My golden age adventure 4 4

[Lukesaurus]

I have only recently started getting into Golden Age books , don't have a really big disposable income to spend on them and after reading several threads on the Golden age board it seems I am a bit late to the party .

Couple years you could get a nice mid grade copy for a couple of hundred $ , now I can only get 1.0 - 2.0 . PCH horror has shot way up , DC superheroes as well (this is what I am mainly interested right now ).

Mind you my observations are based on online sales as I am not a US resident , Golden Age in Europe is almost non existent .

So am I late ? I enjoy the stories and covers , being from an ex communist country gives me a glimpse to a different world and time , but sometimes it's really hard to justify prices of  $200-$300 on a 0.5 Batman 36 for example .

 

 

Edited April 24, 2019 by Lukesaurus
changed title

[OtherEric]

It's absolutely not too late to get into the Golden Age.  You won't be able to get everything you want, but you can still find a lot of affordable, good stuff, even in your interests.

One thing you might look at ls alternative titles, in some cases.  World's Finest and Comic Cavalcade would be cheaper sources of GA DC superheroes than the main Superman/ Batman/ Wonder Woman/ Green Lantern/ Flash books in lots of cases, for example.  I'm sure other people can make similar suggestions.

If you can get to a mid-to-large size convention, your options open way up.  Lots of bargains there that never show up online.  Not sure how many shows in Europe have dealers with significant US stock, but others might know.

[Lukesaurus]

From what I read on these boards even the large conventions have less and less comic vendors .Europe shows have mainly Bronze Age and up with some Silver , rarely some Golden Age mainly key issues and EC's

[buttock]

Teach yourself to grade and detect restoration.  Buying raw is much more affordable and entertaining than certified. 

 

But in fairness, if you have a limited budget going after the most popular character isn't going to be your best strategy.

[originalisbest]

Seeking out "lesser" under the radar titles featuring the same characters is an excellent suggestion. As for PCH, true that a lot of the covers/titles are smoking hot right now, but not literally everything is. Some Atlas has cooled off relative to other PCH books, and some titles/covers are excellent, but not currently on everyone's radar as much. It's possible even on limited budgets to enjoy pursuing GA -- I don't think it's likely I'll luck into high grade examples but you never know what might turn up in searching.

[entalmighty1]

1 hour ago, Lukesaurus said:

From what I read on these boards even the large conventions have less and less comic vendors .Europe shows have mainly Bronze Age and up with some Silver , rarely some Golden Age mainly key issues and EC's

It just depends on the con you go to.  There are some very comic-centric conventions these days, that are way more fun (to me) than going to the giant celebrity cons.

[SushiX]

I asked the exact same question little over 3 years ago when I first got into GA and I believe it's never to late! but my advice is collect what you love and dont get discouraged if you cant find a specific book because if you wait patiently enough it will pop up!....get ready to have a blast!!

[Lukesaurus]

30 minutes ago, buttock said:

Teach yourself to grade and detect restoration.  Buying raw is much more affordable and entertaining than certified. 

 

But in fairness, if you have a limited budget going after the most popular character isn't going to be your best strategy.

Don't get me wrong , i'm not expecting to pay peanuts for comics that are worth it . I was simply ranting about how from my perspective as non US buyer that can only buy online . My point is it seems sellers seem to think that because it's golden age it's automatically valuable . 

 

I've been looking at Baffling Mysteries , most books on ebay seem to go 4-5 x guide prices . 

Edited March 6, 2019 by Lukesaurus

[Lukesaurus]

7 minutes ago, entalmighty1 said:

It just depends on the con you go to.  There are some very comic-centric conventions these days, that are way more fun (to me) than going to the giant celebrity cons.

i'll have to do some research on which ones are worth attending then . Thanks

[Jaydee]

It is not too late, But Cons are Key..  Welcome to a whole new World

[newshane]

12 minutes ago, Lukesaurus said:

I've been looking at Baffling Mysteries , most books on ebay seem to go 4-5 x guide prices . 

The best place to buy Golden Age online is the CGC sales forum. Forget eBay. 

I've seen some absolutely mind-blowing stuff over the last few weeks, including some really cool and affordable comics. eBay is now one of the worst places to shop for comics. 

[Lukesaurus]

14 minutes ago, Jaydee said:

It is not too late, But Cons are Key..  Welcome to a whole new World

if you could only go one con , which one would you go to ?

2 minutes ago, newshane said:

The best place to buy Golden Age online is the CGC sales forum. Forget eBay. 

I've seen some absolutely mind-blowing stuff over the last few weeks, including some really cool and affordable comics. eBay is now one of the worst places to shop for comics. 

