You are spot on. Time to push back a little on this "influencer brainwashing" that is out there. I think breaking up collections, because of "key speculation" is just plain sad.
Great video , God bless your integrity and your passion. This community needs more old timers standing up and preaching . Mick and you both have valid points but I value your opinion
I'd rather have the junk and leave the keys for someone else! I never have hunted keys because I love all comic book stories regardless of it being a key. I enjoy your videos and keep 'em raw!
You're totally right about flippers going to all the yard sales and grabbing all the key issues and then the people from the garage sales try to unload all the crap leftover to a comic store.
Very much enjoy the content offered by this channel. It's so important to not forget the roots of comic collecting and the tremendous pleasure it provides. Keep'em coming!
I remember in the 80's and 90's that a collectors looking for older books relied mainly on LCS'. I am a high grade guy and could only find low and mid grade copies. I discovered that LCS' would hire kids to work in their stores and the owner would pay his employees in comics who would cherry pick. Also, the kids working the stores would go through the new collections coming in and call their friends who would get to cherry pick the nice books before the collectons were put on the floor. Thank you Lord for Ebay!
I have no employees and the one guy that works me doesn't know anything about comics. So safe. Bet is not getting cherry picked but I get your point. It's good possibility it happens at a lot of toy the stores so I know what you mean. Thanks for being a good part of the conversation
Definitely. My experience with comic shop owners has been horrible lol. It’s crazy how they have an ego and can’t draw, write or do anything the creators do. I’ve been a professional artist for 17 years, it’s hilarious talking to these guys.
Thank you for your honest opinion and being very truthful like always it's a pleasure to watch you on your UA-cam channel you're the best honestly all the B,S on the community that's going on that's why I left the community 20 years ago and I came back recently about a year and a half almost 2 years I'm collecting again comic books it seems like it's just keeps getting worse and worse and worse everyday of the week. Please 🙏 remember let's go back to the comic book shops where we fell in love with comic books of our favorite superheroes and villains...🙏thank you 🙏
I agree with you, people conveniently forget the cost of operating a store compared to someone who sells out of their house. Your profit margins need to be higher. Today’s buyers are spoiled by grading and online sales compared to 30 years ago when the hobby was at its peak in the early 90’s before the collapse.
I respect the hell out of you, and I really appreciate your stance and the way you articulated it. If lived close enough to your shop to be a regular, I would be!
Cool video. Agreed that the entrepreneur side of the comic book game will see everything about comics from a different lens. I've said in the past that I personally love the way slabbed books present and I read TPBs in order to enjoy the stories over and over again. But you're right on point about the buying and selling hustle, if both parties agree on a price, no one is getting ripped off. Keep doing what you're doing, seems good to me.
Thanks for all your kind words and everybody should click the way they like to collect. Just be educated on what you're getting. Thanks again. Keep watching
Well said! New subscriber here! :) I worked in a shop back in the 90s, just as the speculator market was fizzling out. We had so many collections come in even then where the key issues were missing. The owner wanted little to do with more inventory & who knows what we missed out on bringing in as tastes & popularity shifted. I'm glad you appreciate seeing all the additional books, much like me. :)
Just found your channel and I love everything you say in your videos. I collected years ago and tbh I had fomo so every indie and potential spec book I was trying to add to my collection, most I’d read then fall away as I wouldn’t enjoy after a while. I fell into the spec trap and lost sight of why I started collecting in the first place. I then started buying everything DC and trying to add key issues for stuff I wasn’t even interested in again and eventually I lost interest and sold my collection to help fund buying a house. Fast forward ten years and I’m back collecting again but more importantly I am reading. I collect Batman and Superman physically. Whatever minis come out related to those characters and everything else if I fancy it I read on the DC app. My collection is focused and I get more enjoyment out out of collecting Bronze Age Bats and Supes than I did hunted potential key issues I had no love for. Once again your channel is brilliant and your CGC comments are spot on. I am not a CGC fan, I have bought them but only if I can get them cheap enough that it’s worth it so I can crack them open. For example I won a Forever People 8.5 CGC and cracked it open. I want to be able to see that Kirby art. It also looks better in Mylar anyway 😉 Keep up the great content
Thank you so much for watching. I think you have a great way of collecting. Everybody should do what they enjoy without being ripped off by cash Grabbers.
I'm so lucky my LCS has our mindset. Loved your video once again!!!!! Collectors collect and read books, The people that buy ONLY keys a speculators. And that's what's messing up the market for everyone else.
@@michaelwalsh6344 When someone can explain why a book in the exact same condition has crap value unless it's in a CGC case and why there is a hundreds of dollars in difference from 9.8 to a 9.6, Really seriously now.
Absolutely! I detest the school of thought that thinks sneaky underhanded business tactics are smart. When I hear that kinda thing in conversation I know to stay the hell away from that person and not to do business with them. I’d rather live my life not looking over my shoulder and knowing I treated all fairly.
