yecul Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 Great stuff and well told. To clarify from my post above... absolutely no criticism intended. Tbought you handled both well. Seller needs to do their work too. If someone asks and they dont get a straight reply then that's shady. But they throw a price your way? Pay it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrwoogieman Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 Thanks for the stories, RM, I love to hear them! I'm a big fan of finding comics "in the wild" and returning them to collectors' hands, and I will hit estate and tag sales, garage sales, flea markets, etc., looking for goodies to collect for myself or to flip for other things I need or like, none of which I would be involved with but for the existence of eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted May 5, 2017 Author Share Posted May 5, 2017 Yeah woogie, it's all about the thrill of the hunt for me. Once you get something it doesn't seem quite as important as the next "find" Ever find anything cool? I look for lots of other things besides just comics so I'm just as happy to find old rock posters, toys, a cool gas sign or any cool "Americana" One of my favorite flea markets is coming up on Sunday. Sometimes it just gets me through the week. I will be there, bright and early ready to dig! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stock_rotation Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 On 5/4/2017 at 7:46 PM, Robot Man said: Ever wonder about all those books with the "Bonnetts" stamps on them and wonder why David T Alexander has so many? I have always wondered about this. Thanks for the tip on the book! Off to Amazon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bird Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 On 5/5/2017 at 3:57 PM, Robot Man said: Yeah woogie, it's all about the thrill of the hunt for me. Once you get something it doesn't seem quite as important as the next "find" Ever find anything cool? I look for lots of other things besides just comics so I'm just as happy to find old rock posters, toys, a cool gas sign or any cool "Americana" One of my favorite flea markets is coming up on Sunday. Sometimes it just gets me through the week. I will be there, bright and early ready to dig! The hunt leads to odd places. I thought I knew comic books from collecting comic art and then I realized how much there is to know. I bought a 1940 comic yesterday (in the garage sale thread) and have no idea what I have or what it is worth. It was not cheap but not expensive either but leaving it there seemed wrong to me. I had to take it home. I have had interest via PM but I like having an 77 year old comic, and though highly stained it is complete. But the hunt, which carries with it an occasional purchase (I typed score but realize every buy might not be a 'score'), is too much fun. Just came home from my youngest girls' travel soccer game and detoured for a garage sale. The wife is patient but my daughter was like . Nothing there of course but you can't win if you don't play the game. Storage locker sale in a few weeks with comics listed. I never did a storage locker sale but may go, even though it would mean a few hours vacation time from work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted May 7, 2017 Author Share Posted May 7, 2017 37 minutes ago, Bird said: The hunt leads to odd places. I thought I knew comic books from collecting comic art and then I realized how much there is to know. I bought a 1940 comic yesterday (in the garage sale thread) and have no idea what I have or what it is worth. It was not cheap but not expensive either but leaving it there seemed wrong to me. I had to take it home. I have had interest via PM but I like having an 77 year old comic, and though highly stained it is complete. But the hunt, which carries with it an occasional purchase (I typed score but realize every buy might not be a 'score'), is too much fun. Just came home from my youngest girls' travel soccer game and detoured for a garage sale. The wife is patient but my daughter was like . Nothing there of course but you can't win if you don't play the game. Storage locker sale in a few weeks with comics listed. I never did a storage locker sale but may go, even though it would mean a few hours vacation time from work. I saw that Speed #11 Bird. Great grab. Those are very tough and in high demand. I collect that title myself. Be real careful of those storage locker comic finds. Usually newer drek. Not always but you really have to pay attention to what else is in there other than the comics. Older stuff? A lot of dust? Possible examples of older comics. I recently was the the lucky buyer of a nice box of early SA books from a locker. A friend who buys them all the time found them in a non-comic box. He sold them to me for a great price because I am always honest with him and he made his profit on the other stuff in there. Storage lockers are something I stay away from. Rarely score and am usually stuck with a lot of junk to have to get rid of. Garage and estate sales and flea markets are always better. At least you know what you are getting. Gotta be there early though and be prepared to be disapointed. STORMSHADOW_80 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archiefan Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 4 hours ago, Robot Man said: I saw that Speed #11 Bird. Great grab. Those are very tough and in high demand. I collect that title myself. Be real careful of those storage locker comic finds. Usually newer drek. Not always but you really have to pay attention to what else is in there other than the comics. Older stuff? A lot of dust? Possible examples of older comics. I recently was the the lucky buyer of a nice box of early SA books from a locker. A friend who buys them all the time found them in a non-comic box. He sold them to me for a great price because I am always honest with him and he made his profit on the other stuff in there. Storage lockers are something I stay away from. Rarely score and am usually stuck with a lot of junk to have to get rid of. Garage and estate sales and flea markets are always better. At least you know what you are getting. Gotta be there early though and be prepared to be disapointed. Going to a huge show this week in New