Question for seasoned dealers 1 1

[cigars&comix]

Question for seasoned dealers if there are any on here..
I have a dilemma, I buy collections to sell for the most part.
I now have an opportunity to buy a collection of mid 80s to 1998 not later, for pennies...about 4000 books. Not cherry picked, person is giving me everything, says some ASM 300 and some signed stuff included and lots of Marvel. Not my favorite eras, I definitely prefer mid 80s , 70s 60s etc.
My dilemma is that a collection this size would limit my ability to buy a better collection should it come along, and  it would take me a good 6 months to sell off on ebay.

Is it worth the time and effort? I know very little about this era, and value per book. 
 

Edited January 12, 2022 by cigars&comix

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 1/12/2022 at 6:25 AM, cigars&comix said:

Question for seasoned dealers if there are any on here..
I have a dilemma, I buy collections to sell for the most part.
I now have an opportunity to buy a collection of mid 80s to 1998 not later, for pennies...about 4000 books. Not cherry picked, person is giving me everything, says some ASM 300 and some signed stuff included and lots of Marvel. Not my favorite eras, I definitely prefer mid 80s , 70s 60s etc.
My dilemma is that a collection this size would limit my ability to buy a better collection should it come along, and  it would take me a good 6 months to sell off on ebay.

Is it worth the time and effort? I know very little about this era, and value per book. 
 

[awakeintheashes]

On 1/12/2022 at 7:42 AM, THE_BEYONDER said:

I’ll take it if he doesn’t. 

[gradejunky]

Could be a lot of good stuff in those boxes.  If he was a gentle reader/handler of the books etc, then it will be worth it.  If the books are sub-par it could take way longer than you think to offload unless you just go the $.99 auction route for the fluff.  If there is DH Star Wars books you could be in some good coin.  Hard to say without knowing the details.

[Brock]

On 1/12/2022 at 7:42 AM, THE_BEYONDER said:

On 1/12/2022 at 1:14 PM, awakeintheashes said:

I’ll take it if he doesn’t. 

I'll take it if he doesn't and he doesn't.

[cigars&comix]

On 1/12/2022 at 2:19 PM, gradejunky said:

Could be a lot of good stuff in those boxes.  If he was a gentle reader/handler of the books etc, then it will be worth it.  If the books are sub-par it could take way longer than you think to offload unless you just go the $.99 auction route for the fluff.  If there is DH Star Wars books you could be in some good coin.  Hard to say without knowing the details.

Thanks - it seems he was a gentle handler - everything is bagged from the 10 minutes i spent in his basement. ok I think im gonna do it. will keep you guys posted. The other thing holding me back is that this guy would purchase weekly, read it, bag it, and put in a box, but he never organized by title! So I literally need to have several boxes open at once and start a sorting process of 4000 books. 

[awakeintheashes]

On 1/12/2022 at 4:06 PM, cigars&comix said:

Thanks - it seems he was a gentle handler - everything is bagged from the 10 minutes i spent in his basement. ok I think im gonna do it. will keep you guys posted. The other thing holding me back is that this guy would purchase weekly, read it, bag it, and put in a box, but he never organized by title! So I literally need to have several boxes open at once and start a sorting process of 4000 books. 

I’ve been through that with almost every collection. I’ve learned to enjoy it because you never know what you will find and when. 
 

I did start logging each issue as I went through. It may take longer, but it makes it easier to track what you have if you get sidetracked or never get around to properly organizing. 

[cigars&comix]

On 1/12/2022 at 4:10 PM, awakeintheashes said:

I’ve been through that with almost every collection. I’ve learned to enjoy it because you never know what you will find and when. 
 

I did start logging each issue as I went through. It may take longer, but it makes it easier to track what you have if you get sidetracked or never get around to properly organizing. 

I usually first sort by similar titles - Stage 1: for example ASM, peter parker, spidey 2099, marvel tales, etc all go in one box.

Stage 2 : I re-sort into exact titles and in number order.

[darkstar]

Why does purchasing this collection limit your ability to buy a better collection down the line? Is it due to limited space or funds? In either case you could just pull the keys and offload the rest to a shop. 

[cigars&comix]

On 1/12/2022 at 7:06 PM, darkstar said:

Why does purchasing this collection limit your ability to buy a better collection down the line? Is it due to limited space or funds? In either case you could just pull the keys and offload the rest to a shop. 

yes space. thats what i was thinking. but I'll figure it out, somehow I always magically find space that I didnt know existed.

[xela_v]

On 1/12/2022 at 1:06 PM, cigars&comix said:

Thanks - it seems he was a gentle handler - everything is bagged from the 10 minutes i spent in his basement. ok I think im gonna do it. will keep you guys posted. The other thing holding me back is that this guy would purchase weekly, read it, bag it, and put in a box, but he never organized by title! So I literally need to have several boxes open at once and start a sorting process of 4000 books. 

That's the fun of buying a collection, never know what you'll find, just like treasure hunting!

[WolverineX]

On 1/12/2022 at 4:06 PM, cigars&comix said:

Thanks - it seems he was a gentle handler - everything is bagged from the 10 minutes i spent in his basement. ok I think im gonna do it. will keep you guys posted. The other thing holding me back is that this guy would purchase weekly, read it, bag it, and put in a box, but he never organized by title! So I literally need to have several boxes open at once and start a sorting process of 4000 books. 

A bird in your hand is worth....

[cigars&comix]

Well purchase was made!

8 long boxes, 11 short boxes. He had one box that was cherry picked items according to him, so I kept that one for my home, the rest I put in storage until I get around to sorting the lot, maybe late spring.

Here are 3 books from that one box , which basically pay for the purchase itself! So I think I did ok. I'll show some more from that box as I go through it later this week.

[cigars&comix]

...and thank you all for the encouragement, I was legit 50/50 on what to do. Thats why these forums are great!

[awakeintheashes]

On 1/18/2022 at 6:55 AM, cigars&comix said:

Well purchase was made!

8 long boxes, 11 short boxes. He had one box that was cherry picked items according to him, so I kept that one for my home, the rest I put in storage until I get around to sorting the lot, maybe late spring.

Here are 3 books from that one box , which basically pay for the purchase itself! So I think I did ok. I'll show some more from that box as I go through it later this week.

Nicely done and glad you pulled the trigger. I’m sure there is lots of good stuff in there. Probably even some good stuff in the other boxes that doesn’t jump out as “key.” I’ve come across so many HTF newsstands, toy inserts and other variants that sell really well. Sometimes even better than the “cherry” stuff. 

[awakeintheashes]

Also, if there are any Star Wars comics in the stuff you put into storage, you may want to pull them out to have at the ready. We are back in SW heating up season and don’t see it slowing down until late spring/summer like last year. 

[THE_BEYONDER]

On 1/18/2022 at 6:55 AM, cigars&comix said:

Well purchase was made!

8 long boxes, 11 short boxes. He had one box that was cherry picked items according to him, so I kept that one for my home, the rest I put in storage until I get around to sorting the lot, maybe late spring.

Here are 3 books from that one box , which basically pay for the purchase itself! So I think I did ok. I'll show some more from that box as I go through it later this week.

The entire comic market could implode by spring 

[cigars&comix]

On 1/18/2022 at 11:44 AM, THE_BEYONDER said:

The entire comic market could implode by spring 

lol, i have about 1200 books to list still before i get to this collection, hopefully before spring.