I got a reality check this weekend (nice bronze is hard to find) 0

[Westy Steve]

I went to TampaCon yesterday with a friend and my daughter.  You guys might remember that I started a thread here about the surprising (to me) cost of NM copies of the "new" uncanny X-men for issues #94 through #101.  You might recall I was trying to put together a short set in CGC 9.4.   For years (decades), I put off my idea of putting this set together and when  I finally decided to tackle it, I was shocked by the prices.   If I can find my old thread I'll post it below:

Found it..mostly people arguing:  https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/371050-when-did-x-men-get-so-expensive/?tab=comments#comment-8666397

 

Anyway, I had to make concessions on what I could afford with the Giant Size X-men #1 and the X-men #94 but I find myself needing only the #100 now.  Naturally, when you're one book away from completing your set, you start thinking "what's next?".  And I considered doing Conan #1 through #10, but then realized if I could just get the Conan #1, it would be more fun (to me) to hunt for other Bronze keys.  I find I'm really enjoying finding high grade bronze keys.

 

So yesterday, my happy naïve self makes the trek do TampaCon firm in my resolve to find a CGC 9.4 Xmen 100, a high grade Conan 1 (ideally an 8.5 or better), or as a back-up plan some of the other neat bronze keys you guys seem to post all the time.  Figured that would be a piece of cake with about 20 dealers in attendance at TampCon, right?

Wrong!

There was not a single 9.4 X-men 100 to be found.  Nor 9.2, or 9.0...nothing.   Heck, I think I noticed that only one dealer even had some of the other Xmen (like #95 - 101) slabbed in NM.  Dealers kept telling me that it sells as fast as they get it. 

So how did my hunt for Conan's go?  Not too well!  Nobody had a Conan 1 in higher grade that I saw. Later in the show, my friend, Mark, showed me one he found in 9.6 that I missed.  But I couldn't have spent those funds anyway...(Ok, I could have, but then divorce proceedings would have followed shortly thereafter).

As a footnote, I did end up making a deal to buy one at the show, from a friend I saw there, that will be shipped to me, but I found the fact that I couldn't find my Xmen 100, nor my Conan 1 at the show kind of jarring.  Where was all the high grade bronze?

OK, so after striking out twice, I went on the hunt for something nice.  Some nice, slabbed, key bronze beauty. After arranging for the purchase of the Conan 1 from my friend, I only had a few hundred left to spend.

The results were about the same.  Now remember, I was willing to consider the entire UNIVERSE of high grade slabbed keys in the $300 to $400 range.  Yes, I found some, but it was surprising how few there were.  One dealer (you can guess who) had a hoard of them, but beyond that one dealer, there didn't seem to be that many scattered about and those scattered ones tended to have some healthy asking prices, though I saw a few candidates.  I finally settled on a nice slabbed FN/VF Batman 251.

Bottom line is that I'm hooked on my hunt for nicer bronze keys.  But this is my testimony that an off-line hunt for these books appears to be far more challenging than I thought it would be.  I was naïve in thinking I could fill my want list at a big show.

Edited August 1, 2017 by Westy Steve

[topcat54]

Well you live in Florida so just wondering if you seen this it's not X-MEN but worth the look for some nice keys in multiples

 

 https://daytona.craigslist.org/clt/d/comic-collection-for-sale-mid/6216933158.html

[Westy Steve]

1 hour ago, topcat54 said:

Well you live in Florida so just wondering if you seen this it's not X-MEN but worth the look for some nice keys in multiples

 

 https://daytona.craigslist.org/clt/d/comic-collection-for-sale-mid/6216933158.html

Be careful with that.  I found a craigslist scam originating from that area.  The seller showed some genuinely nice books, but was advertising in a bunch of places all over Florida EXCEPT where they lived.  And then they really wanted to mail the books, and didn't want to meet in person.  And of course they didn't want paypal.  I'm not saying this is the same person, but make sure you can see the books in person and hand over funds in person.

[topcat54]

He sent a list of books he had also said he was in NY on a job?  would be back later this wk.

He didn't want to mail them wanted an in person transaction. Seemed sincere then again you never know.

[Westy Steve]

1 hour ago, topcat54 said:

He sent a list of books he had also said he was in NY on a job?  would be back later this wk.

He didn't want to mail them wanted an in person transaction. Seemed sincere then again you never know.

Good to know.  I've spent all my powder at the show (unfortunately), but I'm sure the lead is useful to someone.

[NoMan]

I'm putting an x-men run together: 95 - 145 or so. Raw, unpressed.

I feel your pain

[Lazyboy]

Thinking you can just go to a random show and find a specific issue in a specific grade is and even more so if you're looking for slabs.

Sure, there may be some shows and some books that make it more likely, but it's still not something to count on.

[Comicdey]

Shows are good for finding raw gems if you hunt. Slabs are a small fraction of All books 

[1950's war comics]

Prepare to be disappointed going to comic cons with want lists these days, if even eBay doesn't have listed what one is looking for -  you know its tough............

[mysterio]

10 hours ago, Comicdey said:

Shows are good for finding raw gems if you hunt. Slabs are a small fraction of All books 

This. If you want specific books in specific grades keep an eye on auctions. As for shows, go with an open mind to see what is there. You never know what sorts of gems you'll find, but if you're focusing on the stuff that's not there you'll never find what is there.

[Martin Sinescu]

Great decision on the Bats 251, probably my all-time favorite single issue 

I had great luck picking up specific late-Silver and Bronze stuff at HeroesCon last month. I was actually surprised how much better my luck was than on eBay and, of course, you have the book in hand so no shipping worries or "item not as described" headaches. Don't give up on the Con scene!

[rjrjr]

Plenty of listings for Conan #1 and X-Men #100 on eBay in high grade.  With most U.S. books, it isn't are they hard to find, it is whether or not you can afford them.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=x-men+%23100+9.6&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xconan+%231+9.6.TRS0&_nkw=conan+%231+9.6&_sacat=0

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=giant+sized+x-men+%231+9.6&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xx-men+%23100+9.6.TRS0&_nkw=x-men+%23100+9.6&_sacat=0

Edited July 31, 2017 by rjrjr