For DC collectors with an eye for quality

[Joanna]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=715200565&rd=1

 

[Darthdiesel]

Nice...do the books do as Patsy's song says and "Fall to Pieces" ?

[Joanna]

Guaranteed!

 

-- Joanna

[CosmicBob]

I'll be selling some of these same issues as soon as they come back from CGC, hopefully the grade will be a bit better! But I do have some "trashed" copies of these as well, if someone's interested!

[lighthouse]

I have to say, that may be the coolest auction description ever...

[Joanna]

I have to say, that may be the coolest auction description ever...

 

Thanks, lighthouse! But cool or not, they didn't sell. So I revised the description by not talking about them being thrashed (still described them accurately) and we'll see what happens.

 

Personally, I loved buying old silver age DC's in thrashed condition for $2 apiece as long as the stories were intact. That way, I got a lot of books for my bucks.

 

-- Joanna

[comicinvestor-migration]

Yeah, but these days everyone is high-grade crazy, even to the point of bypassing some prime VF/NM books. I think CGC has created a subsection of collectors/investors who buy "EBay NM" and hoard them thinking "I could CGC these and sell them for a ton!". I doubt many ever try out the CGC waters, and live happily within their illusion forever.

 

As you already know, the economics of CGC grading is a whole lot different, especially as since these "NM/M" auctions I've seen, the books all have a fatal flaw that negates them from high CGC grades. Plus, these are mostly pre-1975 and of such low Guide value, that it makes the books hardly worth the $22 grading fee and both-way shipping costs.

 

It's kind of like Darth selling off his books that don't make the Modern pre-screen, except on a Silver/Bronze level and at incredibly high price points.

[Joanna]

Oh, but CI, these are not supposed to be CGC'd! God forbid! These are for reading. That's really all I sell. I don't have any CGC books (yet -- got a couple in for grading), and my collecting years were spent looking for books to read. I never paid attention to grade, which is sort of biting me right now, but oh well. However, amidst all these reader copies (and I'm now selling almost everything I list), every once in awhile I run across a high-grade copy. The best of them are going into a file. One tier down I'm listing. They're not going for guide, but then, I never paid guide on them, so why should others? The bottom tier I've played with, listing some (like the thrashed auction) at low prices, in case someone is out there, looking for books to give to his kids, or read himself. The oldest books I listed regardless of condition, and they all sold due to rarity.

 

When I was collecting, I rarely paid much for any Superbooks, but I bought hundreds of them, because I loved them. I went for quantity over quality. There have to be people like me out there, just looking for a good read. And happily, they're finding my auctions. I figure that if I list all defects, write an entertaining, informative auction, include a clear scan, ship for postage only, pack for a nuclear holocost, always leave feedback upon payment, and send pleasant, friendly emails, then buyers will find me. That's the best I can do to offset this high-grade Marvel CGC frenzy. I'm a low/mid grade DC non-CGC seller.

 

-- Joanna (and I'm a brand new 'power seller', too!)

[PovertyRow]

Yeah, but these days everyone is high-grade crazy

 

It just SEEMS that way I think. Most collectors are still collecting what they want to collect, in the grades they want, and are actually able to READ the damned things.

[comicinvestor-migration]

It just SEEMS that way I think. Most collectors are still collecting what they want to collect, in the grades they want, and are actually able to READ the damned things.

 

That's my motto, but I still need a basic "look factor" for my collection, whether that's a nice NM 9.4 or a VF with excellent eye appeal. On most accounts this CGC 9.6-9.8 madness is just that, and I'm constantly equating price and inherent value against my own collecting needs.

 

I also ran a little experiment where I had some extra cash for CGC Modern/post 1974 subs (most for my own collection and some to sell) and took that same amount (around $175) and am currently spending it on comic lots.

 

I'm not even near that amount, and have decided that unless I'm selling 100% of the CGC books I'm submitting, that buying in the VF to NM raw range (or lower grade keys cheap) yields the best "personal collecting return" for me personally.

[PovertyRow]

That's my motto, but I still need a basic "look factor" for my collection, whether that's a nice NM 9.4 or a VF with excellent eye appeal.

 

For me a nice Fine is the look factor that appeals most. I like the sense of history that comes with a 50 year old book. Fine still has nice gloss, good color etc. Interior page quality is very important to me and I have often passed VF+ covers with tan pages, opting for a Fine cover with cream-ow.

[comicinvestor-migration]

Sure, but remember, I'm referring to Late-Silver and Early-Bronze comics here.

[PovertyRow]

Sure, but remember, I'm referring to Late-Silver and Early-Bronze comics here.

 

I am not saying you should like Fine. I'm just saying my personal grade like.

[Guest]

ROFLMAO!

 

Sadly, I would have bid on this auction if had seen it! I do so love cheap, readable copies of Silver Age DC comics! As a matter of fact I just got a ratty copy of Superboy # 119 just last week and enjoyed reading it again for the first time in thirty-five years!

[Joanna]

Where were you when I needed you, Anonymous? I even relisted it (and was a tad more circumspect in my language, taking out all the references to 'thrashing' and just leaving in the evidence, like the scans and the lists of what was wrong). But it didn't sell. I thought $10 for 5 great Silver Age Superboys was a good price, since they had all their pages and covers. Anyway, I sent the whole batch to a friend who never read comics in her life. She read my auction and told me she desperately wanted to read those thrashed books, because the stories looked like such fun.

 

So maybe some good has come of the all-thrashed auction. I think I've hooked a newbie. And because she's a schoolteacher who specializes in teaching kids with reading disabilities, maybe she'll take my advice and use the comics in her work. Another way to get kids interested (referencing a past thread here).

 

-- Joanna