Who Upgrades and Under What Circumstances?

[sfilosa]

My biggest mistake has always been paying extra for overgraded mid-grade SA Marvels, and being stuck with them because I don't want to lose on the exchange.

 

You are making a big mistake. If you ever took ECONOMICS you will realize that there is an OPPORTUNITY COST to everything. Holding on to a book just because you don't want to take a lose makes no sense UNLESS, you believe that book will increase in value, faster than something else you would use the proceeds on.

 

I don't know any rich person who didn't take losses on stocks or an other type of investment. They got rich by getting rid of their losers quickly and buying something else, that appreciated faster.

 

I can also say that at least two very big Marvel Collector who are on these boards will sell books for a loss when they upgrade. When they upgrade, they sell the lower copy unless they feel it is a great investment (Key Book in high demand). What they sell it for is MARKET VALUE, regardless of what they paid (and that's the smart thing to do).

[THE_BEYONDER]

Having one copy to look at and another to read is the way to go. I much prefer flipping through the original book, even if in GD, to reading a reprint of any kind. The smell alone makes it worth the price of admission!

 

 

I'm always upgrading the books in my Byrne collection, and figure by the time I complete my collection, I'll have a 2nd full set of " readers "....

[batman_fan]

I am a chronic upgrader. In the last month I upgraded my Batman 29, old was ungraded vg new one is 7.5 with white pages, Batman 34, structurally a 9.0, but serious foxing (I mean SERIOUS!), upgraded to the Crowley 8.0 off Metro, lastly, I "upgraded" my Batman 45. A 9.0 except for a small tear at the staple, picked up teh Crowley 6.5 off Metro. I still have about 20 ore Bats to upgrade and I have my eyes on two right now.

[Silver Surfer]

I upgraded to this one instead...

 

 

Very nice, certainly looks better than a 4.5 even with bottom RHC damage. Ever consider resubbing it?

[nearmint]

Very nice, certainly looks better than a 4.5 even with bottom RHC damage. Ever consider resubbing it?

 

Only if I decide to sell. And I only see that happening if a nicer, affordable copy falls into my lap.

[tilleycs]

I'm working on full runs of too many titles to worry about upgrading. Any upgrades that happen are accidental. If I happen to get a duplicate that's better than what I have, I'll pull the lesser issue out and see if I can sell or trade it. But upgrading isn't a priority of mine at all.

[jordanscott]

I have upgraded in the past, but it's usually because either I receive a good deal, or the book is a much better copy than what I own. For instance, if I like a certain GA cover then I'll purchase the book in VG condition. However, I probably won't upgrade until I see one in VF condition or better. Are there collectors out there that would upgrade even for a 0.2 difference?

 

i'll upgrade, but it has to be a noticeable difference.

 

i'll buy a book in as low as G condition just to take the issue off my list. but i'll always keep an eye out for an upgrade. I won't go G to VG just for cover looks as i don't really display the book, it's gotta be at least G to F for example or F to NM or the like...

[skybolt]

My biggest mistake has always been paying extra for overgraded mid-grade SA Marvels, and being stuck with them because I don't want to lose on the exchange.

 

You are making a big mistake. If you ever took ECONOMICS you will realize that there is an OPPORTUNITY COST to everything. Holding on to a book just because you don't want to take a lose makes no sense UNLESS, you believe that book will increase in value, faster than something else you would use the proceeds on.

 

I don't know any rich person who didn't take losses on stocks or an other type of investment. They got rich by getting rid of their losers quickly and buying something else, that appreciated faster.

 

I can also say that at least two very big Marvel Collector who are on these boards will sell books for a loss when they upgrade. When they upgrade, they sell the lower copy unless they feel it is a great investment (Key Book in high demand). What they sell it for is MARKET VALUE, regardless of what they paid (and that's the smart thing to do).