I don't buy a book unless I'm attached to it. I once had to sell 3/4 of my collection because my kids and I ended up homeless during the housing crash in 2009. My childhood catharsis ended up helping us get into a new apartment. I don't collect like I used to. I have about 1000 books these days... But Iove them all :) some day the lot will get sold by my kiddos to someone like you, I hope... Knowing that these books would end up in a good home while also helping my family and the business who was kind enough to deal with them would be very gratifying. Thank you for what you do. Agreed with a ton of what you said. Hope your channel grows rapidly and in a way you and yours can benefit, as well.
Nice video. When my preferred comic shop is upfront and tells me they pay 20 cents on the dollar I don't get mad at them. They've got over-head. I get it.
I respect my LCS, I know he doesn’t give much for collections, but he gives a fair value for key issues and tells them they have the option to let him to try and sell it on commission. I learned a long time ago all LCS has a lot of overhead like rent, money to buy the new comics every week, and paying employees. This is why I never opened a comic shop up on my own, it’s just too much stress for me, I’ll just stay being a collector
Hey man, not that you have anything to do with my decisions, I make my own. But I have been dropping a lot of comic book You Tubers lately, and it's going to be more. I won't name names of who I keep and who hits the trash bin, but i decided to distance myself from the used car salesmen, umm, I mean used comic salesmen. I just like comics, I want an honest review on the books, or an honest price that i can use as some real-life information. And like you, there are people out on the 'Tube' like this, either big fans of the books, or a proper transparent seller. Keep being you, Cheerz!
I think we are all trying to get views. I've been saying the same thing for several years people have just recently found me. If your looking for great reviews check out @PopCulturePhilosophers he gives the best reviews on UA-cam.
its based on an individual basis. he was generalizing everyone. i also have different views that arent popular about the state of comics now. im the same collector now than when i was a kid. some of the stuff i have just happens to be worth some money but ive just bought what i liked. but the flippers and investors and influencers are just about the bottom dollar so they have a vested interest in comics being high value. or maybe even some money laundering and market manipulation going on. but thats a separate issue. the comic shop is individually based. when i was a kid i went into my first comic shop, owned by a woman, and it was awesome. she was great to deal with even with me being a kid. she later sold the business to a guy who is a total dbag. i have caught him taking out books from peoples pull list that had multiple copies ordered, and it was because the book was hot. at the time it was tmnt ronin. the guy pre ordered 3 copies of it and the shop owner went to the guys box behind the counter and took one copy out and gave the customer 2 copies. the customer told him he ordered 3 copies, then he walked back where he pulled the other one aside and gave it to him. that was just one instance where he got caught. the shop owner knew the guy ordered 3 because 3 were in his box, but it just had come out at the time where the book was hot and climbing in value. there is no telling what other grease ball tactics that guy has done to other customers. he also charges 7.99 and 9.99 for non incentive variant covers. just a plain old cover A B C D of any book. no idea why. so the exact same comic shop i went into that at one time was awesome, became a joke just based off of the change of an individual owner. and dudes like him paint good shop owners in a bad light. and its a shame.
Yeah sadly I've seen that in a lot of second owner shops somebody sees it's a going business that they don't have to build. It's already there but they don't have the passion for it. It's sad.
Appreciate the response to Mickey's video. In my opinion, there's a lot of mischaracterization about what he actually communicated in his video. First of all, from my perspective, he never stated or implied that all dealers (or even the majority) take advantage of people who come in looking to sell an inherited collection. His point seemed to be that in those situations, people who now own the collections sometimes are ignorant about the value of the books and have to rely on the trustworthiness/integrity of the dealer/LCS they sell to. And in those situations, there have been times when LCS/dealer takes advantage of the seller. It would be pretty naive to think that doesn't happen or hasn't happened at least to some extent, right? Second, regarding pricing books, he never stated that all stores/dealers are overpriced, but that is a common experience to walk into a show/con/store and see prices more akin to the 2021 comic boom than the reality of the 2024 market. And though you state you don't think he understands what it takes to price books, I would have to disagree with you as he even addressed the "it takes a lot of work/money" argument by saying that's the responsibility you take on as a store/dealer and that if you do price your books and do so accurately to the market, it will lead to an increase in business, implying that would offset the additional cost. And as a buyer of comics, anecdotally I'd have to agree with this perspective 100%. It's an extremely rare occasion that I see comics priced and priced anywhere near market price at local stores or shows (which I go to many). I might find one at an entire show or one out of every 10 stores. And I don't mean a little overpriced, but two to three times market value. On almost every book. And as a buyer, if I see that at your booth or show, not only do I immediately walk away, but I also tell everyone who's with me to avoid that booth/dealer/store. I do the same thing if there aren't any prices of books at all. The same would apply to any store or seller. If there aren't any prices on products or the prices are two to three times higher than the market value at the grocery store or car dealership for example, you'd walk away, right? And that same thing happens to you as a store or dealer who chooses those pricing practices. Lastly, about the buyer's experience when books aren't priced or marked up dramatically, I agree with Mickey that no buyer likes the back-and-forth of negotiating (it's uncomfortable!) and nobody wants to risk potentially insulting a dealer by offering 30-50% off the posted price on a book. So to his point, it's only in a shop or dealer's best interest to price their books and do so relative to market to attract the most amount of buyers and thus more business. Not to mention it would be such a great experience because that kind of experience is harder and harder to find, if you are the shop/dealer giving that experience, buyers (myself included) are apt to refer everyone we know to you and shout your praises from the rooftops. My two cents, just food for thought
Thank you for your take on what he was putting forth and how you perceived it. As far as the convention pricing, I don't do large confessions because the absolute ridiculous table price. You have to sell so much just to make your table before you start to make any profit. I love the small shows where I can keep my prices low. Still make a profit and still meet tons of great comic collectors. Thank you for continuing to be part of the conversation. Great points.
