thehumantorch Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 On 11/6/2018 at 10:38 PM, kaniartur said: Thanks all for advice Key books are in demand and generally aren't cheap anywhere. Especially tough to find them under market when prices are steadily increasing as they are now. It's generally a pretty efficient market for keys and if any are priced cheap someone will snap them up and resell them. Watch auctions sites as there will usually be a few books that sell a bit below market. Watch for books that cool off, Amazing Spider-man 129 had cooled off a few years ago and prices had stagnated and that was the time to pick the book up. Now it's hot again and prices are increasing. Sometimes you can find a dealer or seller who will cut you a deal because they've had a book a while and want to get their money out of it and move on or because they need cash. Seeking out dealers who've done poorly at a show and are motivated sellers can work. As mentioned above, relationships are important. Sellers are more likely to cut a deal for a good, regular customer they like than some irritating guy who makes low ball offers - face it, anyone who makes low ball offers is irritating. If you buy quality books at around fair market and put them away you'll do well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastcoaster Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 Where does one get high-grade back issues? Basically I'm looking for an online dealer who has accurate grading for raw books. My mileage with eBay varies as the grades are often not accurate. I see listing for mint condition comics with a zillion spine ticks. I guess some people's idea of "excellent condition" is unique. Newkadia - grading system of NM+ probably not going to yield a CGC 9.6 NM+ Atomicavenue - they just list from independent sellers. I had bad luck from some random dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvelmaniac Posted October 28, 2019 Share Posted October 28, 2019 If you are looking for accurate grading on eBay I would recommend taking a look at https://www.ebay.com/str/comics4less Every 4 month's I track eBay sold auctions for my key books and whenever I see a listing from comics4Less I disregard that sold auction only because they are extremely strict on their grading and it seems that almost 100% of the time the book they have graded is graded at least 1 point below what it actually is, If they say the book is a FN/VF 7.0 the book is at least a VF 8.0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastcoaster Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 On 10/28/2019 at 8:03 AM, marvelmaniac said: If you are looking for accurate grading on eBay I would recommend taking a look at https://www.ebay.com/str/comics4less Every 4 month's I track eBay sold auctions for my key books and whenever I see a listing from comics4Less I disregard that sold auction only because they are extremely strict on their grading and it seems that almost 100% of the time the book they have graded is graded at least 1 point below what it actually is, If they say the book is a FN/VF 7.0 the book is at least a VF 8.0. Thank you but they are too Golden Age. I'm collecting 80s and early 90s books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revat Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 16 hours ago, eastcoaster said: On 10/28/2019 at 8:03 AM, marvelmaniac said: If you are looking for accurate grading on eBay I would recommend taking a look at https://www.ebay.com/str/comics4less Every 4 month's I track eBay sold auctions for my key books and whenever I see a listing from comics4Less I disregard that sold auction only because they are extremely strict on their grading and it seems that almost 100% of the time the book they have graded is graded at least 1 point below what it actually is, If they say the book is a FN/VF 7.0 the book is at least a VF 8.0. Thank you but they are too Golden Age. I'm collecting 80s and early 90s books. probably can look at mycomicshop OR there's a subforum called WTB (Want to Buy) here in this chat boards if you know what books you want to buy and what grade and what price range, you can post your list and see if any boardies can help you out. GENERALLY (although not always), purchasing on the boards should be easier than most other venues, with less fees, less sales tax, more accurate grading, better communication, etc. The 80's and 90's books should be plentiful if you're paying a reasonable price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glassman10 Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 On 11/7/2018 at 12:38 AM, kaniartur said: Thanks all for advice I held an AF15 for 50 years. I found it in a box of comics. It had an avengers 4 . It had ASM 16 as a 9.0 It does not get luckier than that. You on the other hand won't get that lucky ( but it's possible) but there's stuff out there. Where I live, we have all these houses around lakes where the adults tried to keep their nephews and nieces from having sex for entire summers. They bought puzzles, fishing gear, books, comics, you name it and it's all locked in attics around lakes everywhere. You need to seek and it's hard work if the goal is finding great stuff. Sadly. I mostly find Hoppalong Cassidy stuff from 1948 and it smells bad. Get to know Overstreet like the back of your hand. There's still a remarkable amount of stuff out in the wild. Look for sources where the books might be. Look in really unthought of places. So give up on that as likely that you're going to mystically score rare books is not happening on ebay or in local shops. Think about