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CapnDoug wrote:

If the seller didn't respond, the seller didn't respond. Don't read anything more into it than that. It doesn't mean that the offer was too low. It doesn't mean that the seller has disappeared. The only person who would know why the seller didn't respond is the seller. Don't read anything more into it than that.

I'm not looking into anything just curious why someone would post items to sell then not be connected in case they do sell....Maybe someone (mod) could get the info to that person?
edited by Shotgun22 on 3/18/2016

CapnDoug wrote:

Funnily enough, I know that Overstreet lists Longshot much higher than CPG does. I had duplicates of the entire series, so I decided to sell them as a whole series for $25 in high grade (9.2 give or take) as a compromise price.. They sold before the show even opened. I mean, I was still setting up my table when another dealer came by and bought them. So... yeah... definitely primed to go up.

That's awesome Doug, There's not much Longshot Australian eBay.
CPG has them at $4 each, What does Overstreet have them at Doug?
I know there are a million & 1 copies of them out there but most i've seen over the years are in terrible shape.
I only have one NM set, Had an extra $30 bucks about a year & half ago. I asked a reg. seller what he had for that price...after some not so fun choices i gave up & just then he said Longshot...after a pause i said o.k. i'll take it.
Even he noted they getting harder to find in NM now.

It's not about being a narcissistic sociopath at all. It is about not leaving money on the table. eBay and much of the online world has created a lack of patience and as such people often will be very impulsive and jump when the rest of the marketplace says jump and spend more than they should. If people want to dump cash on you then why would you refuse? I purchased a NYX #3 for $20. Then I got it pressed and graded and offered it at $350 CAD which was the going rate at the time for a graded 9.8. I don't, and neither does the buyer, feel that they were soaked.

As far as I am concerned if people want to (sometimes needlessly) throw cash around that is their business and, if I have what they want, I am going to try and get fair market value for the item(s). If I was running a brick and mortar store I would most definitely be selling at as close to market value as possible. In this neck of the woods that often means selling for more than the market likes to purchase them. IS that soaking? Nope and do you want to know why? Most of the people that are asking for a bargain are not putting the book in their collection. Those folks tend not to argue price. Most of them are trying to get the book at the cheapest price possible so they can turn around and flip it on eBay.

So I actually have very little sympathy for collectors. Whatever mess they complain about they are often the ones to blame (prices, number of variants, etc are all on the heads of collectors).

Oxbladder wrote:

It's not about being a narcissistic sociopath at all. It is about not leaving money on the table. eBay and much of the online world has created a lack of patience and as such people often will be very impulsive and jump when the rest of the marketplace says jump and spend more than they should. If people want to dump cash on you then why would you refuse? I purchased a NYX #3 for $20. Then I got it pressed and graded and offered it at $350 CAD which was the going rate at the time for a graded 9.8. I don't, and neither does the buyer, feel that they were soaked.

As far as I am concerned if people want to (sometimes needlessly) throw cash around that is their business and, if I have what they want, I am going to try and get fair market value for the item(s). If I was running a brick and mortar store I would most definitely be selling at as close to market value as possible. In this neck of the woods that often means selling for more than the market likes to purchase them. IS that soaking? Nope and do you want to know why? Most of the people that are asking for a bargain are not putting the book in their collection. Those folks tend not to argue price. Most of them are trying to get the book at the cheapest price possible so they can turn around and flip it on eBay.

So I actually have very little sympathy for collectors. Whatever mess they complain about they are often the ones to blame (prices, number of variants, etc are all on the heads of collectors).

I'm not referring to the average collector or investor. There are people out there that are not honest and will take advantage of other people. That is a sociopath. And it's true for whatever business is doing that. For example, a price gouger who uses the opportunity of a gas shortage to jack up prices and hurt the people who need the commodity to survive as well as the other local businesses. Or someone who sells a knock-off watch or handbag. Or a stock trader that artificially inflates the value. That is stealing, no matter how you parse it. In my opinion Randian objectivism is way too popular at the moment. I'm advising the OP not to be that kind of book investor or collector. Be honest. That's the best thing for all of us who want to get the fairest price for our purchases and sells. I hope you can agree with me on that. Please correct me, but how I am reading your response, as well as CapnDoug, is that you are most interested in getting the highest price you can. I am okay with that as long as the buyer is fully aware of what he/she is buying (e.g. condition). And CapnDoug admits that he has paid a higher price than current market for a book he needs. That's his choice to make. But I'm pretty darn sure that whatever he paid for that book, it better be exactly what he was lead to believe it was.
edited by erichey on 4/7/2016

CapnDoug wrote:

One thing that seems to be ignored is that there are more than just the one issue for sale. There are multiple copies of most issues for sale here and on eBay, particularly when the more modern issues are concerned. As a result, you are able to compare prices and in most cases, the most expensive one will not be the one bought. We are not talking about people abusing a monopoly, or an oligarchy that is price fixing.