Swag goes where the drama is. Drama = engagement. Engagement = UA-cam bucks. For every good take Swag has on something comic related, there's often an equally bad take. He's thrown his lot in with the "Comics as investments" side of the hobby, and made market analysis his UA-cam niche, but more like a sedate PBS "Wall Street Week" for comics rather than a Jim Kramer-style CNBC hype machine. So far, that approach is working for him. Once you work out the lens through which he views comic collecting, you can mentally compensate for his biases and blind spots and separate the useful from the bad takes.
I had a guy contact me with some Ms Marvel books. I was interested for my PC. Dude showed up with a spread sheet of eBay prices, saying that after I graded them I'd make a fortune. I don't slab and he has no clue how grading works.. said he got all his info from YT videos lol I still paid a decent price because they had value to me. Thanks for the video.
Watch a few more. He has a good channel. He makes some good videos. He's opinionated too, especially the ones on the recent CGC stuff. You know the lyric, the lure of easy money. Thanks for commenting and being part of the conversation.
Ive been collecting since mid 1970s. I feed my habit buy picking up collections and keeping what i want to fill my runs, mostly war books and batman vol 1 with some horror and the old ball series like Kamandi lol or Omac. I like Kirby and Neil Adams among others so i try to grab so.e.of their covers even if they are only worth 1.00 lol. Sell the rest when i can. Was at auction last night, local daily Saturday night auctions and grabbed a ton of books including a Spawn 1 and TMNT 1 5th Printing all for 77.00. I used Overstreet for many years and still do. People were on their phones and completely missed a decent collection for great price. Anyway, thanks for keeping the hobby the way it use to be and should still be.
Sorry if you get bundled together with the bad comic shops. I only ever tried selling books to a shop one time. They lowballed me so hard that I have never tried to sell or trade to another shop. I brought in a stack of silver age keys worth about $20,000 at the time. They offered me $3,000 and acted shocked when I turned them down.
@@HavenForHeroes I offered to let them just buy the ones they wanted, it wasn’t an all or nothing situation. There were books ranging in price from a couple hundred to a couple thousand dollars. I was actually expecting to be offered around 50 percent of fair market value. I know they need to make money or there’s no point in them buying anything. There’s no justifiable reason I can think of for them to buy very desirable books for 15 percent of their value. If they need that kind of profit margin to be successful they might need to re-evaluate their business model. I’ve sold coins to a local coin shop and he usually pays about 60% of fmv. I have heard so many horror stories about comic shops basically stealing collections from uneducated sellers. I’m of the opinion that you are the exception and most of your contemporaries are closer to crooks than we’d like to admit. I’m glad there are good shop owners like you paying fair prices. I have a great idea for a UA-cam channel. I’ll wear a hidden camera and expose the shady dealers and let my fellow collectors know what shops are fair. I have seen similar videos for automotive repair shops and jewelry dealers.
people who "flip" or slab really often times are not comic collectors, which involves reading them!, but are mainly concerned w how much money they can get, might as well be flipping used cars.........
Gotta laugh at those who slab a comic book at $5 market value hoping to resell it for $100 or the likes on eBay. More ludicrous, eBay sellers selling dollar bin books claiming that CGC will grade them at 9.8. If I'm buying comic books on the cheap, it's because I want to read them. Key issues? I'll buy a HC or TPB that includes them. More bang for my buck!
Yeah, Swag was doing alot of finger pointing in that video and he got alot right/wrong about me as a "neverslabber". It was a good video to have people talking but not everyone fit inside the boxes he made.
I'm not a comic guy, but I'm am curious. With all these books being slabbed, is there an alternative option for continuing to experience them? Are they available digitally? Or are the valuable books slabbed up and their stories are locked away? How does this work?
They are still available digitally. I'm not sure Google works like streaming there. Sometimes they're available and sometimes they're not, but I know it's possible to get them that way
@@HavenForHeroes My 11yo showed interest in Godzilla comics. I don't know where to start, but first place I go to has 1 book, slabbed for $130. So my curiousity was born from how do you get new fans if you can't read the books? The justice league v Godzilla looks up his alley, I might just wait for the hardcover release later this year.
