35 cent Variant List-Help wanted

[DaethWalker]

Hi again,

 

For those people who have either already contacted me or are planning to in the future.

 

At this point, I'm not planning to sell any comic in my collection. I was interested in prices and potential future value of these comics, but mainly to satisfy my own curiosity.

 

That could possibly change in the future. But, as of now, I have no plans for selling any. If I do change my mind, I'll give advance warning, so everyone can save up their money.

 

I guess, I posted my list of variants for a couple of reasons. 1 to let Paul know that some of the issues on his site do exist. And 2, to share my own enthusiasm over having these comics.

 

I apologize for not making that clearer in my posts.

 

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I got'em and you can't have'em.

 

Greg

[Darthdiesel]

At this point, I'm not planning to sell any comic in my collection. I was interested in prices and potential future value of these comics, but mainly to satisfy my own curiosity.

 

This will fluctuate as time passes. Right now you have a determined group of variant collectors and I can name about 5-6 people that I would turn to if I wanted to sell my 35 centers and reliably expect top dollar on the books...once these guys have completed their sets and upgraded, unless a new crop of big money variant players arrives on the scene, there is no guarantee that the prices will yet again spike on these books They have collectible value for what they are. I'm seeing more and more steals go up on eBay for Marvel Price variants, mainly because they are not listed as such. Good luck in your collection and I'm sure Paul appreciates the info...

[DaethWalker]

Yep, I'm pretty sure now would be a great time to sell some of these, especially the ones not seen recently. But, I'm also an avid collector.

 

I'm planning to check the rest of my collection this weekend and see what others, if any I have. There's a very good chance I already have the more expensive and hard to find ones. Which means I might be able to afford to complete the collection.

 

For me, it would be nice to have such a collection. I'll probably never be able to afford many SAs or GAs. So, having such a collection will be nice.

[DaethWalker]

Latest update that I posted at CPG:

 

Latest Update: Finally finished going through my comics. At least, I hope I've checked them all.

 

Found another 36 35 cent variants, 4 of which still haven't been found on Paul's site. That gives me a total of 94 different issues, with 14 not varified on Paul's site.

 

New updated list:

 

Amazing Spiderman - 169,170,173

Avengers - 161,162,164

Black Panther - 4(*),5

Captain America - 211-214

Captain Marvel - 52

Champions - 14

Conan - 75-79

Defenders - 48,49,52

Doctor Strange - 25(*)

Eternals - 12-14,16(*)

Fantastic Four - 184,187

Ghost Rider - 24(*),25,26

Godzilla - 2,3

Howard the Duck - 13,14(*),15(*),16,17(*)

Human Fly - 1,2

Inhumans - 11(*),12(*)

Invaders - 18,21

Iron Fist - 15

Iron Man - 99(*),100,102,103

John Carter, Warlord of Mars - 1-5

Logan's Run - 6,7

------------------------------

LATEST FINDS

------------------------------

Marvel Premiere - 36,38

Marvel's Greatest Comics - 71(*),72(*),73

Marvel Super Action - 3(*)

Marvel Tales - 80

Marvel Team-Up 58-62

Marvel Triple Action - 37(*)

Marvel Two-In-One 28,31

Master of Kung-Fu - 57

Ms. Marvel - 6-10

Nova - 11-14

Omega the Unknown - 9,10

Red Sonja - 5(**)

Super-Villain Team-Up - 14

Thor - 260-263(*)

Tomb of Dracula - 57,58,60(*)

X-Men 107

 

-------------------------------

(*) - notes titles not varified by scan at: http://users.erols.com/pmerolle/35variantlist

Decided against using a Digital Camera as this method doesn't seem to work very well with comics(at least not the ones I've seen). I'm hoping to get at least these 14 scanned and posted within the next few days.

 

(**) - actually listed earlier, but wanted to keep it in alphabetical order.

--------------------------------

 

To those interested in buying any or all of these:

 

I'm still not ready to sell any yet. But, I am seriously thinking about it. If I do sell any, the earliest will probably be in 2004. And I'll more than likely post about any sales, prior to the sales. Depending on rules allowing such posts.

 

Other's have mentioned that now is the best time to liquidate, as only a handful of collectors are interested in these variants and as time goes by, they will have completed their collections and will no longer be interested. I'll take my chances.

 

A few reasons I'm not to worried about this collection decreasing in value:

 

Mine are in much better shape than any I've seen sold on e-bay so far. So, some collectors may want to upgrade their copies.

 

New collectors are always entering the market. Either collectors who are completely new to comics or collectors who've decided to add price variants to their collection.

 

As Marvel continues to take their comics to the "Big Screen", prices will invariably rise.

 

And if I can't get the prices I want, I can always hold on to them for another 25 years.

 

If I do sell any, I'll more than likely have them slabbed and graded at CGC 1st. Unless (by some miracle) a better company comes along.

 

So, my questions are:

 

Which, if any, should I think about having graded?

