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What are your best comic collecting stories?10487

It was a one trick pony show but always hilarious. GAC private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gaard
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paint_Monk


Alzheimers? Some days I think I'm already there.

My favorite bumper sticker...
"I may have Alzheimer's, but at least I don't have Alzheimer's."


LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gold!!!
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Captain Accident the420bandito private msg quote post Address this user
Doesn't involve collecting per say but a friend and I were at Wizard World Philly one year to get Stan's sig and photo, etc. We got there almost on time and while I was waiting for my buddy to hit the bathroom I turn around and boom! Stan Lee standing right there. We got say hello and thank him which was way cooler than the signature line where he barely looked up..
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Collector comic_book_man private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by EbaySeller
So what are your best stories...as in:

Big purchases you hunted down and made.

Purchases you didn't make.

Biggest sales, do you regret or did you parlay into bigger success?

Interesting tales of the collector journey.


I bought a 1st Rocket Racoon from a record store for $150, came back a CGC 9.6, and then I ended up selling it for a record price during the week of the 1st movie release - which I still think is the highest ever sold. Even higher than any 9.8 has ever sold. I still have the transaction receipt somewhere from eBay, I think it was around $4500.
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Leftover Sundae Gnus CatmanAmerica private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bronte
@CatmanAmerica

Sounds like more fun than a high stakes poker game.....


Absolutely, ...I wouldn't be surprised if there's cell-phone footage floating around somewhere!
.
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Collector Watcher private msg quote post Address this user
reading stories like these...I dont have any of my own
Post 30 IP   flag post


Collector manfred_spain private msg quote post Address this user
I thought of one other slightly interesting story from a couple decades ago.

I had completed my original run of Amazing Spider-Man down to one book remaining. Of course it was the hardest one...Amazing Spider-Man #1. It wasn't a book you see too often at local comic shops, and this was before Ebay made things much easier to find.

There was one store in a nearby city that had a copy. It wasn't too bad of a drive, so I would visit the store ever couple months to see what they have and to make sure the ASM #1 was still there. They were asking $2,000 and were always pretty firm on that price. I had graduated college and had some disposable income burning a hole in my pocket, but not that much.

One Saturday I visited the store as normal, and checked out the book...actually asked to see it out of the comic bag so I could inspect it more closely. A very solid upper mid-grade copy.

The owner asked if I was interested, and I let him know I was very interested but the price was just beyond my means. He told me it was my lucky day, because he was going to be closing the store down in a month or two since he was moving to another state, and would be willing to let it go for half price.

Sold...and the run was complete. I was actually very nervous driving home that day with a thousand dollar comic in the seat next to me.
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The apple sauce and pudding were the best part... Bronte private msg quote post Address this user
@Watcher

You know, given time you will have stories you will cherish. Perhaps your kid's first bedtime story is a comic book. Or you bump into a significant other or mistress at a comic book store.... who knows..

But here is a story you will be glad you never experienced.

Back when I first started ebay shopping an AF15 in about 2.0 popped up. I bought it and paid via money orders. (PayPal didnt exist yet) I lost the money order receipts and he claimed to have mailed it in a manilla envelope and back and forth we go. End of story. I'm out 2200$ bux.

So. Yes for every good story there are bad ones.

People just dont dwell on the crap ones.
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Collector Jabberwookie private msg quote post Address this user
@Bronte

That’s awful! Terrible to hear that, but I’m sure you have a lot of good stories.
Post 33 IP   flag post
Collector manfred_spain private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bronte
@Watcher

You know, given time you will have stories you will cherish. Perhaps your kid's first bedtime story is a comic book. Or you bump into a significant other or mistress at a comic book store.... who knows..

But here is a story you will be glad you never experienced.

Back when I first started ebay shopping an AF15 in about 2.0 popped up. I bought it and paid via money orders. (PayPal didnt exist yet) I lost the money order receipts and he claimed to have mailed it in a manilla envelope and back and forth we go. End of story. I'm out 2200$ bux.

So. Yes for every good story there are bad ones.

People just dont dwell on the crap ones.


