Learning experience 1 1

[jas1vans]

I am in the process of turning the collection I have into the collection I'd like to have. I made a list that will (likely not) keep me from any miscellaneous purchases. While looking for some of the books on my list I found a bunch of books that, while not on the list, would look great in my collection (or anyone else's for that matter). Unfortunately, until I get more familiar with GA, they're not just in the deep end of the pool, they're down with the Titanic.

I don't have the time to wait for the doors open so I am under no impression that I'll even see the books. If I can see these books in person, I'll consider it a huge win. If, by chance, I do get there before anyone else picks these up, I am going to make an offer I am comfortable with. I will also take some pics because I have read that comic book threads are worthless without pics.

I am trying to learn more about GA books (and how to track them down) as the most difficult books on my list are from this era (difficult to find sales history, impossible to find for sale, at least for me).  The books I'm interested in this sale don't have a lot of sales history. I only looked on Heritage though. I don't subscribe to GPA or any other price tracking service. Are recent auction results going to be my best bet to find values on GA books without the subscription services? Could you offer any other tips on GA collecting in general?

[buttock]

Diligence and networking.  That's about it.  Well, patience also.  Keep in mind that taking a decade to find something rare isn't unusual.  Good luck!  

[adamstrange]

The Heritage Archives are a fabulous resource since they have handled so many books and have large scans of everything.  If you are new, however, I think GPA is mandatory as GA issues trade hands much less frequently, and GPA will give you access to other potentially helpful transactions. 

Even with GPA, you may encounter a situation where a book has only been sold once or twice per year in any grade, making it difficult to judge "market value".

[jas1vans]

On 12/6/2022 at 11:04 AM, buttock said:

Diligence and networking.  That's about it.  Well, patience also.  Keep in mind that taking a decade to find something rare isn't unusual.  Good luck!  

Honestly, I'm hoping to be there when they're sold. It's not likely, but I think meeting the person who buys those and asking a couple questions would be more beneficial than buying one of the books right now.

[comicjack]

Always buy what you love one can never go wrong with that approach 

[jas1vans]

On 12/6/2022 at 12:38 PM, comicjack said:

Always buy what you love one can never go wrong with that approach 

I love art and history, two things that comics provide in ample amounts. It's going to be tough to stick to my plan now that I'm seeing books that I've never seen before. Some of the artwork from the GA that I've seen so far is unmatched.

I bought off the rack in the early 90's and I am sure that is why older comics are more appealing to me.

[fifties]

I buy on H.A., here, and eBay, among other smaller venues.

On another note, there is a member selling new copies of the Golden Age Photo Journal Guide To Comic Books;

You will go crazy seeing all those scrumptious early comic book covers, but you did say that you wanted to learn...

[Scrooge]

On 12/6/2022 at 12:04 PM, buttock said:

Keep in mind that taking a decade to find something rare isn't unusual.

Took me 19 years to find this book 

[Scrooge]

On 12/6/2022 at 11:12 AM, jas1vans said:

the most difficult books on my list are from this era

I think it would help us answering if we had a small sample of which these are on your list.

[Forbush-Man]

On 12/7/2022 at 6:12 AM, Scrooge said:

I think it would help us answering if we had a small sample of which these are on your list.

 I agree, it was the main question I had running through my mind as I read the first post.

Edited December 7, 2022 by Forbush-Man

[davidpg]

On 12/7/2022 at 9:10 AM, Scrooge said:

Took me 19 years to find this book 

Any particular reason you figure besides it just not coming up for sale?  I got a big batch of early 50s books and only had Redskin 11 in the batch, and it's more beat up than the rest by far.  Were they particularly good stories?

[Scrooge]

On 12/7/2022 at 10:54 AM, davidpg said:

Any particular reason you figure besides it just not coming up for sale?

I wish I knew. I come down to the combination of: western not headlined by one of the good guys + small publisher with lower print run. I can't say it didn't get good distribution given who the distributor is nor that it wasn't successful enough: it got 12 issues (unlike other Native American fronted books who typically lasted no more than 4 issues). How of the issues, I have seen way more # 1 and # 9 then # 3 and # 12 but the others are also tough to locate.

[davidpg]

On 12/7/2022 at 11:02 AM, Scrooge said:

I wish I knew. I come down to the combination of: western not headlined by one of the good guys + small publisher with lower print run. I can't say it didn't get good distribution given who the distributor is nor that it wasn't successful enough: it got 12 issues (unlike other Native American fronted books who typically lasted no more than 4 issues). How of the issues, I have seen way more # 1 and # 9 then # 3 and # 12 but the others are also tough to locate.

That's the fun part about this hobby...figuring out this kind of stuff.  As well, if one is willing to do some bin diving, a lot of these scarce/low value books can be found.  I pulled a low grade though complete Fat and Slat Jokebook from a bit at a local con for like $20.  That was one of the last books Ian was looking for to complete his DC collection.  You just never know ;)

[comicjack]

On 12/7/2022 at 9:10 AM, Scrooge said:

Took me 19 years to find this book 

Another i have never seen and i have been around a while 

[Robot Man]

On 12/7/2022 at 6:10 AM, Scrooge said:

Took me 19 years to find this book 

I remember that and was actually looking for you. I have never seen it...

