Offered for sale - the single most important collectible in the history of the hobby! 6 6

[JollyComics]

11 hours ago, N e r V said:

I heard most of the boardies complaining about him and sometimes, I got emails from eBayers asking me if I am scammed by the same guy.  I am lucky none of my books were trimmed or CT so far and sold some of his books but that was 7 or 8 years ago.

What are the worst years you have bought the books through him?   I heard that most of the key issues were trimmed.  Please confirm this.

[lizards2]

18 minutes ago, musicmeta said:

I do remember getting a comic book in a Robert Bell bag but have long since disposed of it.  Don't remember the comic book.

The company who I got my bags from back in the day, was Avery B. Klein's Investors Corporation of America - anybody else remember those?

[misterrmystery]

11 minutes ago, JollyComics said:

I heard most of the boardies complaining about him and sometimes, I got emails from eBayers asking me if I am scammed by the same guy.  I am lucky none of my books were trimmed or CT so far and sold some of his books but that was 7 or 8 years ago.

What are the worst years you have bought the books through him?   I heard that most of the key issues were trimmed.  Please confirm this.

I used to go to his store in Hartsdale in the mid 80's. The store was very small. He seemed like a decent guy at the time.I bought a so-called mint FF 48 and being new to collecting at that time, later found out it was trimmed. I later bought a Green Lantern #1 that was advertised as Mint through his ad in CBG. When I received it I found not only was it trimmed, but it was extensively color touched. I paid $1000 for it which was a lot at the time. Luckily I put it on a credit card. I got in my car an drove to his store. When I showed him the defects he got very defensive and obnoxious, bragging how he drove a Ferrari and would resell the book for more money. He credited my card and I said I would never deal with him again. He laughed. That was the last time I went there. Later I heard he was arrested for forging signatures on sports memorabilia. A few years later I met a guy who owned a comic store in Westchester who did the trimming for him.  

[JollyComics]

9 minutes ago, misterrmystery said:

I used to go to his store in Hartsdale in the mid 80's. The store was very small. He seemed like a decent guy at the time.I bought a so-called mint FF 48 and being new to collecting at that time, later found out it was trimmed. I later bought a Green Lantern #1 that was advertised as Mint through his ad in CBG. When I received it I found not only was it trimmed, but it was extensively color touched. I paid $1000 for it which was a lot at the time. Luckily I put it on a credit card. I got in my car an drove to his store. When I showed him the defects he got very defensive and obnoxious, bragging how he drove a Ferrari and would resell the book for more money. He credited my card and I said I would never deal with him again. He laughed. That was the last time I went there. Later I heard he was arrested for forging signatures on sports memorabilia. A few years later I met a guy who owned a comic store in Westchester who did the trimming for him.  

I won't forget his obnoxious language.  He is a smooth talker.

[Jeffro.]

34 minutes ago, lizards2 said:

The company who I got my bags from back in the day, was Avery B. Klein's Investors Corporation of America - anybody else remember those?

Did you get your investment advice from Robert Bell?

[goldenacase]

I bought these years ago no longer in business...but a great bag 

[MrBedrock]

12 minutes ago, goldenacase said:

I bought these years ago no longer in business...but a great bag 

Charles Abar bags. I first started dealing with them when I managed a store in Albuquerque in the late 80s. I opened Bedrock in 1990 and Abar was the first supplier I set up an account with. By early 1991 we had set up an account with a local sports card supply wholesaler who carried Ultra-Pro product. We have sold more of their comic bags than any other, mainly because we don't have to deal with shipping costs.

Another tale in "Bag History!"

[lizards2]

1 hour ago, Jeffro. said:

1 hour ago, lizards2 said:

The company who I got my bags from back in the day, was Avery B. Klein's Investors Corporation of America - anybody else remember those?

Did you get your investment advice from Robert Bell?

I actually never ordered any of his stuff, but I remember the ads in comic books and CBG.

I don't know how I ran into Avery B. Klein's company, but that's who I got all my bags from back in the 1970s.

[lizards2]

56 minutes ago, MrBedrock said:

1 hour ago, goldenacase said:

I bought these years ago no longer in business...but a great bag 

Charles Abar bags. I first started dealing with them when I managed a store in Albuquerque in the late 80s. I opened Bedrock in 1990 and Abar was the first supplier I set up an account with. By early 1991 we had set up an account with a local sports card supply wholesaler who carried Ultra-Pro product. We have sold more of their comic bags than any other, mainly because we don't have to deal with shipping costs.

Another tale in "Bag History!"

Someone on here had a big sale on these many, many years ago.

