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How Do you Decide What To Keep?

Started by nik,

42 posts in this topic

nik

nik

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No motivation really, if I need to raise money, I just bring more work in at the shop.

 

I just dont know when to stop buying, or decide what to start selling in my collection. Now I'm confused foreheadslap.gif

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JiveTurkeyMoFo

JiveTurkeyMoFo

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Interesting thread.

 

My philosophy over the last year or so has been "to go where the money isn't".

 

I still like to collect rare/HTF stuff that other people aren't looking for, so that way you can enjoy the thrill of the hunt, but not have to compete with a ton of collectors for the material (thereby paying a higher dollar figure).

 

I've sold 90% of my high grade books, I just have a few choice pieces left. Anything post-66 was first to go, as I think they are the ones with the least long term potential and easiest to replace if I decided to collect them again.

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ComicSupply

ComicSupply

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Personally when I try to get rid of stuff I look at how hard it is to replace it.

 

Say I get in a run of ASM from #30-80, this is much easier to get than say a run of Batman from #100-130. That is how I look at it. If its easy to find, I dump it. If not, I bank it.

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sfilosa

sfilosa

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Posted

Good Question.

 

If you are trying to put some runs together, I wouldn't sell any book until you have a replacement. I say this because if you sell to many 9.0's of a run (thinking you'll upgrade to a 9.4), then the run isn't as complete and it's very easy to give up on it.

 

After that, sell those books that don't fit into any real collecting group. Say you like Neal Adams books, but you own one or two issues that are near the Neal Adams issues, but aren't. Sell them.

 

Good Luck!!!!

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divad

divad

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Sell them ALL - ownership is transient . . . 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

 

stooges.gif

 

I won't hesitate to sell a book that I could easily replace later, but I'm keeping most of the rare/scarce books that I might not even find for sale later if I decide I want one of them back. A straightforward grade/cost analysis doesn't work for me since, for example,a NM Adams Tomahawk issue might only guide for $20 but it would be impossible to replace, as would a much more expensive (but very low-grade) GA book.

 

Actually I follow Dr. B's MO, except that I think all of us interpret "a book that I could easily replace later" a little differently. I would not be shocked to see the market in HG SA dry up in a few years. sumo.gif

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comicwiz

comicwiz

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Posted
Sell what you don't like. Keep the stuff you like. If you think you'll never be able to replace it, don't sell it.

 

Couldn't have said it any better myself. Especially the part about not being able to replace it.

 

I still get emails from a certain seller who sold me a grail -- and although I could pretty much ask what I want for it now and get it, I can feel his regret in selling it to me in every email I recieve.

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skybolt

skybolt

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Posted
Sell what you don't like. Keep the stuff you like. If you think you'll never be able to replace it, don't sell it.

 

Couldn't have said it any better myself. Especially the part about not being able to replace it.

 

I still get emails from a certain seller who sold me a grail -- and although I could pretty much ask what I want for it now and get it, I can feel his regret in selling it to me in every email I recieve.

 

Was it a GA or SA book?

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comicwiz

comicwiz

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Sell what you don't like. Keep the stuff you like. If you think you'll never be able to replace it, don't sell it.

 

Couldn't have said it any better myself. Especially the part about not being able to replace it.

 

I still get emails from a certain seller who sold me a grail -- and although I could pretty much ask what I want for it now and get it, I can feel his regret in selling it to me in every email I recieve.

 

Was it a GA or SA book?

 

It was an underground book.. cloud9.gif

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The Less Blob

The Less Blob

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893scratchchin-thumb.gifmm, for now I'm mainly keeping books that I will get hammered on if I tried to sell them unslabbed: a bunch of mid-grade golden age books, some nice sharp SA, etc.

 

Of course, with 12,000 other comics (includinga couple of boxes of slabs), it's not like I won't be keeping a lot of those comics for a long time given that I maybe wind up listing 150 comics a month. Do the math, I'm keeping a lot of these whether I want to or not.

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RickHigh

RickHigh

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Posted

Well, since you guys are talking about selling books, I've been toying with the idea of selling off my BA Horror books, since I've really gotten into Silver Age stuff. Most of my horror books are "raw", but very nice. I'm talking about HOM, HOS, PS, etc. Would it be better to send the books in and slab them, or would it really be worth the extra money and time? Would these books command much higher prices slabbed? Here's a couple of examples of the condition of the books:

 

913631-Ghosts1.jpg

913631-Ghosts1.jpg.9c7a412fc31c8bd98f2e2f0d7b14ae91.jpg

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shrunkenhead

shrunkenhead

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Cwiz, I can relate to what your'e saying. I've got maybe 4 or 5 books in my collection that are absolutely irreplaceable, and they ain't goin' nowhere. They're not always the most valuable books, and I don't know that they're even my favorite books, but I can appreciate how amazingly non-existant they are in the collecting pool in any grade, and for that reason I keep 'em very close to the vest. Chief among 'em would be my two Gerber no-shows, and my very few stunning Spokane books.

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sfilosa

sfilosa

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Well, since you guys are talking about selling books, I've been toying with the idea of selling off my BA Horror books, since I've really gotten into Silver Age stuff. Most of my horror books are "raw", but very nice. I'm talking about HOM, HOS, PS, etc. Would it be better to send the books in and slab them, or would it really be worth the extra money and time? Would these books command much higher prices slabbed? Here's a couple of examples of the condition of the books:

 

If you have 50 books or more, then definitely pre-screen them (either at 9.2 or 9.4). You'll maximize your profit by getting the most for the highest graded books, and then sell the rest raw (so you don't lose money slabbing them). If you do it now, you'll have them back before the end of the year, and right when the "hot season" occurs (usually late January thru March) you can list them.

 

Just a suggestion.

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Forbush-Man

Forbush-Man

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I use the tried & true "Daisy-May Clampett" method:

 

"First you get's yourself a Beatle, put him in a old match box. Leave him in there for three, four days. If he's still scratching on the sides "keep em!". If he's lying on his back, kicking,.....sell."

 

Fetch me the jug, Jed.

 

granydrink.gif

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Sal

Sal

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Thanks, Steve. I think that's the way to go. Now if I could only find someone to sell me some nice Strange Tales, I'd be all set! 893applaud-thumb.gif

 

don't listen to him, Rick. those are both craap. send them to me for the tax write off

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