Amazing Spider-Man, Issues #51-#441, Complete High Grade Run For Sale On eBay!

[asmfan]

the CD-rom is a great idea! Thanks I think I will do that.

 

I thought about keeping the later ASM keys, like #100, 101, 121, 122, 129, 136, 238, 298, 300 and maybe a few others. but then I didn't know where to draw the line and realized that the auctions would go better if I sold the complete run at once.

 

All of my TTA books are 5.0 or better. The average grade of the run is probably about 6.0. On early Silver-Age books my minimum criteria is 5.0 or better. It needs to be a clean 5.0 though with no writing, creases or other major defects. basically spine and edge wear only. From TTA, I only have #27 (PGX 5.0) and then #35-59. I stopped there because I don't like the dual story covers with the Hulk and Subby that begin after that. For that matter I don't like the TOS covers once they are dual issues and I only collect up to #59 in those as well.

 

I'll sell my other early Avengers someday, but not now . I only have #1-10. Same general grades as the TTA run.

[rob_react]

Just some suggestions.

 

I think you would do better if you told the eBay auctions that your description had a link to a picture. That way people would see the little camera and be more likely to click it to view. Your listings look bare on eBay's pages so that might help.

 

On your shipping. I think your prices are way over the top.

 

If I am reading it correctly you say that shipping is

$7 for first book and

$1.50 for each additional book.

 

So, if I win say 5 books. I will be paying you $13.00 for 5 comics. That is very very high. You can easily ship those 5 books (under 1 pound) for $4 priority mail or for $5.75 at the most for 2 pounds.

 

Maybe its just me, but I would already be leaving your auctions and not even setting bids if I started to do the math in my head. I mean, it could get crazy high. I could win say 30 books and owe you $50 for shipping on a package that will only cost say $10?

 

Don't forget the new Priority Flat Rate Box. I haven't done an experiment on exactly how many books you can shove in there, but for $7.70 you can ship a LOT of comics in that thing.

[FlyingDonut]

Just some suggestions.

 

I think you would do better if you told the eBay auctions that your description had a link to a picture. That way people would see the little camera and be more likely to click it to view. Your listings look bare on eBay's pages so that might help.

 

On your shipping. I think your prices are way over the top.

 

If I am reading it correctly you say that shipping is

$7 for first book and

$1.50 for each additional book.

 

So, if I win say 5 books. I will be paying you $13.00 for 5 comics. That is very very high. You can easily ship those 5 books (under 1 pound) for $4 priority mail or for $5.75 at the most for 2 pounds.

 

Maybe its just me, but I would already be leaving your auctions and not even setting bids if I started to do the math in my head. I mean, it could get crazy high. I could win say 30 books and owe you $50 for shipping on a package that will only cost say $10?

 

Don't forget the new Priority Flat Rate Box. I haven't done an experiment on exactly how many books you can shove in there, but for $7.70 you can ship a LOT of comics in that thing.

 

You can get at least 40 books into a Priority Flat Rate Box without any problems. I put them first inside a Priority Mail Envelope and then put them into the box. $7.70 anywhere in the United States.

[jbud73]

Yes Donut is the Master of shipping, well Banner is quite good too. Only problem is FD doesnt sell many Large Lots in terms of numbers of books.

[ComicSupply]

 

If you win one of my auctions, you will be charged the shipping listed in the auction. I will go to the post office, ship your book and save the receipt. I will let you know the cost and REIMBURSE the overage via paypal.

 

I think it's only fair to charge something for supplies though. I don't know maybe an extra dollar or two on an individual comic and an extra few extra dollars depending on the size of the lot or number of books. I will make sure it's fair.

 

Jon

 

Yes,

 

The flat rate box is a GREAT POINT!!!!

 

I as well have used it and can get about 40 books in there.

 

So, thats even more of a bidstopper to me.

 

With the priority thing, you don't pay for tape or the box, all you need is about .25cents worth of bubble wrap and it costs $7.70

 

With your S&H it would be $7.00 for the first book, and $58.50 for the other 39 books for a grand total of $65.50 for something thats only going to cost $7.70. Wow, not really losing any money there huh...

 

I mean hey, do what you want. But these guys on here spend a lot of money on comics and take it very seriously. They as well as myself would rather put the money in your pocket for the book, and not on some flukey $1.50 per book charge. We have all done this before and we all know the score and how much shipping is.

 

 

 

[FFB]

 

If you win one of my auctions, you will be charged the shipping listed in the auction. I will go to the post office, ship your book and save the receipt. I will let you know the cost and REIMBURSE the overage via paypal.