And the issues I over paid for were mostly old issues that I bought at a convention or similar venue. In one case I thought that the book would grade at about a 5 or 5.5 and paid a reasonable price for that. But I missed a flaw and it is probably 3.5 at best. Others were purchased where I thought the guide price would be far higher than it actually was. But, in both cases, that was on me. I missed something and overpaid as a result.

I also wonder why the onus seems to be entirely on the seller. I have had people who try and give me massive lowball offers on some of the things I try to sell, but the customer would not be called a sociopath. I know that if someone is asking for $1000 and I would not want to pay over $300, I just say "I'm not even going to make you an offer, since I don't want to be insulting." If I wouldn't pay 60% of the asking price, I don't think it's right to make that offer.

I believe it can happen on both sides. Most people have an innate sense of wrongness when someone is trying to take advantage of another person's ignorance or weakness. It's the psychological trait of empathy. When someone lacks the ability to empathize, we call that sociopathy. To give you an example of when a buyer should be called out on being that would be when some family just lost their grandmother and in her estate is a pedigree collection from her late husband. The family doesn't have any idea what the worth of that collection could be, they just want to sell everything and get on with their lives. Along comes a "shrewd" collector who recognizes its true possible value. But because he is so interested in getting the best deal he offers to take it off their hands for a mere fraction of its worth. He then goes and sells the collection and makes thousands of dollars. I hope we can all agree that is completely immoral.
The point I've been trying to make is we should be honest. Especially everyone on here because we are part of a community. We love comics. The artwork, stories, mythology, as well as the excitement of collecting and having something that is valuable. I just wanted to impress on the OP that it is important to be honest in your dealings. Be upfront about what you are selling. Show compassion for someone who may not appreciate the value of what they have. And don't lie or gouge. Like wchever's post points out, the sentiment of "whatever the market will bear" doesn't remove our responsibility to be fair and honest.

CapnDoug wrote:

Are you aware that the standard bulk rate is either 5 cents or 10 cents an issue? If you are trying to sell an individual issue, selling it at guide value is fine, but when you are insisting that someone buy an entire collection, selling them at guide price will ensure that you never sell it. Unless it's nothing but silver age stuff. But other than that, if you manage to get 50% of guide value, consider yourself very lucky. Guide price absolutely does not apply to bulk sales. It's not taking advantage of someone, it's what common sense dictates. If I'm forced to buy 100 issues of Archie to get the 12 issues of Avengers that I want, I'm not going to pay full price for everything. If you don't believe me, go and show your local store the collection you have entered here. See what they would give you for it. That's how I got Ms. Marvel #1 for $1.13, X-Factor #6 for 87 cents and Avengers Annual #10 for 38 cents. Bulk purchases. And in every case, I gave the person almost exactly what they were asking for the collection. Everyone was asking for a low price in order to get a quick sale, not because they didn't know what they were worth. All were collectors. Guide price just does not apply to bulk purchases.

Nope. You read my post completely wrong. I mean way off. Please read it again. Your example has nothing to do with my analogy. I wasn't referring to bulk sales at all. I was simply saying that it is stealing to take advantage of someone's ignorance, and lie to them either directly or by omission, in order to make a buck.
Watch "Comic Book Villains". From IMDB: Told from the point of view from Archie, a comic book collector, this is
the story of a rivalry between two comic book shop owners. One does it
for the love of comics, while the other shop, run by a husband-and-wife
team are in it strictly for the money. The situation brews to a head
when a sneak collector, Conan discovers a large collection of
perfectly-preserved classic comics, leading the two shops to vie to
acquire them, along with a "villain" who hopes to steal them first.

Thanks. I have a line on a pretty high-quality issue one. By the way, I did this on my phone and accidentally fat-fingered the report to moderator link! Meant to hit the acceptable answer link. Sorry!