Foolkiller's 2014 Dealer Rankings

[Foolkiller]

Foolkiller's 2014 Dealer Rankings

 

After taking a year off (mostly because I’m busy, but also because I got some fairly ridiculous blow back from a few dealers) I’ve decided to do the dealer ranking list this year. A number of board members and collectors said they found the list and discussion very helpful. I will go through the dealers and rank out where I believe they fall given the past year's activity. While there is some fluctuation from year to year, generally the list sees similar names, mostly because the best dealers maintain their strengths and weaknesses. However, as I review this year’s list, while there are some similarities, there have also been some changes.

 

Let me also put this disclaimer out there: This is only my opinion. To preempt dealers from getting upset or collectors telling me that Metropolis blows, I understand your points. I truly do. And in many cases, they are legitimate. For me, this is just a talking point. It certainly isn't bible truth or anything of the sort. I also understand that my experience may not be yours in the sense that I definitely am privileged to have access and the attention that not everyone has, and in part I recognize that's because I spend a fair amount of money each year.

 

With that said, I know the #1 thing that concerns most people here on the boards is integrity. Please know that I'm not sure how exactly everyone is defining integrity but this is an important and serious factor to me. It is not, however, the only factor in the ranking.

 

However... you will notice a shakeup in 2012’s rankings based on a number of factors that I've seen and discussed with a variety of folks. I liked 2012’s format, so I've kept it.

 

I didn't base it on "who do I like the best" – if I did, this list would look different -- but rather a number of factors (none of which are ranked in a particular order):

 

1) Competitive pricing

2) Accurate grading

3) Breadth of Inventory

4) Activity in the Marketplace

5) Quality of the website

6) Customer Service

7) Integrity

8) Convention Presence

9) Acquisition of New Material (freshness of inventory)

10) Impact on the Market

 

Here's a list of all of the different dealers that were considered (sure I missed some). Generally, I did not consider store owners unless they carried a very extensive vintage comics selection:

 

 

Harley Yee (Harley Yee Rare Comics)

Dave Kapelka (North Coast Nostalgia)

Richard Evans (Bedrock City)

Ben Lichtenstein (Zapp Comics)

Want List Comics

Steve Sibra

Eric Groves

Gary Calabouno (Moondog)

Dan Cusimano (Flying Donut Trading Company)

Bob Storms (Highgradecomics)

Greg Reece (Greg Reece's Rare Comics)

Metropolis (Steve Fishler and Vincent Zurzolo) and Comic Connect

Heritage (Barry Sandoval, Lon Allen and Ed Jaster)

Worldwide (Steve Ritter)

Comiclink (Josh Nathanson)

Superworld (Ted VanLiew)

Al Stoltz (Basement Comics)

Dave Reynolds (Dave's American Comics)

Dale Roberts (Dale Roberts’ Comics)

Jamie Graham (Graham Crackers)

Brian Peets (A-1 Comics)

Crazy Ed's

Pristine Comics

Jeff Delaney (Detective27.com)

Jamie Newbold (SoCal Comics)

Mark Wilson (PGC Mint)

Tom Brulato

Jeff Weaver (Victory Comics)

Mark Zaid (Esquirecomics)

Big Ben's

Marc Nathan (Cards, Comics and Collectibles)

Alan Bahr (Heroes)

Phil Schlaefer (Comic Collector Shop)

Sparkle City (Brian Schutzer)

Tomorrow's Treasures (Richie Muchin)

Jim Payette (Jim Payette's Rare Books and Comics)

Shelton Drum (Heroes Aren't Hard to Find)

Chris Foss (Heroes and Dragons)

Gary Platt (Adventure Planet)

Paradise Comics (Peter Dixon)

Vintage Comics (Roy Delic)

Comicana Direct (Nick Beckett)

Terry O'Neill (Terry's Comics)

All Select Comics (Mike Miles)

Bob Beerbohm

Greg White

Gerry Ross (One Million Comics)

Doug Sulipa (Doug's Comic World)

Robert Rogovin (Four Color Comics)

Greg Eide (Eide's Entertainment)

Marnin Rosenberg (Collector's Assemble)

Ron Pusell (Redbeard's Book Den)

Mile High Comics (Chuck Rozanski)

Lone Star Comics (Buddy Saunders)

Jef Hinds

Tony Starks (Comics in a Flash)

Steve Lauterbach (toychef on ebay)

Andrew Critella (GA Collectibles)

Dennis Keum (Fantasy Comics)

Bill Hughes

Andy Coleman

Rob Hughes (Archangels)

J & S Comics

Doug Schmell (Pedigreecomics)

Comickeys (Danny Dupcak)

