London Mart Sunday 7th December

[EwanUK]

As promised in the last UK-centric thread; here's a potted commentary on the London Mart held in the Royal National Hotel on Sunday 7th December -

 

Venue and vibe: much, much better than the Bidborough Street venue - warmly lit and spacious - you could travel down the aisles without physical contact or undue demands on the nostrils. Maybe because of this, the vibe was good - everyone seemed happy and full of Christmas cheer - even the (usually) most miserable of dealers.

 

Stock: much better than I've seen for a while - most dealers had at least some CGC stock - and judging by the new labels, quite recent additions too. However, there's very little super-high grade books - 9.4 was the highest I saw - most were 7.0 to 9.0 (maybe that's the price range they know they can sell?)

 

Dealers:

Conquistador: I haven't seen this guy in years - but his impressive "pile" revealed some interesting old zines and magazines. Wasn't this originally "Just Comics"?

 

Incognito: great range of quality books but I viewed three Hulk 181s - "VFminus" for £595 (more like Fminus) - and two "Fminus" for £225 each - both were really ugly books - I'd grade them a G+ at best. Pity. Another guy, (forget the dealer name) was selling a graded 181 in 8.5 for £795...

 

Silveracre - Darryl and wife looked in good spirits but he does indeed have the tendency to glare at people, especially children. It puts me off browsing.

 

All the rest - I'm terrible with names - but the best characters were in the back room. There's one guy, who looks like Catweazle, and always sells boxes of [!@#%^&^] really cheaply. The hilarious thing was one of the boxes was actually entitled, "assorted [!@#%^&^]" - and I had a look.. and it was!

There's also another chap, looks a bit like Rigsby from Rising Damp, who sells interesting but low grade books - well, he is the most miserable sod I've ever met. I asked to look at a book from the stand behind him... "oh... ok.. then, here it is... nice copy but.. (then proceeds to down-grade it for ten minutes)... take a look...". By that point I'd lost the will to live... and the book was as tatty as one passed down through generations of tramps.

 

Anyway, good mart - but no Charltons anywhere as usual.

Any other views from our UK contingent?

Ian, did you go? Or do you not "do" marts?

[comicmankev]

Just Comics

Not sure about Conquistador, I think there were/are aligned with another collecatables/book place, but can't say for sure!

 

The Royal National is a MUCH better venue! And as you said, much easier to navigate. And it's always better at this time of year! Try Going in January, then see if you say the same! But you can get a few mis-grade bargains then!

 

Did you actually see anyone buy any CGC stuff? I keep saying I'm gonna get a stall because my stuff is so much cheaper, but if it doesnt sell..............

 

Anyway, I wasnt at this one so I can't say much more, but I know what it's like!

[Ian_Levine]

Ian, did you go? Or do you not "do" marts?

 

Yes I was there from well before it opened till four o clock.

Andy from Golddust let me use his stand as a base.

I didn't find one single comic off my wants list - NOT ONE.

However I bought tons of crappy useless Wildstorm rubbish, just to fill in the gaps in the part of my collection which I care the least about.

I also bought four comics to upgrade because my previous copies had faults - All Star 6, Superman 22, Detective 119, and Mystery In Space 1.

Plus a box of Australian DCs off Paul McCartney (No not the Beatle).

 

Why do Comicana have NOT ONE SINGLE DC on their stand ????

[JohnBull]

I also bought four comics to upgrade because my previous copies had faults - All Star 6, Superman 22, Detective 119, and Mystery In Space 1.

 

Sigh, if only my days were so fruitless that all I could find were four crappy upgrades like those.

[Ian_Levine]

Sigh, if only my days were so fruitless that all I could find were four crappy upgrades like those.

 

 

Yes but considering I just clinched a deal on More Fun 52, 54, 56, 57, 114, and 126, upgrading four comics that I already had anyway, becomes less exciting.

[JohnBull]

We live in vastly different worlds ! Major league congrats on the More Fun 52 ! What grade ?

[goldust40]

Did you actually see anyone buy any CGC stuff? I keep saying I'm gonna get a stall because my stuff is so much cheaper, but if it doesnt sell..............

 

If your stuff is so much cheaper of course it'll sell.............go for it Kev!!!!

[Ian_Levine]

We live in vastly different worlds ! Major league congrats on the More Fun 52 ! What grade ?

 

 

It's a Fine but restored.

[goldust40]

We live in vastly different worlds ! Major league congrats on the More Fun 52 ! What grade ?

 

 

It's a Fine but restored.

 

You never mentioned this to me at the show! Not bad going! Any chance of a scan when it arrives?

[comicmankev]

 

 

Not sure if there was sarcasm in that or not

 

Anyway goldie, I never see much turnover of CGC books at marts, whats it like for you?

 

And obviously without giving out too much detail on your working procedure, how do you turnaround CGC comics? ie 50% in trade 40% sales 10% incentives etc. etc. Just curious???

[comicmankev]

Or of course, it may be 100% Ebay like me

[JohnBull]

We live in vastly different worlds ! Major league congrats on the More Fun 52 ! What grade ?

 

 

It's a Fine but restored.

 

You never mentioned this to me at the show! Not bad going! Any chance of a scan when it arrives?

 

Aw c'mon Andy. You must be able to see how a little thing like a More Fun 52 could slip your mind !

 

I'd be very pleased with a restored Fine Ian, but a coverless missing the centre wrap would be more my line.