 

I agree with everything you said, but I hate admitting my mistakes and biting the bullet. Plus, since I've only sold a few books during my entire collecting carear, I might just be a little gun shy. However, recently I have gone through my old boxes and picked out a few hundred low to mid-grade books that' I'll put up on Ebay. I'll definitely take a loss on these books )since they were initially overgraded by the seller), but at least I'll get into the habit of selling some unwanted material.

[shrunkenhead]

My biggest mistake has always been paying extra for overgraded mid-grade SA Marvels, and being stuck with them because I don't want to lose on the exchange.

 

You are making a big mistake. If you ever took ECONOMICS you will realize that there is an OPPORTUNITY COST to everything. Holding on to a book just because you don't want to take a lose makes no sense UNLESS, you believe that book will increase in value, faster than something else you would use the proceeds on.

 

I don't know any rich person who didn't take losses on stocks or an other type of investment. They got rich by getting rid of their losers quickly and buying something else, that appreciated faster.

 

I can also say that at least two very big Marvel Collector who are on these boards will sell books for a loss when they upgrade. When they upgrade, they sell the lower copy unless they feel it is a great investment (Key Book in high demand). What they sell it for is MARKET VALUE, regardless of what they paid (and that's the smart thing to do).

 

I agree with everything you said, but I hate admitting my mistakes and biting the bullet. Plus, since I've only sold a few books during my entire collecting carear, I might just be a little gun shy. However, recently I have gone through my old boxes and picked out a few hundred low to mid-grade books that' I'll put up on Ebay. I'll definitely take a loss on these books )since they were initially overgraded by the seller), but at least I'll get into the habit of selling some unwanted material.

 

Sound advice, though I have to sympathize with skybolt, too. I've got some 9.8s that I know I'd take a loss on, and I know that I could put the money to better comic-related use, but I too have been hesitant to do it. No rational reason why, and I think I'll eventually give in, but that whole "hate to admit mistakes" notion rings true for me, too.

[tilleycs]

Sound advice, though I have to sympathize with skybolt, too. I've got some 9.8s that I know I'd take a loss on, and I know that I could put the money to better comic-related use, but I too have been hesitant to do it. No rational reason why, and I think I'll eventually give in, but that whole "hate to admit mistakes" notion rings true for me, too.

 

Ah, just worry about learning from them and not repeating them! The only way you know what you know now is by having made mistakes and learned from them. I've only been back into collecting for a year, and I've made several mistakes already (some of which have been buying reprint issues that I didn't realize were reprints ). I've sold several books for losses on ebay, but I've also made money on others. Gotta take the good with the bad...

[skybolt]

Sound advice, though I have to sympathize with skybolt, too. I've got some 9.8s that I know I'd take a loss on, and I know that I could put the money to better comic-related use, but I too have been hesitant to do it. No rational reason why, and I think I'll eventually give in, but that whole "hate to admit mistakes" notion rings true for me, too.

 

Ah, just worry about learning from them and not repeating them! The only way you know what you know now is by having made mistakes and learned from them. I've only been back into collecting for a year, and I've made several mistakes already (some of which have been buying reprint issues that I didn't realize were reprints ). I've sold several books for losses on ebay, but I've also made money on others. Gotta take the good with the bad...

 

I made the same mistake several years back. I purchased a Star Wars #1 that was listed in NM condition for about $20 on eBay. I sent it to CGC, and it came back an 8.5 reprint. Talk about a double whammy. I gave that book away, so I could get it out of my sight.

[drbanner]

I'm always upgrading, and like Garth, I already have a lower grade copy of just about every BA/SA book on my want list, so they would all be upgrades. Conversely, I don't have many of the the GA books on my want list at all, and on those I'm pretty much going to try and get a "keeper" copy first since I can't really afford NM copies of GA books anyway.

 

I picked up my 1st copy of Hulk #1 back in '91 for $90, and boy was I in heaven! I've upgraded twice since then, and now I have a nice 6.0 with White pages so I'm done there. I'll upgrade on eye appeal as well regardless of grade, and when CGC says the fugly copy is higher grade, I'll keep the change when I do!