Where can you find the hidden gems these days ? 3 3

[oakman29]

1 hour ago, kav said:

I go to old ladies houses and say i am doing free pest inspection of attic and basements when i see box of Action #1's I start shouting they are loaded with bugs!  Then I run out.
@oakman29

Every attic I go in I'm hoping to find a treasure trove of old comic books.

[kav]

1 minute ago, oakman29 said:

Every attic I go in I'm hoping to find a treasure trove of old comic books.

diagnose bugs so you can whisk em outta there.

[HotKey]

Like most have said just stay at it and keep looking. I try to spend at least an hour a day looking at new listings. Like this one I'm picking up in the morning for 30 bucks, who knows what it holds but it's a deal

 

[littledoom]

Those deals can still be had on at swap meets, ebay, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or any other local/national selling app.. It's just a whole lot more competitive and much less frequent that a good bargain comes along. They're out there but you're probably not seeing them because they've already been snagged. Plus you have to wait and look though a ton of carp

[littledoom]

Oh the key is to never give up 

[Jesse-Lee]

The most fun part of this hobby for me is finding cool deals and nerding out about knowing what books to look for, etc. when you do get the rare chance to hit a flea market or thrift shop that actually has comics. I went to a flea market a couple of weekends ago with a buddy of mine who collects baseball cards - he couldn't understand how I could know that "this (random-looking to him) book is the first appearance of x character" or whatever, but then we get to a booth with cards and I ask, "why didn't you pick up that seemingly cheap rookie card?" and he says, "oh you actually want the update set card from the previous year, that's not a true rookie and it's overpriced." Each hobby has its nuances and it's a lot of work/love of the hobby to want to amass that knowledge in order to capitalize on the right-place-right-time moments. I ended up with a decent haul at that market and didn't spend a ton, and it was a lot of fun - I got a mid-grade Dark Knight Returns #1 for a couple of bucks for example, and it turned out to be a first print like I hoped. Nothing Earth shattering, but a cool "win." A year ago at that same flea market - different seller - I got 2 copies of ASM 361 2nd print for $2 each, and sold one of them for $115 a couple of months ago.

There's an LCS I go to a lot too where they seem to be lax on pricing and/or keeping up with back issue inventory. Nothing is sorted so it's like a treasure hunt. In the past months I've found copies of stuff that has heated up over time that I'm sure they didn't realize they even had - Critters #1 for $10, ASM 359 for $3, MCP 72 for $4, stuff like that.

My point is there are still at least small wins to be had if you keep up on trends, and the thrill of the hunt is still possible.

[kav]

@oakman29 finds lots of hidden gems if by hidden gems you mean beehives in walls and attics.

[gadzukes]

23 hours ago, snitzer said:

I simply befriend little old ladies where I live. Doing odd jobs like raking the leaves, bringing in their mail, etc. Eventually, they share a closet full of belongings from their deceased husband and lo-and-behold there’s almost always a small stack of books lying there. Be smart though, as often the comics aren’t even the most valuable item as cards, coins and gold pieces sometimes show up. Happy hunting 

Who are you?...... Saul Goodman?  

How's your Hummel collection coming?

[gadzukes]

Step 1). Tell every friend you have on any social media platform that you collect comics and ask if anyone knows anyone who is looking to sell.

Step 2) Patiently wait........ and wait......... and wait........ and every once in a while this happens:

The last two collections I've "found" have come to me thru friends.  And they both ended up being "deals".

If I even find 1 collection a year, I'm pretty happy.  This year.... 2 have come my way, a modern, and a bronze.  2 years ago I had a massive Silver collection come my way (I was in heaven).

Step 3). Find stuff on ebay.  I find deals on ebay all the time, but you have to search.

 

[Robot Man]

23 hours ago, snitzer said:

I simply befriend little old ladies where I live. Doing odd jobs like raking the leaves, bringing in their mail, etc. Eventually, they share a closet full of belongings from their deceased husband and lo-and-behold there’s almost always a small stack of books lying there. Be smart though, as often the comics aren’t even the most valuable item as cards, coins and gold pieces sometimes show up. Happy hunting 

My friend and I would actually go door to door with our little red wagon when we were kids and ask for them. Surprisingly, we would actually score once in a while. People would actually give them to us for free. Or we would offer to cut their lawn or do yard work. These were the days when mom’s would pitch their kids comics when they thought they were too old for them. 

