Watching a book get away from you... how do you deal with it?

[batman_fan]

Tough if there is only 1 single book but most of us have at least 3 or 4 white whales. So if 1 passes by then more money left over for the others.

 

Finally picked this up after 10 years of looking. Probably overpaid but out of the three Bugs Bunny books this is easily the toughest. Looney Tunes 1 is pretty easy in mid grade and higher grades do come up for sale once or twice a year. Four Color 33 is surprisingly hard to find in mid grade or above. I still can't figure out why as other Four Colors seem common. I missed out on the 9.0 in Heritage about 12 years ago, it blew past my bid. So that haunts me a bit but it made it easier to bite the bullet on this book. And this one is tough. 7.0 is the 2nd highest grade.

 

So the hunt, the patience and even overpaying after the fact still makes the book enjoyable to own. BTW I paid about $4000 for it so you can judge if I overpaid or not. Felt like it but whattayagonnado.

 

 

 

Personally I think you stole it

[ft88]

Huh. Thank you for the props. One of a kinds or almost one of a kinds are always tough to price. Which is part of the problem for the original poster.

[IngelsFan]

When it comes to regrets, I have 3 different tiers:

 

"I Sold it and Shouldn't Have"

"I Didn't Bid Aggressively Enough XX Years Ago and Haven't Seen One Since"

and finally,

"I Overpaid For This One Today"

 

Over time, that last one doesn't sting nearly as much.......the other two take decades to recover from.

[Ricksneatstuff]

When it comes to regrets, I have 3 different tiers:

 

"I Sold it and Shouldn't Have"

"I Didn't Bid Aggressively Enough XX Years Ago and Haven't Seen One Since"

and finally,

"I Overpaid For This One Today"

 

Over time, that last one doesn't sting nearly as much.......the other two take decades to recover from.

 

+1

[fifties]

 

Remembering these points help me from going all out nuke style on a book or feeling too bad from losing:

 

If you're gonna lose it you can still make em pay on your way out.

 

Eh eh, always feels good when, if your mile high bid snipe in the last few seconds just isn't high enough, to leave the high bidder stuck with a spiked amount!

 

This happened to me last month. The buyer probably didn't expect someone else to snipe as high as he did and he ended up not paying. The buyer offered me the book for my bid so I got it but I can't help but think of the price I would have had it for if that troll hadn't shot up the price.

I've never seen this scheme, and it doesn't sound Kosher at all; I wonder if you weren't set up? How many F/B hits did the "buyer" have?

[batman_fan]

Huh. Thank you for the props. One of a kinds or almost one of a kinds are always tough to price. Which is part of the problem for the original poster.

 

It is actually a really nice presenting copy of a real tough title of a near impossible issue.

[WilliamG.Staggers]

 

Remembering these points help me from going all out nuke style on a book or feeling too bad from losing:

 

If you're gonna lose it you can still make em pay on your way out.

 

Eh eh, always feels good when, if your mile high bid snipe in the last few seconds just isn't high enough, to leave the high bidder stuck with a spiked amount!

 

This happened to me last month. The buyer probably didn't expect someone else to snipe as high as he did and he ended up not paying. The buyer offered me the book for my bid so I got it but I can't help but think of the price I would have had it for if that troll hadn't shot up the price.

I've never seen this scheme, and it doesn't sound Kosher at all; I wonder if you weren't set up? How many F/B hits did the "buyer" have?

 

I was starting to think the seller had set me up by using another account to up the bid but the "buyer" had 108 feedback so I don't think that was it. This "buyer" had placed 2 bids early on around the the $200 mark and then one last time when he tried to snipe. The bid was at $375 in the last seconds and I sniped at $701 so he was above that amount. The only recorded GPA sale for this book was about 2 years ago for $623.

[path4play]

Wow, prices getting out of reach.

 

Since this can be sort of a venting thread, perhaps this post can be therapeutic.

 

I bid hard way over overstreet on three books on the bay this weekend. One I wanted, one I really wanted and one I really really wanted (a watch lister). I felt very "safe" on the really and really really wanted ones - built in lots of cushion and yet wala - no packages in the mail for me.

