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Post by beccabear67 on May 12, 2020 12:22:28 GMT -5
I completed the Hulk Wolverine facsimile set of #180-182 with #182 arriving yesterday. I used to have #180 and I think I read #181 in reprint form somehow, but I'd never read #182 with the debut of Hammer And Anvil and Hammer's father Crackajack Jackson, one of Hulk's true friends remembered in a later issue I had (he gave Hulk beans, beans good). One nice bonus is that these have the original letters pages commenting on Hulk #176-178 which I have!  I hope DC will put out one more facsimile I want from the mid '60s to early '70s period to balance things. I have the Hulks and Giant-Size X-Men #1 facsimiles from Marvel, but only three from DC (two Batmans and the Detective introducing the new Batgirl)... maybe they could do Shazam#1, or with Supergirl on tv maybe Adventure Comics #381? I'm glad I never had a Thor #165 to kick myself about now. Crazy expensive, but then I paid about as much on an Iron Fist #14 in FN-VF and felt I had gotten a tremendous bargain. |
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Post by Ozymandias on May 12, 2020 16:28:26 GMT -5
I paid about as much on an Iron Fist #14 in FN-VF and felt I had gotten a tremendous bargain. You did, I had to go with the Marvel Milestone Edition on this one, as it was (now more) crazy expensive; and all because of a character I don't even like and which wasn't consubstantial to the series. |
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Post by berkley on May 12, 2020 16:47:00 GMT -5
Within Canada the mail seems about the normal amount of time despite fewer bots coming and going from the island I'm on. International mail is probably most effected. I've not been ordering to know though. I like all the Thor stories I've read with Hercules, a real odd couple there! The only Thor character I never warmed to was Balder The Brave... he always seemed really bland and the helmet was a total clunker. No fashion sense! The Warriors Three were way more stylin'. Then again almost everyone in Asgard (or Olympus for that matter) wears the same clothes day after decade after century. I'll have to see if the goddesses in those Byrne Wonder Womans have more than one outfit when I get to them, Byrne was usually one of the best for characters having interesting changes of clothes. I guess there's only so many styles for togas but the Norse gods could have had a wider variety... a Balder, special makeover issue... that's what was needed. Could've been a Millie The Model crossover special!  Speaking of Balder, I hate that they made him Thors brother after 60 years. What? OK, let me get this straight: so that means he's now Jane Foster's sister, right? |
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Post by tartanphantom on May 12, 2020 17:38:05 GMT -5
Paying over 100 for one comic is not something I ever want to do again. I don't even want to think about how many times I've done that... but with a few exceptions they were mostly golden age or atomic age books.
Trust me, it doesn't get any easier, so that's why I make it count and purchase books that I really, really want in my collection whenever I cross the $100 threshold... and doubly more so whenever I cross the $500 threshold... which has happened on a few occasions.  |
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Post by tartanphantom on May 12, 2020 17:54:35 GMT -5
In other news, I had a Lonestar/MCS order arrive today (apologies to our Euro and Brit members who have recently experienced ridiculous delays). Shipping time wasn't really that bad-- order placed on May 7 arrived this morning May 12. That's about average for me using their standard domestic shipping method. Anyway, this was a "space-filler" order, mainly non-keys to complete existing runs-- about 38 books in total, most of them less than $5.00 each with a few exceptions. With this purchase, I completed some small series runs like Southern Knights, Spellbinders, Captain Confederacy, Blue Devil, New Gods (1995), The original Charlton E-man run, JSA (1999) and a couple of others. I was also able to whittle down some of my bigger runs by a few issues-- namely the original Marvel Daredevil series, where I now need 13 issues to complete the 381-issue run, and DC's Ghosts, where I now need only 3 out of 102 issues. Not posting pics of everything, but here are a few highlights:    |
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2020 18:00:50 GMT -5
I've actually never crossed the $100 threshold, even when I was buying a ton of Silver keys. The most I ever paid was $90 for a VF+ copy of Avengers #2 in 1987. Second was a $85 for a VG/F copy of ASM #129 from a shop that was going out of business in the wake of the speculator bust in the mid-late 90s. I sold off both those books when I sold off all my Silver Marvel stuff in 2001-2003 as I downsized for moving halfway across the country (and used the money to pay for the move and our wedding and to lessen my debt burden heading into married life). The only thing comic-related I have come close to that spending threshold in recent years have been a couple of Omnibus in the $75 range. I have however, spent $100 on a couple of rare/obscure vintage rpg items in the Gen Con auctions over the years, but I ended up selling those off too when I purged most my rpg reference library when I stopped freelancing in the industry. I have also spent that much on an art commission, I still have all of those I have gotten.
