Share your tragic story of foolishly disposing of a fantastic comic collection 1 1

[thehumantorch]

On 1/7/2018 at 1:49 PM, Marwood & I said:

I've probably mentioned this before, but at 16 or so I sold a VFNish AM15 for less than £100 to buy clothes to impress the girls. And to add insult to injury, it didn't work. Catweazle meets Doctor Who wasn't the look they were looking for, apparently. 

 

The sad thing is that these days girls would  be more impressed by an AF15 than clothing.

[Vorpal]

13 hours ago, Von Cichlid said:

Fortunately, my Mox's and Lotus, time walk plus all of my duel lands were unlimited.  All were pretty heavily played too, as they were purchased by me from another player who was selling out after Stronghold came out.  That makes me feel a little better.

But, I had really nice alpha and beta versions of Time Vault, Time Twister, Ancestral Recall, Gauntlet of Might, Forcefield, Chaos Orb, etc.  

Not as bad as it could be, but still enough to make you wince. But almost every Magic player that had the old cards has a story like that. Very few actually held onto all of them through thick and thin. Life happens, your interests drift, and their value at the time becomes a resource you can put toward other things. C'est la vie 

[H0RR0RSH0W]

Not really tragic or sad but I did trade away a large comic collection when I was a teenager.  I got what at the time was a respectable baseball card collection. Some of those cards were Mattingly and Strawberry which I traded mostly for skateboard parts(utilty!).

The rest of the album eventually went to my mom after it had been cherry picked by every kid I ever knew. 

I guess at the time (20 years ago) I was sad thinking I had some valuable comics that I let go. Surprised at how easy it has been rebuilding that comic collection.

[valiantman]

On 1/7/2018 at 3:02 PM, 1950's war comics said:

I was buying unopened Topps baseball wax boxes back in 1986 for around $10 each and my local shop had an unopened box of 86 Fleer basketball missing one pack that he wanted $20 for ... i passed and i think it would be worth 5k-10k now

If you had kept 35 packs of 1986 Fleer Basketball unopened and untouched, they'd be worth about $25K to $50K.  https://www.ebay.com/itm/112687668140

[maraxusofkeld]

On ‎1‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 2:15 PM, Von Cichlid said:

Not comics and not quite as drastic as your story but...

In 2001 I had just gotten out of the Army and me and my future wife had a baby on the way.  I had a whole set of MtG between Alpha, Beta, and Unlimited, plus much of the Arabian Nights and Legends expansions.  I had four of each duel land, one of each of the power nine, and probably four of anything that was allowed in Type I tournaments.  (When you are single and in the Army, you have a TON of disposable income.)  

Well, my circle of friends that I played with had long since broken up, and the cards were just sitting in folders.  Since I needed the money I had a friend with an account sell the cards on ebay for around $2300.  I was very happy with that amount back then I as did never use the cards anymore and many were pretty heavily played.

Fast-forward to 2011 and I received a $5000 stipend from my job.  I thought I would reacquire some of those cards.  Looking on ebay quickly showed that that amount would not be near enough.  I'm sure it is much worse now.     

 

 

There are non p9 that have gotten completely out of hand, Tabernacle at Pendrallvale from Legends are over $1,000.

[1950's war comics]

6 hours ago, valiantman said:

If you had kept 35 packs of 1986 Fleer Basketball unopened and untouched, they'd be worth about $25K to $50K.  https://www.ebay.com/itm/112687668140

Now i feel even worse LOL !

[nmtg9]

My dad started collecting in 1962 and bought AF15 etc off the shelf.

By the late 70's I was reading them with him. Parents split in 1980 and he sold some including that one and some weree borrowed and never returned.

Still by 1986 we had a lovely collection and he passed them on to me 6000 plus.

In my university days I was of course broke and decided to sell them all. By 1995 the interest in comics had died down somewhat so there weren't many buyersof big collections that I was aware of. Silver Acre got them in the end for a bargain price.

