Have Action Collectors Gone Insane?

[Mr. Zipper]

As many of you may know, there was a low grade run of war era Actions on ebay that closed in the past few days.

 

As I've been in the hunt for some of these issues, I know they are tough and often trade for well over guide. Yet, this run -- with the horrible fuzzy scans and overgrading -- closed at some mind boggling prices. Is this an abberation or is this what Action collectors can routinely come to expect? If so, maybe I should think seriously about re-focusing my collecting goals.

 

Action 44 described as VG. HUGE water stain covers 1/4 of the front cover. Would probably be a 2.0 from CGC. Closes at $664.

 

Action 48 with horribly rusted staples and bad rust stains. Described as VG. $477

 

Action 43 with detached cover. $325

 

And the champion headscratcher....

Action 40 described a VG/FN with a small scan. $1,424. Less than a year ago I bought a VG+ from an ebay store for less than $400. It was sitting there for over a month with no takers before I hit it.

 

The cherry on top of the sundae is that all these auctions had fuzzy scans and were as-is with no returns.

[Jeffro.]

 

And the champion headscratcher....

Action 40 described a VG/FN with a small scan. $1,424. Less than a year ago I bought a VG+ from an ebay store for less than $400. It was sitting there for over a month with no takers before I hit it.

 

I've seen stuff like this before and I don't understand it either. I've seen bidding wars for items and meanwhile there is the same item sitting in an ebay store for less than the current auction with no takers. Don't get it.

[Scrooge]

And the champion headscratcher....

Action 40 described a VG/FN with a small scan. $1,424. Less than a year ago I bought a VG+ from an ebay store for less than $400. It was sitting there for over a month with no takers before I hit it.

 

Well, on that one, apart from the winner and the underbidder, the action stopped at around $600 which is less of an abheration (sp?). The other two bidders went on and on bidding and counter-bidding! Whoa!

[Mr. Zipper]

And the champion headscratcher....

Action 40 described a VG/FN with a small scan. $1,424. Less than a year ago I bought a VG+ from an ebay store for less than $400. It was sitting there for over a month with no takers before I hit it.

 

Well, on that one, apart from the winner and the underbidder, the action stopped at around $600 which is less of an abheration (sp?). The other two bidders went on and on bidding and counter-bidding! Whoa!

 

Good point!

 

Totally nuts to roll the dice like that on a small scan in an "as-is", no-return auction. Did the bidders bother to look at the other offerings and see that they had some serious flaws and were overgraded? Isn't that a giant red-flag?

 

Especially since #40 -- relatively speaking -- isn't a tough issue and one of the more common war covers.

[Durden08]

The same bidder won almost all of those Actions, most at pretty agressive prices. Some of those books (43, 48, 49 for example) never come up for sale, so I guess some bidders figure they have to bid now or wait a long time until they see another copy.

 

The winner of the Action 40 actually had the SIX top bids, so he's fortunate someone didn't put in any punishment bids.

 

I think when a large run of books like these come up for auction at the same time it tends to garner a lot more attention & excitement than if it was just couple books. Obviousuly some people got a little too excited and should have reviewed the return policy and scans provided a little better.

 

But to simply answer your question ... Yes Action collectors are crazy. I should know, I'm one of them.

[comicdonna]

Steve! I saw the run of books. I was most suprised with the ending bids. I hope I'm making more money when I start my #40 through #64 run.

[joker-fish]

i think you must be insane just to collect action

[batman_fan]

From the scans, it is hard to say what the final grade will be. The one 40 looks pretty nice in the scans but it is hard to say what the final outcome will be. The buyer could have got a decent deal or got screwed given the seller says "no returns". Will be interesting to see. The one you pointed out definitely has rusty staples which is a big "avoid" for me. The 40 looks like it has a tight spine so maybe it is pretty nice. Now the buyer should pray they come packed well and not just thrown in a box.

[comicdonna]

i think you must be insane just to collect action

[buttock]

These were mindblowing. I'm not sure what to make of them.

[Detroit MIke]

Those prices are making me consider listing a few bucks... er, books.

[joker-fish]

i think you must be insane just to collect action

 

mean that in a good way

[action1kid]

Detective collectors are even more insane, I mean that is a good way.......

[nearmint]

Someone really rolled the dice on that #40. I'd gladly sell my 5.0 copy for that much $$. I was keeping an eye on the #38, but I just couldn't get past the fuzzy scans. They hide too many sins.

[reality_consensus]

Surprised at some of the $$$ bid as well, think I met the owner at a nearby auction a while back .. looking at his past feedback (ex. Superman #15), buyers have been pleased with the grading and quality of the books .. looking forward to seeing his next bunch ..

[comicdonna]

i think you must be insane just to collect action

 

mean that in a good way

[thedude]

I agree that when a group or run of books like these come up on eBay, it seems to generate more excitement than if it was just one or two books,.

 

I think that even though the pics were blurry, the pics give the books an overly color saturated look, which may have thrown a few bidders off,. it would be interesting to see how all those books appear in person compared to the pics.

 

at least he attempted to describe each book, and his descriptions seem fairly accurate. but NO RETURNS/SOLD AS IS was enough to make me steer way clear..although that #47 was tempting..

 

does anyone know who auctions.crossroads is ??

 

have Action collectors gone insane

 

yes,.. we have..

[Mr. Zipper]

at least he attempted to describe each book, and his descriptions seem fairly accurate

 

I emailed the seller to ask about the water stain on the 44. I asked if the water stain went through the whole book and if the staples were rusted.

 

He replied that the water stain did not go through the whole book, and yes, the staples are rusty.

 

No mention of rusty staples in the description.

 

[SuperBird]

I'm not surprised at the final prices. WW2 actions have been incredibly in demand, and don't come to market often.

[nearmint]

I was just looking at the blurry pics of the #40 again, and those look like Crippen codes on the top of page one.