Ask the “Blazing One”??? 4 4

[bronze johnny]

On 5/3/2018 at 1:28 PM, blazingbob said:

LOL,  that question would have been more "back in the 70's".  I was buying off the newstand in 73 and I did not have a "first book" that I read make a lasting impression.  I found bronze age a bit lacking and went to work cutting lawns etc so that I could go to conventions and buy back issues.

Did Giant Size X-Men 1 and the new X-Men team run that followed change your view about "bronze age being a bit lacking?"

[blazingbob]

15 hours ago, bronze johnny said:

Did Giant Size X-Men 1 and the new X-Men team run that followed change your view about "bronze age being a bit lacking?"

I was never really a X-Men fan in 1975 because at that time I was collecting the back issues.  I basically grew tired of the same stuff month after month.  As frankly my impression of Wolverine back then was a skinny little guy fighting the hulk in a yellow costume.  

[Knightsofold]

I know you like to do the higher grade books, but can you comment on your opinions of the “entry level” side of the market for 1k+ keys?

Books that start at 1-5k for ANY available copy seem to create a entry level market that’s it’s own beast.  

 

Also, what books (if any) do you consider “Mega Keys”? 

Thanks for answering!

[blazingbob]

Before CGC there always seemed to be two types of keys buyers,  low grader buyer and high grade buyer.  It wasn't until CGC came onto the scene that 6.0-8.5's started to sell better.  8.5 used to be a kiss of death grade.

Low grade key buyer - this buyer came to the show with around $3K to spend.  Whatever got them the most "book" for the money got the sale.

If a low grade key has good eye appeal I generally don't have a problem selling it.

Mega keys to me but technically you could create a "what is the mega key in a particular age"  One guys Action #1 is anothers Hulk #181.

Action #1

Batman #1

Captain America Comics #1

Detective #27

Superman #1

AF #15

 

[NewWorldOrder]

Bob,

If a John Byrne X-men book falls in the woods, would John here that noise and be there to buy & then slab that book?

Edited May 9, 2018 by NewWorldOrder

[blazingbob]

Yes,  especially if it was a 9.8.  And then he would sit down with the forest animals and tell them over and over again.

[buttock]

Bob, what are some reasons/occasions when you have declined to sell to a buyer? 

[blazingbob]

Suspicious address,  shipping to a different address then billing address.

First time buyer who pays full price,  buying it for their "son" at a different address.

 

Edited May 9, 2018 by blazingbob

[Primetime]

What's your favorite issue of FF from 1-13, and why do you like it? 

[blazingbob]

FF #12 has always been my favorite,  great cover,  the first time anticipation of a Hulk/Thing battle.  

Giant-Size Super-stars #1 was my bronze age off the rack introduction to the battle between the two,  from there I had to go back and buy the first one when I had the money.

[drbanner]

Bob - tell us the story about finding and pouring over the Oakland collection! 

[gregreece]

15 hours ago, blazingbob said:

Suspicious address,  shipping to a different address then billing address.

First time buyer who pays full price,  buying it for their "son" at a different address.

 

Just had someone attempt this last week. 

[blazingbob]

3 hours ago, drbanner said:

Bob - tell us the story about finding and pouring over the Oakland collection! 

Vinny and Mike Carbo both went to look at the Oakland Collection.  If I remember they had to wear gloves while handling it.  Imagine Mike Carbo with white gloves :).  I was part of the 4 man team (Mike, Vinny,  his first wife,  me) down in Vinny's basement passing around the books grading them.  It was a very cool collection to grade.  I'm sorry that there isn't more on my end because I wasn't the one who went to go see it.  I was just working for Vinny at the time and helped them grade and process it.  I was at a few shows were it was unveiled.  It definitely got a lot of attention.  It was also the time when high grade collections were priced at multiples of guide.  There were definitely some customers who balked at some of the multiples on some of the books.  In hindsight,  they would have done just fine.

[originalisbest]

On 4/29/2018 at 3:37 PM, Sweet Lou 14 said:

Full disclosure:  I've been buying from Bob since 1998, developing his web site since 2003, and consigning undercopies through his site since about a year ago.  I consider him a friend.

In my experience working with Bob over the years, he is always honest about his market assessment on a particular book.  If I want to buy a book that's consigned by a third party, and I think it's way overpriced, Bob will be very honest and direct with me about whether my expectations are justified.  On a couple of occasions where he agreed with me that a book was overpriced, he's spoken to the consignor about it.  In at least one case, he was able to broker a deal both sides were happy with.

Sweet Lou 14, I don't know you personally, but I do like/love the web site you developed for Bob, very much! :) My one story of consigning a book with Bob was very similar, regarding pricing. I asked him to assess the book I wanted to sell (a CGC 6.0) and assign a FMV to it as it was hottish at the time, and I trusted him to know a "reasonable" (not too low, and not crazytown high) value to assign to it. He did, and it sold in just a couple weeks. Two time payments for the customer, and then Bob's check was in my mail days after the sale completed. I'm a big Blazing Bob fan for life (not that it should surprise anyone who has met him!) :)

[mrwoogieman]

I'm a fan as well even if I don't play in his end of the pool with the high grade vintage stuff. Heck, I've started stopping in the SA section just to read this thread!

Bob, if I ever get wind of a collection coming to market on LI that needs a dealer's bankroll to buy, you'll be the first guy I call.

 

 

[blazingbob]

Appreciate that,  thank you.

[dem1138]

6 hours ago, gregreece said:

Just had someone attempt this last week. 

What's the scam here?  You send the book and then they claim they never got it?  And you have no recourse because the addresses don't match?

[blazingbob]

Generally it turns out to be a stolen credit card.  Customer calls in,  says they didn't make the purchase.  

While the credit card company can automatically approve the transaction it sometimes takes up to 30 days for the statement to be sent/processed by the customer.

You google earth the "cc owner" address,  beautiful house,  google earth shipping address and it is generally not a very good neighborhood,  in some cases I've found trailer park homes.

There was a ring in NJ that was doing this.

Chargeback goes against your account even if you have every possible form of proof.

Edited May 10, 2018 by blazingbob

[gregreece]

1 minute ago, dem1138 said:

What's the scam here?  You send the book and then they claim they never got it?  And you have no recourse because the addresses don't match?

This particular scam almost always involves a stolen credit card. As Bob stated, the bill to and ship to don't match. In this most recent attempt, the bill to was a $1,200,000 property on the coast of Florida and the ship to was a very modest apartment in Indiana. All of that and a request to ship overnight are fairly easy red flags to spot.

[GACollectibles]

On 5/9/2018 at 1:07 AM, NewWorldOrder said:

Bob,

If a John Byrne X-men book falls in the woods, would John here that noise and be there to buy & then slab that book?

It's "hear", don't sully this great man's thread with such errors.