England. At last year's show a comic dealer was there early enough to find about 16 or so comics from another dealer buried under some magazines in a box on the ground. All pre-hero DCs. The price he paid? $200 for all. I snapped a couple of pics of some of them. The lesson to be learned is - never give up. There are still treasures out there. STORMSHADOW_80 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted May 8, 2017 Author Share Posted May 8, 2017 2 hours ago, archiefan said: Going to a huge show this week in New England. At last year's show a comic dealer was there early enough to find about 16 or so comics from another dealer buried under some magazines in a box on the ground. All pre-hero DCs. The price he paid? $200 for all. I snapped a couple of pics of some of them. The lesson to be learned is - never give up. There are still treasures out there. What a score! As time goes by, there are less and less of these finds. I know there are plenty still to be had. A few months ago I found a single lonely vg Marvel Mystery just sitting naked on a dealer's table for a ten spot. I was hoping for a few more but that was all he had. Came in a box with other paper. I was stoked. STORMSHADOW_80 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GermanFan Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 I love your Bat 1 stories. The thrill of the hunt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted May 8, 2017 Author Share Posted May 8, 2017 Here is my $10. Marvel Mystery... mrwoogieman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted May 8, 2017 Author Share Posted May 8, 2017 Here's the Supe #13 from my $5.00 find. I figure it cost me 27 cents... mrwoogieman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Knight Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Just finished reading your stories on the Bay 1 Robot Man!@! Congrats on such a great find! With your first story, do you recall the grade of the Bat 1? Unfortunate you didn't look through the pile that the kid was flipping through. That would've been some buy! But hey, I'm glad you were able to pick-up a copy along the way. Thanks again for sharing! I also didn't think that you did anything wrong when you bought the books for that price. Definitely the seller has to do his/her homework on value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primetime Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 (edited) On 5/3/2017 at 11:32 AM, Robot Man said: A Tale of two flea market Batman #1's. One that got away, and one that didn't... A mention in the flea market finds over in general and discussions with a few collectors recently convinced me to post this. I haven't wanted to mention it because A) I didn't want to brag, B) I didn't want to get hit by all the "ethics" beaters and C) I figured no one would believe me anyway... About 25 years ago I awoke early on a Sunday morning to go "junking" as I usually do. It was a drizzly, cold January morning. I thought about rolling over and going back to sleep but figured I was up so what the heck. You never know. Pulled into the Rose Bowl parking lot and started walking around. Due to the weather, I didn't expect much (especially paper). I picked up a few minor things (not worth getting up for) and then I saw them... On the end of a dealer's table were two small piles of old GA comics. Made a beeline over to them. There was already a teenage kid looking at one pile so I grabbed the other one. Nice, early stuff and a good mix. My pile consisted mostly of early Dell and Strip Reprints but a few superhero mixed in. I pulled out a Cap in the teens, an early Pep and a couple others. Asked the lady the price and she said $5.00 each "They are old!". OK, worth a second look. As I was looking, I watched what the kid was getting. Most of the superheros were in his pile. Lots of DCs mostly but the occasional Timely, MLJ, Fox ect. Looking back and forth I then heard a quiet gasp. I looked over and there it was...That bright yellow cover with Batman and Robin swinging toward you and that magical single digit number in the upper left corner. Our eyes were both like saucers and he quickly slid it over into his pile. My heart sank. Everything looked like junk after that. We switched piles and I got a few he left Flash, Green Lantern, Marvel Mystery. He counted them up and realized he didn't have enough money for all of them so a couple Actions and Detectives went back. I quickly scooped them up. We paid the nice lady who even offered us a small discount since we bough a few. We walked off on air and proceeded to go under a big tree for cover. He pulled out the Bat #1 and we both thumbed it is disbelief. I told him if he wanted to make a quck profit and I would pay him some more for it and throw in a few he threw back but he was no fool and I didn't blame him. I told him nice find! and we parted. Over the years, I sold off or traded most for EC's which were my real passion anyway. No regrets except for one book. Flea markets, "The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat" Below is one of those $5.00 beauties. I might still have one or two more but they are buried in the collection in obscurity. Next time, the one that didn't get away! Pretty cool for $5, RM. Thanks for sharing. I'm guessing that kid has to be mid to late 30s by now...wonder if he still has that Bat 1? Edited May 8, 2017 by Primetime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primetime Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 On 5/4/2017 at 0:27 PM, Robot Man said: A Tale of two flea market Batman #1's. One that got away, and one that didn't... (Part 2 (the good part) Yesterday, I related my sad story of missing out on one of the best books a collector could hope to own. Not very often do you get a second chance, but this was mine... Fast forward maybe 10 years later. My wife (an antique dealer) and I were wandering the isles of the Long Beach Flea Market early in the morning. It had already been a steller day for me. I had managed to buy a very early large Aesops Fables cartoon character doll from the late 1920's as well as a small cigar box full of very early political buttons. I was feeling good and glad I got up. We passed by a 6' long table that was completely covered with MAD paperback books. Wow, I'd never seen so many at one time. I'm a MADman but