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A newbye needs your advises

Started by Atreides-migration,

43 posts in this topic

Atreides-migration

Atreides-migration

Posted
Posted

I'd like to hear some advices from some expert collectors like you.

 

To make you understand , I need to tell you the whole story. As told before, my English is not so good so I apologise for all my mistakes! Be patient!

 

I'm a Daredevil collector but I live in Italy and here there aren't a lot of people interested in old original comic books. So I have to buy comics on the web.

When I heard that a seller in Italy had a little lot of Daredevil's early issues I was so happy! I met the seller and had a look at that books.

 

The seller didn't use to sell original comics, so he wasn't competent in grading and value, so he asked me to make an offer. We negotiate a little and then we had a deal.

 

The seller was kind and honest, he has no guilt at all.

 

When I came back home and I looked again at my comic books, I realised I paid quite the 30/40% more than the real value of those book.

 

More of this, I'm not satisfied of those comics and I'm sure I will try to substituite them (sooner or later). I'm disturbed mainly because I bought comic books that don't satisfied me. I would be happier to pay the double of what I spent if I could add to my collection the comic books I like.

 

I think my inexperience, the sensation of holding rare comics in my hands make me overestimate those books.

 

Now I don't know what to do.

- I can try to give the comic books back to the seller, even if I don't like this kind of behaviour: I looked at those books, and I accepted to bought them. Nobody forced me.

 

- I can try to sell them, trying to gain what I can and reduce my loss. I can send the books to CGC before selling them, but they are low grade and I don't know who can be interested in them.

 

Please remember I live in Italy, so you must consider shipping costs and duty.

 

Have you ever happened something like this? What would you do in my place?

 

 

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Artboy99

Artboy99

Posted
Posted

Hi,

 

Thanks for the share of the story.

 

What I would do in your situation is learn from the mistake and move on and buy the comics you are really after.

 

Keep the books you bought as run fillers/ readers until you upgrade.

 

 

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Senormac

Senormac

Posted
Posted

Just keep em and consider it a lesson learned. Somewhere further down the road you will be able to move them in a sale or trade. And I would think there would be tons....TONS of Davedevils on ebay

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trmoore54

trmoore54

Posted
Posted

Would it be more cost-effective for you to purchase books from England? There are some great reputable dealers there...start with flaming_telepath here on the boards. Also we have a selling forum here and a "want to buy" forum as well! Good luck! (thumbs u

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revat

revat

Posted
Posted

please don't send them to cgc. it will absolutely not be worth it to grade them.

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budsbundy

budsbundy

Posted
Posted

Well, now you've got them, try to make the best of it.

Sit down, read them, put them in new bags and boards, that will make you feel a little bit better about them.

Then file them away in a short/long box, and check them off your list.

You now have filled holes in your collection, and can upgrade them later when the right deals come along.

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ThreeSeas

ThreeSeas

Posted
Posted

You sounded like you were happy during the initial purchase. Are the comics worth what you paid for them, to you? To heck with retail value - if they are worth what you had paid, to you, yourself, then they are worth the 30% - 40% you paid over retail. With enough buyers paying a little more, like you, then the retail price will go up. But that does not really matter unless you want to sell right away

 

Is this a US retail price you are basing this on? Think of the extra shipping cost and buying books without seeing them in person first. The same condition already slabbed and shipped from the US would probably cost you just as much if not more. To find someone close to you that has the foreign (to you) books makes them worth a little bit more.

 

Just my opinion. I would be enjoying them.

 

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thunsicker

thunsicker

Posted
Posted
Well, now you've got them, try to make the best of it.

Sit down, read them, put them in new bags and boards, that will make you feel a little bit better about them.

Then file them away in a short/long box, and check them off your list.

You now have filled holes in your collection, and can upgrade them later when the right deals come along.

 

This. Keep them and replace them as you can. If you aren't sure about condition just buy graded comics until you get a better feel for how CGC grades them. Study up on the boards to find out how to spot restoration, learn to do page counts, etc.

 

EDIT: As well as buying graded comics you can also look on the boards for raws. There are many reputable dealers here who can grade properly.

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vaillant

vaillant

Posted
Posted
Try and sell them if you really don't want them. I would not go back to the seller. He did nothing wrong. Actually he taught you a good lesson.

 

Well… actually not at all, because he is a common friend of us both and he does not have a clue on how to grade (and thus price) american comic books. Marco was eager to get early Daredevil issues and he may have learned a lesson but not from the seller. You should never give for granted that a foreign seller not accustomed to deal with your market is aware of grading approaches and up to date with market prices. Each country has its own characteristics, and grading has become so accurate in the north-american comics market alone, especially after CGC, so there are important distinctions to be made each time you approach a different collecting market.

 

Even if we have been acquainted for a few years, I have been able to give very limited advice to Marco so far, but that is because you learn mostly by entering the US collecting market by yourself, and build up your own experience.

I believe budsbundy's advice is the best one: Marco, you saved at least $30-40 on shipping, and all in all Overstreet prices aren’t "the law": check more sources, ended eBay listings or others, and in the end do not worry about upgrading: you can do this little by little, and maybe just for the issues you care more about. (thumbs u

 

Also, Marco already made a purchase on the boards, from Andrew (1Cool).

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vaillant

vaillant

Posted
Posted

Would it be more cost-effective for you to purchase books from England? There are some great reputable dealers there...start with flaming_telepath here on the boards. Also we have a selling forum here and a "want to buy" forum as well! Good luck! (thumbs u

 

Yes, I already told Marco about the Marketplace, and also about Nick… I’m sure that now that he has been bitten by the bug of "original editions" collecting to a serious degree he might be "done"… lol

 

Re-reading budsbundy advice and knowing Marco I think it’s even more fit… He loves to catalog and file his collections. He even likes to do custom boxes and bound volumes… ;)

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Senormac

Senormac

Posted
Posted
Would it be more cost-effective for you to purchase books from England? There are some great reputable dealers there...start with flaming_telepath here on the boards. Also we have a selling forum here and a "want to buy" forum as well! Good luck! (thumbs u

 

:applause:

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wombat

wombat

Posted
Posted
Try and sell them if you really don't want them. I would not go back to the seller. He did nothing wrong. Actually he taught you a good lesson.

 

Well… actually not at all, because he is a common friend of us both and he does not have a clue on how to grade (and thus price) american comic books. Marco was eager to get early Daredevil issues and he may have learned a lesson but not from the seller. You should never give for granted that a foreign seller not accustomed to deal with your market is aware of grading approaches and up to date with market prices. Each country has its own characteristics, and grading has become so accurate in the north-american comics market alone, especially after CGC, so there are important distinctions to be made each time you approach a different collecting market.

 

Even if we have been acquainted for a few years, I have been able to give very limited advice to Marco so far, but that is because you learn mostly by entering the US collecting market by yourself, and build up your own experience.

I believe budsbundy's advice is the best one: Marco, you saved at least $30-40 on shipping, and all in all Overstreet prices aren’t "the law": check more sources, ended eBay listings or others, and in the end do not worry about upgrading: you can do this little by little, and maybe just for the issues you care more about. (thumbs u

 

Also, Marco already made a purchase on the boards, from Andrew (1Cool).

 

What I meant was the lesson learned was don't buy books if you don't know what you are doing.

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