Collectors etiquette

[TwoHeadedBoy]

So, when on the hunt for comics, what are you like? I'm speaking of the charity-shop-type hunting here. Do you grab anything and everything that's even remotely comics-related? Or just the stuff you REALLY want? Or how about stuff you've never seen before, but thought you might be interested in at some point? Maybe stuff that you might think you'd be able to sell on?

I've been a combination of all those over the years, and ended up with several things I've no interest in (such as The Birthday Book For Boys 1972 - if anyone wants it, they can have it for the price of postage). Recently I'm more into the more "sensible" kind. Going around the charity shops yesterday, I saw several annuals - Warlord, Action, Tiger, that sort of thing. They were tempting, but then I thought, I don't LIKE action/adventure strips. I'm all about the funny stuff. There's bound to be someone along in the future who'll go nuts about finding these, leave them for them!

A wide range of questions there, anyone able to relate?

[alanultron5]

For me- I have been concentrating on getting a full collection of my favourite childhood comic - `Sparky` With this comic I have paid a very high price for early issues! I also look for any of the free gifts the comic often gave in its 12 year life as well as the `pinks` that advertised its free gift/promotions. I was fortunate to get (On E.Bay) original D.C Thomson advertising literature that was sent to Newsagents promoting the debut of the comic!

With other comics such as Dandy- Smash - Thunder- Jet, i'm not so dogmatic and rarely shell out that much on issues- I did pay a bit more for a 1963 Dandy as it was the debut issue of "Big Head & Thick Head" two of my favourite characters.

[Lew Stringer]

So, when on the hunt for comics, what are you like? I'm speaking of the charity-shop-type hunting here. Do you grab anything and everything that's even remotely comics-related? Or just the stuff you REALLY want? Or how about stuff you've never seen before, but thought you might be interested in at some point? Maybe stuff that you might think you'd be able to sell on?

I've never bought a comic from a charity shop (most of my local ones don't stock comics anyway) but I did buy a 1950s Film Fun Annual from a church jumble sale once. I've collected most of my old comics from comic marts or eBay.

I only buy what interests me, but that's included many comics well outside my nostalgia range. I rarely buy old comics now though. These days it's more about getting rid of the ones I don't want and paring my collection down to a manageable size. I still buy new comics and various book collections of classic material.

[Dunder Ed]

Most of my collection is from charity shops. I only tend to buy comics only at reasonable prices. I have found that I buy comics that I know I can't buy cheaper anywhere else. I have found that some charity shops see a comic/annual and put a ridiculous price on it because they think they are worth a lot!

[Bethanys grandad]

I used to buy any comic at charity shops or bootsales that I saw that was not overpriced which left me with 100s of comics that have I have neve read. I have boxs of 2000ad I just got for the sake of it, and I don't even like the comic that much, I now only get comics that I want, like pocket library's , DC comics and a few others, i still find it hard to turn down cheap comics I don't really want when I see them , collecting comics can be so additive . Even cutting down on a lot on the titles that I buy, so far this year I seem to have got almost 500 new comics, Sunday I ended up getting amost 50 commands for a few quid.

[TwoHeadedBoy]

Dunder Ed, I've noticed that before - saw a 1979 Beezer Book yesterday with a £7.50 sticker on it!

B's Grandad, I used to be like that with video games - still got crates of the things in my living room, the kind that nobody will buy! Getting good at being "realistic" with the comics. I was offered a big box full of Commando, but politely turned it down on account of me having no interest in war stories. The British Legion charity shop appreciated them, even put a few out on display!

[Lew Stringer]

Dunder Ed, I've noticed that before - saw a 1979 Beezer Book yesterday with a £7.50 sticker on it!

To be fair to the shop, several copies of that 1979 book are priced between £3 to £12 on eBay at present, depending on condition, so perhaps the shop priced it at the average.

[colcool007]

I must admit that I have rarely seen comics on sale in charity shops. Annuals by the ton, but comics? Very rarely. I will always go through any comics that I do see to see if there are any that I would buy.

