How Do I Trade Comics at NYCC with Vendors? 3 3

[thehumantorch]

On 8/28/2022 at 6:55 AM, jimbo_7071 said:

No, they'll just trim a book, color touch the spine with magic markers, fail to mention the clipped coupons or the missing centerfold, and then mark the incomplete apparent VG– book as NM and sell it for double guide to parents who have been saving all year to be able to afford one really nice book as a Christmas present for their comic-collecting son or daughter.

When the high-grade San Francisco pedigree collection first surfaced, a couple of dealers bought all of the Timelys, including the Captain America Comics #1, for $1 each. They took advantage of the fact that the sellers (who had inherited the collection) didn't know anything about comic books. That is typical.

Sure, some dealers will do anything to make a buck.  They aren't alone as you can see in the Garage Sale/Flea Market Finds thread where boardies are displaying the great scores they're finding.  But not all dealers are dishonest and unscrupulous 

[jimbo_7071]

On 8/28/2022 at 12:28 PM, thehumantorch said:

Sure, some dealers will do anything to make a buck.  They aren't alone as you can see in the Garage Sale/Flea Market Finds thread where boardies are displaying the great scores they're finding.  But not all dealers are dishonest and unscrupulous 

Not all, no—but if you've been in the hobby for a while, I'll bet you've run into some dealers who are just like the ones I described.

Edited August 28, 2022 by jimbo_7071

[Cat-Man_America]

On 8/28/2022 at 7:55 AM, jimbo_7071 said:

No, they'll just trim a book, color touch the spine with magic markers, fail to mention the clipped coupons or the missing centerfold, and then mark the incomplete apparent VG– book as NM and sell it for double guide to parents who have been saving all year to be able to afford one really nice book as a Christmas present for their comic-collecting son or daughter.

When the high-grade San Francisco pedigree collection first surfaced, a couple of dealers bought all of the Timelys, including the Captain America Comics #1, for $1 each. They took advantage of the fact that the sellers (who had inherited the collection) didn't know anything about comic books. That is typical.

This is the rare exception rather than the rule.  Yes, dealers will often buy comics at the lowest price they can obtain them, but there are usually lines drawn that a good professional comic dealer won't cross, such as outright misrepresentation to someone selling to them or a customer buying from them.  Back when I was buying and selling SA comics decades ago, I'd purchase comics via local newspaper "want to buy" ads, usually from sellers who thought they were worth next to nothing, but up front I'd tell them that the comics were probably worth a lot more than I could pay and they might get more elsewhere.  I'd usually mention several caveats they should consider: 1) I'm buying in quantity which means the don't have to take time seeking out multiple buyers, 2) whatever the value turned out to be after grading, I had overhead such as advertising, marketing, set-up costs etc., and 3) selling books individually involves longer term storage and risk the values could decline.

On 8/28/2022 at 11:28 AM, thehumantorch said:

Sure, some dealers will do anything to make a buck.  They aren't alone as you can see in the Garage Sale/Flea Market Finds thread where boardies are displaying the great scores they're finding.  But not all dealers are dishonest and unscrupulous 

This is very true. Most dealers I know are totally honest and pride themselves on scruples.  Heck, some dealers even collect scruples for a living! 

It isn't dishonest to want to make a profit in business and there's a lot of overhead in running a business.  It's only dishonest if you misrepresent something you're selling with the intent of taking advantage of a customer's ignorance. I've seen this from several angles, as a collector, as an occasional dealer and as someone ...with a grasp of collectibles investment... as an armchair collectibles investment counselor.

[thehumantorch]

On 8/28/2022 at 12:10 PM, jimbo_7071 said:

Not all, no—but if you've been in the hobby for a while, I'll bet you've run into some dealers are just like the ones I described.

Since the mid 1970s lol.  Some are incredibly dishonest.  Just not all as has been posted in this thread.

[Robot Man]

On 8/28/2022 at 9:28 AM, thehumantorch said:

Sure, some dealers will do anything to make a buck.  They aren't alone as you can see in the Garage Sale/Flea Market Finds thread where boardies are displaying the great scores they're finding.  But not all dealers are dishonest and unscrupulous 

Are you saying that the people in the garage Sale / Flea Market thread are dealers? And they are dishonest because they are showing their “scores”? 

[Robot Man]

On 8/28/2022 at 11:26 AM, Cat-Man_America said:

This is the rare exception rather than the rule.  Yes, dealers will often buy comics at the lowest price they can obtain them, but there are usually lines drawn that a good professional comic dealer won't cross, such as outright misrepresentation to someone selling to them or a customer buying from them.  Back when I was buying and selling SA comics decades ago, I'd purchase comics via local newspaper "want to buy" ads, usually from sellers who thought they were worth next to nothing, but up front I'd tell them that the comics were probably worth a lot more than I could pay and they might get more elsewhere.  I'd usually mention several caveats they should consider: 1) I'm buying in quantity which means the don't have to take time seeking out multiple buyers, 2) whatever the value turned out to be after grading, I had overhead such as advertising, marketing, set-up costs etc., and 3) selling books individually involves longer term storage and risk the values could decline.

This is very true. Most dealers I know are totally honest and pride themselves on scruples.  Heck, some dealers even collect scruples for a living! 

