Comic Shops when they have to break the news that comics aren't worth squat. 2 2

[kav]

27 minutes ago, Quicksilver Signs said:

Bronze keys are pretty common still and show up pretty frequently in the wild. 

like which keys are we talking about?    I think a sign saying we are not interested in books with cover price 40 cents or greater would be ok.

Edited April 24, 2017 by kav

[the blob]

2 hours ago, kav said:

I like appraising collections.  

When I buy from street or flea market sellers and I see some stuff I can go $1-$2 each on, while they have no idea what is worth anything, they always give the same nonsense that they paid $4 each for these books on ebay so they need $___... I ask them, "seriously, you're buying this stuff on ebay and paying shipping?"

[kav]

5 minutes ago, the blob said:

When I buy from street or flea market sellers and I see some stuff I can go $1-$2 each on, while they have no idea what is worth anything, they always give the same nonsense that they paid $4 each for these books on ebay so they need $___... I ask them, "seriously, you're buying this stuff on ebay and paying shipping?"

merely tell them you'll sell them your pencil for $500.  Say you paid that much for it.

[the blob]

4 hours ago, Quicksilver Signs said:

Because you could be passing on early Walking Dead, TMNT early issues, Harley-Deadpool stuff

Also, there's "worthless" stuff that will sell briskly at $1-$3 (x-men, spideys, later spawn, not wrecked BA, etc.) for which the owner may not mind paying a little for.  They just don't want the long box of Brigade 2s.

[the blob]

2 minutes ago, kav said:

merely tell them you'll sell them your pencil for $500.  Say you paid that much for it.

There is a guy who sells on the street near me.  I have given up except if one of my kids sees something he wants to read and I'm feeling generous.  He has stuff I'd buy out of a dollar box, maybe a $2 box, but he wants $3-$5 for it.  and if I cherry pick a single issue he will get super suspicious that it is actually worth something. He claims he buys this stuff on ebay, but he seems to have no idea what he has and quotes me silly ebay asking prices, so I don't believe it.

Edited April 24, 2017 by the blob

[kav]

5 minutes ago, the blob said:

There is a guy who sells on the street near me.  I have given up except if one of my kids sees something he wants to read and I'm feeling generous.  He has stuff I'd buy out of a dollar box, maybe a $2 box, but he wants $3-$5 for it.  and if I cherry pick a single issue he will get super suspicious that it is actually worth something. He claims he buys this stuff on ebay, but he seems to have no idea what he has and quotes me silly ebay asking prices, so I don't believe it.

tell your kid you will be able to buy them 5 comics at a comic store of the same type or they could have that one book what's your pleasure.

[kav]

Better yet give your kid the $5 so now it's his money at stake and say you can buy one book from this dolt or we can go to comic shop and you can get 5.

Edited April 24, 2017 by kav

[kav]

Also, cherry pick a book, pay, then run off laughing and going OMG son-I just paid for your college!!!!

Edited April 24, 2017 by kav

[the blob]

9 minutes ago, kav said:

tell your kid you will be able to buy them 5 comics at a comic store of the same type or they could have that one book what's your pleasure.

when my kid has picked the book...which will be something more recent..he only asks for $2, which I can live with.  When he sees me pick up a stack of books from the 70s he figures they must be worth something and the price inflates immediately.  and, of course they are, but if I am going to shoot for $6-$10 here or on ebay I don't want to pay more than $2, and preferably less if I can.

[the blob]

4 minutes ago, kav said:

Also, cherry pick a book, pay, then run off laughing and going OMG son-I just paid for your college!!!!

He is the patriarch of some weird creepy family.  He's a nice guy, but some of his adult kids and the crazy women in the family, I wouldn't want to be alone around.  They seem to maybe own a building with apartments above and a store in front (which would make them millionaires or close to in my area if they own it) or they are squating and the landlord is scared of them.  they have a store front, but the gate never opens.  inside they have 99 cent store type merchandise and his wife or something hides in there during the day.  the situation is really bizarre.  I want to ask him what the F the deal is, but I don't want one of his billy bob sons to club me over the head and skin me for being too nosey.

[kav]

1 minute ago, the blob said:

He is the patriarch of some weird creepy family.  He's a nice guy, but some of his adult kids and the crazy women in the family, I wouldn't want to be alone around.  They seem to maybe own a building with apartments above and a store in front (which would make them millionaires or close to in my area if they own it) or they are squating and the landlord is scared of them.  they have a store front, but the gate never opens.  inside they have 99 cent store type merchandise and his wife or something hides in there during the day.  the situation is really bizarre.  I want to ask him what the F the deal is, but I don't want one of his billy bob sons to club me over the head and skin me for being too nosey.

holy toledo.  