[Robot Man]

I pinned all my hopes on one book yesterday. I bid what I thought was an insane number on it and was blown out of the water. I'm still shocked but will get over it. It totally amazes me what GA books are going for these days...

[goldust40]

I pinned all my hopes on one book yesterday. I bid what I thought was an insane number on it and was blown out of the water. I'm still shocked but will get over it. It totally amazes me what GA books are going for these days...

 

And to think that ten years ago on this very forum folks were predicting the demise of the GA market (except for the major keys, of course).

[Junkdrawer]

I had a nice Thing 12 at the show yesterday and the buyer and I were $100 apart. To me as the seller I missed out on making a few bucks. No big deal. I know in his mind today he is rethinking that he shoulda coulda woulda but didnt. He now has to remember that blown opportunity every time he looks on line for one. I told him he will be kicking himself and whats a $100 when you can just pay it and take that book you have been searching so hard for. I guess he thinks hes gonna find a better book/deal. I know how I would be feeling. I'd be kickin' myself. As the seller, I got my cool Thing 12 still.

[Hudson]

Ok, so Im thinking this is most frequently ocurring with GA collectors. If some guy misses out on an AF15, well there are more fish in the sea with not long of a wait...

 

But in GA you might wait years for a book to pop up (in this case lets say it's an open market auction)... so you put your sights on it.. and you watch the bids climb and climb and as they pass the expected market and just keep going you have to decide if you are staying on this climb up Everest or if you jump off, knowing that another chance wont pop up any time soon...

 

How do you rationalize it so it doesnt haunt you?

 

Anyone ever stayed in an auction with an "at any costs" mentality, and were you happy afterwards?

 

I think we've all got books that were our "white whale" and we missed our shot, so how do you move on?

 

Im thinking less about missing out on "deals" and more about missing out on books that you chose to walk away from due to their asking price...

 

I can really relate to this one. There is one book that still haunts me to this day. It was a 6.0 copy of a book I really wanted on eBay with a GPA approximate value of $700-750. It is a book that comes up 1-2X a year for sale at the most and this was one of the nicer ones that had come up in a couple years. I sniped at $925, thinking "surely this will be enough" only to get beat out by another boardie (buddy). That was around 6 months ago and I think about it all the time. I found out later his number was $1050. Since then I have offered him $1250 for the book to no avail. He is in love.

 

Anyway, now I walk the streets at night muttering "$1075, 1075- that's all it took. Why am I such a tightwad? God help me." The pictures of the book haunt my dreams. I wake up in cold sweats. I take Xanax now, after never taking drugs my whole life. I see a therapist every other week. My ability to function at work has suffered.

 

All of that being said..."Just get over it, another one will come along, what is meant to be will be."

 

Rick,

 

I know the book you are speaking of. I watched eBay that night, and saw you and the other board member throw in those last minute snipes.

 

I am REALLY hoping you bought the copy that sold last night on HA. It was not as high grade, but considering it went for around $600 (and came in a lot with several other books), I think it was a great deal. I was thinking you might be bidding and so I backed out early. PPPPLLLLEEEEAASSSSEEEE tell me you got that book, so that I can start bidding again.

[lou_fine]

I pinned all my hopes on one book yesterday. I bid what I thought was an insane number on it and was blown out of the water. I'm still shocked but will get over it. It totally amazes me what GA books are going for these days...

 

And to think that ten years ago on this very forum folks were predicting the demise of the GA market (except for the major keys, of course).

 

 

You don't have to go back as far away as 10 years ago. In fact, you need only to go back to yesterday on the Comics General Forum to see the following:

 

 

In about 20-30 years from now, will Comic Book Collecting still be hot?

 

In other words, as current collectors who average in age 50 and up start to die off (sorry for the morbidity), assuming their heirs liquidate their collections; will there still be a strong demand for comic books whereby their values will still remain strong?

 

Some possibilities:

 

3. It depends on the Book: Golden Age Books might actually take a hit. The reasoning being that as a population matures, each generation harkens back to what they emotionally identify with as children. So if you buy into this argument, then in years to come future adults will be more interested in modern age books and the Golden & Silver Age will loose value (maybe not all of their value but certainly a decent percentage).

