What a Bargain!

[TVComicsFan]

I thought I would check out the annual used book sale at the local library today.
I found copies of two trade paperbacks--DC/Marvel Crossover Classics,
Vol. II and Superman For All Seasons--for only 10 cents each!!

[dan bailey]

I thought I would check out the annual used book sale at the local library today.
I found copies of two trade paperbacks--DC/Marvel Crossover Classics,
Vol. II and Superman For All Seasons--for only 10 cents each!!

Excellent finds! The downtown library back home in Little Rock always had great used sales a couple of times a year. Offhand, best comics-related find I can think of was Feiffer's The Great Comic Book Heroes for ... well, I can't remember, but undoubtedly the price is still written in light pencil on the first page. Probably $1 or less.

Montgomery's populace, I've discerned to my dismay, appears to be by & large a far less book-oriented crowd. Still, I was quite pleased to find a beat-up but still complete copy of the Michael Uslan-edited Mystery in Space TPB from the '80s for maybe $1 on the downtown library's used shelves a few years ago.

[FanboyStranger]

The greatest bargain I've ever had was when I attended an estate of a comic book store owner and picked up complete runs of Morrison's d8m Patrol, Animal Man, HB through 40, Moore's Swamp Thing (sans 51-53, Batman, y'know), Elektra: Assassin, and many others for less than $50. The family did not know what they had beyond the boarded and sealed Silver Age issues. Now, I would have normally felt bad, but the deceased had charged me $10 for Strange Tales, v.3 #3, which doesn't actually exist, allthough I swear I brought it to the register in my hands only to not find in my bag when I got home (I was a fan of Manco's Werewolf by Night.

Second to that I picked up a complete set of L.E.G.I.O.N and R.E.B.E.L.S for $12.

[dan bailey]

Second to that I picked up a complete set of L.E.G.I.O.N and R.E.B.E.L.S for $12.

Since I just had a lot of 33 L.E.G.I.O.N.s go for a whopping $2.99, with the only bid coming from a guy in Egypt, I'm thinking you may've overpaid, if anything ...

[Perry Holley]

Probably my biggest comic book bargain was finding a slightly damaged copy of Miracleman vol 3 for 25 cents.

[dan bailey]

Since I just had a lot of 33 L.E.G.I.O.N.s go for a whopping $2.99, with the only bid coming from a guy in Egypt, I'm thinking you may've overpaid, if anything ...

And having just paid FORTY DOLLARS & THIRTY-FIVE CENTS to mail the stupid things -- note to self: Stop using backing boards that must be made of sheet metal -- I guess the bottom line is that I basically paid the guy $16 to take them off my hands. (Other note to self: no more international sales.)

So yeah ... using that fiasco as a guideline, I figure you should've been paid at least $35 to accept those complete sets.

[benday-dot]

And having just paid FORTY DOLLARS & THIRTY-FIVE CENTS to mail the stupid things -- note to self: Stop using backing boards that must be made of sheet metal -- I guess the bottom line is that I basically paid the guy $16 to take them off my hands. (Other note to self: no more international sales.)

So yeah ... using that fiasco as a guideline, I figure you should've been paid at least $35 to accept those complete sets.

I know how you feel Dan. That's happened to me before when I used to just guess at shipping costs. Not wanting to rip anyone off I usually underestimated. If I was a buck or two short to Canada or the U.S. it was no big deal, but overseas are more uncharted waters. I still sell internationally, but now refuse to list a shipping charge before first visting the post office. I state as much in my listing that international buyers (excluding U.S and Canada, about which I am confident enough as to the proper fee.) should e-mail me before bidding to get shipping costs.The buyer then pays the exact shipping without any surprises coming to either party.

[dan bailey]

That's obviously what I need to start doing, benday. I just had no clue how much comics weigh -- not 17, not 33, not 40. I mean, I've sold & shipped close to 300 records & CDs & tapes to buers all over the globe, & quite a few music zines, & for that matter dozens of comics (though only in lots of less than 10 until the last couple of weeks), & never had anything approaching such a shipping discrepancy. Once the number of comics starts extending into the double digits, it's like you're mailing bricks.

[GreatLakesAvengers]

The greatest bargain I've ever had was when I attended an estate of a comic book store owner and picked up complete runs of Morrison's d8m Patrol, Animal Man, HB through 40, Moore's Swamp Thing (sans 51-53, Batman, y'know), Elektra: Assassin, and many others for less than $50. The family did not know what they had beyond the boarded and sealed Silver Age issues. Now, I would have normally felt bad, but the deceased had charged me $10 for Strange Tales, v.3 #3, which doesn't actually exist, allthough I swear I brought it to the register in my hands only to not find in my bag when I got home (I was a fan of Manco's Werewolf by Night.

Second to that I picked up a complete set of L.E.G.I.O.N and R.E.B.E.L.S for $12.

OH How I wish that issue came out! and #4, too!

[FanboyStranger]

Since I just had a lot of 33 L.E.G.I.O.N.s go for a whopping $2.99, with the only bid coming from a guy in Egypt, I'm thinking you may've overpaid, if anything ...

Well, I find that the overall thrill of digging through a quarter bin to piece together a complete run is worth the extra price. eBay has its conveniences, but it's lacking in terms of the hunt. (Granted, I live in a large city with several comics stores, so it's feasible for me to devote a few hours to hunting down cheap back-issues.)

[Aaron King]

dan bailey, I'll have you know I liked LEGION. I'm missing maybe twenty issues from the run

Actually, send me your ebay ID. If you sell a lot of runs like this... I'd maybe pay three dollars for them.

[dan bailey]

Rest assured that if I weren't in certain financial straits (brought about, as I've whined previously, by an eBay buyer disputing the authenticity of a #'d 8-of-9 autographed Ted Williams card, resulting in suspension of the transaction & my PayPal balance plunging to a negative-$350 balance or thereabouts about a month ago), I'd've offered to give the comics away to anyone here who might want them. I've done that before, & god knows others here -- bless them -- have done it for me.

Alas, that was the last big lot of duplicates I have on hand. (Also, if you're like me, the numbers you're missing tend to be toward the end of the run. I don't think any of these came later than the mid-40s.)

[GreatLakesAvengers]

Well, I find that the overall thrill of digging through a quarter bin to piece together a complete run is worth the extra price. eBay has its conveniences, but it's lacking in terms of the hunt. (Granted, I live in a large city with several comics stores, so it's feasible for me to devote a few hours to hunting down cheap back-issues.)

This is one of my favorite hobbies. I have an enormous checklist so I can keep track of all the series I'm working on! The best part is, if you don't like the series that you just bought for a quarter/book you can almost assuredly get your money back on ebay as a complete set (and usually you'll make more than the cost)