I just hate that happened to you. I've had them too, and you are right that it's easier to forget and write it off to the past.
Post 34 IP   flag post
The apple sauce and pudding were the best part... Bronte private msg quote post Address this user
There are good stories and it's best to move on. However, I need to pay more attention and learn from my mistakes a bit better.

In regards to the comics, at the end of the day, the amount of money invested vs the the amount the books are worth, outweigh any losses.

I have a box of books I can only assume my former friend left in my house. I have ZERO recollection of where it came from.

It contained a hulk 181 that graded at 2.5 cbcs that im about to sell for over a grand and a few other key books that are worth decent money. You figure in 1992 there was no way I had over 2k in books. So in the end it works out.

I just wish I could say for certain where that box came from.
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COLLECTOR shrewbeer private msg quote post Address this user
During the 90s crash I sold off books that today are ridiculously valuable, books that could pay off mortgages. That really sucks.

The end.
Post 36 IP   flag post
Thank you sir. May I have another? Siggy private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by EbaySeller
Quote:
Originally Posted by Siggy
Decades ago in the late 70's my father liked tormenting my younger brother and I by retelling his story how when he was a boy he cut out all the pictures of "some #1 issue of Superman" to put on his wall. Decades later I never told him what he had.


Did you grow up on the East Coast? I only ask because I always question how many copies of early action and superman books ever actually made it out to the West Coast initially. I would suspect very few did in the early days, it's not as if today's distribution channels existed back then. And every time I hear about a "find" in an attic or under the stairs, it's always some 120 year old house from the East Coast.

He grew up in Sioux Falls, SD
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I had no way of knowing that 9.8 graded copies signed by Adam Hughes weren't what you were looking for. drchaos private msg quote post Address this user
I did very well on the book pictured below:




Prior to the announcement of the first Guardians of the Galaxy Movie I bought a copy of Thor Annual # 6 at a store half price sale. As the sticker price was $10 I ended up paying $5.35 with sales tax (book already came with a bag and board. I probably bought 50 - 150 books that day and didn't really think this book was all that special at the time.

As square bound seventies books like this one are tough to find in high grade and this one looked pretty good I sent it off to get pressed and graded.

Before the book came back with a 9.8 the movie was announced.

With the movie hype a couple more copies including mine pushed the CGC census from three 9.8 copies to six but I was still able to get $400 for it on consignment with Comic Connect.

Not a bad return.
Post 38 IP   flag post
I had no way of knowing that 9.8 graded copies signed by Adam Hughes weren't what you were looking for. drchaos private msg quote post Address this user
I bought roughly 2,800 books between 1984 and 1994 before I took a 14 year break from comic collecting.

The most I paid for a book at that time was a copy of Iron Fist # 14 for $50 plus tax.

At the New York Comic Con I asked Matt Nelson to review roughly 80 books (40 Sat, 40 Sun) for pressing and grading. Matt was able to press this book to a CGC 9.2 before it went to Comic Connect on consignment.

Instead of waiting for Comic Connect to sell the book I found someone on the CGC forum and made a deal to sell the book for $210 in cash.

We met across the street from Penn Station in NYC and made the concluded the deal in person.
Post 39 IP   flag post
Collector doog private msg quote post Address this user
Had a birthday a few years ago. On the way to the bar in the big city stopped by an old antique mall. In a cabinet was a stack of crappy comics, right in the middle was a Hawkman 4 Gd or so for a dollar, no bag.
We stopped in a hoity toity hotel bar. I happened to mention it was my last birthday party, (hell,every day is a party now), it dawned on me after multiple free drinks and oyster shooters they thought I had a fatal illness. My wife, daughter and I rolled with it, got very hammered and a free dinner(giant tips by the way) and I held that damn, no bag comic the whole time. Lucky Charm
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I showed my wife and she was so happy for me she started to cry. Batman66 private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Watcher
reading stories like these...I dont have any of my own
yet
Post 41 IP   flag post
The Fifth Golden Girl sborock private msg quote post Address this user
I had the privilege of being the 1st person to see and have dibs on the Nova Scotia pedigree books.