I was doing some bagging, boarding, grading and inventorying on my National Lampoon collection (three magazine boxes  of them) this past weekend, and was running out of the Thick Magazine size bags.  I recalled I ran into a Diamond box marked "unused bags" a couple months ago.  So I dug into that box, which was full, and found two unopened packs of the Thick Magazine size bags on the bottom - yay!   And it was full of Regular Magazine, Golden Age and Silver Age bags too.  I wish I had bought more of the Treasury, LP and Sheet Music size...., 

[N e r V]

2 hours ago, misterrmystery said:

I used to go to his store in Hartsdale in the mid 80's. The store was very small. He seemed like a decent guy at the time.I bought a so-called mint FF 48 and being new to collecting at that time, later found out it was trimmed. I later bought a Green Lantern #1 that was advertised as Mint through his ad in CBG. When I received it I found not only was it trimmed, but it was extensively color touched. I paid $1000 for it which was a lot at the time. Luckily I put it on a credit card. I got in my car an drove to his store. When I showed him the defects he got very defensive and obnoxious, bragging how he drove a Ferrari and would resell the book for more money. He credited my card and I said I would never deal with him again. He laughed. That was the last time I went there. Later I heard he was arrested for forging signatures on sports memorabilia. A few years later I met a guy who owned a comic store in Westchester who did the trimming for him.  

My experience with him was in the mid to late 1980’s when he was running the Overstreet ads. Bought a few big books from him and ended up even on the deals so I can’t complain to much. I talked to him a number of times and thought he was a nice guy too. A few dealers I knew who were larger clued me into his “common” practices so at that point I cut ties with him. I think that was when he had the “Eastern Color” copies or covers or whatever. He was the Dr. Frankenstein of the era doing done really bad resto work. Wasn’t surprised what happened to him later. I think knowing him was an education and he’s not the only sleazy dealer I’ve had experiences with then and now. 
 

Learn from your experiences both good or bad... 

Edited April 28, 2020 by N e r V

[lizards2]

1 minute ago, N e r V said:

My experience with him was in the mid to late 1980’s when he was running the Overstreet ads. Bought a few big books from him and ended up even on the deals so I can’t complain to much. I talked to him a number of times and thought he was a nice guy too. A few dealers I knew who were larger clued me into his “common” practices so at that point I cut ties with him. I think that was when he had the “Eastern Color” copies or covers or whatever. He was the Dr. Frankenstein of the era doing done really bad resto work. Wasn’t surprised what happened to him later. I think knowing him was an education and he’s not the only sleazy dealer I’ve had experiences with then and now. 
 

Learn from your experiences both good or bad... 

I would rather learn from your bad experiences...., just sayin'....,  

[N e r V]

A side note to this is some of the grumpiest dealers have been the straightest with deals and the smooth talkers the worse. Probably why I favor getting yelled at a bit while negotiating a deal...

[lizards2]

Just now, N e r V said:

A side note to this is some of the grumpiest dealers have been the straightest with deals and the smooth talkers the worse. Probably why I favor getting yelled at a bit while negotiating a deal...

Sounds like Bob is your guy! 

[misterrmystery]

36 minutes ago, N e r V said:

My experience with him was in the mid to late 1980’s when he was running the Overstreet ads. Bought a few big books from him and ended up even on the deals so I can’t complain to much. I talked to him a number of times and thought he was a nice guy too. A few dealers I knew who were larger clued me into his “common” practices so at that point I cut ties with him. I think that was when he had the “Eastern Color” copies or covers or whatever. He was the Dr. Frankenstein of the era doing done really bad resto work. Wasn’t surprised what happened to him later. I think knowing him was an education and he’s not the only sleazy dealer I’ve had experiences with then and now. 
 

Learn from your experiences both good or bad... 

I found if you went to the store and he showed you books, you did okay. If you bought through CBG you got burned. 

[N e r V]

1 hour ago, lizards2 said:

Sounds like Bob is your guy! 

[MrBedrock]

2 hours ago, N e r V said:

4 hours ago, misterrmystery said:

I used to go to his store in Hartsdale in the mid 80's. The store was very small. He seemed like a decent guy at the time.I bought a so-called mint FF 48 and being new to collecting at that time, later found out it was trimmed. I later bought a Green Lantern #1 that was advertised as Mint through his ad in CBG. When I received it I found not only was it trimmed, but it was extensively color touched. I paid $1000 for it which was a lot at the time. Luckily I put it on a credit card. I got in my car an drove to his store. When I showed him the defects he got very defensive and obnoxious, bragging how he drove a Ferrari and would resell the book for more money. He credited my card and I said I would never deal with him again. He laughed. That was the last time I went there. Later I heard he was arrested for forging signatures on sports memorabilia. A few years later I met a guy who owned a comic store in Westchester who did the trimming for him.  

My experience with him was in the mid to late 1980’s when he was running the Overstreet ads. Bought a few big books from him and ended up even on the deals so I can’t complain to much. I talked to him a number of times and thought he was a nice guy too. A few dealers I knew who were larger clued me into his “common” practices so at that point I cut ties with him. I think that was when he had the “Eastern Color” copies or covers or whatever. He was the Dr. Frankenstein of the era doing done really bad resto work. Wasn’t surprised what happened to him later. I think knowing him was an education and he’s not the only sleazy dealer I’ve had experiences with then and now. 
 