I am at peace with it now but from the moment he loaded them up and closed the van door I had regretted it. This was an OO collection started by my dad 30 years previous and I took the money to pay off my overdraft ☹️

[JohnH19]

I started collecting superhero books with the Jimmy Olsen 80 Pg Giant #13 in the summer of 1965 when I was six years old. I collected DCs only for two years and then discovered Marvels when I picked up Spider-Man King Size Special #4 in 1967. I collected Marvels hard until sometime in 1970 and then gradually lost interest, as my passion for sports grew, until I stopped completely in the summer of '72. Among others that I'm no doubt forgetting, my collection included every Daredevil from 7 to 55, almost every Avengers up to 106 (I know I was missing 1 and 3), most Thors from the early 100s up to 206, all 18 Silver Surfers, most Tales of Suspense starting in the 60s, several FFs including the Galactus Trilogy, Iron Man 1 to 5 or so, Cap 100 to 116, Hulk 102, Sub-Mariner 1 and some of the DCs I picked up before I stopped buying them in 1968.

How that collection disappeared is a family mystery that may have gone to my mother's grave. I didn't really think much about my books for 20 years and then my younger son got interested in superhero action figures and comics. I told him that I once had a pretty good collection of several hundred books and then I realized that I didn't know what happened to them. My mom wasn't one to throw any of my stuff away just to make space or because she thought it was junk. The suspicion is that my boxes of comics got caught in a rain storm during our move in the summer of 1973 and, rather than telling me and facing my "wrath", mom, thinking or knowing that the books were ruined may have discreetly disposed of them. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I'll never know because I never did ask her.

I didn't mention my childhood ASM collection, which consisted of 48 issues between #20 and 82, including the first six or seven annuals, because I sold it when I was 10. I absolutely loved (and still do) the early Romita run from #39 to 56 but then the series took what I feel is a serious nosedive. I loved the back issues I picked up and the first three monthly issues (54-56) I purchased as a new collector but I didn't much enjoy the stories that followed for the next two years. I sold the collection to a friend for the princely, for a 10 year old, sum of $5. I don't really regret that sale because, hey, I was just a kid and I almost got full cover price for them.

In terms of regrets, back in the early 90s I foolishly sold my Hot Wheels collection, which included all of the original 1968 cars plus many more from 1969 and 70, and pretty well all of my childhood toys to fund purchases of now worthless sports cards. Sigh...

Sorry for the long-winded post but it was somewhat therapeutic.

[Glassman10]

I had about 950 comics bought on the newsstand mostly from 1967-74. I had an AF15 which was pressed and graded as a 5.0. Initially, I thought they did not have much value and thought the AF15, ungraded and needing cleaning and pressing would bring maybe 3K based on the last time I looked. That proved to be wrong.  I wound up selling everything but the JIM and Thor to Highgradecomics at what I thought to be fair prices. I consigned the AF15 and it sold last Sept for essentially a record price. So, while I could have gotten better cash selling slowly over a few years but I did not like the nature of the market, particularly E bay. Since I did so well on the AF15, I had gotten way more than I ever thought I would.  At this point, I have no regrets at all. So many bad things could have, but didn't happen to them over the 45-50 years. Two were eaten by mice but I never liked Prince Namor anyways.  I blew the money on my son. 

[valiantman]

17 hours ago, 1950's war comics said:

23 hours ago, valiantman said:

If you had kept 35 packs of 1986 Fleer Basketball unopened and untouched, they'd be worth about $25K to $50K.  https://www.ebay.com/itm/112687668140

Now i feel even worse  !

Yep, I didn't want you missing out on the despair that the first post in this topic intended. 

[grube09]

On 1/7/2018 at 2:02 PM, 1950's war comics said:

I was buying unopened Topps baseball wax boxes back in 1986 for around $10 each and my local shop had an unopened box of 86 Fleer basketball missing one pack that he wanted $20 for ... i passed and i think it would be worth 5k-10k now

I am in the (almost) exact same boat.  I remember going to our local dime store buying all the 86 Topps Baseball cards I could get my hands on when I saw a box of 1986 Fleer Basketball on the bottom shelf on sale for $0.10/pack.  I clearly remember saying "who buys basketball cards??".  UGH.  I will never, ever forget that.  