 

What's the lowest grade I should accept? In other words, should I pick through them and only send in those I think will get a 9.0 or better? Or would it still be worth it to go a little lower in grade for slabbing? Or should I have them all slabbed regardless of grade?

 

I'll also probably sell them on e-bay (if/when I decide to sell). Which means opening an account. Will having a new account(0 fb) lower interest in these comics? If I go this route, I'll probably limit myself to selling only one or two comics per month, depending on both my financial resources and the time I have to do this.

 

Thanks,

DW

 

[Darthdiesel]

Excellent post and great finds! You should hold onto them and join the frenzy of trying for a complete 35 cent set. Of the folks I know collecting them, one has 94 different ones from the list last I checked, so you are up there. Please keep Paul filled in on any new finds that are not on there. I will get back into these eventually once I feel happy with my 35 cent set.

 

As for your questions:

 

Which, if any, should I think about having graded?

 

 

Off the top of my head, Westerns, horrors, X-men, Star wars 1-4 and Iron fist 14-15...

 

What's the lowest grade I should accept? In other words, should I pick through them and only send in those I think will get a 9.0 or better? Or would it still be worth it to go a little lower in grade for slabbing? Or should I have them all slabbed regardless of grade?

 

If you want to sell them, prescreen or pick out the ones that are 9.0 and up. those will fetch premiums. My VG - Fine copies I've been selling off make no difference slabbed or unslabbed, I'm still netting raw rates for them so I'm currently eating the grading fees. The only ones I made any decent return for were my X-men 107 and my Iron Fist 15 slabbed at VG...

 

if you were going to collect and eventually going for a highest graded set, and can afford it, then slab them all Honestly these are books that were never meant to be opened...I tried hard to sit through my regular price readers copies of these books and only a few were worth the time...the other 5 hours I spent are lost forever, wasted on really bad art and stories

 

I'll also probably sell them on e-bay (if/when I decide to sell). Which means opening an account. Will having a new account(0 fb) lower interest in these comics? If I go this route, I'll probably limit myself to selling only one or two comics per month, depending on both my financial resources and the time I have to do this.

 

Thanks,

DW

 

Zero feedback will definitely affect you negatively. You can offset that with great big scans and informative descriptions showing that you know your stuff and are in a different league than let's say, those sellers who sell direct edition or Whitman covers as 30 cent "variants" or those sellers that list the Star Wars Multipak 35 cent reprints as Marvel price variants....ask buena_vista, he LOVES those guys

 

Best of all have fun with the auctions. I'm sure you could also just take down names of 2nd and 3rd high bidders on future variant auctions and approach them on the side or post in this marketplace forum. Whenever I see something I know someone wants I forward that post to them and they can decide if they want to take the time to contact you and negotiate. Or I may do it for them...whatever floats your boat...

 

If you ever decide to sell, you will have 5 or 6 new "best friends", unti you reveal your prices

 

[buena_vista]

You have one heck of a find on your hands and I'm inclined to agree with Darth (as usual). I can only speak as a 30 cent variant collector -- the prices on these books can fluctuate to a great degree. The books are only as worth what collectors are willing to spend.

 

Right now there is a very small group of rabid variant collectors that will pay big bucks for books they don't have. The question is --- do you have what they are looking for -- and will more come into the fold. Do not count on collectors spending big bucks for upgrades, most will only do it if the books come cheap.

 

In as far as grading is concerned, any variant you have at 9.0 or above should go to CGC, otherwise just keep 'em raw --- although maybe some of the reprint books might be worth it.

 

While this is a great find, you're missing the holy grails of the 35 cent variant collectors, Iron Fist 14, Star Wars 1 and, of course, the Westerns. Damn you Kid Colt Outlaw!! Damn you to hell!!

[DaethWalker]

Another question. And it might sound a bit stupid. But, hey, It'd be even dumber left unasked.

 

What's the requirements or whatever for having a collection labeled as a "PEDIGREE"?

 

The reason I ask, is all of these comics and at least 99% of my entire, yet small(many were sold in the mid 90s ) collection were bought brand new at cover price. Either by me or my brother. Carefully read only once or twice. And then stored. Sometimes in bags, sometimes not.

[murph0]

Have there been any new pedigrees certified after the inception of CGC? I can think of Massachusetts and possibly Oakland (was found in like 96 but not 'accepted' as pedigree by CGC until like 01), but I think that is it? I'm betting it's pretty tough to get pedigree designation on a collection now a days.

 

Brian

[FlyingDonut]

The "Lost Valley" pedigree was certified by CGC, also the "Northford" pedigree (although that may have been found pre-CGC). Also the "Vancouver" pedigree.

[DaethWalker]

But, what really goes into certification? I mean, who decides that one collection is a pedigree and another isn't?

 

And, for instance, when CGC certifies a pedigree, is that recognized by everyone else? Or just CGC?

 

Are some collections considered Pedigrees by one organization and not by another?

 

And does such a status really mean anything?