Learn from your experiences both good or bad... 

My experience with him was from 1985. I was in college in Austin, setting up at shows regionally, and had seen his ads in the Overstreet and CBG. I had a Marvel Comics #1 and I needed to sell it. He was automatic, offered me a great price, half trade and half cash, sent a check promptly and then, after a little delay, sent the books of my choosing from phone calls and ads etc. Unfortunately they were all over graded. He was very nice over the phone about and we made arrangements for me to fly to New York, meet him at his shop, and work out the trade in person. I flew into LaGuardia, I remember taking a bus from there to Penn Station (the bus driver literally kicked a guy off the bus), then took a train out to wherever was close to his store (Scarsdale, Hartsdale?), walked a mile or so, and arrived. Now just know that my only exposure to Fantazia were the incredible Overstreet ads with every huge key pictured. I had worked at a comic store in Houston which was pretty fancy and nice, so my expectations of what I was going to see were pretty extravagant. Needless to say the store did not live up to expectations. It wasn't much bigger than a closet. There was one rack of new books. There was a board behind the little cash stand that had all of the same big books pictured in the ad, and there was a small pile of boxes with back issues in them. Danny was boisterous, but very pleasant and allowed me to dig through all of the boxes until I came up with enough to cover the trade. All's well that ends well, I suppose. I still have one of the books I got from him in that trade...

 

Edited April 28, 2020 by MrBedrock

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

10 minutes ago, MrBedrock said:

My experience with him was from 1985. I was in college in Austin, setting up at shows regionally, and had seen his ads in the Overstreet and CBG. I had a Marvel Comics #1 and I needed to sell it.

That’s when I met you, at these regional shows, but not until the early 90’s.  
 

based on your “walking through the snow in bare feet” travails, I was steeling myself for a much darker end to the story. I’m glad you worked it out

[MrBedrock]

16 minutes ago, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

based on your “walking through the snow in bare feet” travails, I was steeling myself for a much darker end to the story. I’m glad you worked it out

Actually the bigger travails happened after I left his store. For some reason I had it in my head that either Danny had invited me to stay at his place or he had a hotel or something set up for me. Neither were the case. I had spent most of the day going through boxes, looking for resto, comparing prices, figuring out which combination of books would work best. It was dark when I finished and we finalized the deal Danny had closed the store. There was this kind of awkward moment when I realized I didn't have a place to stay. I walked a couple of blocks up the street and stayed at the first motel I found. A pretty seedy motel. A no-tell motel. There was activity going on all night, if you get my meaning. I was a little scared that someone would bust into my room and rob me of my new comics.

[MrBedrock]

3 hours ago, lizards2 said:

Someone on here had a big sale on these many, many years ago.

I was doing some bagging, boarding, grading and inventorying on my National Lampoon collection (three magazine boxes  of them) this past weekend, and was running out of the Thick Magazine size bags.  I recalled I ran into a Diamond box marked "unused bags" a couple months ago.  So I dug into that box, which was full, and found two unopened packs of the Thick Magazine size bags on the bottom - yay!   And it was full of Regular Magazine, Golden Age and Silver Age bags too.  I wish I had bought more of the Treasury, LP and Sheet Music size...., 

Abar was great because he produced bags in so many sizes. I would have to look up who it is that bought him out, but we still order paperback book, digest, treasury and Life magazine size bags from them.

[misterrmystery]

1 hour ago, MrBedrock said:

My experience with him was from 1985. I was in college in Austin, setting up at shows regionally, and had seen his ads in the Overstreet and CBG. I had a Marvel Comics #1 and I needed to sell it. He was automatic, offered me a great price, half trade and half cash, sent a check promptly and then, after a little delay, sent the books of my choosing from phone calls and ads etc. Unfortunately they were all over graded. He was very nice over the phone about and we made arrangements for me to fly to New York, meet him at his shop, and work out the trade in person. I flew into LaGuardia, I remember taking a bus from there to Penn Station (the bus driver literally kicked a guy off the bus), then took a train out to wherever was close to his store (Scarsdale, Hartsdale?), walked a mile or so, and arrived. Now just know that my only exposure to Fantazia were the incredible Overstreet ads with every huge key pictured. I had worked at a comic store in Houston which was pretty fancy and nice, so my expectations of what I was going to see were pretty extravagant. Needless to say the store did not live up to expectations. It wasn't much bigger than a closet. There was one rack of new books. There was a board behind the little cash stand that had all of the same big books pictured in the ad, and there was a small pile of boxes with back issues in them. Danny was boisterous, but very pleasant and allowed me to dig through all of the boxes until I came up with enough to cover the trade. All's well that ends well, I suppose. I still have one of the books I got from him in that trade...

 

Scarsdale and Hartsdale are right next door to each other, so that would be the Hartsdale Station.