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15,805 posts in this topic

22 minutes ago, manetteska said:

Missed out by missing that lot or missed out by not bidding high enough?

Missed out because it went for more than I wanted to pay for the condition it was in....I bid it up though...so it did not go cheap....

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1 hour ago, spreads said:

Avon Eeries bought on back-to-back days!

I know...crazy! 

There were several boxes/flats of comics and the auctioneer would bring them out 1 at a time and do choice comic.  The best box had the Tec 122, Bat 62, WW 25, 31, Zoots, Sheena and others.  All sold for more than I wanted to pay.   

In between every choice purchase they would auction off 10 other things before they would come back to comics so it was taking a while to just get through a flat.  They auctioned stuff from a few other boxes that wasn't going for much.  Again taking a lot of time.  Most of the guys bidding took off.

The next best box had the Marvel GGA humor/romance books and the horror.  So by the time they brought out that box they just brought out the last 3 flats together and instead of choice comic....they did choice flat!

Needless to say...happy how that turned out....:cloud9:

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1 hour ago, Bearcatcoach said:

I know...crazy! 

There were several boxes/flats of comics and the auctioneer would bring them out 1 at a time and do choice comic.  The best box had the Tec 122, Bat 62, WW 25, 31, Zoots, Sheena and others.  All sold for more than I wanted to pay.   

In between every choice purchase they would auction off 10 other things before they would come back to comics so it was taking a while to just get through a flat.  They auctioned stuff from a few other boxes that wasn't going for much.  Again taking a lot of time.  Most of the guys bidding took off.

The next best box had the Marvel GGA humor/romance books and the horror.  So by the time they brought out that box they just brought out the last 3 flats together and instead of choice comic....they did choice flat!

Needless to say...happy how that turned out....:cloud9:

I'm not a fan of that choice approach, but I can see why they do that.   Most of the auctions that had comics I've been to they started with the cheapest stuff first, and then the most expensive stuff is at the end forcing people to stick around.  And the cheaper auctions probably also have bids because people get bored during their waiting....

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3 hours ago, Bearcatcoach said:

I know...crazy! 

There were several boxes/flats of comics and the auctioneer would bring them out 1 at a time and do choice comic.  The best box had the Tec 122, Bat 62, WW 25, 31, Zoots, Sheena and others.  All sold for more than I wanted to pay.   

In between every choice purchase they would auction off 10 other things before they would come back to comics so it was taking a while to just get through a flat.  They auctioned stuff from a few other boxes that wasn't going for much.  Again taking a lot of time.  Most of the guys bidding took off.

The next best box had the Marvel GGA humor/romance books and the horror.  So by the time they brought out that box they just brought out the last 3 flats together and instead of choice comic....they did choice flat!

Needless to say...happy how that turned out....:cloud9:

So the high bidder gets the whole box lot of 8 or just one book for his high bid? What happens to the rest of the lot?

Smart to mix in the good stuff with the carp. Sometimes, people see stupid prices on the low end stuff, give up and leave. Often you can get better deals by hanging around. Sometimes not so much.

Those small live auctions used to be a great place to score books. Not so much anymore. Everyone has heard that "comics are worth money" and they usually get bid up to silly levels. I have taken advange of that mentality and consigned carefully put together lots of local auction houses and have done well mixing in a little lower grade "eye candy" with a lot of drek. People just get that "I have to win at any cost" mentality. Paid off well for me.

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48 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

So the high bidder gets the whole box lot of 8 or just one book for his high bid? What happens to the rest of the lot?

Smart to mix in the good stuff with the carp. Sometimes, people see stupid prices on the low end stuff, give up and leave. Often you can get better deals by hanging around. Sometimes not so much.

Those small live auctions used to be a great place to score books. Not so much anymore. Everyone has heard that "comics are worth money" and they usually get bid up to silly levels. I have taken advange of that mentality and consigned carefully put together lots of local auction houses and have done well mixing in a little lower grade "eye candy" with a lot of drek. People just get that "I have to win at any cost" mentality. Paid off well for me.

If a box had 8 comics and they sell choice then high bidder can pick as many as they want times their bid.  So if the winning bid is 1k more likely than not the guy picks 1 book and then they do choice out of the remaining 7.  The Auctioneer then sells choice and let's say $100 is now the winning bid.  Buyer wants 2 for that price so they pay $200.  Now they auction off the remaining 5 by choice again....and so on until the box is done and then do the same for the next box.   Time consuming but choice selling usually earns the auction house more money than selling big lots....