NFT is nothing like a slab unless you are talking about a digital twin. NFTs are complete scams. That analogy hurt. My FF4 48 CGC 9.8 that I can physically touch is legit. Great video. We need LCSs to thrive
It’s similar to an NFT in that the inflated graded value is perceived but not actually real. With your FF4 48, the rarity and historical importance are factual things which drive the raw value. But it’s not a fact that it’s a 9.8. It was one persons opinion or belief. Any other day it could be a 9.6 or a 9.9! Maybe they missed a tick, or maybe it has restoration that was missed, or maybe it’s missing a page. I’m not saying your book is any of those things but many of the slabbed books out there may or may not be what the label says. And in those cases we’re all getting scammed.
@@Supertomscustoms Sorry Tom - that isn't how it really works. It's in a CGC slab, no longer an opinion. You see , that's how authentication works. When you are a legit (authorized) party, like a certification authority issuing certs in SSL, the process has been vetted and accepted by industry. The process is now a standard and an entire ecosystem supports that process, and it is thriving. We now have multiple authenticators with varying levels of quality and risk, and price, and a choice. Now compared to NFTs, you can't deny the authentication aspect of what an NFT is from a protocol/ technology perspective - you may not like the format, but it is as real as the cash in your wallet. You can say the coins/tokens aren't real which is different than saying they aren't worth anything. Like the money in your bank account is not real ,.maybe the refs made a mistake last night and the 49ers really won...maybe Nvidia isn't really at 721.
@@HavenForHeroes It worked, lol. issue with NFTs is that they pull you into an ecosystem you can't get out of, along with lack of utility in its current form. I actually looked into creating an NFT service for comic slabs but there are things like gas taxes that don't really make sense for that. But imagine a 4d authenticated digital twin of your slab with a matching serial number....and time stamps.
Where are you located I need to buy some books. What you indicated is thought provoking. Unfortunately, respectfully I disagree with you because some dealers and sellers are greedy.
True. There are some but not all that was my problem I had with the video. It seemed like we were all getting painted with that brush. I'm in Port Jervis, New York, about 60 miles from the city. Exit one off i-84 westbound
I use to follow those channels but have long blocked and unsubscribed like comictom, reggie collects and more. I find it a disservice and a huge conflict of interest pumping up this FOMO spec BS while hoarding up all the issues behind the scenes before the said video goes public???!!! I hate slab books but do understand for the big dollar books. I have 2 short boxes with slabs but those are my high grade extras. I mainly collect in pairs: a high grade copy slab or raw to look at and another raw as a reader. I will NEVER send books in to slab again especially CGC with the triple dipping FMV BS. I have cracked slabs as my son and i love to read it all from the 1930s to some current. Best to learn to grade, watch for trimming, color touch ups and related. I love .3, .5 coverless and remainder books especially key books for cheap and enjoyable to read in one's hands. I can understand if you have a Fantastic Four #1 in high grade but i still love them raw as the tactile feel and newsprint smell is timeless. Comic book gaslighting yellow journalism influencer BS. I made my channel to share the love. No spec. NO FOMO. My channel is about the books from pages A to Z regardless of the rarity!!! Follow the monies is how answer my own questions of these ethics issues with CGC and grading companies. CGC has no integrity IMHO!!!
Honestly, I don't trust him, or any of these so called "influencers". I lump him in with Comic Tom and that ilk. To me, they serve nothing but to be a drain on the hobby itself.
I've been watching Swags videos for years and I don't think he means any harm to the LCS owners. You have a really good channel too that I just came across a few weeks ago. Hopefully you guys can do a video together, it would be really good since you have some very similar thoughts on the industry.
Dude your your don’t understand sarcasm, swag was doing a bit being a Karen that was not him being for real. Man you got taken in. This is hilarious how you made this video about him thinking it was real when it was all in jest OMG so freaking funny
You are spot on. Time to push back a little on this "influencer brainwashing" that is out there. I think breaking up collections, because of "key speculation" is just plain sad.
thanks
Great video , God bless your integrity and your passion. This community needs more old timers standing up and preaching . Mick and you both have valid points but I value your opinion
Much appreciated
I'd rather have the junk and leave the keys for someone else! I never have hunted keys because I love all comic book stories regardless of it being a key. I enjoy your videos and keep 'em raw!
Thank you very much. I appreciate it. I will try.
You're totally right about flippers going to all the yard sales and grabbing all the key issues and then the people from the garage sales try to unload all the crap leftover to a comic store.
Thanks just my experience
Very much enjoy the content offered by this channel. It's so important to not forget the roots of comic collecting and the tremendous pleasure it provides. Keep'em coming!
Absolutely!
I remember in the 80's and 90's that a collectors looking for older books relied mainly on LCS'. I am a high grade guy and could only find low and mid grade copies. I discovered that LCS' would hire kids to work in their stores and the owner would pay his employees in comics who would cherry pick. Also, the kids working the stores would go through the new collections coming in and call their friends who would get to cherry pick the nice books before the collectons were put on the floor. Thank you Lord for Ebay!
I have no employees and the one guy that works me doesn't know anything about comics. So safe. Bet is not getting cherry picked but I get your point. It's good possibility it happens at a lot of toy the stores so I know what you mean. Thanks for being a good part of the conversation
We relied ONLY on LCS. I did, until 2017.
Definitely. My experience with comic shop owners has been horrible lol. It’s crazy how they have an ego and can’t draw, write or do anything the creators do. I’ve been a professional artist for 17 years, it’s hilarious talking to these guys.