For me, there just is an inverse relationship between how much I spend on something and how much I enjoy it. The less I spend, the more I enjoy it, the more I spend, the less I do. It's not so much the sticker cost itself, but the opportunity cost it represents. I have a strict and limited budget when I go to shows or shops, or when I participate in a Lonestar auction (I don't do ebay anymore for a lot of different reasons including disliking Paypal and their policies). So if I blow the entire budget on a single high priced item, it means I do not have resources to get anything else at that show, in that auction or on that visit to the shop, so it needs to be something I absolutely cannot do without to commit that kind of money in one shot, and to be honest, there's not much out there that is at that level of can't do without. I don't blink at anything $20-25 or under at a show, and I will pause but pull the trigger up to $50 if it is something I really want and reasonable in relation to the going rate for it, but once I get north of $50 these days I get gun-shy for anything except art (where I am in reality paying fo the labor to create the piece as well as the piece itself usually). I don't begrudge folks who drop that kind of change on big ticket items (I am actually glad to see people get what they like and dealers make bank), but it's just sucks the fun out of the hobby for me personally to do it (and I know it's all just my personal bias and I know it takes me out the market for a lot of things I am interested in).
-M
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Post by The Captain on May 12, 2020 18:06:46 GMT -5
Paying over 100 for one comic is not something I ever want to do again. I've done it six times in my life: Captain America #100 - $160 Captain America #110 - $110 (it's VF+ and likely the nicest Silver Age book in my entire collection) Captain America #117 - $140 (bought this a little late after it started to really spike) Ghost Rider #1 - $100 X-Men #10 - $125 (oldest book in my collection, paid fair price at time but it has gone down since) X-Men #94 - $195 (most I've ever paid for a book) It's possible I will add Werewolf by Night #32 to this list. I wasn't going to get it, but with the whole coronavirus thing hitting, buying it would really help out my LCS make some cash quickly. Weird thing is that I've spent between $50 and $100 just four times. |
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Post by tartanphantom on May 12, 2020 18:25:08 GMT -5
I've actually never crossed the $100 threshold, even when I was buying a ton of Silver keys. The most I ever paid was $90 for a VF+ copy of Avengers #2 in 1987. Second was a $85 for a VG/F copy of ASM #129 from a shop that was going out of business in the wake of the speculator bust in the mid-late 90s. I sold off both those books when I sold off all my Silver Marvel stuff in 2001-2003 as I downsized for moving halfway across the country (and used the money to pay for the move and our wedding and to lessen my debt burden heading into married life). The only thing comic-related I have come close to that spending threshold in recent years have been a couple of Omnibus in the $75 range. I have however, spent $100 on a couple of rare/obscure vintage rpg items in the Gen Con auctions over the years, but I ended up selling those off too when I purged most my rpg reference library when I stopped freelancing in the industry. I have also spent that much on an art commission, I still have all of those I have gotten. For me, there just is an inverse relationship between how much I spend on something and how much I enjoy it. The less I spend, the more I enjoy it, the more I spend, the less I do. It's not so much the sticker cost itself, but the opportunity cost it represents. I have a strict and limited budget when I go to shows or shops, or when I participate in a Lonestar auction (I don't do ebay anymore for a lot of different reasons including disliking Paypal and their policies). So if I blow the entire budget on a single high priced item, it means I do not have resources to get anything else at that show, in that auction or on that visit to the shop, so it needs to be something I absolutely cannot do without to commit that kind of money in one shot, and to be honest, there's not much out there that is at that level of can't do without. I don't blink at anything $20-25 or under at a show, and I will pause by pull the trigger up to $50 if it is something I really want and reasonable in relation to the going rate for it, but once I get north of $50 these days I get gun-shy for anything except art (where I am in reality paying fo the labor to create the piece as well as the piece itself usually). I don't begrudge folks who drop that kind of change on big ticket items (I am actually glad to see people get what they like and dealers make bank), but it's just sucks the fun out of the hobby for me personally to do it (and I know it's all just my personal bias and I know it takes me out the market for a lot of things I am interested in). -M There is absolutely nothing wrong with sticking to a self-imposed budget. For me, it tends to run in cycles. I have given myself a monthly rough budget for comics (all back issues-- I haven't had a pull box or subscription service since 1996), and sometimes I'll go 2 or more months without buying a thing. Then, as luck would have it, I'll run into multiple sales events either locally or online and may spend that 2-months worth of budget allotment in one week.
One rule I have is that I won't buy anything that I can't pay for outright... in other words, I don't used my credit cards to buy comics. Debit cards, yes, credit cards, no. But experience has taught me that when it comes to comics, cash is still king-- especially at shows. I've gotten some great bundle purchase deals at shows, where I had a wad of bills instead of asking the dealer to take plastic.
This keeps me honest with myself and reigns in any wild thoughts of buying books in the $1000+ range. I'm,not saying that I wouldn't purchase a book in that price range, but it would have to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on an exceptional "personal grail" book in order to justify it... and I ain't talking no Hulk #181 either.