[jas1vans]

Some of the books in the sale have been separated and are going up for bids; high bid takes it, no knowledge of other bids. That's not a game I'm too interested in playing. It makes me think that the books weren't really part of the "estate" and are just getting tacked on.

The books that caught my eye, but weren't ones that I have been looking for were Blue Bolt 112, Planet 66, and Out of This World 1; amazing books!. There was a Journey Into Fear 1 and Strange Adventures 8 that I wouldn't have minded adding to my collection as well. There were a few others as well, but those were the ones that I thought were the best of the bunch.

At the very least, I got a little work looking up book values and I got to see some books that were off my radar. I'm also going to save a lot of time and hassle by skipping the estate sale.

Here's a link if anyone is interested: https://www.estatesales.net/WI/Elm-Grove/53122/3507936

I hope this can help someone find something they have been searching for!

 

[jas1vans]

On 12/7/2022 at 8:12 AM, Scrooge said:

I think it would help us answering if we had a small sample of which these are on your list.

 

On 12/7/2022 at 8:44 AM, Forbush-Man said:

 I agree, it was the main question I had running through my mind as I read the first post.

Realistically, I need to get better at grading, get comfortable selling, and get a LOT more familiar with GA books before I try something like this. I was hoping to close my eyes and throw a bullseye with this one.

Some of the books I'm having a little trouble with are Action 116, Detective 119, Blue Bolt Vol. 7 #8, Real Fact Comics #6. Again though, I should really pump my brakes and do some more homework before I jump into the GA.

[Scrooge]

On 12/7/2022 at 5:58 PM, jas1vans said:

Again though, I should really pump my brakes and do some more homework before I jump into the GA.

There's no good way (or better way, I should say) to go about it.

There is so much variety in GA from sub-periods to publishers to genres that it'd take years before you really a good viewpoint of all that's available so pumping the brakes is just delaying to no end.

Jumping in will result in some mistakes for sure but these are inevitable no matter how much homework you'll do.

I paid easily too much for the following three books when I started buying GA but so  I needed to learn. Setting your sights on smaller books first might help - I still own all 3

Same, later, though I knew better, I paid way too much for this one but that's when I didn't know yet when to be patient and when to "pounce". I did the latter when I should have done the former. That's the balance you need to learn of course. That's when knowing folks in the hobby will come in handy. It also helps not to be stupid as it took me too long to realize that the kind of books I was (am) looking for are not the ones that get packed to cons -

 

Edited December 7, 2022 by Scrooge

[Yorick]

On 12/7/2022 at 1:00 PM, jas1vans said:

Some of the books in the sale have been separated and are going up for bids; high bid takes it, no knowledge of other bids. That's not a game I'm too interested in playing. It makes me think that the books weren't really part of the "estate" and are just getting tacked on.

The books that caught my eye, but weren't ones that I have been looking for were Blue Bolt 112, Planet 66, and Out of This World 1; amazing books!. There was a Journey Into Fear 1 and Strange Adventures 8 that I wouldn't have minded adding to my collection as well. There were a few others as well, but those were the ones that I thought were the best of the bunch.

At the very least, I got a little work looking up book values and I got to see some books that were off my radar. I'm also going to save a lot of time and hassle by skipping the estate sale.

Here's a link if anyone is interested: https://www.estatesales.net/WI/Elm-Grove/53122/3507936

I hope this can help someone find something they have been searching for!

 

That Planet Comics is a good one.  There's also a Classics Illustrated Lorna Doone later release (not a first release, but still entirely drawn by Matt Baker).

You'll notice at the end of the grouped photos, the seller has some close-up additional photos of specific comics.  What generally is happening when I see this kind of thing, is that there are a bunch of knowledgeable collectors asking about those higher value books, and the seller posts additional photos of them.  You are not the only one who had noticed that auction.

[buttock]

On 12/7/2022 at 4:18 PM, Scrooge said:

There's no good way (or better way, I should say) to go about it.

There is so much variety in GA from sub-periods to publishers to genres that it'd take years before you really a good viewpoint of all that's available so pumping the brakes is just delaying to no end.

Jumping in will result in some mistakes for sure but these are inevitable no matter how much homework you'll do.

I paid easily too much for the following three books when I started buying GA but so  I needed to learn. Setting your sights on smaller books first might help - I still own all 3

 

 

 

Same, later, though I knew better, I paid way too much for this one but that's when I didn't know yet when to be patient and when to "pounce". I did the latter when I should have done the former. That's the balance you need to learn of course. That's when knowing folks in the hobby will come in handy. It also helps not to be stupid as it took me too long to realize that the kind of books I was (am) looking for are not the ones that get packed to cons -

 

 

My daughter got her driver's permit yesterday and we had the conversation about this.  The best way to learn something is to do it.  Accept you'll make mistakes, but mitigate those and accept them as part of the process.