Thank you for your honest opinion and being very truthful like always it's a pleasure to watch you on your UA-cam channel you're the best honestly all the B,S on the community that's going on that's why I left the community 20 years ago and I came back recently about a year and a half almost 2 years I'm collecting again comic books it seems like it's just keeps getting worse and worse and worse everyday of the week. Please 🙏 remember let's go back to the comic book shops where we fell in love with comic books of our favorite superheroes and villains...🙏thank you 🙏
That's what I'm saying. Buy what you love. You'll never feel like you lost. I run my shop like I'm still a collector.
Great Video. Love the shop.
Thanks 👍
I agree with you, people conveniently forget the cost of operating a store compared to someone who sells out of their house. Your profit margins need to be higher. Today’s buyers are spoiled by grading and online sales compared to 30 years ago when the hobby was at its peak in the early 90’s before the collapse.
Fantastic points. Thank you for being part of the conversation.
I respect the hell out of you, and I really appreciate your stance and the way you articulated it. If lived close enough to your shop to be a regular, I would be!
Thank you stay tuned more to come.
Cool video. Agreed that the entrepreneur side of the comic book game will see everything about comics from a different lens. I've said in the past that I personally love the way slabbed books present and I read TPBs in order to enjoy the stories over and over again. But you're right on point about the buying and selling hustle, if both parties agree on a price, no one is getting ripped off. Keep doing what you're doing, seems good to me.
Thanks for all your kind words and everybody should click the way they like to collect. Just be educated on what you're getting. Thanks again. Keep watching
Interesting NFT analogy. I didn't think about numbered slabs like that before. Fair point
Thank you
Preach on sir. Really good stuff
Thank you so much
Well said! New subscriber here! :) I worked in a shop back in the 90s, just as the speculator market was fizzling out. We had so many collections come in even then where the key issues were missing. The owner wanted little to do with more inventory & who knows what we missed out on bringing in as tastes & popularity shifted. I'm glad you appreciate seeing all the additional books, much like me. :)
Thanks for the sub! And the kind words and being part of the conversation
Bravo sir. Bravo
Thank you
Glad to see the channel getting a bump, you definitely deserve it, great video and channel
I appreciate it!
Just found your channel and I love everything you say in your videos.
I collected years ago and tbh I had fomo so every indie and potential spec book I was trying to add to my collection, most I’d read then fall away as I wouldn’t enjoy after a while. I fell into the spec trap and lost sight of why I started collecting in the first place.
I then started buying everything DC and trying to add key issues for stuff I wasn’t even interested in again and eventually I lost interest and sold my collection to help fund buying a house.
Fast forward ten years and I’m back collecting again but more importantly I am reading. I collect Batman and Superman physically. Whatever minis come out related to those characters and everything else if I fancy it I read on the DC app. My collection is focused and I get more enjoyment out out of collecting Bronze Age Bats and Supes than I did hunted potential key issues I had no love for.
Once again your channel is brilliant and your CGC comments are spot on. I am not a CGC fan, I have bought them but only if I can get them cheap enough that it’s worth it so I can crack them open. For example I won a Forever People 8.5 CGC and cracked it open. I want to be able to see that Kirby art. It also looks better in Mylar anyway 😉
Keep up the great content
Thank you so much for watching. I think you have a great way of collecting. Everybody should do what they enjoy without being ripped off by cash Grabbers.
You are really starting to be my favorite channel….keep preaching my man… great points….
I appreciate that
Great video with different perspectives. What is needed in any community!
Glad you enjoyed it!
great video thanks for sharing your thoughts and perspective
Thanks for watching!
I'm so lucky my LCS has our mindset. Loved your video once again!!!!! Collectors collect and read books, The people that buy ONLY keys a speculators. And that's what's messing up the market for everyone else.
how so?
Thank you for the kind words. Much appreciated. I'm glad there's other guys out there like us
@@michaelwalsh6344 When someone can explain why a book in the exact same condition has crap value unless it's in a CGC case and why there is a hundreds of dollars in difference from 9.8 to a 9.6, Really seriously now.
Good video, I enjoyed hearing your thoughts on these topics. I’d love to stop into your shop when I ever get in the area.
Oh you're more than welcome to come by anytime. It's a diggers paradise. It's not pretty built for speed. Thanks for watching.
Brother I am feeling what your saying 🙌
Glad to hear it
Great channel!
Thank you!
Absolutely! I detest the school of thought that thinks sneaky underhanded business tactics are smart. When I hear that kinda thing in conversation I know to stay the hell away from that person and not to do business with them. I’d rather live my life not looking over my shoulder and knowing I treated all fairly.
Great minds think alike. Appreciate you joining the conversation welcome aboard
I don't buy a book unless I'm attached to it. I once had to sell 3/4 of my collection because my kids and I ended up homeless during the housing crash in 2009. My childhood catharsis ended up helping us get into a new apartment. I don't collect like I used to. I have about 1000 books these days... But Iove them all :) some day the lot will get sold by my kiddos to someone like you, I hope... Knowing that these books would end up in a good home while also helping my family and the business who was kind enough to deal with them would be very gratifying. Thank you for what you do. Agreed with a ton of what you said. Hope your channel grows rapidly and in a way you and yours can benefit, as well.
