What day is it? I’ve actually had to ask myself that a few times during these last months. Sitting at home with each day being pretty much the same as the previous one is sure getting old. Yes, there has been the occasional trip to the grocery store and the drive-thru lane at Mickey D’s (and Dunkin’ Donuts, of course – love them Cinnamon Crunch ones that are only available at the Kirkwood Hwy branch by Millcreek FH), but I miss the action of trying to score new comic book inventory.
As mentioned before, there have been some online-only auctions with comics, but I have had practically no success there. I still scour the listings on auctionzip.com to look for possible sales, bid on some, but usually see the final bids bringing close to guide or more. I gotta see them first!
If you take a good look at the picture I copied off a site, you will see one of the 8 flats of comics they were offering. Note the starburst pattern around the 30 cents price on some of the comics. Those are the scarce 30 cent variants, which bring some serious money according to Overstreet. All of the flats shown on that auction site had a number of these. I decided to take a chance and strike out for a trip. Afterall, everyone (with very few exceptions) in Northern Delaware seemed to have gotten the word about COVID-19 protocols and masks are the norm. Plus, with the virus appearing to now running rampant through the White House, perhaps everyone is now taking this seriously.
Well, it’s Wednesday the 7th and I just returned from driving 60 miles each way to that “live” auction – only staying a few minutes. I had been to this one before, up in Brogue, PA, the one where I saw Elvis several times in the past. Flannel shirts, baseball caps, and beards were still the norm, but masks were NOT. Not in this part of the country, anyway. There was no pretense to wearing them or social distancing. It was like I was attending a Trump rally! I noticed dozens and dozens of homes flying Trump flags plus even some Confederate flags along the way as I got closer to the auction house. And, not a single one for Biden. Also, unlike the other auction houses, this auction’s site did not mention that it was requiring that attendees adhere to COVID standards for social interaction. No signs or sanitizer in sight at the house, either.
I got there early, well before it was to start with only a few cars in the lot. That gave me some hope, even though I saw most of the other early birds were not wearing masks. Finding the flats of comics on a shelf in a corner, I knelt down and took some notes. Like the one picture I provided, there were loads of other comics in the flats that you couldn’t make out issue number. I’d say that of the over 180 different 30 cent variants out there, at least half of them were to be found in these groups, including some of the biggies, such as Eternals #1 and Marvel Spotlight # 28! From what I saw, I’m assuming that the original owner was from the Baltimore area as this was one of the 6 markets that Marvel used when they experimented with raising the price back in 1976. (A year later when they decided to bump the price again, they tried different markets for the even scarcer “35 cents” variants. (Star Wars #1, anybody?) None of those later variants were in this assortment).
The room was filling up quickly and I tried to move when a lady wanted to get by – the aisle was so narrow that I was in the way – but she said that I didn’t have to as she was going to step over me. She wasn’t wearing a mask, I was getting uncomfortable with the crowd, so I left.
All of the flats had a small note indicating that someone had left an absentee bid on them. I could have, should have maybe, gone to a preview on Tuesday, but I have seen it too often where people will move items around. I might win a lot but the contents have changed. You need to be there for something like a comic lot when there are more than one. Perhaps, I should have left a bid for ALL of the lots, but the house probably would want to sell individually. Usually, they make it a “buyer’s choice” whereby you’re bidding on the opportunity to pick the individual lots you want, not knowing whether the other bidders want the same as you – works out better for the house and consignor.
I’m still upset as it’s only been a few hours since I experienced this disappointment. It just wasn’t worth the risk of getting sick and possibly spreading it to my family and inner circle. What is wrong with some people?! I’m the same age as our president, but I don’t have a staff of 14 doctors following me around and access to the best possible drugs. Even, if I did, it ain’t worth the risk!
Here’s one risk I do plan on taking – I will vote in-person where I know that COVID precautions will be enforced.! I’ve had several scary situations with the mail lately. One shipment of comics I sent took 29 days to arrive. It went to Oregon. I ship with tracking and it sat for 2 weeks in New Jersey with no sign of movement. Another took 16 days to get to Wisconsin, 2 days after the parents were hoping it would arrive in time for their kid’s birthday, so they returned it. A nervous buyer kept contacting me when his copy of ASM # 300, signed by David Michelinie, was still “MIA”. I had sent it insured with signature required and it still took 12 days to get to North Carolina! But it did finally make it!
STAY SAFE! Til next time - Paul
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