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4 hours ago, Bearcatcoach said:

If a box had 8 comics and they sell choice then high bidder can pick as many as they want times their bid.  So if the winning bid is 1k more likely than not the guy picks 1 book and then they do choice out of the remaining 7.  The Auctioneer then sells choice and let's say $100 is now the winning bid.  Buyer wants 2 for that price so they pay $200.  Now they auction off the remaining 5 by choice again....and so on until the box is done and then do the same for the next box.   Time consuming but choice selling usually earns the auction house more money than selling big lots....

Thanks that makes sense I guess. That way they get the most out of them. I have been to auctions that your bid is for the whole lot. They are often random lots of the auctioneer is not familiar with comics or just doesn’t want to bother. 

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2 hours ago, Robot Man said:

Thanks that makes sense I guess. That way they get the most out of them. I have been to auctions that your bid is for the whole lot. They are often random lots of the auctioneer is not familiar with comics or just doesn’t want to bother. 

I was at an auction that had 25 longs (they were all moderns, bagged but not boarded in a long) where they did buyer's choice and the guy with the winning bid took all of them but 2-3.  I was floored because I had time to make notes on which boxes I would buy based on price, it was strictly a volume deal and there was not much of value other than some minor keys, more popular titles, etc.   Anyway, the buyer was clearly not a knowledgeable comic seller because he had $1 bins buys at some point down the road.  After the dealers cherry-picked those books I don't know what he did with the bulk.  

And yes, I couldn't agree with you more regarding comic buyers at estate auctions.  The last 10 years or so, every comic auction I've been to has seen a ton of drek and unsellable books go for more than they would anywhere else.  I'm convinced buyers at auctions, see these comics and think, 'well I can get at least a buck for this', and lap up the crud!

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3 hours ago, spreads said:

I was at an auction that had 25 longs (they were all moderns, bagged but not boarded in a long) where they did buyer's choice and the guy with the winning bid took all of them but 2-3.  I was floored because I had time to make notes on which boxes I would buy based on price, it was strictly a volume deal and there was not much of value other than some minor keys, more popular titles, etc.   Anyway, the buyer was clearly not a knowledgeable comic seller because he had $1 bins buys at some point down the road.  After the dealers cherry-picked those books I don't know what he did with the bulk.  

And yes, I couldn't agree with you more regarding comic buyers at estate auctions.  The last 10 years or so, every comic auction I've been to has seen a ton of drek and unsellable books go for more than they would anywhere else.  I'm convinced buyers at auctions, see these comics and think, 'well I can get at least a buck for this', and lap up the crud!

Agreed all around. I did really well with estate sales and auctions for a long time, but the last couple of years especially it seems that the "all comics = $$$" belief is circulating wildly once again. Same with Star Wars, GI Joes, etc. People with no real knowledge of the hobby are bidding the stuff up to crazy numbers.It's pretty amazing what low-mid grade silver age third tier books will sell for at sales like that.

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14 hours ago, spreads said:

I was at an auction that had 25 longs (they were all moderns, bagged but not boarded in a long) where they did buyer's choice and the guy with the winning bid took all of them but 2-3.  I was floored because I had time to make notes on which boxes I would buy based on price, it was strictly a volume deal and there was not much of value other than some minor keys, more popular titles, etc.   Anyway, the buyer was clearly not a knowledgeable comic seller because he had $1 bins buys at some point down the road.  After the dealers cherry-picked those books I don't know what he did with the bulk.  

And yes, I couldn't agree with you more regarding comic buyers at estate auctions.  The last 10 years or so, every comic auction I've been to has seen a ton of drek and unsellable books go for more than they would anywhere else.  I'm convinced buyers at auctions, see these comics and think, 'well I can get at least a buck for this', and lap up the crud!

I have seen a lot of these sellers at flea markets sitting on tons of drek at a buck or 3 bucks each. If you are the first one on them, you might pick out a few decent ones but you have to wade through so much carp I usually just pass. 

It’s gotton pretty much impossible to find any decent comics at these shows anyway. 

Edited by Robot Man
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Highlights from recent pickups.  Local flea market has been open, everyone wears masks, they have two empty spaces between each dealer, crowds are much lower.

Jack Kirby book is very cool.
Harpoon has Neal Adams art among more.
Allman brothers tour book from 1974-75.
Zap 1 is 3rd print.
Primer 5 was referneced in the Maxx thread in Copper.

IMG_1941.JPG

Edited by MK Ultra
added date.
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3 hours ago, kazoo said:

What is that Kirby book, MK Ultra?  Don't recognize it ...

Kirby, King of Comics by Mark Evanier, intro by Neil Gaiman, published by Abrams.  Roughly 9 by 12.5, filled with pictures and drawings of the King.  Might sill be available from publisher, I contacted them to get a dust jacket, but they never got back to me.  I paid $4, so I'm good.  New I think is $50?  Over 200 pages.

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