Brent Moeshlin (Quality Comix)

House of Comics

John Hauser

David T. Alexander (DTA Collectibles)

Motor City Comics (Mike Goldman)

Gary Dolgoff (Gary Dolgoff's Comics)

Tom Gordon

HotFlips

Joe Koch (Koch Comics)

John Haines (John Haines Rare Comics)

Silver Age Comics (Gus Poulakas)

John Veryzl (Comic Heaven)

Steve Geppi (Diamond International Galleries)

Joe Verenault (JHV Associates)

Bechara Maalouf (Investment Collectibles)

Phil Bellmore (Vermont Comics)

David Anderson (the Dentist, collector)

Dan Greenhalgh (Showcase New England)

Ed Robertson (Ed Robertson's Comics)

Rick Whitelock (New Force Comics)

The Bookery (Fairborn, Ohio)

Nelson Dodds

Get Cash for Comics (Will Mason)

Comics4Less

 

 

Hon. mentions to the following dealers:

 

Hon. mentions: Brent Moeshlin, Dale Roberts, Doug Sulipa, Brian Peets, Jim Payette, Greg Eide, Dave Kapelka, Rick Whitelock, Adam Perlman, Ted VanLiew, Richard Evans, Get Cash for Comics, Al Stoltz, Marc Nathan, Harley Yee, Sparkle City, Zapp Comics and Dave Reynolds

 

[chrisco37]

Yes! Always one of the best threads of the year!!!

 

[Foolkiller]

Number 10: Jamie Newbold, SoCalComics, San Diego, CA

 

Pros: I’m sure this is probably a somewhat immediate surprise since Jamie essentially only sets up at San Diego and does not maintain a convention presence of much significance. However, this past year, Jamie has turned up several major high end silver age collections (including a 9.0 Showcase 4). In addition, Jamie has always maintained and carried an incredible amount of vintage material spanning all eras in many grades. Jamie remains one of the most accurate graders in the business, and his prices can be considered bargains on most things except keys because of his ability to maintain strict grading. Jamie is also incredibly honest and easy to deal with. His store is large, carries a wide variety of material, and is a model for other comic shops to follow as he hasn’t become overly weighed down with gaming and gimmick products. Jamie’s an under rated presence in the comic market.

 

Cons: There are a few easy criticisms that impede his progress further on the list. First, the website is antiquated and not easy to use. Second, as mentioned, a low convention presence. Third, the actual market impact is somewhat questionable given his national profile which is not as high as many others on this list. Of course, it’s possible that this simply isn’t Jamie’s goal, and he’s more focused on running a high quality local store and looking at his regional market.

 

Bottom line: Jamie’s aggressiveness at acquiring new high end material, his integrity and his ability to accurately grade make him a great addition to this list.

 

[BeachBum]

Number 10: Jamie Newbold, SoCalComics, San Diego, CA

 

I can't say enough positive things about Jamie. I met him when I just got back into comics. Runs a great operation down in San Diego. Just a great person.

[Foolkiller]

Number 9: Greg Reece, Greg Reece’s Rare Comics – Ijamsville, MD

 

Pros: Full disclosure, Greg and I are very close personal friends. I don’t think it impedes my ability to analyze his business, but of course, others may disagree. Greg excels at having the personality of Ted VanLiew and the business acumen of Bob Storms. In many ways, he combines aspects of both skill sets in running his business and I believe that’s what’s made him successful. Greg is a fair and accurate grader. He’s one of the most honest dealers out there and is incredibly straight forward in all dealings. Over the past year or so, Greg has turned up several major collections and pays very aggressive numbers when chasing any key book. He will often buy keys strictly to have them on the wall. His inventory is generally very deep (both raw and slabbed), with strong representations across every genre. Greg’s website has improved immensely, and, with the addition of his son Alex to the business, has gotten more books loaded and more updates made. His ability to aggressively spend, an increasing amount of traffic to the website, a go-to power house force for significant vintage comics and a major convention presence all make Greg Reece #9 on this list.

 

Cons: Greg’s weaknesses lie in a few areas. First, he needs better organization to make the processing of inventory, uploading and sorting smoother and more efficient. Second, the website needs improvement in terms of graphic design, layout and ease of navigation. Finally, many other people’s criticisms of Greg are that his prices are very aggressive, so he drives some customers away because the model is too similar to Metropolis in terms of pricing.

 

Bottom line: Greg would win the rising star among a very elite group of the top end comic dealers. In a very short amount of time, Greg has built his business into a major force. When you think about new major dealers in the past 10 years, there’s only a handful who have done it successfully and I’d argue none as well as Greg.

