Best current venue for selling books? 1 1

[Flex Mentallo]

On 1/16/2022 at 1:05 PM, goldust40 said:

Got to channel your inner Englishman.

The envy of the world, we English!

[MrBedrock]

On 1/15/2022 at 10:20 AM, SuperBird said:

Richard gave me a very solid offer to buy them outright, definitely in the range of what I expect the net at auction. In the end I went with Heritage mostly because of recent auction results, and also wanting the experience of auctioning them. 

I would like to make this a very public experiment to illustrate one of the struggles that vintage dealers have in acquiring inventory these days. I offered Matt $70,000 for his Action 15-63 run. All paid up front. I came up with a current average GPA value of $75,000, so I figure my offer is over 90% of current FMV.

But I have to compete with the illusion that all comics are bringing record prices at auction. The big houses will give an advance, in this case I imagine $30-$35K, with hope that by the time the books come up for sale, are paid for, and the the consignor receives the final payment (6 to 12 months from now) the balance will be significantly more than my offer. In this market that is an alluring offer. And the auction house has no downside. There are no promises. There is only the gamble on the potential. If the books do great the auction takes the credit. If the books don't perform it is the current market's fault.

I hope it works out for Matt, and as I told him I really appreciate the opportunity to make an offer on his books. I hope we all will be watching and taking notes.

[adamstrange]

On 1/16/2022 at 12:51 PM, MrBedrock said:

I would like to make this a very public experiment to illustrate one of the struggles that vintage dealers have in acquiring inventory these days. I offered Matt $70,000 for his Action 15-63 run. All paid up front. I came up with a current average GPA value of $75,000, so I figure my offer is over 90% of current FMV.

But I have to compete with the illusion that all comics are bringing record prices at auction. The big houses will give an advance, in this case I imagine $30-$35K, with hope that by the time the books come up for sale, are paid for, and the the consignor receives the final payment (6 to 12 months from now) the balance will be significantly more than my offer. In this market that is an alluring offer. And the auction house has no downside. There are no promises. There is only the gamble on the potential. If the books do great the auction takes the credit. If the books don't perform it is the current market's fault.

I hope it works out for Matt, and as I told him I really appreciate the opportunity to make an offer on his books. I hope we all will be watching and taking notes.

Maybe you should include a lottery ticket, next time.  And a chocolate.

[SuperBird]

I agree with MrBedrock's statement. The 15% I'd pay HA made his offer almost exactly what I'd expect to net, so his offer was excellent IMO. I would certainly sell him other books in my collection when the time comes, but for these I always really wanted their disposition to be an "event' for me, seeing as how much time and effort I put into aquiring them. (15 years!)

Edited January 16, 2022 by SuperBird

[Flex Mentallo]

On 1/16/2022 at 7:20 PM, adamstrange said:

Maybe you should include a lottery ticket, next time.  And a chocolate.

Life is just a box of lottery tickets.

 

[mikefeen]

On 1/16/2022 at 10:51 AM, MrBedrock said:

I would like to make this a very public experiment to illustrate one of the struggles that vintage dealers have in acquiring inventory these days. I offered Matt $70,000 for his Action 15-63 run. All paid up front. I came up with a current average GPA value of $75,000, so I figure my offer is over 90% of current FMV.

But I have to compete with the illusion that all comics are bringing record prices at auction. The big houses will give an advance, in this case I imagine $30-$35K, with hope that by the time the books come up for sale, are paid for, and the the consignor receives the final payment (6 to 12 months from now) the balance will be significantly more than my offer. In this market that is an alluring offer. And the auction house has no downside. There are no promises. There is only the gamble on the potential. If the books do great the auction takes the credit. If the books don't perform it is the current market's fault.

I hope it works out for Matt, and as I told him I really appreciate the opportunity to make an offer on his books. I hope we all will be watching and taking notes.

Might be time to start Bedrock City Auctions!  You're even located in state with the most liberal rules for auction houses. 

I'm only half joking... It would be a lot of work obviously, but you're a very respected guy in the comic market, so given a bit of time I could see Bedrock City Auctions being right up there with the big three comic auction sites.

[Ryan.]

On 1/16/2022 at 12:51 PM, MrBedrock said:

offered Matt $70,000 for his Action 15-63 run. 

What method are we talking about here? Check? Wire transfer? Dogecoin? Sack of cash with a $ sign on it? 

[Flex Mentallo]

On 1/16/2022 at 9:53 PM, Ryan. said:

What method are we talking about here? Check? Wire transfer? Dogecoin? Sack of cash with a $ sign on it? 

I confidently predict that all of these will soon be supplanted by a more sophisticated form of currency.

 

[MrBedrock]

On 1/16/2022 at 3:53 PM, Ryan. said:

What method are we talking about here? Check? Wire transfer? Dogecoin? Sack of cash with a $ sign on it? 

A check was my preference but I said I was open to any method he choose. 

[MrBedrock]

On 1/16/2022 at 3:28 PM, SuperBird said:

I agree with @bedrockcomics statement. The 15% I'd pay HA made his offer almost exactly what I'd expect to net, so his offer was excellent IMO. I would certainly sell him other books in my collection when the time comes, but for these I always really wanted their disposition to be an "event' for me, seeing as how much time and effort I put into aquiring them. (15 years!)

You gave me the most honest rejection I've received in a while. And I completely get it. Auctions are very exciting. I absolutely wish you the best!

( @bedrockcomics is somebody else.)

Edited January 16, 2022 by MrBedrock

[Robot Man]

On 1/16/2022 at 4:54 AM, Professor K said:

I think April/May to October is best. Most people who get a tax refund have it by May which may generate more bids. And this might be nonsense but Spring time and the nice weather arriving might actually help as people in general get a more positive outlook. I think of the Pennyworth Collection which sold early last year. I believe had they waited a few more months they would have got even higher prices. I think May and June are real good months to sell.