 

 

Oh, and for those interested, my brother just bought and dropped off a scanner this morning. I'm getting ready to set it up and give it a try. I'll first try to scan the 14 not listed at Paul's website. After that, any requests? Or just put them all up?

 

I'll check back in a few minutes. See ya.

[FlyingDonut]

all of em!

[rob_react]

But, what really goes into certification? I mean, who decides that one collection is a pedigree and another isn't?

 

And, for instance, when CGC certifies a pedigree, is that recognized by everyone else? Or just CGC?

 

Are some collections considered Pedigrees by one organization and not by another?

 

And does such a status really mean anything?

 

 

 

Before the advent of CGC, pedigrees were basically decided on by the comic-collecting hive mind. A seller might tout his new collection as a "pedigree" and it was then up to market-forces to decide if such books were worthy. Nowadays, I guess that can still happen, but getting CGC to acknowledge it as a pedigree is job #1.

 

As for the question of "does such status really mean anything?" The answer to that depends on who you ask. Some people don't care about pedigrees at all. All they care about is the number on the label. Other people will pay more for a pedigree copy than they would for a similarly graded non-pedigree example. At the extreme end of this spectrum, some people will pay hefty premiums for even low grade examples from the Edgar Church collection just for the privilege of owning a Church book.

 

Unless I'm missing something and you were buying books off the rack in the 60s, I'm betting your collection won't be granted Pedigree status by either the market or CGC. There's nothing truly special about a nice original owner Bronze-Age collection. The only exception I could even imagine would be a uniformly 9.6-9.9 COMPLETE collection of 70s books. I'm talking about Bethlehem or Edgar Church depth of material- 10s of thousands of books and since it's the Bronze Age they'd have to be absolutely immaculate. Even 10,000 8.5s - 9.2s isn't all that impressive when you're talking about the 70s.

 

Which isn't to say I wouldn't like to stumble upon such a collection.

[DaethWalker]

Well, yes me and my brother have been buying them off the rack since about 1963.

 

One of the 1st would be my Uncanny X-men 1, which is in terrible condition. I'm thinking about having it profeesionally restored, slabbed by CGC and then frame it and hang it on the wall. Obviously aquiring the PLOD will not be a plus in some peoples eyes, but considering I'll be keeping it, I'd much rather invest a few hundred in restoring a comic I actually purchased off the rack, than a few thousand thats exchanged hands numerous times.

 

I don't have an accurate count of my collection. Around about 3,500 or so. At one time it was nearly a complete collection of SAs and Bronze. But, probably 4-5,000 were sold in the mid-late 90s.

 

But, I still have a 1,000 or so SAs, with the rest mostly bronze. And maybe 500 or so modern. Of course, that's really just a guess. I'll have to actually get around to cataloging them one day.

 

When we sold them, the dealer went for the best SAs, such as the 1st 50 Subs, 1st 40 IM, etc... So most of what I have left are missing anywhere from the 1st 10-50 issues. And some of the older ones, might be missing as many as the 1st 100.

 

Ok, enough talk about Pedigrees and my busted up and worthless collection.

 

Let's see if I can figure out how to work this thing.

[DaethWalker]

Ok, I'm clueless.

 

I finally got it to scan to my photo& imaging gallery(took 4 times for one comic). But it's grainy. I scanned it as a picture. Should I have scanned as a document? And default was 200 dpi, seems like I saw someone mention 100 in another thread and someone else was doing 300 and resizing or editing or something.

 

What's the best dpi and whatever else I need to do to put up an honest picture with no enhancements or fooling around. I want it to look as much like the real thing as possible.

 

Oh, and keep it simple please, as I seem to have aquired a major brainfart today and am lucky I can still remember how to make this post.

 

Also, once it's scanned, all I need to do is save it, name it and load as an attachment to a post?

[murph0]

Wow, did they really give the Lost Valley collection a pedigree? I didn't realize that. So really there's only.. 2 finds.. that have been post-CGC. That'd be Mass and Lost Valley? I thought the Vancouver collection was found a while back?

 

Brian

[greggy]

When I spoke with Steve a few months ago, he said that CGC helped with the naming of the Vancouver and Lost Valley pedigrees. He also mentioned the Northland but that was discovered a few years ago and the name was already out there.

[DaethWalker]

Don't hold your breath. I've been working on this scanner all day and so far I've managed to scan 1 comic. And I still can't get the to attach to the post.

 

Heh, maybe if I cuss it enough the will work.

 

 

http://66.223.46.51/attachments//306620-scan.jpg

 

 

Finally!!

[DaethWalker]

Now, how do I get the attachment to show on the page of the thread?

[greggy]

 

Use the instant UBB codes and copy and paste the URL to the pic in the Image info box.

[DaethWalker]

 

You know, what's really bad? I knew that. I guess I need to just walk away for a cple hours.

 

Oh well.

 

How's that look? Any suggestions for better pic quality? Or just go with that and post the other 93?

 

DW