James Payette called me when he picked the collection up and said "Get on a plane and you can have 1st crack at the books.". So I did.

There was a ton of amazing GA books that I needed including More Fun #54, Detective #30 & #38, Superman #3 and many others. I ended up spending $90K in just 5 hours. That was a huge amount of scratch back then for funny books.

It was a great and fun trip!!!!
Post 42 IP   flag post
I had no way of knowing that 9.8 graded copies signed by Adam Hughes weren't what you were looking for. drchaos private msg quote post Address this user
@sborock That's still a lot of scratch. I have yet to own any of those four books myself.
Post 43 IP   flag post
Collector Donnied private msg quote post Address this user
I found a live auction listing that was happening in a small town about an hour away. Listing said "comics", that's all, no details. I took a chance and was very disappointed at first glance. The auction was surplus/grocery/damaged freight/ crap. Then I saw a folding table with the comics, all 80s, 90s junk that looked water damaged. I wouldn't have given them a dollar for all of it. Then I saw another table that was fantastic! Spread out were a bunch (50+) of horror & monster comics from the 50s. Mid to high mid grade. And nobody was even looking at them. It looked like no other comic people were there! The bidding started and it was choice by highest bid. The first bid was between me and some biker dude. He won it at $150! I saw my good luck vanishing, I wasn't going to walk away with all of them for nothing. Then the biker picked up 1 comic, the lone superhero book, a Black Hood (?) and walked to checkout table, paid and left. I got all the rest for a total of $250. Best comic day ever.
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Masculinity takes a holiday. EbayMafia private msg quote post Address this user
A long-time collector/dealer named Ed comes out from Arizona for the California conventions. Nice guy but sometimes his comic enthusiasm waxes and wanes. It was the first Anaheim convention (I think maybe a year into the recession) and Ed was really tired of dragging his comic books around the West Coast. He was depressed and ready to sell. I thought he was going to start throwing slabs at peoples heads as we walked by. He had a box of high grade (9.4-9.8) bronze to copper non-key slabs and gave me about 70% off to take the whole box. I think it averaged about $20 each. Some of the uglier stuff he just couldn't stand to look at anymore. Lower grade raws like Aquaman 1,2,3, Showcase 30,31,32 were half-off-of-half-off, so $10-$20 each. Rumor was starting that he would take $20,000 for his entire booth and get out of the business. He confirmed it was true. How I wished I had $20,000 available then. But fortunately no one bought him out, his spirits are back up, and it's good to see him at local conventions, often with some of the most legit inventory at the show.
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I showed my wife and she was so happy for me she started to cry. Batman66 private msg quote post Address this user
@EbaySeller I think your talking about ed Robertson, super nice and great guy bought a few books from him. always a good experience talking with him.
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Masculinity takes a holiday. EbayMafia private msg quote post Address this user
Yes, Ed Robertson. I would have liked to bought his inventory for $20k but I’m glad he stuck around.
Post 47 IP   flag post
I'll probably wake up constipated. Pre_Coder private msg quote post Address this user
Way back in 1972 when I was in Jr. High, I was working at Furr's Cafeteria and always had cash. One summer morning I rode with my parents taking my dad to work, we passed by a used bookstore and I asked my mom if we could stop there on the way back home.

Upon entering the store all I saw was paperbacks. I asked the man at the register if he had any comics and he said he doesn't deal with them but he did buy a collection a few days earlier and escorted me to a low counter along side the wall. He said the comics are 5 cents each.

Now keep in mind, this is the early 70's and comics were not deemed a valuable commodity... except a given few. I started reading Marvel's in 1969 (ASM 77 got me started) and I just wanted to build and read.

Anyway after shuffling through what he had, I went back to him and asked "how much" if I want all of them,.. he said 3 cents each.

Here is an example of what I walked out of the store with (that I can recall)....

ASM 4 - 80s mid grade and higher
FF 6 - 80s mid grade and higher
X-Men 4 - 80s mid grade and higher
Avengers 4 - 80s mid grade and higher
Tales Of Suspense - many pre Thor - mid grade and higher
Tales To Astonish - ??? - mid grade and higher
... I can't even recall all the Marvel books.