I do a lot of live shows. One or two every month.  (Or did until cooties came along and ruined everything). In addition to vintage comics, I deal in all manner of collectibles. Old toys, advertising, sports, music, political ect. And my wife deals in high end antiques.

It has been our experience that Dec and April are usually weak months. Best months? Jan, May, June and Sept. 

 

[buttock]

On 1/16/2022 at 5:48 PM, Robot Man said:

I do a lot of live shows. One or two every month.  (Or did until cooties came along and ruined everything). In addition to vintage comics, I deal in all manner of collectibles. Old toys, advertising, sports, music, political ect. And my wife deals in high end antiques.

It has been our experience that Dec and April are usually weak months. Best months? Jan, May, June and Sept. 

 

The idea that winter is worse for auctions has never had any good evidence.  I think it's a myth.  Just look at this last Heritage auction.  

[Robot Man]

On 1/16/2022 at 4:55 PM, buttock said:

The idea that winter is worse for auctions has never had any good evidence.  I think it's a myth.  Just look at this last Heritage auction.  

I was referring to live shows not auctions. Folks get busy at the holidays and a lot of money goes to gifts and entertaining. In my case, property taxes as well. A lot of folks who have to come up with money for taxes in April, tend to tighten up the purse strings then. 

[tth2]

On 1/17/2022 at 8:55 AM, buttock said:

The idea that winter is worse for auctions has never had any good evidence.  I think it's a myth.  Just look at this last Heritage auction.  

All of the traditional arbitrage opportunities have disappeared.  The reality is that bidders are now on 24/7 year round because they don't want to let an opportunity slip through.

Online sessions of Signature auctions vs live floor sessions of Signature auctions?  No difference anymore.

Signature auctions vs weekly auctions?  No difference anymore. 

Winter vs summer vs fall vs spring?  No difference anymore.

Brand new auction house vs established player?  As we saw with Goldin's initial comic auction, if you have attractive books, the bidders will come.

[Robot Man]

@MrBedrock brings up an interesting senario.

It has becoming increasingly difficult for dealers to procure fresh material. Dealers have to be VERY competitive. There is very left “in the wild” and I seriously doubt much nice stuff is walking in off the street anymore. 

It might seem otherwise, but decent collections of quality material just isn’t becoming available. Collectors who are deciding to sell are either doing it themselves or sending it to auction houses. They seem willing to gamble on the current hot market.

Commissions, seller’s fees, grading costs and the wait time to get paid adds up.

Depending on what was paid for the books, a very fair offer like Richard’s seems like an easy and quick way to dispose of your books and at a very good rate of return. 

[tth2]

On 1/17/2022 at 11:30 PM, Robot Man said:

Commissions, seller’s fees, grading costs and the wait time to get paid adds up.

Depending on what was paid for the books, a very fair offer like Richard’s seems like an easy and quick way to dispose of your books and at a very good rate of return.

No one's saying Richard wasn't offering a fair deal.  But it still doesn't mean that it's the best deal that SuperBird could get.  Yes, compared to a sure thing, SuperBird is taking some risk in exchange for the potential to get an even higher return.  Maybe it'll pan out, maybe it won't, but I don't think it's an unreasonable decision.

In the OA forum, Mike Burkey said he previously offered the seller of the two Secret Wars OA pages $250k, which I think most people agreed was a fair offer.  But I think it's clear now that the seller made a much better decision to roll the dice on an open auction. 

[Aman619]

These Actions are mid grades right?   I have a run I put together over the last decade in higher grades and have watched the sales prices, and it’s only the highest graded that sparks bidding excitement.  So as much fun as watching my run up for auction, I’d have to be prepared that I chose excitement over a secured quick sale for almost full GPA.  There really aren’t that many keys in these issues for the new money to wet themselves over.  

Edited January 20, 2022 by Aman619

[Aman619]

Tim’s point is a cautionary tale to be heeded.  But there are no million dollar surprises in this consignment.. unfortunately for both of us.  And even with the Venom artwork, if it sold privately for 250K there’s no way we’d ever know it’s value for a decade, having already set a stupid record sale of 250K. so the seller would have a long happy time being the guy who cashed in big time and sleep,well at night for years, before concluding that time had made it worth millions since he sold it in 2022.

[sfcityduck]

On 1/20/2022 at 7:12 AM, Aman619 said:

And even with the Venom artwork, if it sold privately for 250K there’s no way we’d ever know it’s value for a decade, having already set a stupid record sale of 250K. so the seller would have a long happy time being the guy who cashed in big time and sleep,well at night for years, before concluding that time had made it worth millions since he sold it in 2022.

As Keller’s Flash run auction bloodbath illustrated, what may seem like a “stupid money” record may turn out with time to indeed be a “stupid money” purchase which does not hold up the next time it is auctioned.  I would bet that way on the interior page of the seven months or so after it’s debut black costume/Venom.

[SuperBird]

On 1/20/2022 at 9:59 AM, Aman619 said:

These Actions are mid grades right?   I have a run I put together over the last decade in higher grades and have watched the sales prices, and it’s only the highest graded that sparks bidding excitement.  So as much fun as watching my run up for auction, I’d have to be prepared that I chose excitement over a secured quick sale for almost full GPA.  There really aren’t that many keys in these issues for the new money to wet themselves over.  

The grades top out at 6.5. There are a few in there that I expect might surprise to the upside, as some haven't been available publicly for a while. I also have no clue how to put a value on a restored AC23 8.5.

I'm prepared for whatever, though.