The end of an era for me. 2 2

[shadroch]

When I opened my first shop in the early 80s, I was pretty clueless as far as running a business goes and for a long time lived day to day , often working this week to pay last weeks bills. It seemed every time I'd get just a bit ahead, a collection would walk in the door or something would break.  My original distributor had gone belly up after the owners death so I was using a new outfit that had extended me credit but suddenly wanted cash up front until I was caught up. 

It's a Friday afternoon and I'm driving to Brooklyn to pick up my books( this was before the distributor wars got my books delivered) and stop in at Joe Kochs warehouse.  I was a very good customer as I stocked a lot of my back issues from him so he sometimes held some goodies back from the regular buyers. 

He shows me a stack, maybe two feet high  of Fantastic Four 48s, and offers me sets of 48-50 for $20 a set.  I think he had 250 sets.  I buy two or three because thats all the money I had.  I pick up my books and after paying I have $40 left but not the time to drive across Brooklyn to get them.  All weekend I think about them and decide I'm going to  call Monday and reserve a few more sets. I do a back issue sale that raises a few bucks and on Monday I go in and buy  nine more sets.  I sold three sets for $60 and two FF 48s for $35 each and put the rest away.  Through thick and thin, I held these books as a leg of my retirement plan. I started selling them last year and yesterday I sold the last of them.  My numbers might be slightly off, but I remember I got about 75%  of my initial investment back right away and sold a set to an old forumite for $1,000  when I was fairly new here. The last two 48s sold for $5,000.  I'd always thought I'd hold a 48 until the very end but I never dreamed mid grades would sell for this. I'd hoped to use the money on a restored Batman #3 but the price got away from me.

Selling these books really closes a chapter in my life. 

Edited October 13, 2021 by shadroch

[MattTheDuck]

Great story.  

[KCOComics]

On 10/12/2021 at 11:11 PM, shadroch said:

When I opened my first shop in the early 80s, I was pretty clueless as far as running a business goes and for a long time lived day to day , often working this week to pay last weeks bills. It seemed every time I'd get just a bit ahead, a collection would walk in the door or something would break.  My original distributor had gone belly up after the owners death so I was using a new outfit that had extended me credit but suddenly wanted cash up front until I was caught up. 

It's a Friday afternoon and I'm driving to Brooklyn to pick up my books( this was before the distributor wars got my books delivered) and stop in at Joe Kochs warehouse.  I was a very good customer as I stocked a lot of my back issues from him so he sometimes held some goodies back from the regular buyers. 

He shows me a stack, maybe two feet high  of Fantastic Four 48s, and offers me sets of 48-50 for $20 a set.  I think he had 250 sets.  I buy two or three because thats all the money I had.  I pick up my books and after paying I have $40 left but not the time to drive across Brooklyn to get them.  All weekend I think about them and decide I'm going to  call Monday and reserve a few more sets. I do a back issue sale that raises a few bucks and on Monday I go in and buy  nine more sets.  I sold three sets for $60 and two FF 48s for $35 each and put the rest away.  Through thick and thin, I held these books as a leg of my retirement plan. I started selling them last year and yesterday I sold the last of them.  My numbers might be slightly off, but I remember I got about 75%  of my initial investment back right away and sold a set to an old forumite for $1,000  when I was fairly new here. The last two 48s sold for $5,000.  I'd always thought I'd hold a 48 until the very end but I never dreamed mid grades would sell for this. I'd hoped to use the money on a restored Batman #3 but the price got away from me.

Selling these books really closes a chapter in my life. 

You know, you've had a very interesting life, if you send me two FF48s, $30k by money order, and a blood sample, I'll ghost write about it for you.   I can't promise it will get published, but I do have absolutely no professional writing experience! 

Think it over. 

[Readcomix]

Such a great story to share; thank you Shadroch! I believe they came from the Robert Bell collection that Koch and Gary Dolgoff bought? I’ve heard other dealers who have been at it a long time in the northeast say FF48 was one of the books in the collection that came in an unopened distributor case quantity. TOS 59 was another, and I recall at least one Strange Tales but the # escapes me now. Do you recall other “case books” from their Bell purchase? IM/SM#1?

Of course, 300 copies this many years later isn’t exactly a flooded market but it is still interesting history.

Edited October 14, 2021 by Readcomix
Had typed TTA when I meant TOS

[aardvark88]

On 10/13/2021 at 7:39 PM, Readcomix said:

 they came from the Robert Bell collection that Koch and Gary Dolgoff bought?  FF48 was one of the books in the collection that came in an unopened distributor case quantity. TTA 59 was another, and I recall at least one Strange Tales but the # escapes me now.  IM/SM#1?

Of course, 300 copies this many years later isn’t exactly a flooded market but it is still interesting history.

TTA #59 seems too early to be found in bulk. Perhaps ASM #33 were found in sealed cases?

[Readcomix]

On 10/13/2021 at 10:53 PM, aardvark88 said:

TTA #59 seems too early to be found in bulk. Perhaps ASM #33 were found in sealed cases?

 Brain fart! Thanks Aardvark! TOS #59; the Cap solo start-up issue. My tired brain typed TTA. Thank you! I’ll go edit original post for clarity.
 

I don’t recall hearing ASM 33 personally but I wouldn’t doubt it either. Hoping Shadroch remembers more too.

[shadroch]

I missed out on getting early access to the Bell stuff.  I bought some via the Koch Brothers mail order but by the time I started buying seriously it had been well picked through. Koch-Dolgorf-Koch had gone their different ways and  Joe was in a dump by the old Brooklyn Navy Yard.  He had only been there a few months, I believe, and there were racks upon racks of loosely organized  boxes of books.  I think he had some rooms that were completely unsorted.