Ever Think of Selling Your Entire Collection for One Big Book? 5 5

[buttock]

On 3/14/2022 at 9:11 AM, Timely said:

This one.  I took those pics before I got this one in!

That's a great selection of pages.  

[Joshua33]

Not to be Captain Obvious here, but it would depend on the books you're moving and the book you're acquiring, to me. If you're selling 54 copies of Batman Adventures 12 in 9.6 to buy a copy of More Fun 54 in 9.0... I say go for it. If you have to sell 500 graded Everett, Fine, Eisner, Crandall, Baker, Frazetta, Craig, Schomburg, Cole and Simon covers to pick up a low grade Action 1... I say keep what you got. 

[lou_fine]

On 3/13/2022 at 4:44 PM, Timely said:

I turned many hundreds of books in 10 Ditko ASM pages. 
 

 

On 3/14/2022 at 11:48 AM, batman_fan said:

I think you made a very good decision 

Being biased here since I am not an OA collector myself, I would just have to say it would depend on what those hundreds of books were.    

[lou_fine]

On 3/14/2022 at 8:11 AM, Timely said:

This one.  I took those pics before I got this one in!

 

On 3/14/2022 at 12:33 PM, buttock said:

That's a great selection of pages.  

In total agreement with you, especially with this last page here where you see Spidey in full blown action in every single panel of this OA page.   

[Professor K]

About 25 years back an old time collector told me that Steve Ditko took all his original art with him when he left Marvel in 1966. Or that he still has all of it. This was in the late 90's. Is this true? Was there a time when 1960's Ditko art was really tough or nearly impossible to find? And was there a time when it suddenly started to appear for sale? Or is everything I just said completely untrue? 

Edited March 15, 2022 by Professor K
spelling correction

[adamstrange]

On 3/15/2022 at 12:56 AM, Professor K said:

About 25 years back an old time collector told me that Steve Ditko took all his original art with him when he left Marvel in 1966. Or that he still has all of it. This was in the late 90's. Is this true? Was there a time when 1960's Ditko art was really tough or nearly impossible to find? And was there a time when it suddenly started to appear for sale? Or is everything I just said completely untrue? 

He did not.  He was ambivalent about receiving back what remained after various "dips" into the warehouse.  According to his mind, Marvel could do what they wanted with the art as they paid for it.

I have read of a couple people who visited him who remarked of stacks of art in his apartment, which included some Marvel art.

[mtlevy1]

On 3/14/2022 at 8:43 PM, lou_fine said:

 

Being biased here since I am not an OA collector myself, I would just have to say it would depend on what those hundreds of books were.    

What a killer set of pages - ASM 23 with Green Goblin - Wowza!  You can buy any comic book but you can't say the same for original art!

[Cat-Man_America]

Timely has great taste in art and comics; in a manner of speaking I helped re-surface West's pool table.  

Note: One example, for context...

 

Spoiler

 

Edited March 16, 2022 by Cat-Man_America
Serious collectors photo!

[Larryw7]

I've been thinking of selling a bunch of books to obtain a grail; not my whole collection, but a sizable amount. The problem is that I take meds that makes it hard for me to pack lots of books. I already half decided that my latest sales thread would be my last. I would actually prefer to sell to a dealer, but I'm not sure which one.

[pmpknface]

On 3/15/2022 at 12:56 AM, Professor K said:

About 25 years back an old time collector told me that Steve Ditko took all his original art with him when he left Marvel in 1966. Or that he still has all of it. This was in the late 90's. Is this true? Was there a time when 1960's Ditko art was really tough or nearly impossible to find? And was there a time when it suddenly started to appear for sale? Or is everything I just said completely untrue? 

As far as I know the first artist to ask for their art back was Jim Steranko.  He even kept it pristine and if you see him at a show he'll have pages on display tht look like he drew them that morning but they are from the 60's.  I bought off of him his last copy of the FOOM package and a printers proof of the History of Comics #1 that I have framed.  I hope he gets some $$$ off of his stuff.  

[MrBedrock]

On 3/15/2022 at 5:58 AM, Larryw7 said:

I've been thinking of selling a bunch of books to obtain a grail; not my whole collection, but a sizable amount. The problem is that I take meds that makes it hard for me to pack lots of books. I already half decided that my latest sales thread would be my last. I would actually prefer to sell to a dealer, but I'm not sure which one.

[Robot Man]

And I hear Mr Bedrock also gives out free breath mints with each deal…

[rsouxlja7]

I have toyed with the idea but after taxes and selling fees I would probably come up short  

[Robot Man]

On 3/15/2022 at 8:18 AM, rsouxlja7 said:

I have toyed with the idea but after taxes and selling fees I would probably come up short  

That has gotton to be a problem for all of us. I have cut way back on my selling. Just doesn’t seem right to work so hard just to give it up to someone else.

