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Amazing Spider-Man Collecting Thread!
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14,405 posts in this topic

7 hours ago, Tri-ColorBrian said:

In keeping with my new tradition of being ultra lazy, I thought I'd just share screen shots from my flickr album of my earliest Spidey's...:devil:  Yeah, I know...#1 & #14 ain't there cause I never bought them.  Well, nuthin's perfect in life...:cry:

Screenshot_2019-07-14 Amazing Spiderman-1.jpg

Screenshot_2019-07-14 Amazing Spiderman-2.jpg

Screenshot_2019-07-14 Amazing Spiderman-3.jpg

The good news is that you could sell or trade your AF 15 and get minty copies of both ASM 1 and 14! :wink:

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On ‎7‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 6:46 AM, Philreal said:

Just picked these up off the Bay. Paid recent GPA high for the 76 but it does have white pages. Saved a bit on the 69 I guess due to PQ.

I'm a sucker for the old-old labels!

 

ASM #76 CGC 9.0 FRONT.jpg

ASM #69 CGC 9.2 FRONT.jpg

I have never been afraid to set new GPA highs when it's a book that I know I will keep and cherish for a long time.

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I am curious as to everyone's opinion on this:

Currently putting a complete run together and leave it to my son. I have 150-current (minus some variants because there are too many) in NM. Based on what I can see I should be able to get 100-current in VF/NM and not take out a second mortgage. Where I'm racking my brain is from 1-49. What grade is "good enough". Obviously I would want everything in NM but that's not an option. I also don't want to buy books, then have to upgrade and try to sell the lower grade books. So my question to all my fellow collectors is "what grade in raw is good enough so the collection is pretty"?

Also any advice to completing the collection is appreciated. 

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Hmm that is a tough question for 1 to 100 range. As the key firsts will be heavy hitter price in prices. So I guess it' more on how much you can spend on raw. For me I be happy for stuff in the vg+/f grade. As NM Be very pricey. But I have gotten some low grade early stuff like my 3 and 21 which are low vg.

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4 hours ago, Trobes said:

I am curious as to everyone's opinion on this:

Currently putting a complete run together and leave it to my son. I have 150-current (minus some variants because there are too many) in NM. Based on what I can see I should be able to get 100-current in VF/NM and not take out a second mortgage. Where I'm racking my brain is from 1-49. What grade is "good enough". Obviously I would want everything in NM but that's not an option. I also don't want to buy books, then have to upgrade and try to sell the lower grade books. So my question to all my fellow collectors is "what grade in raw is good enough so the collection is pretty"?

Also any advice to completing the collection is appreciated. 

You're asking a great question and it's an exciting quest you're embarking on.  The best advice I can give you is that different collectors set different goals and there is no "right" answer except the answer you settle on yourself.  I'm sure a lot of folks on this board would be happy to give you additional advice, but it would probably help to understand a little more about what you're hoping to do.

So I'll start with the most obvious questions:  When you say you have #150 and up in NM, are you talking about raw books or are these books graded?  When you think about buying a complete run from #1-150 -- and you didn't mention Amazing Fantasy #15 but we might as well toss that into the conversation as well -- do you imagine buying certified (third-party graded) copies or do you want to buy raw?

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32 minutes ago, Sweet Lou 14 said:

You're asking a great question and it's an exciting quest you're embarking on.  The best advice I can give you is that different collectors set different goals and there is no "right" answer except the answer you settle on yourself.  I'm sure a lot of folks on this board would be happy to give you additional advice, but it would probably help to understand a little more about what you're hoping to do.

So I'll start with the most obvious questions:  When you say you have #150 and up in NM, are you talking about raw books or are these books graded?  When you think about buying a complete run from #1-150 -- and you didn't mention Amazing Fantasy #15 but we might as well toss that into the conversation as well -- do you imagine buying certified (third-party graded) copies or do you want to buy raw?

Ive been collecting ASM for a long time with is why I have all of v2-5. I have NM+ of 298, 299, 300 and all the keys just have not yet gotten them graded. I don't want to do it but you almost have to at this point. My "plan" was to for instance but 100-149 in raw except for the keys. I don't see why I would spend $600-800 on a raw VF/NM 101 when I could spend $1000-1100 and get a cgc 9.0. so that was my plan for the runs. Again if someone has a better plan let me know. 

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1 hour ago, Trobes said:

Ive been collecting ASM for a long time with is why I have all of v2-5. I have NM+ of 298, 299, 300 and all the keys just have not yet gotten them graded. I don't want to do it but you almost have to at this point. My "plan" was to for instance but 100-149 in raw except for the keys. I don't see why I would spend $600-800 on a raw VF/NM 101 when I could spend $1000-1100 and get a cgc 9.0. so that was my plan for the runs. Again if someone has a better plan let me know. 