auction houses that do estates. Develop relations in previewing things with them. Look in odd places. Do keep in mind I bought my last 15 cent comic in a bus depot almost fifty years ago. That's back when mom's ruled the roost and everything needed to be in a dumpster. Revel in your passion. Take a breath and admire the work of the artists that made the comics possible. BlowUpTheMoon and Krismusic 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JollyComics Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 You need a time machine. Jordysnordy, c_mkv and Krismusic 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casablanca Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 2 hours ago, Glassman10 said: Where I live, we have all these houses around lakes where the adults tried to keep their nephews and nieces from having sex for entire summers. wait..what?. Randall Dowling and SpidersComics 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glassman10 Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 The Horror! This is news? They tried night and day to keep them hiking, or rowing, or whatever and still, the focus was there. Comics and puzzles have profound distractionary powers until the next time you have to pretend the little tykes are just doing what you want. I am amazed at the junk in the attiics of these places. All thes puzzles missing three pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Lou 14 Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 10 hours ago, Casablanca said: wait..what?. See, just like others have said in this thread. If you do the work and sift through all the ordinary stuff you will sometimes find a hidden gem. Glassman10 and Randall Dowling 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c_mkv Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 Time machine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glassman10 Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 (edited) I have a neighbor who had heard I once collected Comics avidly and she brought me a box with some in it. They sadly were in truly terrible condition but somehow Westerns from 1948 , moldly and smelly had survived all these years and there was this Hopalong Cassidy book in the lot along with a number of others in the genre. No Value I could see but again, there they were. The woman who cuts my hair told me her son collected books back some time and has been in the military as a career. She said she still had that old box and perhaps I could take a look. That hasn't happened yet but I suspect it will. You just don't know what you may find. I don't think that LCS search will yield real gems but I'm quite convinced there are indeed AF15's out there raw in boxes in attics and basements and garages . They would be getting to an age where death overtakes us all eventually and estates will be liquidated. Seek, and ye may find. Edited November 2, 2019 by Glassman10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercury Man Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 You got to put in the work. Get in the weeds. Garage Sales are a start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JollyComics Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 On 11/2/2019 at 6:00 AM, c_mkv said: Time machine You made this comment #2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c_mkv Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 6 hours ago, JollyComics said: You made this comment #2. I don’t see it. However I still believe this is the best way to buy back issues cheaper so if I did post twice at least I’m consistent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krismusic Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 On 11/2/2019 at 7:00 AM, c_mkv said: Time machine lets do the time warp... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveinthecity Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 2 hours ago, Krismusic said: lets do the time warp... Krismusic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisco37 Posted November 7, 2019 Share Posted November 7, 2019 On 10/27/2019 at 10:04 PM, eastcoaster said: Where does one get high-grade back issues? Basically I'm looking for an online dealer who has accurate grading for raw books. My mileage with eBay varies as the grades are often not accurate. I see listing for mint condition comics with a zillion spine ticks. I guess some people's idea of "excellent condition" is unique. Newkadia - grading system of NM+ probably not going to yield a CGC 9.6 NM+ Atomicavenue - they just list from independent sellers. I had bad luck from some random dude. Bob Storms https://www.highgradecomics.com/ eastcoaster 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoMan Posted November 7, 2019 Share Posted November 7, 2019 Finding cheap keys is akin to walking into a bank and offering them a 50$ bill for a 100$ bill. The answer will be no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krismusic Posted November 7, 2019 Share Posted November 7, 2019 2 hours ago, NoMan said: Finding cheap keys is akin to walking into a bank and offering them a 50$ bill for a 100$ bill. The answer will be no. I don't think its impossible to find cheap keys. I have found some, but I had to do a lot of searching and leg work and wandering in the right area and getting lucky. To be able to regularly find cheap keys is a different story but you can get lucky once in awhile and when you do you have to have enough knowledge to jump ont he deal. Its like gambling you will win sometimes but most of the times it will be a lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
