New/inexperienced buyers: stick with slabs.5344
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Comicnewbie private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @shrewbeer I do have some raw books. Mostly bought bc of the cover art. My son has so many. I would guess it’s at least 200-300 and he is 8. He has those as story reading and entertainment. I will say it was so much easier when we were buying him what he wanted for no other reason than he wanted them. Then I got this knucklehead of an idea to but some that may be worth more in the future. Stressful and certainly not as much fun. Plus I’m not good at it...so far | ||
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det_tobor private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by shrewbeermost people today don't have loads of money to easily lose. There are decades where this hobby went from constant putdowns to worse for collectors. No one enjoyed any of that. |
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 I bought a meat grinder on amazon for $60 and it's changed my life.
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kaptainmyke private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Buying raw is also risky with issues such as trimming, color touch, and making sure all centerfolds are attached and not loose or missing. | ||
| Post 28 • IP flag post | ||
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Homer private msg quote post Address this user | |
| If ones grading skills and restoration detection skills are limited, I would recommend that collector purchase slabbed books when the price point gets close to $200.00, or when they start to feel uncomfortable. | ||
| Post 29 • IP flag post | ||
 COLLECTOR
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shrewbeer private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by det_tobor Of course not. There are exceptioms to the statement. Maybe “buy only slabbed if you cant afford to lose the money”. It cant be just a black and white blanket statement |
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doog private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Man, doing stupid stuff is the bread of life, example, Conan. You got an 8 year old, newbie, my advice only buy slabs and beaters, so he can read the beaters, the coverless, can make a collage if he wants, he can’t hurt a slab, so get him those too |
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OGJackster private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Comicnewbie Not totally true. There have been NUMEROUS instances of unscrupulous people swapping out labels on graded books. |
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Drogio private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Risk vs. reward. If you don't want to take on the risk, the advice is sound. Stick with what's safe and pay a little more for the guarante..in a way it's like an insurance policy. These are the risk adverse. However Some like the thrill of getting a good deal and will take the bad if it comes with something great every so often. Risk takers and thrill seekers. Life on the edge. If that's how they want to live, who are we to tell them otherwise? They will learn from their mistakes if they want to learn. And ignorance is bliss if they don't. Me? Risk adverse...mostly. The older and more expensive the book, the more I ponder "why didn't the owner slab it to get the most out of their item?" Popular answers I tell myself 1.) it's not as high a grade as they are advertising (and they know it) 2.) it's been doctored...and they know it or suspect it 3.) they're clueless...and probably have no clue how to grade. I won't spend more than $100 on a raw comic...I don't think I ever have. Too risky and if I really want to read it I'll buy a reprint or beat up copy cheap. But that's me. |
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Comicnewbie private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @OGJackster. I'm sure you are right about the swapping of labels but I don't know the comic side of it. In coins, you can't open a pcgs or ngc holders (slabs) to swap coins or I guess labels without cracking or breaking them altogether. | ||
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det_tobor private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by shrewbeer How about sharing some of the steps/lessons you went thru the first few years of learning? Practical lessons can be a big help. I bought from a lcs that I've known for years, only to find the owner missed touch ups on a couple books.(out of the volume I've bought from him, these were not any problems.) There are lots more people doing fraud today because of the massive publicity comics and collectables have gotten...and they couldn't care less about their potential victims as long as they don't get caught. |
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| Post 35 • IP flag post | ||
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Atakmunky7 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Just like everything in life, there is risk buying comics (or anything) from ppl you don't know. Instead of telling ppl to "stick to slabs" maybe tell them to do some research into what they are buying or who they are buying from. Limiting new buyers to slabs only is dumb. Do your homework instead. It's not fool proof by any means but it will most likely reduce your chances of getting burned. If someone, especially a noob, gets burned because they jumped on a book without looking I don't feel bad for them at all. There are so many places on the web to get info. If you don't at least try to educate yourself about collecting before buying I kinda feel like you deserve to get screwed for being lazy. | ||
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I bought a meat grinder on amazon for $60 and it's changed my life.
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kaptainmyke private msg quote post Address this user | |
 This book is a great tool and should be in your toolbox as well. |
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det_tobor private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by OGJackster Too true. That is why a grading company has been upgrading the slabs and labels to better show if they have been tampered with. |
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OGJackster private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by DocBrown That sucks! I had a similar circumstance with a Superman #100. Not only money invested but time as well! |
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 I live in RI and Rhode Islanders eat chili with beans.