 

I think it's only fair to charge something for supplies though. I don't know maybe an extra dollar or two on an individual comic and an extra few extra dollars depending on the size of the lot or number of books. I will make sure it's fair.

 

Jon

 

Yes,

 

The flat rate box is a GREAT POINT!!!!

 

I as well have used it and can get about 40 books in there.

 

So, thats even more of a bidstopper to me.

 

With the priority thing, you don't pay for tape or the box, all you need is about .25cents worth of bubble wrap and it costs $7.70

 

With your S&H it would be $7.00 for the first book, and $58.50 for the other 39 books for a grand total of $65.50 for something thats only going to cost $7.70. Wow, not really losing any money there huh...

 

I mean hey, do what you want. But these guys on here spend a lot of money on comics and take it very seriously. They as well as myself would rather put the money in your pocket for the book, and not on some flukey $1.50 per book charge. We have all done this before and we all know the score and how much shipping is.

 

 

 

Why are you harping on the guy? He got the message loud and clear that his charges were too high and agreed to refund shipping charges above his actual cost of postage plus supplies. What else do you want him to do? Proclaim your dominance and mastery over all matters shipping related? Knit you a "Shipping King of the Universe" throw pillow to grace your sofa? Take out a full page ad in your honor in Comic Buyer's Guide? You own a comic book/supply business. I'd be shocked if you DIDN'T know more about shipping than he does.

[ComicSupply]

Well, I mean hey thats great that he is going to refund it, but whats the point in charging you up front say the $50 overage when you know for a fact it will only cost $10. What if you don't have the extra $50 to loan for a day?

[Silver Surfer]

From TTA, I only have #27 (PGX 5.0) and then #35-59. I stopped there because I don't like the dual story covers with the Hulk and Subby that begin after that.

For that matter I don't like the TOS covers once they are dual issues and I only collect up to #59 in those as well.

 

I'll sell my other early Avengers someday, but not now . I only have #1-10. Same general grades as the TTA run.

 

The TTA's from issue 60 and up are my favorite but your new so I'll let that one slide. I need a decent mide grade Avengers #2 and a #6 and 8 to complete my early Avengers run so keep me in mind when your wife tells you to unload them. I'll probably get a VF copy of issue #1 some day.

[uclapeterg]

Well, I mean hey thats great that he is going to refund it, but whats the point in charging you up front say the $50 overage when you know for a fact it will only cost $10. What if you don't have the extra $50 to loan for a day?

 

I just ordered some flat rate boxes from USPS. Do they really fit 40 comics?

[FFB]

Well, I mean hey thats great that he is going to refund it, but whats the point in charging you up front say the $50 overage when you know for a fact it will only cost $10. What if you don't have the extra $50 to loan for a day?

 

I agree that his shipping prices were initially too high, but when called on it he agreed to fix it -- no fussing, no trying to keep the high rates and claiming that he is being compensated for his "time spent packing books" (like Jerry Weist does), he just agreed to charge actual shipping cost plus a buck or two for supplies. Do we really need to continue to rake him over the coals when he's already agreed to fix the problem?

[ComicSupply]

Yes, the flat rates can fit quite a lot of comics. The most I got into them was around 30, but there was room to spare.

[asmfan]

thank you to fantasyfootballbono for the support!

 

I want to be fair. Folks were not happy with my initial approach to shipping so I changed it to make amends. No hard feelings I hope! I can't change the text regarding shipping in my auctions at this point without going in and editing all 130 of them, so that's why I posted "shipping at cost" on the boards. and I'm not trying to pretend that is offering anything special, it was just an easy way to get across my message.

 

long after my current ebay auctions are over, I will continue to enjoy these boards as a member. I actually don't foresee selling any mass amounts of comics on eBay for quite some time after this. selling any more of the comics in my closet would be "cutting a little too close to the bone", as they say. I am first and foremost a comic collector. It's a hobby I've had since my early years (I'm 27 now). The first comic I ever bought was Amazing Spider-Man 252 while my family was on vacation in Florida and I was a kid. During the late 80's I started to collect back-issues, and now that I'm older and have some $$ to spend my interest has evolved to early Silver-Age.

 

I ramble on, but the point is that I'm a comic collector (and NOT a newbie by any means to the hobby I might add), NOT a dealer, and it's really bothered me to read some of the things people here have posted.

 

and to ComicSupply, "oh great master of shipping", hear me as you sit on your mighty throne of plastic sleeves, backing boards and scotch tape. I will NEVER buy anything from you for as long as I am in this hobby. nuff' said!

[asmfan]

Silver Surfer,

 

Don't get me wrong on the TTA, I like SOME of the later issues, but my faves by far are the solo Ant-Man/Giant-Man/Wasp stories.

