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HA MAY 28-30 SIGNATURE AUCTION

Started by Mmehdy,

744 posts in this topic

tth2

tth2

Posted
Posted
I know a few dealers and collectors that bid on high value books they already own. The purpose is to keep the value of their book up. If you drive prices up a little it makes yours more valuable. Worst case you win and you now control the market of that book even more. It's a pretty easy strategy if there are only 3-10 sales of the book a year.

I do this all the time, for books where there is a fairly limited supply in certain grades. If a book is going for less than what I view as FMV, then by definition I would be foolish not to acquire it for myself.

 

This strategy obviously doesn`t work for something like Hulk 181! :tonofbricks:

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tth2

tth2

Posted
Posted
took a run at daredevil 17...not to be

 

Bid higher :baiting:

cool book...I have a low grade copy...3k+ was too much for me ...

 

Daredevil17.jpg

:applause:

I love how modern American society is appalled at the idea of child soldiers, but just 70 years ago we thought it was perfectly fine.

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4GEMWORKS

4GEMWORKS

Posted
Posted
won my one "must win" today

 

lost all of my bids. Even the "must wins"

How do you lose a "must win"?

 

I don't win a lot

 

I also lost all of my "must win" auctions. It happens because you impose discipline on the prices you are willing to pay. Forget normal multiples over guide, I'm not willing to pay 2X the last GPA recorded sales on Gaines File Copy books. I was willing to pay 1,5 times on my must wins and still missed out.

 

The good news is that I already own 95% of them and it seems the value of my collection has just been greatly enhanced.

 

I don't agree that any time a book sells for less than you paid for it you step in and bid because the book "must" be a value. That only does two things:

 

1) It creates a hoarder

 

2) I want to know the market without me, not because of me.

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bluechip

bluechip

Posted
Posted
and I am NOT a fan of bidder n***t on eBay. He consistently outbids me or bids me way way up

 

:pullhair:

 

 

That is your other personality, who is different from you in every way except that you both love the same comics/

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ciorac

ciorac

Posted
Posted
and I am NOT a fan of bidder n***t on eBay. He consistently outbids me or bids me way way up

 

:pullhair:

 

 

That is your other personality, who is different from you in every way except that you both love the same comics/

 

I hadn't thought of that Bob, you may be right hm

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walclark

walclark

Posted
Posted

Since this book sold in this auction (not to me), I thought I would share a little story about the last time I had a chance to buy a Zip #33.

 

zip33_zps9j0vq5uf.jpg

 

In the late 80's, there was a little comic show held in the ballroom of one of the local hotels in Nashville. Yep, the good ol' days of $2 admission and dealers with boxes of comics. I went with my brother. He went left and I went right. At the first table I stopped at, the dealer had a VG or better copy of Zip #33. It was priced right at $20.

 

You know how it is... you kind of hate to buy the first book you see, thinking there might be something even better at the next table. So I was hesitating and my brother came over and said, "You gotta come see this." Back into the box goes the Zip.

 

We went over to another table and there was this dealer that had come up from New Orleans, Bill something (I think his last name started with a P :baiting:). Well, this guy had a Superman #1 in his display. First time I'd ever seen one. He had a bunch of other nice stuff, too. I think I ended up buying something from him, though for the life of me I can't remember what it was.

 

So, I had a little cash left and figured I'd go back to that first table and pick up that Zip. Much to my disappointment, another dealer had already snatched it up, repriced it at $40, and had it up on his display. What a rip-off, no way was I going to let him make a profit off me that quick (this was back when "Flipper" meant a dolphin on a TV show). No Zip for me that day.

 

:facepalm:

 

The way I see it Bill P. (ciorac) owes me a VG Zip #33 for $20. Shoot, I might even give him $40 if he apologizes.

 

 

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ciorac

ciorac

Posted
Posted
Since this book sold in this auction (not to me), I thought I would share a little story about the last time I had a chance to buy a Zip #33.

 

zip33_zps9j0vq5uf.jpg

 

In the late 80's, there was a little comic show held in the ballroom of one of the local hotels in Nashville. Yep, the good ol' days of $2 admission and dealers with boxes of comics. I went with my brother. He went left and I went right. At the first table I stopped at, the dealer had a VG or better copy of Zip #33. It was priced right at $20.

 

You know how it is... you kind of hate to buy the first book you see, thinking there might be something even better at the next table. So I was hesitating and my brother came over and said, "You gotta come see this." Back into the box goes the Zip.

 

We went over to another table and there was this dealer that had come up from New Orleans, Bill something (I think his last name started with a P :baiting:). Well, this guy had a Superman #1 in his display. First time I'd ever seen one. He had a bunch of other nice stuff, too. I think I ended up buying something from him, though for the life of me I can't remember what it was.

 

So, I had a little cash left and figured I'd go back to that first table and pick up that Zip. Much to my disappointment, another dealer had already snatched it up, repriced it at $40, and had it up on his display. What a rip-off, no way was I going to let him make a profit off me that quick (this was back when "Flipper" meant a dolphin on a TV show). No Zip for me that day.

 

:facepalm:

 

The way I see it Bill P. (ciorac) owes me a VG Zip #33 for $20. Shoot, I might even give him $40 if he apologizes.

 

 

Sorry Walter :sorry:

 

But I think the statute of limitations on Zip 33 expires after 20 years. Had you told me at the show, I would have bought the Zip 33 and gifted it to you

 

:foryou:

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4GEMWORKS

4GEMWORKS

Posted
Posted

I finally bought a Heritage book, albeit after the main event. One of the few Four Colors I am missing is # 664 (Davy Crockett the Great Keelboat Races). To be fair, the copy for sale is the one and only 9.4 (next best is a pair of 9.0's). The book last sold in 2003 for $281. Guides in 9.2 is about $250.

 

Anyway I put in a bid at $350, thinking it was absolutely crazy ($420 with BP). At the last minute I threw in an absolutely insane bid of $650 ($780 with BP), just to "make sure" I won the book. Going live it was at $320. I was thinking $500 absolute tops. I then walked away, waiting for the dust to settle. The book eventually sold at exactly $650. One more bid and I would have lost it.

 

This is 3X guide and 3X the last sale, For a Four Color book no less. Unlike the EC books I lost, the stakes here were relatively small, a couple of hundred bucks.

 

But I am left asking: Who has this kind of money to throw around so recklessly? How are entire auctions worth of Gaines File copies suddenly worth 2X what they were two years ago, or even a year ago? How does a relatively obscure Four Color book go for 3X guide?

 

I always hope that when the day comes that I need to sell my collection things will be something like this. This auction gives me hope that there may yet be a "greater fool" when I need him down the road sometime.

 

The description did note 7 international bidders... Foreign money? Hard to believe...

 

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