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esaravo private msg quote post Address this user | |
@OGJackster - Still looking for one? |
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det_tobor private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by kaptainmyke Something every potential collector should get to start out with. What changes are made to books, how are they done, how easy is it to find them and so on. A real thank you, @kaptainmyke. |
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OGJackster private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by esaravo Nice! I'm guessing around $1300? Can't afford that price range right now but thank you anyway! |
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OGJackster private msg quote post Address this user | |
I get the digital every year  Quote: Originally Posted by kaptainmyke |
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DocBrown private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by shrewbeer That's right. It can't. Which is why it isn't. There's a concept in rhetoric that is called "the exception that proves the rule"...that is, it is the presence of exceptions to the rule that validates the rule. Or, in other words, there are valid exceptions to every rule, and the topic of this thread is, itself, no exception (Close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades.) It is those who look at such statements as "black and white blanket" who are themselves making things "black and white blanket." |
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OGJackster private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by OGJackster Oops, at a glance I thought that was a price guide. Don't think they make a digital of that... yet. |
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DocBrown private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Drogio BUT...that comes with a cost and a responsibility, and part of that cost is taking responsibility if the risk doesn't pan out. |
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DocBrown private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Atakmunky7 First, I think some folks are laboring under a SERIOUS misconception. I'm not "telling" anyone to do anything. I'm giving MY opinion, based on MY experience. I've bought and sold several hundred thousand comics over the last almost 29 years, and several thousand slabs as well. I've sold comics as my sole means of income for the last 11+ years. I've worked 8-12 cons a year for the last decade+. I was at C2E2, Wondercon, NYCC, and SDCC last year, not to mention several smaller regional cons. This is what I DO. This is what I have dedicated my adult life to, for good or for ill. But my posts aren't required reading for anyone, so anyone and everyone can take what I say with whatever weight they choose to give it, and consider it, ignore it, whatever they want. So, no one is "limiting" anyone to anything. Second...as this entire forum is ample proof... PEOPLE. DO. NOT. READ. So, trying to explain, in ANY length beyond your average tweet, is likely going go to into one eye and out the other. Third...I don't disagree that hard lesson is a most valuable teacher. But I DO have a measure of compassion, and this advice can help quite a few people, if they consider it. Fourth...I don't think it's fair to expect EVERYONE to be an expert to enjoy owning "expensive" (however the reader defines it) books. Life is short. If I can give someone information that means they don't have to do 29 hours of diligent research on a book before buying...and I AM NOT OPPOSED TO THAT, mind you!...then that's not necessarily a bad thing. |
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Drogio private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by DocBrown OK. |
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| Post 48 • IP flag post | ||
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det_tobor private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by DocBrown Which goes back to the old saying you don't always get the quality you pay for. |
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DocBrown private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by det_tobor Or, you DO get what you pay for, if you're a cheap bastiche. Lo barato sale caro. You buy cheap, you get cheap. Don't expect it to last. |
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| Post 50 • IP flag post | ||
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det_tobor private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by DocBrown Even that doesn't always hold true. Look at the poor guy with an unexpected emergency that has to sell real valued items cheaply to raise fast cash. |
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| Post 51 • IP flag post | ||
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BigRig private msg quote post Address this user | |
For newcomers to comic collecting I would only recommend one thing. Buy what you like. My very first comic book I got was given to me for free( that's how they get you hooked). But I took that book and had it signed and graded. I didn't start with a slab and I wouldn't recommend that route to anyone who hasn't done any research. Would one know the difference in the VSP label or an ASP? Or how about this example of the good morty... we all have talked about it no one is GRADING this book. CGC nor CBCS. Yet here is a copy being sold on eBay right now. Like I stated it isn't graded. Only a sealed cgc ss no grade given. Also notice anything about the book? It's a fake book with two staples. The sig is real but that's it. Now if I was new and had seen the listing not knowing what I was buying really it would be a total loss. Start with what you like. Do the research to find out what grading really is and if you want that for your collection. Learn to grade for your self or at least noticeable defects. Just have fun with the hobby. And I like to take the risk on raw books personally. It has paid off so far... |
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conditionfreak private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Good Post and example BigRig. | ||
| Post 53 • IP flag post | ||
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DocBrown private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by BigRig And hopefully, it always will. Now tell me...what is more likely: Someone who knows little about comics, but is interested in them, and "knows enough" to know what he or she wants, and wants to buy an X-Men #94.... Are they more likely to buy a problem book if it's raw...or if it's graded? I mean, sure, arguing the exceptions as if they ARE the rule is, very sadly, an Olympic level sport around here...but that doesn't make them not exceptions. Your example here? It's an exception. It is not typical. It is not standard. It is also...and this is the important part...not graded, which you point out, and therefore, doesn't fall under the situation I'm discussing. Nice book, though. Hope it turns out to be real. I know what the arguments are for it being fake. I don't buy them. Hope it's legit, for your sake.  |
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MR_SigS private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by BigRig Very true, always. And if what you like are "investment" issues or high grade books (the kind at risk of shenanigans), see Post 1.  And kids(?); If you want to do well in life, stay in school. That's good advice, even if it isn't a 100% iron clad fact. |
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