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WHO IS # 1? NOT BOOK BUT GOLDEN AGE DEALER IN THE COUNTRY IYHO
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65 posts in this topic

JUST WONDERING IF THERE IS A GENERAL CONSENSUS ON WHO WOULD BE CONSIDERED THE TOP GOLDEN AGE DEALER IN OUR HOBBY? WONDERING IF IT WOULD BE AN AUCTION HOUSE OR A SINGLE DEALER? IF YOU FEEL LIKE NAMING A FEW THAT'S COOL. ALSO INTERESTED IN WHO IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN SAY 20 OR 30 YRS AGO?

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For my money Metro. Two 'names' attached to the operation with years of experience between them. High profile media presence through Vinny. More news worthy single record breaking sales on the book than the other houses I feel. And they still have a decent inventory for straight out buy/offer material. I'm sure there are some that will add other criteria that would knock Metro out of the running for them, but those stats come into play for me when I try to answer your question. 

 

Lots of long time faces like Harley, but i deduct points on those in that bracket who don't have a web presence (online store/site). 2c

Edited by sagii
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I have not done a ton of business with Metro/ComicConnect, but my results have been mixed. My first few purchases from Metro were great. The grading was spot-on, with one or two even undergraded by at least a point. The prices were great on all!

However, my next purchase was a mess. One comic had a detached cover (not disclosed), another had a rip that went through the entire book (the listing disclosed the rip as being on the front cover only), and another book they called a Fine had multiple stains on the front and back covers. They did offer a refund, but I had purchased them as a gift, and they arrived just in time. I'm more of a stickler on condition than the recipient, so I let it slide.

More recently, I had a negative interaction with a rep from ComicConnect after their recent auction ended. I won't get into the whole thing here (I already posted in another section), but a slab arrived cracked. It is a small crack, but I'd expect a purchase of several thousand dollars to arrive undamaged. I'm not sure if the packaging was the cause, but the three slabs I purchased arrived stacked together, with just a bit of brown wrapping paper between the slabs and the box in which they were shipped. When I brought the cracked slab to the attention of the CC rep, he replied in a very unprofessional and sarcastic manner. I sent a letter to Stephen Fishler to inform him of this employee, Brandon Peck's, very strange and unprofessional response. Stephen Fishler responded and asked when I could chat. That was two weeks ago. I replied twice with my phone number, and he has yet to respond. My experiences (at least so far) with Heritage and CLink have been much better. Perhaps they do not have the same cache as far as Golden Age, but they are much more professional and responsive when it comes to customer concerns.

Edited by thewritestuff
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Bad experiences with Vince at Metro and CC  dating back to 2011.  

 The first time he offered to purchase a book from me over the phone via a picture   When he received it he said he didn’t look closely enough at the picture and was turning it down  he already had it in his possession and I was out shopping and handeling so he offered to buy it at a reduced price

The second time I sold a book to him there were no issues with getting the agreed upon price but when I sold the book it was slabbed and when it went up for sale it had been cracked out if it’s slab and given a higher grade on their site  

My third and final time was the worst of all  I’ll just leave it at that   

 

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I’m sorry to hear about your negative experience with CC.  Those things warrant your opinions.

I have had the opposite experience and I prefer CC.  Heritage:  Love Ed Jaster and the marketing, but dont do much business with them otherwise.  I don’t like their percentage of each book, and since I’m a texas resident, I have always had to pay sales taxes.  Once I won a More Fun 73 at auction, but got a call from some rude “higher up” who told me there was a mistake and I wasn’t the winner after all.  I like that Heritage hosted a reception after John Verzyl’s funeral.  Clink:  no real problems, other than I wish they’d post the back covers and send their sales data into GPA

CC has always delivered for me

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36 minutes ago, Chicago Boy said:

Bad experiences with Vince at Metro and CC  dating back to 2011.  

 The first time he offered to purchase a book from me over the phone via a picture   When he received it he said he didn’t look closely enough at the picture and was turning it down  he already had it in his possession and I was out shopping and handeling so he offered to buy it at a reduced price

The second time I sold a book to him there were no issues with getting the agreed upon price but when I sold the book it was slabbed and when it went up for sale it had been cracked out if it’s slab and given a higher grade on their site  

My third and final time was the worst of all  I’ll just leave it at that   

 

Sorry to hear this.

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Ha sold over 32 million dollars worth of comics last year....I would assume that would be a top number in the business so I would say Ha.com number one based on client base and superior website and $$ worth of sales with CC coming in a close second.

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I have had good experiences with HA and Comic Link, though I mostly made my purchases from HA.  I have not really used Comic Connect and though I have not used Metro, I know two people who had some unpleasant experiences.

 

As far as vendors at cons probably in no particular order: Dale Roberts, Reese's, Dave and Adam's and Harley Yee 

I have always gotten great stuff from them and they have treated me right.

Edited by SSkufan
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1 hour ago, Mmehdy said:

Ha sold over 32 million dollars worth of comics last year....I would assume that would be a top number in the business so I would say Ha.com number one based on client base and superior website and $$ worth of sales with CC coming in a close second.

Does this figure include their original artwork or is this just the figure for their comic books sales only?  ???

From their auction catalogues, it would appear that Heritage probably generates more from their OA sales, as opposed to their comic book sales.  (shrug)

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Dealers are important, of course.  But an even better question is who are the market makers for our commodity?  A market maker quotes both a buy and a sell price in a commodity held in inventory, hoping to make a profit on the spread.   Market makers play an indispensable role as catalysts, particularly for enhancing liquidity and therefore, for promoting long-term growth in the market.

There is only one market maker in the comic business.  This firm underpins the whole structure of the market.  They stand ready, at least theoretically, on any given day to buy all of the books for which they provide a publicly available bid price.  I wonder what that amount is - 20million, 50 million?  It isn't necessary to have all of that on hand in liquid capital, just a reserve, like fractional banking.  Which is currently set at 10% by the Fed.  I believe this firm has that amount on hand.

Yet nobody recognizes their importance as such - like ever.

Who do you think it is?

 

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1 hour ago, SSkufan said:

I have seen them set up and they seem nice and have a good reputation - I have just never bought anything from them . . . 

Bedrock is great.  Gator always has amazing stuff. Dale Roberts. Leroy Harper.  Harley.  Honestly it all depends on the day. Whoever has the book I'm looking for is my favorite! 

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