What a journey, best wish and thank for the kind words
Nice video. When my preferred comic shop is upfront and tells me they pay 20 cents on the dollar I don't get mad at them. They've got over-head. I get it.
Thank you
I respect my LCS, I know he doesn’t give much for collections, but he gives a fair value for key issues and tells them they have the option to let him to try and sell it on commission. I learned a long time ago all LCS has a lot of overhead like rent, money to buy the new comics every week, and paying employees. This is why I never opened a comic shop up on my own, it’s just too much stress for me, I’ll just stay being a collector
Thanks for joining the discussion
Hey man, not that you have anything to do with my decisions, I make my own. But I have been dropping a lot of comic book You Tubers lately, and it's going to be more. I won't name names of who I keep and who hits the trash bin, but i decided to distance myself from the used car salesmen, umm, I mean used comic salesmen. I just like comics, I want an honest review on the books, or an honest price that i can use as some real-life information. And like you, there are people out on the 'Tube' like this, either big fans of the books, or a proper transparent seller. Keep being you, Cheerz!
I think we are all trying to get views. I've been saying the same thing for several years people have just recently found me. If your looking for great reviews check out @PopCulturePhilosophers he gives the best reviews on UA-cam.
Swaggs is critical of lcs but praises alpha investments. Nuff said
LOL yeah thanks love the nuff said
its based on an individual basis. he was generalizing everyone. i also have different views that arent popular about the state of comics now. im the same collector now than when i was a kid. some of the stuff i have just happens to be worth some money but ive just bought what i liked. but the flippers and investors and influencers are just about the bottom dollar so they have a vested interest in comics being high value. or maybe even some money laundering and market manipulation going on. but thats a separate issue.
the comic shop is individually based. when i was a kid i went into my first comic shop, owned by a woman, and it was awesome. she was great to deal with even with me being a kid. she later sold the business to a guy who is a total dbag. i have caught him taking out books from peoples pull list that had multiple copies ordered, and it was because the book was hot. at the time it was tmnt ronin. the guy pre ordered 3 copies of it and the shop owner went to the guys box behind the counter and took one copy out and gave the customer 2 copies. the customer told him he ordered 3 copies, then he walked back where he pulled the other one aside and gave it to him. that was just one instance where he got caught. the shop owner knew the guy ordered 3 because 3 were in his box, but it just had come out at the time where the book was hot and climbing in value. there is no telling what other grease ball tactics that guy has done to other customers. he also charges 7.99 and 9.99 for non incentive variant covers. just a plain old cover A B C D of any book. no idea why. so the exact same comic shop i went into that at one time was awesome, became a joke just based off of the change of an individual owner.
and dudes like him paint good shop owners in a bad light. and its a shame.
Yeah sadly I've seen that in a lot of second owner shops somebody sees it's a going business that they don't have to build. It's already there but they don't have the passion for it. It's sad.
Appreciate the response to Mickey's video. In my opinion, there's a lot of mischaracterization about what he actually communicated in his video.
First of all, from my perspective, he never stated or implied that all dealers (or even the majority) take advantage of people who come in looking to sell an inherited collection. His point seemed to be that in those situations, people who now own the collections sometimes are ignorant about the value of the books and have to rely on the trustworthiness/integrity of the dealer/LCS they sell to. And in those situations, there have been times when LCS/dealer takes advantage of the seller. It would be pretty naive to think that doesn't happen or hasn't happened at least to some extent, right?
Second, regarding pricing books, he never stated that all stores/dealers are overpriced, but that is a common experience to walk into a show/con/store and see prices more akin to the 2021 comic boom than the reality of the 2024 market. And though you state you don't think he understands what it takes to price books, I would have to disagree with you as he even addressed the "it takes a lot of work/money" argument by saying that's the responsibility you take on as a store/dealer and that if you do price your books and do so accurately to the market, it will lead to an increase in business, implying that would offset the additional cost. And as a buyer of comics, anecdotally I'd have to agree with this perspective 100%. It's an extremely rare occasion that I see comics priced and priced anywhere near market price at local stores or shows (which I go to many). I might find one at an entire show or one out of every 10 stores. And I don't mean a little overpriced, but two to three times market value. On almost every book. And as a buyer, if I see that at your booth or show, not only do I immediately walk away, but I also tell everyone who's with me to avoid that booth/dealer/store. I do the same thing if there aren't any prices of books at all. The same would apply to any store or seller. If there aren't any prices on products or the prices are two to three times higher than the market value at the grocery store or car dealership for example, you'd walk away, right? And that same thing happens to you as a store or dealer who chooses those pricing practices.
