Chuck's having a sale

[awe4one]

But still, there's gotta be a better way

 

Why?

 

He's a hypester? Sure.

 

He's overpriced? Check.

 

He overgrades? Gotcha.

 

I can say the same for many other dealers in this hobby as well. It seems the extreme hostility is either misguided or overblown. Chuck hasn't done anything to warrant this witch hunt. Don't like him. Don't buy. It's as simple as that. But the personal attacks are getting out of hand in my opinion.

 

Jim

[garthgantu]

Actually, the 'personal attacks' seem to have gotten more tame and less frequent..?

 

Granted, other dealers are guilty of some of the same transgressions, but

- most other dealers aren't guilty of ALL of those transgressions

- most other dealers don't toot their own horns with nearly the frequency and volume that Chuck does

- most other dealers probably don't deserve your hard-earned dollars either!

 

This may be a case of different kinds of collectors seeing the same dealer in different ways. As someone who only buys GA, SA and the (very) occasional BA book, I find Chuck's prices to be so out there that they seem to be the ravings of a dealer from 2032 who has traveled back in time and is selling at futuristic prices

Beyond that, I just don't think Chuck has been nearly as "good for the industry" as he clearly believes himself to have been.

 

To each his own...

[awe4one]

Actually, the 'personal attacks' seem to have gotten more tame and less frequent..?

 

I'll grant you that. But it's still a fact that whenever his name or MH comes up, the thread always turns into an attack.

 

And having bought from him quite frequently, I can attest that his grading has tightened up considerably over the last year. Sure MH's not perfect but their grading is reaching the level of respectability in relation to other national internet dealers. At least for late-Silver/Bronze comics...

 

- most other dealers aren't guilty of ALL of those transgressions

 

I'd disagree. I've found most of the other "national" dealers all have the same qualities to varying degrees. The major difference is Chuck's more vocal.

 

To each his own...

 

Amen to that...

 

Jim

[sd2416]

Has it ever been stated what he actually paid for the Church collection or the collection he got from that distributer that was in jail?

[goldust40]

The Church Collection consisted of somewhere between 18,000 - 22,000 comic books, depending on the source. All the books were from the late '30s to the mid '50s and basically had a uniform cover price of 10 cents, as I'm sure you know. That's what he paid per comic.

 

Do the math.....

[FFB]

Has it ever been stated what he actually paid for the Church collection or the collection he got from that distributer that was in jail?

 

The Tales from the Database story tells how much Chuck paid for the Mile High II warehouse find. He paid $242,000 ($100,000 cash, $140,000 in time payments, plus an extra $2,000 in cash to close the deal at the end), plus he had to let the guy keep a couple copies of each of the X-Men books and the Warren magazines for his kids.

[Alberto1975]

Well I am going to give him a shot.

I was able to get 61 Iron Man issues (between 200 and 271) for $64.30 and 25 Daredevil issues (between 183 and 374) for $54.88 to fill up my collection. I figured between the sales, the extra 30% off, and the free shipping, I couldn't really get a much better deal, even considering it's Chuck we're talking about.

 

I guess I'll let you guys know what shape the comics are in when I receive them, but considering they're all fairly new comics (copper and modern), I think I should be ok.

[Aman619]

When you compare what those books are going for these days as opposed to 10 years ago, it's hard to figure out whether or not Chuck did that much better than the yahoos who sold him the Church collection at cover price in the first place.

 

He bought the collection in the last 70's. He probably sold most well over two decades ago.

 

He made a huge profit, so to fault him for not holding on to them for another twenty years just doesn't seem fair.

 

I agree Sfilosa. But, the smarter play would have been to sell off the lesser titles and NEVER sell the key runs. Hed still have the Actiuons, SUpermans, Bats and Tecs along with Caps Marvel Mysteries etc. Chuck needed money at the time, and they really werent selling right away anyway (as he says)... but, selling the best stuff was a mistake.

 

He also wanted the money to go into retail! Which as he also relates, was not a slam dunk, as he faced crisis after crisis throughout the 80s and 90s nearing bankrupcy more than once.

 

So he had to sell the Church copies, but I would have (as a collector) kept the best stuff for me. At the bare minimum, I would have kept all the big keys at all costs and sold off the rest of the run!! Wouldnt you?? There was still plenty of value there...