There were only a few DC Golden Age but they were pretty ragged except for a Wonder Woman #10 that I later graded at 8.5... when years later I figured out how to grade.

I walked out of the store with 8 paper sacks of comics that I payed only 3 cents each for. And also keep in mind, a 6.0 Silver Age comic in the early 70's looks a helluva lot nicer than today's 6.0

I've told this story once before... I think on the CBF Boards... @Siggy may recall.

Shortly after 9/11, I lost my job as an accounting software developer and needed money. I decided to check eBay (my very first time) and comics were selling like crazy. I sold my entire collection making even more money than I did as a computer programmer. And this was back when eBay was fun to do business.

God, I wish I had all those books back.
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Why just the women? I like bears. Gaard private msg quote post Address this user
One of my favorite collecting experiences...

Setting: My 13th birthday party (1975)

My older sister hands me a box (the type/size that would hold a new shirt). I open it to see 3 items...
Item #1) A can of pork-n-beans
Item #2) A bottle of Tahitian Treat
Item #3) Daredevil #1
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Masculinity takes a holiday. EbayMafia private msg quote post Address this user
A childhood kindness that stuck in my memory:
My older brother started driving in 1980 when I was 10. He was our transportation but also our leader. He was a massive nerd and led us from Hardy Boys books to coin collecting to comic collecting, even early D&D. He introduced us to the video games we played and T.V. shows we would watch, he's the reason I love Sci-fi. Eventually computers came along and he found his permanent home in early I.T. Anyway, he would search the phone book for used book stores all around the region and drive us out there if it looked like they carried used comic books. We had little money and were desperately searching for bargains on collectible books. Anything worth more than $1 in Overstreet was a find, we didn't care much about condition back then, Near Mint was very subjective to us. One late afternoon we pulled up to a used books store. He was driving so I rushed in ahead of him. I found the stack of comics in a corner, they were all 25 cents each. Right near the top: X-men 113, 117 and 118. Heart-stopping! I snatched them up and then it dawned on me that I had no money. My brother should have claimed them for himself, but even though I had bum-rushed him to get to the books first, he gave me the 75 cents and let me buy them for my collection. I realize now that he was a true collector and the potential market resell value of things was never really relevant to him. He was just all-in for whatever passion he was into. Eventually he would evolve into other interests and pretty much give his collection to me for free. I was different, for me the idea that I might sell something for more than I paid was always a motivating factor.
Post 50 IP   flag post
Collector Paint_Monk private msg quote post Address this user
I recently picked up my complete Walt Simonson Thor run for a mere best offer of $100 on eBay. This included everything Walt worked on during his popular stint (#337-382 + Balder the Brave #1-4), including the increasingly popular #337, which as you know, is the 1st appearance of Beta Ray Bill.

The seller was extremely professional and shipped fast and well packaged. However, his communication was non-existent. When I sent an email thanking him for such a great item at a great price, I received a mere "Thanks" as a reply.

I'm guessing his wife or someone may have accepted the best offer not knowing how much the lot was worth, but I was blessed with a great deal. I know I would have been upset if I let a whole lot like that go for the price of one of the issues (#337).

All the comics are easily VF-NM and I'm really happy.




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Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock Tedsaid private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by sborock
I had the privilege of being the 1st person to see and have dibs on the Nova Scotia pedigree books.

James Payette called me when he picked the collection up and said "Get on a plane and you can have 1st crack at the books.". So I did.

There was a ton of amazing GA books that I needed including More Fun #54, Detective #30 & #38, Superman #3 and many others. I ended up spending $90K in just 5 hours. That was a huge amount of scratch back then for funny books.

It was a great and fun trip!!!!