[Robot Man]

11 hours ago, HotKey said:

Like most have said just stay at it and keep looking. I try to spend at least an hour a day looking at new listings. Like this one I'm picking up in the morning for 30 bucks, who knows what it holds but it's a deal

 

Tell everyone you know you collect comics. Don’t be afraid of what people think. Be that “comic guy” 

I had that reputation at my old job. Got a nice Hot Wheels Collection, a few House cleanouts and found this box at my desk when I came back from lunch one day. 

[gadzukes]

2 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

My friend and I would actually go door to door with our little red wagon when we were kids and ask for them. Surprisingly, we would actually score once in a while. People would actually give them to us for free. Or we would offer to cut their lawn or do yard work. These were the days when mom’s would pitch their kids comics when they thought they were too old for them. 

When I was 13 I was playing up at the park (half a block from my house), and a kid I didn't know walked up to me and asked if I had any comics.  He said he collected comics.  I knew me and my brother had a small stack of maybe 20 comics in our garage.  We got on our bikes and rode down to my house.  I had a bunch of Superman, a couple Sad Sacks, a Hulk 182, and a Doctor Strange 9 (I actually remember the exact Hulk & Doc Strange comics).  He asked if I wanted to trade so we biked to his house.  He traded me some Marvels and some SGT Rocks.  The only two of the ten that I remember exactly are Thor 236 and X-Men 94 (cuz they made an impression on me).  After reading the Marvels...... I decided I wanted to collect comics, and that's when my adventure began.

[gadzukes]

5 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

Tell everyone you know you collect comics. Don’t be afraid of what people think. Be that “comic guy” 

I had that reputation at my old job. Got a nice Hot Wheels Collection, a few House cleanouts and found this box at my desk when I came back from lunch one day. 

SWEEEET!

[gadzukes]

Always have your "radar" on and you will find comics.

I walked into a library once and they were doing a "Super Hero" theme for kids during the summer.  Someone had donated a box of comics to the library and they had tacked a bunch up on the walls.  I saw that they were all Bronze age.  I asked the children's Librarian what they were going to do with the comics when the Summer was over.  She said "You can have them all if you want.  In fact we have the box with the rest of them in the back room".  I tried to pay her something for them but she wouldn't take my money.  I probably got 75 bronze comics for free that day, and came back for the rest at the end of the Summer (unfortunately no huge Key issues, but a couple minor keys)

[Jeffro.]

13 hours ago, THE_BEYONDER said:

14 hours ago, Buzzetta said:

Ya know... could be a fun side venture.

Expand  

That price seems completely fair....

You must be kidding

[Buzzetta]

Just now, Jeffro. said:

You must be kidding

Don't be surprised when I appropriate this for my next toy sale in Mixed this weekend. 

[Jeffro.]

20 minutes ago, Buzzetta said:

21 minutes ago, Jeffro. said:

You must be kidding

Don't be surprised when I appropriate this for my next toy sale in Mixed this weekend. 

Go for it and beat it into the ground like That's what she said or which they didn't have to do or wudy (That one really needs to stop)

 

[THE_BEYONDER]

4 minutes ago, Jeffro. said:

Go for it and beat it into the ground like That's what she said or which they didn't have to do or wudy (That one really needs to stop)

 

That’s what she said should be strike worthy at this point 

[WolverineX]

1 hour ago, gadzukes said:

Step 1). Tell every friend you have on any social media platform that you collect comics and ask if anyone knows anyone who is looking to sell.

Step 2) Patiently wait........ and wait......... and wait........ and every once in a while this happens:

The last two collections I've "found" have come to me thru friends.  And they both ended up being "deals".

If I even find 1 collection a year, I'm pretty happy.  This year.... 2 have come my way, a modern, and a bronze.  2 years ago I had a massive Silver collection come my way (I was in heaven).

Step 3). Find stuff on ebay.  I find deals on ebay all the time, but you have to search.

 

What happened to the hoarder comics with the cat particles?? Did u offload those already?

[gadzukes]

4 hours ago, Wolverinex said:

What happened to the hoarder comics with the cat particles?? Did u offload those already?

Amazingly, when I got all the comics out of the horrid cat vomit bags and boxes they were 95% in Minty Mint condition.  In other words.... the bags did their jobs amazingly well.  However..... 75% of the comics are 90s drek and pretty hard to move.  I've made 100% of my money back, made a little profit, and am waiting for the key issues to be graded by CGC.  When all is said and done I am going to do really well.