Don't you hate pants? 2 2

[jas1vans]

I have some questions that kind of roll into each other, please bear with me for a bit. First, thanks for all the help I've gotten from reading other posts. It helped narrow down the world of questions I had down to this short story.

I've been lurking for a whole trying to get learn more about comic book collecting after a very long break from pretending to collect as a young teen. Let me get the easy questions out of the way: Where can I buy a $50k collection for $1,500-$2,000ish? Who is grading all the eBay comics so poorly?

Now onto the meat and potatoes. I made a large comic purchase a few years ago; 6 long boxes of mostly Marvel, some DC (about 1600/200) super hero titles that went from the 70's to the early 90's (lots of Cap, FF, Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Spider titles, X-Men and Factor, New Mutants). I got a very good deal on them. They were all in very good condition (I'm not a pro grader, but they are all in great shape) and are all bagged and boarded. I've continued to pick up a few (too many) books here and there at some local cons, from a couple private sellers, an estate sale (long-box of ASM 130ish-330ish minus some key issues) and on eBay. I've ended up with 9 long boxes and 6 short ones, about 2,500 books in total. I am planning on giving the bulk of the collection to my friends' kids as gifts (12 kids total). They'll get a short box of the stuff from the late 80's/early 90's around 7-8. They'll get another one when they're a little more responsible with books that would (hopefully) hold a little more value.

Now for some of the questions I have. What is a good online resource for determining values of the books? I have looked at comicbookrealm, comicspriceguide, and gocollect so far but they all vary from book to book. Is there a site that lists key issues, first, second, third appearances, death etc? I'd like to save any of those books for the second wave of boxes. 

I would like to sell whatever I'm not giving away from the collection; ideally to break even. Realistically, it's to get some nicer books for the second set of boxes. After what I've gotten off eBay I'd like to be more accurate with the descriptions of the books I sell. I've googled some grading tips and guidelines. Even with the help of those, I would feel uneasy giving a specific grade to a book. Would it be better to sell the books with a general grade instead of a specific one (VF vs. 8.0) or just list them without a grade? What is a good way to get accurate with grading your books? If I'm striving for accuracy, would it be better to sell on a platform that's not eBay? I'm not saying that all eBay listings are inaccurate, but I've seen (again, not a professional grader) some real reaches for high grades. I guess we're living in a world of optimistic people.

I'm about ready to get the first 12 boxes assembled but I'm not close to figuring out what to put in the next ones. I'd like to get a couple graded ones per box but I'm still a long way from figuring out if I have any that would be worth sending to be pressed and graded (I probably don't). I do have a good idea where I can find some good ones to purchase.

I wanted to get this first post out of the way because I put it off for long enough. Also, I've see a lot of really nice stuff on the sale boards and I'd rather not make my first post an "I'll take it" on a book. Thanks for reading through this!

[Get Marwood & I]

Hulk like pants. Pants keep Hulks big green modesty in check. But if pants at some point should start to become less elasticky, and burst off of Hulk like shoes, shirt and socks always do, then Hulk will SMASH! 

P.S. Hulk welcomes wordy man to boards 

[porcupine48]

Pants are PANTS,right my UK board pals?

[Get Marwood & I]

2 minutes ago, porcupine48 said:

Pants are PANTS,right my UK board pals?

Our trousers are your pants.

Your pants are our trousers. 

My pants are full up. Never try to finish a post when you're busting for a poo. I try to rule that out of my life.

 

[porcupine48]

1 minute ago, Get Marwood & I said:

Our trousers are your pants.

Your pants are our trousers. 

My pants are full up. Never try to finish a post when you're busting for a poo. I try to rule that out of my life.

 

Would it be 'pants' to try and press a copy of Trouser Press?

Does a trouser snake pant when hot?(Asking for a friend)

[Get Marwood & I]

8 minutes ago, porcupine48 said:

Pants are PANTS,right my UK board pals?

Pants also describes something that is of poor quality or usefulness. An example in uk parlance would be "guys, your responses to my first post are pants"

[Get Marwood & I]

3 minutes ago, porcupine48 said:

Would it be 'pants' to try and press a copy of Trouser Press?

Does a trouser snake pant when hot?(Asking for a friend)

These are reptilian questions Jim. 

MICHAEL!

 

@lizards2

[lizards2]

6 minutes ago, Get Marwood & I said:

11 minutes ago, porcupine48 said:

Would it be 'pants' to try and press a copy of Trouser Press?

Does a trouser snake pant when hot?(Asking for a friend)

These are reptilian questions Jim. 

MICHAEL!

 

@lizards2

All I have to say is that pants limit exposure.  

[Get Marwood & I]

2 minutes ago, lizards2 said:

All I have to say is that pants limit exposure.  

Excellent.

@jas1vans, have we answered all your questions now?  

 

[porcupine48]

My pressing question about pressing the Trouser Press has received a pants response.

[Get Marwood & I]

OK,  now we've had a bit of fun, seriously, welcome to the forum @jas1vans 

I appreciate the enthusiasm and many of the answers you seek you will find here. But to stand a better chance of getting responses from the community, try to keep it to one or two questions per post. Someone would have to post a short novel here to answer all your questions! 

Ebay is a grear place to determine prices. Look at the sold section to see what things go for. Grading comes with experience.  There are guides and books, but you learn from experience and it's not an exact science. Just check out the current grading contest here to see how 'experienced' opinions vary! 

If you put in the work, you'll soon be able to tell high grade from low, very fine from very good etc. 

Well done giving away the boxes to the kids. Great move. 

Good luck 

[Get Marwood & I]

13 minutes ago, porcupine48 said:

My pressing question about pressing the Trouser Press has received a pants response.

