I said, “If We Can Use Them!” So, please, don’t cuss me!
We probably receive a dozen or more calls per week from people asking if we buy comics. Our typical response is “Yes, if we can use them” and then proceed to explain that we are looking for older comics, especially super-hero titles with a price tag of 25 cents or less, with 10 and 12 centers being the best. Of course, we explain that condition is critical, also.
Unfortunately, the vast amount of comics being offered are from the late 80′s to present with a heavy emphasis on the comics from the early 90′s when it seemed everyone was into “investing” in Image comics, McFarlane’s Spider-Man, the new X-men and X-Force titles, and, of course, the Death of Superman and the following “Reign of” issues. It is not that these issues have no value or are not good reads. It’s just that they are relatively common. In today’s market, a “hit” probably is when an issue has a 100,000 print run. If my memory serves me, they printed over 3,000,000 copies of the Death of Superman and the 5 covers to X-Men #1 totaled over 7,000,000! And, very few were thrown away, as many were purchased with the mind set of them “putting their kids through college.” Remember, comics had not been perceived as having much value before a comprehensive guide appeared, and Overstreet didn’t put out his first volume until 1970. Prior to that, many were just thrown away. It’s those remaining copies that we are looking for.
Most people, whether a phone caller or someone who comes into the shop, seem to understand our explanation of why we are not interested in their collection. Some are people who actually bought and collected the comics and others are people who found them or the comics were passed on to them. We know they are going to be disappointed (not everyone finds an Action Comics #1) and try to let them down as easy as we can, but we can only afford to purchase something we see as possibly selling in the somewhat near future. We are not interested in speculating in future values – we want as quick a turn around as possible.
Last week, I answered the phone and the caller asked about us buying his comics. As always, I explained what we were looking for. Evidently, that did not sink in as he tried to describe comics that he had. The first one, after much deciphering, was a copy of X-Men #1 from the 90′s. No, we did not need it. After politely listening to him rattle off at least 15 more that we did not have any interest in, he must have gotten frustrated and now I was 
the bad guy! He dropped the “F” bomb, called me an “A-hole” a few times – all because I didn’t want to buy what he had! He sounded to me on the phone to be perhaps in his late teens or early twenties. I tried to explain again to him that we were looking for comics that probably came out long before he was even born. That seemed to upset him further, and stated that all of the comics that he had collected were from before he was born and why did I assume that people his age did not have older comics. I’m thinking: if he did actually collect them as he stated, why did he seem to have no idea as to the actual names and numbers, never mind their values? I wasn’t going to go in his direction, so I hung up.
Let’s face it, we’re in the business to make money. We buy issues that we think we can make a buck on – kinda like what they say on American Pickers and Pawn Stars. If you have something we think we can move, we WILL make you an offer! Joe is kind enough to allow me to purchase the older books and put them on consignment in the shop. If they sell there, he gets a commission, which is only fair. As a buyer, I take a financial risk that eventually I will sell them at a profit – sometimes I am successful, sometimes not. When I come up with a offer, I have to take into consideration that most items sell to our regulars, who get an automatic discount, then there’s Joe’s commission. If it has been sitting in the shop for a long time, I have to either spend additional time and money doing shows or lots of additional time and money listing them on eBay, which is a last resort. Buyers on eBay are not willing to pay guide for something they can’t see in person, which is understandable, but must be considered and expected when posting. Comics have NO value until someone is willing to buy them from you! Currently, I am experiencing a drought of decent older issues coming in to the shop or at the auctions I attend. Got some neat stuff out there? I’m in the market!
Sorry to hear about that Paul. Some people just have no class, manners, or common sense. But not to worry, you and the Capt. will always have the loyalist fans and customers that anyone could ask for and thanks for keeping an eye out for the “Oldies” for us. We all love seeing them and if we’re luck enough, buying them when we can.