 

 

Seems to me that the GA books are probably the hottest part of the comic book collectibles market right now.

 

 

 

 

[Hudson]

 

Remembering these points help me from going all out nuke style on a book or feeling too bad from losing:

 

If you're gonna lose it you can still make em pay on your way out.

 

Eh eh, always feels good when, if your mile high bid snipe in the last few seconds just isn't high enough, to leave the high bidder stuck with a spiked amount!

 

This happened to me last month. The buyer probably didn't expect someone else to snipe as high as he did and he ended up not paying. The buyer offered me the book for my bid so I got it but I can't help but think of the price I would have had it for if that troll hadn't shot up the price.

I've never seen this scheme, and it doesn't sound Kosher at all; I wonder if you weren't set up? How many F/B hits did the "buyer" have?

 

I was starting to think the seller had set me up by using another account to up the bid but the "buyer" had 108 feedback so I don't think that was it. This "buyer" had placed 2 bids early on around the the $200 mark and then one last time when he tried to snipe. The bid was at $375 in the last seconds and I sniped at $701 so he was above that amount. The only recorded GPA sale for this book was about 2 years ago for $623.

 

If the seller charged you $701, then this IMO is not right and you were overcharged. You should have only been charged ONE BID INCREMENT above the third highest bidder (The $375 bid), as that is what you would have paid had the #1 bidder not been in the game. If the seller did not want to sell for that price, then of course he should be allowed to relist the book.

 

This EXACT same thing happened to me when I purchased my first copy of Action Comics #3. It was on eBay and the seller was in Oklahoma City. I contacted the seller and he agreed to let me view the book in person, so I traveled to Oklahoma and viewed the book, so as to know how much I was willing to pay.

 

In the end, I was out bid at the last moment by someone who threw in a high snipe bid. I was devastated. About a week later the seller contacted me and said the buyer had backed out of the deal and he offered it to me for my top bid. I explained that if the #1 bidder was out of the game, then I should really only be bidding against the #3 bidder (as I was the #2 bidder). As such I should only be required to pay one increment above the #3 bidder. The seller (who I give a lot of credit to as being a fair businessman) agreed and I ended up with the book (for about 30% less than my top bid - if I remember the figures correctly).

 

If sellers are going to charge you your TOP bid, then what is to stop sellers from getting a friend to bid a million dollars on every items, so that they can maximize their profits by charging everyone their max bid, not just one bid higher than the next legitimate bidder?

[fifties]

 

Remembering these points help me from going all out nuke style on a book or feeling too bad from losing:

 

If you're gonna lose it you can still make em pay on your way out.

 

Eh eh, always feels good when, if your mile high bid snipe in the last few seconds just isn't high enough, to leave the high bidder stuck with a spiked amount!

 

This happened to me last month. The buyer probably didn't expect someone else to snipe as high as he did and he ended up not paying. The buyer offered me the book for my bid so I got it but I can't help but think of the price I would have had it for if that troll hadn't shot up the price.

I've never seen this scheme, and it doesn't sound Kosher at all; I wonder if you weren't set up? How many F/B hits did the "buyer" have?

 

I was starting to think the seller had set me up by using another account to up the bid but the "buyer" had 108 feedback so I don't think that was it. This "buyer" had placed 2 bids early on around the the $200 mark and then one last time when he tried to snipe. The bid was at $375 in the last seconds and I sniped at $701 so he was above that amount. The only recorded GPA sale for this book was about 2 years ago for $623.

 

If the seller charged you $701, then this IMO is not right and you were overcharged. You should have only been charged ONE BID INCREMENT above the third highest bidder (The $375 bid), as that is what you would have paid had the #1 bidder not been in the game. If the seller did not want to sell for that price, then of course he should be allowed to relist the book.

 

This EXACT same thing happened to me when I purchased my first copy of Action Comics #3. It was on eBay and the seller was in Oklahoma City. I contacted the seller and he agreed to let me view the book in person, so I traveled to Oklahoma and viewed the book, so as to know how much I was willing to pay.