Indeed I have seen some amazing things on the CGC sales forums but I have not seen many that offer international shipping but I always keep my eyes open there . 

[originalisbest]

10 minutes ago, newshane said:

The best place to buy Golden Age online is the CGC sales forum. Forget eBay. 

I've seen some absolutely mind-blowing stuff over the last few weeks, including some really cool and affordable comics. eBay is now one of the worst places to shop for comics. 

Really? Tell that to the winner of the Voodoo #14 recently. Good books show up where they show up -- sometimes on eBay, sometimes on here.

[SuperBird]

Speaking as primarily a collector of DC golden age, which you said you're interested in, non-Batman/ Detective books have been lagging the overall comic market and are definitely still relatively affordable. 

6 hours ago, Lukesaurus said:

I have only recently started getting into Golden Age books , don't have a really big disposable income to spend on them and after reading several threads on the Golden age board it seems I am a bit late to the party .

Couple years you could get a nice mid grade copy for a couple of hundred $ , now I can only get 1.0 - 2.0 . PCH horror has shot way up , DC superheroes as well (this is what I am mainly interested right now ).

Mind you my observations are based on online sales as I am not a US resident , Golden Age in Europe is almost non existent .

So am I late ? I enjoy the stories and covers , being from an ex communist country gives me a glimpse to a different world and time , but sometimes it's really hard to justify prices of  $200-$300 on a 0.5 Batman 36 for example .

 

[Lukesaurus]

22 minutes ago, SuperBird said:

Speaking as primarily a collector of DC golden age, which you said you're interested in, non-Batman/ Detective books have been lagging the overall comic market and are definitely still relatively affordable. 

 

i'll try branching out to those as well 

[Jaydee]

1 hour ago, Lukesaurus said:

if you could only go one con , which one would you go to ?

Indeed I have seen some amazing things on the CGC sales forums but I have not seen many that offer international shipping but I always keep my eyes open there . 

I prefer C2E2 or Non Wizard World Cons...Less Pop Culture More COmics.  Sometime Mini Cons are the Best older sellers. 

 

CGC Boards are my Fav as well.  Follow sellers That always have the Golds

@Ricksneatstuff, @october; @Robot Man; @GACollectibles; @jimjum12 @shortboxed and Others too.  

 

[batman_fan]

Personally I would hate to be starting out right now but that said, there are a ton of decent stuff to be had for reasonable prices with decent characters. 

I would say focus on quality not quantity. You are better off to buy one or two books per year but get decent stuff. Let’s say you decide to chase GA Batman’s. Focus on the HA Sunday auctions. A Batman 25 in 5.5 sold for $840 recently. It had really nice eye appeal and white pages. A Batman 112 in 8.0 sold for $373. There are even more affordable mid grades available in Detectives if you focus on books between issue 100 and 200. 

[Arkadin]

As a Europe-based collector, I'd have to say.... well, there's nothing to say if you're determined to do this. No conventions, only Ebay and HA, Clink etc. But what's wrong with that? The only downside for us is the exorbitant shipping costs - that you will simply have to live with. We're not at that much of a disadvantage. No matter where you are, it's equally impossible to find a decent deal on a Sunday night Heritage auction! If your'e willing to jump into a hobby at the highs, then jump in!

 

 

[fifties]

You posted that you are interested in both the covers and stories and on a budget (like all of us are), so raw is the only way to go, and for you, online.  There is an eBay seller in Switzerland that occasionally sells, and his shipping fee would most likely be reasonable on the European Continent (16 bucks to ship here).  Most of his fare is reader grade, so might be a seller to watch for.  I think his nic is lambielaysdown.  Also, there are smaller dealers here in the states where you can get some deals, Jim Payette, Terry's Comics, four color, DTA Collectibles, and even Metropolis.  You can bargain with them as well.  Also, My Comic Shop has weekly auctions, and their fixed prices aren't too bad.

Edited March 6, 2019 by fifties

[newshane]

4 hours ago, originalisbest said:

Really? Tell that to the winner of the Voodoo #14 recently. Good books show up where they show up -- sometimes on eBay, sometimes on here.

I could have found a copy at a yard sale. That doesn't mean I'll spend 20 hours a week rummaging through yard sales. 

Of course great books show up on eBay every now and then. My argument was that you are more likely to find great books and great deals on the boards. 

Half of what I see listed in the sales forums are impossible to even find on eBay. 

Of course, the best thing to do is to keep as many lines as possible in the water, so to speak. It doesn't take long to see what's available online.