 

As far as the early Avengers go, I have a CGC graded #2 (5.0) that is very nice, but like I said I am still quite attached.

 

I have the issue #1 which I am currently selling on eBay, and I was SUPPOSED to be getting a CGC graded 5.5 copy with OWTW pages in the mail from Steve Sipra as an upgrade. An unfortunate situation is evolving there which I may post to the main forums in the coming days, but basically it seems that something happened to the comic in transit. Steve and I are sorting out the issue right now.

 

are you married yet? if so, I'm sure you understand the financial issues that arise when dealing with the wife and comics. One of life's unfortunate trade-offs. In any case, I think that once the current ebay auctions are done, the rest of my comics will be safe (from being sold)! for quite some time. if you're not married, you can just feel sorry for us married guys (I mostly kid ) until your time comes!

[ComicSupply]

thank you to fantasyfootballbono for the support!

 

I ramble on, but the point is that I'm a comic collector (and NOT a newbie by any means to the hobby I might add), NOT a dealer, and it's really bothered me to read some of the things people here have posted.

 

and to ComicSupply, "oh great master of shipping", hear me as you sit on your mighty throne of plastic sleeves, backing boards and scotch tape. I will NEVER buy anything from you for as long as I am in this hobby. nuff' said!

 

Look, I never said I was the great master of shipping. FFB said that, not me. I was just pointing out that your costs were crazy high. The costs and the fact that you said you didn't want to lose money (but were obviously slamming people and making huge amounts of money) didn't seem right.

 

I get that your not a dealer, but it seems that you obviously have had some experience with eBay so you know how people can rip you off with bogus shipping charges. I wasn't the first to mention it, but I was the first to mention how the amounts could pile up and how you were justifying it.

 

As for you NEVER buying anything from my site, thats cool. We offer free shipping on comic books all the time, so you are probably really confused by my site. nuff' said?

[tilleycs]

Well, I mean hey thats great that he is going to refund it, but whats the point in charging you up front say the $50 overage when you know for a fact it will only cost $10. What if you don't have the extra $50 to loan for a day?

 

Good point, and that's the reason why I won't go near his auctions; the "pay me and then I'll reimburse the surplus" is unnecessary if you run as many auctions as he does. Shouldn't he know how much it costs to ship "x" number of comics by now? Plus, if he decides to not refund someone's money, how are they going to get it? Nothing personal against anyone, but it's not worth the trouble I could potentially encounter. Too many other sellers out there who don't make it so complicated to make me want to fool with this.

[ComicSupply]

Well, I mean hey thats great that he is going to refund it, but whats the point in charging you up front say the $50 overage when you know for a fact it will only cost $10. What if you don't have the extra $50 to loan for a day?

 

Good point, and that's the reason why I won't go near his auctions; the "pay me and then I'll reimburse the surplus" is unnecessary if you run as many auctions as he does. Shouldn't he know how much it costs to ship "x" number of comics by now? Plus, if he decides to not refund someone's money, how are they going to get it? Nothing personal against anyone, but it's not worth the trouble I could potentially encounter. Too many other sellers out there who don't make it so complicated to make me want to fool with this.

 

Yeah, that is pretty much where I was going. Not attacking anything else but that. You make another good point, what if he decides not to give you the money back. How are you going to argue it since the terms were right there in the auction. In my eyes, anyone selling on eBay should know shipping rates and take it seriously. Otherwise to me if they don't really know eBay, I can assume they don't really know comics.

[uclapeterg]

Just to chime in, I charge exact postage. I consider supplies (of which I recycle many), time to package and trips to the post office a "business expense" and I eat them. I would consider up to $2 for "handling" expenses to be reasonable.

[asmfan]

I don't think anybody is getting the message here so I am going to say a few more things in my defense.

 

First, I have only been selling items on eBay since last July(2004), and this is only the third big round of auctions I've ever run. I have pared my collection down drastically in the last few months by selling hundreds of books which has generated hundreds of feedback points. In all of that feedback there was never anything negative.

 

Second, if you have ever bought from me in the past, you'll know that I have always been flexible in my shipping, regularly giving reimbursements on overages, etc. so that in the end people don't get over-charged. This is the text pasted in directly from my last round of auctions - "Shipping for this auction will be $7.00. If you win any of my other auctions then I will combine shipping for reduced prices. You may also choose to add Delivery Confirmation for a fee of $.55 cents, and insurance for $2.20. All of my non-CGC comics come in a mylar sleeve with backing board. I pack and label my comics carefully to minimize the risk of shipping damage. Good luck!"