That's because it was funny Jim. Funny posts aren't welcome around here. Say something about Cal. Then they'll all come running. 

[tv horror]

2 hours ago, porcupine48 said:

Pants are PANTS,right my UK board pals?

TROUSERS! Pants are underoos here in the U.K. 

[Jeffro.]

Is this Crackton?

 

[PunisherPunisherPunisher]

Keep your pants on

[jas1vans]

I'm glad the initial question could generate the excitement it did.

@Get Marwood & I I initially was going to title the post, "How many questions should be in a post?"  Thanks for the advice!

I'm hoping the kids get the same enjoyment out of the artwork and stories that I did when I was younger. Also, I get to see and read tons of books that I haven't read. It's a win, win for me!

[oakman29]

44 minutes ago, jas1vans said:

I'm glad the initial question could generate the excitement it did.

@Get Marwood & I I initially was going to title the post, "How many questions should be in a post?"  Thanks for the advice!

I'm hoping the kids get the same enjoyment out of the artwork and stories that I did when I was younger. Also, I get to see and read tons of books that I haven't read. It's a win, win for me!

You do know I have a copyright on my avatar, dont you? 

 

[The Lions Den]

6 hours ago, jas1vans said:

I have some questions that kind of roll into each other, please bear with me for a bit. First, thanks for all the help I've gotten from reading other posts. It helped narrow down the world of questions I had down to this short story.

I've been lurking for a whole trying to get learn more about comic book collecting after a very long break from pretending to collect as a young teen. Let me get the easy questions out of the way: Where can I buy a $50k collection for $1,500-$2,000ish? Who is grading all the eBay comics so poorly?

Now onto the meat and potatoes. I made a large comic purchase a few years ago; 6 long boxes of mostly Marvel, some DC (about 1600/200) super hero titles that went from the 70's to the early 90's (lots of Cap, FF, Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Spider titles, X-Men and Factor, New Mutants). I got a very good deal on them. They were all in very good condition (I'm not a pro grader, but they are all in great shape) and are all bagged and boarded. I've continued to pick up a few (too many) books here and there at some local cons, from a couple private sellers, an estate sale (long-box of ASM 130ish-330ish minus some key issues) and on eBay. I've ended up with 9 long boxes and 6 short ones, about 2,500 books in total. I am planning on giving the bulk of the collection to my friends' kids as gifts (12 kids total). They'll get a short box of the stuff from the late 80's/early 90's around 7-8. They'll get another one when they're a little more responsible with books that would (hopefully) hold a little more value.

Now for some of the questions I have. What is a good online resource for determining values of the books? I have looked at comicbookrealm, comicspriceguide, and gocollect so far but they all vary from book to book. Is there a site that lists key issues, first, second, third appearances, death etc? I'd like to save any of those books for the second wave of boxes. 

I would like to sell whatever I'm not giving away from the collection; ideally to break even. Realistically, it's to get some nicer books for the second set of boxes. After what I've gotten off eBay I'd like to be more accurate with the descriptions of the books I sell. I've googled some grading tips and guidelines. Even with the help of those, I would feel uneasy giving a specific grade to a book. Would it be better to sell the books with a general grade instead of a specific one (VF vs. 8.0) or just list them without a grade? What is a good way to get accurate with grading your books? If I'm striving for accuracy, would it be better to sell on a platform that's not eBay? I'm not saying that all eBay listings are inaccurate, but I've seen (again, not a professional grader) some real reaches for high grades. I guess we're living in a world of optimistic people.

I'm about ready to get the first 12 boxes assembled but I'm not close to figuring out what to put in the next ones. I'd like to get a couple graded ones per box but I'm still a long way from figuring out if I have any that would be worth sending to be pressed and graded (I probably don't). I do have a good idea where I can find some good ones to purchase.

I wanted to get this first post out of the way because I put it off for long enough. Also, I've see a lot of really nice stuff on the sale boards and I'd rather not make my first post an "I'll take it" on a book. Thanks for reading through this!

Welcome, sir. I very much enjoyed your post. I'll try to answer a few of your questions. 1) Determining comic value: I use a variety of sources for this one. eBay can be very useful, Comiclink is occasionally helpful, GP Analysis is great for slabbed books, and this site  can be very informative as well---just watch how quickly good books sell here! By using a variety of sources (and some of my own knowledge) I can usually get a pretty good idea of how to price something. As far as finding a place that lists key issues and details the interior stories and characters, I always counted on comics.org. However, I haven't been able to get onto that site lately... Perhaps someone else knows what's going on there...  2) Grading: Well, once again, you've come to the right place. Just check out the "Buddy Can you Spare a Grade" section. It's a lot of fun, and there are very good graders here---I'm surprised they're not all working for CGC. Another thing I do to hone my grading skills is to constantly inspect certified books as well. I compare the grade to the book and try to figure out what flaw or flaws put that book in the assigned grade. Practice, practice, practice. It's how you get good at anything in this life, right? Anyhoo, I hope this has been helpful. I look forward to future posts...   

[porcupine48]

6 hours ago, tv horror said:

TROUSERS! Pants are underoos here in the U.K. 

I was saying trousers are pants.Like,gee slacks really suck,they're a nause.

[Get Marwood & I]

8 hours ago, jas1vans said:

I'm glad the initial question could generate the excitement it did.

@Get Marwood & I I initially was going to title the post, "How many questions should be in a post?"  Thanks for the advice!

I'm hoping the kids get the same enjoyment out of the artwork and stories that I did when I was younger. Also, I get to see and read tons of books that I haven't read. It's a win, win for me!

Glad you took the banter in good spirits. Got the thing moving didn't we!