking, if I have to sell a great copy of a book, I think I’d price it accordingly, and then if someone wants it, fine, otherwise I’ll keep it.

Unless, of course, one has need to earn money quickly for some reason.

[Batko-migration]

@Batko: Honeslty, I think that you could have done fine just by putting a higher starting price in the auction, if the magazine was worth.

Or, as an alternative to have CGC graded something you wish to sell, I do think that by selling them here you earn the buyer’s confidence, as many people are suspectful to spend considerable money on eBay, while here you build your reputation and it’s more like selling comics between friends and dealers in person.

 

Generally speaking, if I have to sell a great copy of a book, I think I’d price it accordingly, and then if someone wants it, fine, otherwise I’ll keep it.

Unless, of course, one has need to earn money quickly for some reason.

 

That is exactly what I did with my FM 7 gem. I put it up on eBay with a $299 start price and a $599 Buy-It-Now. It stood up there with a lot of "views" and a half a dozen "Watches" for 7 days and then a 7 day relisting. Unfortunately, there were no bids.

 

At that point I realized that I didn't want to sell it and the absence of bids was a blessing in disguise. I ended the auciton early on Sunday mornining about 13 hours before the end time of the second time listed. I really felt good that I didn't sell the magazine and put it back in my collection. In retrospect, even if I would have got the $599 Buy-It-Now I would have felt bad parting with it.

 

Now here is the punch line.

 

That Sunday evening I put up a lesser grade of the same magazine (I had two of them and originally decided to sell the better one for more money). My gem is an 8.5 / VF+ to 9.0. This one is really nice, but a 7.5 / VF- to, maybe, 8.0 / VF. I took photos and changed the text of the description to accurately portray the condition and grade of the magazine.

 

I started the magazine at 99 CENTS! Below is a photo of the result 7 days later. I think that they are all crazy on eBay!!!

 

- Mike

 

[vaillant]

I’m not familiar with prices on those magazines, but I am pretty sure you’d have done nicely by proposing it here. At worst, you could have put it on eBay on a later date.