That's awesome! I owned Detective Comics #31 for about a day once, back in the 80's. But I've told that story already. Here's a new one:

When I was 4 to 7 years old and my brother was 7 to 10 or so, there was a guy I knew who lived down the street, who was just a couple years older ... maybe 12, when I was 6? Because he was six years older than me, the comics he had were also six years older than my comics. Seeing his collection - boxes worth - it was like magic. All these great issues I've never seen before! TONS of stories I'd never get to read, couldn't ever hope to own. We didn't even have a comic book store in town then. This was the 70's, so they were rare. Though when we moved to Durham (North Carolina) a few years later, there was a shop in nearby Chapel Hill that sold old comics. But that's another story, too.

Anyway, I remember a few times going over to his house and how I loved to just look at them. He was very particular and wouldn't let me read them, which I totally understood. Gotta keep them in mint condition! I've posted a few pictures from his Flash run that I *think* he had ... definitely, there were a lot of the "checkerboard" DC's in his collection. But it was so long ago I barely remember. I know he had some cool Neal Adams covers, who was pretty amazing back then.

I remember one anecdote about John that I think will tell you something about those comics. One day my mom was visiting his mom, and I was so young that meant I went visiting, too. So while they had their chat I went upstairs to see what John was up to. Maybe I could look at those comics again!

At the top of the stairs I saw he had the ironing board out in the hallway. That seemed pretty odd. Ironing is not something I'd ever think to do. That was an adult thing, not a kid thing. Curious, I asked him what he was doing, and he showed me ... he was ironing his dollar bills! Ironing money? Sure. He said he liked them to be crisp and sharp, as if they were new.

I liked the feel of crisp, new money, too, so I could kind of see it. Seemed like a lot of trouble to go to, for something you're just going to spend anyway. But it kind of made sense.

Now, I don't think he ironed his comics, or even thought to do it. But I KNOW he liked to keep them very, very nice. He may or may not have had them in plastic bags. Was that even a thing back then? I'm not sure. But he definitely took care of them.

I often wonder, when I buy high-grade silver and bronze age books from some dealer on eBay and they arrive and are all absolutely cherry, I ask myself: who on earth managed to keep these comic books pristine for so many years? What kind of person is that? It's so hard! Decades and decades, across many different homes and lifestyles. High school, college, first job, second job, marriage, kids ... it's crazy! How many times do you have to tell yourself: well, I'll be careful with these at least, put them away, stored and protected. How many times do they have to survive changing priorities, and various environments? How many times do they avoid neglect. (Or get just the right kind of neglect, sitting undisturbed for years!)

John may be exactly the type. Not overboard with it. Certainly not narrowly focused on the condition of his comic books above all else. But careful. And persistently so, I think. Even though he stopped collecting comics decades ago and hasn't gone back.

I met up with him in Cincinnati a few years ago. He's a best-selling author now. You may even have heard of him if I told you his name. He was in town to do a signing event at one of the big bookstores. He was delighted to see me. Turned to the bookstore lady and said, laughing, "I used to babysit this guy!"

I gave him a ride to his hotel after the event, so we could catch up a bit. Along the way I asked if he still has all those comic books from when we were kids.

Yep, he told me, I still have them. Every single one.











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Collector comic_book_man private msg quote post Address this user
@EbaySeller @Batman66 woah..
You guys know Ed? I just saw him yesterday. Great guy!
Post 53 IP   flag post
Masculinity takes a holiday. EbayMafia private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by comic_book_man
@EbaySeller @Batman66 woah..
You guys know Ed? I just saw him yesterday. Great guy!


He's part of the core group that I'm comfortable haggling with at SoCal conventions. My go-to dealers are:

A1 Comics from Sacramento (can't remember owners name, he was a Tight End for the Seahawks)
Brad at FVF
Phil at Hero Comics
Ed Robertson
Terry at Terry's comics

I mostly keep circling around those 5 until one of them breaks and gets in a haggling mood.
I trust their grading and restoration checks. Phil at Hero Comics is my presser. He will pre-screen for me at conventions and only press the ones that make financial sense.
Any others I should be getting to know?
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Masculinity takes a holiday. EbayMafia private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paint_Monk
All the comics are easily VF-NM and I'm really happy.


As you should be...lucky Monk. Was your offer auto-accepted, or did it take some time for the response?
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