I guess I will just say this.  I bought almost exclusively raw comics for many years before getting my collection graded in 2017.  It probably shouldn't surprise anyone that the only books that came back with the dreaded purple label (restored) were keys.  Off the top of my head I remember that Avengers #2, Captain America #100, Iron Man #55 (1st Thanos), and Tales of Suspense #52 (1st Black Widow) had all been color touched.

So I would definitely recommend buying graded copies of your keys, especially if you're planning to buy online (solely based on scans) and won't have the book in hand.

In your first post you talked about wanting your collection to be "pretty" ... when I was buying raw books I always focused on eye appeal and I feel I did a pretty decent job of getting really nice-looking copies of the books I bought.  When I got them graded, I had lots of books that came back lower than I thought they would -- I guess I had some of the nicest 8.0s and 8.5s around.  :)  But my point is that whether you're buying graded or raw books, if you focus on finding copies that present really well for their assigned grade, you can stay within your budget with books you can be proud of.

I have no doubt that you'll be able to find graded 9.0 (or raw VF/NM) copies of any ASM book from #51-150 that you'll like, for reasonable prices.  Obviously #101 and #129 will be costly in that grade, but both are solid investments.

As for the first 50 issues, I'll say a couple of things.  First, one of the most commonly-heard bits of advice, and it's not wrong, is that if you know your goal is to assemble the whole run you are better off buying the oldest and most expensive books first since they will only become more expensive as time goes on.  As painful as it is, I think this is very good advice.  I spent many years trying to "work my way backwards" and I would have spent less money had I started with the oldest books.

Second, as far as segmenting those first 50 books, I would say that AF #15 and ASM #1 are in a class by themselves -- there is demand in all grades for these books, so you can't go wrong no matter how low you go on your target grade.  Just look for a copy that, again, you feel is "pretty" for the grade.  The next group of books, roughly, is #2 through 15.  There are a couple of soft spots in there (#8, 10, 12) but really almost every one of these is a key and/or rare in high grade.  Then you have #16 through #50 which are generally a big step down in price but which still include a few very expensive books like #20, #28, #31, #39, #40, and #50.

So I would consider setting a target grade (or grade range) for AF #15, another for ASM #1, another for ASM #2-15, another for #16-50, and another for #51-100 or 150.  Not knowing your budget, I would hesitate to make a specific suggestion on what the grade ranges should be, but I would say again that there are plenty of fabulous-looking 8.0 and 9.0 books out there, and there are also plenty of very nice 6.0 and 7.0 books to be found.  Even 5.0 and lower can have excellent eye appeal -- each collector will have his or her own preferences as to which kinds of defects are least worrisome.  For example, I'd personally be really happy with a book that looks great from the front but has a defect like a water stain or something on the back that brings the overall grade down.

So I would recommend taking some time to research where prices are on the books you're after, and making a plan that fits into your overall budget.  Even if you're super aggressive in going after this goal, it will probably take you at least three years to fill in the run ... so think of it as a years-long project and have fun with it.  If your son is old enough to participate, it could be a lot of fun for him too, and a learning experience as well.

Good luck!

Edited by Sweet Lou 14
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Can't say thank you enough for everyone who took the time to help me out by giving advice. I truly appreciate it. Dcmannn has been super helpful in selling me a couple nice runs I needed so shout-out to him!

AF is the only book I think I would throw $10k at in .5-1.5 (per eBay is doable) and then talking with a few high end guys I see in my travels and trading up with cash. I would love raw for the romantic aspect of my kid touching (when he is old enough, he is only 6) the actual pages of these classic works but don't think it's likely. 

I guess I'll play it by ear on the grade. Perhaps I'll know what the min I'll accept when I see it. 

Thanks again for everyone's help. If you see anyone selling 100-149 send em my way!  I'll keep everyone updated on my hunt. 

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On Sunday, July 21, 2019 at 6:43 AM, Trobes said:

I am curious as to everyone's opinion on this:

Currently putting a complete run together and leave it to my son. I have 150-current (minus some variants because there are too many) in NM. Based on what I can see I should be able to get 100-current in VF/NM and not take out a second mortgage. Where I'm racking my brain is from 1-49. What grade is "good enough". Obviously I would want everything in NM but that's not an option. I also don't want to buy books, then have to upgrade and try to sell the lower grade books. So my question to all my fellow collectors is "what grade in raw is good enough so the collection is pretty"?

Also any advice to completing the collection is appreciated. 

I would say to buy the nicest copies your budget will allow. I don't think I've ever regretted buying quality. Btw, you've picked a heck of a run to go after!!! Best of luck in your hunt!!!

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