A Good Dilemma but Still A Dilemma 1 1

[SAMHILL]

A Good Dilemma but Still A Dilemma

The condensed story is that I have been holding on to all the comics I have ever purchased (except the ones I gave to a hospital in 1966. I never bought anything but new (with maybe 1 or 2 exceptions) and never paid more than face value. I stored them in steamer trunks lined with plastic (surprising that keep them in very good shape). When I bought a house, I was able to move the lot into boxes and started bagging a few. When Hurricane Sandy came the house flooded about 4 feet taking the bottom 2 rows of my comic stack with it. Of course, the oldest ones were on the bottom (sad). So that left me with about 15,000.

The dilemma is I cannot store these anymore (moving) so it’s time to sell them. The dilemma is the grading. I estimate that I have at least a thousand comics worth over $250 not counting the rare ones. This makes the cost prohibitive to get it graded (it could be upwards of 40K). I have an eye for grading but far from an expert so even guessing what would be 8.0 or above would be a challenge,

I am looking for suggestions. How to proceed – do I forgo the grading and auction the collection? Do I auction individually or by lot? Any suggestions would be helpful.( a selection from my office ) 

[rsouxlja7]

You'll want to compare the value of the book raw vs the book in the same condition graded and take into consideration the grading fees and pressing if you are going that route as well. Personally I never bothered grading anything worth less than $1,000 due to those factors. 

[rlextherobot]

Yeah, look at the delta between a raw copy and a slabbed copy in roughly the grade you think a book is, and then determine based on that whether grading is worth it. Also factor in how much your time spent on dealing with the grading process is worth, like, if it's a case where you're going to spend a few hours of your own time to realize an extra 50 bucks in profit, ask is that worth it to you. 

Edited February 29 by rlextherobot

[Latverian Tourism Board]

No need to stress it, imo. If you approach heritage, they will work that all out with you. Which issues should be pressed and graded, which should only be graded, and which ones will be best sold raw. With a collection that size, you should ask them to give you a break on commission. You should get at least 10% (15% is their standard), I would guess. Also, all fees come out of final sales. Good luck with the sales!

[Mmehdy]

On 2/29/2024 at 11:30 AM, Latverian Tourism Board said:

No need to stress it, imo. If you approach heritage, they will work that all out with you. Which issues should be pressed and graded, which should only be graded, and which ones will be best sold raw. With a collection that size, you should ask them to give you a break on commission. You should get at least 10% (15% is their standard), I would guess. Also, all fees come out of final sales. Good luck with the sales!

second that!

[SAMHILL]

On 2/29/2024 at 2:30 PM, Latverian Tourism Board said:

No need to stress it, imo. If you approach heritage, they will work that all out with you. Which issues should be pressed and graded, which should only be graded, and which ones will be best sold raw. With a collection that size, you should ask them to give you a break on commission. You should get at least 10% (15% is their standard), I would guess. Also, all fees come out of final sales. Good luck with the sales!

Thanks for the response !!! So basically you are saying use heritage for a fee based on the sale because it will be worth the expertise and efforts on their part? 

[Latverian Tourism Board]

On 2/29/2024 at 3:44 PM, SAMHILL said:

Thanks for the response !!! So basically you are saying use heritage for a fee based on the sale because it will be worth the expertise and efforts on their part? 

I would say so, yes. And you also have the benefit of their PR, and their usual clientele. If someone is not conversant with selling, or has both trepidation and a lack of knowledge on the market, I would think that heritage is the best way to go for your best price, with the least amount of stress. I’m sure some of the more advanced collectors here can chime in, and correct anything they disagree with, but I’ve been doing that for the last few years, and it’s been great, imo. 

