Plaag wrote:I know he was one to buy 2, open one to read and keep the other sealed, but damn this maybe a chore on my hands
Plaag wrote:Well from a list tucked in one box seems he has:Iron Man 132, 200-206, 209-224, 228-231, 233-235, 237-238, 240-242, 247, 249, 255-262Amazing Spiderman 166, 265, 300, 303, 306-308, 313, 315-318, 322-325, 327-328, 331-352, 356-368, 370-373And a crap load of various others: Spiderman, Xmen, Batman, Superman, Clive Barker, Incredible Hulk, etcI know he was one to buy 2, open one to read and keep the other sealed, but damn this maybe a chore on my hands ShaneG.
Badmike wrote:condition is everything in the comic book reselling business.
JohnGaunt wrote: That's funny - Plaag complaining about cataloging something!
JohnGaunt wrote:If you missed the black-and-white comic glut of the 80s and 90s, then you missed watching speculators live and die with each new collectible issue from independent comic companies. Most of those are worthless, though a few valuable series come to mind, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Xaxaxe wrote:Minority viewpoint here ... but, hey, without the unpopular views, how would anyone know what the popular views were?If we're talking about selling on eBay, I have a two-word answer about comic book grading: don't bother. The pathetic Overstreet "system" is outdated, meaningless, open to wide differences in interpretation, and will likely be ignored anyway by any potential buyers, all of whom are used to mentally subtracting at least one half-grade off the top when they're not dealing with someone they know.Instead, use the time that would have gone to waste breaking down your collection using the industry's laughable definitions (it's a system lifted directly from coin collecting, BTW; thus the term "mint") to take lots and lots of good photos. That will make any potential bidders very happy; any idiot can claim something is VF+ (I love how, over the years, comics grading has added about 15 new categories that are essentially meaningless), but it's much more reassuring to look at well-lighted images of the covers, close-ups of any spine-wear, etc. Sometimes, cliches are true: with comics, a picture is worth 1,000 Overstreet grades.And, yes, I've put my money where my mouth is: I haven't mentioned a grade in a comics auction since about 2001 or maybe 2002.** I've done just fine, too (I prefer to sell in lots of 15-20, BTW; I'll sometimes sell older issues as single items). I include anywhere from two to six photos with all of my comics listings, and I try to take the best photos possible. I even have one of those miniature light studios (since my house is so frickin' dark).And here's an interesting thing: when I listed comics using the accepted Overstreet or CBG standards, I sometimes received complaints or the passive-aggressive nonsense that comics fanboys are well-known for ("are you sure this issue was F-VF?"), and I was answering 20 questions per day. Since I stopped using the grading scale and taking good photos, I've received not one single complaint, ever. In fact, some of my most enthusiastic feedback received has been from my comics auctions.Actually, I haven't graded anything on eBay in years, now that I think about it, including all of the gaming items I've sold. But I also never post an auction without a photo, and, when in doubt, I start adding more photos. I'm convinced grading scales are pretty much a farce: they're too subjective, everyone uses a different scale, the terms themselves have become meaningless, and much more information can be conveyed with a single photo.+++++** I do make one exception: if I'm selling comics released within the previous year, I'll just mention that they are all NM. It's what the fanboys expect to see. I don't waste any time actually grading, though; I just add a line about how they are all NM ... and I've never been questioned about it once.
sauromatian wrote:Wish the staff a Half Price knew this. It's a not-uncommon event for clerks at the register to stall my purchases of ratty old comics or magazines. They will see something resembling Action Comics #1 in their eyes, & call for a price check from the guys in back.Invariably, it is decided that the items are indeed rogered beyond value & so were intended to be sold without a collectibles markup [I have low standards]. Often too the condition escapes notice of even the pricers, so a comic in fair/good condition is marked at mint price. They can be pretty dumb with the magic marker as well. They'll swipe over the original printed price on the cover with big black ugly gashes, assign it high collectible price, then apply an adhesive tag bearing a value they've just destroyed.
Xaxaxe wrote:Minority viewpoint here ... but, hey, without the unpopular views, how would anyone know what the popular views were?If we're talking about selling on eBay, I have a two-word answer about comic book grading: don't bother. The pathetic Overstreet "system" is outdated, meaningless, open to wide differences in interpretation, and will likely be ignored anyway by any potential buyers, all of whom are used to mentally subtracting at least one half-grade off the top when they're not dealing with someone they know.Instead, use the time that would have gone to waste breaking down your collection using the industry's laughable definitions (it's a system lifted directly from coin collecting, BTW; thus the term "mint") to take lots and lots of good photos. That will make any potential bidders very happy; any idiot can claim something is VF+ (I love how, over the years, comics grading has added about 15 new categories that are essentially meaningless), but it's much more reassuring to look at well-lighted images of the covers, close-ups of any spine-wear, etc. Sometimes, cliches are true: with comics, a picture is worth 1,000 Overstreet grades.And, yes, I've put my money where my mouth is: I haven't mentioned a grade in a comics auction since about 2001 or maybe 2002.** I've done just fine, too (I prefer to sell in lots of 15-20, BTW; I'll sometimes sell older issues as single items). I include anywhere from two to six photos with all of my comics listings, and I try to take the best photos possible. I even have one of those miniature light studios (since my house is so frickin' dark)..
Badmike wrote:....BTW, nothing is ever mint, that's a sure warning sign the seller is a twit.........Mike B.
Aneoth wrote:Whow...... Do you really truly think that, or were you being dramatic in order to push a point?
Kingofpain89 wrote:IMO, the only way to get a comic in true mint condition is if you are sitting there at the printing press when the book comes off of it. Any comic purchased off of a rack at a comic book store is at best near mint. Either it has been dinged during shipping (corner wear, spine crease, etc.) or touched by some foul employee or customers fingers that just ate a Whopper or took a huge crap only half an hour before. I might take exception to certain comics that have cardstock covers simply because they stand up to the stress of shipping a lot better.Take your "Mint" comics to CGC to get them graded and see just how flawed they really are. There are very few comics that get a grade of 10.0 and if they do, you can usually turn around and sell them for ten times what they are normally worth if they are key issues.
