What would you sell/trade for your grail?

[skybolt]

I may be in the minority here, but I don't have a grail per se and would not part with items from my collection for one anyway.

 

You see, I prefer a banquet of books over something singularly big...

 

STEVE

 

I'm the same way as well. For me it's almost like an addiction where I have to pick-up a few books per month to satisfy my needs. Owning an Action Comics #1 (which will never happen) would be a dream come true for me, but I doubt if I can sustain that joy after a couple of months of stairing at just one book.

 

As far as selling a part (or most) of my collection to finance a few grails on my want list (All Select Comics #1, Batman #1, etc. in decent condition), I still can't bring myself to make that ultimate decision.........at least not yet. Most of the books I've sold in the past have been dupes, lower grade and inexpensive moderns / bronze age (which amount to less than 10K total). Sure, I can probably replace my Silver Age keys (X-Men #1, ASM #1, etc.), but would I really be willing to spend 10K (or more) again to buy these books back?! I seriously doubt it. Plus, most of the books I currently own have the old labels, and are a little less suspect to manipulation than the newly graded books. For instance, I would hate to sell my ASM #1 CGC 8.0 today, and then purchase another copy 5 years from now, only to find out that it was sitting in a 6.5 holder a few years back.

 

My main collecting focus these days is GGA, and I seriously doubt if I'd sell these books unless I'm upgrading or if I have to sell my entire collection due to personal reasons (marriage, health, etc.). My motto has always been to purchase books that I want to keep in my collection for many years down the line. I don't want to get into the habbit of recycling my collection every 2 years because my tastes keep changing or worse..........reverting back to what they were only a few years back! In that case I'm basically stuck having to reacquire books (at a higher cost) that I just sold a short while ago!

[sacentaur]

But Steve they aren't mutually exclusive.

 

Agreed, but there are also limits - with the $$$ required for a Big Book, I could get a lot of other material.

 

This is my banquet, and I will keep adding to it.

 

I just had leftover pizza, re-heated Chinese, and a bowl for cereal for breakfast...and I'm still hungry!

 

STEVE

[ciorac]

Trading is still alive and well in the golden age sector. I've made quite a few trades with boardies this past year.

 

By the way, BEAUTIFUL Tec 27!!!!!! What a pick up!

 

Thanks my good man!

[ciorac]

But Steve they aren't mutually exclusive.

 

Agreed, but there are also limits - with the $$$ required for a Big Book, I could get a lot of other material.

 

This is my banquet, and I will keep adding to it.

 

I just had leftover pizza, re-heated Chinese, and a bowl for cereal for breakfast...and I'm still hungry!

 

STEVE

 

Yum! Now wash it all down with

[adamstrange]

I may be in the minority here, but I don't have a grail per se and would not part with items from my collection for one anyway.

 

You see, I prefer a banquet of books over something singularly big...

 

STEVE

 

Nicely turned phrased -- and a sentiment in line with mine.

 

But getting back to the original topic, yes I have sold off books from one part of the collection to fund acquisitions in another. This included a run of Spideys and partial runs of the major marvel titles in high grade. It's also included GA books and BA books. The rising prices of high-grade comics over the last 20 years have caused me to acknowledge, one at a time, that I will not be able to achieve my collecting goals because of financial limitations.

 

There is always a pain in watching books you love and owned for years depart and the only effective solace I've found is to have used the money to purchase other books you want more. Whenever I think of the Spidey run I sold, I look at the pre-hero Marvel monster books and I know that I made the right call for me. There have been regrets among the sales, it's an occupational hazard, but for me it's only occurred with GA material. The solution I've adopted has been to stop nearly all sales of 10 cent comics.

[sacentaur]

...yes I have sold off books from one part of the collection to fund acquisitions in another.

 

But adam, you have one of the premiere collections in the hobby so parting with some of your books is like Bill Gates slinging a few million bucks here or a few million bucks there...it's all just pocket change!