 

[Foolkiller]

Number 8: Nick Beckett, Comicana Direct – London, United Kingdom

 

Pros: One of the best graders in the business, Nick Beckett runs what I consider to be Great Britain’s best vintage comic book website and the UK’s best overall dealer. With an incredibly large inventory of books spanning all eras, Nick is able to feed the appetites of vintage comic book buyers of the UK. Nick deals with everyone with complete honesty. He does a great job interacting with customers and maintaining top quality customer service. His ability to appeal to both US and UK based customers demonstrates he is not adjusting his prices upwards strictly to market to the UK base which may not have as many savvy customers.

 

Cons: The website is almost cumbersome to use and the updates are not nearly frequent enough. Comicana probably isn’t as aggressive or hasn’t been as successful in pursuing significant keys on a regular basis. In addition, new arrivals can get lost in a sea of moderns and the books are not broken out into books of different eras. This makes seeing the material difficult. While not a significant negative, there’s very little convention presence for Comicana, which is related to a number of factors.

 

Bottom Line: Nick Beckett is and remains one of the few people that I would buy sight unseen from and trust the grade. Can’t say that about many dealers.

 

[Foolkiller]

Number 7: Joe Verenault, JHV Associates – Woodbury, NJ

 

Pros: Each year that goes by, my respect and appreciation for how good a dealer Joe Verenault has been over the past 30 years or so just continues to grow. The fact that literally nobody in the comic community has a bad word to say about him is a testament in and of itself to his incredible legacy. In dealing with him, Joe still turns up significant new inventory each and year, generally multiple times a year, all while maintaining a relatively low profile. It probably goes without saying, but Joe is honest, direct and a pleasure to deal with. He’s adjusted to bringing “real” 50% off boxes of very nice silver/bronze books that are not marked up and not comprised of only dead titles. Still a major presence with a significant inventory of high end keys, both slabbed and raw, Joe continues as one of the giants in vintage comic books.

 

Cons: Joe doesn’t have much of a web presence beyond a very limited ebay store and has dialed back his convention presence to a nominal number of shows. While “specializing” shouldn’t necessarily be considered a negative, the lack of knowledge and dealings in the copper/modern market is somewhat of a negative given the current landscape and how incredibly important that sector is to what is considered today, the vintage landscape. Of course, nobody is suggesting Joe run out and buy all NM 98s, but the reality is, some amount of presence in that area would bolster his place on this list. Somehow, I’m guessing Joe’s ok with how things went and how he’s doing now.

 

Bottom Line: Joe is the dean of comics. The highest compliment I could pay to anyone is to tell you that regardless of comics, Joe is a great person. He’s the best.

 

[AndyBoBo]

I always love this thread!

[Foolkiller]

Number 6: Steve Ritter, Worldwide Comics – San Antonio, TX

 

Pros: One of the most impressive inventories you will find on the web, Worldwide Comics is easily one of the top dealers in comics. With some of the most accurate grading amongst any major dealer, Steve has built a reputation on fair dealing and having a vast inventory that spans all eras of gold, silver, bronze and moderns. In terms of what may be available on the web, I’d argue that it’s probably second only to Metropolis in terms of pure breadth (for vintage), and the grading is more consistent and the pricing more reasonable. There’s absolutely no question that Ritter owns one of the true powerhouses among comic book dealers.

 

Cons: The loss of Matt Nelson to CCS and the waning presence of big keys, coupled with a paucity of new collection debuts, has dropped Worldwide into the #6 slot. While updates of modern books are important, there simply aren’t enough major keys and significant books that appear on Steve’s site on a regular basis. Unlike some of the others who rank higher on this list, Ritter has dropped his convention presence. His update to the website was a good move, but ultimately, he’ll need to match it with a new collection or a significant injection of higher end books into his website of more in demand material.

 

Bottom Line: With one of the largest inventories in comics and one of the top eyes for grading, Steve Ritter is an absolute pleasure to deal with.

 

[Foolkiller]

Number 5: Josh Nathanson and Doug Gillock, Comiclink – Portland, ME

 

Pros: Comiclink has become “the auction house of the people” and by that I mean I consider Comiclink to be the most accessible and most visible (at comic shows) of the big 3 auction houses. As a pure auction site, it runs better auctions on the whole than Comic Connect, and it doesn’t punish the seller with an onerous buyer’s premium (because you bid less in HA to adjust for it). Doug is a consistent presence on the comic convention circuit and conducts his business with the highest degree of professionalism. His laid back attitude makes it easy to consign books in a low pressure environment, but his diligence and attention to detail make him a deceptively aggressive force in obtaining the highest level consignments. A smooth and professional system, ComicLink does an excellent job in cultivating new business and taking all ranges and values for their auctions.

