Honored to be there as "kid" buys his first ASM1 2 2

[jcjames]

So I was in my new-favorite LCS today, and the owner was just adding new key books to his under-glass display, including a beater ASM1. It was priced very attractively even considering it was missing a centerfold.

I took note of it, glad to see it, and moved on to browse others for a few minutes, and then a younger gent (maybe in his mid 20's?) comes in and starts browsing and is VERY excited to see the ASM1, and a couple other books.

So he immediately gets on his phone and talking about it with someone and is basically arranging to have money transferred so he can buy the ASM1 - and it's going rather slow for him (sorry for the eaves-dropping but he and I were the only ones in the store at the time) and so he's on and off the phone and whatever thing he's trying to do the money is just not showing up (either in PP or some other form) and so he's asking the LCS owner if he'd split the cost between two accounts, and LCS is good with that, I think he even dropped the price a little for him.

Finally, after maybe 20-30 minutes the kid has the funds and can now buy the book, so he asks and the LCS takes it out and goes off to start to process the purchase... and I sort of lean over to the kid and say "You getting the ASM1?" and he was so excited, and I said "Good deal!" and so we get to chatting about books and saying with AF15 being out of touch in almost any grade, he was so glad to see this (even if incomplete) at a pretty good price.

I ask him if he's ever had an ASM1 before and he says no, he's never seen one in a store before, he's been collecting for about 10 years and never sees grails like this and he was pretty stoked to get this key/grail book for himself. I told him "Yeah, I saw you were working on the deal and I so I didn't want to say anything while the deal was going on, but if you didn't end up buying it I would have."  

It was really great to see the excitement in a "kid" 20ish being able to acquire a key/grail book at a really decent price considering the market. The ASM1 was underglass display for all of 45 minutes before it was bought and I walked out with a single $4 book and was so glad to see that kid's first big key/grail purchase. 

 

Edited August 28, 2021 by jcjames

[ADAMANTIUM]

[Sweet Lou 14]

So the book was raw?  If you don't mind me asking, how much did he pay for it, and did he haggle at all or just buy it at the asking price?

[WolverineX]

I hope it wasn't restored

[jcjames]

On 8/27/2021 at 7:14 PM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

So the book was raw?  If you don't mind me asking, how much did he pay for it, and did he haggle at all or just buy it at the asking price?

It was raw, I didn't page though it myself, but based only on the cover that I saw and what he said about the centerfold, it looked like maybe a 2.0 incomplete. It was priced around $2800 and I *think* he got it for maybe $2500ish. I didn't want to be too obviously hovering right next to the buyer while he was looking at it or making an offer. 

I don't know if it had any resto but even if it had resto (which was not obvious from the front cover when I picked it up while the dealer was initially loading the shelf) I still thought it was a good price raw 2.0ish appearance. 

 

Edited August 28, 2021 by jcjames

[WolverineX]

On 8/27/2021 at 10:44 PM, jcjames said:

It was raw, I didn't page though it myself, but based only on the cover that I saw and what he said about the centerfold, it looked like maybe a 2.0 incomplete. It was priced around $2800 and I *think* he got it for maybe $2500ish. I didn't want to be too obviously hovering right next to the buyer while he was looking at it or making an offer. 

Even if it had resto (which was not obvious from the front cover when I picked it up while the dealer was initially loading the shelf) I still thought it was a good price raw 2.0ish appearance. 

 

Oh yeah.  You should have said, I'll take it for 2900

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 8/27/2021 at 9:44 PM, jcjames said:

It was raw, I didn't page though it myself, but based only on the cover that I saw and what he said about the centerfold, it looked like maybe a 2.0 incomplete. It was priced around $2800 and I *think* he got it for maybe $2500ish. I didn't want to be too obviously hovering right next to the buyer while he was looking at it or making an offer. 

I don't know if it had any resto but even if it had resto (which was not obvious from the front cover when I picked it up while the dealer was initially loading the shelf) I still thought it was a good price raw 2.0ish appearance. 

 

Living the dream!