[porcupine48]

5 minutes ago, the blob said:

He is the patriarch of some weird creepy family.  He's a nice guy, but some of his adult kids and the crazy women in the family, I wouldn't want to be alone around.  They seem to maybe own a building with apartments above and a store in front (which would make them millionaires or close to in my area if they own it) or they are squating and the landlord is scared of them.  they have a store front, but the gate never opens.  inside they have 99 cent store type merchandise and his wife or something hides in there during the day.  the situation is really bizarre.  I want to ask him what the F the deal is, but I don't want one of his billy bob sons to club me over the head and skin me for being too nosey.

this is intriguing. 

[the blob]

5 minutes ago, porcupine48 said:

this is intriguing. 

I know, I need to learn what the story is, but I can't get it from them.  I'll extract it from one of the old timers in the area.

seriously, i have lived here 10 years, and that gate has never been pulled up on that store, which would rent for $2-$4K in my area.

 

Edited April 24, 2017 by the blob

[porcupine48]

2 minutes ago, the blob said:

I know, I need to learn what the story is, but I can't get it from them.  I'll extract it from one of the old timers in the area.

 

Please keep me informed!

And welcome back,you had us worried!

 

[kav]

1 minute ago, the blob said:

I know, I need to learn what the story is, but I can't get it from them.  I'll extract it from one of the old timers in the area.

 

perform an extraction then get the hell out of there 007

[the blob]

8 minutes ago, porcupine48 said:

Please keep me informed!

And welcome back,you had us worried!

 

another reason i don't want to tangle with billy bob.  I am not physically capable of it anymore.  (Although my father was telling guys 40 years younger than him to F-off, laying floors, doing carpentry, and playing 2 hours of tennis a day 3 weeks after far far worse.)

Edited April 24, 2017 by the blob

[ProcessedMeatMan]

On 4/22/2017 at 2:24 AM, mrock said:

it amazes me that with all the online info available and a little bit of research people cannot get a rough idea of how little their books are worth?  

It doesn't surprise me. Most people described in the OP don't know anything about comics. At all. They know enough to do a quick search on Ebay and see a version of their comic selling for mega $$$ and assume that's what it's worth. They don't know about grading (for the most part), they don't know about CGC/slabs, very few get the concept of "second prints"... and biggest of all, they don't get that the SELLING price on Ebay is not what it is actually worth. I've tried to explain to some folks that I can list a musty rag on Ebay for $15k, but that doesn't mean it's worth that much. 

Once some folks get an idea in their head, it's nearly impossible to convince them otherwise. Unfortunately, evidence is only valuable if the person is willing to accept it. 

I've looked at a few Craigslist collections and known immediately that they had nothing but dollar bin dreck at best. Some get it, most don't. It is what it is. 

[thehumantorch]

2 hours ago, porcupine48 said:

2 hours ago, the blob said:

He is the patriarch of some weird creepy family.  He's a nice guy, but some of his adult kids and the crazy women in the family, I wouldn't want to be alone around.  They seem to maybe own a building with apartments above and a store in front (which would make them millionaires or close to in my area if they own it) or they are squating and the landlord is scared of them.  they have a store front, but the gate never opens.  inside they have 99 cent store type merchandise and his wife or something hides in there during the day.  the situation is really bizarre.  I want to ask him what the F the deal is, but I don't want one of his billy bob sons to club me over the head and skin me for being too nosey.

this is intriguing. 

Which part?

[porcupine48]

2 minutes ago, thehumantorch said:

Which part?

the odd family holed up in the apt building..the whole of it really.Just made me curious.

[thehumantorch]

8 hours ago, 1Cool said:

Telling a stranger their books are pretty much worthless is not painless but I don't think about it too much.  I would find it difficult to explain to a regular buyer why the books they bought from me for $3 an issue from my back stock are now worth $0.10 a piece when they go to sell.  Of course there are a lot of expenses that go into owning a store but it must be really tough to watch the person face as they realize they spent hundreds if not thousands and are looking at getting $40 in return (if they are lucky).

Went to look at a collection about 6 months ago.  About 20 boxes of 12 to 20 cent cover price Dells and Charltons, a few DCs, all the worst titles like Twilight Zone, Korak, etc.  They were trashed.  All we could see was work.  Offered him $800 and he was crushed, he wanted 20k.  This is a collection that he's built for 40 years and a collection he loved.  When I got home I sent him a long email explaining why our offer was so low and telling him I wished we could value his books higher.  In the email I included links to sold items on ebay that were similar to what he had.  I explained that if we took all of his stuff to a show we wouldn't sell enough to pay for the space it took up.  He never replied and I'm sure he's still angry and upset.

Ultimately the value he placed on his books and the value I placed on his books were different and a deal wasn't done but it's a shame when this happens.