Lastly, about the buyer's experience when books aren't priced or marked up dramatically, I agree with Mickey that no buyer likes the back-and-forth of negotiating (it's uncomfortable!) and nobody wants to risk potentially insulting a dealer by offering 30-50% off the posted price on a book. So to his point, it's only in a shop or dealer's best interest to price their books and do so relative to market to attract the most amount of buyers and thus more business. Not to mention it would be such a great experience because that kind of experience is harder and harder to find, if you are the shop/dealer giving that experience, buyers (myself included) are apt to refer everyone we know to you and shout your praises from the rooftops.
My two cents, just food for thought
Thank you for your take on what he was putting forth and how you perceived it. As far as the convention pricing, I don't do large confessions because the absolute ridiculous table price. You have to sell so much just to make your table before you start to make any profit. I love the small shows where I can keep my prices low. Still make a profit and still meet tons of great comic collectors. Thank you for continuing to be part of the conversation. Great points.
Swag goes where the drama is. Drama = engagement. Engagement = UA-cam bucks.
For every good take Swag has on something comic related, there's often an equally bad take. He's thrown his lot in with the "Comics as investments" side of the hobby, and made market analysis his UA-cam niche, but more like a sedate PBS "Wall Street Week" for comics rather than a Jim Kramer-style CNBC hype machine. So far, that approach is working for him.
Once you work out the lens through which he views comic collecting, you can mentally compensate for his biases and blind spots and separate the useful from the bad takes.
That's a really interesting take on it. I Appreciate your opinion and I see where you're coming from. Thanks for being part of the conversation
Keep speaking truth!
Thank you
Excellent points! Record stores deal with the same thing.
Exactly! Thank you
I had a guy contact me with some Ms Marvel books. I was interested for my PC. Dude showed up with a spread sheet of eBay prices, saying that after I graded them I'd make a fortune. I don't slab and he has no clue how grading works.. said he got all his info from YT videos lol I still paid a decent price because they had value to me.
Thanks for the video.
Thanks for sharing the story and being part of a discussion
I see a swagglehos video the other day,it was more like a report in the new York stock exchange, very soulless.
Watch a few more. He has a good channel. He makes some good videos. He's opinionated too, especially the ones on the recent CGC stuff. You know the lyric, the lure of easy money. Thanks for commenting and being part of the conversation.
Ive been collecting since mid 1970s. I feed my habit buy picking up collections and keeping what i want to fill my runs, mostly war books and batman vol 1 with some horror and the old ball series like Kamandi lol or Omac. I like Kirby and Neil Adams among others so i try to grab so.e.of their covers even if they are only worth 1.00 lol. Sell the rest when i can. Was at auction last night, local daily Saturday night auctions and grabbed a ton of books including a Spawn 1 and TMNT 1 5th Printing all for 77.00. I used Overstreet for many years and still do. People were on their phones and completely missed a decent collection for great price. Anyway, thanks for keeping the hobby the way it use to be and should still be.
Okay, congrats on the auction and thank you for watching and I appreciate the kind words. I'll do my best
Sorry if you get bundled together with the bad comic shops. I only ever tried selling books to a shop one time. They lowballed me so hard that I have never tried to sell or trade to another shop. I brought in a stack of silver age keys worth about $20,000 at the time. They offered me $3,000 and acted shocked when I turned them down.
Sadly it might have been all they could afford. If I can't afford a collection I have several bubbies I send them to that I trust.
@@HavenForHeroes I offered to let them just buy the ones they wanted, it wasn’t an all or nothing situation. There were books ranging in price from a couple hundred to a couple thousand dollars. I was actually expecting to be offered around 50 percent of fair market value. I know they need to make money or there’s no point in them buying anything. There’s no justifiable reason I can think of for them to buy very desirable books for 15 percent of their value. If they need that kind of profit margin to be successful they might need to re-evaluate their business model. I’ve sold coins to a local coin shop and he usually pays about 60% of fmv. I have heard so many horror stories about comic shops basically stealing collections from uneducated sellers. I’m of the opinion that you are the exception and most of your contemporaries are closer to crooks than we’d like to admit. I’m glad there are good shop owners like you paying fair prices. I have a great idea for a UA-cam channel. I’ll wear a hidden camera and expose the shady dealers and let my fellow collectors know what shops are fair. I have seen similar videos for automotive repair shops and jewelry dealers.
im here from twitter!!!
keep rattling these people lol
Stay tuned. We're going to work through the entire comics community.
@@HavenForHeroes oh dear....oh boy oh boy
🖖
I totally agree with you
thanks
people who "flip" or slab really often times are not comic collectors, which involves reading them!, but are mainly concerned w how much money they can get, might as well be flipping used cars.........
That's exactly the point. I'm trying to drive home. Thanks for getting it. Thanks for being part of the conversation. Stay tuned!
Gotta laugh at those who slab a comic book at $5 market value hoping to resell it for $100 or the likes on eBay. More ludicrous, eBay sellers selling dollar bin books claiming that CGC will grade them at 9.8. If I'm buying comic books on the cheap, it's because I want to read them. Key issues? I'll buy a HC or TPB that includes them. More bang for my buck!
Right lol. lets all read more books
Yeah, Swag was doing alot of finger pointing in that video and he got alot right/wrong about me as a "neverslabber". It was a good video to have people talking but not everyone fit inside the boxes he made.