don't really collect them. I said something to the seller about them. He told me he wasn't a collector but had been a garage sale buyer for years and just like to read. He asked me if I liked MAD magazines and I said yes. He then produced a box from under the table full of them. Most were not very old but I did manage to pull out a couple in the #20's-30's and a nice #7. Nothing major but fun for a flea market. I asked him if he had any comics. He said sure he had some "crappy" ones and handed me a box. First one on top was a coverless strip reprint book. I could see more of those large GA ones below it. I found a few more and then a Detective! Getting better. Then, there it was... "The Legend of the Batman and how he came to be" Whoah! My hands were a little shakey as I quickly thumbed the pages. It was coverless, but it was a Bat #1. All the while the seller was telling me the stuff was from garage sales and he wanted to dump it all because he was moving out of state. A couple more coverless ones and then...a nice fat Shadow comic with a skull cover. Yes, with a cover. The rest all had covers and were decent shape. Another Shadow, a Whiz, a nice Fight with a WWII torture cover. Knees were a little shakey now. Then there it was a nice bright yellow Superman #13 with Supes pounding a Nazi sub. A few more and even a couple of 1950's books. I just don't see stuff like this just laying in a box very often. Then, the moment of truth. I mixed them up a bit putting a couple of the lessor coverless ones on top and asked the price... He thumbed the stack without really looking. He might have been counting, I don't know because my mind was racing. He looked up and said "How about 5?" $500. I was thinking about it and quietly asked my wife if she could spot me an extra $200. She slipped into my jacket pocket. I thought what the heck, "Could you do any better?" I'll never forget his response. "What is $5.00 too much?". My mouth probably hit the ground I really don't remember much as I fished a ten out of my wallet and handed it to him. He gave me my change and asked if I wanted a bag. I think I mumbled "sure" and got the heck down the isle. My wife still laughs at me about it. I'm always cool but she thought I was going to lose it. Postscript. Walking down the isle on air, I bumped into a fellow comic fan and shared my loot. I flipped him a few Fawcetts for a later trade. He asked if the guy had any more. You know, I hadn't asked. I left my bag with a dealer friend and we headed back. I was a little nervous thinking maybe somebody tipped him off but went anyway. That was it, no more comics. My friend collects "girly" and pin up mags so he asked the guy. The guy pointed to a box and said there were some "porno" mags in there. On top were a couple of '60's era Playboys. No big deal but then the fun started. Under those were a nice pile of Titter, Wink, Beauty Parade and other nice late 1940's pinup and girly mags. Bettie Page covers, strippers ect. My buddy said how much for all of them. The guy took a look and said "oh, these are pretty good". "How about $20.?". Out came the money and the bag and we were on our way. Postscript 2: We bumped into a local guy that also buys comics that I don't like very much. He had to rub it in. "Did you see the guy with all the MAD pb's? Well don't bother, I cleaned him out" As bad as I wanted to, I didn't say a word... even nicer part 2 story and a coverless Bat 1 for $5.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted May 8, 2017 Author Share Posted May 8, 2017 1 hour ago, Dark Knight said: Just finished reading your stories on the Bay 1 Robot Man!@! Congrats on such a great find! With your first story, do you recall the grade of the Bat 1? Unfortunate you didn't look through the pile that the kid was flipping through. That would've been some buy! But hey, I'm glad you were able to pick-up a copy along the way. Thanks again for sharing! I also didn't think that you did anything wrong when you bought the books for that price. Definitely the seller has to do his/her homework on value. No idea on the grade of the Bat #1 that got away. It was a long time ago. I was just in shock at seeing it in that pile. I am assuming in the good-vg range based on the few I got and still have. Would it have mattered? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted May 8, 2017 Author Share Posted May 8, 2017 21 minutes ago, Primetime said: even nicer part 2 story and a coverless Bat 1 for $5.00 I got the whole pile for $5.00 so they were about $27 cents each. Still have most of them. It was my 15 minutes of fame... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primetime Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Just now, Robot Man said: I got the whole pile for $5.00 so they were about $27 cents each. Still have most of them. It was my 15 minutes of fame... even better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Knight Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 1 hour ago, Robot Man said: No idea on the grade of the Bat #1 that got away. It was a long time ago. I was just in shock at seeing it in that pile. I am assuming in the good-vg range based on the few I got and still have. Would it have mattered? Nope, didn't matter, was just curious. Sorry if it brought back those "painful memories" of what happened Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PopKulture Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 (edited) Not even in the neighborhood of your amazing RoboFinds, but this was on my radar for a long time when I recently picked it up for a five-spot. It's missing the spine, but it pops all the same next to my Buck pop-up books. Edited May 13, 2017 by PopKulture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 10 hours ago, PopKulture said: Not even in the neighborhood of your amazing RoboFinds, but this was on my radar for a long time when I recently picked it up for a five-spot. It's missing the spine, but it pops all the same next to my Buck pop-up books. Great book Pop! Looks to be in about the same shape as mine. I got mine in a box lot at a farm auction. Big box of BLBs I bid on and got pretty cheap. I didn't notice that and the Tarzan one at the bottom of the box until I got home. The colors are wonderful. Pop up books you say??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
