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Son of My 50 Year Junk Obsession
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3,040 posts in this topic

3 hours ago, Robot Man said:

And finally, no Terry show would be complete without Terry Stroud. God bless him!

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Photo of the year.....amazing, I can still remember Terry at the first Berkley comic book convention the early 70's  he sold me Action #4 VFfor $120...those were the days, good to see him up since his letdown at SDCC, really no way to treat a 40 plus year vendor, maybe even 45 year...but we will never get the straight story. I also read some of the other comments about the Calif Con age of the attendee's with little being under 30, In the early days of comic book conventions it was an triple split with 20/40 and then Irving Bigman..etc Look at the early SDCC with Frank Capra as a guest, not for the teens. It has and will always be diverse. This a great development and should be expanded to a two day for as some folks are more limited on a Sunday only....keep it up with the shows for the real comic book collectors its a win/win here. Thanks for the great photos...any more?

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4 hours ago, Robot Man said:

Jamie Newbold from So Cal Comics was there with a nice wall and pimping his new book. He and I go back around 45 years. His book is a must read. Brought back a ton of memories of the good old daze.

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Never had the chance to meet Jamie, but always have heard good things. :)

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Jamie is a tough old ex cop and currently a veteran comic dealer and more importantly, a true comic book lover. Like any old time dealer, he can have his “grizzly” moments but one of the most honest and best dealers out there. Any comic collector would love his book. 

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Great show! Thanks for the report and pictures. It was nice to officially meet you although I’ve been a customer before. This time I brought my son with me. He seems to be interested in the hobby so that’s great. Mike Vosburg did a sweet sketch for him. He was super stoked. I’m going to frame it. Im thankful that I was able to get in the show a little early as it was packed for the majority of the day. I left with a nice stack of books. :smile:

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On 1/27/2019 at 8:58 PM, Robot Man said:

Wow! What a day! Like Christmas for me. That one special, epic day. I realized something today. It’s not the money or the books. It’s all the great people that make it great. That one day where you leave your “real life” at the door and just emerse yourself in this wonderful hobby. 

Got a fun report coming up tomorrow with a bunch of photos. 

Just one today. This is what my single table looked like literally ALL DAY. 

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Thanks for the report, Robot Man! I do love seeing all those great wall books and it's also nice to put an occasional face to some of the boardies I see posting all the time. I'm glad you did well from both sides of the table.  (thumbsu

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The guy in the middle is boardie Hap Hazzard looking through my horror box. The guy on the far right is my friend John. Not sure if on the boards. Like me, he collects ECs and radio premiums. The guy on the far left might be a boardie as well. He was having a field day going through my half guide SA pulling out all my mistakes...

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Exactly one time, I worked a show like this. The Minneapolis one day show. The people were shoulder to shoulder in the booth all day.  One guy spent more than three hours on his hands and knees, going thru the cheapie boxes on the floor. We had to wait for a lull to refill stuff, and by a lull I mean like only 7 people.

I had a blast! But then again, I’ve only worked a handful of comic shows, so it wasn’t too much.

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1 hour ago, Robot Man said:

As well as buying a lot of nice ones. Looks like you made a lot of good scores Brian. You need to post them for us. Good seeing you and thanks for the purchases. Sorry we didn’t get to chat much but it sure was a crazy day huh?

It was a very crowded, insane day.  The show needs to be two days.  There isn't enough time to see everything in one day.  Thanks for the deals...

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Seems like every year I address this...

Terry's show is just fine just as it is. One screaming day of comic book overload. Since Brian is a buyer only, I will address him first. Mitch mentioned it as well, but since he has yet to even attend this show, his opinion, to me is un-informed and irrelevant.

As a buyer:  Here is how I approach it. I know going in I'm looking for primarily GA. I hit the dealers I like the most first. I walk up, scan the wall to see if there is anything I want. Usually not or I don't want to pay the "wall prices". Sometimes yes. Then I ask for the GA boxes. Other than Terry who has more books than Edgar Church, most dealers only have a limited supply of GA. I quickly scan the boxes looking for interesting stuff. Usually doesn't take me long. I negotiate my purchases and move on to the next one I want to see. There are dealers I don't buy from or rarely so. They come last. I also "socialize" very little when I am "working". I do that when I'm done shopping. I can very easily get through most cons (even Terry's) in one day with time to spare if I focus.

As a dealer:  A show like this is killer for dealers. The buzz is electric all day long. People save up their money and are ready to spend it. Depending on what you are looking for, you know if you don't buy it, the next guy probably will. I don't come to sell "wall books" those sell any day of the week. I discount them very little if at all. These books are hard to replace. I want people to empty the boxes and I make sure they are full of interesting stuff at reasonable prices. I am in the driver's seat most of the time as no one wants to lose a book over a few dollars. Buyers don't have time to "think about it" and come back tomorrow. Buy it or wish you did. I do several two day shows a year (mostly stuff other than comics). All the money goes down early on day one. The second day is nickles and dimes. Lot of lowballers and bottom feeders hoping to get a score cheap. Half the day you are just standing around. The cost is double at two day shows as well. If out of town, other expenses such as hotels and meals for you and your helpers need to figure in as well. Believe me, as a buyer, you want a lot of small guys like me at a show. Fresh stock that has not been picked over. You are more likely to get a decent score from a small dealer. A bigger room would also work against me as a dealer (more competition). I did VERY WELL at this show so it appears that whatever I am doing is working.

So, as far as I am concerned, this show is great just the way it is. I hope and sincerely doubt Terry will be changing it. If you need more of a fix there is always "preview night". This seemed to me to be more of a "show and tell" than a whole lot of real actual sales. I wasn't actually there, but read the reports and talked to many who were there.

Edited by Robot Man
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This one made me smile. From one of the best original owner collections I have had the good luck to find. The "Rex Parker" collection. Consisted of about 400 books obtained at an estate sale spanning the years from 1948 to 1954. All genres. Bought it pretty much unseen. Kid had polio and was house bound. Flipping through the stacks and holding my breath not knowing what the next book would be was one of the most fun times I have had collecting comics!

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