Buying Raws on EBay??? 0

[Mike_1]

I was just wondering how many of guys buy raws on eBay and get them graded.  What’s your success rate/ experience doing this?

[ExNihilo]

I've bought two raw ASM 300s that came back 9.6.  I bought IH271 which looks clean, but came back 7.0.  Graders notes said "readers crease".  I have no idea what that means.  The book look NM to my untrained eye.  No creases, corners are sharp.  Book looks fantastic, but apparently I have no idea what a "readers crease" looks like.

I stopped buying raw major keys 3 years ago because it just wasn't worth rolling the dice.  If I want a book of a certain grade, better to just buy it already slabbed.  Now a days I'll buy raw moderns.  I'm less concerned with the grade and more concerned with the packaging.  Apparently eBay sellers are smart enough to know how much a certain book is worth, but still too dumb to properly package them.  I've had a few books thrown in mailers with insufficient cardboard support that have resulted in damaged corners.

[revat]

It’s fine.  
 

read the feedback, get all the pictures and scans to address your concerns, make sure the return policy is adequate to your tastes.  
 

and build in the various risks into the price you’re willing to pay.

it’s all fine if the value is right.  
 

some people have a cap on how big of a book they’ll buy on eBay, but that is different for everyone and may depend on the specific seller reputation as well

i will say it’s been tough to get Cgc 9.8’s on books that are not brand new in my experience, but not impossible.

[Qalyar]

I've bought quite a few books on ebay for the purpose of slabbing. Results have been mixed. I curate pretty hard before buying and then again before submitting for grading. So I've had a pretty good net win rate of 9.8s (and nearly everything else that's gone from ebay to me to CGC has been 9.6s except when I knew otherwise ahead of time), but I've also gotten a lovely stack of books that just aren't slabbable...

19 minutes ago, ExNihilo said:

Now a days I'll buy raw moderns.  I'm less concerned with the grade and more concerned with the packaging.  Apparently eBay sellers are smart enough to know how much a certain book is worth, but still too dumb to properly package them.  I've had a few books thrown in mailers with insufficient cardboard support that have resulted in damaged corners.

...because this. Holy , this.

I've gotten a book placed inside a Gemini mailer with no bag or board. I've gotten books in bubble mailers with no stiffeners at all. Just last week, I got a book that was bagged so carelessly that the outside bottom corner was wadded up into a pile inside in the bag.

Luckily, most of what I've been picking up lately have been objectively inexpensive books (even if some of them aren't available in infinite quantities...). Getting the mangled remains of a big dollar book is more painful than getting the mangled remains of a ten dollar book, but it's still really, really frustrating.

[Greatwhite]

I bought two Amazing Spider-Man 300 Raw books last summer. They look to be in very good condition and I am going to send them in after I get my first submission of less expensive books back from CGC. Considering that RAW ASM 300 are now going for over $3000 on eBay I am glad I bought them for less than $700. But I do hope they will grade at least a 9.4. 

I am currently looking for a few raw books that I want to have just to have. I plan on leaving my collection to a little boy I know. Considering the prices of 9.8 slabbed books now, RAWS are really all I can afford. I look over the photos very carefully but it is still a guessing game. Spine ticks can be invisible even when the seller posts good pictures. 

 

I bought a RAW 1980 Moon Knight #1 a couple of months ago anticipating an uptick in price when the series comes out and it is currently at CGC. I will post the grade when it comes back.

Edited May 4, 2021 by Greatwhite

[KCOComics]

 

It depends what I'm looking for.  Cheap fillers to complete a run, sure.  I even bought a raw pretty rare PCH book last year. 

Big keys, I usually like to buy from the boards or people I've worked with. I don't generally buy bigger books on eBay. 

 

[Mike_1]

30 minutes ago, Why? said:

Not sure how far back Ebay Sold goes, but the only raw ASM #300s I could find going for that price is from known scammer Beatlebluecat.

All the links in pink are BBC.

 

Yeah I figured that was boosting.  I think that happens a decent amount to get prices up.  I just got my CGC 9.4 newstand for $1600.  I no I may have overpaid a little but I wanted one from a reputable dealer and it was at a high rated comic shop in Jersey.

I want the virgin Crain Venom 7 but people have doubled the price in the last 30 days.

[Mike_1]

2 minutes ago, Mike_1 said:

Yeah I figured that was boosting.  I think that happens a decent amount to get prices up.  I just got my CGC 9.4 newstand for $1600.  I no I may have overpaid a little but I wanted one from a reputable dealer and it was at a high rated comic shop in Jersey.

I want the virgin Crain Venom 7 but people have doubled the price in the last 30 days.

Like eBay history shows no sales near what they are asking now.  It was just jacked up.

[serling1978]

Filler for runs I've always bought on ebay. That includes SA and BA keys.  I don't buy much these days, but the only thing I won't buy raw anymore on ebay is grail books. Need those already slabbed since such high dollar amounts are involved.