It used to be common place, if they came in that is, to find those lower grades raw priced at a couple of grand.....

Woulda coulda shoulda. I even tried lay away when I had the money outright but didn't go through to put it on layaway cause of college  

Wah wah whahaha

[MattTheDuck]

I don't like to generalize from one specific, but this is a good anecdote for those worried there won't be anyone to buy their comics in the future.

[Poekaymon]

On 8/28/2021 at 12:14 AM, MattTheDuck said:

I don't like to generalize from one specific, but this is a good anecdote for those worried there won't be anyone to buy their comics in the future.

I really think most people have confidence in stuff like ASM1 and X1 and H181 in the future.  I think a lot of the worry is regarding stuff like moderns, ratio variants, various artist books, "hot" stuff like SW/Clone Wars, and lesser/villain keys like ASM 238/361.

[Pitboss]

Great story! 

[1950's war comics]

the lower grade one buys ,,, the less money they can potentially lose...

Edited August 28, 2021 by 1950's war comics

[Robot Man]

I love this story. I remember being "that kid". As a seller at shows, I have often worked with a younger collector to acquire something that means so much to them. It is very gratifying and what makes this hobby so great. I love selling to real collectors who actually love these things rather than some flipper out for a quick buck. You can always tell the true collectors.

And, at the end of the day, I feel like I am doing a little something to keep this cool hobby of ours to continue. 

[Terry JSA]

I liked this story considering I am “that kid” since I’m currently 19-years-old. I remember when I first got into the hobby back in late 2017 when I was just 15. I got interested in the collecting side of things and discovered Green Lantern #76 and I really wanted it due to its significance on comics at that time. 

I was able to eventually buy one after getting my first job and when I got my first paycheck. I went to my LCS, asked if they had a Green Lantern #76 and sure enough they did! It was priced at $250 but I was able to get it down to $175 even. Huge shoutout to Shelton at Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find for helping me acquire my first ever grail! 
 

Overall it’s nice hearing stories people about being able to get their grails, congrats to that guy on getting an ASM #1! 

Edited August 28, 2021 by Terry JSA

[Robot Man]

On 8/28/2021 at 10:22 AM, Terry JSA said:

I liked this story considering I am “that kid”since I’m currently 19-years-old. I remember when I first got into the hobby back in late 2017 when I was just 15. I got interested in the collecting side of things and discovered Green Lantern #76 and I really wanted it due to its significance on comics at that time. 

I was able to eventually buy one after getting my first job and when I got my first paycheck, I went to my LCS, asked if they had a Green Lantern #76 and sure enough they did! It was priced at $250 but I was able to get it down to $175 even. Huge shoutout to Shelton at Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find for helping me acquire my first ever grail! 
 

Overall it’s nice hearing people being able to get their grails. Congrats to that guy on getting an ASM #1. 

To a lot of us, you are a “kid” (respectfully). 

I was truly a kid when I started at about age 10. I bought comics off the stands that I liked. One day, I discovered MAD Magazine. #1 was my grail of grails. An older guy saw my passion and sold me a copy for $50. I had to pay it off in payments. It was a LOT of money when I was 12. 

When I paid the last payment and took it home it was my most prized possession. 

Welcome to the crazy world of comic collecting. GL #76 is a great one to start with. One of the best arcs in comic history. Now go out and get the rest! 

Oh, and I got my copy off the rack for cover price...

Edited August 28, 2021 by Robot Man

[Dark Knight]

Yeah I was that kid too.. I wish I can re-live those memories because of that excitement I had in my eyes and that feeling of "Oh my gosh, is that an AF 15/ASM 1/DD 1!?" Only difference is that I couldn't afford it and my parents wouldn't hand me the $ to buy them because they thought the price was absurd . 

