What questions to ask when buying silver age from an online auction?

[Ron Rau]

Hi guys. I would imagine this has been asked before on here, but I'm not having any luck finding a thread about it. If it has been, please let me know how to take this one down.

 

When buying a silver age book (mainly what I collect) on a specific auction site that starts with an E (not sure if it's against the rules to mention it by name in threads/posts), what questions should be asked (resto, tears, etc), and how should I ask them?

 

Is it important how you approach the seller to get the questions answered?

 

Thanks!

 

 

[greatbrandino]

You are a consumer. Don't be afraid to ask questions. If the seller has a problem with it, I would question buying from them. It just shows you've done your homework.

 

I would ask about trim jobs, restoration, missing pages, brittle pages, and rusty staples. If it is an issue that is supposed to have something special inside - poster, stamp, etc. - make sure the seller confirms for you.

 

Ask for extra pictures if they are not available. They can certainly send them to you in a private message.

 

These are a few things that come to my mind first.

 

[shadroch]

Ask about the smell. Even someone who truly knows nothing about anything can answer that.

[thehumantorch]

Page count wouldn't hurt. How many pages from the front cover to the staples and how many pages from the staples to the back cover.

[bababooey]

Hi guys. I would imagine this has been asked before on here, but I'm not having any luck finding a thread about it. If it has been, please let me know how to take this one down.

 

When buying a silver age book (mainly what I collect) on a specific auction site that starts with an E (not sure if it's against the rules to mention it by name in threads/posts), what questions should be asked (resto, tears, etc), and how should I ask them?

 

Is it important how you approach the seller to get the questions answered?

 

Thanks!

 

If it's a pricey book you want pics or scans of front/back covers, also a pic of the inside covers showing the opposing interior page, I've spotted bleed through from colour touch from these pics - also if possible I like to see how the staples look from the center wrap.

Asking for a page count is also wise, especially if it's a SA book with a pin up - use comics.org to determine if issues have pin ups.

 

 

 

 

 

[Gaard]

- also if possible I like to see how the staples look from the center wrap.

Learning ...

 

What do you look for here ... rust?

[bababooey]

Yeah, rust is one thing - I like to see how the staples are holding the paper and the paper consistency compared with other views, also look for tears etc.. around the staples - I've also spotted extra staples some of which are ok and production related.

[makeminemego]

I'd ask anything without hesitation, especially if it's a high dollar purchase. If they want to sell the book, they'll get you the answers you want.

 

When I get the run around on questions regarding a book for sale, I'm out.

 

[Ron Rau]

Thanks for the help guys. Much appreciated!

[Tony S]

Most sellers are no better at spotting restoration than most buyers. The only question that actually matters is "do you take returns?"

[greatbrandino]

Most sellers are no better at spotting restoration than most buyers. The only question that actually matters is "do you take returns?"

 

A truer statement has never been made.

[PovertyRow]

When buying a silver age book (mainly what I collect) on a specific auction site that starts with an E (not sure if it's against the rules to mention it by name in threads/posts)

 

It is fine to mention eBay. It is talked about in many places here.

[Chaseman210]

As others have said - if the seller accepts returns, you'll be fine. I would ask all those other questions first and probably for extra scans.

[namisgr]

While there is a lot of good advice in this thread, I'd also consider buying raw SA comics from reputable dealers known for their integrity and strict grading standards over buying from random sellers over E-Bay or the like.

 

There is a small handful of dealers from whom I'm willing to buy books sight and scan unseen, because of the confidence in their grading and restoration detection. For relatively big ticket books, front and back cover scans along with detailed descriptions of the condition and flaws of the covers, spine, edges, staples, cover wrap, and interior pages are also a must.

[thecopperagekids]

While there is a lot of good advice in this thread, I'd also consider buying raw SA comics from reputable dealers known for their integrity and strict grading standards over buying from random sellers over E-Bay or the like.

 

There is a small handful of dealers from whom I'm willing to buy books sight and scan unseen, because of the confidence in their grading and restoration detection. For relatively big ticket books, front and back cover scans along with detailed descriptions of the condition and flaws of the covers, spine, edges, staples, cover wrap, and interior pages are also a must.

 

Agreed on everything said in the second paragraph.

 

However, I get far better deals from buying off of random sellers off eBay or at cons.When you are buying SA books, you will get the best deals from sellers who are one of two things:

 

1) *Not* comic dealers.

 

2) Hack jobs who don't either know what they have, or they do not have the ability to market their books as eell as reputable/estabished comic dealers.

 

 

 

I think that Tony S's feedback on the "do you accept returns"?, ultimately trumps all questions.

 

Even if the seller replies with an arrogant bold faced "No", it does not really even matter.

 

If you are not happy with any purchase made thru eBay, a seller HAS to accept a return.

 

As a seller on eBay, or if I sell books on this forum, I offer returns on any book that I sell because I want potential buyers to know that if they get a book from me and for whatever reason they aren't satisfied, they can send it back for a full refund without a hassle.

 

I also offer full refunds on original and return shipping costs for raw books.That is another thing to look for.

 

I do that to indicate how strongly I stand behind my ability to grade and my ability to ensure that if I ship out a raw book as a 9.4, it will not arrive at a lower grade because it was not packaged correctly.

 

For slabbed books, I will take returns but I won't eat the shipping costs because I am offering a third party graded book.

 

 

[zosocane]

As an absolute rule, I will not purchase anything off eBay if the Seller does not accept returns. A Seller that states they don't accept returns tells me all I need to know about the character of the Seller and the claimed grade/condition of the book.

 

Although you can get good deals from "random" eBay sellers -- let's refer to them as non-dealer sellers -- ultimately you're assuming much greater risk that the claimed grade/condition in fact is not the actual grade/condition, or that there is a resto issue, and this is particularly so in SA books in the 8.0 or higher grade range where grading can be way off by non-dealer sellers. One can say that this over-grading risk gets factored into the hammer price, because the "deal" one believes they're getting is actually a market reflection of the lack of confidence in the claimed grade/condition -- so ultimately it's not much of a deal (but every now and then, yes, the grade is spot on and you do get a deal in your favor). For 8.0 or higher SA books, therefore, I avoid eBay auctions and try instead to either (i) buy from a reputable dealer known for strict grading that will stand behind resto risk and negotiate price, or (ii) go to a convention and physically inspect the book carefully to satisfy myself.