 

STEVE

[adamstrange]

Good question. I did such a thing last year at the San Diego Comicon. I sold quite a few of my early high grade Flash run and a large chunk of Very high grade bronze HOM and HOS to help pay for the MH copies of Captain Marvel Jr. 4, 7 and 17. I had been waiting for these books to come to market for years and do not regret my decision one bit. I figure I can always replace high grade silver and bronze books if I want to even if they are pricey and a little hard to aquire, but if someone else bought the MH Captain M. Jr's they could stay locked up in a collection forever. I would say do it! By the way, this book looks 10 times better in person. The reds are solid and bright. I don't know why they show up on the bottom lettering with what looks like a white outline.

 

Ken

 

 

 

As we talked last summer at San Diego you were smart to pick up those books. I came *that* close to getting the 4 & 7 in the 90s and if I had I would never have let it go. Those are smokin' Raboy covers!

[adamstrange]

Now, what were we talking about again? Oh yeah, there are a few "bigger" books in my collection that I would be more than willing to trade or trade plus $$$ for "the right books". My problem has always been how do you go about it? To trade with a dealer, you'll never get an apple to apple trade. You need to go to a private collector that wants the book. But again, it's tough or at least been tough for me to find and contact the collectors that would be interested in doing something. Let's face it, not all books are available for money only. Sometimes, you need to dangle a carrot of another hard to find book to make it available. I'd love to see a GA trading thread because that's a part of the hobby that I think has been somewhat lost.

 

I think the best place to post trade offers is in WTB. List the items you want and note that you are willing to trade -- including sample tradebait would be a good idea. I think that's in line with what I've seen others do -- and you can always put the same remarks in your sig line. I'm sure I'd be interested in your trade bait but doubt I have what you need .

[stagedoorjohnny]

Thanks for the advice. I think sig line would probably work best. There's a lot to weed through for someone in the WTB thread and I know my attention span isn't that great.

[adamstrange]

...yes I have sold off books from one part of the collection to fund acquisitions in another.

 

But adam, you have one of the premiere collections in the hobby so parting with some of your books is like Bill Gates slinging a few million bucks here or a few million bucks there...it's all just pocket change!

 

STEVE

 

To get together the money for a Tec 27 would require selling multiple boxes of 10 centers. Just don't see it happening.

 

I think also that part of the joy of collecting for me is building a sweet set of hard to find books. It requires patience, constant diligence, creative financing, trades and an ounce or two of sweat. I don't mean to underplay the work that ciorac had to do pull the funds together for his grail, but I have the greatest admiration for folks like jbcomicbox that took years to put together an entire run of Centaur and Fox books . A couple friends of mine have spent 15+ years working on their runs and still aren't complete. I like the idea of having a hobby that requires me to think of taking decades to complete my goal -- I hope that I have a lot of years left and want something to keep me interested when I slow down at work.

[G.A.tor]

hello all...

there is only one grail for me, that would get me to part with my comics...a 1984 Ferrari 288 GTO...'nuff said

rick

 

Guess I better start looking for one of these then!

 

...only 200 or so were ever made...I passed at the only I shot I have ever had at one, a few years ago...just didn't have the coin to swing it...but, as a "former" ferrari collector/entusiast, that is my grail of grails!

rick

 

I'm not a car enthusiast but I am interested in what makes this car special to you. Can you explain in laymen's terms?

hello all...

for me, it was the first Ferrari "super car"....incredible combination of style and power...Enzo himself designed, and they only made 200 of them, and it was released at a time I was just becoming fascinated with cars, etc...I have owned a 308 and 328 and a testarosso, but all "pale" to the 288 GTO...kind of like owning batman 2, or tec 28 or mmc 2...they are great, but they are not #1 of their run...

these cars sell in the $250-$800K+ (for the evoluzione version), and they are as rare coming to market, as an action 1 in VF unrestored, typically the chance to purchase is just nonexistant....just my grail of grails..

rick

[Larryw7]

I may be in the minority here, but I don't have a grail per se and would not part with items from my collection for one anyway.

 

You see, I prefer a banquet of books over something singularly big...

 

STEVE

 

But Steve they aren't mutually exclusive. This is my banquet, and I will keep adding to it.

