eBuying Comics: Week 40

So being in a pandemic is not fun! I decided right at the start that writing a blog about the often staggering prices of comics seemed inconsequential compared to real world events. Comics do have a great ability to be social commentary, whilst at the same time offering the ultimate in escapism. With the world doing its best to stay positive and return to normal, or the new normal, I decided to get back in saddle of all things eBay and comics related. With the time away it has allowed me to re-evalute what eBuying Comics can be and to cut of the fat and get it down to a lean, green fighting machine. I will be easing myself back in in this instalment talking about which features of eBuying Comics will be staying and how they will be adapted or upgraded. During the entire time of the lockdown and social distancing I have not put any comics up for sale online. I will be resuming this week, so hopefully if anything sells I can do a diary type entry of my first visit to the post office. For a while I have been wanting to interview fellow comic aficionado’s as well as shops who deal mainly in eBay sales. This is something I am still pursuing and I have reached out to a few shops as the pandemic situation will give more meat to the questioning. If any shop or fellow amateur seller wants to be grilled by me hit me up on Twitter @IanWells87 or in the comments section.

Character Spotlight

For those who remember I had already decided to give this a revamp before Covid-19. I haven’t put any new issues under the spotlight for 2020. So the best option I think is to do an end of year review again with the same books as last year. See what has gone up and down in price, but also I will compare the end of year valuations with another (comicspriceguide.co.uk) site to give us a wider pool of valuations. The plan for the spotlight section next year then is to focus on one theme through the year, picking an issue each month. Ideas for themes so far include births, deaths and costume changes.

Versus

This will largely be staying as it has been presented up till now. It may seem it goes against what I said in the intro of high prices being inconsequential to real world events but I have been framing it as fun. To add more depth rather than just pitting the pricey books against each other, I will talk in more detail about certain issues and recommend jumping on points for new readers, as well as including value for money on collected editions of the best story arcs. In the coming weeks expect to see the battle we have all been waiting for; Slade vs Wade. Deadpool vs Deathstroke. Only one can win.

For Sale

Rather obviously this will be staying! I just feel all this time I should have been writing more in depth about the items I am selling. With talking points such as if and why the issue is significant. What grade I have given it. What price am I starting at and why. As has been before I will only go into the deep detail the first time I list an item. I will give updates on if and why I change a price, or switch between auction or buy it now.

Convention Comparisons

As much as I love writing this column, going to conventions and purusing long boxes is my lifeblood. Not being able to do it has only made the heart grow fonder. Some times there are items at conventions I won’t even contemplate buying online. It is a case of being able to see where my money is going and helping out the industry. Of course too there are items you see at conventions that you didn’t even know existed! Having this time off to think about going to conventions again has been dangerous however. Just wanting to get to go to a con again has had me drawing up lists of new things to hunt down! Old issues of Comics Journal and Amazing Heroes that focus on creators I admire. My main focus still though is back issues of both Daredevil and Master of Kung-Fu. As a Wolverine completest there are only a few odd one shots and mini series missing now, but then I remembered one glaring omission from my collecting. I have never dipped into Marvel Comics Presents. The anthology series launched in September 1988 with Wolverine as the cover star. He held this position for the first 10 issues before passing the reigns to other X-Men. Cashing in on Wolverine’s popularity he returned to the lead of Marvel Comics Presents with #39 remaining there till #155 in 1991. Now I’m not saying I am going to hunt down all of these issues, but the first ten are of interest. The most famous story line from Marvel Comics Presents is Weapon X (#72-#84) by Barry Windsor Smith. I picked up a Weapon X trade very early in my collecting so never went back to the single issues until about two years ago when I saw a couple cheap. Collecting Marvel Comics Presents will be a fun trip as there are three stories per issue so along the way I will be introduced to Characters I wouldn’t otherwise bother with and there is the discovery of creative talent that is new to me. I have set myself the rule that I dont want to spend more than £5 for an issue. The first issue may break that rule right away and with the rotating cast the prices of certains issues may be affected by the future of the MCU.

Watch List

This is the section that is going to see the biggest change. Previously I was only putting items on the watch list that were related to the subject I had talked about that week. I would then infrequently report back what they finally sold for. Going forward this section will see me choose random items to watch. I will look at them more in-depth, talking about the creative team of the issue, why it is significant. As well as discussing how the seller has graded it compared to its price on comicspriceguide.com. As always of I have the issue I will throw in how much I paid for it, equally if I have sold the same item I can compare and contrast. Without further ado here is my Watch List in the new format.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles No.1 1998 5th Printing – Starting Price £7 + Free P+P

This was an item that popped up on the similar items list when I was browsing for other TMNT comics. £7 seemed good value for a important comic. Yes its a fifth printing but that is easier and cheaper to find than a first or second. Also it speaks to the success story of the TMNT when their first issue was still having printings a year after its debut! With the pictures provided I was able to get a good sense of the condition. The seller hadn’t offered much in the item description. The front cover and spine looked to have some wear and tear but nothing to major for a thirty year old comic. The one thing that bothered me was a major crease on the back cover going across the whole width. It really stood out too, as the back cover is all red and the colour of the old paper contrasted against it. With this in mind £7 seemed very fair for a small piece of comics history and I told myself I would go to £10. When I came across the listing I was the only one watching it for a number of days but as the end got closer it picked up a few more, but the bidding was only up to £7.50 on the morning of the final day. So I was still in the game. I half heartedly put my maximum £10 bid in accepting I wouldn’t win. The auction ended after 5 bids at £24.75. A very happy seller at the end of the day!