Comic Grab Bags?

[UmbertoBongo]

The kind you see on Ebay advertising 3 'random' comics for like £9.99 with the possibility of picking up a Hulk 181, ASM 1, that sort of thing. Anyone had any luck getting a rare issue with these, or are they a scam/generally not worth wasting money on? Or does anyone here sell these things themselves?

 

Did one back in my early days of collecting when I was eager and naive, and mainly got a bunch of early 90s trash.

[miraclemet]

I assume they are all scams.

 

If any of the "jackpot" books are ever actually "sold" Im sure they are "coincidentally" in grab bags that went to the sellers "friend" who will happily verify that yes he did get a Incredible Hulk 181 for just $5.

 

big ole scamy scam.

 

I think they are technical violations of ebay rules, but maybe not...

 

 

wait here it is

 

"We don't allow listings that sell an opportunity to win an item or prize either by chance or in connection with a skill contest."

 

and here it is called out in an example:

 

"The listing doesn't single out anything that "may" be contained in the grab bag that has particular monetary or obvious collectible value. For example, grab bag listings for collectible comic books can't allude to the possibility that a specific rare, high value comic book "may" be included in the grab bag. This type of listing is considered a lottery, which is not allowed on eBay."

 

 

[sufunk]

Cut out the middle man and just kick yourself in the nuts (thumbs u

[Erndog]

100% scam.

 

I hate how they fill up my search sometimes

[musicmeta]

Don't even bother. It's a scam. You will never win the bag that has the H181 or some other valuable book.

[cdrag]

These are always BS

 

It's a way for the seller to unload his

[CntrlScrutinizr-migration]

For a lark, I participated in one, received an obligatory New Mutants book. Thing is, about a month later, my Paypal account paid out for ANOTHER one from the same buyer without my even authorizing. Had to file with Ebay and Paypal (which I eventually lost) and received ANOTHER crappy New Mutants book. I wish, in hindsight, I had posted feedback to the effect of "I GOT THE ASM #15! DON'T BOTHER ANYMORE!"

[Dr. Balls]

I wish, in hindsight, I had posted feedback to the effect of "I GOT THE ASM #15! DON'T BOTHER ANYMORE!"

 

That is almost worth paying $10 just to do it. Almost.

[Johnny U]

For a lark, I participated in one, received an obligatory New Mutants book. Thing is, about a month later, my Paypal account paid out for ANOTHER one from the same buyer without my even authorizing. Had to file with Ebay and Paypal (which I eventually lost) and received ANOTHER crappy New Mutants book. I wish, in hindsight, I had posted feedback to the effect of "I GOT THE ASM #15! DON'T BOTHER ANYMORE!"

 

That's just awesome! (thumbs u

[Iceman399]

Just buy all the sets when you don't get the rare books then file a claim.

[lemonman5]

Just buy all the sets when you don't get the rare books then file a claim.

 

I did that once, and that's how I got my low grade TTA #27 for $50 (with a bunch of other books). I didn't have to file a claim or anything.

 

I sell long boxes as grab bags on eBay for $50 BIN, and they do really well. I make no guarantees of gems. I just say that there will be no duplicates and the box will only have Marvel/DC. Its a good way to unload stuff I have no use for.

[mickhavoc-migration]

When I started to get back into comics I bought a $60 grab bag that had a ton a comics (the incentive being you get more if you spend more).

 

The biggest waste of money ever. Nothing but absolute garbage $0.50 comics. Lots of Kitty Pryde vs. Wolverine and recyclable 90's.

 

The most valuable comic I got was $3? The condition of the books was pretty terrible too. Most were unbagged, rolled spines,tears, etc.

 

The lesson was learned. It's a lot better just to buy a comic than be duped!

[KirbyJack]

The only grab bag I ever paid attention to was one some sleeze used MY photobucket pics to advertise.

 

The boardies here helped me shut him down quickly!

[comicalgems]

Years ago we ran one (back when I worked full time for a comic selling company) and ours advertised only one book to whoever bought all remaining lots.

 

ASM 1 to the person who bought all remaining books. Everything in between was a low grade SA book and five random other books. Every time the listing ended we just relisted it and adjusted it for amount sold previously. Decent profit but some people would get PO'd because they thought they were buying ASM 1 for $20. Took like a year to sell all 500 lots.

 

All in all some headache involved and generally the ones posted nowadays are pretty much straight cash grabs.

[Mmanick]

I did one of these on e bay. I spent twenty bucks but got a lot of trash. Won't ever do that again.

[AKA Rick]

"If it's too good to be true..." odds are "it's too good to be true" and "you get what you pay for" (or maybe less)

 

The only way to truly run a "Grab Bag" system is to do so over the course of years and get a reputation for legitimately furnishing quality seeded books of value, which people actually win.

 

In the world of Sports Cards, there's a company called South Bay Cards who does do it right and I've seen real random legitimate winners, and their track record is stellar. Here's a video of one of their drawings:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq4nT8VdoPs = The Rules

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvEH2IjDV_Q = The Drawing

 

A grab bag system for comic books can be done similarly if backed by people who have integrity and aren't greedy or shady, and can be done profitably too. Unfortunately, most who run comic book grab bags are looking to just get rid of junk.

 

 

[dupont2005]

I've bought grab bags before, one turned out to be one of the best comics purchases I've ever made. But it wasn't a chase auction, I assume those are all scams. My best buy grab bag was advertised as "80 indie comics for $8." No pics, no further description that I remember. I figured how can I lose? I don't even think there was a shipping charge, or if there was it was really low.

 

What arrived was over 100 80's era black and white non superhero indies, including full runs of Deadworld (and I mean FULL, including all crossovers, minis, oneshots, and appearances in anthology comics), first issues of Concrete, Caliber Presents, and a ton of other good stuff. I loved that lot of comics and to this day as far as reading material is concerned, that was the best bang for the buck I've ever had. It was even packaged decent from what I remember. I don't remember anything negative at least.

[Passport Comics]

I sell them on eBay, all 70's DC/Marvel superhero books, 3 pack for $6, guaranteed $15 or more OS value, all F or higher grade, and they sell great. No 'chase' nonsense, as most of that is a scam.

 

I have personally only seen a few myself that are worth the time of day. Grab bags should ideally be a good way to boost a collection, not a way for a dealer to unload their junk.

[Psithyrus]

I got an X-Men #18 (I think it was FN/VF). It was like $10, so I tried it once.