What's more rewarding? Spec scores or Finds in the wild 0

[jsilverjanet]

 

[greggy]

3 minutes ago, october said:

Lucky you.

Suck it, Andy

[kav]

The most rewarding is finding an unopened box of Action #1 all in 10.0

[Rip]

On 6/4/2018 at 7:07 PM, october said:

I don't understand how anyone thinks finding and profiting on books in the wild is "luck". 

It takes years of research, practice and experience to be able to properly identify, grade and value a wide range of comics. I could be the luckiest person in the world, but I am not going to make dollar one off of rare pottery, stamps, furniture, records or any dozens of collectible categories that I know nothing about. It also take patience, perseverance and yes....skill.....to then find the books themselves. Yes, whether or not I find comics at a single garage sale on a single given Saturday is "luck". Over years and years of doing this it becomes less and less about luck and more and more about perseverance and leveraging the tricks of the trade acquired through hard work. 

This. While luck plays a big part, you have to put in the time and work. Luck comes most to those who make an effort to receive it.

Hundreds of calls and hours of driving can pay off.

[Robot Man]

3 hours ago, Rip said:

This. While luck plays a big part, you have to put in the time and work. Luck comes most to those who make an effort to receive it.

Hundreds of calls and hours of driving can pay off.

That's it in a nutshell. I am not too well versed in modern comics. My mistake, because I run across a lot of them in my travels. I did take a chance recently and bought a Saga #1 for a couple of bucks because the title rung a bell. Oddly, I don't think I have ever seen a copy of Walking Dead out in the wild. I'm sure it will happen but my focus is really older books.

Annother thing, the earlier you go, the faster you move through the show and the more shows you go to drasticaly increase your "luck".

Edited June 6, 2018 by Robot Man

[valiantman]

3 hours ago, Rip said:

This. While luck plays a big part, you have to put in the time and work. Luck comes most to those who make an effort to receive it.

Hundreds of calls and hours of driving can pay off.

Just curious, do you consider the hundreds of calls and hours of driving in your evaluation of the "finds in the wild"?

Let's say you find yourself with 100 books at $1 each that you know you can easily sell for $1,000 total.  That's a $900 profit on a $100 "find", but if you spent more than 100 hours between "finds", you're making $9 an hour for your time invested.  That's not really a $900 profit, it's $900 in wages for 100 hours of your time.

[thunsicker]

As a collector and not a dealer, a spec score would mean very little to me except maybe having a hot comic I could give away in a contest or "sell" in a charity thread.  Finding a comic that fits my focus in the wild for a reasonable price would be a dream.

[Gatsby77]

Def. in the wild.

I still have my OO copy of NM # 98 -- a few times a year I pull it out, marvel that I paid $1 for it, consider sending it to CGC for grading (9.6/9.8), and put it back in the box.

But my best find in the wild? A small Craigslist score (~60 books) of Bronze Age Marvels about 10 years ago.

I met the guy at a Panera, had coffee with him, appraised and bought the lot -- which included an ASM 129 -- paid him about $60 for a $200 copy -- and I was honest about it -- told him the value of the top 10 books (also ASM 121 & some others), the percentage I'd pay for different groupings & bought them all for a few hundred total.

Here's the dumb luck part:

• He said that based on the ad, I was one of 7 people who called him to inquire about the collection -- and specifically ask if a Hulk 181 or ASM 129 were in the lot -- he said no.
• Turns out, he'd misread the issue number and listed the ASM 129 as ASM 219.

So all the other buyers passed, and I was still willing to show up anyway.

[revat]

38 minutes ago, Gatsby77 said:

Def. in the wild.

I still have my OO copy of NM # 98 -- a few times a year I pull it out, marvel that I paid $1 for it, consider sending it to CGC for grading (9.6/9.8), and put it back in the box.

But my best find in the wild? A small Craigslist score (~60 books) of Bronze Age Marvels about 10 years ago.

I met the guy at a Panera, had coffee with him, appraised and bought the lot -- which included an ASM 129 -- paid him about $60 for a $200 copy -- and I was honest about it -- told him the value of the top 10 books (also ASM 121 & some others), the percentage I'd pay for different groupings & bought them all for a few hundred total.

Here's the dumb luck part:

• He said that based on the ad, I was one of 7 people who called him to inquire about the collection -- and specifically ask if a Hulk 181 or ASM 129 were in the lot -- he said no.
• Turns out, he'd misread the issue number and listed the ASM 129 as ASM 219.

So all the other buyers passed, and I was still willing to show up anyway.

so the lesson is...always assume everyone else has a learning disorder.

[Lazyboy]

8 hours ago, thunsicker said:

As a collector and not a dealer, a spec score would mean very little to me except maybe having a hot comic I could give away in a contest or "sell" in a charity thread.  Finding a comic that fits my focus in the wild for a reasonable price would be a dream.

I love finding good deals on stuff I want for my collection. Far more satisfying than speculation and hoping to make a bit of money.

6 hours ago, revat said:

so the lesson is...always assume everyone else has a learning disorder.

Life taught me that lesson many years ago.

[Jeffro.]

On 6/4/2018 at 7:21 AM, jsilverjanet said:

One involes luck, the other involves skill.

its interesting to hear that the one that involves luck is the most rewarding.

There's a definite amount of luck needed in spec too. Sure, you can make educated guesses about what will become hot but you can miss just as easily as hit.

Edited June 7, 2018 by Jerkfro

[jsilverjanet]

I’d rather be lucky than good

[jsilverjanet]

Luck be a lady tonight 

[fett]

for me as a collector, it's not even close. The thrill of the hunt is what I truly enjoy. I just received, scanned and uploaded a minute ago the last cover GCD needed for Charlton, Secrets of Young Brides #30.   The only glimpse I had of this comic over the years was part of the cover in a picture of a big lot of comics on ebay. Not expensive and probably never will be, but it is a 10 center from April 1962, and for GCD not to have a scan of it means it might be pretty scarce. (or nobody wants it or cares because it's a Charlton)  

[Robot Man]

The greatest "good luck" story in the history of this hobby. The Edgar Church collection. Church's heirs called nearly every comic book shop in the area and Chuckie was the only one willing to even go over and look at the collection.