And to add to that, I also won't buy slabbed grails either on ebay anymore now that I think of it due to the taxes. Ideally I would like to buy those here but I haven't had a ton of luck being able to do that. 

Edited May 7, 2021 by serling1978
I remembered more stuff

[Galen130]

I closed my feebay account a year ago.  I buy and sell comics on the boards now.  I’ve got a few raws that I purchased here and are slated for grading.  I don't go for the high-end ‘speculator’ books though, just SA/BA/CA stuff that I like.

[rexinnih]

Many years of buying and selling on Ebay have been for the most part positive. As already stated, I buy from well reviewed sellers, look closely at pictures and send questions if needed. In my early days, I was burned by a couple early Tales of Suspense that came back qualified (one slight color touch which can be anything but the one that hurt was trimmed). I do try to buy graded now but will still roll the dice on a raw every now and then. 

Edited May 7, 2021 by rexinnih

[lostboys]

On 5/4/2021 at 7:11 PM, Greatwhite said:

I bought two Amazing Spider-Man 300 Raw books last summer. They look to be in very good condition and I am going to send them in after I get my first submission of less expensive books back from CGC. Considering that RAW ASM 300 are now going for over $3000 on eBay I am glad I bought them for less than $700. But I do hope they will grade at least a 9.4. 

I am currently looking for a few raw books that I want to have just to have. I plan on leaving my collection to a little boy I know. Considering the prices of 9.8 slabbed books now, RAWS are really all I can afford. I look over the photos very carefully but it is still a guessing game. Spine ticks can be invisible even when the seller posts good pictures. 

 

I bought a RAW 1980 Moon Knight #1 a couple of months ago anticipating an uptick in price when the series comes out and it is currently at CGC. I will post the grade when it comes back.

Good luck on the ASM 300s.

I sent 2 in that looked great and they both came back 5.5s.

Finger bends?!?!?

I don't even know what that means...

[William-James88]

On 5/4/2021 at 2:12 PM, Mike_1 said:

I was just wondering how many of guys buy raws on eBay and get them graded.  What’s your success rate/ experience doing this?

Not great. In many cases, people sell raw on e-bay because it's not worth the money/trouble getting them graded or want to pass that gamble onto you. I'd suggest you not be the sucker. Use e-bay for books that may not be worth getting graded now, but have potential to get graded later (like some low grade GA, or smaller keys that have potential like Detective Comics 647). And in tons of cases, the price of a getting the book graded is more than the extra worth your raw comic will have once graded.

[William-James88]

28 minutes ago, lostboys said:

Finger bends?!?!?

I don't even know what that means...

It's creases done from reading a book (aka handling a book with your fingers).

[comicginger1789]

There are SOOO many books on ebay that I see listed as NEAR MINT!!! HIGH GRADE!!!! WOWZA that, upon inspection, are maybe 8.5-9.0. People go nuts on certain listings and often times, end up paying more. They think it is a 9.6, submit and get a 9.0 and for the hassle, should have just bought a 9.0.

 

[lostboys]

14 minutes ago, William-James88 said:

It's creases done from reading a book (aka handling a book with your fingers).

First time I've heard of that. I've sent in about 15 books last year and none of the notes say finger bends.

The ASM300s were this year

Something new from cgc?..like frayed spines?

[lostboys]

2 minutes ago, comicginger1789 said:

There are SOOO many books on ebay that I see listed as NEAR MINT!!! HIGH GRADE!!!! WOWZA that, upon inspection, are maybe 8.5-9.0. People go nuts on certain listings and often times, end up paying more. They think it is a 9.6, submit and get a 9.0 and for the hassle, should have just bought a 9.0.

 

Technically...wouldnt 8.5 and 9.0 be considered high grade?

Def would if it's an old book, no?

Edited May 7, 2021 by lostboys

[comicginger1789]

1 minute ago, lostboys said:

Technically...wouldnt 8.5 and 9.0 be considered high grade?

Def would if it's an old book, no?

Exactly. I am not saying the people listing are wrong. I am saying frenzies erupt and books get bid higher than (I believe) they should be compared to some copies actually graded out at what these books would land at. 

[William-James88]

5 minutes ago, lostboys said:

First time I've heard of that. I've sent in about 15 books last year and none of the notes say finger bends.

The ASM300s were this year

Something new from cgc?..like frayed spines?

Its not new. It's usually what you want to look for on higher grade books as an indication if the book was pressed or not.

[lostboys]

1 minute ago, comicginger1789 said:

Exactly. I am not saying the people listing are wrong. I am saying frenzies erupt and books get bid higher than (I believe) they should be compared to some copies actually graded out at what these books would land at. 

Personally I like to buy raw listing that says high grade over one that says NM.

I don't trust NM for some reason.