How long did it take to find your favorite?

[Fauby]

I have to do something to keep my spirits up at work, so I thought I'd throw this out. What is the longest you have had to look for a certain issue before you found it? Having just started collecting Golden Age, I can't really say. There are lots of issues I want to find eventually. But, I was curious how long some hardcore Golden Age collectors have had to wait to pick up whatever grails they were looking for.

 

Scott

[Durden08]

Four years and counting See my sig line.

 

That's an extreme example though. I've found many books I've wanted in relatively short amount of time just by checking out conventions, ebay, Comiclink, Heritage, etc.

 

good luck

[SuperBird]

Superman 32, 30 minutes

Action Comics 39, 5 years and counting!

 

It truly depends what you are looking for.

[skybolt]

I've been looking for a nice copy of Phantom Lady #23 for about 2.5 years. The ones offered on Ebay are typically lower grade..

[nearmint]

Thrilling Comics #11 in high grade took me about 10 years. Out of the blue, a fellow Nedor collector emailed me and offered me the Larson 9.0 copy!

[showcase4]

it took me about 5 years to find a high grade unrestored copy of Reform School Girl!, and I cherish it as one of my favorite Golden Age books. If you know what you want, and keep your eyes open, you should see what you're looking for come on the market at sometime...usually when you least expect it. The main thing is...be aggressive and go for it! You may have only 1 shot to pick up a rare key book. Good luck to you.

[Point Five]

Before ebay, it took me a full 7 years to complete the four-issue run of EC's Psychoanalysis...I kid you not! One of those oddball titles that I thought was very cool but that stores and convention dealers never had in stock, if they knew of it at all. (Of course, with ebay plus all the dealer sites out there today, you could complete the run in less than a week!)

 

More recently, I've been looking for the #3-#11 run of GA Supermans (only obtained 1 issue in the last 2 years), and some of the earliest issues of Fantastic Comics (been about 4 years now). Often even when I find one of my grails, I'll force myself to pass because the price is too high, even on a low-grade copy. I'm envious of you guys who can drop thousands and get your grail books quickly, but on the other hand it's such a great feeling when you finally, finally land a book you've wanted for so many years!

[Fauby]

Ebay is great. It makes finding certain issues a lot easier. I have only had a few negative experiences, too. Once I bought something from someone who did not know much about grading comics. I don't think it was a scam. Also, the person refunding some of my money when I complained. So, it turned out okay.

[nearmint]

More recently, I've been looking for the #3-#11 run of GA Supermans

 

The Crippin copies of Supes 1-8 are in the September Heritage auction. Some very nice books.

[SuperBird]

says 'nearmint' to 'pointfive'!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think Jon is looking to buy Fair / Good books. His board name was purposefully chosen!

[nearmint]

Yeah, my name wasn't as purposefully chosen. My Actions go as low as 3.5. The Crippen Supes are generally mid-grade.

[Point Five]

Well, generally speaking your screen name still fits because it has connotations of high quality. And my screen name...er, let's get off this train of thought!

 

Thanks anyway for the tip. I did see the mid-grade early Supermans Heritage is offering on ebay right now...are those the Crippen books, or just other random books they have for sale? In any case, little question they will be over my budget.

[nearmint]

The ones on eBay now are probably from the August auction ending this week, and are non-pedigree. The Crippin 1-8 are in the September auction.

[PUNYHUMAN]

Fantastic Comics # 3 - 12 years , no kidding . Finally was able to purchase a copy that still presents well even if low grade.. What a Classic Cover. Pure Pulp!!

Hit Comics # 5 - 10 years, some Resto , by Matt Wilson; I've been told; but it 's a Beauty!!!

As you can see I'm a Lou Fine fan, my 2 favorites, still working on alot of other books . Fox , Centaur, Quality, Etc.

Amazing Mysterey Funnies # 5 Bill Everett Classic cover !! - 5 years

I love Silver Age comics , that's what I grew up on , but collecting Golden Age as the guys on these boards can attest to ; is a different animal altogether. But so Rewarding!!

[Durden08]

The ones on eBay now are probably from the August auction ending this week, and are non-pedigree. The Crippin 1-8 are in the September auction.

 

In looking at the Supes 1-8 in the Crippen collection, they are certainly nice books but the water damage/foxing/staining didn't seem to affect the grades very much did it? My "eye appeal" grade seems lower than the assigned grade IMO.

[Psiknight]

The ones on eBay now are probably from the August auction ending this week, and are non-pedigree. The Crippin 1-8 are in the September auction.

 

In looking at the Supes 1-8 in the Crippen collection, they are certainly nice books but the water damage/foxing/staining didn't seem to affect the grades very much did it? My "eye appeal" grade seems lower than the assigned grade IMO.

 

That happens, too, ya know. So many low grade books have really great eye appeal. But I've seen a ton of higher grade GA books that just look nasty. Foxing and dust/sun shadow really make a book look bad, but they don't seem to kill a grade as much as you might think.

[adamstrange]

There are books I've been looking for 16 years that I still haven't found and many, many books for over 10 years. But that's probably because I'm picky.

[batman_fan]

I started looking for Wonderworld 7 in 1978 and finally bought it in 1989. I looked for Mystery Men 3 from 1978 and finally bought a copy in 2005.

[otherworldsj33]

After hearing some of these, I should not complain. In GA, I am looking for a mid grade unrestored Captain America 8 for about 6 months. I was looking for a 6.0 to 8.5 Action 34 (for a reasonable price) for a few years, till I found one. Marnin R. had the Rockford copy, in 9.0, and the ask price was too high. Took me a few years to get a low grade Detective 31 at a reasonable price, and even then it was what I thought too high, but I just bit the bullet. And I have been looking for Lightning Comics 5 and 6 in mid grade or better for about 8 months now. I have been looking for about 10 high grade DC (late SA) for a few years.

[CW]

I'm with Punyhuman on this one. Fantastic Comics # 3 - 3 years. About as long as I have been collecting Gold. Puny wins because he was looking for his when I was 8 years old.