I remembered a DD1 in high grade, must've been at least 9.0 that was displayed on the wall of some antique store. I even remembered the store guy's name (Cory). He had a yellow shirt on with curly red hair and glasses.  I asked how much the book was and he said $900. I was just please mom, can you buy this book for me? Of course my mom said no because of the high price. I just couldn't take my eyes off of it the whole time I was there. Then when we went home I called my dad and asked if he can lend me the $. He actually thought  about it and talked to my mom over the phone, but my mom still said no as it was too pricey especially for someone of my age. I balled out crying the whole night... I visited the store a couple more times just to gaze at the book when I had the chance (this was by the way around a half hour or more drive).  Sadly over time, I dunno what became of that book.

 

[jcjames]

On 8/28/2021 at 10:54 AM, Dark Knight said:

Yeah I was that kid too.. I wish I can re-live those memories because of that excitement I had in my eyes and that feeling of "Oh my gosh, is that an AF 15/ASM 1/DD 1!?" Only difference is that I couldn't afford it and my parents wouldn't hand me the $ to buy them because they thought the price was absurd . 

I remembered a DD1 in high grade, must've been at least 9.0 that was displayed on the wall of some antique store. I even remembered the store guy's name (Cory). He had a yellow shirt on with curly red hair and glasses.  I asked how much the book was and he said $900. I was just please mom, can you buy this book for me? Of course my mom said no because of the high price. I just couldn't take my eyes off of it the whole time I was there. Then when we went home I called my dad and asked if he can lend me the $. He actually thought  about it and talked to my mom over the phone, but my mom still said no as it was too pricey especially for someone of my age. I balled out crying the whole night... I visited the store a couple more times just to gaze at the book when I had the chance (this was by the way around a half hour or more drive).  Sadly over time, I dunno what became of that book.

 

Wow, sounds like it was quite an impressionable moment for you to remember such details too! Sorry to hear you missed out on that. 

But yeah, the kid getting the ASM1, once he had the "okay" and the funds were available, he had such a happy/relieved grin on his face, clearly a collector's smile - unlike the expression on a flipper's face who looks at books like a lion watching gazelles pass by. 

[Dark Knight]

I'm definitely happy for the kid. That feeling will stick with him forever, especially for a big book like that 👍. 

[Terry JSA]

On 8/28/2021 at 1:35 PM, Robot Man said:

To a lot of us, you are a “kid” (respectfully). 

I was truly a kid when I started at about age 10. I bought comics off the stands that I liked. One day, I discovered MAD Magazine. #1 was my grail of grails. An older guy saw my passion and sold me a copy for $50. I had to pay it off in payments. It was a LOT of money when I was 12. 

When I paid the last payment and took it home it was my most prized possession. 

Welcome to the crazy world of comic collecting. GL #76 is a great one to start with. One of the best arcs in comic history. Now go out and get the rest! 

Oh, and I got my copy off the rack for cover price...

I’m aware that I’m still considered a “kid” to most adults. 

MAD #1 is a nice book to get at 12-years-old (for $50) considering what the prices are for that book now. It must’ve also been nice being able to buy Green Lantern #76 off the stands as well. 

I forgot to mention, I did own Green Lantern #76-89 at one point but ended up selling all of it (except for #76, #85, #86, and #87 of course) in order to fund other books I wanted. 

Edited August 28, 2021 by Terry JSA

[Ken Aldred]

Always so nice to read about examples of pure excitement and joy when a fledgling collector acquires a book that they really care about, in a field of interest which I tend to believe is otherwise dominated by cold, predatory greed.

That polarity, and kinship with the former, gives me hope.

Edited August 28, 2021 by Ken Aldred

[Dark Knight]

I also remembered back then that I would look up phone numbers in the directory and literally call every single comic book/collectible store in my area to ask if they had a particular issue available (these were silver age keys).  One of them was a DD 7 which I bought off a local shop. When I asked them over the phone how much, they responded that they don't give prices over the phone and for me to go down to the shop and ask about it. I pleaded that it was somewhat far of a drive and if they could just do me this one time with the price. They caved in and said $60. 

When I got to the store, I told em I was the same person who called about it. Looked at the book and I told them I will buy it. When I came up to the register, they said the price is $80. I questioned them and asked why the bump up in price, you told me $60 over the phone. I don't quite remember what the guy said back but I bought it anyways.