You got it sir. That's exactly what I was saying. Thank you for being part of the conversation
Morality over Money!
Yes Sir
I'm not a comic guy, but I'm am curious. With all these books being slabbed, is there an alternative option for continuing to experience them? Are they available digitally? Or are the valuable books slabbed up and their stories are locked away? How does this work?
They are still available digitally. I'm not sure Google works like streaming there. Sometimes they're available and sometimes they're not, but I know it's possible to get them that way
@@HavenForHeroes My 11yo showed interest in Godzilla comics. I don't know where to start, but first place I go to has 1 book, slabbed for $130. So my curiousity was born from how do you get new fans if you can't read the books? The justice league v Godzilla looks up his alley, I might just wait for the hardcover release later this year.
NFT is nothing like a slab unless you are talking about a digital twin. NFTs are complete scams. That analogy hurt. My FF4 48 CGC 9.8 that I can physically touch is legit.
Great video. We need LCSs to thrive
Thank you sir. I kind of threw in the NFT analogy to spark some heated conversation. Glad you caught it
It’s similar to an NFT in that the inflated graded value is perceived but not actually real. With your FF4 48, the rarity and historical importance are factual things which drive the raw value. But it’s not a fact that it’s a 9.8. It was one persons opinion or belief. Any other day it could be a 9.6 or a 9.9! Maybe they missed a tick, or maybe it has restoration that was missed, or maybe it’s missing a page. I’m not saying your book is any of those things but many of the slabbed books out there may or may not be what the label says. And in those cases we’re all getting scammed.
@@Supertomscustoms Sorry Tom - that isn't how it really works. It's in a CGC slab, no longer an opinion. You see , that's how authentication works. When you are a legit (authorized) party, like a certification authority issuing certs in SSL, the process has been vetted and accepted by industry. The process is now a standard and an entire ecosystem supports that process, and it is thriving. We now have multiple authenticators with varying levels of quality and risk, and price, and a choice. Now compared to NFTs, you can't deny the authentication aspect of what an NFT is from a protocol/ technology perspective - you may not like the format, but it is as real as the cash in your wallet. You can say the coins/tokens aren't real which is different than saying they aren't worth anything. Like the money in your bank account is not real ,.maybe the refs made a mistake last night and the 49ers really won...maybe Nvidia isn't really at 721.
@@HavenForHeroes It worked, lol. issue with NFTs is that they pull you into an ecosystem you can't get out of, along with lack of utility in its current form. I actually looked into creating an NFT service for comic slabs but there are things like gas taxes that don't really make sense for that. But imagine a 4d authenticated digital twin of your slab with a matching serial number....and time stamps.
Where are you located I need to buy some books. What you indicated is thought provoking. Unfortunately, respectfully I disagree with you because some dealers and sellers are greedy.
True. There are some but not all that was my problem I had with the video. It seemed like we were all getting painted with that brush. I'm in Port Jervis, New York, about 60 miles from the city. Exit one off i-84 westbound
Hey u hav any asm raw books from 1-100 let me kno I am in FL
I only have a very low grade number 19. Early marvel keys. I can't keep in stock cuz of my prices.
Ok thx I will keep poppin in seeing what u got good vid keep up the good work
I use to follow those channels but have long blocked and unsubscribed like comictom, reggie collects and more. I find it a disservice and a huge conflict of interest pumping up this FOMO spec BS while hoarding up all the issues behind the scenes before the said video goes public???!!! I hate slab books but do understand for the big dollar books. I have 2 short boxes with slabs but those are my high grade extras. I mainly collect in pairs: a high grade copy slab or raw to look at and another raw as a reader. I will NEVER send books in to slab again especially CGC with the triple dipping FMV BS. I have cracked slabs as my son and i love to read it all from the 1930s to some current. Best to learn to grade, watch for trimming, color touch ups and related. I love .3, .5 coverless and remainder books especially key books for cheap and enjoyable to read in one's hands. I can understand if you have a Fantastic Four #1 in high grade but i still love them raw as the tactile feel and newsprint smell is timeless. Comic book gaslighting yellow journalism influencer BS. I made my channel to share the love. No spec. NO FOMO. My channel is about the books from pages A to Z regardless of the rarity!!! Follow the monies is how answer my own questions of these ethics issues with CGC and grading companies. CGC has no integrity IMHO!!!
Thanks for sharing your comic story with us being part of the conversation
Honestly, I don't trust him, or any of these so called "influencers". I lump him in with Comic Tom and that ilk. To me, they serve nothing but to be a drain on the hobby itself.
sorry you feel that way stay tuned better days a coming
I've been watching Swags videos for years and I don't think he means any harm to the LCS owners. You have a really good channel too that I just came across a few weeks ago. Hopefully you guys can do a video together, it would be really good since you have some very similar thoughts on the industry.
I feel the same way. Thanks for sharing
Dude your your don’t understand sarcasm, swag was doing a bit being a Karen that was not him being for real. Man you got taken in. This is hilarious how you made this video about him thinking it was real when it was all in jest OMG so freaking funny
Yeah I talked to swag. We're cool