Now that the pandamic is waning, I have taken to doing more live shows and private sales. Comics just sell themselves. 

[MattTheDuck]

On 3/15/2022 at 3:58 AM, Larryw7 said:

I've been thinking of selling a bunch of books to obtain a grail; not my whole collection, but a sizable amount. The problem is that I take meds that makes it hard for me to pack lots of books. I already half decided that my latest sales thread would be my last. I would actually prefer to sell to a dealer, but I'm not sure which one.

For the right books/deal, I'll fly to your house and pack them myself.

[D2]

Interesting replies, and an interesting question.

 

I will start my reply to this, which, is intended to be short, but will inevitably wind up a long winded rant on all things running through my mind.

 

My immediate response is YES! 
Ever see The Accountant, with Ben Affleck who plays an autistic assassin that, does... stuff?

There is a scene when the bad guys are closing in on him, so he needs to bail, and so he grabs all of his precious things and shoves them in a bag. One of the precious items is that he owns 1 comic book, and it's an Action Comics 1. It's not even graded  but you get the picture... and he throws everything into a back pack and he hot tails it out of there!

To me, that's YES! A holy grail book... look at all that epicness. That's what I want. That 1, ultimate signature piece! That commands all the world's attention.

 

But you see, I don't live in a movie, and I also don't have that kind of money. And if I was to sell everything I could... to obtain that 1 holiest of holy items. To be real, I just don't give a **** enough, to spend that kind of money on 1 book.

 

For 1 book now is not 1 book then, or even way back then. I may be in a minority here, but I will not spend $50,000 on a comic book. I won't spend $25,000 on a comic book. I don't want to, for a lot of reasons. I'd be stressed and nervous as ever if the temperature in my house fluctuated too much, potentially compromising the delicate condition of the special pages locked inside of plastic. The market is volatile, and knowing my luck, I'd spend 25k on a book, only for the market to decrease and I could have purchased the same book in a much higher grade, resulting in me actually regarding my book in spite, rather than in love. Or maybe, I'd just, fall out of love, altogether for that book, and now I have a $25,000 item in my house, that I'm going to try and sell, and poke around, and list for sale, dealing with low ballers, and inevitable transaction fees for selling it on, this platform or that... The stresses of selling it, sending it out, paying for a million dollars in insurance... hoping the recipient isn't a liar or a thief, plotting to screw me out of my book I sold everything to obtain.

And truth be told, I don't have the nostalgia for these books. I didn't read Amazing Fantasy 15 growing up, or Detective Comics 27... Or Action Comics 1. I've read old books, and to me, they suck. I hate them. I've read Hulk 181, Giant Size X-Men... even books from the 80s are pretty difficult to get through. Very difficult. Chris Claremont's run... is awful. It's corny and lengthy, and silly, and lame... Neal Adams' Joker is a m0r0n

I understand the idea of investing, and putting your money into an asset for it to grow. Comic books clearly grow. I don't buy comic books for investments, I buy them because I love them, love reading them, and to my own extent, have nostalgia for them. I love The Dark Knight Returns, and Batman Year One. I do love, Days of Future Past... I also love Old Man Logan, and BWS' Weapon X. Thankfully all of these books are not more than a few thousand, tops.

So I do understand why someone would want their AF 15, DC 27, and AC 1 but that's not me.

I have my holy grail books. I think that's really the final point.

Get your holy grail book, or books.. I got my holy grail books. Books I love. If they happen to cost a billion dollars, well, good luck to you. But I think the baseline point is the same.

 

Find what it is you want. Do you want a book to buy for investment, love, or both? I think we all want our books to appreciate, but there should always be a primary, secondary, and potentially a tertiary reason on buying a book. The primary goal is most important, and will be the driving force of purchasing decisions. 

My primary goal is to own the best book of what I love. This isn't the same reason as everyone else.

 

Edited March 15, 2022 by D2

[fishbone]

On 3/13/2022 at 7:44 PM, Timely said:

I turned many hundreds of books in 10 Ditko ASM pages. 
 

THAT !!!!!!       is what I'm talkin' bout !!          

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

On 3/15/2022 at 11:47 AM, D2 said:

knowing my luck, I'd spend 25k on a book, only for the market to decrease and I could have purchased the same book in a much higher grade, resulting in me actually regarding my book in spite, rather than in love.

Sounds familiar 

[fishbone]

On 3/15/2022 at 11:27 AM, Robot Man said:

That has gotton to be a problem for all of us. I have cut way back on my selling. Just doesn’t seem right to work so hard just to give it up to someone else.

Now that the pandamic is waning, I have taken to doing more live shows and private sales. Comics just sell themselves. 

cash is King   (or was .....)

[PopKulture]

On 3/15/2022 at 11:47 AM, D2 said:

Chris Claremont's run... is awful. It's corny and lengthy, and silly, and lame... 

 

 I do love, Days of Future Past...