[ProcessedMeatMan]

When I was a kid in the early 90s, about 12-13 or so, my stepdad gave me his box of comics that he and his brother collected from the late 50s through 60s. Almost all DC, heavy on Batman, Hawkman, Aquaman and the Superman family stuff. Lots of Our World at War and Sgt Rock type books as well. My kid brain thought it'd be a great idea to sell all of those books, which I did by shipping them to someone I found in the OPG... and then using that money to buy modern stuff. In the 90s. 

One book I know was in there was Batman 121. I still wake up in cold sweats thinking about it. At least I still have the Gold Foil edition of Savage Dragon vs Savage Megaton man I bought with it  

[comicjack]

1 hour ago, ProcessedMeatMan said:

When I was a kid in the early 90s, about 12-13 or so, my stepdad gave me his box of comics that he and his brother collected from the late 50s through 60s. Almost all DC, heavy on Batman, Hawkman, Aquaman and the Superman family stuff. Lots of Our World at War and Sgt Rock type books as well. My kid brain thought it'd be a great idea to sell all of those books, which I did by shipping them to someone I found in the OPG... and then using that money to buy modern stuff. In the 90s. 

One book I know was in there was Batman 121. I still wake up in cold sweats thinking about it. At least I still have the Gold Foil edition of Savage Dragon vs Savage Megaton man I bought with it  

[Get Marwood & I]

On 10/01/2018 at 6:36 AM, nmtg9 said:

My dad started collecting in 1962 and bought AF15 etc off the shelf.

By the late 70's I was reading them with him. Parents split in 1980 and he sold some including that one and some weree borrowed and never returned.

Still by 1986 we had a lovely collection and he passed them on to me 6000 plus.

In my university days I was of course broke and decided to sell them all. By 1995 the interest in comics had died down somewhat so there weren't many buyersof big collections that I was aware of. Silver Acre got them in the end for a bargain price.

I am at peace with it now but from the moment he loaded them up and closed the van door I had regretted it. This was an OO collection started by my dad 30 years previous and I took the money to pay off my overdraft ☹️

That's a tough story, with several tough elements. Selling...they were your Dads...and Darryl got them all. Bugger and thrice bugger. 

But it was necessary at the time, hindsight is what it is, and try to find a crumb of comfort in the fact that we've all done similar. 

[NoMan]

This thread is hard to endure, thinking of my own collection that was sold off. And not the big books either but hurting for avengers 172 that my father, now gone, bought me. 

[Bomber-Bob]

On 1/10/2018 at 10:10 AM, Glassman10 said:

I had about 950 comics bought on the newsstand mostly from 1967-74. I had an AF15 which was pressed and graded as a 5.0. Initially, I thought they did not have much value and thought the AF15, ungraded and needing cleaning and pressing would bring maybe 3K based on the last time I looked. That proved to be wrong.  I wound up selling everything but the JIM and Thor to Highgradecomics at what I thought to be fair prices. I consigned the AF15 and it sold last Sept for essentially a record price. So, while I could have gotten better cash selling slowly over a few years but I did not like the nature of the market, particularly E bay. Since I did so well on the AF15, I had gotten way more than I ever thought I would.  At this point, I have no regrets at all. So many bad things could have, but didn't happen to them over the 45-50 years. Two were eaten by mice but I never liked Prince Namor anyways.  I blew the money on my son. 

This thread is supposed to be about tragic stories. Your story is about selling your AF15 for record prices. I fail to see the tragedy ? 

Edited January 14, 2018 by Bomber-Bob

[Drew Stair]

On 1/7/2018 at 1:56 PM, KirbyJack said:

I am currently in the process of foolishly selling a pretty nice collection. 

Bye-bye Hulk 1, AF 15, Showcase 4, X-Men 1, yada yada yada. I'm keeping lots of great stuff I truly love and paying off the house. 

Zero sellers remorse thus far, wish me luck that it continues!

Tell me more about the X-Men 1?

[KirbyJack]

It was a low grade raw copy ( like almost all of my books) and I sold it about 2 months ago to my boy Dean. It went along with readers of 2-15.

[Glassman10]

12 hours ago, Bomber-Bob said:

This thread is supposed to be about tragic stories. Your story is about selling your AF15 for record prices. I fail to see the tragedy ? 

Two were eaten by mice