 

Cons: As many folks will point out, the ComicLink website needs an update. Bad. It utilizes an antiquated interface, has few innovations, and is static. For a company that wants to appear to be the “leaders” of comic book auction houses, the website gives the impression that they are really the “flea market”. Perception can be reality, and frankly, a novice would find their way to Comiclink and be less than impressed just based on visuals. I’m not sure if Josh has taken this to heart, but the website is in bad need of an overhaul. Moreover, Comiclink is definitely a spot where you are open to a disastrous result at times if there is a weak showing at the auction.

 

Bottom Line: Still the most accessible spot to consign your material, Comiclink remains one of the leaders of the comic book market. Josh has maintained his presence with stronger recent auction results in recent months and an aggressive pursuit of the top material.

 

[Foolkiller]

Number 4: Robert C. Storms, Highgradecomics.com – Commack, NY

 

Pros: Again, full disclosure, Bob and I are very close friends. Bob runs what I believe is one of the most well run comic businesses around in terms of organization, maybe only behind Heritage and Metropolis in that regard. In terms of keys and high end issues, I would say that Bob is able to buy and sell this type of material consistently at the top of the market and repeatedly above auction prices and GPA, making him one of the leading fixed price sites to consign to that’s available. Match that with a reputation for the highest integrity, a superior website and constant updates with new material, Bob has ascended this list by improving his selection of golden age offerings and obtaining more DCs. However, it’s his ability to sell high end Marvels, and particularly Marvel keys, that make him such a power house. On top of that, Bob’s checks clear, making him someone that is just as desirable to sell to, as he is to buy from.

 

Cons: Occasionally Bob probably should look through his inventory because at times it has become stagnant and the pricing has gotten out of touch. While most books are priced consistent with the market, there are some occasional blips that show up. Bob is well aware of the fact that GPA does not accurately capture the true market in many areas, but he has some blind spots to pricing books too aggressively and they tend to then sit for awhile. The other “critique” I’d have is that Bob sometimes intimidates his customers and so occasionally it makes him less accessible.

 

Bottom Line: The best dealer on this list without an auction house, Bob should be considered the standard bearer for how comic book dealers ought to do business.

 

[vaillant]

The limited web presence is understandably a problematic factor today, especially for a collecting market that has obviously extended to all over the world.

 

There may be limited collecting communities of original US comic books in some countries, but definitely one of the key factors for me since I started back collecting has been the easiness of use and interface straightforwardness that made me lean towards certain sellers rather than others.

There are sellers which can largely compensate for this with their availability to do scans and great customer service, but it‘s undeniable that a good web presence, and scans for the books, are truly helpful even if hard to manage with a large inventory.

 

Your criticism of Nick’s site is spot on, but it’s not overtly bad. One of the best sites, for its ease of navigation and good number of scans, is Mycomicshop’s one, but I did not like their policy to exclude alternate shipping options because of possible credit card frauds, although this is understandable. It just pretty much sealed my purchases from them, as being in Italy I try to save as much as possible on postage costs.

[Silver]

Number 7: Joe Verenault, JHV Associates – Woodbury, NJ

 

Pros: Each year that goes by, my respect and appreciation for how good a dealer Joe Verenault has been over the past 30 years or so just continues to grow. The fact that literally nobody in the comic community has a bad word to say about him is a testament in and of itself to his incredible legacy. In dealing with him, Joe still turns up significant new inventory each and year, generally multiple times a year, all while maintaining a relatively low profile. It probably goes without saying, but Joe is honest, direct and a pleasure to deal with. He’s adjusted to bringing “real” 50% off boxes of very nice silver/bronze books that are not marked up and not comprised of only dead titles. Still a major presence with a significant inventory of high end keys, both slabbed and raw, Joe continues as one of the giants in vintage comic books.

 

Cons: Joe doesn’t have much of a web presence beyond a very limited ebay store and has dialed back his convention presence to a nominal number of shows. While “specializing” shouldn’t necessarily be considered a negative, the lack of knowledge and dealings in the copper/modern market is somewhat of a negative given the current landscape and how incredibly important that sector is to what is considered today, the vintage landscape. Of course, nobody is suggesting Joe run out and buy all NM 98s, but the reality is, some amount of presence in that area would bolster his place on this list. Somehow, I’m guessing Joe’s ok with how things went and how he’s doing now.

 

Bottom Line: Joe is the dean of comics. The highest compliment I could pay to anyone is to tell you that regardless of comics, Joe is a great person. He’s the best.

 

The dealer I most wish would come back to the SDCC.