 

In the end, I was out bid at the last moment by someone who threw in a high snipe bid. I was devastated. About a week later the seller contacted me and said the buyer had backed out of the deal and he offered it to me for my top bid. I explained that if the #1 bidder was out of the game, then I should really only be bidding against the #3 bidder (as I was the #2 bidder). As such I should only be required to pay one increment above the #3 bidder. The seller (who I give a lot of credit to as being a fair businessman) agreed and I ended up with the book (for about 30% less than my top bid - if I remember the figures correctly).

 

If sellers are going to charge you your TOP bid, then what is to stop sellers from getting a friend to bid a million dollars on every items, so that they can maximize their profits by charging everyone their max bid, not just one bid higher than the next legitimate bidder?

What would stop sellers from pulling this stunt is exactly what you had done, by pointing out that with the #1 bidder out of the game, you are only responsible for topping the #3 bidder. A seller with whom you want to deal with would agree.

 

What happened with Mr. Staggers looks a bit fraudulent to me. If I were in his place, I would either bring that valid point up (that he should only have to pay one increment above the #3 bidder) and see if the seller is willing to go along with it, or, O/W pay, get the book in-hand, and then hit the seller with the same demand, or state that the book will be returned.

The advantage of the second route is really psychological; the seller is rid of the book physically, and it's out of his life. Now he may have to give up his entire unclean profit and get it back (losing the shipping cost both ways if you open a NAD or SNAD case), and having to re-list it again.

 

If he does nothing, this may always stick in his craw.

[Hudson]

When it comes to how you feel when you miss out on a book, I agree with a lot of what has been said here.

 

I have gone to bed after missing out on a book and felt sick to my stomach, wishing I had just paid WHATEVER it took. Probably a stupid feeling over a stack of paper, but that is the curse of the collector. This feeling usually only occurs when I believe that another copy is never going to come to market again at a price I can afford (like those times I have lost out on an AC1, which has happened a number of times).

 

When I lose out on a book that is nice, but "affordable", it does not usually bother me too much Even if I have to wait a little longer, or pay a little more, it is "not the end of the world". As long as the goal is still attainable.

 

Recently a B&W copy of "If the Devil Would Talk" came up for auction. I have wanted that book for what seems like forever. Given Overstreet lists it as only 4 known copies, I was NOT about to lose that one when it came up for auction. In that case, I knew if I did not keep bidding, I might NEVER own a copy. Thus. I did what it took and when I won, I almost jumped up and down.

 

I agree with those who also said that not winning sometimes feels "good" (as if they saved a lot of money). I know that feeling. I lose out a lot (maybe more today than years ago), but that is ok.

 

Someone once said something like, "Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have". I am very blessed with many things in life (comics and far more important things). In the end, I will not be able to take any of the material things with me.

 

In the end we should always remember what is important in life and draw our joy from those things which are eternal.

[Ricksneatstuff]

Ok, so Im thinking this is most frequently ocurring with GA collectors. If some guy misses out on an AF15, well there are more fish in the sea with not long of a wait...

 

But in GA you might wait years for a book to pop up (in this case lets say it's an open market auction)... so you put your sights on it.. and you watch the bids climb and climb and as they pass the expected market and just keep going you have to decide if you are staying on this climb up Everest or if you jump off, knowing that another chance wont pop up any time soon...

 

How do you rationalize it so it doesnt haunt you?

 

Anyone ever stayed in an auction with an "at any costs" mentality, and were you happy afterwards?

 

I think we've all got books that were our "white whale" and we missed our shot, so how do you move on?

 

Im thinking less about missing out on "deals" and more about missing out on books that you chose to walk away from due to their asking price...

 

I can really relate to this one. There is one book that still haunts me to this day. It was a 6.0 copy of a book I really wanted on eBay with a GPA approximate value of $700-750. It is a book that comes up 1-2X a year for sale at the most and this was one of the nicer ones that had come up in a couple years. I sniped at $925, thinking "surely this will be enough" only to get beat out by another boardie (buddy). That was around 6 months ago and I think about it all the time. I found out later his number was $1050. Since then I have offered him $1250 for the book to no avail. He is in love.