It isn't dishonest to want to make a profit in business and there's a lot of overhead in running a business.  It's only dishonest if you misrepresent something you're selling with the intent of taking advantage of a customer's ignorance. I've seen this from several angles, as a collector, as an occasional dealer and as someone ...with a grasp of collectibles investment... as an armchair collectibles investment counselor.

[thehumantorch]

On 8/28/2022 at 3:17 PM, Robot Man said:

Are you saying that the people in the garage Sale / Flea Market thread are dealers? And they are dishonest because they are showing their “scores”? 

No, I'm saying it's not just dealers who're looking for scores and deals.  It's human nature.

[batman_fan]

On 8/28/2022 at 3:17 PM, Robot Man said:

Are you saying that the people in the garage Sale / Flea Market thread are dealers? And they are dishonest because they are showing their “scores”? 

Someone offers to sell something for a price and you agree to buy it for that price or a mutually agreed on price.  Sounds like a good deal for both parties.  I had a lot in the mountains and decided it wasn't large enough to build the house I wanted.  Found the owner of the lot next to ours and made an offer.  They excepted.  It was my starting offer and I would have gone $100k higher to secure it.  I was happy to get it for what I considered a bargain.

[Cat-Man_America]

On 8/28/2022 at 4:20 PM, Robot Man said:

[tth2]

On 8/29/2022 at 9:00 AM, batman_fan said:

I had a lot in the mountains and decided it wasn't large enough to build the house I wanted.  Found the owner of the lot next to ours and made an offer.  They excepted.  It was my starting offer and I would have gone $100k higher to secure it.  I was happy to get it for what I considered a bargain.

So YOU'RE "that guy" everyone's been complaining about.

[batman_fan]

On 8/28/2022 at 7:45 PM, tth2 said:

So YOU'RE "that guy" everyone's been complaining about.

Please, I have way better taste than that, mine is shaped like a peanut.

[tth2]

On 8/29/2022 at 9:48 AM, batman_fan said:

Please, I have way better taste than that, mine is shaped like a peanut.

 I should've known! 

But who would complain about a house that looks like that?  It's awesome!

[jimbo_7071]

On 8/28/2022 at 9:00 PM, batman_fan said:

Someone offers to sell something for a price and you agree to buy it for that price or a mutually agreed on price.  Sounds like a good deal for both parties.  I had a lot in the mountains and decided it wasn't large enough to build the house I wanted.  Found the owner of the lot next to ours and made an offer.  They excepted.  It was my starting offer and I would have gone $100k higher to secure it.  I was happy to get it for what I considered a bargain.

I don't disagree. However, it's a little different when someone approaches a dealer and places his or her trust in the dealer's appraisal of the collection. We all know that if an elderly woman walked into a comic shop with a NM copy of Tec 27, there are some dealers who would offer to buy it outright for a fair price such as 90% of FMV if they have it (which I think @G.A.tor has done routinely), some who would admit that they cannot afford to buy it outright but who would help her find buyers (like the late Harry Thomas did with the Cookeville collection), and some like Dung Smell who would tell her they were feeling generous and offer her 5 dollars—or maybe 5 cents because the cover price is 10 cents and it's used.

[Robot Man]

On 8/28/2022 at 5:59 PM, thehumantorch said:

No, I'm saying it's not just dealers who're looking for scores and deals.  It's human nature.

Indeed. Aren’t we all? I have spent a good portion of my life researching my hobby. I also get up in the dark and cold on weekend mornings with a flashlight often driving an hour to get to estate sales, flea markets and the like to hopefully score something from a seller who doesn’t care or is lazy. When they quote me a price, I take it or not. When it is a good deal, I pay them what they want. They are happy and so am I. If they should realize later they sold something too cheap, that is on them for not doing their homework. Not on me for doing mine.

I rarely make offers. Then I have to be honest and explain the reselling metrics. Fair offers to strangers usually end up getting turned down and then used to another future buyer. I will offer appraisals for a fee but a seller often has no respect for my experience and time.

I do have regular folks I deal with that run estate sales or sell at shows. They know what I like and often hold stuff for me. They know I will be honest and fair with them. This often leads to some Awsome finds.

This applies to a lot of other collectibles other than just comics. I tend to enjoy finding out everything I can on stuff I like. 

[Robot Man]

On 8/29/2022 at 5:20 AM, jimbo_7071 said:

I don't disagree. However, it's a little different when someone approaches a dealer and places his or her trust in the dealer's appraisal of the collection. We all know that if an elderly woman walked into a comic shop with a NM copy of Tec 27, there are some dealers who would offer to buy it outright for a fair price such as 90% of FMV if they have it (which I think @G.A.tor has done routinely), some who would admit that they cannot afford to buy it outright but who would help her find buyers (like the late Harry Thomas did with the Cookeville collection), and some like Dung Smell who would tell her they were feeling generous and offer her 5 dollars—or maybe 5 cents because the cover price is 10 cents and it's used.

There are and always have been scum in the comic and collectible business. And trusting sellers that often just want to dump something they got for nothing and make a quick buck on.

Sad, and hurts the many honest dealers out there. Assuming that everyone is out to rip you off is a pretty natural and logical assumption but can be midigated by doing a little research before you sell. 

[circumstances]

When is/was the con?

 

Did you trade for a ton of cool EC?