I try to be selective in the comics I collect, but every so often, I will buy one because I can. Sometimes, it turns out to be a dud. But once in a while, I find myself a diamond. And I treasure it all the more as it was luck that had me find it.

I like the fact that the internet has opened up the chances to build a decent collection without mortgaging your soul as prices for an individual issue used to be insane. I saw dealers offering back issues of standard DCT fare for £5 and rising. And they weren't exactly in great condition.

I think it is would be more interesting to see what happens when there are two collectors after the same thing at the same time. Now the etiquette there could be entertaining.

[Lew Stringer]

I must admit that I have rarely seen comics on sale in charity shops. Annuals by the ton, but comics? Very rarely. I will always go through any comics that I do see to see if there are any that I would buy.

The only time I visit charity shops is if I'm taking something in, but I haven't seen comics either, only a few annuals. Most of those are what I consider 'recent' (from the last 30 years) so I'm not interested in those. (I already bought the ones I wanted when they came out.) I guess it's different for you young 'uns with the 1980s being your nostalgia.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

In the early 90s, I visited a charity shop in Watford [near the football ground] that had a cramped room downstairs devoted to vintage 1960s comics---the first time I had been able to revisit the stuff properly since first time around [pre-internet for me at least]--this was a really rare opportunity though, it must have been a local comics enthusiast getting rid of his lifetime baggage----within a few weeks, the entire lot was gone...there was even some 1965 Sparkys there, a rare sight indeed at that time.

I got some good 60s Beano annuals there for an OK price.

[stevezodiac]

Being on long term sick leave I have been watching all those antique buying "game" shows and always scour the inside of the shops on screen to see if I can see any comics in the background. Some towns have dozens of antique shops - does anyone here check out these emporiums for comics? One show featured Portobello Road and, although London born and bred, I have never been there. (its north of the water). Anyone found any comics in Portobello Road?

[TwoHeadedBoy]

There's an antiques shop on Berry Street in Liverpool - and while it's great to look around in there (they have a cat, and a tree growing in the middle of the shop), it's naturally a bit pricey. They've got a few drawers full of 1980s Beanos, and they're £1 each, whilst the annuals at the back of the shop (of which there are many - mostly Rupert and Topper when I've looked) are generally in the £10+ range.

[Phoenix]

One show featured Portobello Road and, although London born and bred, I have never been there. (its north of the water). Anyone found any comics in Portobello Road?

Yes, but it was in August 2010. I met steelclaw outside Notting Hill Gate underground station, and we went first to a secondhand bookshop just on the right not very far down Portobello Road. Come to think of it, that was the second thing because we had a getting-to-know-each other pint first in a pub almost opposite the bookshop. There were quite a lot of comics, as I recall, but not many story papers, although the proprietor wasn't asking a lot for any of them. However, the Book Palace it was not. Further down the road there are a couple of places where we saw some comics, but they were mainly antique shops, some very interesting, though. We spent several hours just in the one road, I bought us a pie and mash lunch as a bit of a thank you because it was steelclaw who had offered to show me Portobello Road the next time I went down, or up, as some say, to London. It was a really nice day and we finished it off with another pint or two in the same pub as we started in. Not exactly a circular tour, more a narrow, wriggly rectangular tour. We haven't met since but we do intend to, although at the moment I don't know exactly where he is, and there's a PM to him in my Outbox that has been there for over a week.

[felneymike]

I sometimes feel a bit guilty if I'm ebay bidding on something and the price creeps up just before the auction closes. I imagine somebody really elderly, trying to grab a piece of nostalgia from thier past making increasingly desperate bids that they still couldn't really afford anyway.
Of course it's probably just somebody using sniping tools hoping to snatch away a bargain at the last second.

It's a different story when I'm selling things, though. Make desperate bids with your life savings all you want!

[alanultron5]

Back in 1973 I got a couple of 60s "Smash" comics from the `Spastics Society` shop in Worcester St W, Ton. Sadly, long since closed (The shop-not Worcester St!)