 

Incidentally, I shouldn't worry too much about the Teen Titans Annual. It is very common to stick deliberate errors in - biographers do it all the time. You may remember a case a few years ago where someone who had written a biography on Mary Queen Of Scots about 20 years ago, sued a recent author who made the mistake of pillaging her 'creation'. She won quite a lot of money and explained it was common practice. I also remember being £300 out of pocket around '91, when I made up a mailing list from a trade journal and hit one of their created companies - they got me on copyright and it was pay up or go to court.

 

I'd suggest writing to Overstreet when your quest is nearly up. Direct him to this thread (or any of the major US dealers who can vouch for you). Explain the situation and swear yourself to secrecy if he can help. If it is made up, it won't be the only entry and he can always throw something different in the next one. If it's not made up by him, he might be able to corner DC and determine it's (probable) non-existence.

[EwanUK]

I didn't see ANYONE buy a graded comic - but certainly a lot of hawking of them by the dealers.

 

However, the difference in display methods was noticeable - most have them on the racks behind, looking good - but one guy had them all stacked together in a box - scratched, labels peeling off, in dirty plastic bags etc etc - he might as well have wiped his arse on them!

 

Anyway, where was Goldust located? Hope you're not the Catweazle bloke I referred to earlier.

 

Kev, I think you should sell. Strange you only make 100% on your books - I tend to get a least 10,000% on ebay - but then I only sell golden age attic finds.

 

Ian, were you the wiry chap in the grey-checked suit with goatee (with mobile?) followed a meter or so behind by a very large "lurch-like" man?

[goldust40]

Only a little sarcasm, old boy - mostly exhortation - just do it, dammit, and see everything from the mart dealers' perspective, minus, of course, the grimacing, self-hatred, paranoia and odious smells. And all those judgemental punters who despite their misgivings about you still insist on a discount.

 

Well we've been there and done that angle. As for CGC books, they're only 10% of my mart stock (20 boxes of raw and 2 boxes of CGC books). The Royal National is always a good show, but as for selling CGC items, nearly all sales are on the raw stuff. This could be seen as a backhanded compliment regarding my grading, but more likely it's a sign that there is still resistance to slabbed items in the English marketplace. Or otherwise.

 

Nevertheless I always sell (never trade or use them as incentives) 2 or 3 CGC books, sometimes high priced (at the previous RN show I sold three slabbed books in the mid-hundreds range) mostly cheaper. It's fair to say that a few of the slabbed books would do as well on ebay. I bring them partly to promote interest, as I have far more left at home. As for wall books, again it's the raw stuff that wins.

 

 

 

 

[Ian_Levine]

Incidentally, I shouldn't worry too much about the Teen Titans Annual. It is very common to stick deliberate errors in - biographers do it all the time. I'd suggest writing to Overstreet when your quest is nearly up.

 

 

No no no.

Arnold T. Blumberg checked with him, and he definitely didn't make the information up.

The sales figures for both Annuals in the Standard Comics Guide prove that too.

[Ian_Levine]

Anyway, where was Goldust located? Hope you're not the Catweazle bloke I referred to earlier.

Ian, were you the wiry chap in the grey-checked suit with goatee (with mobile?) followed a meter or so behind by a very large "lurch-like" man?

 

 

Andy most certainly isn't the Catweazle bloke, who looks like someone selling The Big Issue. Andy is quite smart and clean and was wearing a navy coloured Ralph Lauren buttondown.

 

And I would give away my Action 1 before I'd ever have a goatee. I was also in a striped Ralph Lauren shirt, but untucked. And although I normally wear contact lenses every day, I have to wear glasses to the marts because I can't read the small print with my lenses in.

[JohnBull]

So you both like Ralph Lauren eh ? And you shared a stand....

[goldust40]

So you both like Ralph Lauren eh ? And you shared a stand....

 

Errrrrrrr, and your point is, young fellow?

[Flaming_Telepath]

Ewan,

 

You may or may not have been refering to me....not sure, as the description doesn't quite fit. However, that may have been artistic licence on your part, to make it sound worse than it actually was. Fair enough....we all do that sort of thing from time to time.

 

Three boxes (not one), CGC books placed upright (not stacked), some in plastics (not all, or indeed many, dirty), some of the labels along the top edge peeling back due to excessive handling.

 

They are there, displayed in that fashion, for a reason. You may be very 'CGC aware', but the majority of UK buyers are not. Some are clueless. Some know more, and don't like it one bit. We have some buyers who will not, under any circumstances, ever buy a slabbed book. We have others who will buy CGC books mail order but have actually insisted that we remove the book from the slab before mailing (I [!@#%^&^] you not).

 

Point is, we're trying to educate the UK comic buying folk, to take away the mystery and ignorance. The best way to do that is to let them look, let them stroke, let them ask questions. That means that the books will get handled time and time again, sometimes being shoved unceremoniously back into the box with little care. What would you have me do? Adopt the 'old school dealer' attitude? 'You going to buy that, sonny? If not, put it back!' I could do that. I really could, and it would make my life less stressful.

 

But I don't and I won't. I'll let folk continue to truly browse through my stock, running the risk of them damaging the goods (and believe you me, some of the ignorant do precisely that with their 'couldn't give a toss 'cause it's not my book' attitude), because when I was a collector, I wanted to get to know the goods close up and personal, not at five yards distant, so my customers get the chance to do the same.

 

And besides, let's not forget that the slab is worthless and whether it's in a dirty plastic bag or not, the book inside is EXACTLY THE SAME BOOK.

 

Oh, and with regard to one question raised, we have averaged 5.5 CGC books per mart over the last six marts with a per book average of over £120. Just so you know.