Showcase New England/Dan Greenhalgh answers questions

[the blob]

How the heck do you get the prices you get for lots of generic mid-grade bronze and late silver age books? Yes, I know you've been in the biz a while, but seriously, when Metropolis used to toss stuff like that up on ebay they generally didn't do nearly as well (heck, I won a bunch of their auctions). Do you have a hardcore group of people who pick the books up in person and avoid the hefty shipping charge?

[Moondog]

Hi, Danny! Great to see you here. I hope all is well with you and the family.

 

I still smile at some of those deals we did back in the day.

 

It's nice to be retired!

 

--Gary

[ShowcaseNE]

RE:Skypinkblu/Sharon

 

We have more than our fair share of water....

 

Thanks for the positive comments. I do remember you and I have always thought you conducted yourself with honor and professionalism.

 

I know this is not going to sound well...but here it is.....I/we don't have time to count pages on the majority of the books we sell.

 

And this a legitimate problem we have and you are right to be concerned.

 

I don't know that I am doing myself any favors by making this public.....but generally when someone whom I have done a lot of business with tells me that a book we sell is missing a page or a panel...or has some other unnoted, major defect, ($50.00 or so and less) I usually offer to let them keep the book and I offer a full refund. This is especially true over the last couple of years or so.

 

Part of the reason we have such a liberal return policy is precisely for this reason.

 

We are not a perfect company by any stretch of imagination....but given a chance we always try to make things right.

 

Again....thanks for the positive comments.

[ShowcaseNE]

RE: Aman619

 

Your point is well taken....

[HouseofComics.Com]

Great thread so far. I too would be interested in hearing your thoughts on back issue selling and why you made the change to go primarily eBay. I think your company might be the most famous example of a big deal dealer that embraced eBay and stopped doing shows. Did you used to do a catalog as well?

 

Marc

[g-man]

will you ever allow customers to come and view/purchase books in person?

[adams]

Bill Howard stated to me that he purchased all the DC Winnipeg copies from you when it was first offered. Could you confirm this statement? Also, Bill said that you did not make certificates for all of the books. Is this true and if so, were they only made for the higher valued books? Also, Joe Krolick posted on the boards that the books that he sold to you circa 1997 were his dupes. Were you aware of this fact when you purchased the collection?

 

Thanks--Greg

 

I find Greggy's questioning Bill's ethics to be repugnant and distasteful.

I've known Bill for over 25 years and when he sez he bought these Winnipegs direct from Dan...he did.

 

Don't trust anyone Greggy ?

You're lucky he sold them to you...after this inquiry...

you can count on not buying any Winnipegs from Bill ever again !

[ShowcaseNE]

RE: The Blob

 

I think the reason our auctions tend to do well is because we are very widely followed. I would like to think it is also because many people are familiar with our company and our reputation

 

Sometimes I am amazed at the number of bidders and watchers we have in an auction cycle....often as many as 4000/5000 bidders and 10,000 plus watchers.

 

We very rarely have people pick their auctions up at our location....almost 100% is shipped.

[ShowcaseNE]

RE: House of comics.com and Victorian comics,

 

I will post a history of our company at some point later in the thread....it is going to take a little time.

[cd4ever]

I have bought from SNE many many times over the years and have generally been very satisfied with the product and the service. The glitches have been few and they have been quickly resolved in a friendly and professional manner.

 

I still bid on his auctions now and again but frankly they just go too high for me to keep up. Not his fault though.

 

Good to see you here!!

[greggy]

Bill Howard stated to me that he purchased all the DC Winnipeg copies from you when it was first offered. Could you confirm this statement? Also, Bill said that you did not make certificates for all of the books. Is this true and if so, were they only made for the higher valued books? Also, Joe Krolick posted on the boards that the books that he sold to you circa 1997 were his dupes. Were you aware of this fact when you purchased the collection?

 

Thanks--Greg

 

I find Greggy's questioning Bill's ethics to be repugnant and distasteful.

I've known Bill for over 25 years and when he sez he bought these Winnipegs direct from Dan...he did.

 

Don't trust anyone Greggy ?

You're lucky he sold them to you...after this inquiry...

you can count on not buying any Winnipegs from Bill ever again !