[sfilosa]

20/20

[Silver Surfer]

Actually, the 'personal attacks' seem to have gotten more tame and less frequent..?

 

Granted, other dealers are guilty of some of the same transgressions, but

- most other dealers aren't guilty of ALL of those transgressions

- most other dealers don't toot their own horns with nearly the frequency and volume that Chuck does

- most other dealers probably don't deserve your hard-earned dollars either!

 

This may be a case of different kinds of collectors seeing the same dealer in different ways. As someone who only buys GA, SA and the (very) occasional BA book, I find Chuck's prices to be so out there that they seem to be the ravings of a dealer from 2032 who has traveled back in time and is selling at futuristic prices

Beyond that, I just don't think Chuck has been nearly as "good for the industry" as he clearly believes himself to have been.

 

To each his own...

 

You know I can think of another shop who's grading sucks (really sucks) and they over rice accordingly yet they have a good public image and occassionally participate on these boards so its harder to speak out against them without getting blackballed or attacked by the masses. Therefore, I will just quietly allocate my money to what I feel are more reputable shops. As they say in Napoli, "va fungul"(sp?).

[rob_react]

You know I can think of another shop who's grading sucks (really sucks) and they over rice accordingly yet they have a good public image and occassionally participate on these boards so its harder to speak out against them without getting blackballed or attacked by the masses.

 

You can't leave people hanging like that...

[FFB]

You know I can think of another shop who's grading sucks (really sucks) and they over rice accordingly yet they have a good public image and occassionally participate on these boards so its harder to speak out against them without getting blackballed or attacked by the masses.

 

You can't leave people hanging like that...

 

Oh come on Rob, you know who he's talking about.

[rob_react]

 

You can't leave people hanging like that...

 

Oh come on Rob, you know who he's talking about.

 

 

 

On a totally unrelated note, in the same box with that "FN/VF sold as NM/MT" beauty, I got this "Sold as a 9.4 by a big NYC dealer" book.

[blowout]

So he had to sell the Church copies, but I would have (as a collector) kept the best stuff for me. At the bare minimum, I would have kept all the big keys at all costs and sold off the rest of the run!! Wouldnt you?? There was still plenty of value there...

 

How can you compare being a collector to a dealer? A dealer cannot afford to hang onto stock long term, and the constant flow of goods-cash is what keeps them going.

It also easy to make these kind of comments now with the benefit of hindsight. In the late 70's when Chuck sold the books the market was very different, and he made a huge profit on the books, which as a dealer is what you are looking to do.

[Aman619]

20/20

 

I hear ya... not fair to judge.

but cmon. you wouldnt have kept at least the Action#1 and Tec 27??

Im betting you would have kept your finances in th eblack so you wouldnt have to sell them ALL!!!

[FFB]

20/20

 

I hear ya... not fair to judge.

but cmon. you wouldnt have kept at least the Action#1 and Tec 27??

Im betting you would have kept your finances in th eblack so you wouldnt have to sell them ALL!!!

 

Since Chuck isn't a comic collector, it's kind of hard to argue with his past decisions, especially considering the company he has built out of the proceeds from the sales of those books.

[Aman619]

20/20

 

I hear ya... not fair to judge.

but cmon. you wouldnt have kept at least the Action#1 and Tec 27??

Im betting you would have kept your finances in th eblack so you wouldnt have to sell them ALL!!!

 

Since Chuck isn't a comic collector, it's kind of hard to argue with his past decisions, especially considering the company he has built out of the proceeds from the sales of those books.

 

okay - - - same question:

YOU wouldnt hold onto those two books???

[Bonds25]

I ordered some stuff too (mostly books that were listed in the "Favorite covers of the copper age" forum), and I'll let you know what I think. I ordered only NM copies.

[Forbush-Man]

I ordered some stuff too (mostly books that were listed in the "Favorite covers of the copper age" forum), and I'll let you know what I think. I ordered only NM copies.

 

You think you ordered only NM.

[shrunkenhead]

I agree that hindsight is only 20/20, but the point I was trying to make is that Chuck gets a lot of press for being a trailblazer in the industry, and I just don't see it that way. A real trailblazer would have the visionary of the Dentist, and hold onto those keys at all cost. Chuck lucked out, and did well, but if he'd had real visionary business sense, he'd own his own small country today.