Available older keys "drying up" a report from NYCC 7 7

[paqart]

On 10/4/2019 at 11:23 AM, drotto said:

I was looking mainly for lower to mid grade Batmans, key or first appearance for villians.  The had multiple Mr. Freeze and like one of Scarecrow, but that is all I saw.

I wanted to get a Wolverine v2 #67 but didn't see a single copy, though it is modern. I also wanted a few of the later ASM issues in newsstand editions but didn't see most of them in any version, let alone newsstand. I did get a newsstand copy of #500, but that was the only comic on my list that I actually found, out of about thirty comics and in two days of looking. I bought maybe 50 comics but 49 of them were bought to trade with other people, not for my collection.

[paqart]

On 10/6/2019 at 12:58 AM, www.alexgross.com said:

and attending both torpedo and california comic con here in CA,

The last time I got a deal at a convention was BayCon, held in San Francisco in 1976. I got what would be graded today as a pair of 9.8's: FF#5 and ASM#6. The pair were $175.

[ygogolak]

33 minutes ago, paqart said:

The last time I got a deal at a convention was BayCon, held in San Francisco in 1976. I got what would be graded today as a pair of 9.8's: FF#5 and ASM#6. The pair were $175.

Yes, of course they would.

[paqart]

5 minutes ago, ygogolak said:

Yes, of course they would.

I said 9.8 to be conservative. Frankly, if you'd seen them, you might have been thinking they were a pair of 10's. I graded comics for a number of stores in the San Jose area at the time, when they had big collections come in, so I knew my way around grading comics. I remember at the time comparing them to straight out of the box John Byrne X-Men but the FF 5 and ASM 6 were clearly better. When I mentioned this to my boss at the time, Roger Grant-Ribal of Comics and Fantasies in San Jose, he didn't believe me until I brought the comics to the store from home. He believed me after that. According to him, "Pristine Mint".

[ygogolak]

6 minutes ago, paqart said:

I said 9.8 to be conservative. Frankly, if you'd seen them, you might have been thinking they were a pair of 10's. I graded comics for a number of stores in the San Jose area at the time, when they had big collections come in, so I knew my way around grading comics. I remember at the time comparing them to straight out of the box John Byrne X-Men but the FF 5 and ASM 6 were clearly better. When I mentioned this to my boss at the time, Roger Grant-Ribal of Comics and Fantasies in San Jose, he didn't believe me until I brought the comics to the store from home. He believed me after that. According to him, "Pristine Mint".

Oh, well before I was convinced. But now I'm convicederer!

[paqart]

3 minutes ago, ygogolak said:

Oh, well before I was convinced. But now I'm convicederer!

Your sarcasm is showing. Never mind, it hardly matters one way or another.

[the blob]

13 hours ago, blazingbob said:

Sales were very good this year.  San Diego was much much stronger then my NY show

Good

[the blob]

38 minutes ago, ygogolak said:

Yes, of course they would.

Those books were only 24 years old then. Like running into a 9.8 from 1995 in the wild that was not bagged and boarded.

[ygogolak]

1 minute ago, the blob said:

Those books were only 24 years old then. Like running into a 9.8 from 1995 in the wild that was not bagged and boarded.

Ah, well now I'm the most convince-ist. Don't forget, they were really 10.0's.

[the blob]

14 hours ago, kimik said:

No, I think it is more a function of the instant gratification we see in society now - I see it and want it so I buy it. That and the fact that a lot of these collectors are educated, employed, technology oriented/innate and have high levels of disposable income pre-marriage. Instead of saving up to get married and buy a house in their mid 20s, these collectors will rent and enjoy life before settling down in their 30s. That means several years with extra disposable income to spend before real expenses hit.

I suppose. With that said sometimes you just hit the price because you don't want to lose it. A 4.5 of a book was sitting at $35. I had been bidding on a 5.5 copy at $36, but it blew up to $136! After that auction ended I grabbed the $35 copy, did not attempt to haggle.

[the blob]

3 minutes ago, ygogolak said:

Ah, well now I'm the most convince-ist. Don't forget, they were really 10.0's.

Just saying, sounds less delusional if you time travel back 43 years

[the blob]

4 hours ago, 1Cool said:

I find younger buyers are very frugal but they use online price comparisons to get the best bang for their buck.  Maybe they just do not like face to face haggling and grab books are ask price since there is no cheaper copies online. 

Admittedly they were young, but yes, my son (now 14) and his friends did not have a clue re the possibility of haggling last show I took them to. I had to make them understand. If stuff adds up to $22 you ask them to take $20. This is a no brainer.

