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Advice on buying a collection privately please.

Started by Lavaman-migration,

87 posts in this topic

Lavaman-migration

Lavaman-migration

Posted
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Hello everyone, I'm fairly new to the world of comics, and brand new here!

 

In the 6 months or so I've been collecting I've learned quite a lot about this fine hobby and am enjoying it thoroughly, but I've made lots of mistakes along the way, most often, I think, paying too much money!

Tomorrow I hope will be sweet reward for all the hours I've put into trawling ebay looking for great deals on sweet comics!. I've found a guy who lives 80 miles away who says, he has found an 'attic find'! So I messaged him and have discovered it's likely a large collection of silver age books.

We've agreed a price on the one and only book he had listed and I will be going to meet him to buy tomorrow and I've told him I'm very interested in buying more.

It looks to be in excellent condition and is a big key #1 but the photos were kinda blurry and now I'm having doubts about our agreed price.

What would you do? How do you approach it? I don't have a huge amount of spare cash at the moment, enough to cover the book I'm going for and a little more to play with if he has more key books. I'm really excited to see them all.

How do you play it? My knowledge of comics is limited and I'd hate to come away leaving key books behind. There's no way I can buy them all, no way at all, I just don't have the money, I'm poor! I'd struggle to even pick out the keys I think, but at the same time I do feel quite confident tomorrow will be a good day!

 

This book is big enough for me, and one of my favorite characters, it's worth the 160 mile round trip alone, it practically kills my budget though.

At this stage in my collecting journey there is no doubt this book blows everything else out the water, it's going to be my first big buy.

Short of taking a balaclava and some duct tape.... Have you any tips for me?

Would you leave the big book and buy more smaller books instead?

 

I wish I had found this when I had more spare dosh! I wish I had found this forum months ago! I wish I had started collecting comics YEARS ago! Most of all, I wish I had been born an American (JK lol) it's hard work collecting comics here in little old England!!

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kav

kav

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A lot of people have made long drives and met with shabby books at unreasonable prices and an inflexible seller clutching a copy of Overstreet-I also advise don't waste your time.

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greenhoody

greenhoody

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Well I also don't know jack but be careful. On the keys look for triming and color touch. Like really really look. It's hard to catch color touch for me anyways. I wouldn't buy a book unless you were 100% sure you could at least break even if you grade was off by a point or so. Buyers remorse is the worst.

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IntoAnother

IntoAnother

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Never agree on a price when you have yet to see the book in a situation like this. Even if you were not meeting face to face get clear pics. Id be very careful not to overlook something off about the book. Such as rusty staples, water damage, or that it's been restored in some way, etc.

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Spiderphill

Spiderphill

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Never agree on a price when you have yet to see the book in a situation like this. Even if you were not meeting face to face get clear pics. Id be very careful not to overlook something off about the book. Such as rusty staples, water damage, or that it's been restored in some way, etc.
+1
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Lavaman-migration

Lavaman-migration

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8 replies in as many minutes! I love this place already!

 

Some sound advice, cheers. For what we've agreed I think, on the face of it, it's well worth it you know, there's some on ebay priced the same that are way more shabby looking. I think I'll be ok with this one. It's the rest I'm concerned about. How to afford them?...

I can't wait! I hope there's some real goodies there. I think I'll just have to convince him not to sell if there are, tell him I'll be back again in a week and then raise as much money as is possible for them!

 

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BarryAllen

BarryAllen

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With all due respect, it doesn't sound like you really have any idea what you are doing. Comparing blurry scans relative to eBay prices, taking a random stranger at their word on an "attic find" and then "worrying" about how to afford more without seeing anything is a recipe for disaster.

 

In all honesty you should not be doing this.

 

Good luck though! (thumbs u

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Lavaman-migration

Lavaman-migration

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Missing pages, coupons.

Always do a page count

 

Learned that lesson the hard way already! An actual auction via thesaleroom.com detective comics 1st batgirl top of the stack......... Paid a massive price for the lot, 60 mixed silver age books in total.... Complete rubbish the lot of them!

 

Detective #359 probably the worst of them, heavilly mangled with pages missing and filthy with dirt and grime. I may as well have burned the money!

 

 

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IntoAnother

IntoAnother

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Posted
With all due respect, it doesn't sound like you really have any idea what you are doing. Comparing blurry scans relative to eBay prices, taking a random stranger at their word on an "attic find" and then "worrying" about how to afford more without seeing anything is a recipe for disaster.

 

In all honesty you should not be doing this.

 

Good luck though! (thumbs u

 

Goodness, real solid points here. Seriously.

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FineCollector

FineCollector

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All great advice. Also, don't show up with cash in hand. Keep it in the car until you see the goods then make him walk back outside with you to get it.

 

And welcome to the boards!

 

I've always thought you're supposed to have cash in hand in order to close the deal without allowing time for second thoughts. Are there any examples of boardies being robbed when making a buy?

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wombat

wombat

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There is another option. You can try and get another buyer involved (that has the necessary cash and knowledge) and try and get a finder's fee. Sounds like you already blew a lot of money and probably can't afford to blow more.

 

Honestly it sounds like a disaster in the making.

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