[Foolkiller]

Number 3: Buddy and Conan Saunders, Mycomicshop.com/Lone Star – Dallas, TX

 

Pros: Some time ago, Lone Star made the total movement to an all web based comic book service and transformed their website into one of the best out there. With a slick look and a massive inventory, they’ve made consigning a breeze and their auctions result in some fairly impressive results in comparison to things like ebay and even on a lesser scale, the big auction houses. With an incredibly deep inventory representing decades of buying, Mycomicsshop has climbed the rankings based primarily on breadth of inventory, their fantastic website and their responsive customer service. It’s also a spot for accurate grading and an auction aspect to their site which provides is a growing alternative to some of the usual suspects.

 

Cons: The auction side is obviously impressive, but it’s not in the same league as the big three (Comiclink, Heritage and Comic Connect). Plus, there’s really no effort to do much in the way of promoting themselves at conventions and I’m not 100% convinced that web only advertising is effective for obtaining higher end consignments. While I feel their site tries to have an appeal to the broader masses, they probably aren’t a site that does a great job of catering to the high end collector as a primary target.

 

Bottom Line: Mycomicshop.com is a top flight online retailer providing a full service comic shop. It has a huge inventory of back issues and a very successful auction component, making it a very unique combination.

 

[Foolkiller]

Number 2: Heritage Auctions – Dallas, TX

 

Pros: Of the auction sites, Heritage is and remains the first class above every one in the comic book hobby. Heritage consistently runs auctions with some of the top material anywhere, huge premiere collections with the highest end books, and the ability to realize some of the strongest prices in the industry for both comics and original art. The website is first class, utilizing the available technology to display their lots. The catalogs that are produced are the highest quality. Heritage is the class of the comics hobby and they maintain that consistency year after year represented in both their material and their business practices.

 

Cons: The major drawback to HA is the buyer’s premium as you’d either have to negotiate to get points back on the buyer’s premium or deal with the fact that people are simply bidding less for your books. While Heritage certainly could argue that they attract an entire class of folks that will bid at even higher levels, in comics there are too many other options when you don’t have a massive collection like the Don and Maggie collection. Heritage is really targeted as the champagne and caviar end of the collectibles market.

 

Bottom Line: One of the best and still the single biggest auction power house in the comics market.

 

[Foolkiller]

Number 1: Stephen Fishler and Vincent Zurzolo, Metropolis/Comic Connect – New York, NY

 

Pros: Having the largest vintage comic business combined with having an almost equally powerful comic/comic art auction site makes Metropolis the true kings of the comic book market. In my mind, it’s simply not close, and as I’ve argued before, there are plenty of folks who may prefer smaller dealers etc., but if you want a comic, any comic, it’s nearly impossible that Metropolis can’t get it for you if they don't already have it. They have deep pockets to buy almost any book, and remain obviously aggressive. Aside from Metropolis’ own inventory which is enormous, they own Comic Connect which continues to sell some of the highest end comics available including Action 1s, Detective 27s etc. From an overall standpoint, no comic dealer can even remotely match this combination, and it is for this reason that Metropolis holds the top spot. Generally Metropolis has improved customer service and become more responsive to issues.

 

Cons: When you are the biggest, there are always going to be complaints about service and not everything is going to run perfectly smooth. You will hear periodic complaints about Metropolis' grading and their ability to maintain a consistent level compared to CGC. The Metropolis model on pricing is still to remain very aggressive, and so they are consistently marking their books at the top end. However, it seems that with respect to keys, almost every dealer has gone this route as there appears to be a voracious appetite for keys at the moment. Others will cite to ethics issues they have, poor customer service and an attitude of aloofness about all but the top customers.

 

Bottom Line: Metropolis is the class of the comic dealers and I believe their position as #1 is well earned and deserved.

 

[Foolkiller]

And that's the completion of this year's list.

 

Unlike in past years, I will be discuss (when I can be on) why I may not have included someone you felt was deserving or aspects of why someone should have made the list. In either event, I hope folks find this year's list a useful tool in considering dealers that they can trust and do business with. There are plenty of great dealers not on the list, as I limit it to only 10.

[AndyBoBo]

 

Thanks, Brian!

[telerites]

Always informative, Brian. Would be interesting to see a last year's rank but I'm not complaining, I look forward to your comments and unbiased approach.

[october]

Bob runs what I believe is one of the most well run comic businesses around in terms of organization, maybe only behind Heritage and Metropolis in that regard.

 

Having done plenty of business with these three dealers on both the buying and selling ends, I can say that in my experience Metro/CC lags pretty far behind both Bob and Heritage in terms of overall organization.