 

Anyway, now I walk the streets at night muttering "$1075, 1075- that's all it took. Why am I such a tightwad? God help me." The pictures of the book haunt my dreams. I wake up in cold sweats. I take Xanax now, after never taking drugs my whole life. I see a therapist every other week. My ability to function at work has suffered.

 

All of that being said..."Just get over it, another one will come along, what is meant to be will be."

 

Rick,

 

I know the book you are speaking of. I watched eBay that night, and saw you and the other board member throw in those last minute snipes.

 

I am REALLY hoping you bought the copy that sold last night on HA. It was not as high grade, but considering it went for around $600 (and came in a lot with several other books), I think it was a great deal. I was thinking you might be bidding and so I backed out early. PPPPLLLLEEEEAASSSSEEEE tell me you got that book, so that I can start bidding again.

 

YES! As we discussed in PM a JoJo 25 is finally on its way to me!!

 

I bought it sight unseen so we will see but I just don't care. It has been the elusive book (that is within my range) and to finally have one has me on

[Ricksneatstuff]

I pinned all my hopes on one book yesterday. I bid what I thought was an insane number on it and was blown out of the water. I'm still shocked but will get over it. It totally amazes me what GA books are going for these days...

 

Mystery Men 29? Wonderworld? Science? All of those books really exceeded my expectations

[WilliamG.Staggers]

 

Remembering these points help me from going all out nuke style on a book or feeling too bad from losing:

 

If you're gonna lose it you can still make em pay on your way out.

 

Eh eh, always feels good when, if your mile high bid snipe in the last few seconds just isn't high enough, to leave the high bidder stuck with a spiked amount!

 

This happened to me last month. The buyer probably didn't expect someone else to snipe as high as he did and he ended up not paying. The buyer offered me the book for my bid so I got it but I can't help but think of the price I would have had it for if that troll hadn't shot up the price.

I've never seen this scheme, and it doesn't sound Kosher at all; I wonder if you weren't set up? How many F/B hits did the "buyer" have?

 

I was starting to think the seller had set me up by using another account to up the bid but the "buyer" had 108 feedback so I don't think that was it. This "buyer" had placed 2 bids early on around the the $200 mark and then one last time when he tried to snipe. The bid was at $375 in the last seconds and I sniped at $701 so he was above that amount. The only recorded GPA sale for this book was about 2 years ago for $623.

 

If the seller charged you $701, then this IMO is not right and you were overcharged. You should have only been charged ONE BID INCREMENT above the third highest bidder (The $375 bid), as that is what you would have paid had the #1 bidder not been in the game. If the seller did not want to sell for that price, then of course he should be allowed to relist the book.

 

This EXACT same thing happened to me when I purchased my first copy of Action Comics #3. It was on eBay and the seller was in Oklahoma City. I contacted the seller and he agreed to let me view the book in person, so I traveled to Oklahoma and viewed the book, so as to know how much I was willing to pay.

 

In the end, I was out bid at the last moment by someone who threw in a high snipe bid. I was devastated. About a week later the seller contacted me and said the buyer had backed out of the deal and he offered it to me for my top bid. I explained that if the #1 bidder was out of the game, then I should really only be bidding against the #3 bidder (as I was the #2 bidder). As such I should only be required to pay one increment above the #3 bidder. The seller (who I give a lot of credit to as being a fair businessman) agreed and I ended up with the book (for about 30% less than my top bid - if I remember the figures correctly).

 

If sellers are going to charge you your TOP bid, then what is to stop sellers from getting a friend to bid a million dollars on every items, so that they can maximize their profits by charging everyone their max bid, not just one bid higher than the next legitimate bidder?

 

I didn't know that this is the standard process for the top bidder not paying. I've never been offered a second chance offer before and to be honest, my desire for the book kind of blinded me. I feel bad now for paying almost twice what I should of but too much time has passed now for me to do anything. I'll still sleep at night knowing that I secured the book for my limit all the same. Thanks for this info, I'll know what to expect next time. If I had accepted the book and then brought up the complaint to the buyer, I'm almost sure he would've given in because he shipped the book on his end from Australia. I doubt he would want to spend another $60 to return it.

[fifties]

I am very blessed with many things in life (comics and far more important things).

And just WHAT is more important than GA comics, may I ask??

 

Go to your room...