 

 

 

 

And I will always collect my esoteric stuff too.

 

 

[innocuous]

...yes I have sold off books from one part of the collection to fund acquisitions in another.

 

But adam, you have one of the premiere collections in the hobby so parting with some of your books is like Bill Gates slinging a few million bucks here or a few million bucks there...it's all just pocket change!

 

STEVE

 

To get together the money for a Tec 27 would require selling multiple boxes of 10 centers. Just don't see it happening.

 

I think also that part of the joy of collecting for me is building a sweet set of hard to find books. It requires patience, constant diligence, creative financing, trades and an ounce or two of sweat. I don't mean to underplay the work that ciorac had to do pull the funds together for his grail, but I have the greatest admiration for folks like jbcomicbox that took years to put together an entire run of Centaur and Fox books . A couple friends of mine have spent 15+ years working on their runs and still aren't complete. I like the idea of having a hobby that requires me to think of taking decades to complete my goal -- I hope that I have a lot of years left and want something to keep me interested when I slow down at work.

 

That's exactly the trouble I'm having. I like the comics in my collection. They're diverse, regularly acquired and fun to read.

 

I'll probably compromise and sell some (all the bronze, some of the silver) and keep others. And, downgrade some higher value comics since grade isn't as important to me as having the book.

[RareHighGrade]

I think also that part of the joy of collecting for me is building a sweet set of hard to find books. It requires patience, constant diligence, creative financing, trades and an ounce or two of sweat. . . . I like the idea of having a hobby that requires me to think of taking decades to complete my goal -- I hope that I have a lot of years left and want something to keep me interested when I slow down at work.

 

Well put Adam. You and I share the same views. I have spent years trying to put together high grade runs of the pre-hero Detective and Adventure books. It is a project that I will likely never complete. Sometimes I have had to pass on candidates because they were priced too high or I was not in an economic position to pull the trigger. But the joy that I get each time I add one of those rare specimens to my collection cannot be overstated.

[tth2]

Good question. I did such a thing last year at the San Diego Comicon. I sold quite a few of my early high grade Flash run and a large chunk of Very high grade bronze HOM and HOS to help pay for the MH copies of Captain Marvel Jr. 4, 7 and 17.

Sweet! If you don't mind my asking, who was offering these books? The #4 looks fantastic. How would you grade the #17? Please feel free to post a scan of the #17!

[Comicdey]

I wish I knew what my "wanted" grails were

 

I like so many different genre, keys, non-keys alike, that I haven't felt the need to zero in on one or two books.....yet.

 

Although the idea is appealing............

[Silver Surfer]

This is a very tough question. I have one book I don't think I would trade for anything because I don't think I could ever find another copy, especially in grade.

[Theagenes]

This question just became more than hypothetical for me. The bigloo just listed a really nice looking copy of one my personal grails, but I'm totally broke at the moment. I've been looking for any copy of this rare book for three years now and just my luck - one finally turns up when I'm tapped. Right now I'm trying to decide what to dump in order to raise some cash.

[G.A.tor]

This question just became more than hypothetical for me. The bigloo just listed a really nice looking copy of one my personal grails, but I'm totally broke at the moment. I've been looking for any copy of this rare book for three years now and just my luck - one finally turns up when I'm tapped. Right now I'm trying to decide what to dump in order to raise some cash.

hello all...

nothing wrong with asking for help ...if you have a book you want, lmk, I can bid what you want, and if that bid wins you can get from me as you are able...have done it for folks before, no problem helping a forumite out!

lmk/pm me

rick

[seank]

I shifted a lot of sand* yesterday and went through the collection to get stuff to sell. My boxes now fit better in the closet and I'm hoping I can find buyers for all this modern junk I've accumulated. But instead of seeing a pile of comics, I see the potential to buy a few really nice GA books. It feels good.

 

 

* Shifting sand -- moving things around or looking busy without actually accomplishing much of significance. Comes from the habit of cats to spend an inordinate amout of time pushing litter around the box before and after doing their business.