[ThothAmon]

Great problem to have and one I’ve thought about for decades. The answer to your question really lies within. Meaning how much of the sale proceeds do you want to share and, realistically, how hard do you want to work?  Looking just at what’s in frames would probably pay for a good chunk of the rest of the books grading costs and selling yourself is easy enough but it’s still work. Consigning a large group of slabs to a big seller would be pretty easy also and certainly less time consuming. The grading process itself can be a slog and an auction house might be able to make that process easier. 

[shadroch]

On 2/29/2024 at 1:44 PM, SAMHILL said:

Thanks for the response !!! So basically you are saying use heritage for a fee based on the sale because it will be worth the expertise and efforts on their part? 

Unless your books are super HG, I wouldn't go that route.  Their fees are higher than other alternatives.  I'd look into mycomicshop, comiclink, Bob Storms and Greg Reece, as a start.  Do your due diligence.  You have nice books but different sources will offer very different amounts.   In 2022, I offered a lot of ten boxes of mostly SA to different dealers.  I got offers from $17K to 28K.  I put them on Craigslist and got my $40,000 ask from the second person to respond. 

[Gonzimodo]

@mycomicshop is always buying collections, and they have great consignment and auction systems, too.  So you could consign or auction the more valuable books as you see fit, and MCS will probably buy the lesser-valued stuff that the big auction houses may not even look at.  Or they may just buy the entire collection outright if you don't want to deal with the hassle.

I see @shadroch has suggested some other big names to check out.  

[Latverian Tourism Board]

All good points. Definitely wait a few to get more info, as there are people here who sell a LOT more than I do. 
 

For @shadroch:

Does the fee difference make up for possibly getting less, depending on the company used? Not disagreeing, just asking. I don’t really buy comics anymore, just sell, so I don’t know those others as well. 

[shadroch]

On 2/29/2024 at 2:39 PM, Latverian Tourism Board said:

All good points. Definitely wait a few to get more info, as there are people here who sell a LOT more than I do. 
 

For @shadroch:

Does the fee difference make up for possibly getting less, depending on the company used? Not disagreeing, just asking. I don’t really buy comics anymore, just sell, so I don’t know those others as well. 

Absolutely. That is why you need to do some research.  A place that gets top dollar for HG stuff might not be the best place to sell low-grade stuff.  Some places have buyers' premiums that may affect your bottom line. I have my favorites, but that's not to say they are the absolute best. 

One thing to consider is do you want monthly income or a one-time windfall. You might consign a few books to different sites and see how they do. I suspect you'll get many private messages looking to buy or help you sell. 

[Danno616]

On 2/29/2024 at 1:08 PM, SAMHILL said:

I am looking for suggestions. How to proceed – do I forgo the grading and auction the collection? Do I auction individually or by lot? Any suggestions would be helpful.

I can only speak to my situation, which was similar, and what was most important to me in selling my collection of 10,000+ raws (~80-90% of which were original owner starting in 1973), nearly a full run of Wizard magazines and specials, trades, and other assorted comic book-related magazines. For me, I wanted above all convenience, as little stress and hassle as possible, have the buyer pick up the collection, and then do all the work to sell it for me. Though a number of the books were slab candidates, going through the process of getting them graded (and pressed) would have only prolonged everything and added a cost.

Fortunately, I live in a heavily-populated area, so I had a few choices of local auction houses and a number of "known" comic buyers in adjacent states who often purchase collections. I opted to go with one of the auction houses mainly because it didn't require me to grade and assess the value to come up with figure and then likely have to haggle over the price. All I had to do was contact the auction house, set up a time for a pickup (which was an added fee but relatively cheap and well worth it), move the boxes from the spare bedroom to the living room, and then watch the guys picking up the collection carry the boxes out the door.

Three months after the pickup, I received a notification that the collection would in an auction starting in a few days, which was 2-4 months earlier than they had estimated they would be auctioned off. They provided a link to the auction and the range of lots that corresponded with my books, and I tracked the lots through the end of the auction. Ninety days after the auction, I received a check from the sale minus their fees, which was a large cut, naturally. Overall, the entire process went better than I would have imagined.