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2020 18:26:30 GMT -5
X-Men #94 - $195 (most I've ever paid for a book) Mine clocked in somewhere around $225 for a copy I'd strictly put at around 7.0 to 7.5.
I figured if I ever sold it I'd least get my money back.
I have gone higher on VFs for silver-age Spideys....those 1st appearances are pricey but I'm glad I bought them when I did, prices now (at least pre-covid) are much higher.
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Post by Icctrombone on May 12, 2020 18:41:31 GMT -5
Paying over 100 for one comic is not something I ever want to do again. I don't even want to think about how many times I've done that... but with a few exceptions they were mostly golden age or atomic age books.
Trust me, it doesn't get any easier, so that's why I make it count and purchase books that I really, really want in my collection whenever I cross the $100 threshold... and doubly more so whenever I cross the $500 threshold... which has happened on a few occasions. ! |
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2020 18:45:52 GMT -5
There is absolutely nothing wrong with sticking to a self-imposed budget. For me, it tends to run in cycles. I have given myself a monthly rough budget for comics (all back issues-- I haven't had a pull box or subscription service since 1996), and sometimes I'll go 2 or more months without buying a thing. Then, as luck would have it, I'll run into multiple sales events either locally or online and may spend that 2-months worth of budget allotment in one week. One rule I have is that I won't buy anything that I can't pay for outright... in other words, I don't used my credit cards to buy comics. Debit cards, yes, credit cards, no. But experience has taught me that when it comes to comics, cash is still king-- especially at shows. I've gotten some great bundle purchase deals at shows, where I had a wad of bills instead of asking the dealer to take plastic. This keeps me honest with myself and reigns in any wild thoughts of buying books in the $1000+ range. I'm,not saying that I wouldn't purchase a book in that price range, but it would have to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on an exceptional "personal grail" book in order to justify it... and I ain't talking no Hulk #181 either. I am cash only for cons as well. That's how I set my budget-I have what cash I have on hand to spend, nothing more. When its gone, it's time to go home. I keep a "war chest" i.e. a place where I contribute cash to each week when I deposit/cash my paychecks-essentially my allowance out of the check. Some weeks it's $5-$10, others it's $40-50 depending on circumstances. If I buy something in an auction from Lonestar, I take the cash out of it and deposit in the account to cover the credit card payment. If I am going in person to a shop or a show, I take the cash out of the war chest, and that's what I have to spend for that trip or show. It's not just for comics, it's what I use when I go book hunting at used bookstores or toy hunting or thrift store browsing or what have you. The money is always above and beyond what is needed for us to make ends meet and contribute to savings and retirement, so it never negatively impacts our finances. I haven't been contributing to the war chest while out of work sheltering in place, so I haven't been spending what was in it (except for backing Starlin's Dreadstar Returns Kickstarter) as I want to have a little in the fund when things open up and cons start happening again. -M |
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Post by Icctrombone on May 12, 2020 18:49:45 GMT -5
Thank you all for supporting my 100 purchase with stories of your own. I felt like a jerk dropping a bill. I think I spent 50 for a VG copy of Avengers # 57 about 5 years back. That was the high ( not counting a few Omnibus of course) before this purchase. But again, I don't see myself going to a comic show this year because of the virus , If they even have them , so this is the spending for the year.  |
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Post by Icctrombone on May 12, 2020 18:56:13 GMT -5
I have never thought of using plastic for cons, but I usually go for the dollar boxes. I pretty much have a complete collection of runs from buying over the years and don't have to start from ground zero. The Lee and Kirby Thor's being the exception. I am buying Superman books , but they are surprisingly cheap.
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Post by tartanphantom on May 12, 2020 19:17:33 GMT -5
I have never thought of using plastic for cons, but I usually go for the dollar boxes. I pretty much have a complete collection of runs from buying over the years and don't have to start from ground zero. The Lee and Kirby Thor's being the exception. I am buying Superman books , but they are surprisingly cheap. I have spent many an hour at shows crouched over dollar boxes... I say crouched over because more often than not they are below the actual dealer tables, and you are constantly jockeying for real estate with the people perusing the long boxes on top of the tables! In fact, when I go to a con or show, the dollar boxes are the first things I usually hit, because too many times I've bought a comic outright from a dealer at market value, only to find the same book in the dollar box of another dealer three tables down.
I've come away with some real deals too that made it worth my while... for example-- found a FN+ copy of this for a dollar about two years ago-- try finding it for a dollar these days!
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Post by Icctrombone on May 12, 2020 19:24:14 GMT -5
All the Avengers books that are exploding from the movies I bought at cover price off the newstand or comic shop. I also go to the dollar and below boxes first. |
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