[blazingbob]

33 minutes ago, the blob said:

Admittedly they were young, but yes, my son (now 14) and his friends did not have a clue re the possibility of haggling last show I took them to. I had to make them understand. If stuff adds up to $22 you ask them to take $20. This is a no brainer.

If a dealer is presented books that add up to $22 from the younger generation I think it is a good idea to discount it without them even asking.

I prefer that another generation of comic buyers get a good impression since those younger buyers grow up to older ones with disposable income.

A younger buyer may forget a good experience but a YOUNGER BUYER NEVER FORGETS A BAD ONE.  Kiss your future business goodbye if you insult or rip them off.  Some deserve it but try harder. 

Edited October 9 by blazingbob

[speedcake]

I had a little stack at one booth and asked the dealer if they would take an amount $7 lower than what it all added up to. I think it was $237 and I asked if they'd take $230 for it all. It took a long back and forth via text message with someone who wasn't there before they agreed! It was a little odd, but whatevs  

[Ssantoss]

4 hours ago, paqart said:

I wanted to get a Wolverine v2 #67 but didn't see a single copy, though it is modern. I also wanted a few of the later ASM issues in newsstand editions but didn't see most of them in any version, let alone newsstand. I did get a newsstand copy of #500, but that was the only comic on my list that I actually found, out of about thirty comics and in two days of looking. I bought maybe 50 comics but 49 of them were bought to trade with other people, not for my collection.

Weird, was also looking for that one. Got all other issues of the old man logan storyline, but not 67. And agree, ASM in specific numbers above 300 were not that easy to find, tried to complete my run from 200 and up, still 10 issues to find that were nowhere to be seen at the con.  

[paqart]

1 hour ago, speedcake said:

I had a little stack at one booth and asked the dealer if they would take an amount $7 lower than what it all added up to. I think it was $237 and I asked if they'd take $230 for it all. It took a long back and forth via text message with someone who wasn't there before they agreed! It was a little odd, but whatevs  

Every dealer I asked for a discount from, gave it to me with no haggling. One guy, the comics added up to $116. He said I could have them for $110. I told him there were comics I wasn't even sure I wanted but threw them in so that I would be comfortable paying $100. He took the c-note.

[speedcake]

16 minutes ago, paqart said:

Every dealer I asked for a discount from, gave it to me with no haggling. One guy, the comics added up to $116. He said I could have them for $110. I told him there were comics I wasn't even sure I wanted but threw them in so that I would be comfortable paying $100. He took the c-note.

Great work, buddy 

[DanCooper]

2 hours ago, blazingbob said:

I prefer that another generation of comic buyers get a good impression since those younger buyers grow up to older ones with disposable income.

A younger buyer may forget a good experience but a YOUNGER BUYER NEVER FORGETS A BAD ONE.  Kiss your future business goodbye if you insult or rip them off.  Some deserve it but try harder

Very sound advice, Bob.

Another "lesson" sellers should follow is never underestimate a potential customer because of age.

Paul Howley tells the following story, from his wonderful blog, on an experience from the early days of Sparkle City:

"A very young boy, perhaps 12 years old, came up to my display and pointed to a copy of “Fantastic Four” #1 from 1961, and asked “How much is that comic book”. I didn’t take his inquiry very seriously, and I replied “ Oh, that’s a lot of money”. The young boy then said, “ Well, how much?” I said, “It’s $695.00.” He replied “Oh. Do you have a cheaper copy?” I showed him a copy that was priced at $295.00. To my surprise, he said, “I’ll take this one. Do you have issues #2 through #150?” Within ten minutes this pre-teen spent over $1200.00 and paid in cash! After he had completed this transaction I learned that he had just sold his horse and his parents allowed him to spend the proceeds on his new hobby of collecting comic books. I learned at that moment to take all customers seriously, regardless of my first impression of them."

[MGsimba77]

5 hours ago, paqart said:

I said 9.8 to be conservative. Frankly, if you'd seen them, you might have been thinking they were a pair of 10's. I graded comics for a number of stores in the San Jose area at the time, when they had big collections come in, so I knew my way around grading comics. I remember at the time comparing them to straight out of the box John Byrne X-Men but the FF 5 and ASM 6 were clearly better. When I mentioned this to my boss at the time, Roger Grant-Ribal of Comics and Fantasies in San Jose, he didn't believe me until I brought the comics to the store from home. He believed me after that. According to him, "Pristine Mint".

So what ever became of these two books? I don't think there's any cgc 9.8 FF5 and maybe one curator copy of ASM6 in 9.8

[paqart]

2 hours ago, MGsimba77 said:

So what ever became of these two books?

My mother forced me to sell my collection, all 25 boxes of it, in 1979. I sold them to a dealer in Chico, CA. He had a coin, stamp, and comic shop.