 

This resulted in tons of e-mails every day like this: "I am bidding on the following ten books, what is shipping going to be if I win?". I'd e-mail back with a total and people would try to negotiate me down to something below cost. My goal in this round of auctions was to avoid that, so I stated shipping in my auctions that would be sure to cover my costs. I figured people wouldn't mind because they could just compute the shipping costs into their bid price. I figured wrong! I've tried to be fair and make people comfortable here that they are not getting ripped off on shipping. I mean, if someone has paid me $50 for shipping and go to the post office and it costs $10.00 to ship, I'M NOT GOING TO KEEP THE EXTRA MONEY!

 

This is all going in circles....

 

I advertised here both to generate interest and because I am proud of the nice Spider-Man run I've spent many years putting together and it's nice to be able to show it to other collectors. It's just too bad that all I've ended up doing here is arguing with people over shipping costs.

 

The thing that really makes me feel the worst is that people have been comparing my auctions to those run by places I hate to buy comics like NeatStuff (and frankly we're comparing apples and oranges here because I am a small-time collector and they are a huge, innefficient dealer). If you e-mail me and ask for a scan, I send it to you the same day. If you e-mail me and ask for the history of ownership on a given book, I am happy to give it to you. When auctions are over, I send books out to people as quickly as I can, which is tough given that I work 12 hour days and really only have time to do shipping on the weekends. If there is a rpoblem with shipping, I have worked it out EVERY TIME.

 

I am not a big-time collector, but for a 27-year old guy I think I have a nice mid-grade Silver-Age collection. I have AF#15, Spidey #1-50, Avengers #1-10, TTA #27, 35-59, TOS #39-59, JIM #83-125 and Strange Tales #101-134 and the start of my FF run with #1. I have been a collector and reader of comics most of my life. I have lurked on these boards for several months now waiting to start contributing, mainly hesitating because I've seen the stupid flame posts people send, especially to those who are new to the forums (who are not necessarily new to the hobby which is the most idiotic part of all of this). I must say that the way this has all gotten started is terrible. Why post here? What's the point when you just open yourself up to a bunch of criticism? I mean, I'm all for constructive criticism, which is what made me revise my shipping terms for these auctions, but give me a break here...

 

So here is the last thing I am going to say here to anyone who is reading. I have some auctions up on ebay right now. They are not particularly rare comics, they are not the most valuable comics I own, and they are not my only comics. Most of them are in very nice condition. I used to be really attached to them but I've since moved on to collecting older books. If anyone is interested, please take a look after reading all of the terms and conditions. Rest assured you will get the book sent to you as described and will not be charged more to ship than it would cost you to do it yourself. If you don't like my auctions or if you are afraid you'll have a bad experience if you buy something from me, kindly move on. If you have an opinion to share with me, please do so in a respectful manner and I will do the same. But please, by all means, don't try to reduce me to the status of a petty scam artist.

[ComicSupply]

Your not a petty scam artist. I like the layout of your auctions. My whole thing in the past was about revising the shipping thing, thats all.

 

I know how frustrating it is when your auctions end and the values suck, and I try to think why people didn't bid. So, I analyze my auction to come up with reasons. I didn't want to see them end badly which is why I suggested editing it.

 

And I only compared you to Neatstuff because your shipping was identical to theirs being an add on price per book. Here is what might help you.

 

1. Go to usps.com and search for something called the USPS Shipping Assistant. This will allow you to enter weights and find out how much the cost will be per zip code. Then, you can tack on the $2 handling charge you want to charge and tell them the amount.

 

This will make it easier and quicker to handle the emails.

[tilleycs]

I think on this site, people call it like they see it. If you really thought you were doing nothing wrong regarding your shipping charges, you wouldn't have changed it just because some guys on a website complained. It came across like someone finally called you on it, and a guilty conscience prompted the change. In other words, you changed because you got "caught", not because you really wanted to change.

 

As far as being compared to neatstuff, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...

 

I wasn't saying that you were definitely going keep people's money - I said "if". But since I don't know you (from ebay or the boards), I don't know that I can trust you, and paying you an exhorbitant amount of money for shipping to only have you give some of it back makes no sense to me (and that's not even addressing the money I'd lose thanks to PayPal's deduction).

 

And (worst case scenario, which people have to take into account) if you DID decide to keep, what logistic recourse would someone have since the shipping amount is stated in the auction and they paid it? What legal leg would someone have to stand on?

 

I think you may be taking some of this personally (based especially on your personal attack on comicsupply). When it starts getting into money, it's all business, and most people around take that pretty seriously. I think everyone would have made the same comments to anyone who had the same shipping policy as you.

 

Not sure if you were hoping people would be impressed and clap because of your ASM collection (since you've brought up again how "impressive" it is), but it will probably take more than that to impress the folks around here. Just my 2 cents.