I wasn't going to buy anything else from him anyways. I want confirmation, as I wanted to get some books slabbed that had no certificates. I figured CGC would check with Dan anyways so I figured I'll ask him when he started the thread. Too bad it hurt YOUR feelings.

[ShowcaseNE]

RE: gman.....

 

I stopped allowing customers to preview books after one bidder, several years ago, looked at the books in the auctions that were up at the time.....and then maliciously tried to affect the auctions with comments to other potential bidders.

 

I would consider changing that policy now that the information about bidders is confidential.

[ShowcaseNE]

RE:CD4ever:

 

Thanks for the positive comments.....I hear your comments very often.

[ShowcaseNE]

RE; Moondog

 

Gary!!!!!

 

It has been a long time......There must be some collection you know about in Chicago that I would be interested in.

 

I am going to need an armed guard to protect me on this thread at some point...are you interested in the job??

[all4comics]

SNE,

 

In the past, I've been very happy with most of my wins; especially the 9.0/9.2 lots. Very accurate grading, excellent customer service, packaging, presentation, etc… But Sometimes, I will find a couple of VG's in high to mid grade lots that I’ve won in the past. My question is how far of a spread goes your average grade go? When you say AVG 6.5/7.0, does this mean there will be some 4.0/4.5 in that lot?

[ShowcaseNE]

RE; All4comics

 

Thanks for the positive comments, and good question!

 

When you see the word "Avg." in front of a numerical description/grade...it means that one (or two depending on how many books are in the lot) will fall out of that grade range. Usually a lower grade book is compensated with a higher grade book. If there is a key or important book in the lot...the grade of that book will always be in the range.

 

Additionally, while not publicized...often times most of the books described in such lots have a higher average grade than is describd by the numerical designation.

 

Most of our numerical descriptions do not have the word "avg." in them. In those cases....the buyer can and should assume that all of the books are in the stated grade range, or better.

[evilsly]

what's the most 'surprising' sale you've made ? ie, the book that sold for much much more than you were expecting, or the book that sold for much less ?

 

 

not necessarily the most expensive

[seank]

 

I don't know that I am doing myself any favors by making this public.....but generally when someone whom I have done a lot of business with tells me that a book we sell is missing a page or a panel...or has some other unnoted, major defect, ($50.00 or so and less) I usually offer to let them keep the book and I offer a full refund. This is especially true over the last couple of years or so.

 

 

I had this situation with my first purchase from you. A book had a coupon clipped. You refunded my money and told me to keep the book, no questions asked. That level of customer service was impressive.

 

As far as tape goes, I'd like to see it noted, no matter what the grade. It's a short notation in an auction -- "Tape on spine." -- that would have an affect on my purchasing decisions. My last purchase from you was a VG Batman 121. If it came with undisclosed tape, I would have complained and returned the book.

[worldsbestcomics]

Bill Howard stated to me that he purchased all the DC Winnipeg copies from you when it was first offered. Could you confirm this statement? Also, Bill said that you did not make certificates for all of the books. Is this true and if so, were they only made for the higher valued books? Also, Joe Krolick posted on the boards that the books that he sold to you circa 1997 were his dupes. Were you aware of this fact when you purchased the collection?

 

Thanks--Greg

 

I find Greggy's questioning Bill's ethics to be repugnant and distasteful.

I've known Bill for over 25 years and when he sez he bought these Winnipegs direct from Dan...he did.

 

Don't trust anyone Greggy ?

You're lucky he sold them to you...after this inquiry...

you can count on not buying any Winnipegs from Bill ever again !

 

I must have missed something. I didn't think that anything about Greggy's question impugned Bill's ethics. It seemed like he was just trying to figure out a way to get the Pedigree of some Winnipeg DCs established (perhaps so it could be listed on a CGC label) in the absence of a certificate I must have seen dozens of similar threads by Board members trying to establish unlabeled Green Rivers, "D" copies and other pedigrees.

[r100comics]

Hi Dan

 

Welcome to the boards !

 

The Golden State collection is considered to be one of the best collections out there not to receive Pedigree designation with some amazing books present, e.g. Journey Into Mystery Annual #1 CGC 9.8 to name just one.

 

Can you give us an idea as to the depth and quality of this collection, i.e. which major keys were present, in what kinds of grade ?

 

Secondly, why wasn't this collection properly catalogued and marketed for possible Pedigree status ?

 

Thanks.